2.5^0 V.I BA CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY. FROM "^he fc^rnes F^ll T, ilr^r' 1142 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 092 358 260 DATE DUE imERi TgRARv" LOAN — - ^ - fcKr<~. WrS/U GAYLORD FH\NT£0 IN U.S.A. Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924092358260 THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY H f>p, '^oeif. >'>/a, "o^fift oaki. '°^^f^lH ^^ si,/-S'!fuc& =.-i^<:''tcc-^./£^^m/^?z/?t.c-^^. A HISTORY OF THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY BY WILLIAM CANTON WITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS VOL. I LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. 1904 S CONTENTS FIRST PERIOD, 1804—1817 CHAPTER I "the power with the need" PAGE Earlier Bible Distribution— The Originating Causes — The Dearth of Welsh Bibles — Charles of Bala in London — The 7th March 1804 — A Union of all Denominations 1-14 CHAPTER II THE SOCIETY FOUNDED "Without Note or Comment"— The Laws of the Society— The Society's First Prospectus — Its Welcome on the Continent — Correspondence with Calcutta — The Threat of Invasion — The Shadow of Napoleon 15-29 CHAPTER III GLIMPSES OF THE EARLY MEN The Clapham Circle — Granville Sharp — Henry Thornton — William Wilberforce — Lord Teignmouth — His Career in India — The Rev. J. Hughes-^The Rev. C. F. SteinkopfT— The Rev. J. Owen 30-45 CHAPTER IV THE SECRET OF THE SOCIETY'S SUCCESS (l.) Unforeseen Developments-^Rules for the Auxiliaries — Importance of the Auxiliaries — The Bible Associations — Growth of the Associations — " A Tax on the Poor " — Ladies' Bible Societies — Mr Dudley's System 46-62 vi CONTENTS CHAPTER V THE SECRET OF THE SOCIETY'S SUCCESS (ll.) PAGE Summary of the Auxiliaries — The Liverpool Auxiliary founded — The Charges against the Society — The Cambridge Auxiliary — The Norwich Auxiliary — The Gurneys of Earlham — Joseph John Gurney — The Murder of Mr Perceval — The Oxford Auxiliary — " Not unto us " 63-83 CHAPTER VI THE BIBLE CAUSE IN SCOTLAND David Dale of Glasgow — Scotland in 1804 — The State of the Highlands — The Gaelic Bible — Gaelic Bible Schools — Growth of Scottish Auxiliaries — The Edinburgh Bible Society- — Roman Catholic Schools 84-99 CHAPTER VII THE WORK IN WALES AND IRELAND Editions in various Tongues — Purchase of 10 Earl Street— The Channel and Scilly Isles — The Manx Bible — The Work begun in Ireland — The Hibernian Bible Society — Growth of the Irish Auxiliaries — The Irish Version — The good Bishop Bedell . 100-118 CHAPTER VIII THE ISLES OF THE SEA The Horrors of Newgate — Convicts and Prisoners of War — The Word sown in France — Effects of these Labours — The Bible at the Antipodes — Welcome in South Africa — The West Coast of Africa— The Canaries and Madeira — Modem Greek New Testament — Malta as a Bible Station — At the Time Christ suffered 1 19-142 CONTENTS vii CHAPTER IX THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST Distributions in France— Ratisbon and Canstein— The Berlin Bible Society — The Misery of Prussia — Issue of the Bohemian Bible —The Bible for Lithuania— Thoughts turned to Turkey- Pastor Oberlin— Oberlin and the R.T.S 143-162 CHAPTER X FROM SAGA-LAND TO KALMUK TENTS J. Paterson and E. Henderson — Copenhagen bombarded — Bible Work in Stockholm — Tour in Sweden and Lapland — "They sent us the Bible" — The Czar and the Finns — Russia and Napoleon — The Mission at Karass — The Moravians at Sarepta —The Kalmuks 163-183 CHAPTER XI THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (l.) Activity of the Basel B.S. — Operations in Hungary — Spread of Bible Societies — Paterson's Arrival in Russia — Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow — The Czar and the Bible Society — The Uprising in Prussia — Interview with the Czar — Growth of Swedish Societies — The Prussian B.S. founded — Progress in Central Europe — The Escape of Napoleon — Peace at last . 184-209 CHAPTER XII THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (II.) Mr Steinkopff 's Second Tour — Mr Henderson in Iceland — A Song of Thule — Societies in Sweden and Norway — Grants to Continental Societies — The Death of Henry Martyn — The Czar's Version in Russ — Pinkerton in South Russia — Interview with Metternich — Adhesion of Russian Catholics — Spain and Portugal — The Greenland Eskimo 210-234 viii CONTENTS CHAPTER XIII THE NEW WORLD PAGE The United States in 1800-10— The first United States Bible— The Unitarian Movement — Rarity of the Scriptures — Roman Catholic Approval — Summary for 1815 — The American B.S. founded— British North America — The Eskimo of Labrador —The West Indies— Jamaica and Hayti 235-258 CHAPTER XIV IN THE EAST (l.) The Policy of the E.I.C.— At the Shrine of Kali— Hostility to Missionaries — Indian Versions begun — Carey at Serampore — The College of Fort- William — First Grant to India — Henry Martyn — The Bengal Committee at work — The Malayalam New Testament — The Calcutta AuxiUary 259-281 CHAPTER XV IN THE EAST (ll.) John Leyden's Versions — Death of David Brown — Armenian and Malay Versions — Sabat the Arabian — Martyn's Persian Testament — Grants to India — The Syriac New Testament — The Holy Eastern Church — Robert Morrison in China — The Scriptures in Chinese 282-302 CHAPTER XVI THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST. PERIOD Reply to Dr Wordsworth — Dr Marsh and the Prayer Book — Four unfriendly Bishops — Anniversary Meetings — The Death of Bishop Porteus — " There is a Refuge " — Summary of Thirteen Years 303-318 CONTENTS ix SECOND PERIOD, 1817—1834 CHAPTER XVII THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY PAGE Unrecorded Influence — Distress and Reform — " Monthly Extracts " — Bible Work on the Thames — Owen and Oberlin — The Death of Oberlin — The Death of Owen — The Apocrypha Difficulty abroad — Resolutions rejected — A Special Committee — Decision of the Committee — The Death of Captain Shore — The Scottish Secession — The Work done in Scotland — The Dearth in the Highlands 319-35° CHAPTER XVIII THE TESTS CONTROVERSY District Agents appointed — The Test Proposals — The Basis of Union — Conflicting Views — The Exeter Hall Meeting — Gerard and Baptist Noel — Four District Secretaries — The Grave of Joseph Hughes — The Death of Lord Teignmouth — Lord Bexley, Second President 35 '■369 CHAPTER XIX THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVE Distributions in Ireland — Provision for Emigrants— Expenditure on Home Work — Memorabilia — Pope Leo XII. and the Society— Resignation of Dr Steinkopflf— Engagement of George Borrow — Death of William Wilberforce — The Negroes' Mid- night Service— The Gift from England 370-387 CHAPTER XX THE AUXILIARIES IN FRANCE The Turkish Bible— Henderson and Paterson resign— The Protestant B.S. of Paris— Professor Kieffer's Agency— Breton and Basque Versions— Colportage— Death of Professor Kieffer —The Work of the Period 388-403 X CONTENTS CHAPTER XXI CATASTROPHE IN RUSSIA PAGE The Sixth Anniversary — Scriptures in many Tongues — Dr Pinkerton's Tour — From St Petersburg to Tiflis — The Russ New Testament — Intrigues against the Society — The Policy of Seraphim — Suspension of the Russian B.S. — A New Start . 404-422 CHAPTER XXII THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA " We must at last return "—The Prussian and Saxon B.S.S.— Dis- tributions in Bohemia — Steinkopff s Fifth Tour — The Nether- lands Bible Society — The Parting of the Ways — Hopes of Reunion— Leander Van Ess — The Frankfort Agency — The Effect of the Secession 423-444 CHAPTER XXIII NORTHERN EUROPE AND THE APOCRYPHA The Danish Bible Societies— The Swedish Bible Society— The Norwegian Bible Society — Adherence to Custom — The Codex Argenteus — The Need for Agencies — Dr Paterson's Tour — The Grants for the Period 445-461 Appendix I— The Story of Mary Jones .... 465-470 Appendix II— The Auxiliary System 471-483 Appendix III— The Old Bible House 484-485 Appendix IV— The Continental Bible Society . . . 486-491 Index 493 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Lord Teignmouth ..... Frontispiece The Rev. T. Charles of Bala . . Tofacep. 48 The Rev. J. Hughes .... 80 The Old Bible House, io Earl Street „ I02 The Rev. J. Owen ..... 144 Charles Grant ..... 192 Granville Sharp ..... „ 240 Henry Thornton ..... 288 The Rev. C. F. Steinkopff 352 FIRST PERIOD, 1804-1817 CHAPTER I "the power with the need" The British and Foreign Bible Society was founded on the 7th of March 1804. In the early days of its activity, to those who looked back on its origin, it appeared to be "one of the most remarkable designs of Providence that the thunder of universal war should have been the harbinger of the still small voice of the gospel of peace. "^ When fifty years had grouped events into clearer perspective, the thoughtful began to perceive that the Society was "one of the many fruits of that religious awakening which took place in this country in the middle of the i8th century." Indeed, to understand the spirit of the time which made this and other associations of the kind possible ; to appreciate at its real value the character of the men who founded and maintained them, we must revert to that great awakening, and trace in their sequence the various results which sprang from that ' ' passionate impulse of human sympathy with the wronged and afflicted, which raised hospitals, endowed charities, built churches, sent mission- aries to the heathen, supported Burke in his plea for the Hindu, and Clarkson and Wilberforce in their crusade against the iniquity of the slave-trade." Unique as it was ^ Speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer (afterwards Lord Bexley) at the Mansion House, 6th August 1812. Owen, History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. ii. p. 324. VOL, L A * 2 "THE POWER WITH THE NEED" [1804- in its inception and in its object, the Bible Society is not to be regarded as something apart, either in its adherents or in its operations. It was but one of God's many ways of shaping the energies of men to the accomplishment of His own wise purposes. The change to a new century has placed us in a position to take a still larger view. In that intense revival of spiritual life, and in its splendid efflorescence of philanthropy, we now recognise the means employed for the divine realisation of a twofold design. On the one hand, the destiny of England as "a mother of nations" was already marked out for her; on the other there was dire need, unless civilisation was to be thrown back a century, for a protagonist who should cope with the fury of the Revolution and shatter the colossal power of Napoleonic tyranny. The revival was to England what in the days of chivalry the midnight vigil before his arms in the chapel was to the candidate for knighthood. When the time came she stood forth armed with the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, and her feet were shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. One dreads to think what the condition of the world might now have been but for that providential equipment against the perils which were close at hand. A month after the aged Wesley had been laid in his grave Mirabeau passed away, "carrying in his heart the death dirge of the French monarchy." Intent on the projects of their new enthusiasm, the Churches pursued their work; In November 1793, when the Goddess of Reason, garlanded with oak leaves, was being enthroned on the high altar of Notre Dame, William Carey, the devoted Baptist Missionary, was sailing within sight of the coast of Bengal. In the follow- ing year when Robespierre, in the ghastly coxcombry of sky-blue coat, white stockings, and gold shoe-buckles, was giving legal sanction to the "existence of the Supreme Being" and to "that consolatory principle of the im- i8i7] EARLIER BIBLE DISTRIBUTION 3 mortality of the soul," Samuel Marsden, the Apostle of New Zealand, had begun his labours among the convicts of Botany Bay. One scheme of Christian benevolence took form after another. In 1795 it was the London Missionary Society ; in 1799 the Religious Tract and Church Missionary Societies; in 1803 the Sunday School Union; in 1804 the British and Foreign Bible Society. The distribution of the Holy Scriptures was no new idea sprung upon the religious world. It entered into the scheme of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, which was founded as far back as 1698. It was one of the objects in 1701 of the Society for the Promotion of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, or, more accurately, in "the plantations, colonies, and factories beyond seas, belonging to the Kingdom of England." It was included in the operations of the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge (1709); of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge among the Poor (1750) ; and of the Society for the Support and Encouragement of Sunday Schools (1785). Indeed one organisation, founded in 1780, bore the name of The Bible Society, but as its labours were restricted to soldiers and seamen, the title was afterwards changed to the Naval and Military Bible Society.^ Later still, and marking a distinct departure in Christian effort, the French Bible Society was instituted in 1792, but its designs were wrecked by the outbreak of the Revolution, and it was finally dis- solved in 1803. But if the thought itself was not new, there was in the manner in which it was adapted by the founders of the British and Foreign Bible Society a catholicity of design and an enthusiasm of purpose which even to this day are amazing. The single-mindedness of the Society, the very simplicity of its scheme, must have appeared to many ^ The first ship among whose crew the Scriptures were distributed was the Royal George, which had 400 of the society's Bibles on board when it went down at Spithead, " with twice fo«r hundred men," on the 29th August 1782, 4 "THE POWER WITH THE NEED" [1804- fantastic and impracticable. As regarded the objects of other associations there was experience to appeal to ; here all seemed pure speculation. To print the Scriptures with- out note or comment, to scatter them broadcast, not only in these islands but throughout the peoples of the world ! It would perhaps have been consonant with human nature that Christian people, attracted by the novelty and piety of the plan, should have eagerly helped to give it effect, and that in the course of a few years it should have quietly lapsed into the background and have been forgotten. Now, indeed, we are able to see that the Bible is the ' ' best of missionaries " ; and time has proved that the Society has not only been blessed from year to year in the per- formance of its own distinctive work, but that it has enjoyed the privilege of supplementing the efforts and of minister- ing to the requirements of other religious organisations. Indeed, it is one of the arresting coincidences which mark its origin, that just at the time when Christian Missions on a large scale were established, there should have sprung up this Society which was to give them breadth and per- manence. But what a clear spiritual insight must have illumined the minds of those early workers ; how their hearts must have been strengthened by their confidence that, without the aid of any human words of guidance, the Word of God sufficed for the needs of the souls of men, and that God Himself would not fail to provide for the joyous acceptance of His message. Nor is this the only respect in which the foundation of the Society strikes the mind as a memorable event. So far as human agency is concerned, it may be said to have owed its existence to chance. Step by step seems to have been taken, less through natural foresight and constructive skill than through the flashings and promptings of a special intuition. "Almost everything," writes Mr Owen, the first historian of the Society, — "almost everything that is wise i8i7] THE ORIGINATING CAUSES 5 and efficient in the practical departments of the institution arose out of accidental and extemporaneous discussion." The simple facts warrant what might otherwise appear an extravagant statement, that there has rarely been an organisation the framing of which has so clearly shown that the casual, the fortuitous, the uncalculated, may be but the earthly disguises of the divinely appointed, and that those so-called "chances, which the best and sincerest men think providential,"! are in reality guidances, and, if rightly understood, may even be commands. The circumstances which led to the formation of the Society originated in Wales. During the closing decades of the century, and especially in the years following the great spiritual awakening in 1791-3, the scarcity of the Welsh version of the Scriptures had been keenly felt by the people and their religious teachers in the Principality. Applications had been made to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, which was the only source from which supplies could be expected. Unhappily, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, which had done noble work in the past, and for which a future of renewed vigour and world-wide usefulness was still in store, was at that time suffering from declining energy and straitened means. The five hundred Welsh Bibles, which was all that could then be obtained from that quarter, merely emphasised the destitution of the country, and stimulated earnest Christians to seek a remedy. Prominent among these last was the Rev. Thomas Charles of Bala. A zealous, indefatigable pastor, bright and sunny of temper, possessed of a peculiar faculty for influencing the young, he had set himself heart and soul to the task of enlightening the spiritual darkness which en- veloped North Wales. His father was a farmer of small means, but Charles had in early manhood been unexpectedly ^ Ruskin, The Pleasures of England, par. 102. 6 "THE POWER WITH THE NEED" [1804- enabled to go up to Oxford, and when his residence there was, like Whitefield's, on the point of being abruptly closed by the failure of his resources, Providence sent him the help he needed for the remainder of his stay at the University. In 1777 we find him spending the vacation at Olney with that marvellous Evangelical, John Newton, who from the horrors of the Guinea slave-trade had passed to the in- spiring ministry of George Whitefield, and who was now the friend of the unhappy poet Cowper, the almoner of the munificent John Thornton, and the counsellor of Thomas Scott, the commentator. In 1780 Charles was ordained, but there seemed to be no place for him within the Church of England. " I am a Churchman by principle," he declared, but certain Churchmen could not away with his too faithful and sharp-spoken preaching. Three curacies in succession had to be surrendered, and at last he threw in his lot with the Calvinistic Methodists of Wales. Summer and winter among the wild hills he carried the tidings of the Gospel, founding Sunday schools as he went, and supervising the itinerant schoolmasters whom he provided at his own expense for the benefit of the scattered villages. It was rarely in those years that he came upon a copy of the Bible. On the contrary, one heard of some pious child going for miles over the hills to read a chapter at a house in happy possession of the Word of God. One follows that youthful figure in fancy, summer and winter, save when the driving snow obliterates the wild track, and it is not strange that in later days the sweet Welsh maiden 1 should attract the interest of a new generation, and that her story should become, as it were, the initial incident in the history of the Society. As early as 1787 Charles had been in correspondence with Thomas Scott regarding this dearth of the Word of God, but with no satisfactory results. During the revival ^ See Appendix I. for the story of Mary Jones. i8i7] THE DEARTH OF WELSH BIBLES 7 in North Wales, fresh efforts were made to persuade the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge to print an edition of 10,000 copies. The Society, whose Bible work was only part of their scheme, questioned, doubted, declined ; they did not believe the sale would justify the large expenditure that would be incurred. It was not till 1796 that they consented to undertake the venture; and in 1799 when the edition, which consisted of 10,000 Bibles and 2000 extra Testaments, was published, it did not satisfy the needs of even a fourth of the country. Whole districts, especially in Montgomery, Cardigan, and Carmarthen, were left unprovided for. In the autumn of that year, while crossing the mountains, Mr Charles suffered from frost-bite, and fell so seriously ill that he was not expected to recover. At a special prayer-meeting at Bala, it is related, there was urgent supplication that the Lord would hear, as He had heard Hezekiah, and add to the days of His servant, if it were but fifteen years. The incident made a profound impression on Mr Charles ; and, strange to say, it was in 18 14, at the close of tlje fifteenth year, that he was called to the reward of his labours. , On his recovery once more he joined his friends — among whom the most active was the Rev. Thomas Jones of Creaton — in their efforts to obtain a further supply of the Welsh Scriptures. The final answer came in 1800, when the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge stated that they had no intention of publishing another edition. Various plans were now projected for an independent issue by private subscription, but all without success. Indeed, apart from the poverty of the people in Wales, it did not seem an auspicious time for sucjj under- takings. The country was threatened with inva^,Qn. In the autumn of 1800, the First Consul began to mass his forces against us ; by the following July a chain of camps 8 "THE POWER WITH THE NEED" [1804- extended along the coast from Ostend to Brest, and ships, gunboats, transports were collected for an overwhelming descent. Our own volunteers were ready to march ; parks of artillery stood harnessed for the bugle call ; strong picquets were mounted along the cliffs ; night signals from the Nore to Falmouth were ready to flash tidings, and a line of battle-ships patrolled the entire length of the French sea-board. On either side of the Straits glasses showed the movement of troops, and on the memorable 3rd of August 1 80 1 thousands of spectators on the heights of Dover and the French hills watched Nelson's attack on Boulogne. The Peace of Amiens brought a surcease to these dis- tractions and anxieties. In April London was illuminated, and immediately afterwards ships were hurriedly paid off, and the militia and fencible regiments disbanded. Prosperity and amity crowned this return of better days. The English flocked across to the Continent ; there were as many as twelve thousand of them in Paris in September. The harvest had been abundant everywhere in the kingdom, and by the close of the year the price of wheat had fallen from 76s. to 58s. 3d. a quarter. And here, incidentally, two details may be mentioned. On an application from the University of Cambridge, the Lord Chancellor this year decided that Bibles printed in Scotland could not be legally sold in England. The second point is more closely related to the interest of our story. Shortly after the declaration of peace, Mr Joseph Hardcastle, the treasurer of the London Missionary Society, formed one of a committee sent by his association to inquire in Paris as to the prospects of starting evangelistic work there. They found the ten-days' week of the worshippers of the Goddess of Reason abolished, and the Sunday restored to respect, but for three days they sought in vain for a single copy of the Bible ; and on their return their society resolved to distribute an edition of the New Testament in i8i7] CHARLES OF BALA IN LONDON 9 French, and voted ;^848 for the diffusion of Christian literature in France and Italy. Mr Hardcastle, who was one of the merchant-princes of the period, was also a member of the committee of the Religious Tract Society, of which his partner, Mr Reyner, was treasurer. Their premises were in Lower Thames Street, 1 and overlooked the river, close by the Old Swan Stairs, that ancient landing-place at which, in a white sheet, with a burning taper in her hand, a Duchess of Gloucester once did penance, and which marked the western limit of the waters of the Free Fishermen in those bygone days when one might see, and not merely " dream of London, small and white and clean." The committee meetings of the London Missionary Society and the Religious Tract Society were held in the counting- house, and it was here, in the early morning of the 7th December of this same year (1802), that Mr Charles, then in town for one of his regular periods of service at Lady Huntingdon's chapel, Spa Fields, submitted to the Religious Tract Society committee the besetting question : ' ' How a large and cheap edition of the Bible could be had in Welsh, and how, if possible, a permanent repository of Bibles could be procured, that there might be no more scarcity of them among the poor Welsh." Mr Charles was a country member of that committee, and in view of the bede-roll of the future Society, it is interesting to note that among those present were the secretary, the Rev. Joseph Hughes, Baptist minister in the "pleasant village" of Battersea ; the foreign secretary, the Rev. C. Steinkopff, pastor of the German Lutheran chapel in the Savoy ; Mr Tarn, Mr Reyner, and Mr Alers. ^ Identified and described by Mr Henry Morris in his interesting booklet, A Memorable Room. ^ In 1801 the population of London was 864,845 ; that of Manchester and Liverpool 84,020 and 77,653. The total population of England was 8,331,434, and that of Wales 541,546. lo "THE POWER WITH THE NEED" [1804- In the course of the discussion initiated by Mr Charles, Mr Hughes uttered the momentous suggestion: "Surely a society might be formed for the purpose ; and if for Wales, why not for the Kingdom ; why not for the whole world ? " It was hailed with enthusiasm ; week by week the project was debated ; friends were approached ; appeal was made to the public — through an admirable essay by Mr Hughes, The Excellency of the Holy Scrip- tures: an Argument for their more general Dispersion, — to assist in founding the " first institution that ever emanated from one nation for the good of all " ; a constitu- tion was drafted by Mr Samuel Mills, who lived to serve for forty-three years on the Committee of the Society which he did so much to organise, and at the general meeting of the Religious Tract Society in May 1803, the urgent need for the association was pressed with fervid eloquence. A few days later, and the war bugles were again blowing ; once more an army of invasion was being massed from the Seine to the Texel ; 11,000 English subjects of every age and description, who happened to be travelling in France, were seized as prisoners of war, and a similar act of barbarity was ordered in Holland, Switzerland and Italy. Britain promptly took up the challenge. The country became a huge camp with 100,000 troops of the line, 80,000 militia, and 340,000 volunteers under arms. Undisturbed, the committee of the Religious Tract Society continued their weekly sittings, pursuing their enquiries into the supply of the Scriptures at home and abroad, and securing the co-operation of influential supporters, — who do not appear to have been easily found. Apparently it did not trouble their peace that the Elbe and the Weser were closed against their shipping, that the forests of Hanover were being felled for his navy by "the obscure Corsican," and that all the ship-carpenters and boat-builders in France, between the age of fifteen and sixty, had been requisitioned i8i7] THE 7TH MARCH 1804 11 by the Government. As little were they concerned about the thousand British beacons which recalled the days of the Armada, the martello towers which squatted low on the sea-line, or the reviews held in Hyde Park by the good King George, who, it was pleasant to them to remember, had expressed the pious wish that every child in his dominions might be taught to read the Scriptures. By the beginning of 1804 they had won the allegiance of such distinguished men as William Wilberforce, Granville Sharp, Charles Grant, Zachary Macaulay, Lord Teignmouth, and Henry Thornton ; and at last the time seemed to have come for them to test the feasibility of the scheme by the verdict of a public meeting. An address was accordingly distributed among those who were thought likely to favour the proposal. A single passage will be sufficient to indicate the spirit of faith and courage which incited the projectors : — " If the present period is not the most auspicious to such undertakings, neither is there any danger of its being fatal to them. 'The wall of Jerusalem,' it is written, 'shall be built in troublous times.' In fact, how many successful efforts for the promotion of human happiness have been made amidst the clouds and tempests of national calamity ! It also should be remembered that the present is the only period of which we are sure. Our days of service are both few and uncertain : whatsoever, therefore, our hands find to do, let us do it with our might." On Wednesday, the 7th of March 1804, the public meeting was held at the London Tavern, 123 Bishopsgate Street.^ About three hundred persons of various religious denominations were present. Mr Granville Sharp presided, and after Mr Robert Cowie, Mr William Alers,^ Mr Samuel ' Situated on the west side of the street, and occupying the site now covered by the premises of the Royal Bank of Scotland. There also the annual meeting was held in May 1810. All subsequent annual gatherings took place in the Freemasons' Hall, Great Queen Street, up to 1831, when the Society met for the first time in Exeter Hall. ^ Afterwards Mr W. Alers Hankey. 12 "THE POWER WITH THE NEED" [1S04- Mills and Mr Hughes had spoken on the need for the Society, and the nature and range of its contemplated work, Mr Steinkopff described the scarcity of the Scriptures in the foreign parts he had visited, and appealed to the com- passion and munificence of British Christians on behalf of the spiritual wants of his German fellow-countrymen. The Rev. John Owen, curate and lecturer of Fulham, and chaplain to the Bishop of London, who had attended with much hesitation, now rose on the spur of "an impulse which," as he expressed it, "he had neither the inclination nor the power to disobey." What he felt may be best described in his own words : — "Surrounded by a multitude of Christians whose doctrinal and ritual differences had for ages kept them asunder, and who had been taught to regard each other with a sort of pious estrangement, or rather of consecrated hostility ; and reflecting on the object and the end which had brought them so harmoniously together, he felt an impression which no length of time would entirely remove. The scene was new : nothing analogous to it had perhaps been exhibited before the public since Christians had begun to organize against each other the strife of separation, and to carry into their own camp that war which they ought to have waged in concert against the common enemy. To him it appeared to indicate the dawn of a new era in Christendom ; and to portend something like the return of those auspicious days when the multitude of them that believed were of ' one heart and one soul ' ; and when, as a consequence of that union, to a certain degree at least, 'the Word of God mightily grew and prevailed.'"^ Inspired by these deep emotions, he threw in the weight of his advocacy, and moved the adoption of the resolutions establishing the British and Foreign Bible Society — the name suggested by Mr Hughes in place of the original ^ Owen, History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. i. p. 44. i8i7] A UNION OF ALL DENOMINATIONS 13 cumbrous title ^ — and embodying the general form and con- stitution of the organisation. These were carried with enthusiastic unanimity, an executive committee was elected, Mr Henry Thornton, M.P., was appointed Treasurer, and a sum exceeding ;£'joo was subscribed on the spot. Is it surprising that those who took part in these occurrences regarded the 7th of March as "fixing an im- portant epoch in the religious history of mankind," or that they discerned "the impress of a divine direction" in the events which had led up to it? At that time it must have seemed one of the most improbable things in the world that different communions of Christians, subordinating their personal convictions and prejudices to the achievement of one sacred purpose, should consent to unity of action. By the English Church at large the Evangelical clergy were viewed with dislike, often with aversion and contempt : the intolerance of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, even towards its dissenting subscribers,^ seems to us now incredible in a religious organisation ; Mr Owen himself, in honourable and feeling words, confessed the shame with which he often afterwards looked back on the astonishment he had felt at Quakers having been invited to take part in a work designed for the glory of God and the salvation of souls ! Yet it is, to-day, abundantly manifest that of all the conditions essential to success, the complete absence of a sectarian spirit, the generous fusion of all denominations, was the most indispensable. Such, and at a period so precarious, was the genesis of the British and Foreign Bible Society, which, as it were, from a grain of mustard seed waxed a great tree ; which, during the long course of a hundred years, has, under the vigilant scrutiny of a Committee unsurpassed in temper, judgment and assiduity, been a prompt and ' "A society for promoting a more extensive circulation of the Scriptures at home and abroad." 2 gtock, jUistory of the Church Missionary Society, vol. i. pp. 44-46. 14 "THE POWER WITH THE NEED" [1804-1817 munificent auxiliary in all forms of Christian effort and service ; which has brought the Word of Life within reach of the poorest at home, and at an expenditure of ;^i3)937)Ooo has distributed 180,000,000 copies of Scripture in languages spoken by seven-tenths of the population of the planet. Sanguine as he was, William Wilberforce thought ;;{^io,ooo the highest point in annual income that the Society could ever possibly reach. In its fourth year the revenue exceeded ;^ 12,000, in the sixth ;^27,ooo, in the ninth j^ 70,000 ; with fluctuations it rose to more than ;^ioo,ooo in 1851, and since 1883 it has not fallen so low as ;^200,ooo. The records of an ordinary commercial estab- lishment, trading for such a lapse of time and on such a scale of operations, would command attention. It cannot but be that a wondering interest, a deep emotion, will be awakened by the annals of an organisation which has been the almoner of five generations, whose labours have been so far-reaching, and whose object has been the eternal happiness of mankind. " Came the Whisper, came the Vision, came the Power with the Need." CHAPTER II THE SOCIETY FOUNDED Within a week of the formation of the Society the Com- mittee proceeded to business. At the outset they were confronted, in the appointment of officers, with the difficulty and delicacy of making an arrangement which should com- mend itself to all denominations. Here, too, one discerns the impress of that divine direction which had already com- bined so many sensitive and mobile elements. The first suggestion, that Mr Hughes should be chosen sole Secretary, was withdrawn, and denominational suscepti- bilities were safeguarded by the appointment of three Secretaries : the Rev. Josiah Pratt, secretary of the Church Missionary Society, to represent the Established Church ; the Rev. J. Hughes, to represent the Nonconformist Churches ; and the Rev. C. F. Steinkopff to represent the foreign Protestant Churches. A few weeks later the Rev. John Owen was elected in Mr Pratt's place, on the earnest recommendation of that gentleman. Mr Tarn was appointed assistant-secretary, and Mr Thomas Smith collector. This initial experience made clear the necessity of applying the same representative principle to the Committee itself. It was accordingly resolved, on a far-sighted proposal drawn up by Mr Pratt, that the Committee should consist exclusively of laymen ; that of the thirty-six members prescribed by the constitution, there should be fifteen members of the Church of England, fifteen members of other Christian communions, and six foreigners resident near London. Provision was also made for the admission 15 i6 THE SOCIETY FOUNDED [1804. of clergymen and ministers to a seat and a vote, on the terms which made them members of the Society. These important modifications were adopted at a general meeting of subscribers on the 2nd of May, and through the hundred years which have since gone by, this representative character has marked the constitution and operations of the Society. At one of the early meetings a distinguished speaker bore testimony to the fact that ' ' from the part taken and the sentiments uttered by the persons who take the lead in the conduct of the Society's affairs, he would not be able to ascertain who are the Churchmen and who are the Dissenters."^ The same tribute, which might have been justly paid at any time from that day onward, is equally appropriate at the close of the century. The following is a list of the first Committee on its reformed and permanent basis. As is becoming in the case of pioneers, their names, inscribed on a marble tablet, occupy a place of honour in the Bible House. THE FIRST COMMITTEE William Alers, Esq. Robert Howard, Esq. T. Babington, Esq. R. Lea, Esq., Alderman. Thomas Bernard, Esq. Zachary Macaulay, Esq. Joseph Benwell, Esq. A. Maitland, Esq. Wilson Birkbeck, Esq. Ambrose Martin, Esq. Henry Boase, Esq. Samuel Mills, Esq. Joseph Bunnell, Esq. Joseph Reyner, Esq. J. Butterworth, Esq. H. Schroeder, Esq. Robert Cowie, Esq. Granville Sharp, Esq. Charles Crawford, Esq. R. Stainforth, Esq. John Fenn, Esq. Joseph Smith, Esq. Sebastian Fridag, Esq. James Stephen, Esq. Charles Grant, Esq. Robert Steven, Esq. Claes Grill, Esq. C. Sundius, Esq. Joseph Hardcastle, Esq. Anthony Wagner, Esq. W. Henry Hoare, Esq. W. Wilberforce, Esq. Thomas Hodson, Esq. Joseph Wilson, Esq. John Daniel Hose, Esq. George Wolff, Esq. J Owen, History, vol. i. p. 52, i8i7] "WITHOUT NOTE OR COMMENT" 17 In connection with these constitutional amendments it should here be mentioned that, by a singular oversight, a provision which appeared in the first draft, to the effect that the Authorised Version should be the only one in English adopted by the Society, was omitted when the Laws and Regulations were enacted. Similarly, notwith- standing the unanimous intention of excluding everything sectarian, the insertion of a distinct clause to that effect was overlooked. Apparently the correction of these inad- vertencies was due to the friendly watchfulness of the Bishop of London (Dr Porteus), whom Mr Owen had interested in the welfare of the movement, and whose hesitation in regard to the projected Society had been overcome by the assurance that a fundamental rule of the Society was "the circulation of the Scriptures, and of the Scriptures only, without note or comment.'''' The following clause, confirmed at the first annual meeting, was there- fore added to the first article: — "The only copies in the languages of the United Kingdom to be circulated by the Society shall be the Authorised Version, without note or comment " ; and at a later date the all-important phrase, "without note or comment," was, for the sake of a more emphatic explicitness, transferred to the middle of the article, after the words " Holy Scriptures." Whether or not the full significance of the phrase was realised by those who adopted it, it echoed the cry of the ancient martyr-Church of the Waldenses, "The Bible whole and alone," and it gave a direct retort to the decision of the Holy See, that every translation of the Bible, in whole or in part, shall receive the imprimatur of the Bishop of the diocese in which it is to be published, and shall be accompanied by explanatory notes. ^ ' Canones et Decreta SS. (EcUmenici Consilii Tridentini, Sessio iv. See also Lasserre, Preface to Les Saints Avangiles, p. viii., which contains an earnest plea for the circulation of the Scriptures, and historic proof of the custom in the Early Church. VOL. I. B i8 THE SOCIETY FOUNDED [1804- The objects, principles, and method of the Society will, however, be found most lucidly stated in the text of the revised constitution. With the exception of the emendations just described, it differed but slightly from the original draft ; and, with a few changes to be noticed in due course, it remains the same at the present tirrie. LAWS AND REGULATIONS OE THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY I. The designation of this Society shall be the British and Foreign Bible Society, of which the sole object shall be to encourage a ^ wider circulation of the Holy Scriptures without note or comment : the only copies in the languages of the United Kingdom to be circulated by the Society shall be the Authorised Version.^ II. This Society shall add its endeavours to those employed by other societies for circulating the Scriptures through the British Dominions ; and shall also, according to its ability, extend its influence to other countries, whether Christian, Mahometan, or Pagan. III.' Each Subscriber of one guinea annually shall be a Member. IV. Each Subscriber of ten guineas at one time shall be a Member for Life. V. Each Subscriber of five guineas annually shall be a Governor. VI. Each Subscriber of fifty pounds at one time, or who shall, by one additional payment, increase his original subscription to fifty pounds, shall be a Governor for Life. VII. Governors shall be entitled to attend and vote at all Meetings of the Committee. VIII. An Executor paying a bequest of fifty pounds shall be a Member for Life ; or of one hundred pounds, a Governor for Life. IX. A Committee shall be appointed to conduct the business of the Society, consisting of thirty-six laymen, six of whom shall be foreigners, resident in London or its vicinity ; half the remainder shall be Members of the Church of England, and the other half Members of other denominations of Christians. Twenty-seven ^ of the above number, who shall have most frequently attended, shall be eligible for re-election for the ensuing year. ^ In 1856 "a" was changed to " the wider circulation." ^ On the 9th October 1901 it was unanimously decided at a special meeting of the Committee, that after the words "without note or comment" Article I. should read: "The only copies in the English language to be circulated by the Society shall be either the Authorised Version of 161 1, or the Revised Version of 1881-S, or both." ^ On the 29th January 1872 "twenty-seven" was changed to "thirty" at a special meeting of the Committee, and the alteration was confirmed at a general meeting of the Society. i8i7] THE LAWS OF THE SOCIETY 19 The Committee shall appoint all officers, except the Treasurer, and call Special General Meetings, and shall be charged with procuring for the Society suitable patronage, both British and Foreign. X. Each Member of the Society shall be entitled, under the direction of the Committee, to purchase Bibles and Testaments at the Society's prices, which shall be as low as possible. XI. The Annual Meeting of the Society shall be held on the first Wednesday in May, when the Treasurer and Committee shall be chosen, the accounts presented, and the proceedings of the foregoing year reported. XII. The President, Vice-Presidents and Treasurer shall be considered ex officio Members of the Committee. XIII. Every Clergyman or Dissenting Minister who is a Member of the Society shall be entitled to attend and vote at all Meetings of the Committee. XIV. The Secretaries for the time being shall be considered as Members of the Committee ; but no person ^ deriving any emolument from the Society shall have that privilege. XV. At the General Meetings, and Meetings of the Committee, the President, or, in his absence, the Vice-President first upon the list then present ; and in the absence of all the Vice-Presidents, the Treasurer ; and in his absence, such Member as shall be voted for that purpose, shall preside at the Meeting.^ XVI. The Committee shall meet on the first Monday in every month, or oftener if necessary. XVII. The Committee shall have the^power of nominating such persons as have rendered essential services to the Society, either Members for Life or Governors for Life. XVIII. The Committee shall also have the power of nominating Honorary Members from among foreigners who have promoted the objects of the Society. XIX. The whole of the Minutes of every General Meeting shall be signed by the Chairman.^ Another judicious and graceful service on the part of the Bishop of London was the suggestion that Lord Teignmouth was singularly fitted for the office of President. His lord- ' Altered in 1823 to "no other person." ^ In 1886, Feb. 15, Article XV. was. revised and divided, so as to read : " XV. The President shall be entitled to preside at all General Meetings, and in his absence such person as shall be nominated by the Committee. "XVI. The Meetings of the Committee shall be presided over by a Chairman, to be chosen by themselves, either for a particular meeting or for a period, as they may from time to time decide." ^ In consequence of the Apocrypha controversy, there were added at the General Meetings in 1826 and 1827 four supplementary provisions, which will appear in their proper place. See chap, i., Second Period. 20 THE SOCIETY FOUNDED [1804- ship heartily accepted the honour which the Committee pro- posed to confer upon him, and, as the experience of thirty years testified, no appointment could have been happier, more highly esteemed by the recipient, or more beneficial to the Society. Immediately afterwards Dr Porteus and the Bishop of Durham (the Hon. Shute Barrington) sent in their names as annual subscribers of five guineas. A few weeks later both these prelates and the Bishops of Exeter and St David's (the Hon. George Pelham and Dr Burgess) accepted the position of Vice-Presidents, and the list was completed by the addition of the names of Sir William Pepperell, Bart., Vice- Admiral (afterwards Lord) Gambier, Charles Grant, William Wilberforce, and Henry Thornton. The general work of the Society was divided and ap- portioned to various sub-committees, over whose operations and decisions the Committee retained complete power of confirmation, modification, and rescission. The constitution required that the latter should meet on the first Monday of every month, but from the outset the multiplicity of business has necessitated frequent adjournments to inter- mediate dates. Few causes have been more exacting in their demands on the time, energy, and zeal of their sup- porters, and the minute books furnish ample evidence that the call has at all times been responded to with promptitude and devotion. The modification of Art. XIV. of the con- stitution was occasioned by the decision — which was not arrived at until 1823, after Mr Owen's death, and eighteen years after the foundation — that a salary should be attached to the office of Secretary ; even then the amount was deter- mined more "by an economical attention to the finances of the Society " — the revenue at that time exceeded ;^90,qoo — "than by consideration of a compensation for services which no salary could adequately remunerate." To husband the resources of the Society for its one great i8i7] THE SOCIETY'S FIRST PROSPECTUS 21 purpose, to save personal expenses, to devote every penny if possible to the actual production and distribution of the Divine Word, were objects that were never lost sight of. Over and over again it is found on record that the honorarium for special services which called for such a recognition was declined in whole or in part, and devoted as a thank-offering for the privilege of sharing in the work. Grants of ;^300, ;^5oo, £750, ;^iooo, ;^2000, to Berlin, Abo, Copenhagen, Calcutta, form a significant contrast to the ;^300 assigned for the services of the Secretary. On the Committee and sub-committees, poli- ticians, public men, bankers, lawyers, merchants gave, and have always given, their time and experience both lavishly and gratuitously. Several steps were now taken to give due publicity to the existence and object of the Society. An official communication was made by the President to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge and to the Association in Dublin for discountenancing Vice and promoting the Knowledge and Practice of the Christian Religion. A prospectus, in which the annexed passages occur, was widely distributed, and struck a sympathetic chord in the heart of the country : "The reasons which call for such an institution chiefly I'efer to the prevalence of ignorance, superstition, and idolatry over so large a portion of the world ; the limited nature of the respectable societies [previously mentioned], and their acknowledged insufficiency to supply the demand for Bibles in the United Kingdom and foreign countries ; and the recent attempts which have been made on the part of infidelity to discredit the evidence, vilify the character, and destroy the influence of Christianity. " The exclusive object of this Society is to diffuse the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures by circulating them in the different languages spoken throughout Great Britain and Ireland ; and also, according to the extent of its funds, by promoting the printing of them in foreign languages and the distribution of them in foreign countries. " The principles upon which this undertaking will be conducted are as 22 THE SOCIETY FOUNDED [1804- comprehensive as the nature of the object suggests that they should be. In the execution of the plan it is proposed to embrace the- common support of Christians at large, and to invite the concurrence of persons of every description who profess to regard the Scriptures as the proper standard of faith." Assurances of approval and co-operation poured in from all parts of the three kingdoms. Thanks to the good offices of a warm friend to the Society, the pious and philanthropic Mr Dale of Glasgow, the Presbytery of Glasgow and the Synod of Glasgow and Ayr directed that collections should be made at all places of worship within their bounds ; various classes of Nonconformists in Scotland were active contributors ; in Wales, where the movement was recom- mended by Dr Warren, Bishop of Bangor, "there were none of our poor people," wrote Mr Charles, "willing to live and die without contributing their mites towards forward- ing so glorious a design " ; and these mites, together with the offerings of Welsh congregations, amounted in the course of a few months to ;^ 1,900. The subscriptions, donations, and legacies to the Society during the year showed an aggregate of jC5,Sg2. From the inquiries which were made by the officials and friends of the Society it became apparent that the dearth of the Scriptures was not confined to Wales ; it existed to an extent perhaps even greater in other parts of the kingdom ; in the south of Ireland, it was reported, not more than a third of the Protestant families were provided, while among Roman Catholic families, which were eight to one, one family perhaps in five hundred possessed a Bible. Advantage was at once taken of the process of stereotyping, which had just been revived in London,^ and which secured a cheaper and a constant provision ; and an ' The introduction of stereotype is involved in obscurity. The Sallust of William Ged of Edinburgh, printed non typis mobilibus std tabellis seu laminis fusis, of which there is a copy in the Royal Institution, London, bears date 1744, and Dutch folio and quarto Bibles were stereotyped in Holland in the eighteenth century. i8i7] ITS WELCOME ON THE CONTINENT 23 order was placed with the Cambridge University Press for a large number of English Bibles and Testaments, and for 20,000 Welsh Bibles and 5000 Testaments. It was not in these islands alone, however, that the Bible Society was heartily welcomed. From his visits abroad, his old connection with the Christian Society of Basel, and his position as foreign secretary of the Religious Tract Society, Mr Steinkopff was in touch with the religious leaders and associations of the Continent. In Germany, Switzerland, and elsewhere the formation of the Society was hailed with delight, and even among Roman Catholics it was regarded with interest. Communications were also received from M. Oberlin, the celebrated pastor of Ban de la Roche in Alsace, of whom we shall hear more later. These and other correspondents gave a melancholy picture of many parts of the Continent. Infidel writings had spread their corruption far and wide, and fire and sword had completed the work of desolation. In Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Hungary the need was extreme. "When sometimes I am privileged to give away a Bible or New Testament," wrote Mr Kiesling, a Nuremberg merchant and a correspondent of the Religious Tract Society, who travelled in these parts, "father and mother, son and daughter, are running after me, thanking me a hundred and a thousand times, kissing my hand and my coat, and exclaiming with tears of joy, ' May God bless you ; may the Lord Jesus bless you in time and to all eternity.'" Mr Kiesling's letter led the Committee, who had with clear prevision adopted the policy of self-help in preference to temporary relief, to volunteer a grant of ;^ioo if an association like their own were founded in Germany. Accordingly, on Ascension Day (loth May) 1804, the first Auxiliary Bible Society on the Continent was founded at Nuremberg, and a 5d. edition of 5000 copies of the 24 THE SOCIETY FOUNDED [1804- German New Testament was at once ordered for distribution in Austria and Germany. One thousand of these were placed by the London Committee at the disposal of a pious priest for distribution, by sale or gift, among the Roman Catholics of Swabia and Bavaria, with assur- ances of the sincere disposition of the Society to afford, as far as it consistently could, every aid to members of his communion. A further grant of ;^200 was after- wards made to the Nuremberg Society towards an ample impression of the complete Lutheran Bible. Two years later the society was transferred from the ' ' quaint old town of art and song" to Basel, which then became for some time the principal centre of distribution for Germany and the neighbouring countries. A similar grant of ;^ioo was offered for the promotion of a society in Berlin, where there was a great need for the Scriptures in Bohemian, and where there was a prospect of co-operation among influential persons. With a brief mention of a donation of ;^20 to Pastor Oberlin, to enlarge his distribution of German and French Bibles among the mountain villages of Alsace, this brief view of the Society's initial relations with the Continent may close for the present. The deliberations of the Committee had taken a still wider range. Early in the year their attention was drawn to what was reported to be the MS. of a Chinese trans- lation of the New Testament in the British Museum, and they had indulged the hope that its publication might be the means of introducing the knowledge of the Gospel among the three hundred millions of the Chinese Empire. On obtaining the opinions of experts, however, and dis- covering that the MS. was a harmony of the Gospels, apparently made from the Vulgate under the direction of Jesuit missionaries, and that each bound copy would cost the Society about two guineas to produce, they decided i8i7] CORRESPONDENCE WITH CALCUTTA 25 to proceed no further. In due titihe the attempt, which thus failed in London, was, with the aid of the Society, accomplished under more advantageous conditions in Serampore and Canton. The incident led to an invitation to the Baptist missionaries at Serampore and friends at Calcutta to con- stitute themselves into a committee for correspondence with the Society. The invitation was accepted, and these rela- tions prepared the way for the Auxiliary Bible Societies of Calcutta, Bombay, Colombo, and Batavia. The first application of the funds of the Society to the production of a foreign version of the Scriptures under its own direction was made in favour of 2000 copies of a Mohawk-English Gospel of St John, translated by Captain Norton, a chief of the Six-Nation Indians in Upper Canada — old and steady allies of Great Britain, to whom the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel had sent a mission in 1702. It was in connection with this translation that the principle of "without note or comment" was first put in force. Captain Norton had prefixed to the Gospel a spirited address to the Six Nations, but as soon as this was discovered it was ordered to be withdrawn as quite incompatible with a fundamental law of the Society. Five years later one of the Oneida braves who visited Salem carried in his bosom a copy of the little book. Now there occurred an episode in the Committee's experience, which, owing to misrepresentations, caused some annoyance at the time. It related to the text which Mr Charles of Bala had been commissioned to prepare for the new edition of the Welsh Bible. On the 21st January 1805, the Committee became aware that, "by order of the Board " of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, its secretary had forwarded to all the Bishops who were Vice-Presidents of the Bible Society an extract 26 THE SOCIETY FOUNDED [1804- from a letter from the Rev. John Roberts ("an eminent Welsh scholar employed by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in correcting the press of. the last Oxford edition of the Welsh Bible"), protesting against the improper orthographical alterations which had . been made by Mr Charles. Into the technical merits it is unnecessary to enter, for the Bible Society, on being informed that the Society for Promoting Christian Know- ledge, whose energies had evidently been stimulated by recent events, had determined to print an edition of the Welsh Bible, agreed, for the sake of uniformity, to adopt the same text. In this way the controversy was brought to an amicable conclusion. About this time the Committee adopted the idea of forming a Biblical Library, containing copies of every existing version of the Holy Scriptures, so that the Society might never be at a loss for a standard translation or the means of collation, should occasion arise for printing an edition on its own account. Instructions were given that copies of every translation, and of each edition printed under its auspices, should be sent to the Library, and the public were invited to assist in forming the collection. The first contribution came from Granville Sharp, who presented the Gothic New Testament translated by Bishop Ulfilas (a.d. 360), Bibles, Testaments, and Gospels, in twenty-six different tongues, an Arabic Psalter, and versions of the English Liturgy in Erse and Spanish. A generous response was made by other friends of the Society, so that at the end of the half century the Library contained about 5000 volumes of printed books and MSS., by far the greater part of which had been presented. There were versions of the Holy Scriptures in more than one hundred and fifty languages.^ ' An Historical Catalogue of the Biblical portion of the Library is passing through the press (1903). i8i7] THE THREAT OF INVASION 27 Let it not be forgotten that to these peaceful transactions there was a grim background of warfare. During the whole of this year, and for eight months of 1805, Napoleon was waiting for his "six hours' mastery of the Channel." It was an anxious and excited time. People like Southey might be ' ' provoked at the folly of any man who could feel a moment's fear for the country " ; but many doubted the endurance of our wooden walls and hearts of oak, and went to sleep half prepared to be aroused by tap of drum or glare of beacon-fire. Farmers returned from market with lengths of bunting, to be stitched by their girls and run up on their church-tower at the first news of the landing of the French. In at least one great house in Norfolk coaches were kept ready to whirl the children and the women into the depths of the Fen country, where Hereward had palisaded his Camp of Refuge nearly seven and a half centuries before. And there was some justification for troubled minds, for had not Government issued " Regulations for the Preserva- tion of good order, to be adopted in case of actual invasion ; " had not arrangements been made for the safety of Queen Charlotte and the royal princesses ; was there not an armed escort ready with thirty wagons to hurry the treasure of the Bank of England to the crypt of Worcester Cathedral ; was there not a sentry beside the big gun on Edinburgh Castle to start the beacons and church-bells in angry summons from sea to sea? But even as there is a cool spot in the heart of a flame, so, in the midst of this clamour and conflagration, there was a quiet and peaceful room, wherein a small body of Christian men — not patriots the less because they thought first of the Kingdom of Christ, and afterwards of the Kingdom of the Islands — gazed in spirit beyond these manifestations of a distracted world, and saw that the need of mankind was not a balance of power, or any human panacea, but the charter of that freedom wherewith Christ hath made us 28 THE SOCIETY FOUNDED [1804- free, and of that brotherhood which gathers us at the feet of the Father Everlasting. The times were hard too; Three per Cents, had fallen to 54I ; bread had risen till, in December 1804, it reached IS. 4Jd. for the quartern loaf. The year closed intensely cold, with such flights of sea-birds as "had not been known since the memory of man " ; and in January snow lay ten feet deep on the high ground between Oxford and Cheltenham. But whatever pinching there may have been among the poor, and notwithstanding the trepidation of the fearful, there was an undaunted spirit abroad. One who was baptized in 1803 in Dereham church, where William Cowper had been recently laid to rest, and who in after years did notable service for the Society, has given a vivid description of these times. "'Love your country and beat the French, and then never mind what happens,' was the cry of entire England. Oh, those were the days of power, gallant days, bustling days, worth the bravest days of chivalry at least; tall battalions of native warriors were marching through the land; there was the glitter of the bayonet and the gleam of the sabre ; the shrill squeak of the fife and the loud rattling of the drum were heard in the streets of the country towns, and the loyal shouts of the inhabitants greeted the soldiery on their arrival, or cheered them at their departure. And now let us leave the upland and descend to the sea-board ; there is a sight for you upon the billows ! A dozen men- of-war are gliding majestically out of port, their long bunt- ings streaming from the top-gallant masts, calling on the skulking Frenchman to come forth from his bights and bays ;■ — and what looms up yonder from the fog-bank in the east? a gallant frigate towing behind her the long, low hull of a crippled privateer, which but three short days ago had left Dieppe to skim the sea, and whose crew of ferocious hearts are now cursing their imprudence in an English hold."^ ' Borrow, Lavengi-o, chap. ii. i8i7] THE SHADOW OF NAPOLEON 29 The tension was not relaxed till the joy-bells rang out over the land the triumph of Trafalgar, with a single toll knelling sternly through the music in memory of Nelson, and the hosts of the Channel poured across the Rhine to the capture of Vienna and the brilliant sunrise of Austerlitz. Indeed, until the arrival of Napoleon at St Helena, ten years later, the history of the Bible Society must be read with the din and smoke of conflict ever present in one's memory. At this point one is impelled to anticipate. It would be difficult to depict more briefly and more truly than Borrow has done the fierce hostility, with its Viking brag and disdain, which at that time the mass of Britons felt towards France. In reality, however, it was a hatred rather of Napoleon than of the French people, though in action a distinction between the two could not well be drawn. With the fall of the Emperor the bitter national spirit began to subside, and towards that change the Bible Society contributed not a little. In the nineteen years that followed Waterloo some ;^76,ooo contributed by the people of England was spent by the Society in spreading the Scriptures among the French. Twenty years later the armies of England and France fought side by side in the Crimea. CHAPTER III GLIMPSES OF THE EARLY MEN Now that we have seen the Bible Society fairly started, it appears desirable that we should obtain some personal glimpses of the devoted men to whose hands, under divine providence, its destinies were intrusted. Happily the most illustrious of that goodly fellowship still live for us in the brilliant pages of the well-known Essays in Ecclesiastical Biography and Wilberforce and his Friends. Open the books, and Clapham is once more a green and sunny village of nightingales, and at the west end of the common the enchanted light of long-ago shines upon the homes of Henry Thornton and Charles Grant and William Wilberforce ; and under one hospitable roof or other, or in the shadow of the great trees, we may meet Granville Sharp, James Stephen, Zachary Macaulay, father of a more famous son, and perchance— if we are fortunate in our choice of the year — Samuel Taylor Coleridge, from, the wooded hills of Highgate. One picture, in clear colour, of pleasant evenings in those far-away summers has been preserved for us : — ' ' The sheltered garden behind, with its arbeil-trees and elms and Scotch firs, as it lay so still, with its close- shaven lawn, looked gay on a May afternoon, when the groups of young and old seated themselves under the shade of the trees, or were scattered over the grounds. Matrons of households were there, who had strolled in to enjoy a social meeting ; and their children busied them- 30 i8o4-i8i7] THE CLAPHAM CIRCLE 31 selves in sports with a youthful glee, which was cheered, not checked, by the presence of their elders. For neigh- bourly hospitality and easy friendship were features of that family life. "Presently, streaming from adjoining villages or cross- ing the common, appeared others, who, like Henry Thornton, had spent an occupied day in town, and now resorted to this well-known garden to gather up their families and enjoy a pleasant hour. Hannah More is there, with her sparkling talk, and the benevolent Patty, the delight of young and old ; ^ and the long-faced, blue- eyed Scotchman [Charles Grant], with his fixed, calm look, unchanged as an aloe-tree, known as the Indian Director, one of the kings of Leadenhall Street ; and the gentle Thane, Lord Teignmouth, whose easy talk flowed on like a southern brook, with a sort of drowsy murmur ; and Macaulay stands by, listening, silent, with hanging eyebrows ; and Babington in blue coat, dropping weighty words with husky voice; and young listeners, starting into, life, would draw round the thoughtful host, and gather up his words — the young Grants [afterwards Lord Glenelg, and Sir Robert, Governor of Bombay], and young Stephen, and Copley [Lord Lyndhurst], a very clever young lawyer. ... " But while these things are talked of in the shade, and the knot of wise men draw closer together, in darts the member for Yorkshire [William Wilberforce] from the green fields to the south, like a sunbeam into a shady room, and the faces of the old brighten, and the children clap their hands with joy. He joins the group of the elders, catches up a thread of their talk, dashes off a bright ^ Most readers will have forgotten Cowper's playful "Lines" (6th March 1792) written in Miss Patty Mora's album : — " In vain to live from age to age While modern bards endeavour, I write my name in Patty's page, And gain my point for ever." 32 GLIMPSES OF THE EARLY MEN [1804- remark, pours a ray of happy illumination, and for a few moments seems as wise, as thoughtful, and as constant as themselves. But this dream will not last, and these watchful young eyes know it. They remember that he is as restless as they are, as fond of fun and movement. So, on the first youthful challenge, away flies the volatile statesman. A bunch of flowers, a ball, is thrown in sport, and away dash, in joyous rivalry, the children and the philanthropist. Law and statesmanship forgotten, he is the gayest child of them all. ... "Or they vary their summer evenings by strolling through the fresh green fields into the wilder shrubbery which encloses Mr Wilberforce's demesne, Broomfield, not like Battersea Rise, with trim parterres and close- mown lawn, but unkempt — a picture of stray genius and irregular thoughts. As they pass near the windows they look out on the north, and admire the old elms that shade the slopes to the stream ; the kindly host hears their voices, and runs out with his welcome. So they are led into that charmed circle, and find there the portly Dean [Milner, of Carlisle] with his stentorian voice, and the eager Stephen, Admiral Gambler and his wife, and the good Bishop Porteus, who has come from Fulham to see his old friends, the Mores." ^ And who is this, in quaint wig and queue, that I see in fancy following one of the tracks which traverse the furze- sprinkled common? He is of medium height, and for all his seventy years, he carries himself with a modest dignity. His grave but kindly face is raised gently upwards, as though gazing in a day-dream on something which he is well pleased to look upon. It may be that in his heart he hears one of the songs of Zion, which it is still his joy to sing to his harp at the break of the new day — that harp which he maintains is fashioned in ^ J. C. Colquhoun, Wilberforce, his Friends and Times, pp. 306-8. i8i7] GRANVILLE SHARP 33 imitation of the son of Jesse's. In the sunny years gone by he had a pretty gift for music — the little nephews and nieces remember yet how he delighted them with pipe and tabor ; and — oh, the good days of gaiety and youth ! — what summer twilights were those on the upper river, when the barge floated past Richmond Hill and beyond Pope's villa, and the three brothers played harp and flute and hautboy, in accompaniment to the sweet voices of their sisters. Mark this gentle visionary, for whom the Scriptures are so full of promise and prophecy. Of the men of his age he is one of the most notable ; to him the world owes the charter of liberty expressed in the popular phrase, " As soon as a slave sets his foot on English ground he is free." Granville Sharp was born at Durham on loth November 1735- "The grandson of an Archbishop of York, the son of an Archdeacon of Northumberland, the brother of a Prebendary of Durham, he was apprenticed to a linen- draper of the name of Halsey, a Quaker, who kept his shop on Tower Hill. When the Quaker died, the indentures were transferred to a Presbyterian of the same craft. When the Presbyterian retired, they were made over to an Irish Papist. When the Papist quitted the trade, they passed to a fourth master, whom the apprentice reports to have had no religion at all. At one time a Socinian took up his abode at the draper's, and assaulted the faith of the young apprentice in the mysteries of the Trinity and the Atone- ment. Then a Jew came to lodge there, and contested with him the truth of Christianity itself. . . . He studied Greek to wrestle with the Socinian, he acquired Hebrew to refute the Israelite, he learned to love the Quaker, to be kind to the Presbyterian, to pity the Atheist, and to endure even the Roman Catholic."^ The story of those seven ' Stephen, Essays in Ecclesiastical Biography, on which I have freely drawn in this chapter. See also Mr Morris's handy little volume, Founders and Presidents of the Bible Society. VOL. I, C 34 GLIMPSES OF THE EARLY MEN [1804- years is typical of the whole life of the man. He next obtained a clerkship in the Ordnance Office, and the eighteen years that followed were marked by an activity on behalf of right and for the redress of wrong as chivalrous as it was laborious and intrepid. In 1765 he rescued a negro who had .been cruelly treated by his master and turned into the streets to starve, procured medical aid for him, watched over him till he was restored to health, and got him a situation. Two years later the master claimed his chattel, and brought an action against Sharp for illegal detention. The Lord Chief- Justice, Mansfield, favoured the claim ; other legal luminaries, and even Blackstone, concurred. Thrown on his own resources, Granville Sharp made the law his nightly study for the next two years, and arrived at the firm conviction that chancellors and judges were maintaining an interpretation repugnant to the spirit of English jurisprudence. The reward of his untiring energy and self-sacrifice came to him in 1772, when James Somerset, an escaped slave, applied to him for help. He determined to make this a test case ; he engaged counsel and supplied the arguments, but kept himself in the back- ground lest his name should prejudice the cause. " For the vindication of the freedom of that man there followed a debate ever memorable in legal history for the ability with which it was conducted, ... for the reluctant abandon- ment by Lord Mansfield of a long-cherished judicial error, and for the recognition of a rule of law of such importance as almost to justify the poets and rhetoricians in their subsequent embellishments of it ; but above all memorable for the magnanimity of the prosecutor, who, though poor and dependent and immersed in the duties of a toilsome calling, supplied the money, the leisure, perseverance, and the learning required for this great controversy, and who, mean as was his education, and humble as were his pursuits, had proved his superiority as a jurist, on one i8i7] HENRY THORNTON 35 main branch of the law of England, to some of the most illustrious judges by whom the law had been administered." This was clearly a man to whom half measures were intolerable. When orders reached his office for munitions of war to be sent out against the revolted American colonies, he resigned his post and his means of livelihood rather than take even a clerk's share in an act of injustice and tyranny. Afterwards, with the help of Government, he founded the settlement of Sierra Leone for the benefit of the slaves set free by the Somerset judgment, and when the anti-slave traffic crusade began in the House of Commons, he and James Stephen, who knew the West Indies, and Zachary Macaulay, who had witnessed the horrors of an Atlantic voyage on board a slaver, became Wilberforce's most efficient coadjutors. Such, in his wig and queue, with his gentle face gazing upwards at something pleasant to look on, is the first Chairman of the Bible Society. And the first Treasurer, Henry Thornton, appears as vividly before us, with his powdered hair and his blue coat with metal buttons. Not a handsome man, but one to arrest attention ; a strong Saxon face, with serene and capacious brows, blue eyes full and scrutinising, lips slightly parted, "as of one who listens and prepares to speak," and a resolute chin. The third son of John Thornton, a merchant prince . in the Russian trade and a philanthropist of more than princely munificence, Henry became a banker, and in 1783 was returned to Parliament for Southwark, which he represented for thirty-two years. Shrewd and careful in business, he was unbounded in his benevolence. In his earlier years he assigned to the poor six-sevenths of his income ; later, when he incurred the responsibilities of a family, he reduced his charity to one-third of his entire expenditure. The smallest annual sum ever spent in his 36 GLIMPSES OF THE EARLY MEN [1804- benefactions amounted to ^^2000. He seconded his beloved Wilberforce in his prolonged struggle with the slave trade, took a leading part in founding the Sierra Leone settle- ment, became chairman of the board when a company- was formed to promote its safety and prosperity, cheered and counselled with an untiring pen Zachary Macaulay, who had been appointed Governor on his suggestion ; sent out fresh supplies when the colony was half ruined by war, disease, and disaffection, and finally negotiated its transfer to the management of the Crown. In addition to his other activities he was an industrious writer, but the book by which he will best be remembered, and which even to this day is not unknown in many Christian households, is his Family Prayers. And this "diminutive and shapeless figure," with "limbs scarcely stouter than those of Asmodeus," which yet bears itself with the gallantry and gracious courtesy of a preux chevalier? This is William Wilberforce, the brilliant and fascinating companion of the charming women and the men of power and wit and genius of his epoch, the advocate and champion of every great project of Christian philanthropy, the generous benefactor of the poor, the friend of the good in every sect and communion. "God has set before me two great objects," he wrote twenty years before, ' ' the suppression of the slave-trade and the reformation of manners " ; and experience has taught him the value of combining against any evil, or for the promotion of any good, the scattered sympathies of all religious classes in one irresistible phalanx. Observe the distinction between Granville Sharp's object and that of Wilberforce. Sharp's was the abolition of slavery ; that of Wilberforce the abolition of the traffic. The former struck at the root of that evil tree "whose roots go down to hell " ; but the Somerset judgment did not affect the colonies, and hundreds of slave ships, "redolent i8i7] WILLIAM WILBERFORCE 37 of frankincense " according to the traders, passed yearly between the African coast and the New World. In 1789 Wilberforce delivered his first great abolition speech in Parliament — "one of the ablest and most eloquent ever heard in that or any other place " thought Bishop Porteus. Sustaining defeat after defeat, but constantly winning over and consolidating public opinion, he was in the midst of the conflict when the Bible Society was founded ; in this year (1805) there is but a majority of seven votes against the Bill ; in 1807 he will be able to thank a gracious Providence with his whole heart for the realisation of ' ' the great object of his life " ; but in the abolition of slavery itself he will find a new enterprise to engage his powers, and, in the end, to intrust to younger hands. Wilberforce was born in 1759 at Hull, where as a sickly child he attended a school kept by the Rev. Joseph Milner, the Church historian, assisted by his young brother Isaac, who afterwards rose to high academical distinction, and became the portly Dean with the stentorian voice, of whom we have already caught a glimpse in the green shades of Clapham. Even as a lad his soul revolted against the barbarities of the negro traffic, though that indeed might have been expected from a generous and sensitive temperament. At an early age he came into a large fortune ; within six weeks of his attaining his majority he entered public life as member for Hull, and four years later he was returned for Yorkshire. It was in 1785, when he was in his twenty-sixth year, that the Divine Light guided him into the new way in which he was to serve mankind. "Wilberforce told me much of his history in a delight- ful tete-a-tete conversation," writes Joseph John Gurney.^ "Amongst other things he told me that he had travelled to Nice with Milner, Dean of Carlisle : the two friends ^ Hare, The Gurneys of Earlham, vol. ii. p. 52 38 GLIMPSES OF THE EARLY MEN [1804- read the whole of tlje New Testament together on that journey, and the single perusal was so blessed to Wilber- force that he became a new man. He renounced the world, and devoted himself to the fear and service of Almighty God. When he arrived at Nice, he found in the chamber of his sick relative a copy of Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. He read it with eagerness, and it was the means of confirming and completing his change." He sought the advice of John Newton, who by this time had left Olney for St Mary Woolnoth, and that ex- perienced counsellor made it clear that his duty lay in the advancement of his Master's cause in the position in which he had been placed. And here, notable even among men so variously gifted, are two — Charles Grant and Lord Teignmouth — who, for the future Oriental work of the Bible Society, appear to have been most providentially brought together from the ends of the earth. In March 1746, a few weeks before the clans were scattered on Culloden Moor and his own father had fallen severely wounded, Charles Grant was born at Aldourie Farm on the shore of Loch Ness. At the age of two-and- twenty he landed in India, where he saw and helped to relieve that terrible famine which swept away four millions in Bengal, Behar, and Orissa. In 1773 he entered the East India Company's service, in which he rose rapidly, and after his retirement he thrice occupied the high position of chairman of its Court of Directors, — "was regarded indeed as the real ruler of the rulers of the East." "At Leadenhall Street he was celebrated for an integrity exercised by the severest trials ; for an understand- ing large enough to embrace, without confusion, the entire range and the intricate combinations of their civil and military policy ; and for nerves which set fatigue at defiance." Convinced that the greatest blessing England i8i7] LORD TEIGNMOUTH 39 could bestow upon the East was the ' ' knowledge of our religion," he formed at Calcutta a scheme for a Bengal Mission, which, though it failed in its object, led indirectly to the establishment of the Church Missionary Society ; it was on his suggestion that Carey, ' ' the obscure Baptist cobbler," took up his station at Serampore ; in 1793 he induced Wilberforce to move Parliament for facilities for the evangelising of India ; but the East India Company took alarm, the Mission clauses were struck out of their Charter Bill, and — to use the words of Wilberforce — "our territories in Hindostan, twenty millions of people included, were committed to the protection of — Brama." In 1802 his entrance into Parliament enabled him to further the great projects he had at heart. To-day one of his dreams is a new college for the India Service ; in a little while it will be known as Haileybury, and it will number among its famous sons men of the type of John Lawrence and Charles Trevelyan. Of this goodly fellowship at Clapham most interesting to us is "the gentle Thane," Lord Teignmouth, who for thirty years presided over the deliberations of the Bible Society. He came of the old stock of Derbyshire Shores, whose memory lingers about the venerable and once moated Hall of Snitterton, near Matlock, and the Shore trees, which still stand on Oker Hill. These last, it is true, may have been planted as a "fond memorial" of their parting by the Two Brothers of Wordsworth's sonnet — " 'Tis said that to the brow of yon fair hill ; " but according to another tradition, they represent one William Shore and his wife, looking down on Wensley and Darley and the goodly lands which, as far as they could see, belonged to their forefathers. John Shore purchased the manor of Snitterton early in the reign of Elizabeth ; in 40 GLIMPSES OF THE EARLY MEN [1804- recognition of the loyal services of the family, his grandson John, a physician of Derby, was knighted by Charles IL soon after the Restoration ; Sir John's grandson, Thomas, inherited the lucrative position of supercargo to the East India Company, and the eldest son of Thomas was John Shore, who became Lord Teignmouth. The lad entered the Company's service at an early age. Applying himself on his arrival in India to the mastery of Bengali, Hindustani, Arabic, and Persian, he was quickly advanced from the office of assistant-supervisor at Moorshedabad to a position on the Council of Revenue at Calcutta. Here he began a friendship with Warren Hastings, in whose company, in 1785, he returned to England. He was next appointed by the Court of Directors to the Supreme Council of three, created under Mr Pitt's India Bill, and on the voyage out contracted a lasting friendship with Lord Cornwallis, the new Governor-General. Three years were spent in effecting many financial and judicial reforms, and in 1789 he again returned home. In 1792 he was created a baronet, and once more sailed for India, to assume the power and responsibilities of Governor-General in the following year. An entry in his journal indicates the spirit in which he entered on his task of empire : " Grant, I beseech Thee, that I may on all occasions regulate my conduct by the rules and precepts of Thy Word ; and that in all doubts, dangers, and embarrassments, I may always have grace to apply to Thee for support and assistance. Grant that under my government, religion and morality may be advanced." His sincerest admirers agree in regarding his natural powers as unequal to the burthen laid upon them in these eventful years. Still his administration was not unworthy of his Christian profession, and the judgment of Sir James Stephen seems, in its frank impartiality, to be less a disparagement of the character and capacity of the Governor- i8i7] HIS CAREER IN INDIA 41 General than an ironical appreciation of the Gospel of the Sword: — "Empire cannot be built up, either in the West or in the East, in contempt of the laws of God, and then be maintained according to the Decalogue. . . . Sir John Shore was the St Louis of Governor-Generals. But if Clive had been like-minded, we should have had no India to govern. If Hastings had aspired to the title of 'The Just,' we should not have retained our dominion. If Wellesley had ruled in the spirit of his conscientious predecessor we should infallibly have lost it." The calm determination and unswerving courage of the course Sir John Shore took during the crisis in the Kingdom of Oude, when, at the risk of assassination, and yet without the firing of a shot, he deposed and banished the Pretender, Vizier Ali, and enthroned the brother of the deceased Nawab, were the qualities of no ordinary man, and well merited the opinion of the Court of Directors, " that the Governor-General, in a most arduous situation, conducted himself with great temper, ability, and firmness, so that he finished a long career of faithful service by carrying into execution an arrangement which redounds highly to his honour." At Lucknow he received the news of his successor's appointment, and of his own elevation to the peerage, and on the 7th March 1798 he embarked for England. His life and his fortunes up to this point may, in the dispensation of Providence, have been but a preparation for the duties which were the delight of his mature years. ' ' So high a trust could not have fallen into hands more curiously fitted for the discharge of it. There met and blended in him as much of the spirit of the world and as much of the spirit of that sacred volume as could combine harmoniously with each other. To the capacious views of a man long conversant with great affairs, he united a submission the most childlike to the 42 GLIMPSES OF THE EARLY MEN [1804- supreme authority of those sacred records. To the high bearing of one for whose smile rival princes had sued, he added the unostentatious simplicity which is equally beyond the reach of those who solicit, and of those who really despise, human admiration. ... An Oriental scholar of no mean celebrity, and not without a cultivated taste for classical learning, he daily passed from such pursuits to the study of the sacred oracles — as one who, having sojourned in a strange land, returns to the familiar voices, the faithful counsels, and the well-proved loving-kindness of his father's house. To scatter through every tongue and kindred of the earth the inspired leaves by which his own mind was sustained and comforted was a labour in which he found full scope and constant exercise for virtues, hardly to be hazarded in the government of India."! In the lapse of years a dimness has fallen on the personality of those other worthies, who, if socially less brilliant, were not less distinguished for the part they took in the work of the Society. The Rev. Joseph Hughes was born at Holborn on ist January 1769, took his degree at Aberdeen, where he formed the first Sunday school in the district, and was for some time Professor at the Baptist College at Bristol. In those days one of his pupils — only a year and a half younger than himself — was John Foster, in whose letters we get some conception of the man ; and among his friends were Jay of Bath and Hannah More, and Coleridge, whom he met at Joseph Cottle's. After his marriage to Miss Hester Rolph of Thornbury, he became assistant minister at Broadmead, and finally, in 1787, was appointed to the charge of the congregation of Battersea, where he was received into friendly intercourse by the Evangelical circle at Clapham. He was present at the meeting at which the ' Stephen, Essays in Ecclesiastical Biography, p. 566. i8i7] THE REV. C. F. STEINKOPFF 43 formation of the Religious Tract Society was suggested by the Rev. George Burder, offered the first prayer when it was started on 9th May 1799, was its first secretary, and discharged that office, together with the duties of Secretary to the Bible Society, to the last day of his life. In travelling, speaking, and preaching he was indefati- gable, and his services were given without a thought of private benefit or self-seeking, for, though in later years he was constrained to accept remuneration from the Bible Society, the whole was devoted to works of mercy. Dr Steinkopff was born on the 7th September 1773, at Ludwigsburg, among the hills of the Waiblingen region — a second capital of Wiirtemberg, due to the folly of Duke Eberhard Ludwig, by that time forgotten, but alive naughtily enough less than fifty years before. He was educated at Stuttgart, and in 1790 joined the Evangelical Theological Seminary at Tubingen, where he entered on his career as a minister of the Gospel. Five years later he was appointed secretary to the Christian Society of Basel, at that time a centre of manifold religious agencies. He was next chosen pastor to the German Lutheran church in the Savoy, London, and began his ministry there in November 1801. He was then eight-and-twenty ; handsome, winning, eloquent, and eager to enter into the furtherance of every religious enterprise. We soon find him aiding the Church Missionary Society to find German missionaries, and par- ticipating in the discussions of the Religious Tract Society, in whose foreign transactions he took an active interest. Not least of the innumerable services he rendered to the Bible Society was that speech of his on its foundation day, which the Rev. John Owen — very suspicious of Quakers, very chary of committing himself to chimerical schemes — listened to with growing emotion ; which at last brought him to his feet on the spur of " an impulse which he had neither the inclination nor the power to disobey." 44 GLIMPSES OF THE EARLY MEN [1804- Dimmest of all these figures is the Rev. John Owen, Curate and Lecturer of Fulham, Chaplain to the Bishop of London, Church of England Secretary to the Bible Society, and its first historian. A man of no little personal dignity, one conceives him ; not free from prejudices, but eager to be just ; quick in temper, yet even more quickly moved to a sympathetic tenderness. He appears as expressly designed for his office as was Lord Teignmouth for the presidential chair. He was perhaps the one man in London who could introduce the Society with acceptance to Bishop Porteus, and so accomplish that decided con- nection with the Established Church which was a condition essential to the prosperity of the project. He himself acknowledges, with the winning frankness which charac- terises him, the generous forbearance and the liberal policy which, from the first, favoured the pre-eminence of the Established Church ; and no proof more striking could be instanced of the staunch fidelity of the other denomina- tions than the fact that Mr Owen could use the following retort without fear of misinterpretation or of resentment : "They who think to discredit the Institution by charging it with a Dissenting origin may be reminded that, whatever may have been the case with respect to its rudiments, a member of the Established Church presided at the formation of the Society, and a minister of that Church moved the resolutions by which it was formed." Born in 1766 in Old Street — the oldest of London streets, an aboriginal track indeed through forest and marsh before London was — Owen had been educated at St Paul's, and had had a career of some distinction at Cambridge. He travelled as tutor on the Continent in the early nineties; arrived at Lyons in those "red fool fury" days, in which the city was ransacked to find a Bible to tie to an ass's tail for some sacrilegious revel ; got away, safe and scared, with his "young gentleman" to Switzerland; i8i7] THE REV. JOHN OWEN 45 and returning home, set to work, after his ordination and marriage in 1794, On The Retrospect, or Reflections on the State of Religion and Politics in France and Great Britain, two volumes of Travels in Different Parts of Europe, The Christian Monitor of the Last Days, to talie no account of sermons. In 1795 Bishop Porteus appointed him to the curacy of Fulham, where he Hved for seventeen years, and in 1808 installed him Rector of Paglesham in Essex. He published The Fashion- able World Displayed, "by Theophilus Christian, Esq." — which reached a second edition in 1805, and a copy of which, even at this date, comes occasionally to the surface in the second-hand catalogues. A fervid, indefatigable man, with a pen almost too fluent ; only thirty-eight when the Society was founded; "a remarkable man," Dr Paterson thought long afterwards, "the prince of platform speakers; a warm and steady friend." One of his daughters married Wilber- force's eldest son ; other personal matters have faded out of remembrance. To this small group of the early men ought to be added other figures, for many besides these contributed to make the Society what it became. Pass, honoured names, — Hardcastle and Reyner and Tarn, Mills and Alers and Sundius, Townsend and Pellatt, whose work was not done for glory or for reward ; and thou, too, with the rest, great but humble shade of Josiah Pratt, whose seal is impressed on the constitution of the Committee to this hour ! CHAPTER IV THE SECRET OF THE SOCIETY'S SUCCESS (l.) If in the establishment of the Bible Society we have evidence of divine direction prompting the acts and shap- ing the counsels of men, it seems to us that during the early years of its operations the same spiritual influence may be even more clearly discerned in the undreamed-of develop- ments which have now to be recorded. It was not to resourceful prevision, to ingenious and effective organisation, to eloquent advocacy on the part of its founders, that the marvellous growth of the institution was due. These were not wanting, and, however sub- ordinate, were indeed essential. With speech and pen, ever prudent, conciliatory, and single-hearted, the Secretaries were indefatigable. As we shall see, they travelled far and often, and their labours were lifelong. Their sole end was to ascertain the needs of every town and village and upland cottage, and to supply them ; the obvious means to that end was to proclaim throughout the length and breadth of the land the existence and the purposes of the Society, and to obtain patronage and financial support. How far, by these means alone and unaided by the unforeseen expansions of public piety, they would have realised their object, it would be rash to determine, but, humanly speaking, there can be little doubt that the subscriptions, donations, legacies and collections, on which Mr Wilberforce was probably reckoning when he estimated the extreme limit of the Society's income at ;^io,ooo a year, would never have 48 1804-1817] UNFORESEEN DEVELOPMENTS 47 produced the large revenue which has enabled it to prosecute its sacred mission throughout the four quarters of the world. At the beginning both the collections and the annual subscriptions were remarkable for their liberality, and, indeed, they have been throughout most generous and helpful ; but the yearly increase in the latter was slow ; and in regard to the collections, although, as in Glasgow especially, attempts were made to convert them into per- manent sources of income, there was necessarily an element of uncertainty that would always have checked the energies of the Committee, and chilled the spirit of faith and confidence to which we must ascribe the promptitude and splendid boldness of so many of their undertakings. Still more uncertain in character were the donations and legacies. But if the Committee and the Secretaries were denied the prevision and initiation in regard to this new development which was to give the institution absolute stability and a range of usefulness beyond all preconception, they instantly perceived its value and urged its extension. ^ In fact the principle which, by a happy inspiration, they had adopted for the Continent, contained unrecognised the germ of the Auxiliary Societies, and prepared the way for their general acceptance. As a rule, institutions insist on centralisation ; it is the law of egotism in the State as in the individual : the success of the Bible Society was to be dependent on the utmost decentralisation possible. The first indication of the new movement was the establishment in London, in July 1805, of "an associa- tion for the purpose of contributing to the fund of ' Mr Owen distinctly states that the earUest Auxiliaries "appear to have risen altogether from local and insulated exertion ; they were not, at least, indebted for their production, so far as the author has been able to learn, to any efforts or com- munications issuing from the conductors of the parent Society." The Kendal, Leicester, and Hull Auxiliaries, founded in 1810, were "substantially of the same description. . ..." "But in the formation of those at Manchester, Bristol, and Sheffield," he goes on to remark, "there were circumstances, which, through all their stages, from their origin to their completion, connected them with the ofificers of the parent Society " — and especially with the Church Secretary himself. 48 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [iSo^- the British and Foreign Bible Society," based on the consideration that "many persons who on account of their subscriptions to other societies, or on account of the narrowness of their means, would not be justified in becoming direct members of the Society, would yet be desirous of contributing somewhat proportioned to their ability." Members began with a donation of not less than 2s., and not more than 7s., and subscribed monthly not less than 6d. and not more than is. Each member in turn was to collect for a year from eight members, including himself, and to deliver the subscriptions quarterly to the treasurer, who was to transmit the aggregate to the Bible Society every February. In April 1806 the Birmingham Association was formed on a plan which in one respect approached more closely to the conception of the future Auxiliary. The town was divided into twelve districts, and collectors were appointed for each. The ministers of the various denominations were requested to adopt such measures with their congregations as would best conduce to general co-operation ; the pro- moters, the clergy, and the magistrates were appointed a committee to transmit the subscriptions and donations to the Bible Society "as the united contribution of the different denominations of Christians in the town of Birmingham, together with a list of names of such subscribers who may be entitled to be supplied with books at the Society's prices." The efforts of both these Associations were heartily appreciated, and their example was strongly commended for imitation ; but it was not till 1809 that the regular Auxiliary Bible Society took form. Reading led the way on the 28th March, and two days later the Nottingham Auxiliary was established.^ ^ The Greenock and Port Glasgow Bible Society was formed in 1807 for the purpose " of circulating the Holy Scriptures in places where they were most wanted, r__/'A^: i/ie'i'^^^Ac?99ta:^) ibn.a^tlea . i8i7] RULES FOR THE AUXILIARIES 49 The characteristic clause in the constitution of the former was contained in the resolution, "that this society adopt as far as possible the rules and regulations of the parent Society." In the Nottingham organisation it was provided that "one half of the amount of the funds of the society shall be subscribed to the British and Foreign Bible Society, and the remainder appropriated to the discharge of the expenses of the society, and to purchase Bibles and Testaments of the British and Foreign Bible Society to be distributed for the benefit of this town and neighbourhood." Broadly speaking, these conditions formed the basis of all the Auxiliaries, which now began to spring up in rapid succession, until in 1814 a set of rules, drawn up by Mr Richard Phillips, a member of the Committee, and Mr C. S. Dudley, sometime a member of the Committee and afterwards one of the Society's agents, and revised, sanctioned and published by the Society, intro- duced a general uniformity, and rectified the inconveniences which arose from irregularity and absence of system. ^ Let us endeavour to realise the results involved in this new development, on which so much stress has been laid. Figures are generally supposed to be unpicturesque and repellent, but figures alone can place in a vivid light the marvellous change which was now being effected in the power and the prospects of the Bible Society. Consider the following table, which displays the revenue derived from the four sources to which the Society owed its efficiency from 1805 to 1809. and of assisting other societies which have the same views " ; but as it was not exclusively associated with the British and Foreign Bible Society, it stands apart from the list of professed Auxiliaries. ' These rules, which were revised but not materially altered in 1852, provided for a close inquiry into the needs of the locality, which were to be supplied by sale at prime cost or reduced prices, or gratuitously, according to circumstances. Subscrip- tions and donations, after the deduction of incidental expenses, were to be remitted to the parent Society on the understanding that the Auxiliary should be entitled to receive Bibles and Testaments at prime cost to the value of half the entire amount remitted. VOL. I. D 50 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- Annual Subscriptions. Collections. Donations. Legacies. Auxiliaries. Totals. 1805-6 ^1,510 ^5,943 .£1,127 ... .£8,580 1806-7 2,004 1,321 2,038 ... 5,363 1807-8 2,493 1,467 1,359 ^200 5,519 1808-9 2,686 1,914 930 30s ... 5,835 1809-10 3>625 4,346 300 68 £s ,945 14,284 Note the significance of the Auxiliaries. The moment they appear, the revenue which they produce is consider- ably in excess of that derived from any other single source of income during an unusually prosperous year. It exceeds in itself the total revenue from all sources in each of the three preceding years. But even this effect, striking as it is, is but a faint glimmer of the golden dawn which was breaking on the prospects of the Society. In 1811-12 the income con- tributed by the Auxiliaries was more than twice as large as that from all the other sources together; in 1812-13 more than five times as large; in 1813-14 more than six times; in 1814-15 more than seven times; in the following year, when some distress was caused by the inrush of disbanded troops, more than ten times. The annexed table will make it clear how completely the Society came to depend on its Auxiliaries for its splendid activity and for the success of its daring enter- prises during the thirteen years which we purpose to treat as the first period of its history. Much blessed work would no doubt have been accomplished on the smaller revenue ; but would the eye of faith have ever been privileged to trace those countless threads, invisible but unquestionable, which shortly afterwards joined in spiritual relationship thousands of Christians in English towns and villages with Mohammedan and Jew ; with German and Spaniai-d, with Russian and Italian, Swede and Greek; with Hindu and Negro and Red Indian ; with the Green- lander in his kayak, the Kalmuk horseman on the scorching i8i7] IMPORTANCE OF THE AUXILIARIES 51 steppe, the Eskimo in his snowy hut, and the Tahitian on his tropic isle? Annual Subscriptions. Collections. Donations. Legacies. Auxiliaries. I8I0-H ^3,831 ^2,335 ;£2,997 ;£383 £(>,o7i I8II-I2 4,077 1,098 4,150 304 24,813 I8I2-I3 4,095 1,151 4,265 1,138 55,099 I8I3-I4 3,109 959 2,651 925 53,403 1814-15 3,272 1,406 2,429 1,312 61,848 I8I5-I6 3,058 811 1,248 378 55,450 I8I6-I7 2,764 654 3,335 1,478 52,027 That the importance of this providential development has not been exaggerated in regard either to its permanence or its relative helpfulness may be most convincingly proved by reference to the details of two more annual statements taken, one from the middle of the century, and the other from its closing year. Annual Subscriptions. Collections. Donations. Legacies. Auxiliaries. 1853-4 .£1,970 £i9S £apS7 ^15,781 ^35,875 1900- 1 2,574 915 11,290 37,163 64,701 Legacies paid through Auxiliaries, ^9,645. The vast increment in contributions was by no means the sole advantage derived from the Auxiliaries. They co- operated with the parent Society in the home distribution of the Scriptures to an extent which in all probability could never have been otherwise practicable. "It is scarcely necessary," Mr Browne observes,^ "to say how much better qualified they were, both to ascertain the wants of the poor, and to apportion the degree of supply in their several districts, than those could have been who must have depended for their information in these matters upon merely written and transmitted statements." The Bristol Auxiliary, he points out as an illustration, distributed locally 4210 Bibles and Testaments during the 1 Browne, History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. i. p. 42. 52 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- first year of its existence ; and the Manchester and Salford Auxihary as many as 7034. An isolated instance, however, is but a straw which shows the direction in which the wind blows ; it will not assist us in ascertaining its dynamic pressure. Let us turn for fuller information to the records of sales. The sale-figures themselves, it must be premised, require to be handled with circumspection. One is apt to associate them with revenue, but in reality they represent only so much segregated capital, which, after undergoing various protean changes, returns annually more or less sensibly diminished. Unlike most business transactions, the sales of the Bible Society frequently involve considerable loss, and almost invariably result in no commercial profit. Apart from the fluctuating element of "reduced prices" necessitated by the circumstances of the poor and indigent, it is only necessary to bear in mind the arrangement which applied to the members of the Society and to the Auxiliaries and their Branches, to understand the exceptional condition which differentiates these sales from those of other establish- ments. "Every annual subscriber will be allowed to purchase within the year Bibles and Testaments to the amount of five guineas for every guinea subscribed, at a deduction of 20 per cent, from the prime cost." The following statement of the sales which took place to the close of the year 1813-14 is singularly suggestive: — 1804-5 . £ 1809-10 ■ .£6,428 1805-6 121 1810-11 • 8,433 1 806-7 889 1811-12 • 6,903 1807-8 • 3,793 1812-13 ■ 9,525 1808-9 ■ 4,959 1813-14 . 24,766 The efficacy of the Auxiliaries in stimulating the circula- tion of the Holy Scriptures is saliently demonstrated by the fact that, while in the first five years the sales amounted to ;^9763 and the number of copies distributed was 158,429, i8i7] THE BIBLE ASSOCIATIONS 53 the sales in the second five years, during which the AuxiHaries arose, increased to ;^56,o55, and the number of copies distributed was 828,658. And projecting our view into the future, we find the evidence confirmed by the returns for 1854, when, it appears, the total sales amounted to ;^65,358, which included ;^43,790 derived from the sales to the Auxiliaries. While, however, this is undoubtedly the case, the sudden leap in the amount of sales from ^9,525 in 1812-13 to ;^24,766 in 1813-14 seems to call for explanation, and that the more especially when we observe that the sale- figures in these and the succeeding years bear no deter- minable relationship to the revenue derived from the Auxiliaries. Contributions from Auxiliaries. Sales. I8I2-I3 .£55,099 ;£9,524 I8I3-I4 53,400 24,766 1814-15 61,848 27,560 I8I5-I6 55,450 29,927 I8I6-I7 52,027 21,954 The explanation is contained in the fact that at this point we come in touch with those extraordinary out- growths of the Auxiliaries — the Bible Associations, which, springing up from time to time, had now by their number and the excellence of their organisation begun to exercise a notable influence in the economy of the Society. It is a curious circumstance that during the deliberations of the founders in 1803, the Rev. Mr Williams of Birmingham suggested the formation of local associations, to which the poor might pay for Bibles in penny weekly instalments, and through the aid of which the prices might be further reduced ; but consideration of the proposal was post- poned until the formation of the Society should have been accomplished. In 181 1 the system in vogue among the Auxiliaries for the circulation of the Divine Word was 54 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- investigated by Mr Phillips, who was speedily impressed by the insufficiency of the existing means both for ascertain- ing the requirements of the great mass of the population, and for providing an adequate supply. Little if any idea was entertained of ascertaining with correctness the proper objects of relief, or of stimulating the humbler classes to aid themselves and to co-operate according to their means in the promotion of the general cause ; nor was it generally understood that sale, at however reduced a price, was in- variably to be preferred to gratuitous donation. "Mr Phillips conceived it possible to interest the poor themselves ; to create a desire for that sacred treasure which so many thousands of them had never possessed ; and to liberate the funds of the Auxiliary Societies for the general object, while the home supply should be more effectually secured," and that too in a manner calculated to enhance its value. ^ He drew up a code of rules, which was recommended for general adoption by the Committee. The rules pro- vided that members should subscribe not less than a penny weekly ; that the neighbourhood should be divided into districts, and a sub-committee appointed to each district to solicit subscriptions ; that the sub-committee should inquire into the needs of each district and supply them at prime cost, reduced prices or gratis, according to circumstances ; that the Association should be so affiliated to an Auxiliary or one of its Branches that the funds might be expended for the supply of the districts in the purchase at prime cost of Bibles and Testaments from the depository of that particular Auxiliary or Branch ; and finally that any residue from the funds should be remitted to the Auxiliary or Branch in aid of the parent Society.^ Thus the Associa- ' Dudley, An Analysis of the System of the Bible Society, p. 210. '^ In some instances a stock of Bibles to be granted on loan was adopted, thus obviating in a great measure the need for free gifts. The loss on the books sold by the Auxiliaries at reduced prices to the poor was made good out of the Bibles and i8i7] GROWTH OF THE ASSOCIATIONS 55 tions became to the Auxiliaries and their Branches what these were themselves to the Bible Society. The first regular Bible Association was founded at High Wycombe in November 181 1, before the general promulgation of these rules. ^ How far it was indebted to suggestions from Mr Phillips is not discoverable, but both in spirit and in system it seems to have conformed to the principles he laid down. It not only afforded a prospect of considerably aiding the funds of the Wycombe Auxiliary by providing the locality with Bibles, but the subscribers insisted on giving more than two-thirds of their subscriptions, "in order that they might do some- thing towards carrying the Sacred Volume into countries destitute of the Holy Scriptures." The Darlington and Suffolk Auxiliaries adopted the authorised code in 1812, and in August of the same year ten Associations were at work in the district of the Black- heath Auxiliary. The Tyndale Ward Auxiliary reported that twenty-four Associations in a population of 29,605 among the moors of Northumberland were gathering subscriptions and donations at the rate of ;^i6o3 per annum. " If every part of Great Britain," it was remarked, "contributed in the same proportion, from 16,000,000 of people about ;^865,ooo would be annually raised." Testaments returned for a moiety of their contribution, or otherwise furnished at cost price. These rules, and the regulations for the Juvenile, Ladies', Marine, and other organisations, were revised with the code for the Auxiliaries in 1852, but not materially changed. ' In 1804, quite unware of the existence of the Bible Society, Catherine Elliott, a girl of fifteen, started in Sheffield among her scjjoolfellows a Juvenile Bible Society for the benefit of the poor ; during the first sixteen years of its existence 2,500 volumes of the Scriptures were distributed, and it held on its independent course even after the formation of the Sheffield Auxiliary, to which it paid over its funds in exchange for Bibles and Testaments to the full amount at cost price. As it was based, however, on the idea of gratuitous distribution, which experience has con- clusively proved to be undesirable, it cannot be regarded as an "Association." The Aberdeen Female Servants' Society for promoting the diffusion of the Scriptures was formed in 1809, but its primary object was not local, and it was not till some time later that the weekly penny was fixed as the subscription. In these respects the Female Bible Association founded at Paisley in i8n came nearer to the ideal ■'Association." 56 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- It is, however, in the twelve Associations of the Southwark Auxiliary, with 650 agents working among a population of 150,000, that the power and potency of the system are most brilliantly illustrated. In three years these twelve Associations raised ;^4685, and distributed 9,328 Bibles and 4209 Testaments. In eleven and a half years their aggregate collections, after deduction of expenses, amounted to ;^i2,589, and they distributed 20,085 Bibles and 8,393 Testaments. And now mark the dominant part played by these Associations in the finances of the Auxiliary. The total amount received by the Southwark Auxiliary during this period was ;^ 18, 786, and of this sum no less than ;^ 1 2, 589 was contributed by the Associations. The total number of Bibles and Testaments issued from the depository was 31,722 copies, of which 28,478, as already mentioned, went to the Associations, 2,917 were sold to subscribers at reduced prices, and 327 were voted gratuit- ously to prisons, hospitals, etc. ; and the sum transmitted to the parent Society was ;^i6,887. It is therefore evident that of this last figure the Auxiliary could have contributed only ;^6, 197, and that the Associations, after defraying the cost of the entire issue from the depository, provided the balance of ;^io,690. Such then were the Bible Associations which gave the Auxiliaries the completeness and plenitude of efficacy required by the condition of the country. They increased rapidly, and prospered in proportion to the energy and zeal of their agents. Within eight years there were over a thousand, and as early as 181 5 it was pointed out that ' ' several of the Associations now produce a sum more than is necessary to supply the deficiency of the Scriptures among the poor of their district, thereby completely liberating, for the supply of foreign parts, the funds of the Auxiliary Bible Societies with which they are connected."^ ■* Eleventh Report, note, p. 500. i8i7] "A TAX ON THE POOR" 57 Truly a memorable and perhaps a unique instance of the end providing the means, rather than of the means accomplishing the end. Naturally criticism was not lacking. The Associations were decried as a tax on the poor, but in an essay, lofty in tone and full of practical sense, Dr Chalmers swept aside the objections of these "friends of the poor, to whom, while they were sitting in judgment on their circumstances and feelings, it did not occur how unjustly and how unworthily they thought of them." And he proceeds : — " Let it now be remembered that the institution of a Bible Society gives you the whole benefit of such a tax without its odiousness. . . . The single circumstance of its being a voluntary act forms the defence and the answer to all the clamours of an affected sympathy. You take from the poor. No : they give. You take beyond their ability. Of this they are the best judges. You abridge their comforts. No, there is a comfort in the exercise of charity ; there is a comfort in the act of lending a hand to a noble enter- prise ; there is a comfort in the contemplation of its progress ; there is a comfort in rendering a service to a friend ; and when that friend is the Saviour, and that service the circulation of the message He left behind Him, it is a comfort which many of the poor are ambitious to share in." ^ Many other explanatory papers and appeals were also circulated throughout the kingdom, and these attacks ultimately contributed to the success of the movement. Similar objections were raised, on other grounds, to the Juvenile Associations, and to the Female Bible Societies. With regard to the former the reply was as simple as it was effectual : ' ' And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David, they were sore displeased, and said unto Him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them. Yea; have ye never read. Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" The claims of ' Chalmers, On the Influence of Bible Societies on the Tempm-al Necessities of the Poor, 58 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804. domesticity, propriety, and decorum were urged against "the Christian fair" talcing an active part in the work of disseminating the Scriptures among the poor. Could ladies devote the requisite portion of their time, it was asked, to these labours without neglecting their domestic duties, relaxing in their attention to other benevolent establishments, or forfeiting some portion of that delicacy which is the peculiar ornament of the female character? And grim stress was laid upon the indecorum of young women entering alone into the cottages of the poor, when their feelings might be hurt by improper language, or their delicacy wounded by witnessing unpleasant scenes.^ Strangely enough, doubts of this description had entered the minds of "some of the most active and intelligent friends of the Society," and even Mr Owen himself, while "decidedly friendly to the admission of females into the participation of the labours and the triumphs of the Society," was anxious that they should be employed in a manner "comporting with that delicacy which has ever been considered as characteristic of the sex, and which constitutes one of its best ornaments and its strongest securities."^ Those who believed that "the sickly refine- ment, fastidious delicacy, and helpless dependence of females, which was the idol of former years, had been exploded by the better taste and sense of the present age," referred to the Maries and Priscillas, the Tryphenas and Tryphosas of early times, on whom apostolic com- mendations had been bestowed, and to the holy women who, in the days of our Lord's earthly life, had ministered to Him of their substance.^ The whole controversy, with its artificial and somewhat Oriental conception of the Christian status of womanhood, ^ Dudley, Analysis of the System, etc., pp. 345, 348. ^ Owen, History, vol. iii. p. 155. ■' Third Annual Report of the Ladies' Branch of the Manchester and Salford Auxiliary. Sixth Annual Report of the Glasgow Auxiliary. i8r7] LADIES' BIBLE SOCIETIES 59 seems amusing enough to-day, but it is a curious illustra- tion of the manners of the time that it was not until 1831 that the "Christian fair" were admitted to the annual gatherings of the Society. The origin of the Female Associations was spontaneous and uncalculated. Incidentally three have been mentioned. Confining our view at present to England alone, it is to be noted that the first Ladies' Bible Society in direct and exclusive connection with the parent institution was that formed at Westminster in August 181 1, and its judicious and persuasive appeal to the public did much to secure, in the following year, the establishment of the Westminster Auxiliary, with which it must not be confounded. In November 181 2 a smaller Association was begun at Lymington. The difficulties which the committee of the Colchester Auxiliary experienced in reaching the poor led to the organisation of a Ladies' Association in March 1813, under the patronage of the Countess of Chatham. In July 1813 a similar Association was instituted at Guildford, and within seven years it had distributed 2160 Bibles and Testaments, and transmitted ;^222 for the general purposes of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In April 1814, Godalming followed the example of Guildford, and at the close of that year Mr Dudley, who at this time was taking an especial interest in the subject, was invited to attend one of the general meetings. The possibility of enlisting the sympathies of the women of Great Britain in the cause of the Bible Society was first suggested to him by a singularly naive and charming letter in which Pastor Oberlin of Walbach in the Ban de la •Roche acknowledged a donation of ;^30 for the purpose of purchasing and distributing French and German Bibles and Testaments among the poor inhabitants of the well- nigh inaccessible mountain villages in the Vosges. We shall see more of this remarkable minister in a later chapter ; 6o THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- in the meanwhile here is a glimpse from his own pen of some of the lowly women with hearts of gold, who ministered to Christ in this wild region of rocks and pine-trees : — "The first Bible shall be given as a present to Sophia Bernard, who is one of the most excellent women I know, and indeed an ornament to my parish. While unmarried, she undertook, with the consent of her parents, the support and education of three helpless boys, whom their wicked father had often trampled under his feet, and treated in a manner too shocking to relate when, nearly starving with hunger, they dared to cry out for food. Soon afterwards she proved the happy means of saving the lives of four Roman Catholic children, who, without her assistance, would have fallen a prey to want and famine. Thus she had the manage- ment of seven children, to whom several more were added, belonging to members of three several denominations ; she now hired a house and a servant girl, and supported the whole of the family entirely with her own work and the little money she got from the industry of the children, whom she taught to spin cotton. At the same time she proved the greatest blessing to the whole village where she lived. For it is impossible to be more industrious, frugal, clean, cheerful, edifying by her whole walk and conversation ; more ready for every good word and work; more mild and affectionate; more firm and resolute in dangers, than she was. Satan so enraged some of her enemies, that they threatened to destroy her old tottering cottage, but God was graciously pleased to preserve her. A fine youth of a noble mind made her an offer of his hand. She first refused, but he declared he would wait for her even ten years. When she replied that she could never consent to part with her poor orphans, he nobly answered, 'Whoever takes the mother takes the children too.' So he did ; and all these children were brought up by them in the most careful and excellent manner, Lately they have taken in some other orphans, whom they are training up in the fear and love of God. Though these excellent people pass rather for rich, yet their income is so limited, and their benevolence so extensive, that sometimes they hardly know how to furnish a new suit of necessary clothes. To them I intend to give a Bible, considering that their own is often lent out in different Roman Catholic villages. " A second Bible I intend to give to an excellent woman, Maria Schepler, who lives at the opposite end of my extensive parish, where the cold is more severe, and the ground unfruitful, so that nearly all the householders are poor people, who must lend their clothes to each other when they intend to go to the Lord's Supper. This poor woman is also a very distinguished character, in whose praise I could say much were I to enter into particulars. Though distressed and afflicted in her own person and circumstances, yet she is a mother, benefactress, and teacher i8i7] MR DUDLEY'S SYSTEM 6i to the whole village where she lives, and to some neighbouring districts too. She takes the most lively interest in all which relates to the Redeemer's kingdom upon earth, apd often groans under a sense of all the inroads made by the powers of darkness. She also has brought up several orphans, without receiving the smallest reward, keeps a free school for females, and makes it a practice to lend her Bible to such as are entirely deprived of it. " A third Bible present I intend to make to an excellent widow woman, Catharine Scheiddegger, who is, like the former, a mother of orphans, and keeps a free school ; as also does another young woman, who instructs little children in a neighbouring village in such knowledge as may render them useful members of human and Christian society." The idea thvis suggested to Mr Dudley was strengthened by the evidences he perceived of a desire to co-operate on the part of the women in this country. Female Associations were shaping themselves to take a share in the noble work, but their regulations were inadequate, and the system needed the elaboration of a mind gifted with administrative ability. Prolonging his stay at Godalming, Mr Dudley drew up a code of rules and by-laws, which were adopted by the Com- mittee of the Society, and became thenceforward the model for all future Associations of that class. In 1815 he re- organised the Ladies' Bible Society at Westminster, and divided Westminster and the neighbourhood into thirteen suitable districts, with such happy results that whereas only ;^i5o had been collected, and 223 Bibles and Testaments distributed in the four preceding years, the collections in the five years that followed exceeded ;^265o, and 2400 copies of the Scriptures were circulated. Accredited by the unanimous vote of the Committee, Mr Dudley set out on a tour of construction and re-organisa- tion. Ladies' Associations on the • new scheme were promptly founded at Farnham, Maidenhead, Kingston, Henley, Reading, Abingdon, Southampton, Bristol, Brighton and Weymouth, to mention no more ; and in the next four or five years one hundred and eighty were established through his instrumentality, and the whole system of Bible 62 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804-1817 Associations began gradually to pass in a great measure into the hands of female workers. As a single illustration of the thorough efficiency of this new instrument seen in operation at its best, the Ladies' Liverpool Branch may be instanced. It was established in May 181 7, and reformed in the following December. Under the patronage of the Countess of Derby, over 600 ladies were engaged in the methodical investigation and supply of 341 districts. In less than three months they obtained 7292 subscribers, issued 1338 Bibles and Testaments, and raised more than jC<^'jo. At the close of the first year the number of subscribers exceeded 10,000 ; more than 3000 Bibles and Testaments had been distributed by sale ; and the aggregate amount collected was ;^2552, of which ^518 was assigned for the general objects of the parent Society. The extent to which the cause of the Bible was benefited by the consummate executive ability and the wise enthusiasm of Mr Dudley may be at least partly gauged by contrasting these splendid results with the work done by this same Branch before he undertook its re-organisation. During the nine preceding months about 700 persons had been enrolled as subscribers, 271 copies of the Scriptures had been sold, and 35 distributed gratuitously ; the amount collected was ^412; and in their first report the Ladies' committee stated that "the further the collectors advanced in their work, the more they were convinced of its urgent necessity and of their inability to perform it." Shortly afterwards Ladies' Branches were formed at Manchester, Plymouth, Hull, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and other places. Having thus briefly reviewed the unanticipated rise -and the vigorous growth of the whole Auxiliary system, regarding which none can have experienced more lasting surprise and feelings of deeper gratitude than the founders of the Society, let us turn to another aspect of these remarkable developments. CHAPTER V THE SECRET OF THE SOCIETY'S SUCCESS (ll.) Publicity, patronage, and, through these, financial support were, as we have seen, the principal means on which, humanly speaking, the promoters depended to attain their object. It is no disparagement to them, but a just ascrip- tion to Him, to whom at all times they gladly gave the glory, if it be said that God granted the increase chiefly in other fields than those Paul planted and Apollos watered. This was the case in the matter of patronage. During the period which we are now surveying a number of influential names was added to the vice-presidential roll of the Society, at the inauguration of which, as was long remembered, "no royal prince, no nobleman, no bishop, no member of Parliament was present." Of these staunch and early friends it is desirable that a prominent place should be given to the record showing the date and order of their accession and the length of their tenure of office. ROLL OF VICE-PRESIDENTS. 1805-1809 The Bishop of London (Beilby Porteus). 1805-1825 The Bishop of Durham (Hon. Shute Barrington). 1805-1807 The Bishop of Exeter (John Fisher, in 1807 Bishop of Salisbury)- 1805-1825 The Bishop of St David's (Thomas Burgess, in 1825 Bishop of Salisbury) 1805-1816 Sir WilHam Pepperell, Bart.^ 1805-1832 Vice-Admiral Gambier (in 1808 Admiral Lord Gambier). 1865-1823 Charles Grant, M.P. 1805-1833 WiUiam Wilberforce, M.P. ^ The grandson of "the hero of Louisburg." 64 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- 1806-18 13 Lord Barham (2nd Baron) 1 807- 1 824 The Bishop of Salisbury (John Fisher). 1807-1829 Lord Headley (2nd Baron). 1807-1822 Sir Evan Nepean, Bart.^ 1808-1821 The Archbishop of Cashel (Hon. Charles Brodrick). 1810-1820 The Bishop of Bristol (William Lort Mansel). 1810-1820 The Bishop of Cloyne (Wilham Bennett). 1810-1818 The Bishop of Clogher (John Porter). i8io-i8i8 Sir Thomas Bernard, Bart.^ 1811-1836 The Bishop of Norwich (Henry Bathurst). 1811-1833 The Right Hon. Nicholas Vansittart, M.P. (in 1823 Lord Bexley). 1811-1837 Thomas Babington, M.P. 18 12-1846 The Bishop of Kildare (Hon. Charles Lindsay). 1 812- 1822 The Bishop of Meath (Thomas Lewis O'Beirne). 1812-1815 The Dean of Westminster (William Vincent). 18 12-1844 The Earl of Romney (2nd Earl). 1 813-1830 The Bishop of Derry (Hon. William Knox). 1813-1826 The Earl of Moira (in 1816 ist Marquis of Hastings). 1815-1816 The Bishop of Llandaff (Richard Watson). 1815-1823 The Bishop of Chichester (John Buckner). 1815-1819 The Dean of Carlisle (Isaac Milner). 1815 The Dean of Wells (Hon. H. Ryder, in 1815 Bishop of Gloucester). 1815-1837 The Dean of Bristol (Henry Beeke). 1816-1824 The Bishop of Gloucester (Hon. H. Ryder, in 1824 Bishop of Lichfield). 1816-1828 The Earl of Liverpool (Prime-Minister 1812-27). 1816-1846 The Earl of Harrowby (President of the Council 1812-27). 1816-1844 Sir Gore Ouseley, Bart.^ Doubtless, in any circumstances, many illustrious names ' Purser of the Foudroyant under Captain Jarvis (afterwards Lord St Vincent) ; Secretary to the Admiralty ; Secretary for Ireland ; Governor of Bombay (1812-19). ^ Treasurer and afterwards Vice-President of the Foundling Hospital ; one of the founders of the Royal Institution. ' Persian Ambassador and Minister-Plenipotentiary in 1810 ; assisted in founding the Royal Asiatic Society. i8i7] SUMMARY OF THE AUXILIARIES 65 "would have been added in the course of time to this list of patrons ; but if there had been no Auxiliaries, the Society would never have secured the brilliant cortege of nobility and gentry which these local bodies enlisted for it in all parts of the kingdom. At the close of this volume a Table will be found, ^ in which the Auxiliary system in England and Wales is dis- played with a range and completeness otherwise unattain- able ; and those who desire to understand how the Society was built up will do well to supplement the outline given in the present chapter by a careful study of that long and suggestive catalogue. Up to 1809 the only institution that might be called an Auxiliary was the Birmingham Association, founded in 1806. In 1809 five Auxiliaries sprang up ; in i8io fourteen; in 181 1 thirty-two; in 1812 sixty-three; in 1813 thirty-one; in 1814 sixteen; in 1815 nine; in 1816 six; and many of these had branches which covered a large area of country. By the end of the tenth year (1813) Auxiliaries, one or more, had been established in thirty-nine of the forty English shires. With the formation of the Herefordshire Auxiliary in August 1814, every county in England had allied itself with the Bible Society. All denominations had joined in its support; "Bishops who would do nothing for evangelical movements inside the Church gave it their names and influence " ; ^ its patronage included the Princess of Wales, royal dukes and duchesses, marquises, earls and countesses, viscounts, barons, baronets, and knights too numerous to mention. The founding of each Auxiliary was an event of deep interest far beyond its own locality. In this chapter, how- ever, we can only select from the record of the one hundred 1 See Appendix II. ^ Stock, History Church Missionary Society, vol. i. p. 152, VOL, I, B 66 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- and seventy-six Auxiliaries founded up to 1816 a few details which distinguished the formation of some of these institu- tions from the rest. A broad Christian spirit, an un- sectarian fervour, and a happy eloquence characterised the inaugural meetings in general. The Reading Auxiliary owed its foundation chiefly to the exertions of the learned Dr Richard Valpy, who from 1 781 had been head-master of the Reading School, and whose once indispensable Latin Delectus is still remembered by the querulous scholars of five and forty years ago. Descended from a very old Jersey family, he was born in 1754; he retained his head-mastership at Reading till 1830; declined, it is said, two bishoprics; became rector of Stradishall, Suffolk ; died at Kensington in March 1836 at the ripe age of eighty-two, and was buried at Kensal Green. Though he was one of the heartiest floggers of his half century — and many of his subjects, had they met with Terence's Ego vapulando, ilk verberando usque umbo defessi suinus, might have derived by metathesis Valpy a vapulando — he inspired his pupils (among the rest Justice Talfourd, the author of Ion) with an intense personal attachment. At the inaugural meeting of this Auxiliary (March , 28, 1809), the Society was represented by its Secretaries Mr Owen and Mr Hughes, who were accompanied by the brother of Granville Sharp, Mr William Sharp, then verging on his eighty -first year. "He loved affectionately all good men," writes Mr Owen, and was deeply devoted to the Society, whose anniversaries he honoured by his venerable presence. " Five of these festivals he had witnessed, and it was the desire of his heart — were it consistent with that Will to which he was always resigned — to witness a sixth. But he had another and a better destination ; for ere that era should arrive he was to take his place in a higher region ; and to i8i7] THE LIVERPOOL AUXILIARY FOUNDED 67 celebrate the triumph of Christian faith and love in a larger and more august assembly." With regard to the Hull Auxiliary, it is interesting to note that a couple of years after it was founded, two little fellows — one fifteen, the other nine years of age — gave their services as collectors of a penny a week in aid of the funds of the Society. One of them, Francis Close, became Dean of Carlisle and a Vice-President, and died in 1882 at the ripe age of eighty-five. The other, the Rev. Dr Evans, was in 1882 still devoting his remaining strength to the cause as secretary of the Western Ontario Bible Society, Canada. To Swansea (April 27, 1810) must be assigned the distinc- tion of having been the first Auxiliary founded in Wales. The contributions from Cornwall in the first year (1810-11) amounted to ;^9i5, a notable degree of liberality from a county more remarkable for the traditions of its antique saints than for the affluence of its population. Mr Owen was engaged in correspondence for two years before the Liverpool Auxiliary was founded, and it was esteemed a triumph for the cause of the Bible when the rank, wealth, and interest of that great commercial city, which had so long been a stronghold of the slave- trade, were at last enlisted under the banner of the institution. The Secretaries were present at the foundation of the Auxiliary on the 25th March 181 1, and on the ist May it was able to present ^1,800 to the parent Society. At the establishment of the Suffolk Auxiliary at Ipswich, Thomas Clarkson, the friend and champion of the negro, read a stimulating message from the venerable Sir William Dolben, who had been one of the earliest and most persistent abolitionists, and who was then in his eighty-fifth year. The exceptional circumstances in which the Colchester Auxiliary was formed in i8n ought not to be lost sight of. 68 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- After some correspondence with the Secretary of the Bible Society, a provisional committee of ministers of the Established Church— to whom the Nonconformists had voluntarily left the management of preliminaries — issued invitations to a preparatory meeting to decide on the establishment of an Auxiliary. Between twenty and thirty clergymen attended, and it was unanimously agreed to request the Bishop of London, as Bishop of the diocese, to become the patron. The eminent and beloved Porteus had died in 1808, and his see was now filled by Dr John Randolph, sometime Bishop of Oxford and later of Bangor. Bishop Randolph's reply to his clergy was couched in terms so decidedly hostile to the principles of the Society and all its operations that the provisional committee deemed it judicious to dissolve till a more favourable opportunity occurred. His lordship, forgetful of the administrative circumspection and the sanctity of his predecessor, pro- fessed himself disgusted with the "pomp and parade with which the proceedings, and indeed all the meetings, of the new Society were set forth in the public papers ; and the more so when he compared it with the simplicity and modesty of the old society" (the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge). In treating their diocesan's reply with the public respect due to his office, the Colchester clergymen by no means committed themselves to inaction. They resolved to aid the Society by individual subscriptions ; and the Noncon- formists, much to the credit of their right feeling, self- effacement, and Christian unity, cheerfully concurred. They aided in the formation of a district committee for the benefit of the Society for Promoting Christian Know- ledge, and at length, after an interval of eighteen months, when it was considered that time and the merits of the Society ought to have mitigated the asperity of its opponents, it was arranged to take a course which would obviate any i8i7] THE CHARGES AGAINST THE SOCIETY 69 unseemly friction between the clergy and their diocesan, by committing the whole organisation to the hands of laymen. The honour of being president was accepted by Mr Horatio Cock, who not only showed a warm interest in the affairs of the Auxiliary during his life, but at his death bequeathed to the Society a legacy of ;^ 11,695. The Staffordshire Auxiliary was founded in 181 1 on the suggestion of Viscount Anson, who was already a vice-pre- sident of the Norwich Auxiliary. The gentle and brilliant Thomas Gisborne was present at the meeting, and one passage in his address may be quoted as not wholly in- applicable even at the present day : — "The charges advanced against the British and Foreign Bible Society, at different periods of its progress, were they not likely to be occasionally mischievous, might furnish considerable entertainment. At one time it was clamorously alleged, 'Notes and comments and interpretations will be in- serted into your Bibles ; you will undermine the Church of England by the expositions which you will interweave into the sacred volume.' ' It is impossible,' replied the Society ; ' it is a fundamental law of our constitution that neither note nor comment shall ever be added.' Then succeeds, an accusation from the opposite corner of the sky, 'Why do you send forth the Scriptures without an interpretation? The Established Church will be ruined by your dispersion of the Bible without note or comment ! ' I leave these two classes of objectors to settle accounts each with the other. For the overthrow of the Bible Society both are equally anxious." Happy was the Society which numbered among its members so sweet, lovable, and gifted a man as Thomas Gisborne, the rector of Yoxall, the poet of the ancient Forest of Needwood, and for more than fifty years the bosom friend of William Wilberforce. He is one of those bright and memorable figures who live for ever in the pages of Sir James Stephen. Between the Lodge in the centre of the Forest and the roofs of his parishioners there were three miles of tangled brakes and sunny uplands, and they harboured no plant or wild flowers of which he knew not the use and legend, no wild creature in feathers of fur 70 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- which was not a familiar acquaintance. The room in which he passed his hours of study amusingly reflected his tastes and pursuits: "books and MSS., plants and pallets, tools and philosophical instruments, birds perched on the shoulder or nestling in the bosom of the student, or birds curiously stuffed by his hands, usurped the places usually assigned to the works of the upholsterer." When a companion shared his rambles, he could "throw aside the reserve which hung upon him in crowded saloons, and could pour himself out in a stream of discourse, sometimes grave and speculative, but more frequently sparkling with humorous conceits, or eddying into retrospects of the comedy of life, of which he had been a most attentive, though too often a silent spectator." His duties and his preferences did not prevent him from taking his share in the pursuits to which his friends, the brotherhood at Clapham, had devoted their lives. "His heart was with them. His pen and purse were ever at their command." Among a later generation his Principles of Moral Philosophy Investigated, his Familiar Survey of the Christian Religion and History, his Poems Sacred and Moral, his Walks in a Forest, have "fallen into the portion of weeds and outworn faces." By his contemporaries they were read with delight, and with predictions of fame enduring. And not without a reasoned probability. "For Mr Gisborne contributed largely to the formation of the national mind on subjects of the highest importance to the national character. He was the expositor of the Evangelical system to those cultivated or fastidious readers, who were intolerant of the ruder style of his less refined brethren." A sympathetic pastor in the populous village beyond his Forest, he was never happier than when chatting by a poor man's fireside about crops and village politics, chickens and bees and children ; helping in trouble, con- soling in sorrow, and dropping into softened hearts i8i7] THE CAMBRIDGE AUXILIARY 71 thoughts of goodness and of the bringing in of a better hope. With one last look we see him vanish away, like a film of morning mist, among the dim trees of Needwood. ' ' A daughter of the ancient house of Babington became the companion of his retirement during a period of almost sixty years ; staying her steps upon his arm, imbibing wisdom from his lips, gathering hope and courage from his eye, and rendering to him such a homage, or rather such a worship, as to draw from the object of it a raillery so playful, so tender, and so full of meaning, that perhaps it ultimately enhanced the affectionate error which, for the moment, it rebuked." ^ The Cambridge Auxiliary (December 12, 181 1) originated in the fervour of the junior members and undergraduates of the University, who with the modesty of youth promptly withdrew themselves from prominence when they found the cause taken up by the University authorities, the county, and the town. The object was not accomplished, however, without exciting formidable opposition. In an address to the Senate, Dr Marsh, Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity, declared: "We have at present two very extensive Bible Societies, the one founded in 1699, the other in 1804. Both of our archbishops, and all our bishops, with the Prince Regent at the head, are members of the former ; neither of the two archbishops, and only a small proportion of the bishops, are members of the latter." He contended, apparently from the constitution and object of the two Societies, that ' ' our encouragement of the ancient Bible Society must contribute to the welfare of the Established Church," whereas "our encouragement of the modern Society not only contributes nothing to it in prefer- ence to other Churches, but may contribute even to its dissolution." The Right Hon. N. Vansittart, who after- ^ Stephen, TAe Claf ham Sect, pp. S31-535. ■ The wife of his brother John, it may be added, was the Maria Gisborne who was Shelley's friend, and to whom the poet addressed the well-known Letter, " The spider spreads her webs." 72 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- wards, as Lord Bexley, became President of the British and Foreign Bible Society, repHed to these remarkable contentions with the good sense and moderation which have all along been characteristic of the part taken in controversy by its officials and friends. Admitting that the ecclesiastical patronage of the Society was inferior in brilliancy, he questioned whether "the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge was at so short a period from its formation honoured with the support of so large a body of the prelates," and he expressed the hope that "the time might not be far distant when the two Societies might equally flourish under the general patronage of them all." He deprecated the bitterness of sectarianism, pointed out its disastrous results in preventing the spread of the Gospel, and avowed that, so far from repenting of the course he had taken, he felt convinced that he would ' ' least of all repent of it as he approached that state in which the distinction of Churchman and Dissenter should be no more." Dr Marsh, a distinguished scholar, who was chiefly known in his day as the translator of the elaborate work of Michaelis on the New Testament, resided for many years in Gottingen, and on the invasion of Germany by the French in 1806 returned to England and was appointed Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity in 1807. On the death of Dr Watson, one of the vice-presidents of the Society, in 1816, he was appointed to the see of Llandaff, and three years later was translated to Peterborough. But let us forget awhile these "old, unhappy, far-off things and battles long ago," and accompany our Secretaries to the old city of Norwich, with its narrow winding streets and sunny orchards. It was before gas-lit nights and the days of railways. Gas had indeed starred Golden Lane in 1807 and Pall Mall in 1809, but it was not till 1814-20 that it began to be in general use throughout London. The i8i7] THE NORWICH AUXILIARY 73 Eastern Counties Railway as far as Chelmsford was not opened till 1839, and it reached Norwich only in 1845. The coaching distance from Aldgate Pump to Norwich Market- place was iiij miles, along the Roman road through Romford, Ingatestone, and Chelmsford ; thence to the "ceaster" of "old King Cole" or Coil, whose daughter Helena was believed to have been the mother of Constantine the Great ; on to Ipswich, and through Scole to Norwich. This was the route our Secretaries travelled — by coach no doubt ; and they passed on this side or that at every few miles old churches with their curious legends or veritable stories, old country-seats, old towns and hamlets where great men were born and bred — Ipswich with its Wolsey (who finished only the gateway of the splendid college he projected), and, long afterwards, its Daniel Defoe ; Dedham with its Constable, who at this very time was yearly sending in his marvellous canvases to the Academy ; Brentwood, with its William Hunter, the boy-saint, destined to end his brief career in martyrdom at twenty in the evil days of 1555. The Auxiliary was founded at one of the most memorable of meetings. A Bishop (Bathurst) was present, for the first time in the formation of these institutions ; those most delightful and admirable of Quakers, the Gurneys of Earlham, were there ; about 600 Churchmen and Nonconformists of every class attended. Joseph John Gurney, a powerful supporter of the Bible cause, describes the event in a letter of especial personal interest : — "Norwich, September 181 1. Nothing could be better than our Bible Society meeting. Understanding that considerable numbers would attend, we were obliged to transfer ourselves to St Andrew's Hall. . . . The Mayor looked magnificent, with his gold chain, in the chair. The Bishop first harangued, and admirably well, upon the excellence of the British and Foreign Bible Society, its 74 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- objects, constitution, and effects. He then introduced the Secretaries. Steinkopf, a most interesting German and Lutheran, and as far as I can judge from an acquaintance of three days, a remarkably simple and devoted character, first came forward. He told the tale of what the Society had done in Germany and other parts of Europe in broken but good English, and by degrees he warmed the meeting into enthusiasm. He was followed by Hughes, the Baptist Secretary, an eloquent, solid, and convincing orator. The company were now ready for the resolutions. The Bishop proposed them, I seconded them [his first public speech], and after I had given a little of their history and purport they were carried with great acclamation. This was a great relief, as we trembled at the idea of a discussion. The Bishop was thanked for his liberality. It was really delightful to hear an old Puritan and a modern bishop saying everything that was kind and Christian-like of each other. 1 The Bishop's heart seemed quite full ; and primitive Kinghorn, when the Bishop spoke of him so warmly, seemed ready to sink into the earth with surprise and terrified modesty. Owen closed the meeting with an unnecessarily splendid but most effectual address. More than ;^7oo was collected before the company left the hall.- "We had a vast party at Earlham, and a remarkable day, a perfectly harmonious mixture of High Church, Low Church, Lutheran, Baptist, Quaker ! It was a time which seemed to pull down all barriers of distinction, and to melt us all into one common Christianity. Such a beginning warrants us to expect much."^ Another correspondent writes : "At five we adjourned to Earlham Hall to dinner, when we sat down thirty-four ' The Bishop's relations with his neighbours of other denominations appears to have been unusually cordial and exemplary. ' ' The Gurneys at this time drove out with four black horses, which used to be lent to Bishop Bathurst, as more pompous, when he required horses for state occasions, the episcopal roan horses then taking the Quaker family to Meeting." '^ Hare, The Gurneys of Earlham, vol. i. p, 229. i8i7] THE GURNEYS OF EARLHAM 75 in number — a mixture of different sects and persuasions. Words fail to express the delightful harmony of our feel- ings. Soon after the cloth was removed, our dear friend Elizabeth Fry [Joseph John Gurney's sister, who had come from London for the occasion] knelt down, and in a most sweet and impressive manner implored the divine blessing upon the company present, and for the general promotion of truth upon earth. On her rising, the Secretary, Joseph Hughes (a Dissenting minister), observed in a solemn manner : ' Now of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but that in every age and nation those who fear Him and work righteousness are accepted of Him,' and the conversation, becoming general, flowed on in a strain which assuredly had less in it of earth than of heaven." Of this striking and beautiful incident Mr Hughes him- self writes : "The first emotion was surprise: the second, awe : and the third, pious fervour. . . . We seemed generally to feel like the disciples whose hearts burned within them as they walked to Emmaus."^ Long afterwards Joseph John Gurney's daughter recorded that the Bible Meeting party at Earlham was one of the most marked events in each year. She remembered how her "dearest father" put her, as a little child, on the table at dessert, to look at a party of ninety — "the largest we ever had." He most truly enjoyed them, having often round him "those whose conversation was a feast to him," such as Wilberforce, Charles Simeon, Legh Richmond, and her "uncles Buxton and Cunningham" — Thomas Fowell Buxton and John Cunningham, Rector of Harrow, a staunch friend and active promoter of the Bible Society. Even though it be anticipating the record of future years, it is impossible to resist the temptation of completing here the picture of this most estimable friend of the Society, ' Hare, The Gurneys of Earlham, vol. i. pp. 231-232. 76 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- from pages which must be familiar to many, but which are invested with a pecuHar interest by their present setting : — "There I sat upon the bank at the bottom of the hill which slopes down from ' the Earl's Home ' [Earlham] ; my float was on the water, and my back was towards the old hall. I drew up many fish, small and great, which I took from off the hook mechanically and flung upon the bank, for I was almost unconscious of what I was about, for my mind was not with my fish. . . . "'Canst thou answer to thy conscience for pulling all those fish out of the water, and leaving them to gasp in the sun?' said a voice, clear and sonorous as a bell. "I started and looked round. Close behind me stood the tall figure of a man, dressed in raiment of quaint and singular fashion, but of goodly materials. He was in the prime and vigour of manhood ; his features handsome and noble, but full of calmness and benevolence ; at least I thought so, though they were somewhat shaded by a hat of finest beaver, with broad drooping eaves. "'Surely that is a very cruel diversion in which thou indulgest, my young friend?' he continued. "'I am sorry for it, if it be, sir,' said I, rising; 'but I do not think it cruel to fish.' ' ' ' What are thy reasons for not thinking so ? ' "'Fishing is mentioned frequently in Scripture. Simon Peter was a fisherman.' "'True; and Andrew his brother. But thou forgettest : they did not follow fishing as a diversion, as I fear thou doest. — Thou readest the Scriptures?' " ' Sometimes.' "'Sometimes? — not daily? — That is to be regretted. What profession dost thou make ? — I mean to what religious denomination dost thou belong, my young friend?' " 'Church.' "'It is a very good profession. There is much of i8i7] JOSEPH JOHN GURNEY 77 Scripture contained in its liturgy. Dost thou read aught besides the Scriptures?' " ' Sometimes.' ' ' ' What dost thou read besides ? ' " ' Greek, and Dante.' "'Indeed! then thou hast the advantage over myself; I can only read the former. Well, I am rejoiced to find that thou hast other pursuits besides thy fishing. Dost thou know Hebrew?' "'No.' " ' Thou shouldst study it. Why dost thou not undertake the study?' " ' I have no books. ' " ' I will lend thee books, if thou wish to undertake the study. I live yonder at the hall, as perhaps thou knowest. I have a library there, in which are many curious books, both in Greek and Hebrew, which I will show to thee whenever thou mayest find it convenient to come and see me. Farewell ! I am glad to find thou hast pursuits more satisfactory than thy cruel fishing.' "When many years had rolled on, long after I had attained manhood, and had seen and suffered much, and when our first interview had long since been effaced from the mind of the man of peace, I visited him in his venerable hall, and partook of the hospitality of his hearth. And there I saw his gentle partner and his fair children, and on the morrow he showed me the books of which he had spoken years before by the side of the stream. In the low quiet chamber, whose one window, shaded by a gigantic elm, looks down the slope towards the pleasant stream, he took from the shelf his learned books, Zohar and Mishna, Toldoth Jesu and Abarbenel. ' I am fond of these studies,' said he, 'which, perhaps, is not to be wondered at, seeing that our people have been compared to the Jews, 78 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- In one respect I confess we are similar to them ; we are fond of getting money. I do not like this last author, this Abarbenel, the worse for having been a money- changer. I am a banker myself, as thou knowest.' "And would there were many like him, amidst the money-changers of princes ! The hall of many an earl lacks the bounty, the palace of many a prelate the piety and learning, which adorn the quiet Quaker's home ! " ^ Few need be told that the youth who fished beside the "Earl's Home" was George Borrow. One of the promoters of the York Auxiliary was Lindley Murray, whose English Grammar and English Exercises caused perhaps even a more widespread discomfort than the classic achievements of Dr Valpy amongst the school children of many generations. The son of Quaker parents, Murray was born near Doncaster in Pennsylvania in 1745. Smart- ing under the severe punishment inflicted for some fault, he left his father, and betook himself to a school in New Jersey, acquired a taste for books, studied law, and after some experience as a barrister, ventured into business, made a competency, and, in 1784, came to England and settled down at Holgate near York, where he devoted himself to the cause of education and morals. He closed a useful and not undistinguished life in 1826, at the age of eighty- one. The date for the founding of the Northampton Auxiliary in 1812 was fixed to suit the convenience of the Prime Minister, the illustrious representative of the town, the Right Hon. Spencer Perceval. Unhappily, on the nth May, he was assassinated by Bellingham on entering the lobby of the House of Commons. The whole tragedy — the appearance of Mr Perceval, "a small man, dressed in a blue coat and white waistcoat," and that of his murderer, ^ Borrow, Lavengro, chap, xy. i8i7] THE MURDER OF MR PERCEVAL 79 "in a snuff-coloured coat with metal buttons," the firing of the pistol and the stain of blood under the left breast— was dreamed thrice over by a Mr Williams of Scorrier House, near Redruth in Cornwall, about the 2nd or 3rd of May ; and Mr Williams himself records that he was prompted to go to London and warn the Premier, but was dissuaded by his friends from an undertaking which might expose him to contempt and vexation. Very strangely, on the loth of May, a day before the crime was committed, a rumour or report of the deed reached Bude Kirk, a village near Annan, and the fact was afterwards mentioned in the local paper.^ Mr Perceval was sincerely attached to the Society, and on the renewal of the patent of the King's Printer, in 1810, he sent for the Secretaries to inquire whether the monopoly caused any obstruction to the Society in circulating the Scriptures in Ireland. Nothing, he assured them, should enter the patent likely to interfere with the Society's work. The inaugural meeting on the 27th May was attended by Mr Owen and Mr Hughes, and the Duke of Grafton presided. At the establishment of the Chester Auxiliary in 181 2, the sweet singer and divine of Needwood once more left the enchanted shades of his Forest ; and toleration and unity were the theme of his discourse. "The Societies for Propagating the Gospel and for Promoting Christian Know- ledge, the British and Foreign Bible Society, and all other associations, in whatever land, for spreading the Holy Scriptures, ought to regard themselves," Mr Gisborne con- tended, "as parallel columns of a combined army, marching onward side by side for the subjugation of a common foe. . . . To each of the individual columns that man would be the most pernicious counsellor — to the general cause that man would be the most dangerous adversary— who should persuade one of the columns jealously to turn the i Andrew Lang, Tke Book of Dreams a,nd Ghosts, p. 38, 8o THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- line of its direction obliquely, to cross upon the course, and to thwart the operations of its neighbour." Very different from this Christian impartiality was the attitude taken by a pious and learned prelate in connection with the establishment of the Gloucester Auxiliary. The Dukes of Norfolk and Beaufort had consented to be presidents, and it was earnestly desired that the Bishop of the diocese (Huntingford) should strengthen the move- ment. His lordship, however, declined the invitation, with the observation that he regarded the Society for Promot- ing Christian Knowledge and that for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts as having "claims on the clergy of the Establishment for all the pecuniary aid and mental exertion which could possibly be contributed by them in support of those ancient and chartered societies " — an observation that drew from Mr Owen a deferential and moderate answer. When the Duke of Kent lent his prestige to the Camberwell Auxiliary, more than four years had yet to run before he should marry the widow of the Prince of Leiningen, who in 1819 placed in his arms the baby Victoria, "plump as a partridge." The investigations which preceded the formation of the London Auxiliaries amply proved the need for the services of the Bible Society. Taking into account the entire range of London and Southwark, in which the condition of 17,000 families was examined, it appeared that half the population of the labouring classes was destitute of the Scriptures. In one part of Bloomsbury, only thirty-eight Bibles were found among 858 families, numbering 3000 persons. At the same time among the poor in general there was a distinct predisposition to take advantage of the facilities offered by the Society. Shortly after the inaugura- tion of the City of London Auxiliary, a plan was issued for the division of the metropolis into gix districts, each L>^^o>^^<^,^i*^^' \0' rO'S' ^\S^' ... f^ <->'<(• •^v. i8i7] THE OXFORD AUXILIARY 8i with its own Auxiliary, and a chart was published show- ing the boundaries of each organisation. The benevolent influence of the Bible cause in mitigat- ing the asperities of denominational creeds and of party politics, which was so often noticed at that time in various parts of the country, was signally illustrated at the founda- tion of the Westminster Auxiliary, December 17, 181 2, when, notwithstanding their political hostility, Mr Samuel Whitbread and Lord Castlereagh stood on one platform in the "perfect and blessed unanimity" of the very work of the Apostles. "It is indeed a spectacle to warm the coldest and to soften the hardest heart," wrote the aged Hannah More, "to behold men of the first rank and talents — statesmen who had never met but to oppose each other, orators who have never spoken but to differ — each strenuous in what it is presumed he believes right, renouncing every interfering interest, sacrificing every jarring opinion, forgetting all in which they differ, and thinking only on that in which they agree, each reconciled to his brother, and leaving his gift at the altar, offering up every resentment at the foot of the Cross."! The brilliant meeting at which the Oxford Auxiliary was formed (June 25, 1813), was reminded that it was in their city that "the morning star of the Reformation, the immortal Wickliff, first rose upon the world, and opened the treasures of the New Testament : it was in Oxford that three of our venerable Reformers laid down their lives in support of the principles of our Church — and I will add," said the speaker, " in support of the principles of the British and Foreign Bible Society ; it was in Oxford that one of those Reformers, the venerable Latimer, uttered the memor- able address to his fellow-martyr, ' Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day 1 Hannah More, Christian Morals, vol. ii. p. 27. VOL. I. F 82 THE SECRET OF SUCCESS [1804- light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.'" At the Flintshire inauguration at Holywell, Lord Grosvenor mentioned that in ten parishes alone in the county, 1300 inhabited houses were without a Bible, and it was apprehended that these figures indicated the general condition of the district. As the patron of the Cinque Ports Auxiliary, Lord Liverpool, who had succeeded Mr Perceval in the office of Prime Minister, stated that he had appeared as a public supporter of the Christian Knowledge Society, and he was anxious to extend the influence and resources of that institu- tion ; ' ' but he saw no reason whatever why he should not at the same time afford to the British and Foreign Bible Society every assistance in his power, and why he should not evince an equal anxiety to promote its success. The objects of the two Societies were one — both dispersed the pure and uncorrupted Word of God." At this point it will be convenient to set forth the amounts received from the entire Auxiliary system of the Society up to the year 1816-17 : — England Wales Channel Isles Isle of Man Scotland Ireland British Colonies Societies having other objects besides the distribution of the Scriptures . ^343,960 6 4 24,111 17 3 1,536 9 o 494 8 6 34,804 16 II 9,342 12 I 4,670 14 3 995 o 8 ^419,916 5 o The reader who has accompanied us thus far may be left to form his own conclusions as to whether the success of the Society was due to human prescience and skilful i8i7] "NOT UNTO US" 83 management, or to those promptings of Providence which set the feet of men upon paths undreamed of, and to those spontaneous developments and unforeseen undertakings which secured all that the world's greatest could confer of distinction and patronage, and gave efficacy to that patronage by the practical support of the poorest. CHAPTER VI THE BIBLE CAUSE IN SCOTLAND The confidence which was felt in the old traditions of Scotland was, as we have seen, not disappointed. North of the Border the cause of the Society was warmly espoused. The Presbyteries of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paisley, Hamilton, and Ayr and Irvine strongly commended it to the liberality of the congregations within their bounds. The Scottish Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge declared its readiness to unite its efforts with those of the British and Foreign Bible Society in promoting "one of the best conceivable methods for the speedy and universal diffusion of the Gospel," and it appointed a committee to correspond with the Bible Society, and to devise methods for securing for it financial support in Scotland. These friendly offices led the way to that zeal and practical attachment which in the course of a few years embodied among the most generous promoters of the institution the "men of the South, gentlemen of the North, people of the West, and folk of Fife. "1 Unhappily it was almost at the outset that the Bible Society lost a wise and earnest advocate in the philanthropic David Dale of Glasgow, who had taken the first steps to awaken the interest of the Presbytery of Glasgow, and the Synod of Glasgow and Ayr. The spirit in which he worked may be gathered from the reply which he received from one ' Dedication to Old Mortality. Old Mortality, one likes to remember, died as late as 1801, on the roadside, in February, in his eighty-sixth year, in a winter of deep snow. 84 i8o4-i8i7] DAVID DALE OF GLASGOW 85 of his friends, the Rev. Dr Dalrymple, a minister of Ayr : — " I give you joy, and would take some share of it myself, that we have lived to see the day of a British and Foreign Bible Society. In the eighty-second year of my age, and fifty-ninth of my ministry, next to both deaf and blind, it is little I can do in an active way to assist in so glorious a design ; but that little shall not be wanting. This evening I intend to overture our Synod for a collection, after the good example of the Presbytery of Glasgow." Mr Dale, who was born at Stewarton, in Ayrshire, in 1739, began life as a journeyman weaver, but his industry and mechanical skill soon provided him with a wider sphere of activity. In 1778, in conjunction with Mr (afterwards Sir) Richard Arkwright, who had taken a second patent for his improved spinning frame three years before, he set up the great cotton mills at Lanark, and kept the whole of the west country busy making thread and weaving cotton. Over the thousands, young and old, whom he employed, he exercised a benevolent influence ; he provided teachers and established schools, and if, in accordance with the custom of the time, the hours of labour were long, the conditions of life showed a distinct improvement as contrasted with those of earlier years. Mr William Muir proved a worthy successor to this energetic captain of labour. It was not for long, however, that he was privileged to serve the cause of the Bible, and on his death in 1812 the interests of the Society were represented by Mr Archibald New- bigging. Out of these enlarged relations with Scotland there emerged almost immediately the necessity of considering the condition of the population of the Highlands, and the supply of the Scriptures in Gaelic. To understand the need for the Society's work, however, and the circumstances in which it was undertaken, we must endeavour to give some idea of the Scotland of 1805. With 86 THE BIBLE CAUSE IN SCOTLAND [1804- respect to the Highlands, it will suffice to indicate the changes, and the effect of the changes, which had taken place in the course of the half century that had elapsed since the divine right of the Stuarts perished on the Moor of Culloden. In the Lowlands, indeed, in the same period, changes springing from widely different causes, but still more revolutionary in their operations, had taken place. Let it be remembered that even after 1750 gold was practically unattainable, silver was hard to get, and the supply of copper money was uncomfortably scanty ; ^ that shop- keepers had much ado to find los. change for their customers, and that the lairds in the northern counties settled yearly accounts with a few boles of barley or a few stones of flax and wool. And add to this that it was not till 1749 that a stage-coach began to run between Glasgow and Edinburgh ; that connection with London was maintained by a monthly coach, which "sped" over the distance in twelve or sixteen days ; and that as late as 1746 the London mail-bag on one occasion contained but a single letter for the Scottish capital. A new era, however, was dawning. In 1720 the linen industry, in 1742 calico printing, in 1760 carpet weaving, the increase of banking companies, cotton weaving, the extension of collieries, and the growth of iron foundries with their blast furnaces, and in 1785 turkey-red dyeing, crowded the growing towns with a busy manufacturing population. "Starving droves of Highlanders came south from impoverished crofts, and, not too heartily, worked in the factories ; ploughmen left the fields for the mills, and farmers were forced to raise their wages to keep workers in their service. Hundreds of poor children were brought from Edinburgh to the mills of Lanark, where good David Dale took care of the training of their souls, ' Graham, Social Life of Scotland in the Eighteenth Century, vol. ii. p. 256. i8i7] SCOTLAND IN 1804 87 but kept their bodies at toil from six in the morning till six at night, with only one hour's interval for rest and food. There were 180,000 men, women, and children in the West engaged in the operations connected with cotton in 1796." 1 Improved methods of agriculture changed the water-logged Lowlands into fruitful acres. The two great seaports on the east and west were connected in 1790 by a canal, which ran nearly in the line of the old vallum of the Roman legionaries. The 999 vessels (53,913 tons) which in 1760 trafficked in home manufactures, and brought back rich cargoes of foreign and colonial produce, had grown in 1800 to a fleet of 2415 sail (171,728 tons) with a comple- ment of 14,820 men.^ The Excise revenue, which in 1797 had been ;^i,293,ooo, had risen in 1808 to ;^i, 793,000. And the population, keeping pace with the prosperity of the country, had increased from 1,255,000 in 1755 to 1,514,000 in 1791, to 1,618,000 in 1801. Yet, curiously enough, it was not till 1802 that Mr Telford, engaged on a Government survey, proceeded to the High- lands to draw out the lines of roads and plan the bridges which were most needful. The first stage-coach which ran north from Perth to Inverness started as late as 1806 ; and it was only in 1809 that the Bridge of Dunkeld, which formed, as it were, the door to the central Highlands, was thrown open for traffic. As for the Highlands, that "dark and remote country inhabited by wild Scots," the fiasco of the '45 had revolu- tionised the whole economy of life. Small farms were abolished with their cluster of cots, and hundreds of tenants were cleared off to make room for the sheep walks of capitalists. The want and misery of the Highlands have been generally attributed to these callous evictions of "an ' Graham, Social Life of Scotland in the Eighteenth Century, vol. ii. p. 268. ^ Mackintosh, History of Civilisation in Scotland, vol. iv. p. 381. 88 THE BIBLE CAUSE IN SCOTLAND [1804- industrious peasantry," but it has now been made clear that depopulation and poverty prevailed most in the districts where the small tenantry and the old methods of farming were continued longest. Still there were cases of harshness and scant justice in plenty. The feudal days of chief and vassal had passed for ever ; the summers of fitful labour in the straths, the long winters of gossip and story-telling beside the peat fire were with "the years beyond the Flood," and thousands had to turn their faces from the old land, and eat the bread of exile till the close of their lives. For generations the savagery of the Highlands had been the despair of the Lowlands. About a hundred parish schools had been founded up to 1732, yet a quarter of a century later there was neither school nor schoolmaster in 175 Highland parishes; and in many places all that the people had of religion was a strange medley of half- forgotten Catholicism and the fragments of a more ancient Nature-worship, some phases of which have been preserved in Carmichael's Carmina Gadelica. In daily practice their minds were dominated by meaningless pagan customs, old-world superstitions, an inveterate belief in charms, incantations, holy wells. Beltane fires, and by an eerie dread of wood-spirits, good neighbours of the fairy hillocks,^ washers of the ford. " I remember," wrote the Rev. Lachlan Shaw in 1775, "when from Speymouth, through Strathspey, Badenoch, and Lochiel to Lome there was but one school ; and it was much to find in a parish three persons that ^ As late as 1840 a Highlander who was verging on his hundredth year was accustomed to use the following "grace before meat": — "O Blessed One, provide for us and help us, and let not Thy grace fall on us like rain-drops on the back of a goose. Preserve the aged and the young, our wives and our children, our sheep and our cattle, from the power and dominion of the fairies, and from the malicious effects of an evil eye. Let a straight path be before us, and a happy end to our journey " (Mackenzie, The Prophecies of the Brahan Seer, p. 106). Readers will recollect the incident on which the Ettrick Shepherd founded Kibneny ; a stranger case was that of the Rev. Robert Kirke, who translated the Psalms into Gaelic verse, and who was bodily carried away by the Daoine Schie, and may to this day be serving as chaplain to the little folk in green. We shall hear more of him when we come to speak of the Irish Bible, i8i7] THE STATE OF THE HIGHLANDS 89 could read and write." Many years later still, as Mr Graham points out, education made such slow progress among the poor and listless people of these regions that in 1 82 1 half of the population of 400,000, it was said, was unable to read. It is not difficult to realise the emotion with which the Committee of the Bible Society discussed the melancholy dearth of the Scriptures in the Highlands. They were informed that very few families possessed a complete Bible. In some parishes one in forty might have a single volume of the divided book. A minister in Islay "did not suppose that among 4,000 souls under his care there were a dozen Gaelic Bibles" ; in Skye, with its 15,000 inhabitants, scarcely a copy was to be found ; and all the Western Isles were in a similar condition. Further, the prohibitive price (25s.) placed the Scriptures far beyond the reach of the great mass of the Highland population ; and even had the people been affluent, the books were so scarce as to be almost unobtainable. The condition of the Highlands is intelligible enough. When the ancient versions of the Picts and Scots mentioned by Bede perished in the ravage of monasteries and the feuds of the clans, no one can say, but from that date down to the last quarter of the seventeenth century the Scottish Celts had no version of the Scriptures to which they could turn. When the Irish Bible was completed in two volumes 4to, in 1686, two hundred of the five hundred copies printed were sent to the Highlands, and these were probably the first Celtic Scriptures that had been seen for centuries in the patrimony of Kentigern and Columba. Owing to the similarity between Gaelic and Irish, the text was generally understood, but the Erse character in which it was printed proved so troublesome that an edition in Roman type was issued in 1690. For sixty-four years these seven loaves and two fishes had to suffice for the go THE BIBLE CAUSE IN SCOTLAND [1804- multitude. Then another edition of this Irish version — 500 copies — was printed in Glasgow. To the Rev. James Stuart, minister of Killin, belongs the honour of the first published translation of any part of the Scriptures into Gaelic. Thanks, to some extent at least, to a protest from Dr Johnson, his Gaelic New Testament was issued in an edition of 10,000 copies by the Scottish Society for the Promotion of Christian Know- ledge in 1767. In the preceding year Johnson's attention was drawn to the opposition of certain members of that society, who regarded a Gaelic Testament as a most impolitic encouragement of a language the accents of which seemed the very slogan of Jacobitism. " I did not expect to hear," wrote the great moralist, "that it could be, in an assembly convened for the propagation of Christian knowledge, a question whether any nation un- instructed in religion should receive instruction ; or whether that instruction should be imparted to them by a transla- tion of the holy books into their own language. . . . To omit for a year, or for a day, the most efficacious method of advancing Christianity, in compliance with any purposes that terminate on this side of the grave, is a crime of which I know not that the world has yet had an example, except in the practice of the planters of America, a race of mortals whom, I suppose, no other man wishes to resemble. The Papists have, indeed, denied to the laity the use of the Bible; but this prohibition, in few places now very rigorously enforced, is defended by arguments which have for their foundation the care of souls. To obscure, upon motives merely political, the light of revelation, is a practice re- served for the reformed ; and surely the blackest midnight of Popery is meridian sunshine to such a reformation."^ ^ Boswell, Life of Samuel Johnson, letter to Mr William Drummond, 13th August 1766. Drummond, a bookseller in Edinburgh, was "a gentleman of good family, but small estate," who had been out in '45, and during his concealment in London till the Act of Amnesty had obtained the friendship of Dr Johnson. i8i7] THE GAELIC BIBLE 91 This remonstrance appears to have had the happiest results, and the translation was sent to press. In 1796 an edition of 20,000 copies was issued, and in the meantime a version of the Old Testament was in progress. It was divided' into four parts, the first two of which were translated by the son of the minister of Killin, the Rev. Dr John Stuart of Luss, who revised the third part, and the fourth part was translated by the Rev. Dr Smith of Campbeltown. The first part appeared in 1783, and the whole was completed, in an edition of 5000 copies, in 1802. Such then was the condition of the Highlands, and such the provision of the Scriptures, when the subject was laid before the Bible Society. A vast field, close at hand, was ready for the sowing of the Christian labourer. The population of the Highlands was estimated at 335,000, of whom, it was represented, 300,000 understood no other tongue than their old Celtic speech. Doubtless the Society was made aware of the prevailing illiteracy of the people, but it was their well-founded conviction that, so far from education being an essential preliminary for the diffusion of the Scriptures, the Scriptures were the speediest and most efficacious inducement to education. Like the bee, which when the Red Indians saw, they knew they must be on the march, for the white man was coming — the first copy of the Bible heralded the arrival of the teacher. The Com- mittee of the Bible Society put themselves into communica- tion with the Scottish Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, and the latter, although it was itself engaged in preparing a new edition of the Bible, handsomely redeemed its pledge of cordial co-operation, gave all the information that was needed, and furnished the revised Gaelic text which had been completed for its own use, and thus the Society was enabled to embark without delay on an edition of 20,000 copies of the complete 92 THE BIBLE CAUSE IN SCOTLAND [1804- Gaelic Bible, and 10,000 of the New Testament,— an under- taking accomplished at a cost of ;^i6i5. In 1807 a circular was sent to the ministers throughout the Highlands, announcing that the Scriptures would be ready in October, and offering them for sale to subscribers at 3s. 3d. for the Bible, and lod. for the New Testament, and to ministers, whether subscribers or not, on the same terms. Nearly half the impression was promptly disposed of, and numerous letters were received testifying to the gladness with which the Highlanders embraced the oppor- tunity of obtaining at so low a price "a thing long wished for over all the Highlands of Scotland." "Many of the poor Highlanders of Glasgow, upon hearing of the cheap- ness of the Scriptures in our native language, expressed their heartfelt gratitude with tears in their eyes." It was doubtless at this time that the incident occurred which Dr Norman Macleod mentioned at the anniversary meeting in May 1855. "I recollect," he said, "a clergy- man many years ago telling how, while travelling through the wild districts of the Highlands, he had seen a cart with two or three horses attached to it, and he thought he had come upon a party of smugglers ; ' but judge of my surprise,' he said, 'and my thankfulness, when I found it was the first cargo of Bibles from the British and Foreign Bible Society.' " Of this edition 500 Bibles and 800 Testaments were at once consigned to correspondents for sale or gratuitous distribution among the poor in Canada and Nova Scotia, whither thousands of Highlanders had emigrated. Among these there must have been many who cherished memories of chief and clan ; aged men and women with the "second sight" of the heart, to whom the sound of the wind brought back the cadences of a lost pibroch, and the smoke of the evening fire recalled visions of clachan and strath, of heather and boulder, of the green graves of i8i7] GAELIC BIBLE SCHOOLS 93 the unforgotten dead ; and for whom the sight of the Gaelic Scriptures, with their promise of life beyond death and union after exile, must have been a foretaste of the Wells of Elim. Copies were afterwards sent to the United States, and in a little while the Gaelic version was scattered far and wide, wherever the Highland tongue was still read or spoken. In 1809 another very large impression of Bibles and Testaments was issued at reduced prices for the benefit of the poor in the Highlands, and during the following year the poor in the towns, and the schools which were being established in the wild North, were assisted. Up to the year 1816-17 about 20,700 Bibles and 11,400 Testaments were circulated in Scotland alone, at a cost to the Society of more than ;^i75o. The Edinburgh Bible Society, when it started, undertook the distribution, and the following passages from a letter written by a farmer in the Highlands to one of its Secretaries may be taken as an illustration of what was happening in many another upland valley : — "When your letter came here, announcing your liberal donation of Bibles, it roused a few from their former stupor who could read a little of the Gaelic. We met, and pro- posed to spend two hours twice a week, after six o'clock in the evening, to rub up the little knowledge we had had of reading Gaelic, preparatory to our receiving Bibles. When they came to hand the number of learners increased and many attended, among whom were soon found boys and girls, from nine to fourteen years of age and upwards. Our numbers still increasing, and several among us being able and willing to teach others, we proposed opening schools in the neighbouring populous districts of the parish, which schools soon became like the mother-hive and swarmed off to other districts, till our number amounted to seven schools for reading the Scriptures in 94 THE BIBLE CAUSE IN SCOTLAND [1804- our native language in a parish of seven miles in length. Some of the mother-school teachers attend the . other schools in rotation ; and as many belonging to the other schools as can convene at the mother-school once or twice a month, when it is moonlight, attend and give most satisfactory proofs of improvement." To how many in after years those moonlight nights must have been pleasant times to remember — the hush of the hills, the silvered rock and tree, the schoolroom lit with dim iron crusies, the strange gathering of faces, for at these monthly meetings there were to be seen from two to three hundred persons of both sexes and all ages — "from childhood to the old and grey-headed using their spectacles in learning to read their native language " ; with one book between every two students, for even with the addition of their own purchases the copies bestowed upon them were still too few to supply all. At a later date one hears of the grateful satisfaction with which the Bibles and Testaments were welcomed, and the great distances which many came on foot to receive them. The activity and generosity with which the general cause of the Bible Society was promoted in Scotland at large are most effectually represented by the array of Auxiliaries which sprang up between 1809-10 and 1816-17,^ and which, besides relieving the parent Society of attention to local needs, and otherwise furthering the work at home and abroad, contributed during that period no less than ;^34,8oo to its resources. But before these organisations were formed the co-operation of ecclesiastical bodies and congregations was of the heartiest and most steadfast description. The early adherence of the Presbytery of Glasgow has already been recorded. In 1808-9 that reverend Court decreed a regular annual subscription ; and year by year, even after the establishment of the 1 See The Auxiliary System in Scotland, Appendix II. i8i7] GROWTH OF SCOTTISH AUXILIARIES 95 Glasgow Bible Society, a contribution ranging from ;^70o to ;^goo was remitted to the Committee in London. The Greenock and Port-Glasgow Society, started in 1807 for the circulation of the Holy Scriptures and for the assist- ance of other labourers in the same field, was also regular in its support, until in 181 3 it was merged in a county organisation. In 1809 the annals show a remittance, through Mr W. Muir, the secretary in Glasgow, of ;^2296 from various presbyteries in the Synod of Glasgow and Ayr, and collections from the Presbyteries of Inverness and Fordoun, and from congregations in Stirling, Perth, Aberdeen, Peebles, Edinburgh, and Roxburgh. In 1810 Nonconformist congregations are represented in the sum of ;^i382 received from Glasgow; collections in the Synod of Aberdeen amount to ;^305 ; the Presbytery of Stirling sends ;£i^7, that of Annan ;^40 ; East and West Lothian contribute ;^50 each, and the congregations in Perthshire and Dumfriesshire are not remiss. Later than this, presbyteries, parishes, and congrega- tions continued their isolated efforts, but as the Auxiliary system spread, these gradually became part of the regular organisation. The earliest of the Scottish Auxiliaries — the Edinburgh Bible Society, the Scottish Bible Society, and the East Lothian Bible Society — were established in 1809. In 1810 the West Lothian was formed. In 181 1 institutions were founded at Aberdeen (2), Arbroath, Brechin, Dumfries, Dundee, Forfar, Glasgow,^ and 1 In the address issued by the Glasgow Society on its formation, it was stated that as soon as the establishment of the British and Foreign Bible Society was known in Glasgow, Mr David Dale presented ' ' a subscription worthy of his usual benevolence,' ' and enlisted the interest of his friends, so that in 1805 a regular Auxiliary was formed. ' ' In this way Mr Dale naturally came to be recognised by the British and Foreign Bible Society as their treasurer and general agent for Glasgow and the West of Scotland." For some time after his death meetings of the Auxiliary were regularly held, but on the inception of larger schemes of co-operation this was discontinued, not without reluctance on the part of several members. There was never any formal dissolution, and "the Glasgow Auxiliary Bible Society may therefore be justly 96 THE BIBLE CAUSE IN SCOTLAND [1804- Montrose. Four Auxiliaries were added in 1812 ; twelve in 1813 ; eight in 1814; nine, including New Lanark,i in 1815 ; and one in 1816. In all forty-seven Auxiliaries sprang up, and, as has been said, contributed during the period no less than ;^34,8o4 to the support of the Society. The most noteworthy feature of these northern Auxiliaries was the freedom of action, the right of independent initiative, which at least several of them reserved in their constitutions. This peculiarity may have been due to the national temperament ; or the distance from London and the length of time required to communicate with the Secretaries and Committee may have appeared to render a certain latitude expedient. In the case of Edinburgh it is distinctly pro- vided that the object shall be the same as that of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and that it shall "act in concert with it, or separately, as circumstances shall require." A similar liberty, as already observed, was reserved by the Greenock and Port-Glasgow Associa- tions ; and the West Lothian organisation, while devoting the chief part of its funds to the British and Foreign Bible Society, exercised the right of sending assistance to Ireland. An incident, of some interest in itself as showing the condition of certain parts of the North of England, will best illustrate the special character of the Scottish Auxiliaries, which indeed took up the position of sister Bible Societies rather than that of Auxiliaries in the normal acceptation of the name. An appeal of some urgency was made to the Edinburgh considered as the revival on a large scale of an institution which formerly existed, and which, from the date of its commencement, July 1805, appears to have been the first society of the kind in the kingdom." ' New Lanark, a mile from the old "royal burgh," was the scene of Robert Owen's remarkable experiment in practical socialism, in which unhappily he took no account of the enduring verities of religion. In 1800 he bought the great cotton mills from David Dale, whose daughter he married ; and he converted the population of 4000 hands into a model community, in whose progress even royal dukes took a deep interest. It is strange that, in his old age, the man who could not assent to the tenets of Christianity accepted the so-called evidence of spiritualism as proof of the existence of God and of personal immortality. i8i7] THE EDINBURGH BIBLE SOCIETY 97 Bible Society by the Sunderland Auxiliary. It received prompt attention. " It was not imagined," says the Report, ' ' that in such a district of country there were to be found 25,000 people who are not in the habit of attending any place of worship ; and that among five hundred vessels trading from that port but a few were furnished with a single Bible." Aware, however, that this Auxiliary, "both by its constitution and local situation, came more immedi- ately under the care of the parent institution," the Edinburgh committee wrote to London respecting this melancholy state of things, and in the meantime, as the London stock of pocket Bibles was exhausted, sent to Sunderland a supply of the Edinburgh edition. It is not to be supposed that in emphasising this characteristic of the Scottish societies — and in view of events in later years it is worthy of special attention — any suggestion of coldness, rivalry, or unfriendliness is involved. On the contrary, the most loyal spirit of co- operation was maintained. But let the Edinburgh Bible Society give expression to its sentiments in its own words: — "Our connection, as a society, with the British and Foreign Bible Society, has been a source of continued satisfaction. Unconscious of earning such claims to esteem as they have expressed, your committee have only to wish that they had been enabled to contribute more plentifully to their immense and very numerous undertakings. During the foregoing year (1810-11) the sum of ;^7oo has been remitted to the parent institution, making a total of ^^1500 since the commencement of your society." If the standing taken by the Scottish societies be im- portant enough to notice, scarcely less attention should be given to the manner in which two of the most powerful adapted the Auxiliary system to their own circumstances. By 1816 the Glasgow Bible Society had grouped about itself no fewer than thirty-one Branches and Associations, VOL, I, G 98 THE BIBLE CAUSE IN SCOTLAND [1804- some in the immediate neighbourhood, others as far away as Alexandria, Helensburgh, Strathblane, Kirkintilloch and Saltcoats. In the same year the Edinburgh Society could boast of twenty-two Associations "in connection," and forty Auxiliaries ; and the remoteness of several of the latter may serve to suggest the range of influence enjoyed by the central organisation — the Shetland (in those days preferably the Zetland) Isles, the Orkneys, Nairnshire, Speyside and Avonside, Fort William, Oban on the west, St Andrews on the east, Kelso, Selkirk, Teviotdale, and Wigtown. Roughly speaking, the Edinburgh Auxiliary was already the national society of Scotland. The view which it took of its responsibilities was in keeping with its character. Local works of mercy were at once attended to. The gaols, the hospitals, the infirmaries, the poor, the widows and children of soldiers were provided with the Scriptures. The Danish, French, and Dutch prisoners of war at Greenlaw and Dumfries were visited, and supplied with Testaments in their own tongues. Among the five or six hundred Danes a single copy of the Bible was found — "saved out of many other things which I have lost," said the owner. Nor was the shipping in the Water o' Leith overlooked. The crews, it was noted, included mariners of five nationalities. "A most surpris- ing and animating symptom," the Edinburgh committee thought it, — "that the zeal to circulate and the anxiety to receive the sacred volume seem to have commenced at the same period, and they increase in similar proportion." Their work in the Highlands has already been referred to. To Ireland "they considered themselves called upon to pay particular attention," and during the first two years of their existence they voted ;^500 in aid of the Hibernian Bible Society. They contributed ;^ioo towards the expense of printing the Scriptures for Iceland ; ;;{^ioo to assist the circulation of the Word among the poor of Sweden ; ^^200 i8i7] ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS 99 to further the Oriental translations in which the missionaries were engaged at Serampore. At the close of 1813-14 they reported total contributions from all parts of the country to the amount of £1731 — "collected in a great measure by means of small weekly contributions of one penny." With one more detail, interesting as an example of the unsectarian spirit which actuated the operations of the Bible Society, this chapter may be brought to a close. On the application of the Rev. A. Scott, a Roman Catholic priest in Glasgow, 250 Bibles and 500 Testaments were sent to the Glasgow Bible Society for distribution in Roman Catholic schools. No other course could have been taken by a Society founded on that love which shall abide when the confessions of Churches and the prejudices of denominations shall have shared the evanescence of the fallen leaf and the dissolving cloud. CHAPTER VII THE WORK IN WALES AND IRELAND It is now time to turn to the innumerable operations and the far-reaching projects which absorbed the energies of the Committee of the Bible Society. Unhappily, the chronicler is constrained to treat in sequence events and transactions which in actual occurrence were synchronous and not unfrequently intermingled. The impression of alertness, versatility, multiplicity of affairs, which must have been the strongest impression made on a contemporary, is inevitably lost — at least for the moment. Still, it may be hoped that compensation will be found in the lucidity and cumulative effect which belong to a narrative in sequence. By way of introduction it may be well to premise the following particulars as briefly as may be : — 1805-6. Two large impressions of the English New Testament, printed for the Society, were already in circula- tion, and an ample edition of the Bible was in the press. For the accommodation of the Germans in this country 1000 Bibles and 2000 Testaments had been ordered from Nuremberg and Halle ; and orders had been placed for 300 French Testaments to be sent to Jersey, where, in con- sequence of the war having suspended all communication with Holland and other parts whence the Scriptures were ob- tained, the Word of Life had become so scarce that "I have known," wrote an islander, "old, second-hand family Bibles sell at ;^2 and £^ — which none but the rich can afford." As the dearth of the Scriptures in Wales was the immediate lOQ i8o4-iSi7] EDITIONS IN VARIOUS TONGUES loi cause of the establishment of the Society, the Committee were specially concerned that quick and abundant provision should be made for the wants of the Principality. Their efforts to procure an immediate temporary supply had, however, proved unsuccessful ; and unavoidable con- tingencies retarded the completion of their own editions. Nevertheless, in July, 1806, the distribution of 10,000 copies of the New Testament began, and 20,000 copies of the Welsh Bible were in an advanced state of preparation. Large editions of the Scriptures in Gaelic, as we have narrated in the last chapter, were also in the press. 1806-7. An edition of 3000 Spanish Testaments was passing through the hands of the printer. Although two editions of the English Bible had been issued, and several impressions of the New Testament put in circulation, the supply fell so far short of the demand that more adequate arrangements were concerted with the Cambridge University Press to enable the Society to meet all requirements. The question of an Arabic Bible was under consideration, and a proposal to assist in providing portions of the Scriptures in Kalmuk was receiving attention. 1807-8. The Welsh and Gaelic Bibles had been com- pleted ; the project of an edition of the New Testament in Modern Greek was under consideration ; inquiries were being made as to the need of a Manx version, and grave doubts were entertained as to the utility of an edition of the Scriptures in Irish. Incidentally it may be noted that by this time business transactions had become so numerous and weighty as to exceed the powers of the Society's collector and accountant, who had been in charge of the depot, and the services of a bookseller were engaged to expedite the handling of stock and the execution of orders. 1808-9. The New Testament in Spanish, Portuguese, I02 THE WORK IN WALES AND IRELAND [1804- and Italian had been issued in editions of 5000 copies each, at an aggregate cost of ;^ii92. In the press were similar editions in Dutch and Danish (at a cost of ;^573) ; and ;^i35o was allocated for the production of 5000 copies of the New Testament in Modern Greek with the Ancient Greek text in parallel columns. 1809-10. The New Testament in Dutch and Danish was in circulation, and the Modern Greek was nearly ready. The Gospel of St John was printed in Eskimo, and it was arranged that it should be followed by the Gospel of St Luke. After mature deliberation the Committee decided to print 2000 copies of the New Testament in Irish. 1810-11. The New Testament versions in Modern and Ancient Greek, in Irish, and in Manx, were in circulation ; the stereotype French Bible had been nearly completed ; a large impression of the Dutch Bible was in the press, and a stereotype edition of the Italian New Testament and 5000 copies of the German were in progress. Stimulated by the representations of the Edinburgh Bible Society, the Committee decided to produce an Ethiopic version of the Psalms, for circulation in Abyssinia. 1811-12. A supply of New Testaments in Polish was obtained by purchase for the benefit of the Poles in this country. The demands for Scriptures made by the Auxiliary Societies had grown to such magnitude that the resources of the Society were found to be inadequate. To supplement the production of the two Universities the Committee secured the assistance of Messrs Eyre and Strahan, the King's Printers ; and even with their co-operation the work of supply remained an almost overwhelming labour. 1813-14. Among important undertakings in the press were the New Testament in Syriac, under the super- vision of Dr Claudius Buchanan, and the Psalms and the Gospels of St Matthew and St John in Ethiopic. OLD BIBLE HOUSE, 10 EARL STREET. {To face p. 103. '^v, '?'^^^' .p,r^^ <^^ RnO^'^ ^r-' \Ar^\'(>^^ U^i"- i8i7] PURCHASE OF lo EARL STREET 103 1814-15. The Committee resolved to print without delay the entire Bible in Irish. I Si 5- 1 6. Up to this date the Society had possessed no local habitation of its own. The Library and Depot had been in one place, the Accountant's Office in another, and the Committee Room in a third. The inconvenience and disadvantage of such an arrangement, together with the lack of any place of common resort, had been so severely felt that it was considered an absolute necessity to unite all departments under one roof. Commodious premises at ID Earl Street were acquired on satisfactory terms from Mr Enderby,! and it was found that the immediate expense involved would be covered by the annual saving which would be made on the existing system. Up to 30th June 1817, the versions of the Scriptures printed for the Society formed a gross total of 816,278 Bibles, 986,883 Testaments, and 5100 Portions, in eighteen different languages : — Bibles. Testaments. Bibles. Testaments. English 709,042 600,695 German . 8,000 13,000 Welsh 52,297 91,188 Greek, Modern ... 10,000 Gaelic 22,000 20,000 Greek, Ancient Irish . 5,000 10,750 and Modern ... 5,000 Manx ... 2,250 Arabic . 1.439 ... French 13,000 79,000 Syriac ... 6,000 Spanish ... 30,000 Eskimo, Gospels Portuguese 20,000 and Acts ... 1,000 Italian ... 14,000 Mohawk, Gospel Dutch 5,000 15,000 of St John . ... 2,000 Danish 500 10,000 Ethiopic, Psalter 2,100 ... • The Society took possession of lo Earl Street on the 24th June 1816. The house was purchased at a cost of ;^5400, and the addition of a warehouse and other improvements raised the total expense to ahout ;f 12,000. For particulars as to the site see Appendix III. It is interesting to learn that Miss Enderby, who was born at 10 Earl Street before it passed into the possession of the Society, is still alive. At the time of the purchase there was in the house " a curious four-post bedstead, with carved and painted ornaments, and the following inscription in capitals at its head : — ' Henri, by the Grace of God, Kynge of Englonde and of Fraunce, Lorde of Irelonde, Defendour of the Faythe, and Supreme Heade of the Churche of all Englande. An. Dni. M. ccccc. xxxix.' Below the inscription, on each side, is the King's motto ' Dieu et mon Droit,' with the initials of Henry and his royal consort, Anne Boleyn." Hughson, Wal/is through London (1817), vol. i. p. 148. 104 THE WORK IN WALES AND IRELAND [1804- An equipment so extensive and so various was in itself no inconsiderable work to accomplish : let us now survey the purposes to which it was applied. It was a memorable day in July 1806 which brought the new supply of the Scriptures to Wales, and at least one striking account has been preserved of the manner in which they were received. When the news arrived at Bala of the cart carrying the first precious load, "the Welsh peasants," writes an eye-witness, "went out to meet it, welcomed it as the Israelites did the Ark of old, drew it into the town, and eagerly bore off every copy as rapidly as they could be dispersed." ^ Young people could be seen reading the books late in the summer twilight, and when night had fallen they still turned the pages by the glimmer of dim lamp or rush- light. In the morning labourers carried them afield, that they might turn to them in their intervals of rest. As there were Welsh men and women in many English towns, it was made known that Welsh ministers, whether they were subscribers to the Society or not, might have the privilege of providing for their congregations at the reduced rates. Two years later another effort was made to bring the Word of Life within reach of the poorest in the Principality, and 20,000 Bibles and 30,000 Testaments were circulated at a loss to the Society of ;^i896. In the English portion of South Wales 200 Bibles and 200 Testaments were distributed among the poor as time passed on, and in 1812-13, as a general desire had been expressed for a Bible in large type, the Committee decided to produce an edition similar to the largest English octavo. In the meanwhile Auxiliaries and Associations had been springing up in all directions ; and the generous support ^ A copy from this consignment was given by Mr Charles to his baby grandson, who became President of Trevecca College, South Wales, and who related the incident at one of the Jubilee meetings of the Society. i8i7] THE CHANNEL AND SCILLY ISLES 105 which they contributed to the Society has already been set forth. The first gift to Jersey was followed by others ; Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark were not forgotten, and a considerable consignment was made to the Scilly Isles, that strange and storied cluster of rocks, which, if the surmises of the geologist be true, is all that survives of the lost realm of Lyonnesse. In those days the hundred peaks of granite had not yet been laid out in flower-fields, and the islanders maintained themselves by fishing, kelp-burning, and pilotage. In every direction, the exertions of the Society were warmly appreciated. ' ' When I gave out in the pulpit," wrote a minister in Jersey in 1809, "that there was a probability that we should be supplied with the whole Bible, you could see the silent tears of joy fall from many at the thought that one day they would be possessors of the invaluable treasure. Many are anxiously waiting for the completion of the Old Testament in French. When it is finished, oh ! pray do not forget Jersey." Most of the families in the island, it was added, were descended from French refugees, who had escaped from the religious persecu- tions. The writer of the letter had married a devout English girl, who in 1807 or 1808 established a Ladies' Bible Association, one of the earliest of these institutions. An Auxiliary was founded in Guernsey in 181 2, and another in Jersey in the following year. The Japanese lily ^ washed up from a lost East Indiaman on the shores of Guernsey might well have symbolised the advent of the Scriptures, which, in days of storm and wreck, a breath of heaven had cast on the islands, a sure pledge of the Land of the Morning. English Bibles and Testaments were sent to the Isle 1 The Amaryllis Samiensis, or Guernsey Lily, stranded from a wreck about the year 1630. io6 THE WORK IN WALES AND IRELAND [1804- of Man in 1808 ; but the English tongue had not yet acquired the ascendency which it attained twenty years later, and an edition of the Manx version of the New Testament was printed in 1810. The Bishop of Sodor and Man interested himself in the work, collections were made by the clergy in the island, and 1326 copies were speedily ordered, and supplied at reduced rates. The bars of the prison-house may be said to chequer the opening pages of this version, for it was begun by Bishop Wilson in collaboration with his Vicar-General, Dr Walker, during their confinement in Castle Rushen in 1722. The Bishop had been consecrated in 1698, and applied himself vigorously to the moral and religious improvement of his diocese ; but his views of discipline, too inflexible and too harshly peremptory even for that stern time,^ brought him into conflict with the civil power. The Bishop had, for some grave breach of ecclesiastical law, suspended Arch- deacon Horrobin, chaplain to the Governor, to whom the Archdeacon appealed, instead of referring his case to the Metropolitan at York. The Governor, who had long been hostile to the prelate, imposed on him a fine of ;^5o, and one of ;^20 each on his two Vicars-General, who had taken official part in the suspension. They refused to pay the fine, and were arrested and conveyed to Castle Rushen ; but the people, who loved their stern spiritual father, rose in angry tumult. Great crowds threatened the castle, and it was only on the interposition of the Bishop himself, who addressed them from the wall and from his grated windows, that they were restrained from pulling down Governor Home's house. The translation of the New Testament during their two months of imprisonment helped to alleviate the ' The late Rev. T. E. Brown, the author of Fo'c's'le Yams, Aber Stations, etc., has preserved in a noble poem the memory of a ghastly example of the disciplinary rigour of the Church during the episcopate of this pious and beloved but too uncom- promising prelate. See The Collected Poems, " Catherine Kinrade," p. 47. i8i7] THE MANX BIBLE 107 discomforts of the small dark cell, the cold and damp- ness of which brought on a disorder which partially disabled the Bishop's right hand for the rest of his long life.^ On appeal to the King, the proceedings of the Governor were condemned and reversed, and the prison doors were thrown open ; but the expenses of the trial are said to have been so heavy that the estate of the Bishop was permanently impoverished. Dr Walker's version of St Matthew was printed at the Bishop's cost in 1748. When the venerable prelate died in 1755, at the age of ninety - three, after an episcopate of nearly sixty years, the other Gospels and the Acts were ready for the press. His successor. Bishop Hildesley, who declared his "whole heart set on the Manx translation," had the New Testament completed ; and it was published, chiefly through the aid of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, in 1767. The "vast eagerness and joy" with which it was received in the island may be gathered from the exclamation of a poor Manx woman on hearing her son read a chapter for the first time — "We have sat in darkness until now ! " - Bishop Hildesley superintended the translation of the Old Testament, half of which nearly perished in a storm when Dr Moore and Dr Kelly were on their way with it to Whitehaven, where it was to be printed. The vessel was wrecked, and the MS., one of the few things saved, was preserved by being held for five hours above the fury ^ Another prisoner in the Isle of Man — long before the days of Bishop Wilson — was the ill-starred Duchess of Gloucester, of whom we caught a glimpse in our first chapter, doing penance in a white sheet, with a lighted taper in her hand, on Old Swan Stairs. She was confined for some time at Castle Rushen, and then transferred to the old Danish stronghold at Peel, whence after seven years spent in a deep vault, she escaped, but was recaptured, and, more vigilantly guarded in her living tomb, lingered out another seven years, and was released by death in 1454. ^ It is contended by the learned that the "Three Legs" of Man, like the Tri- skelion of Sicily, the modern Buddhist Prayer-Wheel and the ancient Swastika, is an emblem of the vast sunny swing of the heaven, and dates from the antique days of elemental worship (Simpson, The Buddhist Prayer-Wheel). And yet, "we have sat in darkness until now " ! io8 THE WORK IN WALES AND IRELAND [1804- of the breaking seas. The last proof-sheets were placed in the Bishop's hands on the 28th November 1772, and, surrounded by his rejoicing family, he literally sang the Nunc Dimittis. Three days later he was struck down by apoplexy, and on the 7th December his spirit passed to its rest. "His ardent love and concern for the good of his spiritual charge he carried with him to the grave, and even into the grave, as he had by his will directed that the funeral office and sermon should be all in Manx, which was performed accordingly. Among other generous bequests he left ;^300 to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge towards a future edition of the Manx Bible, and in 1775 that society published an impression of the whole Bible, and a separate edition of the New Testament."^ This, then, was the memorable version which the Bible Society produced in 1810. In 1815, about two years after the formation of the Isle of Man Auxiliary, it was found necessary to reprint 250 copies, and in 1819 an edition of 5000 passed through the press. The day of the Manx tongue, however, was closing. In 1825 the Bishop intimated that the islanders preferred the English text. In 1848 the Committee sent 300 copies for the use of those who still clung to the old speech, and a further supply was de- spatched in the Society's Jubilee year ; but though the Celtic was still in use, every one spoke English as well. The native literature of Elian Vannin — the carvals (carols) which Borrow speaks of as preserved in uncouth- looking, smoke-stained volumes in low farmhouses and cottages in mountain gills and glens — had lost its hold on the heart of the people, and the Manx version has ^ The Gentleman' s Magazine, July) August, September 1794 ; The Bible of Every Za?;rf (Bagster), p. 167. Curiously enough, an edition of Bishop Wilson's Bible, in 3 vols. 4to, was printed on paper, which, according to Hannah More, had been specially made for a superior edition of Voltaire's works. The Voltaire project failed, and the paper was bought and devoted to this better purpose. — Monthly Extracts, 1848, August, p. 793. i8i7] THE WORK BEGUN IN IRELAND 109 no longer a place among the numerous translations of the Society.^ It will be within remembrance that immediately after its establishment the Bible Society entered into communica- tion with the Dublin Association for Promoting the Know- ledge and Practice of the Christian Religion. In the course of a cordial response the Association stated that since their formation in 1792 up to date (October 1804) they had, at the cost of ^2380, distributed 16,725 Bibles and 20,355 Testaments at reduced prices ; that the demand for the Scriptures, which were bought up with great avidity, was increasing at a rate that exceeded the resources of the Association, and that they would gratefully receive any assistance in furtherance of their work. As soon, therefore, as the Society's edition of the New Testament had issued from the press in 1805, facilities were offered to the Association, and the Society began, through the medium of individual agents and Sunday schools, that extensive distribution among the poor of all denominations which the condition of the country imperatively required. One of the earliest grants was that of 1000 copies in sheets at half the cost price for the benefit of Roman Catholic school children. It was with satisfaction that the Committee heard that one of the Roman Catholic bishops had, in a pastoral letter, not only authorised but even recommended the admission of the books into schools, and their circula- tion among the laity, and that Roman Catholic as well as Protestant children were attending the Sunday schools which had been opened in various places. In 1808 Mr Hughes, Mr Charies of Bala, Dr Bogue, ' The version was still in use in 1872. " I heard many testimonies," wrote Mr G. T. Edwards, the secretary of the Northern District, "as to the value of the Manx Bible, several copies of which had been circulated during the year, though that language is steadily on the decline " (Monthly Reporter, 1872, p. 443). , The depository sale-list for 1875 is the last in which the Manx Scriptures appear among the Society's publications, no THE WORK IN WALES AND IRELAND [1804. and Mr Samuel Mills made a tour in Ireland, and took with them 1000 New Testaments in English for distribution. Mr Charles observed that the poor in their rude huts were very civil and responsive, but wholly ignorant of the Word of God. Religion, he felt, could not be spread among the people without Bibles, without preaching in the native tongue, and without schools in which the children could be taught to read Irish. "We have not met," he wrote, "a single person who could read Irish, and there are no elementary books in the language. Itinerant schools " — and his own experience in Wales enabled him to form a judgment — "would do wonders here." The accuracy of this opinion was in a measure confirmed by the statement of a clergyman in the South of Ireland, who said that the common people who read at all read English only ; even if they could have read Irish, there was such a difference between the spoken dialect and the literary diction, that the latter would have been unintelligible to them. From these premises he argued that there was no occasion for an Erse version. Mr Charles's view was the larger and the more just ; and indeed the time was not now remote when all the means of improvement which he advocated came into operation, and no small part of the beneficent result is due to the visit of the Apostle of Bala and the enter- prising Secretary of the Bible Society. All through the period on which we are now engaged the Committee were sedulous in their efforts to enlighten every dark place, and to plant the rose in the desert. The people were in a miserably distressed condition. By the end of 1804 the Irish National Debt had, in consequence of the Union, risen to fifty-three millions — a leap of six and twenty millions in four years ; and in the same time, notwithstanding the increase of population, the net produce of the revenue had fallen. The prosperity of the towns i8i7] THE HIBERNIAN BIBLE SOCIETY in began to flag and languish, and Dublin, which the removal of the Parliament had practically ruined, sank in a few years to the rank of a second-rate provincial city. Agri- culture had been stimulated by the Napoleonic wars, but with the peace there came a disastrous decline in agri- cultural prices, for Ireland had practically no trade, and could not, like England, counterbalance the losses which the land-interest sustained by the advantages which the trade-interest derived from the fall in values. In 1814 and 1815 the pinch of poverty was intensified by the failure of the potato crop. This commercial impoverishment ex- plains the peculiar relations which existed between the Bible Society and its Irish Auxiliaries, and it throws light on the exceptional distributions made through other agencies. In the meanwhile the unorganised efforts of the Committee, together with their intercourse with the Dublin Associa- tion for promoting the Christian Religion, had led to the establishment of a Bible Society on the distinctive principles of the parent institution. The Dublin Bible Society, or the Hibernian, as it was immediately afterwards named, was founded in 1806, and was accorded the privilege of obtaining the Scriptures at the cost of production. In the following year its funds were aided by a grant of ;^ioo, and the Cork Bible Society, which was now started, was similarly assisted, and was placed, with the Bible Committee of the Synod of Ulster, on the same footing as the Hibernian Bible Society. The Society's relations with the Irish Auxiliaries will, however, be viewed with a clearness the more comprehensive if the latter are grouped together, and if we add to them the London Hibernian Society, which was formed in 1806 for establishing schools and circulating the Holy Scriptures in Ireland, and which, thirteen years later, had 529 schools and 58,202 scholars under its care. 112 THE WORK IN WALES AND IRELAND [1804- THE IRISH AUXILIARIES UP TO 1816-17. The Hibernian Bible Society, with fifty-seven Branches. Patron — His Grace the Lord Primate. President — The Archbishop of Dublin. Vice-Presidents — The Earl of Belvidere, the Earl of Charlemont, Viscount Northland, Viscount Bernard, the Bishops of Kildare, Derry, Limerick, Cork and Down, the Provost of Trinity College. Year of Formation. 1806 1807 1807 iai2 1813 1816 1806 Total Subscription to the British and Foreign Bible Society. .£6,718 payment for Scriptures. Total Grants in aid from the British and Foreign Bible Society. .£1,100 ;f 1,306, balance of payment due re- mitted. Total Donations from the British and Foreign Bible Society. 300 Bibles^ 11,100 I Testa- [ ments. J .£1.633 The Cork Bible Society. President — The Bishop of Cork. .£2,269 payment for Scriptures. .£200 Bible Committee of the Synod of Ulster. 1 - I .£100 I Derry Bible Society, with nine Branches. President — The Bishop of Derry. ;£i5o New Ross Bible Society. YouGHAL Bible Society. 500 Bibles"! 2,500 Tes- ^=.£410 laments J 250 Bibles^ i,oooTes-}-=;£i73 tamentsj ;£55 payment for Scriptures. The Hibernian Society in London. Provided with 2,650 Bibles and 13,670 Testa- ments for the Schools in Ireland at a loss to the Society of . .£i>73i i8i7] GROWTH OF THE IRISH AUXILIARIES 113 Apart from the ;^gi92 which the Auxiliaries themselves expended on the Scriptures, the Society devoted ;^85i4 to Ireland in grants and donations during this period, and threw into circulation at least 8154 Bibles and 48,503 Testaments.^ In connection with the Hibernian Bible Society, it may be noted that by the beginning of 181 1 it had established Branches in Belfast, Limerick, Dungannon, New Ross, Armagh, Tullamore, and Tuam ; and its directors had gratefully stated that but for the liberality of the parent Society, they would have been obliged to put a stop to their operations in face of the overwhelming demand made upon them. In the course of that year a Ladies' Auxiliary, formed under the patronage of Viscountess Lorton, the Countesses of Westmeath, Meath, and Leitrim, Viscountess Lifford, and other ladies of rank, had come to its assistance. In 1813-1814 the Hibernian Bible Society had increased the number of its Branches to fifty-three. Its circulation for the year was 50,000 Bibles and Testaments ; it had secured depots for the sale of the Scriptures in one hundred towns in Ireland,^ and it expressed the hope that ere long it would be in a position to contribute assistance towards the general purposes of the Bible Society. In the following year it had established Auxiliaries in the King's County and the counties of Kildare, Kerry, and Galway, where they were particularly needed, and it had adopted with success the plan of Associations. The annual circulation had now reached between 80,000 and go,ooo volumes — a total of nearly 200,000 since its foundation. To the Cork Bible Society considerable opposition was made on the ground that it would become subservient to the interests of a party. Happily these prejudices and ' The number of books was certainly larger, as occasionally in the early grant- schedules the money value is entered without details. "^ At the anniversary meeting of the Bible Society in 1855 the Bishop of Meath stated that in 1805 there were not twelve places in Ireland besides Dublin in which the Bible could be purchased.— M^B^/^/C Extracts, 1855, p. 529. VOL. I. H 114 THE WORK IN WALES AND IRELAND [1804- forebodings were dispelled, and within three years it had doubled its original list of subscribers, and was pursuing a course of ever-increasing usefulness. In the old hill town of Derry, whose grey walls are still haunted by the memory of the famous siege, the Scriptures sent by the Society were bought with avidity. They were trying times for the poor, but the hunger for the Bread of Life was scarcely less keen than that for "wretched meat and drink." "We will buy a little less meal, and take home the Word of God with us ; we may never get Testaments for yd. each again." Even the beggars became purchasers. "I would feel less," said one poor blind creature with five children, "knowing my child to be hungry, than to have it living without the Word of God." In less than a fortnight 1525 copies were disposed of, and about 200 were bought by Roman Catholics. But even more interesting are the glimpses to be obtained from the report of the committee of the Sligo Branch of the Hibernian Bible Society. As early as 181 5 the London Hibernian Society had wrought a wonderful change by the work of the schools which it had opened, and which now had in Sligo a roll of 17,000 children. " By means of these schools," the Report states, "the Word of God has forced its way into the most unenlightened parts of your country. Villages, glens, and mountains, denied by nature the cheering beams of the sun, have received ample compensation in having their hitherto unpierced clouds of ignorance dispelled by the rays of the Gospel. The Bible has now become the class-book of the hedge-school, and supplanted those foolish legends which poisoned the minds of youth." In remote villages too we come across scenes similar to those which we beheld in the Scottish straths : numbers of people meet in the evening, not for amuse- ment, drunkenness, or gaming, "or to enter into illegal i8i7] THE IRISH VERSION 115 combinations and dangerous conspiracies, but to have the sacred volume read aloud to them." The Romish priesthood present themselves in an engag- ing light. An inspector of schools tells how he was invited to take a seat near the altar after Mass, and to lend the priest his Irish Testament. The priest read the chapter from which the Gospel for the day had been taken, and then addressed his flock: "You have now heard in a language you all understand what I before read in the Mass, in your hear- ing, in a language you did not understand ; and you all seem to be highly pleased with what I have read (Matthew xxiv.). Now this is one of the good books taught in the free school opened for the instruction of your children in this chapel, and supported, free of expense to you, by good people in England. The English books also pro- vided by the society for your children are good — very good. One of them, the Testament, is the Word of God ; and if you wish to know the difference between the Catholic Testament and the English and Irish Testaments provided by the society, it is even the same as if I should say 'Four and two makes six,' and you should say, 'Two and four makes six '—which you all know is the same in the end. I therefore not only permit these schools, but command you all to send your children to them, and to be thankful ; and I shall be much displeased with the man who neglects such a blessing provided for his family." At this date, it will be noticed, the Irish version of the New Testament was in circulation. After a discussion alternately suspended and renewed during five years, and a voluminous correspondence with learned and pious men capable of forming a trustworthy opinion on the subject, the Society decided in 1809 to print in Roman characters an edition of the New Testament in the Erse dialect of that ancient Aryan tongue which, " had it not been for Aughrim, the Boyne, and the penal laws, would undoubtedly now ii6 THE WORK IN WALES AND IRELAND [1804- be the language of all Ireland," and which, with the exception of Greek, "has left the longest, most lunjinous, and most consecutive literary track behind it of any of the vernacular tongues of Europe."^ Irish was still spoken over nearly the whole of Ireland, and indeed down to the Great Famine it was the home speech of half the population. The first 2000 copies of the Testament were distributed so quickly as to necessitate an edition of 3000 in 1813, another of 2500 in 1816, and a fourth of 3000 in 181 7. In the last of these years 5000 copies of the whole Irish Bible were issued. The text was that of the good Bishop Bedell, and we may pause at this point to touch on the story of the Irish translations. The earliest Irish version of which there is any certain evidence was that of a New Testament belonging to, and not improbably translated by, Richard Fitzralph, Bishop of Armagh in 1347, who, however, was compelled by the troubles of his times to conceal the volume.^ He enclosed it within one of the walls of his Cathedral, with an inscrip- tion on the last page, "When this book is found truth will be revealed to the world or Christ will shortly appear " ; and while the Cathedral was being repaired, about 1530,^ it was discovered in its hiding-place. All trace of it, however, was afterwards lost. Another translation was made in the last quarter of the sixteenth century, but its history is lost in obscurity. A third, that of William Daniel, Archbishop of Tuam, was completed, and 500 copies, in folio and in the Erse character, were published in 1602. It was not till 1681 that a second edition (750 copies in quarto) was printed, through the munificence of the Hon. Robert Boyle, son ^ Hyde, The Story of Early Gaelic Literature, p. l6. ^ The Bible of Every Land (Bagster), p. 162. ' The prophecy was fairly well realised. In 1529 the name of " Protetsant" was originated at the Diet of Spires, and in 1530 the Confession of Augsburg was formulated. Michelet, The Lift of Luther (Eng. Trans.), pp. 217, 225. i8i7] THE GOOD BISHOP BEDELL 117 of the great Earl of Cork, a friend of three English Kings, founder of the Boyle Lectureship, and not less distinguished by his genius than by his zealous defence and propaga- tion of Christianity. Here we leave for a moment the record of the New Testament, and turn to that of the Old, no portion of which existed in Irish until the saintly Bishop Bedell, appointed to the see of Kilmore and Ardagh in 1629, not only undertook the superintendence and cost of a transla- tion, but required his clergy, as a preliminary measure, to establish schools in every parish. Observing with much regret that England had all along neglected the Irish, as a nation not only conquered but undisciplinable, and believing that the true interest of England was to gain the Irish to the knowledge of religion, and through that knowledge to the love of England, he learned their language, distributed a short catechism in English and Erse, "to the great joy of many of the Irish, who seemed to be hungering and thirsting after righteousness," founded bene- fices for several of the priests whom he had converted, and occupied himself daily with comparing the Irish translation with the Hebrew, the Septuagint, and the Italian version of his friend Diodati, "with so much industry that in a very few years he finished the translation and resolved to set about the printing of it."'^ Before he had time to begin, the Rebellion broke out, his palace was attacked, he and his family were taken prisoners, and in 1642 he died at the house of his friend, Dennis O'Sheridan. According to a recent Irish writer. Bishop Bedell broke the unwritten compact to extinguish the Irish tongue, which the English Government made with the bishops and clergy whom they placed in the sees and dioceses throughout Ireland. But "he reaped his reward in the undying gratitude of the Irish, and the equally bitter * Burnet, Life of W. Bedell, Bishop of Killmore. ii8 WORK IN WALES AND IRELAND [1804-1817 animosity of his own colleagues. Ussher, then Primate, in answer to a pathetic letter of Bedell's asking what were the charges against him, said in his reply : ' The course which you took with the Papists was generally cried out against, neither do I remember in all my life that anything was done here by any of us at which the professors of the Gospel did take more offence, or by which the adversaries were more confirmed in their super- stitions and idolatry, whereas I wish you had advised with your brethren before you would aventure to pull down that which they had been so long a-building,' meaning the discrediting and destruction of the Irish language. The Irish, however, did not forget the efforts Bedell had made on behalf of their tongue, for having taken him prisoner, they treated him with every courtesy in their power, and when he died their troops fired a volley over his grave, crying out, ' Requiescat ultimus Anglorum,'' while a priest who was present was heard to exclaim with fervour, 'Sit anima mea cum Bedello.'"'^ The MS. of Bedell's version was preserved, and in 1686, after careful revision, 500 copies, in two 4to volumes, were printed, chiefly at the expense of Mr Boyle. Of this edition, as we have seen, 200 copies were sent to Scotland, for the benefit of the Highlanders. A second edition, in Roman characters, and designed for the Highlanders, was printed in 1690, under the supervision of the same Rev. Robert Kirke of Aberfoyle, who two years afterwards was spirited away by the fairies.^ More than a century elapsed before another attempt was made to provide the Isle of the Saints with the Scriptures in its native tongue. The work was then under- taken by the British and Foreign Bible Society. ^ Hyde, A Literary History of Ireland, p. 619. ^ See chapter vi. p. 88 n. CHAPTER VIII THE ISLES OF THE SEA There is an obliquity in human nature which often makes it easier to assist the necessitous at a distance than to relieve distress at our own door. This was not the sin of the Bible Society. The Committee looked far afield, it is true, but they did not neglect the opportunities which lay to their hands, though, as the Auxiliaries and Associa- tions multiplied, these last appropriated year by year more and still more of the work locally. Soldiers and sailors, foreign as well as British, fishermen, sea-fencibles, the poor of all nationalities — in London mainly foreigners and chiefly Germans — were offered the Word of God in their own tongue. Among the poor alone the Scriptures were distributed ' to an extent that involved what may conveniently be termed a loss of about ;^i200. Among foreign soldiers during the war,i and foreign fishermen and sailors afterwards. Scriptures to the value of ^^536 were circulated. The amount expended on our own soldiers and sailors, including 2300 Bibles and 3800 Testaments sent out to British prisoners of war in France, was ;^i4o6. And here let it be noted that the initiative was not invariably on the side of the Society. Early in ^ These included some thousands of the Hanoverian troops, who, when Napoleon seized Hanover in 1803, passed over into England, and formed themselves into "The King's German Legion," which afterwards did good service in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, and Germany itself. There were also the twelve hundred Black Hussars (" Black Brunswickers "), with whom after the Battle of Wagram the Duke of Brunswick dashed across the four hundred miles of country between Bohemia and the mouth of the Weser, and reached England. 119 I20 THE ISLES OF THE SEA [1804- 1815 a Marine Bible Society— the first of its kind— was formed on board his ship by the commander of one of the Government packets on the Falmouth station. At no time perhaps in the history of this country was there so pressing a need for the benevolence which spends itself in works of mercy as in these years of which we are now speaking. Let us recall for a moment the jails, hulks, and convict prisons of the first two decades of the nineteenth century. "The criminal laws were savage, and they were administered in a spirit appropriately relentless. . . . Our law recognised 223 capital offences, and 165 of them bore no remoter date than the reign of the Georges."^ Thanks to Sir Samuel Romilly, pocket- picking ceased to be capital in 1808, and theft from bleaching - grounds in 181 1 ; but in three successive endeavours — in 1813, 1816, and 1818 — he failed to restrict capital punishment in cases of theft to a minimum value of 5s. As late as 1832 horse - stealing, cattle-stealing, sheep-stealing, theft from a dwelling-house, and forgery in general were all liable to death on the gallows. House- breaking was struck out of the capital list in 1833 ; returning from transportation before expiry of sentence in 1834; sacrilege and letter-stealing in 1835. One of the results of the truculence of the penal code went far to defeat the very purpose of the law. Sentences were so frequently commuted that they lost much of their deterrent effect, and yet they were carried out often enough to prove that the law was a reality.^ In 1805, out of 350 persons sentenced to death, 10 were executed for murder and 58 for other offences ; in 1815, of 553 sentenced, 15 were hanged for murder and 42 for other crimes. In 1816 there were at one time 58 persons under sentence of death, and one of them was a child of ten. ^ Mackenzie, The Nineteenth Century, book ii. chap. i. ■* Owen Pike, A History of Crime in England, vol. ii. chap, xii. i8i7] THE HORRORS OF NEWGATE 121 In such a condition of legislative barbarity one cannot be surprised either at the recklessness of the criminal or at the horrors of his prison. In spite of Howard's improve- ments, the jails and hulks were more like the Malebolge of Dante's Inferno than the abode of men whose souls might yet be saved. There was no occupation for the prisoners, who spent their time in gambling and drinking, in telling tales of villainy and debauchery, in planning new crimes. In 1808 the number of women in the female wards of Newgate was from 100 to 150, and the breadth allotted to each in their sleeping-room was eighteen inches. When Mrs Fry visited the prison in 1813 she found the women — nearly 300, with their numerous children — crowded in four rooms, comprising in the aggregate about igo superficial yards, "without employment, and with no other super- intendence than that given by a man and his son, who had charge of them by night and by day." There — tried and untried, misdemeanants and felons — they lived, washed, cooked, and slept, without bedding, on the floor. "With the proceeds of their clamorous begging they purchased liquor from a regular tap in the prison. Beyond that necessary for their safe custody, there was little restraint over their communication with the world without." ^ Swear- ing, gaming, fighting, singing, drinking, and dancing and dressing up in men's clothes were the amusements and occupations of the place. The great "Stone Jug "had its chaplain, and a Parlia- mentary report of 18 14 describes his own view of the duties attached to a charge from which he drew over ^^300 a year : "Beyond his attendance in chapel and on those who are sentenced to death [he] feels but few duties to be attached to his office. He knows nothing of the state of morals in the prison ; he never sees any of the prisoners in private. Though fourteen boys and girls, from nine to thirteen years 1 Hare, The Gurneys of Earlham, vol. i. p. 251. 122 THE ISLES OF THE SEA [,804- old, were in Newgate in April last, he does not consider attention to them a point of his duty. He never knows that any have been sick till he gets a warning to attend their funeral, and does not go to the Infirmary, for it is not in his instructions."^ It was surely time that the truth of the Gospel should illumine the dark wards of this Castle Perilous — that indeed the mercy and compassion and hope of the Word of Life should be so brought home to the hearts and consciences of all men that the existence of such dungeons of infamy should be tolerated no longer.^ In 1809 a special Sub- Committee of the Bible Society was appointed to collect information regarding the wants of prisons, workhouses, and hospitals, and a correspondence was opened with the sheriffs of counties, and the governors and chaplains of various prisons. But the exertions of the Society were not confined to the hulks and jails in our midst. In the spring of 1787 a fleet of eleven sail — a frigate, armed tender, three store- ships, and six transports with 600 male and 250 female convicts, left Portsmouth to form the settlement of Botany Bay.^ The strong representations of William Wilberforce and John Thornton had so far prevailed that the Govern- ment had sent out a chaplain with them ; but six years later, when the admiral of two Spanish discovery ships touched at Sydney, there was no place of worship in the settlement, a fact which drew from the Spanish chaplain the remark that had the country been colonised by his nation, there would have been a house of God erected before they had reared one for man. From 1808 onwards the Society availed themselves of ^ Knight, London, vol. v. p. 326. ■•* The Christian heroism of Elizabeth Fry, seconded by the labours of her brothers-in-law, Samuel Hoare and Fowell Buxton, led to the formation of the Society for the Reformation of Prison Discipline, in 1816. ^ Dunmore Lang, New South Wales, vol. i. p. 14. As Botany Bay was found to be an ineligible harbour, the settlement was formed at the head of Sydney Cove. i8i7] CONVICTS AND PRISONERS OF WAR 123 every opportunity to provide the consolation of the Scriptures for the unhappy creatures exiled to the Antipodes ; and who can tell how many among the thousands^ thus reminded of the sacrifice on Calvary for the sins of the world shared the feelings of the convicts on board the Three Bees, bound to Port Jackson, in November 1813? "Your gift," they wrote, "gives a new object to our hopes. Convincing us of the necessity of seeking the Kingdom of God, it assures us that we 'in no wise are cast out.' We see that God is with us ; you have put His candle in our hands ; ' it shineth on our heads, and by His light we go through darkness.' "^ During this first period the Society distributed among the jails, hulks, convict-transports, penitentiaries, workhouses, and hospitals over 3000 Bibles and 5000 Testaments, at a cost of about p/^1300. Perhaps even more noteworthy, not only on account of its magnitude, but of its exceptional character and far- reaching influence, was the work accomplished in connection with the foreign prisoners of war — French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian — confined or detained on parole in all parts of the country. Between 1803 and 18 14, of French privateers alone, 440, with crews numbering 27,613 men, were captured.^ In 1805-1806 there were scarcely less than 30,000 prisoners, and in 181 1 the number had grown to 47,600. The Government hardly knew what to do with so many. At first they were drafted to the hulks in the naval harbours, but as the war went on, the presence of so formidable a force of trained fighting men in our ports was considered a special danger in view of any attempt at 1 From 1787 to 1 840, when transportation to this region ceased, the number deported to New South Wales and Victoria amounted to 54,383, an average of from 800 to 900 a year. ''■ Letter to Lord Teignmouth and the Committee, signed by 169 convicts (Report, 1814, p. iii.)- This voluntary letter, the surgeon of the Three Bees observed, was proposed by a Roman Catholic who had never read the Holy Scriptures before he went on board the ship, and was gratefully and anxiously signed by the prisoners when they knew that the Bibles presented were not furnished by the Government, but were the gift of the Society. ^ Norman, The Corsairs of France, p. 451. 124 THE ISLES OF THE SEA [1804- invasion. It was decided to send large contingents of them inland. Specially built for them, on a granite waste plunged in mist and gloom, rain and snow for half the year,i Dartmoor, with its seven blocks of stone buildings, and the inscription Parcere Subjectis over its Cyclopean gateway, was ready for occupation in March 1806, and was speedily tenanted by captives, from 7000 to 10,000 at a time. Many never left that bleak and treeless "Forest," but were laid to their rest in the French cemetery, where one may still read, not without emotion, of the glory and gladness of dying pro patria.'^ Here, as at Greenlaw in Berwickshire, and in the walled and palisaded casernes of Norman Cross with its 6000 foreigners, the prisoners beguiled their weariness and added to their resources by making little ingenious trifles out of cardboard, wood, reeds, and straw, and more than one handsome model of mighty three-deckers, built out of dinner bones, is preserved in its old glass case even to this day. The first grant made to prisoners by the Society was voted two days before Christmas in 1805. Immediate supplies were obtained by purchase, but large editions of the French New Testament and of the whole Bible were put to press ; and thereafter, year by year, until the fall of Napoleon, large sums were expended on the spiritual needs of these poor exiles. The Scriptures were recognised by many of the prisoners as "the only real consolation under their calamity." They were received with thanks, with tears, with joy. The men were often seen reading them against the bulwarks of their prison ships or within the stone walls of their casernes ; and in hospital the Word of Life cheered the last hours of the dying. ^ "For seven months in the year," wrote an angry M. Catel, " c'est une vraie Sib/rie, covered with melting snow. When the snows vanish the mists appear. Conceive the tyranny of laperfide Albion in sending human beings to such a place ! " ^ When the graveyard at Dartmoor was being altered and enlarged recently, several graves were opened, and the coffins were discovered to be empty. Even at Dartmoor love may have laughed at locksmiths. — Baring-Gould, A Book of the West, vol. i. p. 211. i8i7] THE WORD SOWN IN FRANCE 125 Reading parties were formed, and there were but few per- sons who exhibited indifference or contempt. Circulating Scripture libraries were established in some instances ; in others, according to circumstances, the volumes were lent on hire, sold very cheap, or given away. And many were willing to deny themselves even such cold comforts as they had in order to obtain a copy. "Not my own," said one poor fellow ; "I pay six rations per month for the use of it." In a little while schools were started for the benefit of those who could not read, and it was "pleasing to see many — even old men with spectacles — who six months ago could not read at all, now able to read the Word of God with a good degree of ease." In 1813-14 ministers of the Gospel were allowed to visit the prisoners for religious instruction, and this inter- course must have gone far to allay the bitterness of heart with which they regarded England and everything English. But apart from personal contact and that touch of sympathy which makes all the world kin, the Scriptures themselves were the best antidote to national antipathy and the true nepenthe for individual sorrow. "They have contributed," wrote a French officer from one of the ships in the Medway, "to sweeten the bitter cup of which an inscrutable Providence has condemned us to drink deep for so many years " ; and another, in expressing his gratitude to the Society, added : " I should not do justice to my sentiments did I not declare my regret that my present situation does not permit me to have the honourable title of a member of such an institution." Particular care was taken, whenever cartels were de- spatched, that every prisoner as he embarked had a copy of the Holy Scriptures to take home to his family ; and small consignments were entrusted to many of the French officers for distribution on their arrival at their destination. In this way the Word of Life was sown in regions which otherwise would have been quite inaccessible. 126 THE ISLES OF THE SEA [1804- Unhappily the naval policy which was forced on our Government by the craft of the French Emperor resulted in 1812 in war with the United States. During the conflict many American prisoners shared the fate of our foreign captives. Over three hundred were taken after that terrible six minutes' hurricane of iron on the ist June 1813, when, escorted by a small fleet of pleasure boats, the Chesapeake, with several hundred pairs of handcufi's on board, swept down, in a blaze of streaming colours, on the rusty and weather-stained Shannon. Honour to the gallant men of both nations, and peace to old hostilities ! The timber of the Chesapeake, pitted and furrowed with grape and round shot, "stands to-day as a Hampshire flour-mill, peace- fully grinding English corn."i But the arrival of so many United States prisoners, men of our own race, compatriots of the members of those transatlantic societies which had espoused the cause of "the Bible for the world without note or comment," gave the Committee deep concern, and a special consignment of 500 Bibles and 1000 Testaments was forwarded to Dartmoor for their use. How keenly this act of religious brotherhood was appreciated in the States may be gathered from a letter of the secretary of the Virginia Bible Society, when he learned for the first time that the American prisoners in England had received particular attention : "I will not attempt to express the pleasure which this communication afforded. Who that has the feelings of a man or a Christian will not be delighted to see, amidst the calamities and desolations of war, the mild genius of Christianity dispensing its blessings and affording its con- solations? Before the institution of this society, the fortune of war, as it is termed, put some of your countrymen into our power. They were kept for some time in Richmond, ' This briefest and most terrific of sea-fights lasted exactly thirteen minutes — six spent in broadsides of sixty shot a minute, seven in boarding. " No, we have always been an unassuming ship," replied Captain Broke, when one of his men, at the sight of the Chesapeake, asked: "Mayn't we have three ensigns, sir, like she has?" — Fitchett, Deeds that Won the Empire, p. 126. i8i7] EFFECTS OF THESE LABOURS 127 and thus the privilege was allowed me of distributing among them a number of Bibles, which were well received." When we come to speak of the growth of the Bible Society system in America we shall see still more striking instances of the manner in which, unswayed by national prejudice and the enmity of Governments, Christian men and women, one at heart in the bonds of the Gospel, were able to rise above the passions and reprisals of an unhappy time. During these long years of warfare the Committee dis- tributed more than 2200 Bibles and 47,371 Testaments, in different languages, among the prisoners of war, at a cost of ;^6558.^ In what ways unknown to us, and among what people, the work bore fruit can only be conjectured. More than once, however, the colporteur of a later day — when the memory of the Great Emperor had grown dim, except among the peasants in little old-world villages, who still dreamed that he would return ^ — were strangely aided and be- friended by old men who had not wholly forgotten the dull walls of Portsmouth or Stapleston or Valleyfield, or the ancient battleships of the Medway or the Hamoaze. Let a single instance suffice. In a small French town one of the Society's colporteurs was badly received by the vicar, who angrily forbade him to sell his evil books, and vainly he tried to dispose of a solitary copy as he passed from door to door. One house alone was left, and there to his joy he found a man who had possessed a New Testament for seven-and-twenty years, and who ex- plained a fact so exceptional by saying : " You may recollect that under the reign of Napoleon we were at war with the English. I was then in the army, was taken prisoner, and conveyed to England. While in confinement with others of my countrymen, we were often visited by several gentle- 1 These figures do not represent all the copies furnished by the Society, and it must be remembered that, as in the case of Greenlaw, there were other indirect sources of supply. ^ Baring-Gould, Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, p. io8. 128 THE ISLES OF THE SEA [1804. men who addressed us seriously on religious subjects ; and what was more, supplied every one of us capable of reading with a New Testament. At the Restoration we were sent back to our homes, and I took care to carry my invaluable book along with me. I have even been offered a high price for it; but I shall not part with it for any money, because there are none like it to be met with here." The colporteur exhibited the Testaments he had for sale, and asked the veteran whether he was not disposed to do for others what the friendly Englishmen had done for him — by furnishing them with the Word of God and exhorting them to read it. "You are in the right," he replied; "it is a debt which I ought certainly to repay," and he purchased half a dozen New Testaments and a copy of the Psalms. Thus, then, apart from its large and deliberate opera- tions abroad, the Society had already begun to carry out the world-wide task which it had undertaken. Just as great armies always bear with them, in their forage or otherwise, seeds of wild flpwers and plants that grow in the meadow and cornfield at home,i so, by every cartel and transport, these thousands of foreign prisoners took back with them to their native soil that promise which is "the corn of the living," and that hope "which none shall remove like a tree." This was but one of the many incidental ways in which the work of dispersion was furthered. Not the cartels and the convict-ships alone, but missionaries, Government officials, travellers, settlers, school-masters were taken advantage of, to convey the sacred volume to the shores of those Antipodes which Lactantius ridiculed as the fantastic "hanging gardens" of impious philosophers, and Augustine condemned as a fable repugnant to the reason ^ The Cossacks, in 1815, brought more than one Russian plant through Germany into France, and a year after the surrender of Sedan a crop of North German plants was growing on French battlefields. — Kingsley, Scientific Lectures and Essays, p. 163. i8i7] THE BIBLE AT THE ANTIPODES 129 of a Christian. 1 125 Bibles and 475 Testaments were sent to Tasmania, which was discovered to be an island only two years before the century began, ^ and where, to forestall the planting of the French flag, the first small colony was founded in 1803. To New South Wales, chiefly for the Sunday schools and the accommodation of the free settlers, 1770 Bibles and 4570 Testaments were despatched at intervals — at a cost of over ^1000. Turning westward, we come to the Isles of Mauritius and Bourbon, both captured from the French in 1810, and the latter restored at the close of the war. In the picturesque scenes which St Pierre chose for his famous idyll the Scriptures were unknown ; for years a French Bible could not have been purchased, and there were many persons on the island, sixty and seventy years of age, who had never seen the sacred book. On the ist November 1812 an Auxiliary Society for the group was founded under the patronage of the Governor, General Warde, and the presidency of General Sir Alexander Campbell ; the Scriptures were eagerly purchased; and up to 1817 868 Bibles and 2295 Testaments (;^54i) were provided by the Committee. For the poor natives in South Africa a memorable appeal was made to the Society in 1809 by the Rev. C. J. Latrobe, the London agent of the Moravian Missions. Their Mission among the Hottentots was begun in 1737, and after some years of prohibition, the Dutch Govern- ment in 1790 again allowed missionaries to go out to the Cape. "To learn the Hottentot language," the writer states, "was next to impossible to our brethren, nor was it necessary in that part of the country to which they went ^ " Et miratur aliquis hortos pensiles inter Septem Mira narrari, quum philosophi et agros, et maria, et urbes, et montes pensiles faciunt " (Lactantius, Div. Inst. iii. 24). " Quod vero et Antipodes esse fabulantur, id est homines contraria parte terrae, ubi sol oritur quando occidit nobis, adversa pedibus nostris calcare vestigia, nulla ratione credendum est." — Augustine, De Civ. Dei, xvi. 9. ^ By George Bass who, in December 1797 and January 1798, sailed round it — a voyage of 600 miles — in a vi'hale-boat with six of a crew, — Dunmore Lang, New South Wales, vol. i. p. 63, VQL, I, I I30 THE ISLES OF THE SEA ['8o4- (about 130 miles from Cape Town), as most of the Hottentots could understand Low Dutch. They settled at a place, formerly chosen by the first missionary, George Schmidt, in 1737, near the ruins of his old house and garden, in which stood an immense pear-tree of his own planting. Little did he think, when he planted that tree, that he was laying the foundation of a church and school-house, yea, of a magnificent temple, in which the glory of the Lord would some day be revealed. His object was merely to procure for himself some wholesome food, which, however, he was not even favoured to reap ; for finding the Word of God to approve itself, even among Hottentots, the power of God unto salvation, and a congregation forming around him, he obtained leave to go home and fetch assistants in the work, but was never suffered to return. Meanwhile his pear-tree grew up and was seized as lawful prize by a host of baboons, who remained in quiet posses- sion of the whole kloof or glen — thence called Bavians' Kloof — till they were dislodged in 1790 by the arrival of three missionaries, to whom immediately a great number of Hottentots flocked from all parts. They built a small dwelling, and the Hottentots stuck up their kraals around them ; but the pear-tree was their church ; there they met their congregation morning and night ; under the vast canopy it formed, spreading on all sides like a huge umbrella, they preached the Gospel, offered up prayer and praise, and, by the power of God accompanying the word of atonement preached in simplicity, called sinners from darkness unto light. During the day the shadowy temple served as a school-room for from 200 to 300 children, who were taught to read and to comprehend the doctrines of Christianity. To this day those instructions continue, and chiefly in the same place, though there is now a spacious church erected for public worship. Several hundred Hottentots have, since the year 1790, learnt to i8i7] WELCOME IN SOUTH AFRICA 131 read, and the most valuable present that could be made to them would be Bibles or Testaments." '^ Can one doubt how the Committee responded? Three years later Mr Latrobe wrote once more: "A young Hottentot woman related [27th June 1810] that, some time ago, she was so angry with God and her teachers that she resolved to get away from Gnadenthal as far as ever she could travel ; and then she might put in practice whatever her sinful heart suggested without any control. 'I therefore,' said she, 'set off one day, full of evil thoughts, and when I got out into the open field, I saw two of the school-girls, who had been out to fetch sticks, sitting on the grass. On approaching them, I found they had got one of the new books (a Testament), and were reading aloud. Just as I passed them, they read : — Away with Him, away with Him. ; crucify Him ! These words went into my heart like lightning. It seemed as if I had pro- nounced them myself against our Saviour. I cried to Him to have mercy upon me, and to forgive me my many sins. Of course I returned to Gnadenthal.' That Testament came from you ! It was given by you to the school-girl, who otherwise could not have had one, nor have been thus employed." As early as 1806, however, the spiritual wants of the garrison and of the colonists at the Cape had been thought of by the Society; and the Bibles they sent "came to a ready, but not unthankful people. It is a fact," wrote a correspondent in 1810, "that for some time past, not a single Dutch Bible could be got for money ; and what is rather singular, the Rev. Mr Kitcherer came from Graff Reinet — nearly thirty days' journey from Cape Town — ex- pressly for the purpose of purchasing Bibles and religious books, and was just returning into the interior full of 1 Southey transcribed nearly the whole of this extract into his Commonflace Book (vol. iii. p. 140), showing in this instance a better judgment than he did in at least one of his Quarterly Review articles regarding the Society. 132 THE ISLES OF THE SEA [1804- disappointment, when the very seasonable supply from the Society arrived." In the following decade over 2800 Bibles and 3690 Testaments, Dutch and English, were distributed at a cost of ;^i435. The beloved Gaelic version found its way to the 93rd Highlanders, who sent their thanks, and insisted on paying the cost price, so that the Society should not suffer detriment. Dutch and German Testaments were also despatched from Bengal for the benefit of the schools and the converted Hottentots at four missionary stations. The Scriptures reached the Namaquas too, through the agency of their pastor, the Rev. C. Albrecht, who was devoting himself to a translation of St Matthew into their native dialect. In 1813 the Bible and School Commission was formed at Cape Town, under the auspices of the Governor-General, Sir John Cradock, for the education of the poor and the circulation of the Scriptures ; and though not exclusively an Auxiliary, it contributed liberally to the funds of the Society. A small Auxiliary established at Caledon, 120 miles east of Cape Town, on the last day of 181 5, also sent remittances from time to time. In 1813 a regular Auxiliary was established — and the first intimation of its existence was accompanied by a con- tribution of ;^i6o — at the Isle of St Helena, that towering mass of mid-ocean basalt, which was discovered, densely covered with trees and tenanted by "sea-fowl, seals, sea- lions and turtles," in 1502, on the feast of the mother of the first Christian Emperor, and was named after her. It is curious to remember that during his exile on the rock Napoleon read and annotated the preface written by Dr (then Mr) Bogue for the French New Testament which the London Missionary Society published in 1802 — the year in which four days were spent in searching for a Bible in Paris. While Granville Sharp and Zachary Macaulay wer^ i8i7] THE WEST COAST OF AFRICA 133 alive there was little likelihood of the West Coast of Africa being forgotten. The first distribution of the Scriptures took place in 1808 ; in the next eight years 804 Bibles and 2037 Testaments were sent out to Sierra Leone and Goree, and among them were some of the Arabic Bibles printed under the patronage of the Bishop of Durham. An interesting picture of the time and place is preserved in a letter from a missionary who was wrecked near the Gambia River in 1813. The natives took possession of the vessel and cargo, and the passengers and crew escaped to Goree. In the hope of saving some of his equipment, the missionary communicated with a trader on the Gambia River, and the latter informed him that he had been searching for his effects, but ' ' as for the Arabic Bibles, the Mohammedan natives would not part with them at all ; he even went so far as to offer for one to the value of ^£8, yet could not get it. . . . There was at the same time an old slave-trader, who bought a great many things of mine which the natives brought him from the wreck. Some of the Mohammedans went and told him that he did wrong in buying these things, because they belonged to a Bookman who was on board that wrecked vessel, and if he did not return the things to that Bookman again, God would punish him by burning his house and all the goods. The trader laughed at them ; however, his house and goods became a prey to the flames two days after. Whether this happened by chance, or was done on purpose, I cannot state : it showed, however, that they have some regard for the man who brought the Word of God among them." The brightest expectations had been awakened by the preparation of this Arabic Bible. The undertaking had been first suggested by Bishop Porteus, who believed that "it might be of infinite service in sowing the seeds of Christianity over the whole continent of Africa." 134 THE ISLES OF THE SEA [r8°4- Travellers had described the negroes of the western regions as considerably advanced in civihzation — able to read and write Arabic, and so proud of their literature that they rarely travelled without a book slung by their side. Mungo Park had found copies of portions of the Old Testament among them, and had seen a Pentateuch sold for about twenty guineas. The Society subscribed for 300 copies of the version, and their caution in refraining from taking a more prominent part in the enterprise was justified by events. The Polyglot text, which was objected to by various scholars, including Dr Adam Clarke and Henry Martyn, was repudiated by the Churches of the East ; and so this effort to penetrate the recesses of the Dark Continent ended in failure. Sierra Leone, with its deadly climate, presented a problem which must have seemed beyond every human power save that of prayer. The losses and misfortunes of the African Company led to the transfer of the colony to the Crown in 1808, and it became the Alsatia of the negro soldiers who had fought on the British side in the American War, and of the victims rescued from the slave- ships by the British cruisers after the prohibition of the trade. For several years 2000 of these kidnapped wretches were added annually to the population, till the settlement contained men of one hundred and seventeen tribes, speaking a very Babel of tongues, and representing all the gross vices and brutish superstitions of heathenism. In 1804 the Church Missionary Society had begun the work of Christianisation, and in spite of innumerable difficulties progress was made. The Gospel of St Matthew, in BuUom, the language of a coast tribe then believed to be a numerous people, was translated by the Rev. G. R. Nylander, and printed by the Society in 1815 ; and in 1816 an Auxiliary was formed for the peninsula of Sierra Leone and the British stations and settlements on the coast. iS'7] THE CANARIES AND MADEIRA 135 During this period it contributed over ;^2ii to the funds of the Society. In 1813 a trading ship left a small consignment of Spanish Testaments at the Canaries, those legendary isles of which the mediseval Arab geographers curiously recorded that on one there stood a horse and a horseman in bronze, with his spear pointing west, as though some land for conquest lay beyond the great ocean-stream. Madeira, the closing scene of one of the most tragic love-episodes in the Middle Ages,^ was surrendered to the English in i8o8, and in the following year a correspondent was distributing Portuguese Testaments on behalf of the Society. "The good done to the rising generation," he wrote, "may under God's blessing be great. But this is not all. I have found the unlettered parents of these children anxious to listen to their reading. The number of people of this class is great in the Island, for it is only lately that the Queen of Portugal has established these schools." As time went on the priests, who now possessed the New Testament, so far from showing any opposition, encouraged its purchase among the people, many of whom began to express their disappointment that they could not obtain the whole Bible in their own tongue. And now, like Zidonian Hanno in the new-starred night, we double '' The hoary promontory of Soloe," sail past the site of Thymiaterion, and, entering the Straits, pause at Gibraltar, which was not only amply supplied with Scriptures for the use of the garrison, but which served as a centre for distribution in adjacent countries. Copies of the Spanish New Testament were bought up by Roman Catholics and forwarded to Cadiz, Malaga, and the Balearic Islands. From Gibraltar to Smyrna and Cyprus the great 1 Beazley, Henry the Navigator, p. 109. 136 THE ISLES OF THE SEA ['804- Midland Sea was an open highway to many peoples of various creeds and tongues. A letter from an officer in the Royal Navy, in 1809, is one of hundreds that might have been written, and probably were written, by other sea-farers : " This unsettled way of life has given me very many opportunities of scattering the Scriptures far and wide : in England, Scotland, and the islands ; Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Italy, Spain, and even Barbary, I have given away the Word of Eternal Life. . . . Never did I give one away that was not received with the most grateful thanks, and I freely gave to all degrees and descriptions of persons — from the Pope's Nuncio to the parish priest among the clergy, and from a grandee to the poor cobbler working in his stall. . . . The Pope's Nuncio kindly invited me to his palace, and even sent a gentleman on board the ship I then com- manded, to request I would come on shore and stay a few days with him ; but this I could not do. . . . The old man, in order that he might not forget who gave him a Testament, took his pencil and wrote my name in it, and the name of the ship." A sea-captain, giving account of the Modern Greek Testaments intrusted to him, related that he gave the first to a pilot of the Isle of Milo, where such a book could not be bought for money. During a December storm he had to run into Mitylene — perchance the very haven or roadstead in which St Paul spent a moonless Sunday night on his voyage to Rome^ — and there he gave one to a priest, who, in his astonishment to see the Testament in his everyday tongue, sat down in the street to read it. At Smyrna, where among fifty to sixty thousand Greek families hardly a copy of the New Testament was to be found, he pre- sented one to the Bishop, and was pleased to learn that the monks made no objection to the circulation of ^ Conybeare and Howson, St Paul, p. 548. «8i7] MODERN GREEK NEW TESTAMENT 137 the Scriptures, though they considered the omission of the Apocrypha a mutilation of the Bible. The version of the New Testament in Modern Greek was received with delight. At an early date attention had been called by Dr Bogue of Gosport to the need of an edition in this language. A version by Maximus Calliergi, or Callipoli, had been printed at Geneva in 1638, revised and reprinted in 1703 and 1705 by the Society for Propagating the Gospel, and reprinted again at Halle in 17 10 at the expense of Queen Sophia Louisa of Prussia. A copy of this last edition was selected by the Society ; the work was seen through the press by the Rev. J. F. Usko, who had returned to this country after a long residence at Smyrna ; and in 1810 a supply was shipped to Malta and the Levant. Archimandrites and bishops lauded its accuracy and utility, and aided in its distribution; "his Lowliness," Cyril the CEcumenical Patriarch, sanctioned its acceptance "by all pious, united, and orthodox Christians"; Greek officers ordered it for their regiments ; it was scattered throughout the islands and along the coasts, and was asked for so urgently that a second edition was issued two years later. "I find myself impelled to believe," wrote the learned Dean of Scandinari, "that the Lord, for the sake of His only and beloved Son, is determined to reform these our parts, and to communicate the brightness of His light, through your Testament, in the Levant — where, as you know, there is nothing to be found but darkness and wretchedness and perdition." In all, 15,000 copies were printed — 10,000 in Modern Greek, and 5,000 with the original text and the modern version in parallel columns. The Italian New Testament was as heartily welcomed as the Greek. At Messina, indeed, an objection to the translation was raised by the priests ; but as the result 138 THE ISLES OF THE SEA l^^°4- of a strict examination by a committee of the most learned of the clergy, the Bishop was pleased to authorise its circulation. The version was that of the "admirable" Diodati, who at the age of twenty-one had been appointed Professor of Hebrew at Geneva, and who was one of the six divines chosen at the Synod of Dort to draw up its Confession of Faith. It was perceived at an early date that the advantageous position of Malta marked it out for the great central depot of the Society's work in the Mediterranean. No other English possession is more happily situated for com- munication with Greek, Italian, French, Spanish, and Arabic speaking peoples. A few passages from letters written by representatives at Malta aptly illustrate this fact : "Of the Testaments you have entrusted to me," writes one, "I have sent some to the Morea, having an oppor- tunity by means of a good Christian friend. These Italian Testaments were received at Tripolitza with in- credible eagerness." . . . "With respect to the Arabic Testaments," says another, "I have sent to Tunis four of them by a captain of a Tunis vessel. He received them almost in a transport of joy, read in them, kissed them, and then kissed me for them ; and he said that the persons who could read them should always wash their hands three times before they opened the book." . . . "I have also supplied," writes a third, "the French and Italian prisoners of war (about looo) with Bibles and Testaments on board transports in this harbour [Valetta] previous to their return to their respective countries. Few of them appear to have been acquainted before with the sacred writings." . . . "From the favourable accounts I have received from Zante," writes a fourth, " I have no doubt but that there is a large field open in the Ionian Islands for the sale of these inestimable books." The Bible cause had been warmly taken up by the i8i7] MALTA AS A BIBLE STATION 139 Rev. Mr Terrot, chaplain to Sir Alexander Ball, the Governor of Malta, and his friend Cleardo Naudi, physician and Professor of Chemistry in the College of Valetta, who, though a staunch Roman Catholic all his life, had been appalled by the ignorance and spiritual dangers of the Christians living under Turkish rule. In 181 1 he addressed a remarkable appeal to the Rev. Josiah Pratt, secretary to the Church Missionary Society, in which he quotes the saying of a Greek deacon, that "the institution of the Bible Society of England must have taken place by heavenly inspiration," and calls on the missionaries "to enter on the labour of propagating the Christian faith among infidels, and of confirming it among the ignorant." The Propaganda had perished — "its property sold, its revenues usurped and diverted " ; the few Franciscans still in Egypt were ill- informed. Since Rome had failed, "the English Church, as an independent Branch, was quite qualified to teach the East."i A hearty response was made to this appeal. It was felt that Malta had not been placed in our hands solely for the extension and protection of our political greatness. The Rev. William Jowett, Pratt's brother-in-law, a Cambridge Wrangler, and the first University missionary of the Church Missionary Society, was sent out to Malta as a "Literary Representative," with a special mission, in which shortly afterwards the first Oxford men, James Connor and John Hartley, took an important part. To these matters, however, we shall return later. In 1 81 2 a representative from Malta visited Sicily on a Bible tour, and received numerous applications from Palermo, Trapani, Syracuse, Catania, Taormina — in fact from all parts of the island. He climbed -(Etna, and was hospitably received by the prior of a monastery, the last inhabited house towards the summit, "who in return for an Italian Testament accom- 1 Stock, Hist, of the Church Missionary Society, vol. i. p. 223. 140 THE ISLES OF THE SEA [i8°4- modated us with the best his humble habitation could afford — which could not be procured in this awful and barren place for money." On his way to the volcano he had presented to an unknown Italian gentleman at Aci Reale a copy of the New Testament, and on his return he found that the stranger, the Marquis Vico, had been several times to the inn to inquire for him and had left an invitation, " saying his house, horses, and carriages were at my service ; which I was obliged to decline, to the no small disappointment of himself and his family, in consequence of my hasty return to Malta." The Gospel was everywhere a golden key to the hearts and homes of men. In the course of seven years — the first attempt of the Society was made in 1809 — by the means we have described, and principally through the agency of representatives at Malta, over 800 Bibles and 15,000 Testaments, in French, Italian, Modern Greek, Arabic and Armenian, were distributed, at a cost of ^2370, in the islands and along the coast of the Midland Sea ; and 220 Ethiopic Psalters, through the good offices of Mr Salt, British Consul in Egypt, reached the mysterious realm of Abyssinia. In the control of these operations much advan- tage was derived from the assistance of Claudius James Rich, the East India Company's resident at Baghdad; John Barker, the British Consul at Aleppo; the Rev. H. Lindsay, chaplain to the Embassy at Constantinople; and Sir Charles Penrose, the Admiral commanding in the Mediterranean. Mr Rich made the Society acquainted with the dearth of Scriptures in the Pashalik of Baghdad, where Bibles in Syriac and Chaldee were to be found only in manuscript in the churches, and where, had they existed in print, they would have been of little use, as the language of the people was for the most part Arabic. Mr Lindsay obtained the Armenian Patriarch's approval of the circulation of the Scriptures, and, in 1816, traversing ground hallowed by the footsteps of St Paul — now vaguely remembered as a name in the Calendar of Saints— he i8i7] AT THE TIME CHRIST SUFFERED 141 visited the seven Apocalyptic Churches of Asia Minor, and presented each with a copy of the New Testament in its own tongue. The latest incident in the Society's records connected with these years is the vote of thanks passed by the Society to Admiral Charles Penrose, Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean, for his readiness to assist in the dispersion of the Holy Scriptures among the Ionian Islands, and other places visited by the ships under his command. There was already a zealous friend of the Bible cause at Corfu, and doubtless both he and the Admiral had recalled, as they passed the Isle of Paxo, that strangest of old legends which Plutarch relates as having happened about the time our Lord suffered His most bitter passion, and which must have now appealed to them with peculiar significance. In the reign of Tiberius a ship was sailing off the Echinad Isles, and as evening closed the wind dropped, and the vessel, carried by the current, drifted near Paxo, about ten miles south of Corfu. " Most of the voyagers had not yet gone to sleep, and many were still sitting at their wine after supper, when suddenly from the Isle of Paxo a voice was heard calling so loudly on ' Thamus ' that they were amazed. Thamus was the Egyptian steersman, known by name to many on board. To the first and second calling he made no reply, but at the third time he answered, and the voice, still more loud and clear, uttered these words : ' When thou comest over against Palodes give tidings that great Pan is dead.' " After much debate among the voyagers Thamus decided that if all was calm he would deliver his message. When they reached Palodes there was no breath of wind or swell of sea, and "standing on the poop Thamus cried out to the land what he had heard, ' Great Pan is dead.' Then there arose along the shore a great wailing, not of one, but of many voices mingling in amazement. The story got spread about in Rome, and Thamus was sent for by Tiberius, who gave such credence to the tale that he made inquiry and 142 THE ISLES OF THE SEA [1804-1817 research concerning this Pan."^ " By whych Pan," says the old commentator on Spenser's May pastoral, " though of some be understoode the great Satanas, whose kingdome at that time was by Christ conquered, the gates of hell broken up, and death by death delivered to eternall death, yet I thinke it more properly meant of the death of Christ, the onely and very Pan, then suffering for his flock. . . . For Pan signifieth all, or omnipotent, which is onel-y the Lord Jesus. And by that name (as I remember) he is called of Eusebius, in his fifte booke De Preparat. Evang."^ Just as the period under review closed, a Bible Society was established in Malta, and in due time we shall pick up the clue of its operations. ^ ¥lut&ich, Moralia: " The Cessation of Oracles," xvii. ^ Spenser, TAe Shepheards Calender, ' ' Maye. " CHAPTER IX THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST We are now free to turn attention to the vast project of evangelization which the Bible Society had undertaken on the Continent. The first continental Auxiliary, the German Bible Society, was formed, as we briefly stated in Chap. III., at Nurem- berg, on Ascension Day 1804. In 1806, with the hearty concurrence of the friends at Nuremberg, it was transferred to Basel, where it was welcomed by supporters who, eager as they were to promote the object of the Society, considered their means insufficient to maintain an independent Auxiliary. The change was wholly advantageous, for Basel was noted for the excellence of its typography and paper ; it was the centre of the celebrated German Religious Society, which enjoyed an extensive range of influence in Germany and Switzerland, and which promised its active assistance ; and its position offered facilities for unexpected communication with France. Even before the transference took place, the London Committee had remitted two sums of ;^5o to the Rev. Mr Blumhardt, the secretary of the Religious Society, who, in accordance with their wishes, distributed copies of the Scriptures among the poor of Lausanne, Besan9on, Montmirail, and Strasburg, and opened negotiations for the supply of correspondents at Lyons, in the valleys of the Cevennes, at Nismes, Bordeaux, and even in Paris. To enable the German Bible Society to enlarge the scope W3 144 THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST [1804- of its operations in these auspicious circumstances the Committee voted, as a third donation, a grant of ;^300. And here once more we are made conscious of the deplorable state of Europe and of the restless tyranny of Napoleon. In the most favourable conditions communi- cation, at that period, was slow and precarious. As late as 181 1 news travelled at the rate of seventy miles a day. It took a full week to reach Paris from Antwerp ; six days from Strasburg, Lyons, or Brest ; eleven from Rome, and twenty-one from Madrid. But in these times of deadly confusion, with the Emperor's stern embargo on everything that related to England, intercourse was practically sus- pended. A solitary letter from Basel reached the Committee in 1807. It stated that a large edition of the New Testament was being printed in April, and that the Old Testament was about to be sent to press. A second letter was received in October 1808. The New Testament, said the writer, Dr Hertzog, the octogenarian Professor of Divinity in the University of Basel, had been in circulation for some months, and had met with unqualified approval. The Old Testa- ment would be ready before the close of the year ; and so many orders had been received that the first edition would be practically exhausted on publication, but they hoped to proceed with a second and a third. If the old city in which Erasmus published his memorable Greek and Latin Testament had been silent, it was not for lack of news. A number of pious Moravian merchants in Basel had engaged on an edition of the New Testament for the mountaineers of the Orisons, in that strange Roumansch or Romanese, whose origin, to judge by the survival of Etruscan words embedded in it, seems to be thrown back into a mysterious antiquity. The New Testament, printed in 1560, and the whole Bible, in 1679, had long been exhausted, and any stray copy com- manded an exorbitant price ; so that these poor hill-folk Stood much in need of the Word of Life. Regarding France, ^■4^0^e'^^^^J^>n^^' ( /u^-em/. ,..«.-"'— "^"''" '8i7] DISTRIBUTIONS IN FRANCE 145 too, he was able to transmit a good report: — "From the sale_ of a considerable number of French Bibles, which we disposed of very cheap to some truly excellent French ministers in Languedoc, we have been enabled to proceed to a new edition of the French Testament. At first we endeavoured to collect a sufficient sum of money for the printing of the whole French Bible, but as we could not succeed to the full extent of our wishes, we were obliged to confine ourselves to the New Testament." Whereupon, as might have been expected, the Committee ordered a set of plates of the French Bible to be despatched to Basel. A third letter was received in July 1809. The second edition, 5500 copies, of the German Bible had been issued in the preceding December, and as it had been almost entirely disposed of, a third edition, of 3000 copies, had been put to press. Further information was given with regard to France ; and as some time was needed for the printing of the French Bible from the plates which had been presented, the Committee remitted ^200 for the purchase of Bibles and Testaments so that the large Protestant congregations in Languedoc and other parts might be provided without delay, either by sale or gratuitous distribution. A fourth letter arrived about the end of April 1810. The last donation had been received, and promptly applied to its purpose. Over 2000 Testaments had been sent to Nismes, 900 to Montbeliard, some hundreds more in other directions ; and the writer added : ' ' From the south of France we have heard that even Roman Catholics secretly desire to obtain our Testaments, and read them with eagerness and gratitude." A member of the Basel Society had also offered to produce in the course of the year 4000 copies of the Old Testament in French, if that society would take looo off his hands. This liberal proposal had been accepted ; and as it was through Basel alone that the British and Foreign Bible Society could hope to reach the people of France, the VOL. I. K 146 THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST [1804- Committee resolved to assist the enterprise with a fourth grant of ^300. Then, too, the same letter went on to state, the Romanese New Testament had, to the great joy of the mountaineers, been issued in April (1810), and the good merchants who had borne the expense had been considering the possibility of producing a Roumansch edition of the Old Testament. The entire cost, however, was too heavy for them ; but though they were willing to contribute generously, the Basel Society could not assist them, so the matter was in the hands of God. This old Roumansch moreover had two very distinct dialects, the Churwelsche and the Ladinische,^ and when the poor Ladins in the upper Rhine valleys bordering on Italy heard what a treasure their neighbours on the Tyrolese frontier had got, they expressed a very strong desire that they too, whose Bible of 17 19 was rarely to be had at any price, should be similarly favoured. The double appeal seemed to indicate so clearly the directions in which good work might be effected that the Committee responded readily with a grant of ;^200 on behalf of an edition of the Old Testament in the Churwelsche dialect for the Engadine Protestants, and another ;^200 for a Ladin New Testament for the Roman Catholic Oberland ; and when, in the last letter (October 1810) received for many eventful months, it was suggested that the ;^200 designed for the Churwelsche Old Testament might satisfy a more ^ ' ' The Roumansch or Rumansch, the language of the Grisons, is spoken in the valley of the Inn, the Enghadine, and in the valley of the Rhine, the Oberland. The inhabitants of the Enghadine are Protestants ; those of the Oberland, Roman Catholics. The dialect of the former is called Roumansch, that of the latter Ladin. There is a religious literature of the sixteenth century, consisting chiefly of trans- lations of the Bible, catechisms, and hymns in Roumansch. A translation of the New Testament exists in the Bodleian Library : ' L'g Nuof Sainc Testamaint da nos Signer Jesu Christi, prais our delg Latin et our d'oters launguax et huossa da nosuf mis in Arumaunsch tres lachiam Bifrum d'Agnedina. Schquischo ilg an MDLX.'" (Max Miiller, The Science of Langtmge, vol. i. p. 223). This "Naof .Sainc Testamaint" is the Churwelsche version of 1560 already referred to. It materially helped the spread of the Reformation through the Rhsetian Valley of the Inn, and is said to be the first printed book in the language. It was preceded by popular songs of derring-do, and an epic by Johannes Travers in 1525. i8i7] RATISBON AND CANSTEIN 147 pressing need if diverted to an edition of the Italian New Testament, the Committee emphasised their wish that the original arrangement should hold good, and promised a third grant of ;^200 for the Italian version. Here then in the opening months of 181 2 we leave the story of the German Society at Basel, to record what was happening in these turbulent years in other parts of Europe. The establishment of the first Bible Society at Nuremberg excited the emulation of the Roman Catholics at Ratisbon, who proceeded to organise an institution of their own under the management of Regens Wittman, the Director of the Ecclesiastical Seminary in that city. Though its relations were marked by a spirit of Christian liberality, its action was wholly independent of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Still, its object was the same, and the translation of the New Testament, which it issued for the benefit of thousands who had hitherto never read the Scriptures, was that of Schwarzel, which was free from note or comment, and which commended itself to the approval even of the ministers of the Lutheran Church. Up to the year 1812 it had distributed 27,500 copies, of which all but 100 had been sold ; in 1822 the number had increased to 65,000. After that date communications with the Committee in London appear to have ceased, and a decade or two later this Ratisbon Society is believed to have died out. Mention must now also be made of the Canstein Bible Institution at Halle, in Saxony, which for nearly a hundred years before the formation of the British and Foreign Bible Society had done much to preserve the light of the Gospel unextinguished in a darkening world, and which now afforded the Society frequent and opportune assistance. The institution was formed in 17 10 by Carl Hildebrand, Baron von Canstein, who to his piety and philanthropy added the resourcefulness of an ingenious mother-wit. He 148 THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST [1804- invented a method of printing something similar to stereo- typing, though the details are not clearly known, and was able to produce Bibles and Testaments, which could be sold, the former at lod., and the latter at 3d. a copy. At his death he left the institution to the care of his friend the Rev. Professor August Hermann Franke, who, with no other resource than a reliance on Providence, had in 1698 founded the munificent Orphanage of Halle. During the ninety-five years this institution had existed, over three million copies, either of the whole Bible or of the New Testament, had been printed in different languages, includ- ing Bohemian and Polish, and dispersed not only throughout the greater part of Europe, but in America and among the Russian colonies in Asia ; and many thousands had been distributed gratuitously among the poor. Dr Knapp, who was now the Director of the Orphanage, placed at the disposal of the Committee much valuable information, which in the course of time enabled the Society to enlarge the range of its operations with an ease and efficacy that would not otherwise have been possible. From the depot of the institution temporary supplies were obtained by the continental societies, and from the same source the Committee in London, in their sympathy for the necessitous and the sorrowful, distributed copies of the Scriptures to the value of ;^900 among the colonists of the Volga, the poor of Germany and Poland, and unhappy exiles who, in the bombardment and sack of their native towns, had often lost everything but life. It was with no unworthy elation that the Bible Society heard of the establishment of an Auxiliary at Berlin, the first founded under the special sanction and personal approval of a crowned head. From that royal example what hopes were derived of a brilliant future among the nations of Europe ! Encouraged by the success of Nuremberg, and the promise of aid from the Committee, i8i7] THE BERLIN BIBLE SOCIETY 149 the Rev. John Jasnicke, minister of the Bohemian Church in Berlin, had secured the co-operation of several noble- men and persons of eminence; and in 1805 the foundation of a society was laid, and a stirring address was issued to the Christians of the Prussian States.' In February 1806 he submitted the address to the King, in a letter humbly soliciting his Majesty's gracious protection ; and four days later Frederick William replied: "It is with real satisfaction that I discover from your letter of the 7th February and the enclosed address the laudable endeavours of the Prussian Bible Society for the gratuitous and cheap distribution of the Bible to the poor of my dominions ; and whilst I render justice to your particular merit in promoting such a useful institution, I transmit to you at the same time twenty Fredericks d'or as an addition to its funds." To their first promised contribution of ;^ioo, the Com- mittee added a second of ;^ 1 50 ; the Berlin Society had already purchased Bohemian Testaments from Halle, and was arranging with the Protestant clergy in Bohemia for a new edition of the Bohemian Bible, to be printed in Prague ; subscriptions were beginning to flow in and the co-operation of Dantzic had been obtained, when the victory of Jena on the 14th October 1806 annihilated an army which had been regarded as the most formidable in Europe, and made Napoleon master of almost an entire kingdom containing nearly nine millions of inhabitants. It was a time of consternation, of social dissolution, of unspeakable disorder. "So thoroughly did Napoleon organise the pursuit, and so carefully did he estimate the total result of his victory, that nothing escaped him. The French soldiers carried everything before them. A Prussian reserve corps was easily beaten at Halle by Bernadotte, and fled for refuge to the improvised fortress of Magdeburg." 1 Fortress fell after fortress; "Frederick ^ Sio&ne, Life of Napoleon Bonaparte : " The Devastation of Prussia. " I50 THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST [1804- William himself would have been captured at Weissensee but for Blucher, who brazenly declared to Klein, the French commander, that an armistice had been granted " ; Blucher himself reached Liibeck, but, driven thence after a gallant resistance, he too surrendered, and lived to fight on a more memorable day. Ten days after the battle of Jena the Emperor arrived at Potsdam, and gave the cue to a ruthless soldiery who needed no incentive to spoliation and luxury. Visiting the tomb of Frederick the Great, he expressed his profound reverence for that military genius, "and sent the old hero's sword, belt, and hat as trophies to ornament the Invalides at Paris." On the 27th, dressed in his plainest uniform, with a little hat and a penny cockade, he entered Berlin in a blaze of pageantry, at the head of the largest body of troops he could muster. "As in Italy, the galleries, libraries, collections, and public monuments were stripped of their finest treasures to enrich Paris." Wherever the troops were billeted they imitated the example of their Emperor and his rapacious generals. The castles of the nobility and the houses of the wealthy citizens were naturally selected for occupation, but no place was safe from the rapine and lust of the invaders. One of the first uses Napoleon made of his conquest was to strike another blow at England through her trade. On the 2 1 St November he issued his Berlin Decree, completing the continental embargo which for four years had occupied his thoughts. "The British Islands," he declared, "are henceforth blockaded; all commerce with them is prohibited ; letters and packages with an English address will be confiscated, as also every store of English goods on the Continent within the borders of France and her allies ; every piece of English goods, all English vessels, and those laden with staples from English colonies, will be excluded from all European harbours, including those of neutral States." It was a ruinous policy, which i8i7] THE MISERY OF PRUSSIA 151 ultimately led to the invasion of Russia, and to the destruction of Napoleon himself. On the 7th July 1807 the Treaty of Tilsit was signed, and two days later the Treaty with Prussia, which for six years left that kingdom a mutilated and subjugated country, burdened with an enormous indemnity, and oppressed and degraded by French garrisons. "First and last the war cost Prussia, in the support of the French army and in actual contributions to France, over a milliard of francs — about the gross national income of thirteen years." ^ As the result of the "Continental System," which practically abolished exports and imports, manufactories were brought to a standstill, money became scarce, business houses collapsed in bankruptcy. Is it strange that, realising the bitterness of all this humiliation and suffering, the pious and beautiful Queen Louise — she who in the bloom of her high-spirited womanhood had ridden at the head of her regiment on the eve of hostilities, she who had borne with such gracious fortitude the personal indignities of the Emperor — should in these years have died of a broken heart ? "The very necessaries of daily life are exorbitantly high," wrote one who gathered the stories of that terrible period; "the multitude of poor increases frightfully; even in the great cities the troops of hungry souls that traverse the streets can scarcely be controlled. The more wealthy also restrict their wants to the smallest possible compass. Instead of coffee they drink roasted acorns, and eat black rye bread." ^ Sugar goes out of use; housewives no longer preserve fruit ; coltsfoot takes the place of tobacco, and wine is made of black currants, so that the people may do Without the luxuries or replace the necessaries in which the foreign tyrant has a monopoly. In such 1 Sloane, Life of Napoleon Bonaparte : " The Devastation of Prussia." 2 Freytag, Pictures of German Life, second series, vol. ii. p. 207. 152 THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST ['804- circumstances as these, what hope is there of forming Bible Societies? With God's blessing, much; as we shall see. When one remembers the intellectual splendour of the period — how each event in Bonaparte's career synchronises with the production of some German masterpiece : Lodi and Areola with Wilhehn Meister and the Horen ; the conquest of Switzerland and the Papal States with Wallenstein ; the seizure of the left bank of the Rhine with the Maid of Orleans; the occupation of Hanover with The Bride of Messina; the proclamation of Napoleon as Emperor with Wilhehn Tell — the sudden and utter over- throw of Prussia seems inexplicable, except on the theory that the nation had been surprised in mid-stream during a period of slow transition from an effete political system to a new mode of existence. But if Prussia was over- whelmed, the spirit of the people had not been shattered in the catastrophe. The roll of the French drums could not drown the war-songs of the patriotic Arndt, the teach- ing of the inspiring Schleiermacher, the prophetic voice of Fichte in his Addresses to the German People. And who can estimate the effect of the Bible Society's influence during the next six years in lifting the hearts of the nation, in assuring them that a divine justice reigned over all, in rallying them around the ideal of the Deutschen Vaterland?! Two days before the declaration of war the Committee had voted another grant of ;^ioo to assist the Berlin Society in undertaking an edition of the Polish Bible ; and with a stout heart in the midst of their invaders, the ^ See Moritz Arndt's passionate lyric of 1813 — SEBoS ift be§ ®eutfd^en Sotcttanb? 3ff'§ freufcntottb, ift'S ©e^WoBetttonb ? 3ft'§ too am D^^ein bie SRebe btiifit? 3ft'§ too am aSelt bie SKiibe jte^t? D nein! nein! neiti! @ei« SSatetlanb mug gtofet fein. i8'7] ISSUE OF THE BOHEMIAN BIBLE 153 directors had set themselves earnestly to the work before them. On the 19th May 1807 they wrote: "The distress with us is very great ; thousands groan under the pressure of extreme poverty. O Lord Jesus, have mercy upon us, and deliver us out of these troubles ! Yet adoration to Thy name, that Thy work is still being carried on ! Here is the fifty-sixth sheet of our Bohemian Bible " — evidently the Prague arrangement had been modified; — "if we meet with no impediment I hope the whole work will be completed towards the end of next October. Blessed be the name of the Lord ! His Kingdom will increasingly prosper in the midst of the convulsions of earthly realms." Then all is silence, till a couple of letters of June 1808 manage to run the blockade. From them we learn that the first copies of the Bohemian Bible had been completed in the preceding September, and were now being dis- tributed in Bohemia and among the Bohemian colonies in Silesia. Gladly would they print a Polish Bible in Berlin, but their funds are low ; they are bound and en- compassed on all sides, and still wait for the Ephphatha of the Lord. "The distress of multitudes increases," writes a correspondent, ' ' hundreds of families are with- out employment, without bread ! " And Prince Jerome, who holds his dissolute court at Breslau, is bathing daily in a cask of wine. " From the middle of January to the middle of April last, I [Pastor John Jjenicke] have daily distributed 6000 messes of the Rumford soup. Yet in the midst of these distresses I am not left without hope. . . . Did He not spare Nineveh? Did He not compassionately regard the six score thousand infants, and also the cattle left therein ? And will He have less compassion on the many thousand children that are in this city and in our provinces ? " The Committee were not insensible to these representa- 154 THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST [1804- tions. By successive grants amounting to ;^900 they insured an extensive edition of the Scriptures in Polish — 8000 Bibles and 4000 extra Testaments — and subsequently advanced a loan of ^300 to tide over the interval between publication and the receipts accruing from sales. By the close of February 1809, of the 3000 copies of the Bohemian Bible, upwards of 2500 had been sold among the Bohemian and Silesian Protestants, 250 had been given away, and, as only 92 remained, "we feel deeply ashamed of our unbelieving fears which had prevailed over us to print only 3000 copies." A letter of March 1810 stated that satisfactory progress was being made with the Polish Bible, and specimen pages had been sent to all the chief Protestant congrega- tions in Poland ; but one packet had been thrice returned, finally with the intimation that there was no mail to Galicia in time of war. In spite of all hindrances, in spite of poverty and suffering and national humiliation, the Polish edition of the Scriptures was completed in October 1810, at an expense of ;^i6oo, to which the British and Foreign Bible Society had contributed ;^96o. Thus once more in the inscrutable over-ruling of Providence Poland had been provided with the Word of Life at a period when it was never more needed, but in circum- stances in which its acquisition seemed a marvel beyond the dreams of human hope. Early in 181 1 the demand for another issue of the Bohemian Bible became urgent and insistent. From Prague it was reported that there were whole congrega- tions who had not received a single copy of the first impression ; in Moravia at least 1000 copies were needed in the parishes under the inspection of one clergyman ; but the people were miserably poor. The moan of Lazarus shivers through all these stricken years. ' ' The want of money is most severely felt in Prussia, Bohemia, Poland ; i8i7] THE BIBLE FOR LITHUANIA 155 coin is very scarce, except copper ; and the value of the state-paper is so low that lately 100 florins in paper fetched only i2| in specie. Though we offered our Bohemian friends a copy at a florin in specie, it would cost them 12 in paper. As for Prussia, our own distress is very great. The annual income of our society " — our Bible Society here in Berlin — "is little more than 100 rix-dollars (a little over ;^2o), as we have lost some of our principal subscribers by death, and others have become unable to continue their subscriptions." The reply of the Committee was another grant of ;^300, and the second edition of the Bohemian Bible was put to press. Here, in the spring of 181 2, we suspend the story of the Berlin Bible Society. As early as 1806 the condition of the people of Lithuania, that old duchy which lay between Courland, Russia, Prussia, and Poland, had engaged the attention of the Bible Society. The Committee were informed that the population, which numbered a million, was rude, and poorer even than the Poles, but not lacking in religious feeling, though, owing to its rarity and extravagant price — from 17s. 6d. to a guinea — there was a danger of the Bible falling wholly into oblivion among them. A strange old- world region of lumber-men and bee-keepers, shepherds, graziers, and husbandmen ; speaking a tongue which of all the idioms surviving in Europe is said to come nearest to the Sanskrit ; haunted still by wild pagan legends and folk-songs of a singular freshness ; quaintly primeval, too, in their notions of conduct, if one may credit the travellers' reports that in Samogitia they will not allow a young woman to go out in the night without a candle in her hand and two bells at her girdle. In 1806 the Bible Society had offered to aid in the printing of a new edition of the Lithuanian Bible, the last impression of which was issued in 1755, if the task could 156 THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST fi8o4- be undertaken by a respectable printer in Konigsberg ; but in November that year "the French eagles," to use the phrase of the Emperor's bulletin, " were hovering over the Vistula ; " in the following February the Russians had taken their stand under the walls of the old capital, where Kant was born, and where he had been laid to rest three years before ; and it was not till 1809 that, stimulated by a grant of ;^300, a Konigsberg Bible Committee was formed. Even then the possibility of obtaining from a ravaged country the additional funds necessary appeared so hopeless that they hesitated to begin. The difficulty was removed by another donation of ;;^200 ; it was decided to proceed with an edition of 3000 Bibles and as many extra Testaments as their resources allowed. The good tidings were announced far and wide from the pulpit, and in a few months some 1300 copies were subscribed for.^ Progress, however, was retarded by various unforeseen obstacles, and in 181 2 the work was still going through the press. When the Polish Bible was ready, the Konigsberg Committee were able to give valuable assistance in its distribution. They ordered 1000 copies from Berlin, for it was their intention to furnish with a few Bibles and Testaments every Polish school within their range. A devout friend of the cause added 300 copies ; and the London Committee placed at their discretion, for sale or gift, 300 Bibles and 1000 Testaments, on the understanding that any proceeds should be assigned to the fund for the Lithuanian Scriptures. It will suffice to indicate how far afield the thoughts of the Bible Society were travelling at this time if we quote ' In a communication from the Konigsberg Bible Committee it is mentioned that while this version is printed without note or comment, palpable errors in translation have been amended by clergymen of the strictest integrity, who fully understand Hebrew and Greek as well as Lithuanian. " For instance, in that well-known passage in Isaiah Iv. 8, 9, ' For my thoughts are not your thoughts,' the old Lithuanian translation was thus, ' For my knees are not your knees,' which is absolute nonsense," i8i7] THOUGHTS TURNED TO TURKEY 157 a passage or two from a memorandum prepared by the distinguished Orientalist, Von Hammer, who, after serving in Egypt as interpreter to the English army during Sir Ralph Abercrombie's campaign, was now acting as Austrian Consul in Moldavia: "The nations to whom the efforts of the Bible Society (an institution highly beneficial to mankind) might prove a blessing in the European pro- vinces of Turkey, may be divided into Christians and non- Christians. The former are Greeks, Armenians, Servians, and Wallachians. Greek and Armenian Bibles do exist, but they are not in the hands of the people. The Servians and Wallachians have never had the Scriptures translated into their native tongue. The former can read the Illyrian Scriptures, Servian being only a dialect of Illyrian; the Wallachians and Moldavians have but very few books printed. There is, however, a printing-office at Bucharest and another in Hermanstadt. It would not be difficult to procure an able translator among the Wallachian and Moldavian clergy. I have not seen as yet a Turkish translation of the Scriptures." Patience, good Orientalist ; you shall see the Scriptures in all these tongues long before your aged and indefatigable head is laid on its last pillow among the Styrian firs. And now the disastrous events which were the immediate sequel to the Berlin Decree and the Treaty of Tilsit compel us to transfer our attention to the nations of the North. Before closing this chapter, however, we must attempt a brief sketch of one of the most enthusiastic adherents of the Bible Society, and, humble though his sphere of action was, one of the most engaging personalities of his time. Pastor Oberlin of Ban de la Roche, in Alsace, was among the first on the Continent to declare himself a friend of the cause ; it was, as we have seen, from the interesting details in one of his letters that Mr Dudley derived the fruitful scheme of Female Bible Associations ; and he may be 158 THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST [1804- said to have crowned his devotion to the Society with the Hfe of his youngest son. You shall discover the five hamlets of the Ban de la Roche — Fief or Manor of the Rock — on a jagged and insulated mountain mass outlying the Vosges chain. "Field of Fire" it is graphically named; a volcanic granite region ; higher than Snowdon ; strangled in snow from September till close of May ; roadless when Oberlin came, save for a wild-cat track which scrambled athwart the face of the precipice down to Bruche river, across which, with the good-will of the water-wraith, one might pass along thirty feet of stepping-stone;^. Halfway up — Oberlin's Wald- bach, among the pines and tumbled rocks ! The Ban covered nine thousand acres — more or less on end ; fifteen hundred of them under potatoes, oats, and rye ; as much in meadow and garden ; of the residue, one-third pasture, and two-thirds forest — ravening forest, which for generations had impoverished peasant and seigneur alike with its rights and litigation and law-costs, till Oberlin, gentle and conciliatory, made an end of the ruinous strife. In the five hamlets eighty to a hundred families eked out a starveling existence. One privilege, denied to the ancient provinces of France, was the heritage of the Field of Fire — an unques- tioned liberty of conscience. While the Protestants of Languedoc were envying the early Christians the safety of the Catacombs, here in the Ban, Roman Catholics and Lutherans, Reformed and Baptists, believed and worshipped unmolested. Little else to brag of! In 1750 Pastor Stouber found the master of the chief school dozing feebly in his old age — a poor shrivelled mortal, so many years too ancient to take care of the swine that he had been sent to look after the children. Stouber left in 1767, and was succeeded in his charge by Oberlin, then in his seven-and-twentieth year ; an 'S'7] PASTOR OBERLIN 159 able man.i who had picked up all sorts of useful knowledge at Strasburg, and who took an amazing interest in his wild parishioners. Pastor by authority, counsellor and comforter by the grace of God, he became physician, farmer, mechanic, pedagogue for their behoof; took powder and pick, and shamed them into blasting rocks and levelling roads, especially got them to understand the money value of direct communication with Strasburg; threw a bridge— the Pont de Charite — over the brawling Bruche ; started credit stores for ploughs, harrows, axes, spades, and other field tools ; set up a loan bank ; sent off likely lads to learn the craft of carpenter and mason, glazier, smith, and cart- wright; persuaded them into building themselves healthy houses ; bought a fire-engine — two, one for swift transit over the hills ; stimulated them by sheer force of example into experiments in tree-culture and fruit-growing — so that now you catch glimpses of the straw-roofed cottages half hidden in orchards of pear and cherry among the natural pines and boulders. The youthful candidates for confirmation were expected to bring with them certificates that they had each planted two young trees. ^ In a little he got his people to open real schools — infant schools too, the first of the kind, with "conductresses" to train in sewing and spinning, to tell stories, to teach songs and hymns, and geography "made easy" by means of wooden models of the mountain region of the Rock, and, perhaps most important of all, to teach French, for the speech of the Steinthal (Valley of ^ One of an able family evidently; his elder brother, Jeremias Jacob, antiquary and philologist, author of various archseological and statistical viforks, editor of valuable editions of Tacitus, Horace, and other classics, prisoner at Metz in the days of the Terror, still figures in the cyclopedias and biographies. He died in 1806. ^ In one of his customary catechetical ' ' Pastorals " Oberlin asks his parishioners : — " II. Do you punctually contribute your share towards the repair of the roads? "12. Have you, in order to contribute to the general good, planted upon the common at least twice as many trees as there are heads in your family ? "13. Have you planted them properly, or only as idle and ignorant people would do, to save themselves trouble ? "17. Are you frugal in the use of wood ? " 19. Have you proper drains in your yard for carrying off the refuse water?" — Memoir of John Frederic Oberlin, Pastor of Waldbach (1830), p. 271. i6o THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST [1804- Stone), as the Germans called the place, was a twelfth- century dialect, a singular survival of the ancient corrupted Latin. 1 Itinerating libraries were another of his ingenious notions. The virtues of the local plants and flowers were made familiar to the younger generation — useful knowledge when they came to add straw-plaiting, knitting, and dyeing to their industries ; invaluable knowledge in the wet years of famine, when even potatoes were falling short. The con- dition of the villagers steadily improved ; they no longer needed to borrow each other's clothes when they wanted to go to church. In time also the dignities of mayor and schoolmaster were covered by one hat ; toothless caducity, with some experience in swine-herding, was no longer deemed a qualification for the post of teacher. Fifteen and a half years of happy married life ; nine beloved children, the youngest ten weeks old; and in January 1784 Madame Oberlin passed into that "other room where those we love become invisible to our earthly eyes." That he and she might not long be separated from each other, "that the death of one might quickly and very quickly follow that of the other," was part of the prayer which he wrote for their marriage morning. He survived her more than forty years. During that time he became more and more really and intimately the cher Papa of his people, whose numbers had largely increased under his wise and loving shepherding. The Revolution brought trials and troubles ; but if he lost his ministerial stipend, he was at least permitted the unique favour of continuing his minis- trations. Ci-devants and refugees, in their flight from the red night-cap and the tumbrils, found shelter under his poor but hospitable roof. In 1795 when the churches were re-opened he declined to touch his official salary. His people knew the way to his door, and, as their means allowed, they ' J. J. Oberlin, Essai sur k Patois Lorrain des Environs dti Comti du Ban de la Roche. 1775. i8i7] OBERLIN AND THE R.T.S. i6i were at liberty to assist in his support. The prayer of faith was his magic wand and Fortunatus' cap. It enabled him, when machinery had destroyed his hand-spinning of cotton, to spirit silk-ribbon mills from the Rhine to the Stone Valley, and to plant a loom in every cottage ; and when the assignats lost their value and threatened to bring the curse of bank- ruptcy on the country, he managed in the course of twenty- five years to redeem all the assignats of the Ban and some of the surrounding parishes. A shrewd, grave, strenuous, great-hearted, apostolic figure among these rocky villages in the Field of Fire ; a phenomenal figure anywhere ; walking in the light of the Spirit ; believing first and wholly and above all else that God is Father — "Our Father," he would say, "and thus we may always feel Him ; " mystical too and fanciful in a half- childish, half-inspired fashion ; guiding his conduct, like Wesley, ' ' by drawing lots or watching the particular texts at which his Bible opened ; " ^ now giving up coffee and sugar in his horror of slavery ; now drawing, from the symbolism of the Temple and the Book of the Revelation, a map of the future world, to be hung up in his church. He was in friendly communication with the Religious Tract Society as early as 1803 — introduced, one conjectures, by their new foreign Secretary, Mr Steinkopff. In their minutes of a December meeting in that year there is record of £20 sent by Mr Dale of Glasgow "as an aid to Mr J. F. Oberlin in distributing Bibles." His early letter giving account of the good women to whom he intended to present Bibles was written in November the following year, in acknowledgment of a gift of £2,0, possibly from the same generous benefactor. The first grant from the Bible Society was made in April 1805. Assisted by his youngest son, Henry Gottfried, Oberlin founded a little society at Waldbach, and in connection with it depositories were 1 Green, Short History of the English People, p. 719. VOL. I. L i62 THE YEARS OF THE LOCUST [,804-1817 established in different parts of France, and more than 10,000 copies of the New Testament were put in circulation. In the years of which we are writing the Pastor of Waldbach received no more notable visitor than that preach- ing and prophetic enthusiast, Madame de Krudener. She came with a letter of introduction from the famous Pietist Jung-Stilling ; ^ and one is not surprised that she was filled with amazement and admiration at all that had been ac- complished in the Ban de la Roche by the self-sacrificing labour of one man. " It is impossible not to feel a moment's regret that this practical side of the ministry of Christ did not tempt Madame de Krudener away from the visionary dream of world-wide evangelisation which was beginning to take shape in her eager heart and brain. Had all the leaders of the Pietistic school in Germany been men of the scientific attainments and broad sympathies of Jung-Stilling, or of the splendid humanitarian zeal of Pastor Oberlin, the future developments of the movement might have been very different from what they ultimately became, and Madame de Krudener herself might have been saved from many of the errors of her religious teaching." ^ Her we shall once again see for a passing moment, more certain than ever of the approaching Millennium. And as for the beloved Pastor — shall we bring this sketch to its inevitable close? Not yet. For a little while let him linger in our memory, a living man, in the land of the living, doing with all the strength of his aged hands the will of Him "which liveth and abideth for ever." ^ A memorable man, son of a charcoal burner in the mountain forest about Grund, in Nassau ; himself a charcoal burner, then tailor and schoolmaster turn about as occasion served ; found means to study medicine in Strasburg, where he became a friend of Goethe's ; practised later at Elberfeld, and became Professor at Marburg and Heidelberg. " A pious soul," says Carlyle (AfiW//., vol. iv. p. 163), " who, if he did afterwards write books on the Nature of Departed Spirits, also restored to sight (by his skill in eye-operations) above two thousand poor blind persons, without fee or reward, even supporting many of them in the hospital at his own expense." Born 1740 ; died at Karlsruhe 1817. ^ Ford, Life and Letters of Madame de Krudener, p. 104. CHAPTER X FROM SAGA-LAND TO KALMUK TENTS The Bible Society's connection with the peoples of the North was brought about in a manner curiously providential ; and the first information submitted to its notice related to the condition of Iceland, that " wild land of barrenness and lava ; swallowed many months of every year in black tempests, yet with a wild gleaming beauty in the summer-time ; towering up there, stern and grim, in the North Ocean ; with its snow- jokuls, roaring geysers, sulphur-pools and horrid volcanic chasms, like the waste chaotic battle-field of Frost and Fire."^ Along the rim of grassy country between the mountains and the sea men had lived for centuries in the faith of a gigantic mythology, and had shaped their local history into sagas, which even at this day rnay be read with a singular vivid- ness of realization. In the early years of Christianity the people were slow to surrender their dreams of Asgard and the great Nature-gods; "they called Paul Odin, but Barnabas they called Thor ; the latter was long invoked by the traveller and the soldier before deeds of 'derring-do,' whilst Jesus was prayed to in matters of charity and beneficence."^ Towards the middle of the sixteenth century, at the Reformation, Christian III. ordered a school to be built near each cathedral church ; a translation of the New Testament was published by Oddr Gottskalksson in 1540;* the whole ' Carlyle, Heroes and Hero- Worship, Lect. i. ^ Burton, Ultima Thule, vol, i. p. 94. ^ Only three copies are known to exist — one at Reykjavik, another at the Deanery of Hruni, and the third in Glasgow. — Ultima Thule, vol. ii. p. 10, n. 168 i64 FROM SAGA-LAND TO KALMUK TENTS [1804. Bible, "a faithful mirror of Luther's German version," was printed at Holar, in 1584, under the revision of the Bishop, Gudbrand Thorlaksson, who in 1609 issued also a corrected version of the New Testament. Five-and-thirty years later a revised edition of Gudbrand's Bible was produced by his grandson and successor, Bishop Thorlak Skurlason, and this text was adopted in the edition of 1747 published at Copen- hagen. In 1750, 2000 copies of the New Testament were printed ; but at the date of which we are writing, among a population of about 47,000, with 300 parish churches, the Scriptures were not to be had for any money ; there were not more than forty or fifty copies of the Bible in the whole island ; the old printing-press was no longer workable ; and as no people in the world were fonder of reading — and scarcely one child in a hundred above twelve years of age could not read and write — they were endeavouring to supply the place of printed books by a recurrence to transcriptions as in the old saga-days. This information, as we have said, reached the London Committee in a curiously providential manner. In August 1805 the Rev. John Paterson,^ with his young colleague, the Rev. Ebenezer Henderson, ^ sailed from Leith to Elsinore, on their way to Serampore, as missionaries from the Congregational churches in Edinburgh. It was still the evil days when the East India Company, in its dread of "losing our Indian Empire" if an attempt were made to ^ Born in humble circumstances in Old Kilpatrick, near Glasgow, 26th July 1776 ; at the age of eighteen, after serving his apprenticeship to a handicraft, he attended the College session at Glasgow University; and in 1800 began his studies in Dundee as one of Mr Robert Haldane's candidates for the ministry. In 1803 he succeeded in forming a church on the Congregational model at Cambuslang, a few miles from Glasgow, and, in the following year, having been invited to go out to India as one of the missionary agents of the two Congregational churches in Edinburgh, he selected Mr Henderson as his colleague. ^ Mr Henderson's early history is somewhat similar to that of his friend. The youngest son of an agricultural labourer, he was bom near Dunfermline, 17th Nov. 1784 ; had some experience of the crafts of bootmaker and watchsmith ; was out with the Volunteers during the invasion scare of 1803, and in the same year, having seriously turned his thoughts to the ministry, he entered the Seminary which had been originated and was still supported by Robert Haldane. i8i7] ' J. PATERSON AND E. HENDERSON 165 convert the natives to Christianity, peremptorily forbade the presence of missionaries. The appHcation of the earnest evangehst, Robert Haldane, who had sold his estate of Airthrey in order that he might lead a chosen band to the East, met with a flat refusal ; and it was not until 181 3 that, in consequence of the resolute efforts of William Wilberforce, supported by Charles Grant, Claudius Buchanan and Josiah Pratt, provisions for the establishment of an Indian epis- copate and for the removal of all obstacles to evangelisation were inserted in the renewed Charter of the Company. But if the English missionary was " a man forbid " on an English deck, there were Danish ships, and Danish shores, by means of which the Gospel might be carried to the millions who, " From many an ancient river, From many a palmy plain," were calling for deliverance. Arrived at Copenhagen, however, they found they could not embark until the following spring. The autumn and the winter lay before them ; and their first Sabbath in the Danish capital, with its busy shops and streets thronged with traffic, its all but empty churches and listless congregations drowsing through perfunctory sermons, con- vinced them that ' ' there was as much need for a missionary in Copenhagen as in India." ^ They threw themselves into this unexpected field of usefulness ; but what seemed to them a temporary mission proved to be the opening of a new career. Changes began to affect the stability of the Edinburgh churches, the official tie was gradually dis- solved, and at last the two brethren were left to their own resources. "We had previously been applied to to give lessons to the young people in English," wrote Mr Paterson, "and this we resolved to do. Our success was such that we were able from this time forward to meet, in ^ Paterson, The Book for Every Land, p. 3. i66 FROM SAGA-LAND TO KALMUK TENTS [1804- whole or in part, our own expenses until we came to be supported by the Bible Society." The work for which they were immediately designed, however, was indicated to them before the year closed, in a letter from the Rev. J. Campbell of the Religious Tract Society: "Are Danish Bibles scarce in Denmark, or in any particular part of Denmark? . . . What is the state of religion in Norway? Are Bibles scarce there? Would Danish tracts be understood there? . . . Have you any information respecting Sweden, Lapland, or Poland? By strict attention to these subjects you may be the means of doing incalculable good, for the people in London are ready to undertake anything, with heart, hand, and purse, which the Kingdom of our Lord may appear to require." Through the good offices of Mr Reyner, of Old Swan Stairs, they became acquainted with Justiciary Thorkelin, Privy Keeper of the Royal Archives, who introduced them to Bishop Bulle, Dr Miinter (afterwards Bishop of Zealand), and other learned men in Copenhagen. Mr Thorkelin, himself an Icelander, gave them detailed information respect- ing the condition of that island ; they ascertained too that the Danish Evangelical Society, founded in the island of Fiinen in the first year of the century, was on the point of printing an edition of 2000 New Testaments in Icelandic. All these particulars were laid before the Bible Society, and after some correspondence with the Bishop of Iceland, the Committee voted a grant of ;^25o, so that the edition of 2000 should be increased to one of 5000 ; 2000 were to be sent, bound at the Bible Society's expense, to certain friends in Iceland who would be interested in their dis- tribution ; and a further grant of ;^300 was promised in aid of an impression of an entire Icelandic Bible. At the desire of the Fiinen Society, Mr Paterson under- took to see the work through the press ; the books were printed at Copenhagen, and 1500 were despatched by the i8i7] COPENHAGEN BOMBARDED 167 ships which sailed for the island in the spring of 1807. Five hundred, intended for the bishop, were detained for a vessel which would touch at that part of the coast nearest to the bishop's residence, and Mr Paterson was still await- ing the hoisting of the blue-peter when an English fleet appeared in the Sound — seven-and-twenty sail of the line under Admiral Gambler, with 20,000 troops under the command of Lord Cathcart. This episode of the bombardment of Copenhagen, which the Danes very naturally regarded as a wanton act of piracy unworthy of a great naval Power, has been presented in different lights by various writers. One of the latest describes it as "a shameful deed of high-handed violence."^ In his scheme for destroying English supremacy on sea. Napoleon had not only required Denmark to close her ports, he insisted that she should declare war with England ; and Bernadotte was advancing to the Danish border to enforce compliance. The danger of the Danish fleet falling into the Emperor's hands was serious. What was England to do? The course taken by the Ministry was arbitrary, no dovibt, but it was considerate ; and it seemed the only practical course. They offered to defend Denmark, to guarantee her colonies, to furnish her with every assistance, if she would make a temporary surrender of her fleet to Great Britain. So large a force was sent that a plea of coercion would be justified, if the Danish Ministers desired to propitiate Napoleon — and that actual coercion would be inevitable, if the alternative became necessary. Denmark refused the offer ; the British troops were landed, and hostilities began. Mr Henderson was at Elsinore, and afterwards crossed to Sweden. Mr Paterson remained in the invested town. The bombardment began between seven and eight o'clock on the evening of the 3rd September, and he left his lodg- ' SXoane, Life of Napoleon Bonaparte. i68 FROM SAGA-LAND TO KALMUK TENTS [,804- ings for the house of some friends. "I put my Bible in my pocket, not knowing what would become of me, re- solved to have it for my companion, living or dying." ^ It was a clear starry night, and the air seemed to be snowing meteors, which occasionally burst overhead with a terrible noise ; rockets rushed screaming to immense heights and plunged down into the streets ; here and there houses leaped up in a blaze. During the night the town was fired in thirty different places, but the firemen kept the flames under. ' ' The cries of the sufferers were dreadful. . . . The most awful storm of thunder and lightning I ever witnessed was nothing to this." On the night of the 4th, when darkness had fallen, the sky was so lit up by the burning town, and especially the vast wood - yard outside the walls, that, though it was wet and cloudy, "we could see the ships plainly at sea some miles off." Curious to think that the commander of those ships was a Vice-President of the Bible Society, and that it was an agent of the Society who was watching the shells and red- hot balls which they flung into the doomed town ! About four in the morning the spire of the beautiful Lady Church was in a blaze — a colossal torch, 250 feet of flame, burning at a height of 380 feet. The copper with which the timber was sheathed "gave the flame all the variegated colours of the prism." On the 7th the English took possession of the citadel, dockyards, and 18 ships of the line, 21 frigates, 6 brigs, and 25 gun-boats, besides an immense amount of naval stores. About 1700 of the townspeople had been killed, and fire had destroyed nearly 400 houses, one church, a great part of the University, and a number of fine collections of books, manuscripts, paintings, natural curiosities, etc. Yet, strange to say, in the midst of so much ruin the Icelandic Testaments were unscathed. Two bombs penetrated the house where the unbound sheets of ^ Paterson, The Book for Every Land, p. 36. i8i7] BIBLE WORK IN STOCKHOLM 169 3000 copies were lying, and the warehouse where the bishop's 500 copies were stored was nearly burnt to the ground, "that part only escaping where they were standing." ^ Recognising that he could no longer, with comfort or safety, continue his labours in Denmark, Mr Paterson left Copenhagen, and on his way to join Mr Henderson in Sweden he saw the English men-of-war with their captured fleet, and beheld that remarkably large and brilliant comet which even then, as in the days of Du Bartas, was believed to portend " Famine, plague, and war ; To Princes, death ; to Kingdoms, many crosses ; To all Estates, inevitable losses." He found his colleague established as minister of the English, or rather Scottish, Colony at Gothenburg, and he determined himself to proceed to Stockholm, where he hoped to do something for the circulation of religious tracts and the printing and distribution of the Scriptures. In this course he was supported not only by his friends in Scotland, but by the Bible Society and the Religious Tract Society in London. The printing of the Icelandic Bible had unhappily to be suspended in consequence of the hostilities between the two countries, but at Stockholm in the course of little more than a month Mr Paterson had so completely brought home to those in influential places the religious destitution of the people, that on the 29th February 1808, the Swedish Evangelical Society was founded, under the sanction of the King and the Privy Council. By a fundamental law of its constitution its Bible work and its Tract department were kept separate, and each had its distinct account of income and expenditure. The dearth of the Scriptures was extra- ' This is but one of several similar incidents in the history of the Society. I70 FROM SAGA-LAND TO KALMUK TENTS [1804- ordinary in a country in which there was no restriction or monopoly in regard to printing the Bible. Among the whole population, not one family in ten, it was estimated, possessed a copy ; and among the peasantry not one in twenty had either Bible or Testament. ■ Here, too, there was the same impoverishment as elsewhere in Europe ; and with its customary benevolence the Bible Society voted a grant of ;^300, and the Swedish Evangelical Society set itself to the task of providing and distributing the Scriptures. February, March, and April were filled with the rumours of coming trouble. In the Treaty of Tilsit it had been arranged that if Sweden refused to join France and Russia against England, the Czar was to declare war, and to take Finland as his share of the booty. In his chivalrous reckless- ness and impracticable mysticism, Gustavus IV. of Sweden was the last man to yield to Bonaparte. After the murder of the Duke of Enghien he had dismissed the French ambassador and recalled his own from Paris, had returned the King of Prussia his order of the Black Eagle — ' ' he never could, according to the laws of knighthood, consent to be brother Companion of an assassin," — and had vowed ever- lasting enmity to the Great Beast of the Apocalypse. And now here were the Beast, "and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him " ! The long frost had closed the Sound and the Gulf of Bothnia. Russia was marching from the east ; the fortress of Sveaborg on its rocky islets was treacherously sold ; Abo was beset ; troops had crossed the ice to Aland ; and the French, massed in Zealand and Elsinore, were on the point of attacking, when the Sound broke up, and the English battle-ships bore down through the wintry sea. During the campaign with Russia which followed, the Swedes fought with desperate valour, but under the pressure of overwhelming numbers they evacuated Finland, and that i8i7] TOUR IN SWEDEN AND LAPLAND 171 province was lost for ever. The King, who appears to have been more busied with apocalyptic visions than with the peril of his throne, was seized by one of his own generals on the 15th March 1809, and forced to sign his abdication. Thenceforth, poor phantom, he became a wanderer over Europe, until, as Colonel Gustafsson, he laid his discrowned head to rest at St Gall, in 1837. Duke Charles of Sudermania was proclaimed his successor, under the title of Charles XIII. ; as he was childless. Prince Christian Augustus of Augustenburg was elected Crown Prince ; and at the close of 1809 peace was concluded between Sweden and Denmark. The Prince died suddenly in the following spring,^ and Marshal Bernadotte, one of Napoleon's greatest and bravest generals, was chosen in his place. The best possible thing that could happen for Sweden ; for this son of a Beam lawyer gave himself heart and sword to his new country ; was not to be brow-beaten by a dozen emperors — ' ' Napoleon has thrown down the gauntlet, and I will take it up ! " — and set himself to prepare for the end, which was nearer than men thought. Meanwhile Paterson and Henderson had started in the summer of 1808 on a tour of 2300 miles in the north. They travelled through a considerable part of the ancient province of Dalecarlia, where bread was made of fir-tree bark and the inhabitants of each parish all dressed alike, every parish having its particular colour. At Hernosand they met Bishop Nordin, the only person in Sweden authorised to print any book in Lapponese, and interested him in the projects and operations of the Bible Society. From him they ascertained that there were 10,000 Laplanders who knew no tongue but their own. The first and only edition of the Lapp New Testament had been issued in 1755, and was nearly ' Poisoned, it was wildly rumoured ; and the mob, suspecting Count Axel Fersen, tore the proud old aristocrat to pieces in the streets. Such was the end of the deft "Glass-coachman" who drove a Queen, "in gipsy-hat," through Paris and out into "the ambrosial night" eighteen years before. — Carlyle, The French Revolution, vol. ii. p. 137. 172 FROM SAGA-LAND TO KALMUK TENTS [1804- exhausted. An edition of the whole Bible was now passing through his own press at Hernosand. They made an excursion into Lapland ; entered Finland from Tornea, and hoped to go as far south as Abo, but the advance of the Russian troops left no alternative but a precipitate flight. 1 On receiving information regarding the condition of the Laplanders, the Bible Society promptly arranged for an edition of 5000 copies of the New Testament, and voted a grant of ;^25o. The work was completed under the supervision of Bishop Nordin in 181 1. Half of the impression was sent into Swedish Lapland at the public expense, and was distributed, not at the winter markets in the towns, but by inland carriers, who thus brought the books within reach of those who would prize them most in the remote parishes. The distribution was seen to by the Royal Chancery, from whom a letter had been received by the Evangelical Society at Stockholm, expressing the satisfaction of the King that so much thought was being bestowed on the religious welfare of his Lapp subjects. From the favourable disposition shown by the Russian Government, which authorised the free im- portation of copies into Russian Lapland, and also engaged to forward them to their destination, the Society derived a hope that it would not be long before Russia itself would adopt the motto of "The Bible for all, without note or comment." Measures were likewise taken to disperse a thousand copies in Danish Lapland. Thus once more the Word of Life, at a time when human foresight could have least expected it, was scattered broadcast among the Lapps of the tent and the Lapps of those earthen huts overgrown with grass, which, with their dwarfish masters in deer-skin shirts and high blue caps, are believed to have suggested the old folk-tales of pigmies, and to be the originals of the green mounds of the fairies.^ ^ Peace between Russia and Sweden was concluded on the 17th September 1809. ^ Campbell, Tales of the West Highlands, vol. i. p. 14. i8i7] "THEY SENT US THE BIBLE" 173 In 181 2 a grant of ;^ioo was placed at the disposal of the Stockholm Society, for the benefit of the indigent in Lapland, but the Swedish Chancery, which had already expressed its admiration of the generosity of the London Committee, thankfully declined the grant and undertook to supply the poor with the Scriptures out of its own funds. In August 1809 Mr Paterson was happily married to Katrine Margarate HoUinder, at Stockholm ; and in a sympathetic letter his friend Henderson, after wishing him every blessing, reminded him of the slenderness of the tie which bound her to the earth. "It may be useful to begin early to familiarise yourself with the thought that you must part again for a season," he wrote, and the words proved touchingly prophetic of the bereavement which was to come. Early in i8io Sweden was constrained to declare war against England, but this hostile attitude was little more than formal. The ravages of war, famine, and pestilence among the Swedes and Finns had for several years excited the compassion of England, and the order for the war- prayer was met with a warm remonstrance among the Dalecarlians. " War with the English? We were starving, and they sent us food ; our souls were perishing, and they sent us the Bible. No, we cannot pray against our best friends." The declaration of war, however, had reconciled the opposite shores of the Sound ; the King of Denmark granted Mr Henderson leave to live in Copenhagen in order that he might superintend the printing of the Ice- landic Bible ; and the Society directed that 5000 additional copies of the New Testament should be printed from the same type. Matters, in the interim, were progressing at Stockholm. In March 1810 the first edition of the Swedish Testament was completed ; a second of 4000 copies was undertaken without delay, and the printing of the Old Testament had 174 FROM SAGA-LAND TO KALMUK TENTS [1804- been begun. ■ By the spring of 181 1 a fourth edition of 6000 New Testaments was in the press, and although 10,600 copies had already been distributed, the demands from all quarters seemed to be overwhelming. The list of Swedish contributors to the Evangelical Society, or the Swedish Bible Society, as it was afterwards called, included persons of every rank and condition, from the highest nobles and dignitaries to the poorest servants. Donations had also been received from Scotland, and from friends on the Continent, whereby the society had been enabled to make gratuitous distributions of the New Testament among sea- faring Swedes and the distressed and indigent refugees who had escaped from the pillaged provinces of Finland. It was about this time that the condition of the Finns was brought before the Bible Society by a memorial of Mr Paterson's, which had been forwarded from Stockholm. There were, it was represented, no fewer than 1,300,000 who spoke the Finnish language ; no Bibles or Testaments had been printed since 1776; for many years no Bible had been offered for sale, and though possibly some few copies of the New Testament might be had at Abo in Finland itself, there was not one to be found in Stockholm. It was pointed out that, as there was a disposition to close Finland against books printed in Sweden, it was expedient that any work decided upon should be undertaken at Abo. The Committee authorised Mr Paterson to proceed at once to Abo, and if needful to St Petersburg, to arrange for an edition of the Finnish Bible. A grant of ^^500 was voted for the purpose, and the formation of a society was strongly urged. In August 181 1, he ran the gauntlet of the English, who were patrolling the Gulf in gunboats and swarms of captured Finnish small craft ; reached Abo, enlisted Bishop Tengstrom's interest in the objects of the Society, and, after laying the foundation of an Auxiliary for Finland, visited the Governor of the province. Count Steinheil, who i8i7] THE CZAR AND THE FINNS 175 received him with great cordiality, and promised to lay his proposals before the Czar for his Majesty's approbation. The Czar not only approved of the generous offer of the London Committee, but, "inspired with the wish to assist in promoting the circulation of the Holy Scriptures," was graciously pleased to add 5000 roubles from his private purse. In the following year the Abo Bible Society was founded, with Count Steinheil, the Governor-General, as president ; and the Czar, in a letter to his Excellency, " being persuaded that religion is the most powerful instrument of raising the morals of a people, and that, when maintained in purity, it is the strongest bond of support to the State," not only sanctioned the opening of subscriptions through- out his Finnish dominions and the importation duty-free of all articles necessary for the proposed edition of the Bible, but graciously complied with the request that the portion of corn tithes, which was originally appropriated to printing the Holy Scriptures but which in latter years had been used for State purposes, should be applied for five years in aid of the edition. It is pleasant to think that these tithes had now been restored to their old purpose, and that once more the people were exchanging the food of earth for the bread of the spirit. By the end of the year the bishop, who was already dreaming of a quarto Bible for use in the churches and for those who could afford the luxury, was writing to express "the hearty thanks which a grateful daughter offered for the liberality of a most excellent and generous parent." In those early years the name Finn vaguely suggested, at the best, an unkempt, idolatrous, half - barbaric people. With the exception of two or three scholars, no one had heard of the strange old literature which had lived from mouth to mouth for countless generations. The epic runes of Vainamdinen and Ilmarinen were 176 FROM SAGA-LAND TO KALMUK TENTS [1804- unknown.i No stranger had listened to those marvellous folk-lyrics, of which their laulaja sang : — " My songs are my learning— my verses my goods ; from the roads did I dig them, from green boughs did I pluck them, I wrenched them from the heather plants, when a little one I was herd- ing, a little child was tending lambs. Up from the honey- mounds, across the golden hillocks, songs did the wind waft me ; the air cradled them by hundreds ; verses surged around me; sayings rained down like water." ^ But among the people — who cherished them with a secretive jealousy, — in tent or hut when the icy darkness was flushed with the Northern Lights, beside the burning brasier on green bank or sandy shore in the fishing season, they were chanted for hours at a stretch by the untiring runoiat, who, face to face and hand in hand, rocked in cadence to the alliterative rhythm on which Longfellow modelled his Song of Hiawatha. But times and tastes were changing. Some years later an aged runoia lamented: ' ' The same store is not set nowadays on the old songs as when I was a lad. Folk still sing at gatherings, but seldom aught worth the hearing. The young people hum songs more than light, that I would not soil my lips with."^ Evidently the Finnish Bible was being pre- pared at a seasonable moment. ^ Lonnrot's Kantele (a collection of Finnish songs of various kinds) was published in 1829; the "old" Katevala (32 cantos, l2,ooo lines) in 1835; the Kanteletar ("the Daughter of the Dulcimer") in 1840; the complete Kalevala (50 cantos, 22,800 lines — 7000 more than the Iliad) in 1849. — Comparetti, The Traditional Poetry of the Finns, p. 7. ^ Kalevala, i. 36 (see Comparetti, Miss Anderton's admirable English translation, p. 20). That these folk-lyrics are marvellous let eight lines from one of the Songs of Exile attest : ' ' O rarely here the sun doth shine ! Rarely the moonbeams gleam ! Rare is the cuckoo's voice divine. Rare is the diver's scream ! Rarely the northern pike come near, The salmon never come ; The silver salmon swims not here, He swims beside my home ! " — Billson, The Popular Poetry of the Finns (Nutt). •^ L^ouzon le Due, Le Kalevala, p. xiv. i8i7] RUSSIA AND NAPOLEON 177 Early in the same year, 1812, Mr Paterson had corresponded with the Committee regarding the expediency of a journey to St Petersburg ; partly to promote the o interest of the Abo Society by superintending the prepara- tion of type for the Finnish Bible, partly to see what could be done in Russia itself. The Cabinet at St Petersburg had already shown its cordiality towards the designs of the Bible Society, and this evidence was strengthened by the assurance of Baron Nicolai, the Russian ambassador at Stockholm, to whom Paterson had been introduced by Count Steinheil. The Baron strongly urged a visit to the capital ; there was nothing to fear, even should things continue as they then were ; at the same time, he plainly hinted at the probability that peace would be established between Russia and England and that Russia would declare war against France. The extravagant demands made on Russia by Napoleon could not be complied with, and the cessation of trade with Great Britain was at once exasperating the people and threatening the ruin of the nobility, whose revenues depended on open markets for their produce. "Spain with her guerilla system," he observed, "has taught us how to resist the French."^ Russia had evidently planned her tactics in anticipation of the disastrous campaign by which Bonaparte intended to enforce the observance of his Continental System.^ If any doubt were left in Paterson's mind that the time had come when something should be attempted in Russia, it was probably removed by a letter from Mr Pinkerton, who for some time had been one of the Scottish missionaries at Karass, but, in consequence of failing health, had removed to Moscow, where he was employed as preceptor ^ Paterson, The Book for Every Land, p. 155. '^ There seems no reason to doubt that this was " le motif U plus puissant qui portait V Empereur h faire la guerre d. la Russie" but it is not so clear that " .'o veritable cause du refus qu'opposait Alexandre " was the dread of sharing the fate of his father, the Czar Paul, who was charged with having ruined Russian commerce by declaring war against England. —Marbot, Mdmoires, vol. iii. p. 37, VOL, I, M 178 FROM SAGA-LAND TO KALMUK TENTS [1804. in the families of several persons of distinction. In concert with some of the first nobility he had taken measures for the establishment of a Russian Bible Society on a large scale, and he now considered that there was a prospect of the general cause being advanced by Mr Paterson's presence in the capital. It had not been reserved, however, for either Mr Paterson or Mr Pinkerton to take the first step on behalf of the Society in Russia. As early as the spring of 1806 the Committee had been in correspondence with regard to the condition of Esthonia, and the President had written to the venerable Archbishop Plato in the interest of Russia at large. Possibly on account of his extreme age — he was then in the tenth year of his second century — the Arch- bishop made no direct reply, but it was understood that the communication had favourably impressed him, and that it paved the way for subsequent negotiations. As to Esthonia, the dearth of the Scriptures was so serious that the Committee offered a grant in aid if a Bible Society for the province were founded, but unhappily the war in Prussia and Poland suspended intercourse, and it was not till 1810 that fuller information was received and a definite course of action became practicable. It was now stated that in Esthonia and Livonia there were 400,000 families destitute of the Bible ; that the lower classes, often more miserable than the negro slaves, and as ignorant as they were poor, were hardly aware of its existence ; that in some districts it was held a great thing if they had been taught ' ' Thou shalt not kill ; thou shalt not steal," for of the Redemption on the Cross, of Justifica- tion, they had heard little. During the preceding forty years almost all had been taught to read, but a Bible cost about I2S. 6d., and was rare, while the New Testa- ments of 1727 had long been exhausted. Probably no more was then known of the inner life of the Lett and i8i7] THE MISSION AT KARASS 179 Esthonian than of the Finn, but now at least we can gather from their legends, folk-tales, and songs how capable these poor peasants were of appreciating the simplicity and beauty of the Bible story. Many of their clergy and schoolmasters, it was reported, had been infected with modern infidelity, but there were still many pious pastors and teachers scattered over the country, some well-disposed landowners, and thousands of worthy Christians who could be depended on for co-operation and friendly aid. In response to a conditional grant of ;^6oo, a society was formed at Dorpat in the following year for the express purpose of printing the Scriptures in the dialects of Revel and Dorpat for cheap or gratuitous distribution, and collec- tions were undertaken in various parts of the district. To ensure the speedy completion of the work the Committee voted a further donation of ;^400 ; and so, at length, a goodly edition of 6000 Bibles and 20,000 New Testaments was got under way. In 1806, at the instance of the Scottish Missionary Society, the heart of the Bible Society went out to the lonely station of Karass, a Tartar village in the province of Stavropol, which one may look for in vain in map, gazetteer, or guide-book. It lies west of Georgievsk, and about 30 miles from Kislavodsk — roughly, 42.30 E. and 44 N. — and takes its name from a Tartar sultan who, with several of his sons, is buried a few versts north of the village ; an interesting spot in the history of Missions. Among the missionaries here were Mr Pinkerton, whose name we have recently mentioned, and Mr Henry Brunton, who some years earlier had seen service and had tragic experience at Sierra Leone. Brunton had acquired Tartar- Turkish in such idiomatic purity that by many of the natives he was regarded as a renegade Turk. Using Seaman's translation as a basis,i he undertook a new ^The version made by the Rev. Williani Seaman, chaplain to the English i8o FROM SAGA-LAND TO KALMUK TENTS [1804- version of the Testament, and in 1807 — in spite of the diflficuhy of obtaining printing materials, the inclemency of the weather which invaded their ill-built offices, and the incursions of Tcherkess raiders — published a few hundred copies of the Gospel of St Matthew. The Tartar- Turkish, it was stated, extended not merely from the Volga to the Black Sea, but through the greater part of Persia ; was understood beyond the Caspian among the Tartar tribes, whose dialects differed to the ear rather than to the eye ; and was spoken over an area twice as large as that of any other language, not except- ing, perhaps, even the Chinese. Wherever there were Mohammedans there were priests— scarce a village without one — and where the priest was, the young had a teacher of reading. On the suggestion of the Scottish Missionary Society the Committee voted a grant of ;^65o for a fount of type and paper enough for 5000 copies of the New Testament. In the following year these supplies reached their destina- tion ; by October 1810 the printers finished the Acts of the Apostles ; two years later the volume was completed, but the translator, who, like the Venerable Bede, lived but long enough to finish his task, had already sung his "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost ! " Here we should pause, but so little remains to tell of Karass that it may as well be told now. In 1815 the missionaries removed to Astrakhan, and the work of dis- tribution was carried on rapidly and effectively. Testa- ments were sent to Kazan, to Derbent, to Tabriz, to Shirwan. Great eagerness was shown among the Persian ambassador at the Porte, though not free from faults, eschewed the circumlocutory refinements of the Turkish of Constantinople, to which, however, it was too closely conformed to be easily understood by the Tartars. It was published at Oxford in 1666 at the expense of the Levant Company and of the Hon. Robert Boyle, whose service to the cause gf the Bible has been mentioned in oijr account of the Irish Scriptures, i8i7] THE MORAVIANS AT SAREPTA i8i merchants ; they came six or seven at a time to obtain copies. One of them, who was visited by a Russian, was found with a Testament open before .him. How did he like it? "The Effendi took it up and kissed it; he liked it well ; if he could have one in the Persian tongue he would give much for it." From this point the Tartar-Turkish Scriptures belong to the story of the Russian Bible Society. In 1806, too, the Committee were corresponding with the pastors of Sarepta, a neat stone-built settlement of the Moravian Brethren, founded in 1765 on the Volga, just where the river, swerving eastward, completes the boundary between Astrakhan and Saratov. The German colonies along the great river were divided into thirteen Protestant parishes, in which copies of the Scriptures were sadly to seek, and the clergy were too poor to distribute Bibles at their own expense. Supplies were despatched from Halle on the orders of the Society, and the various congregations subscribed, so that the books might be gratuitously distributed. One of the pastors visited four parishes, containing thirty-two villages scattered at great distances from each other, and testified to the joy and gratitude with which the unexpected gifts were received. Some portions of the Bible had been translated by the Brethren into Kalmuk, but nothing had been printed, as there was no printing press in the whole of that wild region. The Committee granted a sum of money for the purchase of a case of type from St Petersburg, and encouraged the missionaries' to proceed with their labours. The principal translator was Conrad Neitz, who for forty years had been qualifying himself for a Kalmuk version, and the Gospel of St Matthew was completed in 181 2, ^ A vacancy which occurred in one. of the parishes was filled by the Rev. Mr Graff, who married Henrietta, one of Pastor Oberlin's daughters, and went out to the Volga in 1808. i82 FROM SAGA-LAND TO KALMUK TENTS [1804- at which date the printing was transferred to the Russian capital. A deep interest was taken by the Committee in this preparation of the Gospel for the Kalmuk wanderers of the steppe — some sixty thousand, flitting with their brown tents, their horses, and their cattle between Sarepta and the Caucasus. Nomads in heart and soul, with the tradi- tions of ten centuries, they had acquired a few luxuries from their neighbours, but tilled lands and roofed walls were to them abominations ; what they needed the women could buy with the hides they tanned or the felt blankets they made, the men with saddle-trees and wooden cups, or perchance some curious smith-work in iron or silver. Further north, in Samara, there were many Kalmuks who had been baptised and for upwards of a hundred years had worshipped according to the rites of the Russian Church ; but of these little was known. In the year 1771, added the missionaries, about 65,000 families "left Russia," and were now under the protection of China. " Left Russia" ! One thinks of the Flight of the Kalmuck Khan'^ from the frozen Volga to the great shadows of the Chinese Wall ; of the track through the thousand- leagued deserts strewn with skeletons, drapery, household effects, heaps of money, and marked here and there with rings of bleaching bones grouped about a central patch of grey ashes ; of the final rush of men and horses, of Kalmuks and Bashkirs, to the heavenly lake, and the clamour of the last mad conflict which incarnadined its waters ; of the mighty columns of granite and brass which tell of the safety, "after infinite sorrow," of the ancient Children of the Wilderness, — one thinks, and marvels that in less than forty. years things like these should no longer have been remembered. However, they had "left Russia," and under the pro- ^ De Quincey, Works, vol. iv., The Revolt of the Tartars. i8i7] THE KALMUKS 183 tection of the Emperor Kien-loung, or rather of his son Kia-king,i still spoke the same language. Wherefore, writes one missionary, "you are preparing the New Testa- ment for a very numerous people," for the Kalmuks are but a division of the great Mongol race, "who are distributed into Mongols Proper, Buriats, and Kalmucks, and these, whatever their differences in religion, manners, and mode of life, have the same written language in common." Information which, in spite of assurances to the contrary, is by no means accurate, but which in the meanwhile is vividly interesting and stimulative. This, then, is the condition of Biblical affairs in Russia when Mr Paterson is making ready to start for St Petersburg. Before leaving Stockholm (which he did on loth July 1812), he hurried down to Helsingborg to meet Mr Henderson and Mr Steinkopff, the Foreign Secretary, and there they "related to each other the great things which God had done for the Society," and deliberated on the best means of advancing its interests. Mr Steinkopff was on his first official tour among the foreign Auxiliaries, but this is matter for another chapter. ^ " 1796, Feb. 8th, first day of the Chinese year ; abdication of Kien-loung, in favour of his son Kia-king, now three hundred and fourth Chinese Emperor." — Pickeiing, Chron. Hist, of Plants. CHAPTER XI THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (l.) From the farewell letters which passed between them it is evident that both Mr Steinkopff and his colleagues regarded this tour as an adventure of serious hazard and real personal danger. ' ' The safety of your person and the success of your undertaking," wrote the latter, "will dwell in the hearts and engage the prayers of all your fellow-labourers in the service of the Society"; and "Oh," replied the Foreign Secretary, ' ' that He may give me the simplicity of the dove, and the wisdom of the serpent, the courage of the lion and the meek- ness of the lamb — that whilst I use every prudent precaution and do not plunge myself into needless danger, I may be willing to sacrifice ease, convenience, and earthly comfort, and even liberty and life itself, in this blessed service ! " And indeed, quite apart from the risks of a journey through countries over-run by rapacious troops, and the gangs of ruffians who follow the track of an army, there was a grave peril in every movement that brought on the traveller the suspicion of the French Government. Mr Steinkopff left London on the 12th June 1812, reached Gothenburg in safety, stayed a little while in Copenhagen, and proceeded through Germany to Switzerland. He was fully accredited the Agent of the Society, with plenary powers to take in its name such measures as might seem to him calculated to promote the accomplishment of its object. The journey occupied six months, and he expended over ;^27oo in encouraging the formation of 1804-1817] ACTIVITY OF THE BASEL B.S. 185 Bible Societies, in making grants in aid, and in supplying the Scriptures where they were most pressingly needed. He gathered on the spot and from the best informed people a variety of information which largely facilitated the operations of the Society in the future. Stockholm he was unable to visit, but he made inquiries which justified him in announcing to the Swedish Evangeli- cal Society a grant of ;^300, and in assisting several worthy clergymen to present Testaments to their poor parishioners. He concerted measures with Mr Henderson for the more expeditious production of the Icelandic Bible, presented ;^i20 to the Danish Evangelical Society at Fiinen, which had contributed generously to the Icelandic project, and strongly urged the benefit of a Bible Society in the capital. He met Dr Knapp and his friends at Halle, arranged for the forma- tion of a Bible Committee in connection with the Canstein Institution, and started its fund with a donation of ;^5o. At Basel, where he repeatedly met the executive of the oldest of the continental societies, he found that during the six years of their operations they had published 12,000 copies of the German Bible (9350 of which had been sold, and 1500 dis- tributed gratuitously), 4000 French Testaments, 3000 French Bibles, 4000 Romanese Testaments (2000 in each dialect), and 3000 Italian Testaments. He presented the executive with ;^300 for the printing of the Roumansch Old Testament; ;^200 for the gratuitous distribution of German Bibles and Testaments among the poor ; ;^200 to aid the printing of 10,000 German Bibles in a small format; and, later, the London Committee voted a grant of ;^5oo for promoting the circulation of the Scriptures in France. Two of the Basel committee, he learnt, had gone to Paris to arrange for the printing of a stereotype New Testament there ; they had formed a French Bible Committee, and now, in November 1812, they were awaiting the sanction of the French Minister of Police for its legal establishment. i86 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (i.) [i8o4- The Basel brethren had likewise succeeded in founding an Auxiliary at Chur (Coire) the capital of the Grisons, by which both the printing and the circulation of the Chur- welsche and Ladin versions would be greatly facilitated ; and they had recently been devoting their attention to the condition of the Waldenses, among whom in despite of their poverty there still survived — as might well be expected from the children of those " slaughtered saints, whose bones Lay scattered on the Alpine mountains cold " — a traditional love of the sacred writings and a keen desire to obtain them. Circumstances prevented Mr Steinkopff from visiting the Prussian Society at Berlin; but notwithstanding the calami- ties which had befallen the kingdom and the protracted sequence of hostilities, that society had completed the printing of 3000 Bohemian and 8000 Polish Bibles, and of 4000 Polish Testaments, and was now engaged on the second edition of the Bohemian Bible, the completion of which was anxiously desired not only by the Protestant churches but by many Roman Catholics in Prague and Berlin. The more the Polish Scriptures were known, the more they were sought after, and Mr Steinkopff directed a considerable consign- ment to be forwarded to Konigsberg for distribution by the committee in that city, while for the poor of Berlin he transmitted ;£'J$ to be spent on Canstein Bibles. The Committee at home, moved by the unhappy condition of Prussia, voted ;^25o in aid of the new edition (5000 copies) of the Bohemian Scriptures. Neither was our traveller able to reach Pressburg, where under the patronage of the Baroness de Zay, and with the help of a grant of ^500 from the Bible Society, the Hungarian Bible Institution had been established in August 181 1. There were upwards of a million and a i8i7] OPERATIONS IN HUNGARY 187 half of Protestants in Hungary, but owing to the fierce religious persecutions of old days, and the restrictions which still existed, there were but few copies of the Scriptures in that country.^ The feeling which the prospect awakened in Hungary is expressed in a letter from Professor Palkovitch, who occupied the chair of Sclavonic Literature at Pressburg : — ' ' Our Huss was the faithful disciple and constant follower of your countryman Wicliff. From you the first rays of the light of Holy Scripture penetrated to us. Now after a lapse of four centuries you are preparing again to confer upon us this gift." Notwithstanding the ruthlessness of the Roman Catholics of a bygone generation, it was now anticipated that the Biblical movement would have the support of all de- nominations of Christians ; the Emperor had authorised the Hungarian Bible Institution to establish a press of its own — a privilege never granted before ; and in the mean- while operations began with the purchase of Sclavonic Bibles, for sale at a very cheap rate among the poor. In 1814 Mr Pinkerton discovered at Utrecht 2000 copies of the 1794 edition of the authorised Hungarian Bible, and these copies were bought up by the London Committee and transmitted to Pressburg.^ For several years, how- ever, little more was heard of the Hungarian Bible Institu- tion. The brethren in London could not but be grieved and disappointed, but doubtless they took courage in the thought that the issue of all their enterprises was in the ^ Joseph II. accorded in his edict of toleration (29th October 1781) the free exercise of religion, but a distinction was maintained between a free and a public exercise. In 1791 an end was put to this difference, and to the jurisdiction of Catholic bishops, yet until 1844 the limitation remained that the king's consent was necessary in any change from Catholicism to one of the Protestant creeds. It was not till 1848 that the Evangelical Churches were placed on a footing of equality and identical freedom with other recognised Churches. — ^Jekelfalussy, The Millennium of Hungary and its People (Budapest), p. 290. ^ The first edition of the whole Bible in Magyar — the present "authorised" version of Hungary — was made in 1589, by Gaspard Karolji, pastor of the church at Gonr, and Dean of the Brethren of the Valley of Kaschau, who in his youth had imbibed the principles of the Reformation at the University of Wittenberg. — Bagster, p. 326. i88 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (i.) [1804- hands of Him who knows the changes of the times and the seasons.^ At Ratisbon Mr Steinkopff was strongly solicited for aid in making a more general gratuitous distribution of the New Testament among Roman Catholics, but as the Ratisbon Bible Society was wholly under priestly control, he was unable to comply officially with the request, though he afforded assistance by means of a private subscription from German and Danish friends. In the case of another Roman Catholic, the Rev. Leander Van Ess, Professor of Divinity in the University of Marburg, the same difficulty did not occur. Dr Van Ess, with the assistance of several German divines, had produced a version of the New Testament, which met with approval from both Catholics and Protestants ; he had already distributed 20,000 copies on his own initiative, but among so many these were but as rain-drops in the sea. He appealed to the Society for means to spread the best of all gifts among the thousands who still lacked it. All earthly comforts, he wrote, were vanishing from the children of men ; ill-treated, plundered and heavy-laden as they were, "their eyes, full of tears, looked for refreshment and comfort towards the realms above, where alone they were to be found." Mr Steinkopff allotted him ;^200 for the distribution of 3000 copies among his co-religionists, on condition that the few notes which he had appended to the text were deleted. Shortly afterwards Dr Van Ess received a further grant of ;^300, ^ From the blood-stained history of religion in Hungary one incident may be recorded as typical of the days of persecution. When Count Francis Nadasdy, ' who ruined partly or wholly 200 churches on his estate, extruded Pastor Stephen Pilarick of Beczko, he had all the pastor's books taken to his castle to be burned on the floor of the great hall. The Bible was put on a spit and slowly consumed before the fire in the presence of the Count and his retinue. A sudden gust stripped away a number of half-burned leaves, and one, which fell fluttering on the Count's breast, was caught by him. Examining the charred fragment, he read the words in Isaiah xl. 8 : " The grass withereth, the flower fadeth : but the word of our God shall stand for ever." Drawn in later years into insurrection, he closed his life on the scaffold. His last words as he laid his head on the block were : " The Lord is just in all His ways." — Wylie, The History of Protestantism, vol. iii. p. 238. i8i7] SPREAD OF BIBLE SOCIETIES 189 and in the following year yet another of an equal amount, and subsequently, as we shall see, he was more fully engaged in the service of the Society. In the course of his tour the Foreign Secretary laid the foundation of several new organisations. At Ziirich, under Antistes or Chief Pastor Hess, a Bible Committee had been formed, and Mr Steinkopff presented them with ;^25o to proceed with the printing of a large edition of the German Bible — a grant which in the next year was augmented by another ;^25o from the London Committee. At Stuttgart, the capital of Wiirtemberg, an influential Bible Committee was constituted, and only awaited the sanction of the King to expand into a society for the whole kingdom. An edition of 10,000 German Bibles was arranged for, and Mr Steinkopff, mindful no doubt of his happy student days, " tactusque soli natalis amore," not only made a grant of ;^200 (which was supplemented by another of ;^25o in the following year from the London Committee), but provided 4500 Bibles and Testaments for free distribution, or sale at very low prices, among the poor. Similar Bible Committees were organised at Frankfort, Osnaburg, Altona, and in Swedish Pomerania, to each of which he presented ;^5o ; and in addition to various small sums left in charge of discreet agents, he ordered 5375 copies of the Scriptures — 3425 Bibles and 1950 Testaments — to be distributed from Halle or Basel among the people in Hanover, Gottingen, Neudietendorf, Dresden, Leipzig, Miiselwitz, Schaffhausen, St Gall, and the Grand Duchy of Baden. During these months, while this obscure traveller pursued his course from town to town, sowing the seeds of a great Biblical revival, the destinies of the world were trembling in the balances of the high heavens. "The throne was prepared for judgment." In the South the Whirlwind listened for a word; in the North the Cold igo THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (i.) [i8°4- awaited commandment. Mighty Ones entered into the store-houses of the snow ; they saw the treasures of the hail reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war. The hour had come when the unseen Summoners should be obeyed, and the man should go forth to his fate. For, like Caligula, to whose disordered brain the Sea came in some strange personal shape and spoke words of terror. Napoleon had heard mysterious voices, citing him from the unknown. He would start up suddenly from a doze crying, "Who calls me? Who calls me?" and then drop off to slumber again. On the last day of May 1812 the Emperor had entered Poland, and his legions — 498,000 strong — were in full march for the Niemen. In warlike splendour, and with the revolting arrogance of the foredoomed, they had swept through Prussia, devouring the last truss of straw, the last blade of grass. Troop by troop, day after day, the masses had rolled on without ceasing. Never had the people seen so prodigious an army — men of all nations, soldiers in every kind of uniform, generals in hundreds. Their passing was like the migration of hordes of wild beasts and birds of prey. From the field-marshal to the sutler they were insatiable. "The officers obliged the wife of a poor village pastor to cook their ham in red wine. They drank the richest cream out of the pitchers, and poured essence of cinnamon over it ; the common soldiers, even to the drummer, blustered if they had not two courses. They ate like madmen. But even then the people prognosticated that they would not so return. And they said so them- selves. When formerly they had marched to war with their Emperor, their horses had neighed whenever they were led from the stable ; now they hung their heads sorrowfully. Formerly the crows and ravens flew the contrary way to the army of the Emperor ; now these i8i7] PATERSON'S ARRIVAL IN RUSSIA 191 birds of the battle-field accompanied the army to the east, expecting their prey."^ The invasion began on the 24th of June. Napoleon himself crossed the Niemen near Kowno. At the head of his appalling myriads the Despot of Europe was ■ challenged by a solitary Cossack on the Russian bank of the river. A braggart reply was flung back ; the scout gazed a moment, then wheeled his horse round and galloped away. No other enemy was seen. The day was marked by another incident. As it closed, a terrific thunder- storm burst upon the invaders, and for fifty leagues round the country was deluged. These things might have been taken for a portent, for these — the primeval forces of nature, and the barbaric riders of the Steppe, who seemed scarcely less primeval — were the unconquerable foes awaiting Bonaparte in the inhospitable region of swamps, pine- forests, and deserts into which he was plunging. The Grand Army was at Wilna when Mr Paterson, accompanied by his wife, left Stockholm on the loth July. In the first week of August he reached St Petersburg, where he was kindly received by Prince Galitzin, Minister of Public Worship — a handsome little man with large penetrat- ing eyes— who read his letters of introduction, listened with interest to the projects of the Bible Society, but considered the condition of the country too critical to admit of a journey to Moscow. Mr Paterson felt, however, that he must justify the expense incurred by the Society through his visit to Russia by obtaining all the information he could, and ascertaining for himself the prospects of future success. Amid the excitement and confusion of a nation rushing to arms, he set out for the ancient capital on the 24th of August. On that day Napoleon advanced from Smolensk ; and Mr Paterson, as he travelled on, heard how that Holy City, I Freytag, Pictures of German Life, 2nd ser, vol, ii, p. 215, 192 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (i.) [1804- with its colossal walls and six-and-thirty towers, had been set in a blaze and abandoned by the Russians. Late on the evening of the 2nd September he arrived at Moscow, one of the last Englishmen to behold the old Tartar wall and high brick towers, the sacred red gates of the Kremlin, the green spires of the churches, the barbaric splendour of cross and crescent glittering over the domes and cupolas of silver and gold. Seven years earlier Reginald Heber had looked upon them with the eye of a young poet, ' ' could have fancied himself the hero of an Eastern tale, and expected with some impatience to see the Talking Bird, the Singing Water, or the Black Slave with his golden club."i Paterson was engrossed in other thoughts. Moscow was already half deserted ; in the disturbed state of the populace it was perilous to traverse the streets ; Governor- General Rostopchin, busy with Platoff the Hetman of the Cossacks, spoke a few kindly words, but had no time to think of Bible Societies ; Princess Galitzin and her sister. Princess Metschersky, gave the travellers tea, but saw no hope of forming Auxiliaries at that moment. On the 5th the closing of the gates made their departure from Moscow imperative. At the point where the Smolensk road crosses the road to St Petersburg, some fifty miles away, they found the highway packed with traffic — waggons, carts, equipages, crowds of passengers on foot, sheep, cattle, all fleeing before the French ; and amid the press the Bishop of Smolensk in his coach, conveying to a place of safety the venerated eikons of the Virgin Mother, painted, according to tradition, by St Luke and brought to Russia by Anne, daughter of the Emperor Constantine of Byzantium. Further on they met recruits hurrying forward to the army, and before they reached Twer the bloody battle of Borodino had been fought. On the 13th ' The Life of Re^nald Heber, vol. i. p. 150, (^AaAl&i c-^ ^'ui'n^ i^ («•">. '%^ ,,.„ „f ^^ntp, BoQ^^.O' ,r. ' UJ«^''V- Piiir ?^ft'';^ ;.Y ^ i8i7] NAPOLEON'S RETREAT FROM MOSCOW 193 they arrived at St Petersburg. Here in a few days all was in a wild state of excitement and alarm ; the smoke of the burning of Mother Moscow seemed to darken the world with fear ; there were rumours of the French advancing from the lost city, of another army pressing on from Riga ; the public archives were sent into the recesses of Finland ; private treasures were despatched to places of safety. Nothing could be done to forward the cause of the Bible in such a crisis. Mr Paterson provided himself with a passport, and was on the point of returning to Sweden, when his wife, whose health had been gravely injured by the journey to Moscow, was stricken down with fever, and for weeks lay helpless. In the interval he occupied himself with preparing the type for the Finnish Bible, and in drawing up an address, stating the objects and efforts of the Bible Society, pointing out the advantages such a society might produce in Russia, and calling on all who loved the Bible to co-operate in realizing so noble a design. Truly the Lord "will bring the blind by a way they know not " ! To Napoleon among the ruins of Moscow the crows and ravens were an omen — ^and who was more accessible than he to presentiments of every kind? — which irritated and depressed him. " Do they mean to follow us everywhere?"^ They crowded and clamoured about the gigantic cross on the bell-tower of Ivan the Great, which he had ordered to be dismounted and added to his trophies. On the 19th October he began his tragic retreat, and ten days later the huge cross, with ancient armour, cannon and other encumbering spoils, was flung into the icy waters of the lake of Semelin. The crows were the portent ; the Cossacks the catastrophe. They swarmed in such numbers as to resemble one of the ancient Scythian migrations. "Wild and fantastic figures, ^ Verestchagin, Napoleon I. in Russia, VOL. I, N 194 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (i.) [■8°4- on unbroken horses whose manes swept the ground, seemed to announce that the inmost recesses of the desert had sent forth their inhabitants."! Before two hundred miles of the terrible march had been completed, an overwhelming snow- storm preluded the intolerable cold which smote the invaders — a cold thirty degrees below zero, a cold so intense that "a sort of smoke came from ears and eyes."^ Men and women dropped and died in the snow-drifts beside the loot- laden waggons and carriages they were dragging. Groups of soldiers lay dead around the camp fires, their feet charred, their hair frozen to the earth. "Au seuil de bivouacs desol6s On voyait des clairons k leur poste geles Restes debout, en selle et muets, blancs de givre." And everywhere the Cossacks whirled in clouds, with their long lances, their sledged field-guns, their hoarse "Hourra!" It was on the 6th December that the great frost set in. On that day Mr Paterson submitted to Prince Galitzin his memorial, and the plan which he had drawn up for a Bible Society in St Petersburg, and received an assurance that they should be laid before the Czar at the earliest opportunity. His Imperial Majesty was on the point of joining the army, but he postponed his departure in order to examine the scheme which he was asked to approve. Of loose private morals and philosophic views in early life,- the Czar had been an avowed enemy of the Bible.^ He was now to pass through deep religious experiences. In the affliction of war and the distress of his people, ' ' his thoughts began to turn towards those deep problems of existence which until then had caused him little uneasiness. Prince Galitzin, who ^ Scott, Life of Napoleon, vol. iv. p. 164. ' Marbot, Memoires, vol. iii. p. 218. ' Paterson, The Book for Every Land, p. 179. Ford, Madame de Krudener, p. 142. i8i7] THE CZAR AND THE BIBLE SOCIETY 195 had himself recently passed through the religious crisis of his life, advised him to have recourse to the Scriptures." ^ Henceforth the Bible became his daily companion ; it taught him to pray, and as he himself told Archbishop Tengstrom, never, even in his darkest moments, did he rise from his knees without the assurance that the Lord would bring about the deliverance of his nation. The plan and memorial were examined by the Czar on the i8th ; with a stroke of the pen he gave his sanction — "So be it. Alexander"; and as he wrote, the last tattered remnants of the Grand Army struggled across the ice of the Niemen. Of the mighty host 125,000 had fallen in battle ; 132,000 had perished of fatigue, hunger, and cold ; 193,000 remained as prisoners. On the 14th of January 1813 the imperial ukase authorising the establishment of the St Petersburg Bible Society was made public, and was received with great satisfaction among all classes, Jews and Christians, Russians and Armenians, Protestants and Catholics. To all it was evident that the plan could not be confined to foreign con- fessions, but that it must include the members of the Greek Church, who had been omitted through fear of wounding the susceptibilities of the Holy Synod, in whose hands the printing of the Russian Scriptures rested. Nine days later the society was inaugurated in the palace of Prince Galitzin, in the presence of Archbishop Ambrose, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St Petersburg; Seraphim, Archbishop of Minsk ; the Metropolitan of the Roman Catholic Church, the confessor of the Czar, several Ministers of State, nobles, clergy of different communions, and gentlemen of distinction. Prince Galitzin was elected president. As soon as the London Committee received the glad news they forwarded their promised donation of ^500 ; by the end of March the contributions at St Petersburg amounted to 60,000 roubles, including a gift of 25,000 from the Czar, who desired to ' Ford, Life and Letters of Madame de Krudener, p. 146, 196 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (i.) [1804- be considered a member, at an annual subscription of 10,000 roubles ; and measures were being concerted for the forma- tion of Branches in the chief cities of the Empire. But alas ! unutterable sorrow fell on the life of the man who had laboured so earnestly and successfully in the cause. Mrs Paterson, who had never recovered from the effects of her journey to Moscow, gave birth to her second child on the 7th of March, and survived only a few hours. The infant died on the following day, and mother and babe were laid in one grave "till the morning of the resur- rection." Mr Pinkerton, who had assisted in the establishment of the St Petersburg Society, now directed his attention to the formation of an Auxiliary at Moscow. His plan was approved by the committee at the Capital, and on the i6th July 1813 the Moscow Bible Committee was instituted in the presence of the Archbishop, several archimandrites, and an assemblage of the nobility and gentry. As soon as Mr Paterson could leave St Petersburg he set out for the Eastern Provinces, where operations had so long been interrupted and embarrassed by recurrent hostilities, and where the dearth of the Scriptures was dis- covered to be even greater than had been reported. With the co-operation of persons of the highest position, and to the satisfaction of all classes, he succeeded in establishing Auxiliaries at Dorpat and Riga in Livonia, at Mitau in Courland, and at Revel in Esthonia — the last on the same date as the Moscow Bible Committee. In the first bitter days of the year 1813 a silent rabble began to appear in long straggling lines among the snowy fields of Prussia — lame, hollow-eyed, frost-bitten creatures, clad in old sacks, in shawls, in bits of carpet, in women's coloured dresses, in sheep-skins, in skins of dogs and cats ; their heads hidden in night-caps, in handkerchiefs, in strips of fur — here and there a helmet i8i7] THE UPRISING IN PRUSSIA 197 or shako ; their feet muffled in straw, rags, sitin socks, ■felt shoes. " Ce n'etaient plus de coeurs vivants, des gens de guerre, C'etait un r^ve errant dans la brume, un mystere, Une procession d'ombres sur le ciel noir." ^ Cold and hunger seemed to have taken a demoniacal possession of them. In their craving for warmth they burned themselves against hot stoves ; in their greed for food they devoured dry bread, and some would not leave off till they died. Till after the battle of Leipzig the people were under the belief that they who had thrown beautiful wheat- sheaves into the camp fires, and trampled good bread on the dirty floor, had been smitten by Heaven with eternal hunger. As they passed the boys scared them into a movement of terror with the cry of " The Cossacks ! The Cossacks ! " On the 17th February those wild riders of the Steppes reached Berlin — wonderful, picturesque, hideous, good- natured savages, who set the children on their horses and rode with them round the market-place, till ' ' every boy became either a Cossack, or a Cossack's horse." ^ On the 14th March the Czar and the King of Prussia met at Breslau. The King wept. " Courage, brother," said Alexander ; ' ' these are the last tears which Napoleon shall cause you to shed." The next day Prussia declared war against France. An irresistible wave of patriotism swept through the country, which had so long been trampled down. The Academies and Universities were emptied of their students ; bands of volunteers sprang up in every village and upland district, and marched in to the chief cities singing the martial lyrics of Arndt and Korner. Ladies gave their diamonds and gold trinkets in exchange for bracelets and chains beautifully wrought in iron ; women sent their wedding-rings, and received iron ones with the 1 Hugo, Chdtimmts, L Expiation. ^ Freytag : Pictures, 2nd ser. vol. ii. p. 214, et seq. igS THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (i.) [,804- picture of the beloved Queen who had died broken-hearted ; a poor maiden parted with her hair, which was made up into rings, and sold for a hundred thalers ; children emptied their money boxes. In this profound national uprising no one, as we have said, can tell for how much the untiring work of the Bible Society counted. There was an intense conviction, not merely among the poor and uneducated, that in the evil and misery of human affairs a divine hand was vindicating the claims of Justice and Righteousness. And who shall doubt that this was indeed the case? Who that reads the history of this terrible period, when so many of the abuses and corruptions, so much of the wicked- ness and tyranny of the old order, vanished in the flames of war, can fail to perceive the presence of an overruling Providence, which checked or diverted, restrained or arrested the actions of its unconscious human instruments? Even Bonaparte had had his mission and his appointed work ; he had accomplished his task, and the power was wrenched from his hands. In October 1813 his broken legions fell back from Leipzig ; in December the Allies crossed the Rhine ; two months later the Cossacks, and not they alone, but Kalmuks, Bashkirs, and other "babe-eating ogres," were reported in the neighbourhood of Fontaine- bleau. On the 30th of March 1814 Paris surrendered, and twelve days later Napoleon signed an unconditional abdication. That night he attempted to commit suicide, but the prussic acid which he always carried about with him had lost its strength. "God did not will it," he said, when he had recovered. ^ A pulk of Cossacks escorted him to Frejus ; an English frigate conveyed him to Elba. England had destroyed his dreams and projects in Syria. To shut the ports of Europe against English commerce he had flung himself into the continental wars which led to his ruin ; it was ' Baring-Gould, Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, p. 509. i8i7] INTERVIEW WITH THE CZAR 199 from the English squares that the last of his squadrons were to fall back like broken waves ; an English isle was to be his prison, six feet of English earth his grave. We have already seen that it was the Evangelical Revival which prepared England to cope with the fury of the Revolution and the mad ambition of Napoleon ; that the Bible was the inspiration from which that revival sprang ; that the Bible Society was one of the means which God blessed to the diffusion of that inspiration. If in telling the story of these early years of the Society many side-lights have been thrown on its operations, the object has been to realise as completely as one may the condition of the period in which the work was begun, the difficulties under which it was prosecuted, and the need there was for its accomplishment. After the peace of Paris the Czar and the King of Prussia visited London, and both of them graciously consented to receive a deputation from the Bible Society. The meeting with the Czar took place on Sunday evening, 19th June, and the deputation consisted of Lord Teignmouth the President, the Bishops of Salisbury, Norwich, and Cloyne, Admiral Lord Gambler, the Right Honourable N. Vansittart, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and William Wilberforce, M.P., Vice-Presidents, and the three Secre- taries. An address, expressing the gratitude of the Society for the patronage which his Imperial Majesty had bestowed on the Bible cause in Russia was presented, and the Czar — a strikingly handsome, tall, well-built man, of imposing carriage and singular charm of manner — entered into a long and familiar conversation regarding the work of the Bible Society, and the blessing it might prove to his dominions. He then shook hands with each of the deputation. Carried away by his feelings, Mr Steinkopff exclaimed, as he grasped the Czar's hand, " May the Most 20O THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (i.) [1804- High God bless your Imperial Majesty for what you have done for my native land, and may your name go down to posterity as the father of your country and the benefactor of mankind ! " Alexander replied with a gracious kindness, and the interview was brought to a close. The King of Prussia received the same deputation on the 2 1 St, and in the course of the audience examined with interest, in a copy of the Society's reports, a letter bearing his own signature, which authorised the forma- tion of the Berlin Bible Society. His Majesty, who was pleased to learn that he was the first monarch who had patronised the object of the Society, gave his assurance that he would protect and favour the cause to the utmost of his power. The Continent was now thrown open to friendly inter- course ; in this blessed time of peace the hearts of the people who had suffered so long were as broken soil ready to receive the seed of the Word, and those whose zeal and activity had already accomplished so much in the Bible cause found a free field for their exertions. On the 22nd May 1814 the exertions of Mr Henderson, warmly seconded by those of Dr Miinter, Bishop of Zealand, and several persons of high station and character, were crowned by the provisional formation at Copenhagen of the Danish Bible Society, which was formally established in August by the sanction of the King, who promised it his highest protection. After many delays the edition (5000 copies) of the Icelandic Bible, with 5000 extra Testaments, had been completed ; large consignments had been de- spatched by the spring ships to different parts of Iceland ; and on the 9th June Mr Henderson, taking with him 1 1 83 Bibles and 1668 Testaments, sailed for the island with the intention of visiting not only the principal towns and villages, but the scattered and solitary farms, inquiring i8i7] GROWTH OF SWEDISH SOCIETIES 201 as to the lack or otherwise of the Scriptures, and concerting measures for their effective distribution. In May Dr Brunnmark, who as chaplain to the Swedish Legation and rector of the Swedish Church in London had associated himself with the work of the Committee, set out on a second tour in Sweden. In the preceding year he had travelled 1200 miles, supplying necessitous districts, and prompting the formation of Auxiliaries ; and partly as the result of his visit, societies had been organised at Gothenburg, Westeras, and Wisby in the island of Gothland. The Stockholm Evangelical Society had done excellent service. In the course of five years it had printed no fewer than 33,000 Testaments and 11,000 Bibles, and was now preparing new editions ; but the time had come when it was imperative that the Bible Department should be separated from the Tract Department, and the former constituted as a National Bible Society, with Gothenburg, Westeras, and Wisby as Auxiliaries. Measures had been put in train for this object by Mr Paterson, and Dr Brunnmark had the satisfaction of seeing them carried out. On the 6th July, in full council of state, the King graciously consented to become patron of the Swedish Bible Society ; the Crown Prince (Bernadotte) accepted the position of first honorary member ; and Count Engerstrom, Minister for Foreign Affairs, was after- wards chosen a vice-president. In consequence of the King's sudden departure from the capital the sign-manual was not affixed to the constitution till 22nd February 1815. On the day the Swedish Society was thus established Dr Brunnmark was appointed to the living of Munkthorp in Westmania, one of the largest in Sweden. But his labours were to receive another reward than the quiet evening of life in his native land, to which he had looked forward. While travelling by night from Stockholm to Upsala on Biblical affairs he caught a severe cold and 202 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (i.) [1804- fever. He completed his work at Upsala, and hurried to Ytermora in Dalecarha, where on the ist of August, at his brother's rectory, surrounded by his venerable mother, his beloved wife, and three little daughters, he passed tranquilly to the joy of the new day.^ In the summer of 1814 Mr Paterson and Mr Pinkerton, who had passed some months in England, returned to Russia. The former travelled by way of Hamburg, through Holstein, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. He assisted in the establishment of the Liibeck Society, towards which a grant of ;^ioo was made. His work in promoting the formation of the Hamburg-Altona Society was completed by Dr Schwabe, minister of the Lutheran Church in Goodman's Fields, London, to whom the Committee were indebted for many other services. This society received a grant of ;^300, and ;^ioo was voted to Bremen, where an Auxiliary was also formed. Crossing to Stockholm, he saw his little son, now in his fourth year — "his infant tears on my taking leave of him melted me also to tears," — and o travelling by Abo and Helsingfors arrived early in October at St Petersburg, where he found Mr Pinkerton and his family deeply afflicted — "his youngest son just dead, and his eldest, a truly promising boy, apparently dying." Mr Pinkerton had reached Russia through Holland, Germany, and Poland, and in the course of his tour had taken part in the formation of the Netherlands Bible Society at Amsterdam, the Berg Society at Elberfeld, the Hanoverian, Prussian, and Saxon Societies, and had prepared for the establishment of organizations at Breslau for Silesia, and at Warsaw for Poland. The Netherlands Bible Society, which was the immediate result of the English Society formed at Amsterdam three ' " Our friend's last request to us," writes Mr Paterson, " had we been present at his dying bed, would have been, ' Remember these I ' " — and widow and children, it is well to record, were faithfully remembered. The members of the Bible Society and the British public subscribed ;^250O on their behalf. i8i7] THE PRUSSIAN B.S. FOUNDED 203 months earlier, was established on the 29th June, with the Minister of the Interior as president, and the Governor- General of Holland as one of the vice-presidents. At least one half of the population of Holland, it was stated, were in want of the Bible. The great majority of the Reformed possessed it, not so many of the Lutherans, and very few of the Roman Catholics. The example of Amsterdam was soon followed by Rotterdam, the Hague, and other towns of the Seven United Provinces. At Leyden Mr Pinkerton examined the Turkish version of the Bible which had been completed by Ali Bey at Constantinople in 1666, and which for a century and a half had lain neglected among the Oriental MSS. in the archives of the University. Assuring himself of its value as a text for publication, he obtained the loan of the MS., and subsequently arranged at Berlin for its transcription and revision by Baron von Diez. But the story of this trans- lation belongs to a later period. At Elberfeld, where a great part of the large population were Roman Catholics, many of whom had never seen a Bible, the Governor-General of the Grand Duchy of Berg accepted the office of president. The Lutheran, Reformed, and Catholic clergy co- operated in the establishment of the Society of Hanover ; H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge gave it his patronage; the Baron von Arnswald, President of the Ecclesiastical Court, became its head. At Berlin Mr Pinkerton witnessed the establishment of the Prussian Bible Society, into which the original Berlin Society was merged. Its constitution had been approved by the King, who had confirmed its regulations, and granted it the freedom of the letter-post ; and its directorate included some of the highest dignitaries of the realm. It was not long before it was strengthened by the accession of Potsdam and Erfurt — at which last city the Thuringian Society was 204 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (i.) [1804- founded through the personal exertions of Dr Schwabe, — and the old Bible Committees of Dantzic and Konigsberg, which now became Auxiliaries. At Dresden Pinkerton attended the inauguration of the Saxon Bible Society under the presidency of Count Hohenthal, Minister for Religion ; and, a little later, Branches were formed by the Moravian Brethren at Herrnhut, Niesky, and Kleinwelke. In passing through Warsaw he held a preliminary meeting in the palace of Prince Czartoriski, for the purpose of arranging for a Polish Bible Society ; but that object was not accomplished till two years later, and then by the benevolent interposition of the Czar himself. Further proof was afforded of the dearth of the Scriptures in Poland ; the Bible was scarcely to be obtained at any price, and it was only through the favour of the Prince that Mr Pinkerton secured an old copy of Wuyk's version, which was originally published in 1599 and approved by Pope Clement VIII., and was reprinted in 1740 and 1771, though the three editions did not number more than 3000 copies. Here it may be added that the Polish Bible, printed by the Berlin Society in 1810, was the Dantzic text, issued by the Reformed Church in 1632. In the interval the Dantzic Bible passed through six editions, but these comprised probably not more than 7000 copies, and at least 3000 were bought up and destroyed by the Jesuits.^ Liberal grants were made by the London Committee to all these new organizations ; an additional ;^ioo was bestowed on the Saxon Society in aid of the New Testament in Wendish ; and ;^20o each was voted to a New Bible Society formed at Lausanne for the Canton de Vaud in December 18 14, and to another at Geneva. Of the need which existed in the Canton de Vaud, a village pastor ^ The Bible of Eveiy Land (Bagster), p. 299. For further details see Mr Pinkerton's letters in the Thirteenth Report, p. 85. i8i7] PROGRESS IN CENTRAL' EUROPE 205 wrote with regretful recollection of old-world customs : "Since the excellent law which compelled each couple to present themselves at the altar with the Bible has fallen into disuse, many families in the Jura no longer possess the Scriptures ; and they do not read them even on the Lord's Day, or during violent storms, as they were wont to do. In many old families it was the practice to sanctify the dinner-hour on Sunday by reading the Word of God. The youngest dined before the others and read aloud during the repast ; but that custom has fallen into neglect through lack of books. " Dr Schwabe also made a tour on behalf of the Society, traversing districts hitherto unvisited by any agent, dis- tributing small sums among the clergy and others for the purchase of the Scriptures, and endeavouring to awaken a spirit similar to that which had appeared in the formation of the numberless Associations in England. Nearly every- where he found melancholy traces of the late wars, distress, and dearth of religious books of all kinds. From Arnheim in Holland he went to Coblentz, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Eisenach (where, hard by, towers the Castle of the Wartburg — the home of St Elizabeth of the Roses, the scene of the famous contest of the Minnesangers, the asylum of Luther) ; Erfurt, where, as has been mentioned, he insured the establishment of a society ; Salfeld, where, a few weeks after his visit, children came to the pastor for Bibles, bringing with them "their whole little treasure which they had col- lected by picking ore." Among the mountains of the Erzgebirge he found at Freyberg that the silver-miners still observed the old practice of gathering in prayer to ask the divine protection before descending in the morning to their work, and at the close of the day to return thanks for their preservation. Halle, Dresden, Magdeburg, and Wernigerode in the mountainous Hartz district, were included in his tour ; and at Hamburg he assisted in the inauguration of the 2o6 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (i.) [1804- Hamburg-Altona Society which Mr Paterson had initiated. The way was not yet open for the formation of a Bible Society in France ; but the circulation of the Scriptures in that country was promoted by donations to the Consistories in Paris of ^500 for a stereotype edition of Ostervald's New Testament, and ^^250 for a similar edition of De Sacy's version for the use of the Roman Catholics. In the account of the events of this period there is little in the pages of the historians to indicate the strange ferment of religious emotions which existed beneath the surface of European society. To what extent this prevailed it is not easy to say. The record of the Bible Societies throws light on its less questionable phases ; but probably it would be impossible to adduce more significant evidence than is contained in the following incidents of the deep spiritual agitation in which many persons lived, and of the extremes of foreboding and exaltation of soul between which they violently oscillated. The Congress of Vienna began its sessions in October 1814, and the peace of the western world seemed at last assured in the hands of the monarchs, sovereign princes, and plenipotentiaries who were now readjusting the map of Europe. There were those, however, to whom this season of calm appeared but a lull in the dilating storm. Madame de Krudener, whose mystical spirit had for some weeks reposed under the benediction of Oberlin's presence among the mountains of the Ban de la Roche, heard the ominous wings of the unseen Angel "who noted the preserving blood on the doors of the elect." With a prevision after- wards singularly verified, she wrote on the 27th October of the terrible disasters that would overtake France. "The storm is approaching ; those Lilies preserved by the Al- mighty — that emblem of a pure and fragile flower shatter- ing a sceptre of iron, because such was the will of the Eternal — those Lilies which should have been as a i8i7] THE ESCAPE OF NAPOLEON 207 summons to purity, to the love of God, to repentance, have appeared only to disappear." The Czar was in Vienna, distracted between the serious work of the Congress and the brilliant fetes of the light- hearted city, where, as the witty old Prince de Ligne remarked, "Z^ Congres dansait, et ne marckait pas" ; and the Czarina Elizabeth, in her anxiety to draw his mind under religious influences, brought to his notice the impassioned letters, burning with prophecy and mysticism, which Madame de Krudener was writing to Mdlle. Stourdza, her favourite lady-in-waiting.^ "The stern denunciations of the reckless frivolity which reigned at the Austrian capital, the mysterious prophecies with regard to the Lilies of France, and the undisguised reference to himself as the regenerator of the world, were all calculated to strike home to the Emperor's conscience in its most tender parts." ^ And the effect must have been immeasurably intensified by the news of Napoleon's escape, which reached Vienna early in March 181 5, and was received by the Congress with that burst of nervous laughter which is perhaps one of the grimmest physiological manifestations recorded in political history. Towards the end of May the Czar left Vienna to join his headquarters at Heidelberg, and Madame de Krudener, who by some inspiration had been waiting in a village of Hesse for the momentous interview which she felt was about to take place, intercepted him at Heilbronn. Night had closed in, the Czar was weary with his journey, and his mind was darkened by heavy clouds. "My ideas were confused, and my heart oppressed," he afterwards wrote. "I allowed my book to fall from my hands, while I thought what a consolation the conversation of a pious friend would have been to me at such a moment." The thought had scarcely occurred to him when one of his 1 In 1816 Mdlle. Stourdza became the Countess Edling of many of Madame Swetchine's most beautiful letters. ^ Ford, Life and Letters of Madame de Krudener, chapters ix. and x, 2o8 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (i.) [1804- staff announced a lady, who insisted on seeing him. It was Madame de Krudener. Far into the night the colloquy lasted. "You have made me discover in myself things which I had never seen," said Alexander in his humility; "I thank God for it, but I feel the need of many such conversations ; I beg you will not go far away." At Heidelberg she took lodgings in a peasant's cottage, a short distance from the imperial headquarters, and there in a room separated by a partition from a cattle shed, the Autocrat of all the Russias spent many an hour of the night in prayer and study of the Scriptures with his spiritual directress and the young Genevan minister Empaytaz. On Sunday, the i8th June, in the ancient city of Bruns- wick, a Bible Society was founded, while far away in the south-west the French guns were thundering against Hougomont and La Haye Sainte. No word had yet arrived of the mighty struggle which had begun ; the little gathering did not know that the gallant Duke who had promised to be their patron had fallen two days before at the head of his Black Brunswickers at Quatre-r Bras. Neither had any courier arrived at Heidelberg. On the 19th, however, the Czar read the thirty-fifth Psalm : " Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me : fight against them that fight against me " ; and as he read, the last trace of anxiety as to the issue of the strife vanished from his soul. Two days later, when he received the tidings that Bliicher had been worsted at Ligny, and Wellington had fallen back on Waterloo, his tranquillity was undisturbed. The Austrian and Russian armies were in consternation, but strengthening himself with prayer and the words of the thirty-seventh Psalm: "Fret not thyself because of evil-doers . . . they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb," he i8i7] PEACE AT LAST 209 rallied the desponding generals, urged them to a prompt advance, and gave them assurance of victory. That crowning blessing had indeed been granted. Giant Make-strife was captured and chained to his rock in the distant seas ; and in September, Russia, Austria, and Prussia concluded the Holy Alliance, in which they declared their resolution to take for their sole guide, both in their domestic administration and their foreign relations, the precepts of the holy religion of Christ the Saviour. The formula was the most exalted they could have chosen, but unhappily, as we shall see, it was interpreted in the light of the old feudal traditions ; the constitutions promised at the Congress were forgotten as soon as all danger was passed ; and more than one ruler shared the feeling of Duke William of Hesse-Cassel, "I have slept seven years; now we shall forget the bad dream." VOL. I. O CHAPTER XII THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ll.) While these portentous events were developing, Mr Steinkopff, undeterred by the impending troubles, had been making his second tour on the Continent. He set out towards the close of May 1815, travelled between 4000 and 5000 miles, and, as occasion required, drew from the liberal grant of ;^4000 which the Committee had placed at his disposal for the encouragement of Bible Societies and the distribution of the Holy Scriptures. In Holland he found that the Netherlands Society, which enjoyed the patronage of the Prince of Orange, comprised upwards of forty Auxiliaries and Associations, twenty-four of which had been formed in Amsterdam alone. The need for the Prussian Society was demonstrated by the fact that among 18,000 German, 7800 Polish, and 7000 Lithuanian families in Lithuania not a single Bible was to be found. On his way through Germany he assisted at the formation of six societies — one for the town and circle of Cleve ; the Osnabruck Society ; the Konigsfeld Society, in the depths of the Black Forest ; the Nassau- Homburg, under the sanction of the Landgrave of Hesse- Homburg and the Prince Sovereign of Nassau ; the Frank- fort Society ; and a society for the principalities of Neuwied and Wied Runkel. To these and to a branch society at Wesel, formed the day before his arrival, grants amount- ing to ;^65o were allotted. He visited the institutions at Schaffhausen, St Gall, Zurich, and Basel, to which ;^520 210 i8o4-i8i7] MR STEINKOPFF'S SECOND TOUR 211 was presented in different proportions ; and secured the establishment of a society at Bern, to whose funds he con- tributed ;^200. A grant of ;^300 was made to the Protestant Consistory at Vienna for Polish and German Scriptures to be distributed among the Protestants in Austria ; and ;^300 to the Hungarian Bible Institution at Pressburg. Sets of the Society's reports and versions were presented to a number of universities and public libraries ; and in an audience which her Majesty was pleased to grant, the Queen of Wurtemburg accepted a set, and expressed her great interest in the glorious work that was being done among so many nations and peoples of different tongues. In summing up the result of his observations, Mr Steinkopff stated that the cause of the Bible Society had undeniably gained considerable ground in Northern Europe, in Russia, Holland, Germany, and Switzerland ; of the German editions of the New Testament, published by the Ratisbon Bible Society, Leander Van Ess, and Gosner, 120,000 copies had been printed ; other editions of the Bible or of the New Testament for Roman Catholics had obtained a large circulation ; and several Roman Catholic dignitaries had recommended the reading of the Scriptures, and contributed to the funds of the societies. On the other hand, there were not wanting, both among Protestants and Catholics, those who were indifferent and those who were violently opposed to the cause. Some maintained that the Bible was obsolete ; others that it was improper and even dangerous that lay- men should read it indiscriminately ; and yet again others would consent to its distribution if their own notes and comments were added. ' ' But no opposition had hitherto been able to interrupt the triumphant progress of this great work." In 1816 several new societies were formed, and the double labour of printing and circulating the Scriptures proceeded with unwearied activity. 212 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ii.) [1804- In September 1815 Mr Henderson returned home from his journey of 2600 miles in Iceland. What he beheld in his wanderings among the wild and often beautiful scenes of snow and lava, grassy valleys and happy farmsteads, blue lakes with swans singing on them, rushing rivers and boiling fountains in that land of Tohu va-bhohu has been described in a work which even the captious Burton speaks of as " the best book on Iceland known to the English tongue." He set out fully aware of the risks he should encounter. Had not Oddr Gottskalksson, who first translated the New Testament into Icelandic, "lost his mortal life in one of the rivers " ? But he was conscious of the divine protection, and whatever dangers or hardships fell to his lot were forgotten as he read one of the Psalms at his tent door by the light of the midnight sun. Everywhere he found occasion for the benevolence and stirring influence of the Bible Society. "Here was a parish in which a folio Bible, greatly injured by use, had all its defective pages accurately supplied by the pen of a common peasant ; and there another, whose lent copy had so long been retained by the islanders of Grimsey, that the right of ownership had become a disputed point. One copy in an island ; two in a parish ; twelve among two hundred people ; six among two hundred and fifty ; a clergyman seeking for seventeen long years to possess a copy of his own, and hitherto unable to secure the treasure ; peasants who had offered, but offered in vain, to the amount of five-and-twenty shillings for a copy " — such are the details which crowd the pages of his narrative.' Subscrip- tion lists were opened in all the parishes, in order that it might readily be determined how m3.ny copies should be forwarded to each. At the close of his first tour, inland and round the coast, he heard of his father's death, and until he learned ^ Henderson, Memoir of the Rev. E. Henderson., D.D., p. 155. i8i7] MR HENDERSON IN ICELAND 213 that friends in Scotland had made provision for her, the thought of his widowed mother added anxiety to the burden of his loss. On such personal details there is not need to dwell ; but since the workman is so easily lost sight of in the story of the work, it is well to realise now and again that not without suffering and anxiety, hardship and danger, sickness and bereavement and sacrifice, was that work accomplished. During his stay in Iceland Mr Henderson left 4055 Bibles and 6634 Testaments for distribution. On the loth July he had the satisfaction of seeing the Icelandic Bible Society founded at Reykjavik, although, in consequence of the absence of several leading inhabitants, it was not till the following July that its constitution was formally adopted. As soon as the news reached England a grant of ;^300 was voted by the Committee. In 1818 Dean Helgasen, the secretary, reported that every family throughout the island was then in possession of a Bible or a New Testa- ment, and many had more than one copy. During the long winter evenings the book was read with diligence. The revision of the New Testament had then been nearly com- pleted, and the Icelanders hoped that means would be found to enable them to print it. This is the last we shall hear of the Isle of the Sagas for some years to come. Before Mr Henderson sailed from Reykjavik Bishop Vidalin presented him with a poem, addressed to the Bible Society, and bearing the episcopal seal, in which the poet, the Rev. Jon Thorlaksson,i placed on the lips of the Island personified the affection and gratitude with which the Scriptures had been received. ^ Sira Jon Thorlaksson, the admirable poet who produced a translation of Paradise Lost of extreme beauty and dignity, was parish priest at Backa and Boegisa. He lived in great poverty, and died in 1819 at the age of seventy-five. His living, besides glebe and parish gifts, was only £(i a year — "not an unusually low stipend" (Henderson), but nearly half of it went to his assistant at Boegisa. Nine years after his death his Paradisar-missir was published at Copenhagen through the liberality of an English gentleman. 214 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ii.) [1804- Society of Christ ! whose fame The world shall raise o'er thy compeers — Thou most deserving of such name, Or in the past or present years — Thy beam has shone more lovely bright Than solar blaze or lunar ray, Has shone, when all around was night, And bade the darkness pass away. When they, our unbelieving foes. Would crush the hope they could not feel, You, sons of England, then arose. With hearts all love and hands all zeal ; You, bound by charity's blest tie, And fearless in defence of truth. Spent in our aid unsparingly Riches and pow'r — and age and youth. And what, tho' near the Arctic pole. And like a heap of drifted snow. The chilling north-winds round me roll, The land of ice — called rightly so — Tho' circled by the frigid zone. An island in a frozen sea ; Yet I this charity have known. This Christian zeal has glowed for me. For see — the messengers of Peace — From Albion new Apostles come ; They, like the old, shall never cease To quit their kindred and their home. Like them, with canvas wide unfurl'd. Careless of life, they tempt the gale. And seek the limits of the world — Ye friends to God and Iceland, hail ! One visits me — thou Great First Cause Enthron'd in majesty above ; 'Tis here I recognise Thy laws. And feel how mindful is Thy love. And shall I, when Thou deign'st to bless. Forgetful sleep the years away ; And sunk in torpid listlessness. Nor strike the lyre, nor raise the lay ? i8i7] A SONG OF THULE 215 Th' unfeeling heart, the sordid hand, Would mourn, perchance, the vast expense, With which on earth's remotest land. You spread the gifts of Providence. The treasures of the world sublime Go forth, where'er your banners wave ; In ev'ry language, ev'ry clime. The mind to form, the soul to save. What then can merit more of praise, The mortal and immortal crown ; What better shall your honours raise, And call the tide of blessings down. Than pouring through this world of strife The healing balm of sacred lore, And minist'ring that bread of life, Which tasted once, man wants no more ? Yet, what your ardent breasts could lead These gifts to spread, these toils to dare ? Could hopes of gain impel the deed ? Could thoughts of avarice be there ? 1 No, — 'twas the love of Him on high. The safety of the poor on earth ; Hence rose your Sun of Charity, Hence has your Star of Glory birth. Society of Christ ! most dear To Heaven, to virtue, and to me ! For ever lives thy memory here ; While Iceland is — thy fame shall be. The triumphs of the great and brave. The trophies of the conquer'd field — These cannot bloom beyond the grave. To thee their honours all shall yield. Thy fame, far more than earth can give, Shall soar with daring wing sublime ; And wide, and still more wide, survive The crush of worlds, the wreck of time. Thus Thule and her sons employ Their harps to pour the grateful song ; And long thy gifts may we enjoy, And pour this grateful tribute long. 2i6 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ii.) [1804- Aged and clad in snow-white pall, I twine the wreath, and twine for thee ; Tho' mingled howls in Thule's hall The north-wind with our minstrelsy. These strains, tho' rigid as the clime. Rude as the rocks — oh, scorn not thou ; These strains, in Thule's elder time. Kings have receiv'd — receive them now. Yet, not the harp, and not the lay. Can give the praise and blessing due ; May He, whom Heaven and Earth obey. Ye Christian Fathers^ prosper you ! May He — if pray'rs can aught avail— No joys in life or death deny. Crown you with fame that shall not fail. With happiness that cannot die ! For many years after his visit the remembrance of Mr Henderson survived among the Icelanders. "His name," wrote Burton in 1874, "cut in Hebrew letters upon the soft yellow tufa (palagonite) of Hytardal nearly sixty years ago, is, and long will be, shown to travellers," ^ and even to-day his book is that by which the people prefer to be known. In Denmark the national society had made great progress, and on its roll of patrons it included the name of his Highness Prince Christian. On his return from Iceland, Mr Henderson, in the course of a considerable tour, helped to form or initiate the formation of societies in Fiinen, Jutland, and Sleswick-Holstein, the Idst of which was patronised and zealously promoted by the Landgrave Charles. The royal sanction was given on the 17th November 1815, and the London Committee assisted its funds with a grant of ;^300. In Sweden the adherence of the bishops and the principal clergy to the cause of the Bible had an immediate and decisive effect. The prelates issued a circular letter ^ Burton, Ultima Thule, vol. i. p. 257. i8i7] SOCIETIES IN SWEDEN AND NORWAY 217 exhorting the clergy throughout the kingdom to unite in one harmonious effort for the universal diffusion of the Scriptures. Auxiliaries were speedily formed for the Universities of Lund and Upsala, and in a little while Skara, Carstadt, Carlscrona, Wexio, Askersund, and others were added to the list. The societies at the Universities, where the fountains of theological learning as well as of secular instruction were under one and the same control, were especially welcomed as indicating a return to the old simplicity of Christian truth which in Sweden, as in the other nations of Europe, had suffered from the in- fidelity and licentious philosophy of the age. A munificent donation of 6600 rix-dollars from the Crown Prince (Bernadotte), who hoped the "joyful day" was approaching "when the Word of the Lord should be found in the smallest cottage of the North," provided the foundation of the Norwegian Bible Society. Encouraged by this liberality and a promise of a grant from the London Committee, the five bishops of Norway, the Court chaplain in Christiania, and the Professor of Divinity in the Royal Norwegian University, circulated an address in every part of the kingdom. Both the clergy and the people responded with zeal, and on the 28th December 1816 the society was established. Baron Rosenblad, the president of the Swedish Bible Society, described the change which had taken place among the population in consequence of these labours : — " Many who formerly neither acknowledged the value of this blessed volume, nor experienced its sanctifying influence, have been enlightened by the Spirit of God, and look upon the Holy Scriptures with a more pious regard. The spirit of levity and mockery that prevailed as to the doctrines of revelation has considerably given way to a more serious and devout attention to their important contents." 2i8 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ii.) [1804- At this point the reader may be referred to the Appendix,^ where he will find a list of the principal Bible Societies established on the Continent up to the close of the year 1816-17, together with an account of the financial support given them by the parent institution, and (so far as reported) the number of Bibles and Testaments which they published. The following is a brief summary of the position. In Central Europe, including Hungary and Switzerland, the Bible Societies and their Auxiliaries numbered 96. The editions of the Scriptures issued by them formed an aggregate of 119,000 Bibles and 54,000 Testaments. The grants in aid voted by the Committee amounted to ;^2 1,025. Of these grants £\<^(i was specially assigned for the benefit of the poor, but in addition to that sum, and apart from a large number of Testaments distributed in Dutch islands and colonies, the Society expended for Scriptures, to be distributed through various agencies among exiles, refugees, orphans, and the poor generally in different towns and provinces, ;^i3i7. Similarly, ;^6oo in the grants was intended for the advantage of Roman Catholics in Germany and Switzerland. Besides this sum, however, the Committee, who included in their charity all denominations of Christians, devoted to the distribution of the free and uncommented Scriptures among the Roman Catholics of these regions no less than ;^3io8. Various amounts in the grants were also intended for the relief of the Protestant congregations in France, but in addition to these amounts the Committee bestowed on France ;^2073, of which, as we have seen, ^500 was sent to the United Consistories in Paris for an edition of the Ostervald's French Testament, and ^250 for an edition of De Sacy's version. Bibles and Testaments to the value •■ See Appendix IV. i8i7] GRANTS TO CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES 219 of about ;^ioo were also distributed among the troops on the French frontier after the fall of Napoleon. The total outlay of the Society in Central Europe amounted accordingly to jC^7:523- In Northern Europe (including Denmark, Finland, and Iceland) there were fifteen Bible Societies and Auxiliaries : 41,500 Bibles, 73,600 Testaments, and 3000 Psalters were printed. The grants from the Committee amounted to ;^9424. But previous to the formation of the Icelandic Bible Society ;^i75o had been voted in aid of the production of the Icelandic Scriptures ; Bibles and Testaments to the value of ;^ioo had been distributed in Denmark before the Danish Bible Society was founded ; and in addition to ;^750 for the benefit of the poor included in the grants to the Swedish Evangelical Society, and the donations distributed by Dr Brunnmark during his tours, the Committee had given ;^6i6 for Scriptures to be bestowed on prisoners of war, Finnish refugees in Stockholm, and the poor in Sweden and Lapland. In Northern Europe, then, the expenditure of the Society amounted to ;^ 11,890. During the first twelve months of its existence such had been the activity of the St Petersburg Bible Society that at the opening of 1814 it had entered into engagements for printing the New Testament in Polish, De Sacy's French Bible, Luther's German Bible, the Finnish Bible (from o the type that had been prepared for the Abo Society), the New Testament in Armenian — the edition in each instance consisting of 5000 copies — and the Kalmuk version of St Matthew, which had been obtained from Sarepta. In the following September Sir Gore Ouseley, the British Ambassador to Persia, passed through St Petersburg on his way home. In conversation with Prince Galitzin he related how a copy of Henry Martyn's Persian translation of the New Testament had been confided to his care at Tabriz. 220 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ii.) [1804- With the object of producing a version in the purest idiom Mr Martyn had arrived at Shiraz, the city of Hafiz and Saadi, in 181 1, and remained there nearly a year. The work went on busily in the garden beyond the city wall, where his host Jaffir Ali Khan pitched a tent for him, "amidst clusters of grapes, by the side of a clear stream," when the heat became too intense for his enfeebled body ; but many a precious hour was taken up in controversy with "cavilling infidels" and bigoted Mullahs, and more than once he ran the risk of falling a martyr for his faith. One curious incident which occurred during his stay cannot be overlooked. In the sacred month of Moharram he had seen the famous Persian Miracle Play of Hasan and Hoseyn, "which has divided the whole Moslem world from the beginning till now into the two great parties of Sunnis and Shi'a, ever hostile and filled with bitter hate for each other. "^ In the performance an actor was introduced to personate the English Ambassador who begged the life of the martyr ; and to show that he was English a string of English words, unintelligible to the audience, was put into his mouth. Horrified to find that they consisted of the most blasphemous oaths, Henry Martyn persuaded the man to learn the Lord's Prayer instead ; and since that time the Lord's Prayer has formed part of the Persian Passion Play. Mr Martyn made no converts during his sojourn in Persia, but seven or eight years later Sir R. Porter was shown the orange-tree under which he used to sit, and the Mullahs were still endeavouring to confute the arguments he had brought against them.^ Another traveller tells of a man of great learning and high moral distinction, who had known the Englishman "who taught the religion of Christ in the midst of much scorn and ill-treatment from our Mullahs as well as the rabble." He too had visited the teacher of the ' Lane-Poole, Studies in a Mosque, p. 210. ^ The Church Quarterly, October 1 88 1. i8i7] THE DEATH OF HENRY MARTYN 221 despised creed, with intent to expose his doctrines to contempt, but these evil feehngs subsided under the influence of his gentleness. " Before he quitted Shiraz I paid him a parting visit," said Mohammed Rameh ; "our conversation — the memory of it will never fade from my memory — sealed my conversion. He gave me a book ; it has ever been my constant companion ; the study of it has formed my most delightful occupation." The book was a copy of the New Testament in Persian, and on one of the blank leaves was written: "There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. — Henry Martyn."i From Shiraz Martyn made a terrible journey of three hundred miles to Tabriz, where he arrived stricken with fever and ague, foodless and penniless ; and the Ouseleys put him to bed to die. Two months later, however, he rallied, and on the 2nd September 1812, he started on his return to England. Sir Gore Ouseley had kindly undertaken to present his version of the New Testament to the Shah, in the name of the Bible Society, and the burden of that duty was off his mind. Through parching heat, drenching rain, keen frost ; burning with fever, shivering with ague ; he was hurried on by his callous Tartar guides to Erivan, to Kars, to Erzeroum, to Chiflik, to Tokat. At Tokat the plague was raging, and there on the i6th October he died at the age of thirty-one. " It has been stated that the Armenians of Tokat buried him with the honours due to an archbishop. But if this be so, the honours were soon forgotten by most of them. The only monument of him that Sir R. Porter saw in 1819 was the great pyramidal hill, on which St Chrysostom at Comana, as Henry Martyn at Tokat, might have looked his last. "2 The translation received the highest praise from his ' The Bible of Every ZaK(/ (Bagster), p. 70. This copy of the New Testament must have been the version which Sabat and Mirza Fitrut made at Dinapore under the superintendence of Henry Martyn. ^ The Church Quarterly, October 1881, p. 64. 222 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ii.) [1804- Persian Majesty ; and on the suggestion of Mr Pinkerton, Prince Galitzin was permitted to have a transcript made from the copy in the possession of Sir Gore Ouseley, who under- took to correct the press so long as he remained at St Petersburg. The work was begun without delay, and within twelve months 5000 copies were ready for distribution. On the 28th September 1814 the first annual meeting of the St Petersburg Bible Society was attended by the chief dignitaries of the Greek, Catholic, Armenian, and Georgian Churches, and by ladies and nobles of the first rank in the Empire ; five archbishops, and three metropolitans of different creeds were added to the roll of vice-presidents, and the society itself was exalted to national rank, with the designation of the Russian Bible Society. At this time also attention was drawn to the need for an edition of the Georgian Scriptures. From the Arch- bishop Dositheos it was ascertained that there were over a million Christians belonging to the Georgian communion. In Georgia proper there were nearly 900 churches, and in Imeritia and Mingrelia iioo; yet among these 2000 churches there did not exist 200 Bibles. Indeed, only one edition of the Georgian Bible had ever been printed, and that was a folio which was issued from the Moscow press in 1743, though the original version on which the actual text was based dated as far back at least as the eighth century. Even the clergy were for the most part deplorably ignorant, and the Archbishop, who was eager to promote the cause of Bible Societies, was about to leave for Tiflis under a commission from the Czar to improve the con- dition of the priesthood. His chief hope seemed to rest on the Georgian women, among whom had been pre- served, with love and reverence, the tradition of Ninna, virgin and saint, who had introduced Christianity into Georgia early in the fourth century. It seemed that there would be a long time to wait for i8i7j THE CZAR'S VERSION IN RUSS 223 the Georgian Scriptures if their issue was to depend on the establishment of an Auxiliary in Tiflis. Inquiry was accordingly made at Moscow, and it was discovered that, by one of those strange providences which have already been signalised, the matrices from which the Bible of 1743 had been cast had escaped destruction in the burning of the city. Arrangements were made to print 5000 copies of the New Testament under the supervision of Ion the Georgian Metropolitan and Archbishop Paphnutius, who were both resident in the Kremlin. Mr Pinkerton, who had just lost his "two dear sons in one month," took comfort in the thought of seeing the Word of God, by means of the Kalmuk, Tartar, Armenian, Georgian, and Persian versions, "spread among all the nations between us and India." And to these tongues were shortly to be added a Wallachian or Moldavian Bible, and Testaments in Bulgarian and Samogit. On the Czar's return to the capital at the close of 1815 the affairs of the Russian Bible Society came more par- ticularly under his personal knowledge. During his absence, when the thrones of Europe were vibrating to the tramp of legions, he had given proof of his remembrance of the society by granting it the privilege of free postage, not only for correspondence but for transmission of Bibles and Testaments throughout his dominions. In his anxiety that the millions of his subjects should possess the Book from which he had himself obtained light in darkness, consolation in sorrow, and strength in adversity, and "convinced by experience" that for people "in every condition of life " the reading of the Scriptures promotes "godliness and morality, on which the true prosperity of individuals and nations is built," ^ he directed the Holy Synod, in the following spring, to prepare a new trans- lation in Modern Russian. The authorised Sclavonic 1 The Czar's Rescript to the Holy Synod. 224 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ii.) [1804- version, made by the brother missionaries, Methodius and Cyril, in the ninth century,^ and revised and amended in later times, was said to be as unintelligible to the general population of Russia as Wycliffe's would be to the mass of English readers. His Imperial Majesty's next act of benevolence was the present of a spacious mansion among the gardens of the Summer Palace, together with a grant of 15,000 roubles from his own purse to defray the expense of converting it into a Bible House ; he conferred a similar amount to clear the duty charges on a large consignment of cheaper paper from Holland ; and, ever eager to hasten onward, called upon the St Petersburg committee to devise a plan for at least doubling the number of Scriptures which were being printed. The Russian Society could not be charged with having been dilatory. At the third anniver- sary, held on 15th June 1816, it was reported that " 157,100 copies of the Scriptures had been printed, were in hand, or about to be printed in sixteen different languages, to say nothing of other translations in preparation ; and the expenditure in that year alone amounted to 227,700 roubles compared with 297,642 during the preceding years." The society had become really national, for by an arrangement with the Holy Synod it was permitted to print the Russian Scriptures for itself. Its fame had travelled so far that the Buriats, in the region about Lake Baikal in Siberia, finding the Kalmuk Gospel too strange for easy reading, had contributed to its funds 12,000 roubles towards the expense of producing a translation in their own dialect.^ ^ For an interesting account of these first missionaries to the Khasars of the Crimea, the Bulgarians, and the Moravians, see vol. iv. (pp. 51-98) of Bost : Hist. Ginirale de tEtablissement du Christianisme, d'apres I'allemand de C. G. Blumhardt. ^ The facts regarding the Buriats were communicated by Mr Paterson to the London Missionary Society, and his correspondence with them on the subject resulted in Messrs Stallybrass and Rahm — names we shall again meet with — being sent to lay the foundation of the mission to that remote country. — Paterson, The Book for Every Land, p. 213. i8i7] PINKERTON IN SOUTH RUSSIA 225 In July 1816 Mr Paterson left St Petersburg for a tour in the East Baltic Provinces, visiting Dorpat, Mitau, Riga, Revel, Narva, Pernau (where the foundation was laid for a Bible Society for two districts containing 80,000 inhabit- ants), and the Island of CEsel, where the unlettered boors still used a primeval almanack composed of seven flat sticks scored with hieroglyphics and strung together on a thong.i The state of the peasantry in Esthonia, he observed, was perhaps the worst in Europe, but already the ukase of Alexander giving them freedom was being printed, and arrangements were being made for putting it into execu- tion. "But they must be raised in some degree in the scale of beings before they can enjoy the good preparing for them ; they must feel that they also have moral worth, — ^that they are men." It was to the effect produced by the Bible Society in putting the Scriptures into every home that he looked for the needful change. Earlier in 18 16, with the concurrence of the British and Foreign Bible Society, who provided the necessary funds, Mr Pinkerton had undertaken a tour of 7000 miles in the service of the Russian Society. He inspected the Auxiliaries at Moscow, Voronez, Theodosia (Kaffa), and Kamentz ; inaugurated new societies at Tula, Simpheropol, Odessa, Wilna, Mohilev, and Witepsk ; and in many other places made arrangements for the establishment of insti- tutions, and awakened a keen interest not only amongst Roman Catholics, who indeed in some places took the leading part, but among Cossacks, Mohammedans, and Jews. A discovery from which very important results were expected at the time was made in the Crimea. From Bakhtchisarai, the ancient Tartar capital, he made an ^ However ancient the almanack, it can scarcely have been pre-Christian, unless the early missionaries converted it to their own uses. All its memorable or lucky and unlucky days are associated with natural phenomena — the appearance of loriot and pike, the steaming of water springs, the swarming of bees, or with Church festivals, such as the Nativity, the Epiphany, Lady-Day, or the feasts of saints. See Gentlemaris Magazine, 1812, Pt. I. p. 625. VOL. I. P 226 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ii.) [1804. excursion to Chufut Kale — the " Forty Castles," said to have been built by forty brothers — a curious walled stronghold which the Jews believed to have been founded four centuries before Christ on the summit of these craggy and all but inaccessible cliffs. In 1875, though the synagogue was still used, the town had been deserted by all but two families and certain Karaim Jews in charge of the old MSS., which were preserved in a library. In Mr Pinkerton's time there were 250 families, who, whether they were or were not a " Protestant" secession from the corruptions of the later Sadducees, still obeyed the ordinance of Nehemiah xiii. 19, and closed the fortress gates from the eve of the Sabbath till the following sunset. The traveller learned from the Rabbis that they con- stantly used, together with the Hebrew, a Tartar translation of the Old Testament which had been made by their fore- fathers several centuries earlier. He obtained a beautiful MS. copy, on fine vellum, in four volumes, bound in red goat's leather and ornamented with gold. Here he believed he had secured a text of the Old Testament, composed in the pure Jaghatai of Bokhara, without Talmudic gloss or teaching, by the very "Sons of the Text"; and this, he thought, together with the Karass version of the New Testament, would furnish a perfect Tartar Bible. The MS. was afterwards examined by the missionaries at Astrakhan, and it was found that though the words were Tartar the idiom was so completely Hebraic that even Tartar Jews could not read it unless acquainted with their ancient language. To Tartar and Turk it was quite unintelligible. From a critical point of view also its value was disappointing, as, instead of adhering to the letter of the text in the true Karaite spirit, the translator not unfrequently followed the Chaldee Targums and renderings in the Rabbinical com- mentaries. ^ The Book of Genesis, with such alterations as appeared necessary, was issued two or three years later ^ Henderson, Biblical Researches and Travels in Russia, pp. 335-6. i8i7] INTERVIEW WITH METTERNICH 227 by the British and Foreign Bible Society, but nothing more was published, though an edition of the complete work was subsequently produced at the expense of the Jews of South Russia. The Russian Bible Society had already undertaken an edition of 5000 copies of the Wallachian New Testament, but now that Mr Pinkerton had reached Kischenau, the capital of Moldavia, he learned from Gabriel, the vener- able Exarch, that there were probably not fifty Bibles to be found in the 800 churches of his diocese. Arrangements were accordingly made, on behalf of the British and Foreign Bible Society, that the Exarch, who was revising the proofs from St Petersburg, should print 5000 Moldavian Bibles at the press which he had himself recently established. At Cracow Mr Pinkerton prepared the way for a new society, and offered a grant of ;^50o from the London Committee if the institution would undertake to print, without note or comment, 5000 Polish Bibles and 5000 additional Testaments. On the I2th August 1816 he reached Vienna, and on the 20th he laid the object and methods of the Bible Society before Prince Metternich, with a view to obtaining the sanction of the Government for Biblical operations in the Austrian dominions. The Prime Minister received him most graciously, desired him to draw up a plan and memorial for the consideration of the Emperor on his return to the capital, invited him to dinner on the 24th ; and five days later, on bidding him farewell, observed that though in a Roman Catholic country a measure of this kind had many difficulties to encounter which it would not meet with in a Protestant, still he would do everything in his power to bring the matter to the desired conclusion. In high hopes, yet not without misgiving, Mr Pinkerton proceeded to Breslau, Herrnhut, Halle, and Berlin, gather- ing information and giving encouragement. Passing through 228 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ii.) [1804- Frankfort and Posen, he arrived at Warsaw on the 12th October. Prince Czartorisky and the friends of the cause were overjoyed at his coming. After his visit in 1814 the Archbishop of Gnesen, on being informed of the steps which had been taken, began to exert all his influence as Primate of Poland to prevent the establishment of the Polish Bible Society. Gnesen was ceded to Prussia by the Congress of Vienna, and in the spring of 1816 it appeared as though the promoters would at last be able to establish the institution, and arrangements were put in progress. Under date the 29th June, however, in response to an application to Rome for instructions, the Archbishop received a Papal Rescript expressing horror "at this pestilence, this most crafty invention by which the very foundations of religion are undermined," commending highly the Archbishop's vigilance, and exhorting him to the most strenuous exertions "to detect and oppose the impious machinations of these innovators," and "to warn the people committed to his charge against falling into the snares set for their everlasting ruin."^ Mr Pinkerton met the difficulty with a prompt resource- fulness. On the 14th October he laid the whole case before the Czar, who was in Warsaw at the moment; on the i6th he received his Majesty's reply, not merely sanctioning the society but putting himself at its head; on the 21st the inaugural meeting was attended by the Bishop of Kuavia, Count Pototsky, Minister for Religion and Educa- tion, Prince Czartorisky, and other noblemen. In the course of a few days, after a struggle of two years' duration, and despite the thunders of the Vatican, the Polish Bible Society was founded. Mr Pinkerton pursued his way to Grodno, Wilna, Mohilev, and Witepsk, and closed his long journey on ^ See Owen, History of tht British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. iii. p. 303, for the original text of the phrases here quoted. i8i7] ADHESION OF RUSSIAN CATHOLICS 229 the 2nd December. But the Trumpets of the Seven-hilled City were still sounding. A monitory Brief, dated 3rd September 18 16, was addressed by the Pope to the venerable Stanislaus, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Mohilev and Metropolitan of Russia, who had recommended to his clergy the free circulation of the Scriptures among the people, and the support of the Russian Bible Society. His Grace was reminded that " if the Sacred Scriptures were allowed in the vulgar tongue everywhere without discrimination, more detriment than benefit would arise," and he was admonished "to declare sincerely and plainly, in a fresh letter to the people, that Christian truth and doctrine, both dogmatic and moral, are contained not in the Scriptures alone but likewise in the traditions of the Catholic Church, and that it is solely for the Church herself to regard and interpret them." One may conjecture the effect of this missive of the 3rd September, from the fact that on the 15th November, when Mr Pinkerton attended the establishment of the White Russian Society at Mohilev, ^ a Roman Catholic Canonicus in the presence of the Roman Catholic Bishop Madziefsky quoted the memorable letter of Pope Pius VI., and encouraged his co-religionists to support the pious and beneficial labours of the Bible Societies.^ But if Rescript and Brief failed in immediate effect, they exercised a disastrous and lasting influence on the Bible cause in Austria. Mr Pinkerton's application and ^ Prince Barclay de Tolly,' the wily antagonist of Napoleon, opened the subscrip- tions for this society with a donation of 500 roubles. ^ In Pius VI. 's Brief to Martini, Archbishop of Florence, occurs the passage : " lUi enim sunt fontes uberrimi, qui cuique patere debent ad hauriendam et morum et doctrinae sanctitatem" ("For these are most copious fountains, which should lie open to each individual for the drawing of holiness both in morals and in doctrine"). In the Ninth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society a learned ecclesiastic, writing from Scandinari, in the Levant, in a tone of personal reminiscence, says : " Pius VI. of happy memory was fond of recommending to Cardinal Borgia, at that time Patron of the Society De Propaganda Fide, to print the Bible as generally as possible, translating it into various languages ; because, he affirmed, from these more than from any other means good might be expected to be done in the parts of the world where Christianity was unknown, or had ceased to be cultivated, particularly in the Morea, Syria, Africa, Arabia, and the Isles." 230 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ii.) [1804- memorial were rejected, and an edict, dated from Buda, 23rd December 1816, was issued, prohibiting throughout the Austrian dominions both the establishment of Bible Societies and the circulation of the Bible, either gratis or otherwise, by foreign Bible Societies. Whereupon the archbishops and bishops of Hungary published a declaration expressing their gratitude to the Government, and added the information that the Congregation of the Propaganda had warned vicars-apostolic and missionaries in the East against a recent Persian version which was being dispersed "even among the Infidels," and against " these Bible Societies speciously pretending the propaga- tion of Christianity." "Thus mutually provident," exclaimed the good prelates, who set such slight store by the counsels of Pius VII. 's predecessor, "the most sacred Head of the Apostolic See and the most august Sovereign of the Apostolic Kingdom unite their efforts to take care that no injury shall arise in our days to religion and the State." Seizure followed prohibition ; and three chests containing upwards of 400 Bohemian Bibles, which were taken by force, were only restored on condition that the consignee pledged himself to send them out of the country at his own expense. This was the first grave check the Bible cause had hitherto sustained. Once more we must refer the reader to the Appendix ^ for details. The annual report for 1817 enumerates 26 Russian and 3 Polish Bible Societies and Auxiliaries. Up to that time the printings of the Russian Bible Society comprised 58,000 Bibles, 90,000 Testaments, and 7000 Portions, in sixteen languages, and the grants of the Com- mittee had amounted to ^13,807. In addition to this, how- ever, ;^7io had been voted for the production of the Tartar ^ See Appendix IV. i8i7] SPAIN AND PORTUGAL 231 New Testament at Karass, and the Kalmuk Gospel of St Matthew at Sarepta ; ;^i85 for the benefit of poor Germans in the Volga colonies; ;^i209 for prisoners of war and poor British subjects in Russia, and ;^i68 for the poor in Poland. The entire expenditure in Eastern Europe was ;^ 16,079. To sum up. In Central, Northern, and Eastern Europe the grants of the British and Foreign Bible Society up to the close of 1816-17 amounted to ;^55,492. In the course of his continental tours the Rev. C. Steinkopff distributed ;^67i2, which brings the total expenditure to ;^62,204. The Scriptures printed formed an aggregate of 218,500 Bibles, 217,000 Testaments, and 10,000 Portions. It is not surprising that in these years the record of the Society's work in Spain and Portugal is vague, slight, and broken. Doubtless much was hoped for from the presence of British troops in the Peninsula, perhaps even more from the return of the Portuguese and Spanish prisoners of war to their homes. If it was not the expectation, it must have been the prayer of many that the Scriptures thus dispersed in the Peninsula would, like the tropic vegetation which has dislocated, toppled in ruin, and buried in dense foliage the colossal blocks and hideous sculptures of Copan and Palenque, prove seeds of life and power sown among the sinister structures of superstition and priestcraft. God's good time had not yet come for the accomplishment of great designs. The ways were not laid open ; and beyond what has already been indicated, 200 Bibles, and 16,325 Testa- ments, valued at ;^i8oo, represent the efforts made to spread the Gospel in these two countries. Considerable numbers of Spanish and Portuguese Testa- ments were printed — of the latter alone 20,000 copies — and large consignments were sent to settlements abroad. In South America, from time to time, copies found their way 232 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ii.) [1804- to the Brazils, Chili, Carthagena. In 1866, 600 copies were sent to Buenos Ayres and Monte Video — the first time that New Testaments in Spanish ever reached South America. At Monte Video they were reported to have obtained a rapid circulation ; even the priests bought them and commended them as "good and fair copies." No sooner, however, had the British flag been lowered at Buenos Ayres in the following year than the Spanish Bishop called in under the severest penalties all copies of the New Testa- ment and other religious publications distributed during the British occupation. In 18 13 various changes for the better took place in La Plata. In March the General Constituent Assembly of Buenos Ayres abolished the Inquisition, and in April they passed a law safeguarding foreign miners and proprietors of mining works, their workmen, clerks, anfl domestics from interference on the ground of religion, and allowing them " to worship God privately in their own houses according to their own customs." It was, however, only in the northern region of South America, the European settle- ments, that real progress was made in the Bible cause ; and that part of the subject we shall group with the West Indies. Returning once more to our own hemisphere, let it be noted in passing that in the Faroe Isles, those half-sub- merged mountain peaks set in a labyrinth of racing seas, the news of the establishment of the Danish Bible Society was hailed with delight, and a liberal subscription was transmitted to its funds from the hardy islanders. Last, the Greenlanders on the edge of the everlasting glacier-ice had not been forgotten. To them also in 1813, the British and Foreign Bible Society had sent as a greeting 300 New Testaments in their own harsh speech of ick and ock. The little we know of the early story of Greenla:nd is extremely interesting. In the light of the old Sagas we get a glimpse of the colony of Erik the Red — of Leif his son i8i7] THE GREENLAND ESKIMO 233 returning from Olafs court with priests and monks, and of Thiodhilda, Leifs wife, building a church at Brattelid, "where she often went to repeat her prayers." In 1126, Arnold, the first bishop, settles at Garde, on Einar's-fjord. One may see still the grassy stone-heaps of the church at Brattelid. Then the story of sea-faring and rude Norse life closes with the Black Death. The few colonists who escaped the plague were cut off or enslaved by the Skrellings. Ships sailed no more for Greenland ; the very sailing route was forgotten. The country was rediscovered by John Davis in 1585. In 1721 the apostolic Hans Egede, finding no trace of his own countrymen but graves, tumbled walls, and Eskimo traditions, set himself to convert the natives. He translated the Psalms and the Epistles of St Paul, and his son Paul completed the New Testament, which was published at Copenhagen in 1766. In 1733 the Moravian missionaries arrived ; and they too spent many years on a translation, which was finished in 1821 and printed in London by the Society in 1822. When Paul Egede left the country, after fifteen years of labour and privation, he preached, for the last time, from Isaiah xlix. : " I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain : yet surely my judg- ment is with the Lord, and my work with my God." A scoffing, callous, intractable people they seemed ; yet beneath the rind of savagery there throbbed a wildly passion- ate humanity, inarticulate for the most part, but vividly expressed in one of their legends, which tells of a Green- lander to whom home had been so dear that even in summer he had never left it. In his age he felt an irresistible longing to see other countries. He had not sailed far, however, before he insisted on returning. On the morrow he rose early, and left his tent ; and when his people had long waited for him in vain, they went out and found him sitting dead. His delight at seeing the sun rise over his home had 234 THE CONTINENTAL SOCIETIES (ii.) [1804-1817 killed him.^ The Moravians, though for several years they too spent their strength for nought, discovered the simple way of the Gospel to the hearts of the people. The sight of John Beck working at his translation excited the curiosity of the Eskimo. They asked what he was writing ; he read them the story of Gethsemane. As they heard of the agony and sweat of blood, they laid their hands on their mouths in wonder, and one of them, Kayarnack — the first-fruits of Greenland — cried out, "How was that? Tell me that once more. I too would be saved." ^ Rink, Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, p. 466. CHAPTER XIII THE NEW WORLD We pass now from the Old World to the New. Very different from what it is to-day was the aspect of the New World of 1804. The Dominion which now ranges through eighty-eight degrees of longitude, from St John's, Newfoundland, to Mount St Elias, was represented in 1804 by the Hudson's Bay Territory, the Canadas, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the adjacent Islands. On the west. Lake Winnipeg marked the boundary of Upper Canada (Ontario), the population of which, twenty years earlier, did not exceed 10,000. Settlers had not yet ventured far into the trackless forests and swamps 1 of the Indian tribes. In Lower Canada the popula- tion about the same date was estimated at 95,000. The territory of the Hudson's Bay Company extended to the Great and Lesser Slave Lakes, longitude 115°; but the White Man's tenancy of these illimitable hunting-grounds was confined to a few forts and block-houses for truck and trade in furs and peltry with the red tribes of Algonkins, Sioux, and Chippeways. The first great impulse to progress in these enormous tracts sprang from the policy of the United States. Irri- tated by the retaliatory restrictions imposed on commerce ^ The Muskegons, a branch of the Algonkins, derive their name from the Muskeg, or bottomless swamp, which has since retarded and baffled many a railway contractor. 235 236 THE NEW WORLD [1804- by France and England, Congress in 1807 placed an embargo on their own ports, and prohibited their citizens from external intercourse. A more colossal instance of the blindness of passion could scarcely be quoted. The trade of one hundred to two hundred thousand tons of shipping was annihilated at a stroke. England was compelled to turn to the Canadas for her huge annual imports of timber, pot and pearl ash, and other com- modities, with the result that in 1814 the population of Upper Canada had risen to 95,000, and that of the eastern province to 335,000. Still, this was a mere hand- ful compared with the millions of to-day ; and it was many a year before the little trading colony of Fort Garry, the capital of Lord Selkirk's settlement at the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers grew into the city of Winnipeg. As for the United States, the contrast is even more striking. In the year the Bible Society was founded the Union comprised no more than eighteen States. The "Far West" of the settler lay east of the Mississippi — the giant river discovered by De Soto, the intrepid associate of Pizarro ; on whose banks, when the ivy-clad Indians brought the blind to be healed by the Children of the Sun, he uttered the memorable words, ' ' Pray only to God, who is in Heaven, for whatsoever ye need ; " ^ in whose sweeping waters he was silently buried in the dead of the night. Louisiana, purchased from Napoleon for fifteen million dollars in 1804 — and with it (the "Americans" contended) Texas and all the country east of the Rio Grande — was included among the States in 181 2. The settled popula- tion at the time of the transfer was 7000, principally Spanish Creoles, and 14,000 wild Indians ; and its capital, San Antonio, was for the most part a huddle of wretched houses with mud walls and roofs thatched with ' Bancroft, History of the United States, vol. i. p. 41. i8i7] THE UNITED STATES IN 1800-10 237 grass;! Indiana was enrolled in 1816 ; Mississippi in the following year ; Florida was not ceded by Spain till tSig. In 1800 the population of Pennsylvania was 602,000 ; of New York State, 586,000 ; of Massachusetts, 423,000 ; and, in the west and south, Indiana had its 4800, and Mississippi its 8800. The dwellers in cities of 8000 or more inhabitants were only four per cent, of the whole popula- tion, which numbered 5,300,000 (893,000 slaves). By 1810 Pennsylvania had added nearly 200,000 to her population ; New York over 400,000 ; Massachusetts 50,000 ; Indiana had sextupled and Mississippi quintupled theirs. The total population of what was to be the colossal Republic was 7,000,000 (1,191,000 slaves) — 10,000,000 less than that of the United Kingdom — and the settled area was 407,945 square miles. Realise it. To-day the population of the State of New York alone exceeds by some hundreds of thousands that of the entire Union, its settlements and territories, in the year iSio.^ The fact that in that year the United States had 359 news- papers, including 27 dailies — in the United Kingdom there were 213 in 1808 — indicates that there was no lack of activity and interest in social and political questions, though there were as yet few indications of literary and artistic life. The States presented a curiously varied and contrasting grouping of characteristics and conditions. "New England was still the home of independent religion and sober morals, of solid intellect, and universal education, and careful industry, although the Puritan grimness had moderated and dwindled into a rather prim propriety. The Middle States were still the seat of a mixed population, New York in particular, a city of many tongues, having already something of a cosmopolitan character ; Albany was a ' Bancroft, History of the Pacific States, vol. xi. pp. 2, 4. '■^ In 1900 the population of the State of New York was 7,268,894 ; that of the City of New York, 3,437,202. 238 THE NEW WORLD [1804. staid half-Dutch town ; Philadelphia retained its reputa- tion for quiet intelligence ; Baltimore and Washington were gay society centres, while throughout the rural districts might be found the honest and industrious if rather dull Swedish, German, and Dutch farmers. . . . The South was still deficient in schools and cities, although Charleston remained a centre of intelligence and gaiety, and Savannah, Raleigh, and Richmond were rising into some prominence. But the old hospitality of the Southern gentleman had only refined with time ; honour between man and man, and chivalry towards woman, ennobled Southern society ; and plantation life, with its habits of self-reliance and command, continued to be a training- school for leaders in national affairs. Our new possessions in the South-west, including the old^ city of New Orleans, had brought into the Union the new elements of French gaiety and grace, of grave Spanish courtesy and romance, elements destined to furnish rich subject-matter for our literature in future years. "^ If any, very few of the notable names of that time awaken any associations when they strike our ears to-day. The men whose names are familiar to our generation were youths and children then. Washington Irving, a young fellow of two-and-twenty, was in Europe the year the Bible Society was founded, and might, so to say, have been present at its first annual meeting. Seven years earlier he had roamed with his gun in Sleepy Hollow ; and his voyage up the Hudson and the sound of the thunder playing bowls among the Kaatskill Mountains were memories of yesterday. When the first American Bible Society was founded (at Philadelphia, 12th December 1808), Fenimore Cooper was serving in the Navy on the Great Lakes : certain waspish 1 "Old" relatively. It was founded in 1717; abandoned; resettled in 1722; burnt down, seven-eighths of it, in 1 788 ; and rebuilt. ^ Bronson, A Short History of American Literature, p. 76. i8i7] THE FIRST UNITED STATES BIBLE 239 little sea-fights on these vast inland waters are among History's "old, unhappy, far-off things, And battles long ago." He was still only nineteen, but as a child he had lived on the shores of Otsego Lake on the" edge of the immemorial forest, and had talked with trappers and old Indian fighters. In the autumn of 181 1, when the New Jersey Bible Society was acknowledging a foundation grant of ;^ioo from the London Committee, Byrant, a lad of seventeen, was writing Thanatopsis ; "four years later, climbing the hills at sunset to his first place of trial as a practitioner of the law, he saw a waterfowl 'darkly painted on the crimson sky,' and his law career began with an immortal poem written that very night." 1 Emerson, then or afterwards "a spiritual-looking boy in blue nankeen," was eight, and already too transcendental to care for boyish games. Longfellow and Whittier were urchins of four ; Edgar Allan Poe a motherless two-year-old, adopted by John Allan of Richmond ; and Oliver Wendell Holmes an autocrat of the same mature age, in "the old gambrel- roofed house" in Cambridge. Turning to the religious aspect of the period, it may be interesting to mention that up to 1782 every English Bible that America possessed had been brought across the Atlantic. On 12th September in that year, "the United States in Congress assembled " approved " the pious and laudable undertaking" of Robert Aitken of Philadelphia in preparing an edition of the Bible ; and it was published before the peace of 1783. "It was our Biblical Declara- tion of Independence," exclaimed an orator at the Centenary of the Union, " one of the first-fruits of the Revolution, and bears upon its fly-leaf the resolution by which the first Congress officially * recommended this edition of the ' Bronson, A Short History of American Literature, p. 138. 240 THE NEW WORLD [1804- Bible to the inhabitants of the United States.' -The same hands that broke the fetters of the Colonies struck off the chains from the Bible." ^ Unhappily the freedom of the Biblical press did not contribute extensively to the spread of the Scriptures. The religious developments in the United States during the close of the eighteenth and the opening of the nineteenth century form a subject too large, too complex, and too difficult to be summarily treated in these pages ; but a passage in Mr Bronson's book indicates so suggestively the reaction which was taking place among the more cultured classes in those very States where the faith of their fathers had been planted in sickness and hunger and sorrow, that it may be given here, with the author's premise that the words "liberal" and "orthodox" are used in a sense wholly historical, and without implication of approval or disapproval : — " Down to the time of the Great Awakening, in 1734-44, Calvinism had reigned almost undisputed in New England. But the reaction against the emotional excesses of that tremendous revival brought to the surface the more liberal tendencies which had doubtless been germinating in the soil for some time. Contemporary liberal thought in England furthered their growth. The dispute turned at first upon the question how far a man's will might be an agent in effecting his conversion. The school of which Jonathan Edwards was the head asserted the absolute sovereignty of God in this act, as in all others ; the Arminian school, of which Charles Chauncy and Jonathan Mayhew were the earliest leaders, affirmed that the sinner, by diligently cultivating the means of grace, ' The Bible in the Last One Hundred Years. An Historical Discourse for the American Bible Society in the United States Centennial, by William J. R. Taylor, D.D. Newark, N.J. Editions of John Eliot's (now obsolete) translation of the Bible into the Indian of New England were published in 1663 and 1665, and three editions of Luther's version between 1743 and 1776, but the monopoly of the English Universities and the King's Printers was maintained throughout the period of effective English occupation. . ^V/r///'///c ^yAffVi/ Pt'operty of Boots Bookl', Library, i8i7] THE UNITARIAN MOVEMENT 241 and so fulfilling the conditions for receiving it, might co- operate in his own regeneration. From this small begin- ning the breach widened more and more. The doctrine of the Trinity was soon openly attacked ; and although the political ferment of the Revolution drew men's thoughts largely away from theological questions, Unitarianism quietly spread in eastern Massachusetts, until at the close of the century there was scarcely a Trinitarian Congrega- tional clergyman in Boston. No open separation, however, had yet occurred. With the new century there came a change. The appointment of five Unitarians to Professor- ships in Harvard College, in 1805-07, made clear the position of that venerable institution. By 1815 circum- stances had compelled the liberal party reluctantly to accept the distinctive title of 'Unitarian.' Four years later, aroused by Channing's sermon at Baltimore on Unitarian Christianity, the denomination assumed a more confident and aggressive attitude, and entered upon a period of controversy and expansion." ^ Such then was the New World of the early years of the Bible Society. Was it purely fortuitous that at the moment Unitarianism was gaining strength and countenance, Bible Societies were springing up in Hartford (Con.), Boston, Portland (Maine), Baltimore? "The settlement of New England was the result of implacable differences between Protestant Dissenters and the Established Anglican Church." ^ Singular reparation! The spirit of the Bible Society was a catholic charity which united in brotherhood the descendants of both. The example of the British and Foreign Bible Society took root first in Philadelphia, William Penn's old "city of refuge, the mansion of freedom, the home of humanity, the birthplace of American independence." ^ "It was 1 Bronson, J Short History of American Literature, p. 191. 2 Bancroft, History of the United States , vol. i. p. 201. '^ Ibid., vol. ii. p. 636. "Here, said the Quakers, we may worship God VOfc. I, 8 242 THE NEW WORLD [1804- immediately seen that the necessity for such an institution was the same here as in Europe." 1 The project originally entertained by the promoters was a large association, con- sisting of members selected from all the States in the Union, to raise a common fund, and to distribute Bibles in every part of the country. Preference was afterwards given to an undertaking on a smaller scale, and the Philadelphia Bible Society was established on the 12th December 1808. The London Committee at once voted a donation of ;^200, which was cordially accepted, and as the supply of Scriptures required in Welsh, Gaelic, French, and German could not be obtained in the States, consign- ments were sent out from England at cost price. The first year's experience showed that the deficiency of Bibles was much greater than had been expected. The number of families and individuals destitute of a copy of the Scriptures was so large that the "entire funds might have been expended in supplying the wants of the city alone " ; and the opportunities of distribution elsewhere were so numerous that ten times the means at the command of the newly formed society would have been inadequate to the need. The all-inclusive spirit of the parent institution spread rapidly. "Drive from the recollections of Christians," it was urged, "that they are of Paul, or of Apollos, or of Cephas ; constrain them to remember that they are all of Christ." In the following year (1809) six more societies were founded — the Connecticut Bible Society (Hartford) in May, the Massachusetts (Boston) in July, and the New Jersey (Princeton) in the fall of the year; and a little later this goodly company was joined by the New York Bible Society, the Young Men's Bible Society, and the New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society. according to the dictates of the Divine Principle, free from the mouldy errors of tradition." ^ Address of the Philadelphia Bible Society, Report v. p. 239. i8i7] RARITY OF THE SCRIPTURES 243 In Massachusetts the tradition of the Pilgrims had not been forgotten. "To preserve the authority of this book unimpaired, and to enjoy the privilege of a free conscience enlightened by its truth, our forefathers crossed the ocean with little more than this volume in their hands, and its spirit in their hearts." And, with a confidence that was very natural in the circumstances, the Boston committee stated: "From the habits of New England ever since its settlement, the deficiency of Bibles among our poor is perhaps less considerable than in any other part of the world. The principal demand for Bibles in New England is from the most distant and lately settled regions of the district of Maine." However exact this statement may have been, even seven years later they acknowledged that " many could hardly believe that the wants of our own State should continue to be so great." Indeed in the New World, as in the Old, it was very commonly taken for granted that Bibles and Testaments were an almost universal possession, and not until a conscientious inquiry had been made was the unexpected rarity of the Scriptures demonstrated. In 1810 the movement included societies for Albany (N.Y.), New Hampshire, Baltimore (Maryland), Salem and Merrimac (Mass.), Charleston and Beaufort (South Caro- lina), Georgia (at Savannah), Kentucky, and Maine (at Portland). The Georgia committee mentioned two circum- stances which especially required the advantages of such an institution. Through the exertions of several Christian denominations, a religious revival had been initiated in various parts of the State, "which a few years since were noted only for their profligacy and immorality " ; and a deep solicitude was felt for the negroes, many hundreds of whom, both in towns and on the plantations, had already embraced the faith of Christ. When four more years had elapsed, the number of 244 THE NEW WORLD [1804- Bible Societies and Female Bible Associations in the States had increased, as the following list will show, to sixty-nine. BIBLE SOCIETIES. New Hampshi re I Virginia . II Massachusetts 7 N. Carolina . I Vermont 2 S. Carolina 2 Rhode Island I Georgia I Connecticut I Kentucky I New York 12 Ohio 3 New Jersey 4 Tennessee I Pennsylvania 8 Mississippi Territory I Delaware I Louisiana I Maryland 2 District of Columbia I FEMALE BIBLE ASSOCIATIONS. Poughkeepsie I Burlington (N.J.) . I Philadelphia . I Carlisle (Penn.) I Boston . I Neuville (near Carlisle) I Manchester (Virginia) . . i Among these the Nassau Hall Society at Princeton was founded in emulation of our Cambridge University Society, by a number of the students of the New Jersey University who desired "to wipe away the reproach so often levelled at colleges, that while they are the receptacles of science and literature, they reject or despise the study of the Sacred Scriptures." The society for the District of Columbia in- cluded the capital, Washington. The societies at Marietta (Ohio), Lexington, Nashville (W. Tennessee), Natchez (Mississippi), and New Orleans (Louisiana) were the fruit of a missionary tour at the expense of the Philadelphia, Connecticut, and New York Bible Societies. The most important of these was the New Orleans, which was founded on the 29th March 1813. Operating among a free population of 100,000, of which 70,000 were Roman Catholics, and a slave population of 40,000, it opened a new region for the circulation of the Scriptures in French and i8i7] ROMAN CATHOLIC APPROVAL 245 Spanish. The Roman CathoHc Bishop examined the French New Testament, and after expressing his approval, gave permission for copies to be distributed in a convent of UrsuHne nuns, who educated the daughters of the principal Roman Catholic families in the State. So far from making any opposition to the missionaries, the priests were surprised that opposition was considered possible. The dearth of Scriptures was unquestionable. The Bishop himself doubted whether there were ten Bibles among all the Roman Catholics in New Orleans ; and when the Americans took over the government of the country, it was not till after a long search for a Bible to administer the oath of office, that a Latin Vulgate was at last procured from a priest. There was no Protestant minister stationed at New Orleans, and perhaps no Protestant missionary had ever before set foot in the city. Protestants there were, but many were as regardless of the Scriptures "as if they had no souls," and the rest had no means of procuring the Word of Life. On receiving intelligence of this state of things the Philadelphia Society resolved to print 6000 copies of the French New Testament for gratuitous distribution among the inhabitants of Louisiana, and the New York Society to issue a similar number, for the benefit both of Louisiana and the Canadas. The British and Foreign Bible Society aided in the realization of these projects by granting ;;^ioo to the former and j£200 to the latter organization. In other respects, to notice merely an instance, the cause was progressing favourably. The New York Society, besides attending to local needs, had sent Bibles to a settle- ment forming at the mouth of the Columbia River, and had contributed to the fund for the Oriental versions in India. By the close of 1814 it had distributed a total of 10,114 Bibles. Nor had the parent Society been slow to manifest a practical sympathy. Besides giving a liberal God-speed to several of the societies on starting, it had 246 THE NEW WORLD [1804- aided the work of others. Amongst its grants were ;^200 to Philadelphia towards the cost of an edition of the German Bible, and ;^200 to lighten the expense of stereotype plates of the English Bible. In 1814 the latter was in its sixth edition, and the complete issue of the institution amounted to 14,125 Bibles and 3250 Testaments. Connecticut had circulated over 12,000 volumes. It was during this period that once again the fires of European battle-fields reddened the skies of the New World. Napoleon's Berlin Decree had been promptly met by the British declaration that the whole coast of France was in a state of blockade, and that neutral ships trading with France were liable to seizure. The United States Government insisted that under a neutral flag all goods not contraband of war were free. In 181 1 Napoleon exempted the States from the prohibition of the Decrees of Berlin and Milan ; and in June 181 2 a similar concession was made by Great Britain. The latter measure came too late. Apparently in the hope of carrying Canada by a coup-de-main, the United States had declared war against England a few days earlier. But if the Americans were at war with England, "they were not at war with her pious and benevolent institutions." In June 1813 a supply of Bibles and Testaments, destined by the London Committee for Nova Scotia, was captured by an American privateer, brought into Portland, and sold by auction. The Massachusetts Bible Society was stricken "with shame and regret" at the occurrence, and an appeal was made to the public of Boston for subscriptions to replace the value of the books. In a day or two twice the amount was forthcoming, and it might have been indefinitely increased. And this was the same Boston where, less than forty years before, a band of patriots seized the tea ships, and the crowd stood in the dark so hushed and still that the strokes of the axes, and the splintering of wood could be heard as the chests were broken open, and the tea flung i8i7] SUMMARY FOR 1815 247 into the sea. But here in the conflidt of Governments there was room for mutual regard and good-will. " The Christians of England are still our brethren, their generous spirit we are still bound to admire, and their efforts for the improve- ment of mankind we are bound to aid and promote." Such was the contention of the Massachusetts Society, and it is to the glory of the Gospel that they were able to add : ' ' By this act we shall do something towards repressing the animosities and antipathies which the present war has a tendency to generate between us and the neighbouring British Provinces." On two other occasions the same friendly service was rendered. In 1814 Massachusetts re- deemed a consignment of captured Bibles and Testaments, and forwarded them to the Cape ; and a third supply, which was taken in to New York, was delivered up free of all charge by the owners of the privateer, and sent on to Canada. Happily this outbreak of hostilities between two kindred peoples was brought to a close by the peace signed at Ghent on Christmas Eve 1814. During the next two years the Bible Societies, Auxiliaries, and Female Associations multiplied with astonishing rapidity. By December 1815 they numbered 108. Eleven had been added to the list for New York ; eight each to that of Pennsylvania and of Vermont. Four had been started in the Indiana territory ; one in Illinois, further west ; even "the Father of Waters" had at length been crossed, and the Bible had a home in Missouri. In the State of New York there was not a town to which Bibles had not been sent by one or other of the newly-formed societies ; and from Cherry Valley, fifty miles west of Albany, there came this curious little note, which should be read with a map of the States before one for reference : " It is a pleasing reflection that, 600 miles in the interior of our country, where fifteen years ago the foot of civilized man had never trod, you now find villages, churches, Bible Societies, and what is still more 248 THE NEW WORLD [1804- cheering, real piety." At New Orleans the priests appeared to be emulating their co-religionists in Germany and Russia ; and the number of Spaniards from Havannah, Campeachy, and the Mexican provinces who took home with them copies of the New Testament, seemed to herald a splendid range of operations for this Bible Society of the South. On the other hand, the work that had to be accomplished was enormous. In 1814 it was estimated that there were in Ohio 13,000 families destitute of the Scriptures ; in the territories of Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, 12,000; in Mississippi Territory, 5000 ; in Louisiana, 8000 ; 10,000 in Tennessee ; and 30,000 in Kentucky. From 1809 to the beginning of 1816, it was pointed out, the number of Bibles distributed by all the societies did not exceed 150,000 — the number, it was estimated, still needed to supply the single State of Kentucky. We have now reached the point at which it is convenient to refer to the material assistance — in money, plates, or copies of the Scriptures — which the British and Foreign Bible Society was enabled to extend during these tentative years to the pioneers of the Bible cause in the United States. The following list shows the societies to which grants were made up to the close of the year 1816-17. Philadelphia Bible Society ^765 Albany Bible Society . ^50 Connecticut Bible Society 154 Baltimore Bible Society 100 Massachusetts Bible Socy. 100 Virginia Bible Society 100 New York Bible Society SCO Louisiana Bible Society . 603 New Jersey Bible Society 100 Nassau Hall Bible Society 50 Maine Bible Society . 100 Rhode Island Bible Society 100 S. Carolina Bible Society 100 Delaware Bible Society 100 Georgia Bible Society > 100 Ohio Bible Society . 100 New York Bible and Com- mon Prayer Book Societ f 150 Total . Iiin2 ^ The Georgia Society, in reporting its establishment, deprecated any grant being made by the parent institution, but the importance of the work seemed to justify a friendly insistence on the part of the London Committee. 2 As in the case of the Swedish Evangelical Society, the Bible work of this organisation constituted a separate and independent department. i8i7] THE AMERICAN B.S. FOUNDED 249 The labours of these seven years had prepared the public mind for the great undertaking, of which, even at the outset, the Philadelphia Society had indulged a transi- tory dream. In May 1816 a convention of delegates from the different societies in the Union was summoned by the Hon. Elias Boudinot, LL.D., President of the New Jersey Society. Thirty-one institutions were represented by sixty delegates ; the sittings were held in the Con- sistory Room of the Dutch Reformed Church, New York ; and the proceedings lasted from the 8th till the 13th. "In that convention there were revolutionary patriots, soldiers, and statesmen ; presidents and professors of colleges and theological seminaries ; the most eminent surgeon of his generation ; and plain untitled citizens. There were Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Baptists, Reformed Dutch, Congregationalists, Friends ; and Dr Morse, who was a member, says, ' Roman Catholics among the rest.' But among them all there was not a dissentient voice ; and so great was the Christian harmony and love, that some of those least affected could not help crying out, 'This is none other than the work of God ! ' " ^ Thus in its appointed season the American Bible Society was established. Dr Boudinot was prevented by ill-health from being present, but it was fitting that the society should with unanimous voice call to the presidential chair the man who, three-and-thirty years before, had as President of the Congress of the United States, signed the treaty of peace which established the independence of the American people.^ The tidings of these events were received with great joy and thankfulness by the British and Foreign Bible Society, who testified to their good wishes by a donation of ;^5oo, and a duplicate set of stereotype plates for the French Bible. ' Taylor, The Bible in the Last One Hundred Years. " Dr Boudinot, who intimated the formation of the American Society to the Committee at Earl Street, contributed a donation of |io,ooo to its funds. 250 THE NEW WORLD [1804- This great object had not been accomplished, however, without opposition. In the New World, as in the Old, ^ hostility proceeded from a quarter whence it ought naturally to be least anticipated. On the first intimation that practical measures had been taken, Dr Hobart, Bishop of New York, appealed through the press to the Episcopalians not to countenance the projected society, and to "avoid," by an exclusive support of the Bible and Common Prayer Book Society, "the humiliating and injurious spectacle of a divided household." A rejoinder instantly followed. It was pointed out that of the eight bishops who were the appointed guardians of this "household," six approved of the Bible Societies ; one had made no pronouncement of any kind; the eighth, "after a declaration of the six had been explicitly made," denounced the societies as dangerous. "By whom was the household divided?" We leave the States on the threshold of a new epoch. The wagon-trains were streaming further and ever further into the sunset ; and further and still further into the west the Red Men were retreating before the bees, and the weed which is called "the White Man's foot"; the Bible had crossed the Mississippi, had reached the shores of Mexico and the Southern Continent. Little more than a decade had gone by since Red Jacket, one of the last of the great Iroquois orators, addressed the missionary Cram at the council at Buffalo, in words which must have burned into the memory of every lover of the Bible : " Brother, listen to what we say. There was a time when our forefathers owned this great island. Their seats extended from the rising to the setting sun. The Great Spirit had made it for the use of Indians. . . . But an evil day came upon us ; your forefathers crossed the great water, and landed on this island. . . . They told us they had fled from their country for fear of wicked men, and came here to enjoy their religion. They asked for a small seat ; we took pity on ^ See chap. xv. i8i7] BRITISH NORTH AMERICA 251 them, granted their request, and they sat down among us ; we gave them corn and meal, they gave us poison (fire- water) in return. . . . Brother, our seats were once large, and yours were very small ; you have now become a great people, and we have scarcely a place left to spread our blankets ; you have got our country, but are not satisfied ; you want to force your religion upon us." To that indignant cry it remained for the American Bible Society to make such answer as lay in the power of Christian men. It will be within recollection that the first application of the funds of the British and Foreign Bible Society for a foreign version of the Scriptures was made in favour of the Mohawk translation of the Gospel of St John, and that an edition of 200 copies was printed. Various quantities were distributed among the Indians of the Six Nations in Upper Canada, in Ohio, and Oneida County ; but we may defer more than a reference to the subject till we come to speak more fully of the work among the Red Tribes. The first transaction with men of our own colour in British North America appears to have been a grant, on the 2nd February 1807, of 200 Testaments to the people of Nova Scotia — the old French Acadie, from the history of which one sorrowful yet beautiful episode will live long in the pages of Evangeline. According as needs were made known and ships were available. Bibles and Testaments — in Gaelic, Welsh, English, and French — were sent out to Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Bermuda, Quebec, and Montreal. Towards the close of 1808 the suggestion of the London Committee began to bear fruit, and steps were taken to establish local Auxiliaries. In the following year the first of various congregational collections was transmitted to the British and Foreign Bible Society. On the 24th November 1813, the Bible Society of Nova 252 THE NEW WORLD [1804- Scotia and its dependencies was formed at Halifax, under the Presidency of the Lieut. -Governor, Sir John Coape Sherbroke, with the principal naval and civil officers as vice-presidents, and in little more than a fortnight it pre- sented a first free donation of ;^200 to the Society. Here too, however, opposition was not wanting. The British and Foreign Bible Society was represented in the provincial papers as a usurper of the functions of the Society for Pro- moting Christian Knowledge — insignificant in itself, and yet pregnant with mischief to Church and State alike ; but the public mind, if any hesitation existed, was decided by the judgment of the Governor, who "regretted that there could be found in that province any person to oppose so pious an undertaking." Branches were speedily formed in various parts of the province, and the usual discovery was made "that the want of Bibles was greater than had been imagined." A small society was also formed at Pictou, for the eastern part of Nova Scotia, another at Quebec, a third at Niagara ; and grants of ;^200 were held out to Canada and Newfoundland if representative institutions were established. During this period the London Committee distributed in British North America and the Islands nearly 3500 Bibles and 9000 Testaments, at a cost of ;^i7oo. On the other hand, in addition to congregational offerings, the following contributions had been made by the Auxiliaries : Date of Formation. Contributions. 1813 (Nov. 24) Nova Scotia Bible Society (Halifax) Branc/ies—AimapoWs Royal, Antigonishe, Chester, Cornwallis, Cumberland, Hamp- shire, Horton, Londonderry, Parrs- borough, Queen's County, Shelburn, Truro .^1063 1 8 13 Pictou (Nova Scotia) 170 1813 Quebec (Lower Canada) .... 201 1816 Yarmouth and Argyle (Nova Scotia) . . 75 .£1509 i8i7] THE ESKIMO OF LABRADOR 253 One more field of labour in these latitudes remains to be noticed — Labrador. When the Northmen first tasted the honeydew on the grass of Nantucket and plucked the grapes of Wine-land, a "dwarf species of men, by the Norse- men called Skrellings, and apparently wild men of the Esquimaux race, dwelling in caves, peopled New England, and in sufficient numbers to discourage colonisation." ^ Whether the Iroquois and Algonkins, or some earlier race of Indians, drove them north-eastward to the ice-hills and stony lowlands of Labrador, one can but conjecture. The name "Labrador" — the "Slave-land" — is the sole trace left of the early Portuguese adventurers, and it indicates "what was the main object of the explorer of the fifteenth century. Gold, and in default of it, slaves were the only things worth carrying back to Europe."^ For nearly forty years before the foundation of the Bible Society a Moravian mission, stationed at three settlements on the coast, had been engaged in spreading the light of the Gospel. They had been attracted to Labrador by the report that the natives spoke the same tongue as the Greenlanders, but they soon discovered that the Green- land version of the Scriptures was unintelligible to these tribes. In 1809 the Gospel of St John, prepared by the Rev. B. Kohlmeister, who for eighteen years had been a missionary at Okkak, was submitted to the Society. The Committee not only printed it, but encouraged the vener- able superintendent, the Rev. C. F. Burghardt, at Nain, to proceed with the translation of the New Testament, or any complete portion of it. In the following summer Mr Kohlmeister, who had been on a visit to Europe, reached Hopedale Bay with copies of the new Gospel. "Our dear Eskimo," he writes, ' ' crowded around us ; the aged Thomas was the first who ^ Payne, History of America, vol, i. p. 74. ? Ibid., vol. i. p. 217, 254 THE NEW WORLD [1804- came on board, even before we had anchored. He fell on my neck, wept, and addressed me with these words : ' Art thou indeed Benjamin? And do I see thee once more before I die?' Immediately after, our ship was surrounded by kayaks, and the men in them most joyfully hailed our arrival, which was again repeated by the women and children at our landing. I could not refrain from tears of joy, when I found myself once more in the midst of my beloved Eskimo, and felt a peculiar impression of peace among this flock of Christ, collected from the heathen." The distribution was made in the winter, when all had returned from their hunting excursions ; and as the books were given only to those who could read, considerable progress was made by scholars of all ages. The people took "St John" with them to the islands when they went out in search of fish or game, seals, wild geese, or berries ; and in their tents or snow houses they spent the evenings reading by the glimmer of the moss in their lamps of soapstone. But most they liked to gather at nightfall, when they returned from the sea or the hunting-ground, in some large dwelling, and hear the Word of God read by some one, child or adult, who had been taught in the schools of the mission. In January 1813 versions of the three other Gospels were sent to the Committee. They had been completed, with the Epistles to the Corinthians, by Mr Burghardt shortly before he closed his earthly labours in the preced- ing July. They were printed without delay; and when the copies were distributed they were kissed with tears of joy and pressed to the breasts of the recipients. The translation of the Acts and the Epistle to the Romans was completed in 181 5, and in the following year an edition of the Acts was printed. Such was the beginning of the Society's intercourse with the strange race who call them- selves Innuit, "The Men," i8i7] THE WEST INDIES 255 The first contact with the West Indies was a grant of 100 French Testaments which were sent to San Domingo early in 1807. In the summer of the following year an interesting letter was received from "one of the people called Quakers," whose trading had been greatly prospered at St John's, Antigua, and who, from his frequent transactions with many of the islands and the Spanish Main ^ was able to offer, free of freight, insurance, and expense, to distribute the Scriptures among, soldiers in barracks, sailors on men-of-war, the sick in hospitals, overseers, and others "who may have long since neglected such reading." One hundred Bibles and nine hundred Testaments, in various languages, to the value of ;^ii8, were consigned to his care. During the next eight years copies of the Scriptures in Spanish, Dutch, English, and French — over 4000 Bibles and nearly 11,500 Testaments (£2:^30), — were distributed not only in the far-scattered archipelago, but at various points on the mainland — Paramaribo in Surinam, Demerara and Berbice in British Guiana, and among the settlers in Honduras. Consignments were sent from time to time to the Bahamas, Cuba, San Domingo, and Jamaica ; to St Thomas,^ one of that countless group, the Virgin Islands, which to the mediseval sea-farer suggested the legend of St Ursula and her eleven thousand maidens ; to St Kitt's, St Bartholomew, and Antigua ; to Guadaloupe, which took its name from the venerable convent of our Lady of Guadaloupe, in Estremadura ; ^ to Dominica, the landfall of ^Not the sea, but the links (Spanish manea= shacVles) of islands bounding the Caribbean Sea notth and east, beginning from the Mosquito Shore (Honduras) comprising Jamaica, Hayti, and the Leeward and Windward Islands, and trending to the coast of Venezuela, which last got its name, " Little Venice," from the score of circular huts, built on piles on a lagoon connected with drawbridges, that Hojeda saw during his explorations in 1499. ^ It was to the slaves of St Thomas that the Moravian Church inaugurated its earliest foreign mission in 1732, under the direction of its General Synod. ^ At the very moment that the Bible Society was exercising its benevolence here, the old-world treasures of the great Spanish convent — the diamonds, pearls, gold, and jewels, the offerings of kings — were being looted hy Victor, Napoleon's Marshal, whg 256 THE NEW WORLD [1804- the second voyage of Columbus, sighted on a Sunday morning, 3rd November 1493, and called after the Lord's Day ; to Tobago ; and to Trinidad, which, on his third voyage, rose with its three peaks — almost miraculously Columbus thought, for he had vowed that the first land he saw should receive the name of the Trinity. About midway between Dominica and Tobago lies the Island of St Vincent. There too in due season the Word of Life shall be distributed, but in the meanwhile, and always, it is of interest to those who care for the early Bible Society men. It was Granville Sharp who stayed in 1773 the military expedition which was planned for the extermination of the Caribs in St Vincent, and procured their deportation to Roatan Island, whence they were eventually transferred to Honduras. At Paramaribo the Moravian mission had a congrega- tion of 500 negroes, many of whom had learned to read, and among the islands there were at least 12,000 negroes belonging to the same communion. A correspondent reported that at St Kitt's and Antigua the prejudice against the negroes learning to read had in some degree subsided. The more earnest among them stole time from their rest to learn, and many an hour of the night was given to the Book of books. Indeed it was discovered that the number of slaves who had acquired the knowledge of letters was unexpectedly large. On the plantations masters who looked askance on any effort at self-improvement soon changed their views: "they saw thieves becoming honest, rebellious persons obedient, and instead of meetings for dancing and revelling, heard of gatherings for prayer and praise." In 1812-13, although the times were hard, and many of the planters had to sell slaves and working cattle to pay their way, contributions amounting to more than ;^75o carried off nine cart-loads of silver, but piously left the wooden image, which, like that of our Lady of Smolensk, was said to have been the work of St Luke, and to have been given by Gregory the Great tq SanLeandro, " th? Gpthic uprqoter of iVnanisiji," i8i7] JAMAICA AND HAYTI 257 were forwarded to the Bible Society by the clergy of Jamaica, the Corporation of Kingston, the Justices and Vestry of the Parish of Westmorland, and other friends of the Bible cause. Nor was this liberality confined to the white popula- tion of the island. The Jamaica Auxiliary of the People of Colour was founded. "Disparaged as we have hitherto been, and still continue to be, by the operation of local prejudices, we rejoice," they wrote, "that an opportunity is held out to us to manifest how much we appreciate the exertions of so excellent an institution, as being calculated to administer to the relief of all men, whatever be their nation or complexion." Their first contribution, in 18 14, amounted to ^55 ; their second, in the following year, exceeded ;^i40. An Auxiliary was established at Antigua on the gth February 1815, and another at Berbice towards the close of the year. The former contributed ;^i52, and the latter ;^50j during the period now under review. In San Domingo, too, the efforts of the Society were heartily welcomed. After the expulsion of the French, in 1804, Jacques Dessalines, who had been originally a slave but had risen to be second in command to the unhappy Toussaint L'Ouverture, was elected Governor for life. He promptly assumed the style of Jacques I., Emperor of Hayti, but through his tyranny and ambition fell a victim to a military conspiracy in 1806. Henry Christophe, one of the leaders of the insurgent slaves, was next appointed Chief Magistrate for life, and defeated his rival Alexander Petion, a mulatto, who had been trained as an engineer in the military school at Paris and had been an able lieutenant to Toussaint and Dessalines. Petion withdrew to the south- western part of the island, where he maintained himself as President of Hayti till his death. Christophe, like his predecessor, assumed the purple as Henry I., King of Hayti, and degenerated into a cruel and avaricious despot. In 1815, when Captain Reynolds of the merchant ship VOL. I. R 258 THE NEW WORLD [1804-1817 Hebe was distributing Bibles at Port-au-Prince, he pre- sented copies to President Petion and his secretary, and received the assurance that the books were "scarce in that country, and if circulated would greatly contribute to the welfare of the Haytians." It need scarcely be said that the Committee at once acted on the information forwarded to them. A set of the Society's reports and a French Bible were also sent to King Christophe, with the result that his Minister for Foreign Affairs asked for copies of the Scriptures, and afterwards for a New Testament with the French and English in parallel columns. Both requests were complied with : 50Q Bibles and 1000 Testaments in the ordinary style, and 3000 diglots were despatched, and intelligence was received that the Scriptures were introduced into all the schools, which were spreading over the larger division of the island. Petion died in 1818 ; King Henry I. shared the fate of the Emperor Jacques I. According to some accounts, he was massacred by his own troops ; according to others, finding that even his bodyguard could not be depended upon, he shot himself through the heart on the 8th October 1820. CHAPTER XIV IN THE EAST (l.) The early record of the Bible Society's operations in the East brings us into close contact with men whose names will for ever be "a glory and a sweetness" to the Christian Church, whose story will be read with undiminished interest to the end of "the years of the Lord." There were the memorable "Five Chaplains," David Brown, Claudius Buchanan, Henry Martyn, Daniel Corrie, Thomas Thomason ; there was the devoted band of Baptist mission- aries — William Carey, Joshua Marshman, William Ward — at Serampore, the small Danish "Camp of Refuge" thirteen miles north of Calcutta. Without their co-opera- tion, if one may depend on human judgment, little could have been achieved by the Society in the vast regions of heathendom ; without the aid of the Society a century would hardly have sufficed for the work which they accom- plished in a couple of decades. Within a month of its foundation the attention of the Society had been eagerly fixed on the remote East, but due inquiry and discussion had compelled the relinquish- ment, at least for the time, of the hope of distributing a Chinese version of the New Testament among the millions of the Yellow Race.i In India, however, notwithstanding the hostile policy which had long been a tradition of the East India Company, some prospect of a future of splendid activity was augured from the known disposition of several ' Chap. ii. p. 24. 26D 26o IN THE EAST (i.) ['804- of the Company's servants at Calcutta, and from the pro- gress already made in translations by the missionaries at Serampore. Here, it seemed, were the elements of that zealous catholicity on which the Society based all its antici- pations of enduring service. On the 23rd July 1804, accordingly, the Committee resolved to intimate the fact of its establishment, to invite information as to the best means of promoting its objects in regard to Oriental languages, and to request Mr George Udny, member of the Council, the Rev. David Brown, senior chaplain at Fort William, and the Revs. C. Buchanan, W. Carey, W. Ward, and J. Marshman to form themselves into a Committee of Correspondence with the Society, and to associate themselves with such other gentlemen in any part of India as they might think proper. Various delays and discouragements intervened between the despatch of this communication and the actual forma- tion of the Corresponding Committee. "You will justly wonder," wrote David Brown in September 1806, "why we have been so slow in replying to your letter inviting us to co-operate with you. I answer in one word. We have lost Lord Wellesley,^ the friend of religion and the patron of learning ; and succeeding Governors have opposed all attempts to evangelise the Hindus ; have opposed the translation of the Holy Scriptures ; have opposed the formation of a society for carrying into effect here the objects of your invaluable institution. Persons holding official situations were requested not to act, except in their private capacity. We have therefore been obliged to commit the work, for the present, to the Society of Missionaries at Serampore, and afford them such aid and protection as we can give without offending Government." This inveterate opposition to the spread of the Gospel 1 30th July 1805, when he was superseded by Lord Cornwallis, who died at Ghazipore on the 5th of the following October. Sir George Hilaro Barlow succeeded. i8i7] THE POLICY OF THE E.I.C. 261 in Hindustan is one of the strangest anomalies in our history as a Christian people. It was not merely the incon- sistency which so frequently divides profession from practice, but, in its later stages at least, it was a deliberate policy, audaciously avowed and unblushingly advocated, though there were not wanting those in high places who plainly manifested their dissent and disapproval. "The early agents of the Company," as a brilliant writer observes, "were very different men from the early ' pilgrims ' to the American colonies. To the efforts made to evangelise the Red Men of New England there was no parallel in India Job Charnock, the founder of Calcutta and the first Governor of Bengal, became an avowed pagan under the influence of his native wife, and after her death annually sacrificed a cock upon her tomb."i The Company had been eighty years in India before the first church was built, and that apparently was the single- handed act of piety of Streynsham Master, the chief of the Factory at Madras ; and after a while it became fashionable to attend public worship on Christmas Day and Easter Sunday. It was only after ninety years' traffic and rule at Tranquebar, it is true, that Frederick IV. of Denmark awoke to the fact that no ship had ever carried a Danish missionary to preach the Gospel ; but even the labours of the Tranquebar Mission, the noble example of Ziegenbalg and Schwartz,^ failed to arouse in the English heart any responsive spirit of emulation. Chaplains were sent out ^ Stock, History of the Church Missionary Society, vol. i. p. 51. ^ The Danish settlement of Tranquebar was on the Coromandel coast, twenty miles north of Negapatam, and enclosed on the land side by the district of Tanjore, in the Madras Presidency. " Under Schwartz the Mission extended far beyond the little Danish settlement of Tranquebar. From Madras to Tinnevelly, over the whole Tamil country — in particular in what was then the independent Kingdom of Tanjore — its influence spread, and numerous congregations were gathered. These Missions, unlike Tranquebar itself, were not under the Danish administration, but were more directly the work of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, though the missionaries came from the same German sources." — Stock, Op. cit., vol. i. p. 25. 262 IN THE EAST (i.) [1804- to the garrisons and "superior Factories," in accordance with the Company's charter, but it was not till 1715 that the settlers in Calcutta '"built God a church, and laughed His word to scorn' for many years afterwards."^ The steeple was blown down by the hurricane of i737 > ^""^ '" 1756 — the evil year of the Black Hole — the whole building was destroyed by Surajah Dowla ; two years later when Clive invited Kiernander from Tranquebar, the Christians of Calcutta had no place of worship. At a cost of ^7000, of which he himself contributed ;^5ooo, Kiernander built them Beth Tephillah, "the House of Prayer," better known as the Old (Mission) Church. "Society," writes Sir John Kaye, "was doubtless at that time less scandalously depraved than it had been in the time of Job Charnock, but it was a long way off from a becoming state of morality, and the religion of the settlement was mainly the worship of gold. . . . Men drank hard, and gamed high. It was no uncommon thing for English gentlemen to keep populous zenanas. . . . The natives of India marvelled whether the British acknowledged any God. And in truth a large number of our countrymen, whatever may have been their creed or their no-creed, practically ignored the fact. Acquiring Oriental tastes and Oriental habits, they soon began to look with bland tolera- tion upon the religions of the country, and ceased to see anything either very absurd or very revolting in the faith of the Hindoo, or the creed of the Mussulman. Of this school were the men who, at a later period, endeavoured to persuade the world of the pure religions and the excellent moralities of the natives of India, and declaimed against the wickedness and the danger of attempting to wean them from such blessed conditions of knowledge and belief." 2 ' Kaye, Christianity in India, p. 88. ^ Kaye, Op. cit., pp. 89-95. i8i7] AT THE SHRINE OF KALI 263 It is natural to allow some weight to the plea of reckless- ness, of the excitement of danger, of the intoxication of fortune-making, and especially to the plea of the character of the time, which may be urged in palliation of those bygone years of irreligion and licentiousness, when Charnock,^ driven out of Hooghly, sailed down the great river to Kali's Acre (Kalkatta), and planted the Company's flag under a shady tree, somewhere between the modern Mint and the Sobha Bazaar ; but it is not easy to make similar allowance for the later men, who transmitted the old traditions, and made possible the amazing spectacle of a deputation going in procession as late as 1802 to Kalighat — the temple of the sanguinary goddess to whom human life had once been openly sacrificed, and whose courts still reeked with the fume of the shambles — and presenting "a thank-offering to the goddess of the Hindoos, in the name of the Company, for the success which the English have lately obtained in this country."^ Let it not be forgotten that through all these scandalous times there were God-fearing men who held high positions in the Company's service. Streynsham Mastery who had served under Sir George Oxenden — the good President, at whose death "piety grew sick and the building of churches unfashionable " at Bombay — was no obsolete or solitary instance. When in 1787 blindness and poverty had fallen on the aged Kiernander, and his Beth Tephillah had been ' In the pavilion near the Old Cathedral in Calcutta there is a tablet in memory of Job Charnock. One would like to read a deeper meaning than perhaps the writer intended when he penned the beautiful lines with which the inscription closes : — " Qui postquam in solo non Sue peregrinatus esset diu Reversus est domuni suae ^ternitatis decimo die Januarii, 1692." '' " Five thousand rupees were offered. Several thousand natives witnessed the English presenting their offerings to this idol " {Re?iiimscences of Seventy Years' Life, Travel, and Adventure, by a Retired Officer, H.M.'s Civil Service, vol. i. p. 59, n.). If, however, the Honourable Company paid tribute to Kali, they amply recouped themselves from the tax levied on the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who crowded yearly to the temple of the obscene and murderous Juggernaut, which was under their immediate control. — Buchanan, Christian Researches in Asia, pp. 10-19. 264 IN THE EAST (i.) [1804- seized by his creditors, Charles Grant redeemed the one place of worship 1 in the settlement, with its school and burying- ground; vested it in his own name and those of William Chambers, protonotary in the Supreme Court of Calcutta, and David Brown, qhaplain of the Military Orphan Asylum ; and applied to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge for a clergyman, whose stipend of ;^36o a year he under- took to pay out of his own purse. A Mr Clarke was sent out in 1789 — the first English missionary sent to India; he left, however, after a few months ; his successor, Mr Ringeltaube, arrived eight years later, but some time after- wards he became the pioneer of the London Missionary Society in Travancore. Meanwhile David Brown, who had resigned his appointment at the Asylum, ministered at the House of Prayer, which he served, excepting during Ringeltaube's incumbency, for twenty-three years, with- out pay, but assuredly not without reward. It was at the beginning of these events that these three friends, and George Udny, whose name has already been mentioned, pro- jected the scheme for a Bengal Mission, which eventually led to the formation of the Church Missionary Society. The inimical attitude of the East India Company towards the evangelization of India is not easily understood, for even in the wickedest of the old times we read of the Honourable Court of Directors protesting against " the disorderly and unchristian conversation of some of their factors and servants"; taking order to render "the religion we profess amiable in the sight" of the heathen; even contemplating the instruction of "the Gentoos that shall be the servants or slaves of the said Company, or of their agents, in the Protestant religion." In 1789, when David Brown and Charles Grant were shaping their Mission project. Lord ^ The foundation stone of St John's, the " Old Cathedral," had been laid in 1784, but the church was not consecrated till June 1787. Mr Brown, who was appointed a Company's chaplain, ministered for many years both here and at the Mission church, i8i7] HOSTILITY TO MISSIONARIES 265 Cornwallis, who had effected a wonderful reform in Anglo- Indian society, but who seemed to regard the natives as beyond the reach of the divine arm, could do no more than promise an official neutrality. " Rightly considered," as Sir John Kaye remarks, "neutrality was all that ought to have been desired, "i Neutrality in the circumstances may have been the only wise policy conceivable ; but unhappily neutrality was a principle unknown in Leadenhall Street. "The ships which sailed for India were the Company's ships ; and any captain of a vessel carrying out such un- licensed persons [as preachers of the Gospel] might forfeit his appointment, and be ruined for life." In 1793, as we have seen, the Company succeeded in persuading the Parliament of Christian England to commit twenty millions of people (in Wilberforce's phrase) "to. the providential protection of — Brama," by throwing the Mission clauses out of their new Charter Bill. In 1799, when four Baptist missionaries arrived at Calcutta in an American ship, they were peremptorily ordered to leave the country. Yet, with a curious versatility, while the Company were opposing every attempt to introduce Christianity, they were able almost in the same breath to pay the highest tribute to the Christian missionary. The occasion was the death of Schwartz. The venerable Schwartz had passed to his reward in 1798. " All classes of men, from the Directors of the great Company to the little dark-faced children who had flocked around him with up-looking filial affection, deplored the good man's death, and revered his memory. Our two greatest sculptors, Bacon and Flaxman, carved the image of the holy man in marble — the one for the East India Company, to be erected in the principal church at Madras, the other for the Tanjore Rajah, to be placed in the Mission church."^ On no ^ Kaye, Christianity in India, pp. 137, 223. ^ Kaye, Op. cit. , p. 82. 266 IN THE EAST (i.) [1804- subject, the Court of Directors declared, had they been more unanimous than in their anxious desire to perpetuate the memory of this eminent person, and to excite in others an emulation of his great example. They directed a sermon to be preached on the missionary's character and career, and translations of the inscription, recording the Company's desire to perpetuate ' ' the memory of such transcendent worth," and their grateful recognition of "the public benefits which resulted from its influence," to be published through- out the districts in which Schwartz had laboured. It may have been that under the personal influence of Charles Grant, "the real ruler of the rulers of the East," the Company was inclining towards a modification of the tradi- tional policy, possibly towards the adoption of Cornwallis's neutrality. The Vellore Mutiny, which took place on the loth July 1806 (some time before the statue reached Madras), and which was ascribed to the presence of missionaries and to the horror of the natives at the prospect of being coerced into Christianity, occasioned a panic both in India and at home, which rendered such a departure impossible, if it had ever been contemplated. In India, tor the next six years, ten missionaries, English and American, were forbidden to land. In England appeals were made to political and commercial timidity to eject all missionaries from the Company's territories, and to arrest the translation of the Scriptures into the native languages. Mr Thomas Twining, sometime senior merchant on the Bengal establishment, published a letter to the Chairman of the Company, in which he stated that his "fears of attempts to disturb the religious systems of India" had been "especially excited by hearing that a Society existed in this country, the chief object of which was the universal dissemination of the Christian faith." If the leading members of _ that Society were also leading members of the East India Company, of its Court of Directors, nay, of its i8i7] INDIAN VERSIONS BEGUN 267 Board of Control, " then were our possessions in the East already in a situation of the most imminent and un- precedented peril ; and no less a danger than the threatened extermination of our Eastern Sovereignty commanded us to arrest the progress of such rash and unwarrantable pro- ceedings." A sharp conflict of pamphlets ensued. Mr Owen, the Secretary of this menaceful Society, skilfully defended its principles and procedure ; and when the eventful day came on which it was feared that a summary interdict might be imposed on the Bible Society's opera- tions in British India, Mr Twining found so little encourage- ment to expect a favourable result that he withdrew his notice of motion. Lord Teignmouth and Bishop Porteus afterwards descended into the arena; and in April 1808, in the first number of the Quarterly, Robert Southey replied to the furious tirade of Sydney Smith in the Edinburgh of the preceding April. ^ From this imperfect sketch something may be gathered of the complexion of the time in which the Bible Society made its first overtures to the Christians of Calcutta. The communication requesting David Brown and his friends to form themselves into a Corresponding Committee was crossed by a letter from William Carey, "chief minister of the Baptist Mission in the East Indies," to Mr Andrew Fuller, the secretary of the Mission, who laid it before the Com- mittee of the Bible Society. " We have engaged in a trans- lation of the sacred Scriptures," wrote Mr Carey, "into the Hindustani, Persian, Mahratta, and Ootkul (Oriya) languages ; and intend to engage in more. Perhaps so many advantages for translating the Bible into all the languages ^ The "greatest master of ridicule since Swift" knew more about India and about missionaries and the need of them, when he wrote thirty years later : ' ' Read Modem India by Dr Spry. What do you think of a native living up trees, and eating human flesh? — and, though they eat it raw, they are called Cookies. Bring the image before your eyes, and figure to yourself a Cookie sitting up in your large tree and eating the parson of the parish. It is scarcely credible — and yet this happens 150 miles from Calcutta." — Reid, The Life and Times of Sydney Smith, p. 309. 268 IN THE EAST (I.) [1804- of the East will never meet in any one situation again, viz. a possibility of obtaining natives of all the countries, a sufficiency of worldly good things (with a moderate degree of annual assistance from England) to carry us through it, a printing office, a good library of critical writings, a habit of translating, and a disposition to do it. We shall, however, need about ;^icoo per annum for some years to enable us to print them ; and with this it may be done in about fifteen years, if the Lord preserve our lives and health." For a clear understanding of this letter, and a distinct perception of the relative positions of the "Five Chaplains" and the Serampore brethren, we must briefly recall the familiar story of the great Baptist missionary. The son of a Northampton parish schoolmaster, William Carey was born at Paulerspury on the 17th August 1761, and was apprenticed in his boyhood to a shoemaker. Cook's Voyages awakened his imagination to a keen interest in the lands and isles of the heathen ; the preaching of Thomas Scott, the Commentator,^ quickened his feet in the paths of godly living. He joined the Baptists, gave them such youthful service as he was able in their ministrations, and in his twentieth year was baptized in the River Nen by Dr Ryland, president of the Baptist College at Bristol. Toiling at his Latin and Greek, Hebrew and Dutch, earning a precarious livelihood by shoemaking and teaching, he successively held charges at Eai-l's Barton, Moulton, and Leicester ; but in his attempt to realise the grand dream of his life — the spread of Gospel light among the nations which sat in the shadow of death — he met with little help or heartening. "Sit down, young man," interposed the chairman of a ministers' meeting in 1786; "when it pleases God to convert the heathen, He'll do it without your help, ' Even the most careless reader catinot fail to be struck by the continual appearance of three honoured names — John Newton, Thomas Scott, Charles Simeon — in the accounts of the great undertakings and in the sketches of the great religious workers of the close of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. i8i7] CAREY AT SERAMPORE 269 or mine." An impatient and unwise rebuke, which happily did not quench the young preacher's zeal and trust. Six years later, in the face of numberless difficulties and discouragements, the Baptist Missionary Society was founded, and Carey was ready to set out on his quest for the sheep in the wilderness. He sailed without, a licence on one of the Company's ships, but an information against the captain was threatened, and the ' ' doubly dangerous man, without a covenant and with a Bible, "^ was landed in the Channel. He obtained a passage on a Danish vessel, and on the nth November 1793 reached Bengal; with his wife — for he had married early and not happily — her sister, and four or five children. How, in his friendless poverty in a strange country, he endured the reproaches of sister-in- law and wife ; how he built a hut and maintained life with his gun in the feverish, tiger-haunted jurigle ; how that com- passionate Christian, Mr Udny, put him in charge of an indigo factory at Malda ; how for five years he devoted himself to his factory work, to linguistic studies, to preaching to the natives and sbhooling their children, to the translation of the Gospel into Bengali, will readily be remembered. In 1799 four colleagues arrived in the Hooghly on board an American ship. Though to them Bengal was forbidden land, up the river the Danish flag flew over the free territory of Serampore ; ^ Governor Bie was not a man to be brow-beaten even by Lord Wellesley, and that bold and masterful proconsul decided not to interfere. With much reluctance Carey transported his family,^ type, and printing press to the settlement, and in 1800 the Baptist Mission settled down to its labours. One of the four colleagues had already succumbed to the climate ; a second ^ Kaye, Christianity in India, p. 223. ^ In 1845 all -the Danish possessions in India — Tranquebar, Serampore (Fredericksnagar), and a tract of ground at Balasore — were transferred to the East India Company for ;^i25,ooo. ^ Mrs Carey, to hint briefly at a sad story, did not long survive the removal to Serampore, and in due time her husband made a more suitable marriage. 270 IN THE EAST (i.) [1804- died shortly afterwards. Of the two who were left, William Ward, the son of a carpenter and builder at Derby, had become acquainted with Carey in the days when the Mission seemed an impossible dream. From a printer he rose to the position of newspaper editor, and in 1796 he turned his thoughts to the service of Christ, was baptized, and volunteered to assist Carey in the printing of the Scriptures. The other, Joshua Marshman, the son of a pious Baptist weaver, was born at Westbury Leigh, in Wiltshire, on the 20th April 1768. After some experience in the employ of a London bookseller, he took to his father's trade, acquired a stock of rare and useful knowledge during the years he spent at the loom, married the daughter of a minister of his own communion, and was raised into a new sphere of work by the offer of the mastership of a school at Broadmead, near Bristol. The ancient city of ships was indeed a "pleasant place" (Brightstowe) to him. Here he enjoyed the privilege of maturing at the Baptist College his acquaintance with the classical languages and Hebrew ; and here, in his intercourse with Dr Ryland, he resolved to dedicate himself to the great missionary enterprise in the East. In the College compound at Serampore may still be seen the bungalow under whose roof these apostolic men "lived in utter unselfishness, as one great Christian family." 1 In the old Danish church three tablets still record the brief outline of their existence. But at the time of which we write all were on the morning side of forty — full of energy and hope, eager for the study, the translating, printing, preaching, with which their busy days were filled. And now occurred an event of great moment in the prospects of the Mission. On the 4th May 1800, the "triumphant proconsul," who had prolonged our dominions ^ Kaye (p. 234), from whose pages many of these details are taken. i8i7j THE COLLEGE OF FORT-WILLIAM 271 in a broad unbroken belt from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin,^ established the College of Fort-William for the education of youngEnglishmen in the Indian languages, and the advancement of Western science and literature. David Brown was appointed Provost, Claudius Buchanan, Vice- Provost and Classical Professor. There was but one man competent to teach Bengali. In India English Churchmen had no repugnance to association with pious Nonconformists, Lord Wellesley recognised merit and learning in every guise, and accordingly David Brown secured Carey's ap- pointment to the post, on the clear understanding that his acceptance should not preclude him from pursuing his missionary labours. The College included a department for Biblfcal translation, and as early as 1805 a beginning was made in five languages — Persian and Hindustani, Western Malay, Oriya, and Mahratta (Marathi). Two distinct presses and companies of translators had therefore been for some time at work when the proposals of the Bible Society for the formation of a Corresponding Com- mittee were answered by the Provost of Fort-William. It is desirable, however, that we should at once form a closer acquaintance with the personality of these dis- tinguished Churchmen. There is an air of romance about the boyhood of David Brown, who was the son of a Yorkshire farmer. His bright gifts and youthful piety won him the affection of a clergyman, who charged himself with his education, and sent him to the Grammar School at Hull, at that time under the direction of Joseph Milner — preceptor, it will be remembered, of little William Wilberforce, and elder brother of our portly and stentorian Dean of Carlisle. About 1782 Brown went up to Magdalene College, Cambridge, where, shortly after having taken his degree, he was offered the chaplaincy of the Military Orphanage at Calcutta. Early in 1785 he was ^ Lyall, The Rise of the British Dominion in India, p. 231. 272 IN THE EAST (i.) [1804. ordained and married, but it was not till the close of November that he was able to start for his destination. The interval was one of anxiety and straitened circumstances, but it was not without its compensations. Brown's best credentials were his friends. At Cambridge he had enjoyed the intimacy of Charles Simeon, then patiently enduring the fierce antagonism and contumely of his parishioners, and had thoughts of serving under him as curate ; now he was in friendly intercourse with John Newton and Richard Cecil. From each he received the offer of a curacy ; and the prospect of being associated with the saintly Fletcher of Madeley must assuredly have given him a moment's pause of hesitation. But the Divine Will urged him eastwards. Simeon travelled from Cambridge to see him sail, as twice, many years afterwards, he was to travel when Martyn and Thomason embarked. On the 8th June 1786 Brown landed in Calcutta, and assumed the duties of his post. About this time, a perfervid young Scot, son of a schoolmaster at Cambuslang, fell in love with a lady of a station much above his own, flung aside his studies at Glasgow University, and set out, with his violin, to seek in foreign climes the fortune which his birth had denied him. It was a long quest ; through dragons' woods, and the mountains of cruel giants, and the labyrinths of wicked dwarfs ; and led, eleven years later, to the hospitable roof of David Brown. After many strange ex- periences the poor adventurer "came to himself" in London, sorrowful and far from home. He wrote to John Newton, whose preaching had deeply moved him, and from the pulpit of St Mary Woolnoth the good friend of all who were in trouble invited his anonymous correspondent to call upon him. Newton introduced him to the beneficent Henry Thornton ; Thornton sent him to Cambridge ; through Charles Grant, Simeon obtained him an East India chaplaincy, and on the loth March 1797 David Brown with i8i7] FIRST GRANT TO INDIA 273 both hands welcomed Claudius Buchanan to Calcutta. Two days later Buchanan completed his thirty-first year. For three years he was stationed at Barrackpore — burying, marrying, baptizing, and making himself occasions for preaching, for there was no church, no congregation, no provision for divine service. In 1799 he took for his wife the amiable daughter of a Suffolk clergyman, and in 1800 received his appointment to the College of Fort- William, the entire direction of which was placed in his hands. We may now resume the thread of the Bible Society's operations. When the Committee had been made acquainted with the great schemes of translation which were in progress, they took for granted the formation of a Corresponding Com- mittee, and placed at its disposal ;^iooo in furtherance of the work. The grant was opportune, for already one of these schemes was threatened with extinction. The Court of Directors had decided to reduce the establishment at Fort- William to narrow limits, and to discontinue the translation of the Scriptures and other literary work at the end of 1806. This measure would have dispersed the many native scholars who had come from remote regions to Calcutta, suspended the liberal patronage which had been bestowed on all learned men who could promote the translation of the Scriptures, and destroyed the identification with the Church of England which had characterised the under- taking. Anxious to avert these consequences, the heads of the College decided to encourage the translators to proceed with their work by such means as they could command, and to trust to the liberality of the public at home and throughout Hindustan for the support that would be required. With this view they offered the hand of fellowship to the various groups of missionaries in different parts of India, and exerted themselves in circulating the printed proposals for Oriental versions issued by the vol,, h S 274 IN THE EAST (i.) [1804- Serampore brethren. Copies were distributed among the chief civil and military officers from Delhi to Travancore, and in a little while ;^i6oo was contributed to the Translation Fund. A regular intercourse now began between the Bible Society and the friends at Calcutta. Early in 1807 the Committee received from Mr Brown " proofs " of the versions in progress at Serampore, viz. a Bengali Bible and Gospels in Sanskrit, Mahratta, and Oriya, and manuscript speci- mens of translations into Telinga (Telugu), Sanskrit, Hindu- stani, Delhi-Hindustani, Gujarati, Persian, and Chinese.^ A second grant of ;^iooo was voted by the Committee; a considerable number of English Bibles and Testaments was despatched to Mr Brown for the Army, Navy, and other Europeans, and a small consignment was ordered to be sent from Halle to the German missionaries. These supplies proved most seasonable, for several chaplains had spent large sums in providing Scriptures for the use of the soldiers and others ; and the money grants were received with hopes re-animated and efforts renewed. The Committee sent out a still larger supply of Bibles and Testaments — this was in the course of 1808 — and agreed to assign ;^iooo annually for the next three years. For the work was being diligently prosecuted ; the presses were busy ; the co-opera- tion of earnest and qualified scholars had been secured in remote parts of India ; the reports of the Bible Society — "without whose fostering care this happy beginning would not have been advanced beyond the threshold " — had been distributed to all the stations under the Presidency, and to Madras, Ceylon, Travancore, and Bombay. Malayalam had been added to the list of versions in preparation ; Mr ' In the Chinese Marshman was aided by Mr Joannes Lassar, an Armenian Christian and a native of China, who had been employed by the Portuguese at Macao as official correspondent with the Court at Pekin. Brown and Buchanan became person- ally responsible for his salary of £4S° P^r annum, and on Mr Marshman and two of his sons and a son of Dr Carey agreeing to engage in the study of Chinese, he was 5?r(t to reside at Serampore, i8i7l HENRY MARTYN 275 Brown and his colleagues were looking forward to versions in Burmese, Siiihalese, and Arabic ; and at Dinapore, with the assistance of his coadjutors, Sabat from Arabia and Mirza Fitrut from Lucknow, Henry Martyn was absorbed in the principal labour of his short life. Yes, twenty years had gone by, and Simeon, who had wished David Brown God-speed, had afterwards performed the same friendly office for Henry Martyn. In the early May of 1806, as the Company's fleet bore up to the mouth of the Hooghly, Martyn passed within sight of the vessel which was bearing away Buchanan, with shattered health and a heart heavy with the death of his wife, on his tour of inspection among the Syrian Churches in the south. Brief must be our sketch of the short, brilliant, and tragic career of this "first great missionary of the English Church since Boniface." Martyn was the son of a captain in one of the Cornish mines, and was born at Truro on the i8th February 1781. He had not yet completed his twentieth year when he obtained the proud position of Senior Wrangler at Cambridge, and soon afterwards he carried off the first Smith's Prize. "I had obtained my highest wishes, but was surprised to find I had grasped a shadow." In March 1802 he obtained his fellowship at St John's, "which would have enabled him, had he so willed, to combine the position of a priest with ease and comfort ; but in the October term he chanced to hear Simeon speak of the good done by a single missionary, William Carey, in India." ^ Before the end of the year he had offered himself, "quite willing to go anywhere, or suffer anything, for God." In October 1803 he was ordained deacon, and in addition to his tutorial work at The Church Quarterly, "Henry Martyn," October 1881, p. 35, from which chiefly this outline is taken. 276 IN THE EAST (i.) [1804- the University, * began to act as Simeon's curate at Holy- Trinity. It was finally settled that he should go out to India as a chaplain, a position in which, it was thought, he would do most good, even for the cause of Missions ; and in April 1805, having taken his B.D., he was ap- pointed. Simeon accompanied him to Portsmouth, and the two friends parted for ever on the 17th July, a day which the congregation at Holy Trinity devoted to fasting and prayer for his welfare. Of another parting but few words need be written. On the 19th the fleet was driven in to Falmouth, and in an agony of love and grief Martyn found himself once more at Marazion by the side of the half-hearted betrothed, whom many obstacles prevented from accompanying him. He galloped back to Falmouth barely in time to catch his ship, and then — strange irony of life — "the fleet beat about for days in Mount's Bay, within view of St Hilary's spire, and the beach where he had walked with Lydia." The lovers never saw each other again. "From the day on which he gazed for the last time, with swimming eyes, on the dim outline of St Michael's Mount and St Hilary's spire, to that hour when he sat in the Armenian orchard, and thought with sweet comfort of God, in solitude his company, his friend and his comforter, his life was one long season of self-sacrifice — of self-sacrifice mighty in the struggle between the strength of his earthly affections and the intensity of his yearnings after the pure spiritual state. "2 A few weeks after his landing in Bengal, he was joined by Daniel Corrie, who, as the years went by, became the first Bishop of Madras; and in 1809, the dear "fellow- disciple in the great Simeonite school," Thomas Thomason, reached Calcutta in time to take the place of Dr Buchanan ' In the last months of his tutorial engagement the ill-starred young poet, Henry Kirke White, was one of his pupils. 2 Kaye, Christianity in India, p. 1 88, i8i7] THE BENGAL COMMITTEE AT WORK 277 (who had returned home) on the Corresponding Committee, which was now at last definitely organised, with Mr Brown as secretary. At the first meeting of this Auxiliary — for whatever its name, it was in fact an Auxiliary — it was determined that arrangements should be made for carrying forward approved translations in Arabic, Persian, Hindustani, and Telugu, independent of those in the hands of the Serampore mission- aries ; and correspondence was opened with Tranquebar, Tanjore, Bombay, Cochin, and Ceylon. From the mission- aries in the south it was ascertained that there was the greatest need of Tamil Bibles. There were nearly 12,000 native Protestants belonging to the Tanjore Mission alone, in- cluding the Tinnevelly district, and with the exception of the native teachers, none had an Old Testament, and not one in two or three hundred had even the New. The Scriptures in Portuguese would also be a blessing, not only to the Portuguese Protestants, but to many Roman Catholics, priests and laymen, in all the chief places from Madras round to Goa and Bombay. For the first time a deep interest seems to have been awakened among the Europeans in Calcutta. On New Year's Day, 1810, Mr Brown preached a sermon in the Old Church, in which he urged the petition of the Hindus for the Bible. A plain statement of the facts sufficed to open the hearts of the public. A subscription was immediately set on foot ; Lieut. -General Hewitt, Commander-in-Chief, headed the list with ;^25o ; in a few days the principal Government officers and the leading inhabitants raised the amount to ;^iooo ; and the Rev. Mr Kohloff, Schwartz's friend and successor at Tanjore, was instructed to buy up all copies of the Tamil Scriptures for distribution at a small price among the natives, and to have a new edition printed without delay. A small supply of Bibles and Testaments in Portuguese was also purchased 278 ■ IN THE EAST (i.) [1804- and sent down for distribution ; and when the news of these movements reached England, the London Com- mittee despatched to Madras a printing press and a fount of Tamil type, together with a large quantity of paper, to supplement the inadequate resources of the missionaries. The Corresponding Committee now turned attention to the establishment, under the auspices of the Bible Society, of a Bibliotheca Biblica, consisting of a Bible depot and a library for the use of the translators. The need for the repository may be conjectured from the fact that not a copy of the Scriptures in the original, not a Bible in French, was obtainable in the wealthy city which was crowded yearly with traders from all quarters, — Armenians, Greeks, Arabians and Jews, Turks and Malays. To both departments of this admirable institu- tion the Bible Society gave its hearty co-operation ; and consignments of versions in a number of languages for sale at moderate prices, as well as valuable books of reference, were shipped to Calcutta. In the meanwhile the work of translation was proceed- ing with great spirit, energy, and scholarly accuracy ; Sikh and Kanarese had been added to the list ; and the Corre- sponding Committee had accepted the rare offer made by Dr Leyden, Professor in the College of Fort-William, who, with the assistance of the learned natives in his employ, was in a position to furnish the Gospels in seven Oriental tongues — Siamese, Macassar and Bugis (the original languages of Celebes, still spoken in the vast island of Borneo, and understood generally in the Malay Archi- pelago), Afghan, Jaghatai (the original Turkoman speech, still in use in Central Asia), Maldivian and Rakheng (the language of the Aracanese, the ancient stock from which the Burmans had sprung). These encouraging developments gave great satisfaction iSi7j THE MALAYALAM NEW TESTAMENT 279 to the Society at home. The annual grant of ;^iooo was doubled and guaranteed for three years, and several hundred reams of paper were forwarded to Bombay for the printing of the Malayalam New Testament, which was one of the fruits of Dr Buchanan's tour. He had met Mar Dionysius, the Metropolitan of the Syrian Church, an aged man of majestic aspect, clad in dark red silk, with a large golden cross hanging from his neck, and his venerable beard reaching below his girdle. "Such was the appearance of Chrysostom in the fourth century." In response to Buchanan's wishes that the Scriptures should be translated and printed, ' ' I have already considered the subject," said the prelate, "and have determined to super- intend the work myself, and to call the most learned of my clergy to my aid. It is a work which will illuminate these dark regions, and God will give it His blessing." In the course of his second visit Buchanan had received the complete MS. of the New Testament and taken it with him to Bombay where there were special facilities for printing it, and whither natives went from Travancore to superintend the press. Malayala included Travancore, Cochin, and Malabar — the mountains, and all the region within them, from Cape Comorin to Cape lUi. At the time of Buchanan's journeys there were fifty-five Syrian Churches, representing that ancient Christianity which at the close of the fifteenth century Vasco da Gama discovered in its pristine simplicity — without celibacy, without Purgatory, without images, without the invocation of saints, and with the two sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, — and which, with axe and rack and faggot, the Inquisition strove to reduce to the Papal obedience. Syriac was still the language of their liturgy, but the Malayalam was the vernacular tongue; and there were 200,000 Christians for whom the version of Mar Dionysius was expected to be available, as the Roman 28o IN THE EAST (i.) [1804- Catholic Vicar-Apostolic at Verapoli had consented to its circulation in the district under his control.^ On New Year's Day 181 1 another appeal was made to the philanthropy of Anglo-Indian Christians. But it was not merely on behalf of the native Christians of the south. Henry Martyn pleaded for the Portuguese, Tamil, Malayalam, Siiihalese Christians — some 900,000 people — who were in want of the Word of Life. He did not remain long enough in Calcutta to see the results of his intercession. Stricken with consumption, and wasted to a shadow, but with an unquenchable light in his soul, he sailed six days later for Bombay for the benefit of the sea-air. His immediate destination was Shiraz, where he hoped to accomplish in Persian a pure and worthy translation of the New Testament.* On the 2ist February the Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society was founded. Mr Brown, the secretary of the Corresponding Committee, was appointed secretary to the new institution ; and to obviate any confusion or overlapping of functions, the object of the Auxiliary was defined as primarily the realisation of Mr Martyn's appeal — the supply of the Scriptures to the Christians in India. The news of this auspicious event was received with pleasure by the parent Society. It was gratified with the activity of the new Auxiliary, which had purchased for distribution 800 New Testaments in Tamil from Tranquebar, 2000 Portuguese Bibles, and 5000 Testaments, and had contracted with ^ " I do not know what you might do, under the protection of a British force," said this worthy ecclesiastic, when Buchanan asked if he might with safety visit the Inquisition at Goa, "but I should not like (smiling and pressing his capacious sides) to trust my body in their hands " ; and Buchanan's subsequent experience seems to justify this discretion. — Buchanan, Christian Researches, p. 69. " A Persian version of the four Gospels is said to have been made for the Emperor Akbar(i556-i6o5) by the Jesuit fathers frpm Goa more than two centuries before. One would like to believe that Christianity is referred to in the inscription on the simple grave of Jehanhira, the devoted daughter of Shah Jehan and the Queen who sleeps beneath the Taj Mahal, and great-granddaughter of Akbar: " Let no rich canopy cover my grave. This grass is the best covering for the tombs of the poor in spirit. The humble, the transitory Jehanhira ; the disciple of the holy men of Chist [Christ ?] ; the daughter of the Emperor Shah Jehan." i8i7] THE CALCUTTA AUXILIARY 281 Serampore for 5000 Testaments in Tamil, Siiihalese, and Malayalam respectively ; and deeply impressed by a state- ment in a letter from the Auxiliary that "it would be the work of years to supply the demand among Indian Christians," the London Committee determined to aid with a grant of Bibles, Testaments, and printing-paper to the value of ;^iooo. CHAPTER XV IN THE EAST (ll.) The work of the Bible Society in the East was now being carried on by three distinct and powerful coadjutors — the Corresponding Committee, the Serampore brethren, and the Calcutta Auxiliary. In these circumstances their pledge of continued encouragement and support prompted the Committee at home to increase the grant for the year to the Corresponding Committee from ;^20oo to ;^40oo. A great amount of excellent work had been done. By August 1811 the missionaries had printed and circulated the New Testament in Sanskrit,^ Bengali, Oriya, Hindi, and Mahratta ; versions in Sikh, Telinga (Telugu), ' and Karnata were in the press ; they were engaged in translations into Burmese, Maghuda (Pali) and Kashmiri ; in Chinese the first two Gospels had been printed, St Luke and St John were at press, the rest of the New Testament and the Pentateuch to the fourth chapter of Numbers had been translated. The Old Testament in Bengali was being distributed, and in seven other languages considerable progress had been made both in translating and printing. The report of the Corresponding Committee stated that they themselves had in the press 1000 copies of the New Testament translated into Hindustani by Mirza Fitrut (Mohammed Ali) under the supervision of Mr Martyn ; 1000 of the four Gospels in Persian by the Rev. L. Sebastiani, ' " Even at the present day an educated Brahman would write with greater fluency in Sanskrit than in Bengali. It was the classical, and at the same time the sacred, language." — Max Muller, The Science of Language, vol. i. p. 162. 282 1804-1817] JOHN LEYDEN'S VERSIONS 283 who had been long resident at the Court of Persia ; and a similar number of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in Telinga, the work of the high-caste Brahmin, Ananda Ayer, under the superintendence of the late Rev. Augustus Desgranges of the London Missionary Society. Sabat had completed the New Testament and the Book of Genesis in Arabic,i and they had received from Dr Leyden versions of nine Gospels in the languages which he had taken for his province. These were all they were ever to receive from that remarkable genius. He had died suddenly in August 181 1, at the early age of thirty- six, in the Island of Java, immediately after the landing of our forces near Batavia.^ Few at the first glance will recognise in him the John Leyden whom Richard Heber (the elder brother of Bishop Reginald) made known to Walter Scott ; who assisted in the compilation of the Border Minstrelsy ; whose name Scott has embalmed in his verse, and who was himself a poet of no mean accom- plishment. "Born in a shepherd's cottage in one of the wildest valleys of Roxburghshire, and of course almost entirely self-educated, he had, before he attained his nineteenth year, confounded the Doctors of Edinburgh by the portentous mass of his acquisitions in almost every department of learning. He had set the extremest penury at utter defiance, for bread and water, and access to books and lectures, comprised all within the bounds of his wishes ; and thus he toiled and battled at the gates of science after science, until his unconquerable perseverance carried everything before it."^ In 1802 he obtained the promise of some literary employment in the East India ^ In 1809 the Society voted ^250 in aid of an Arabic Bible which was being pro- duced under the patronage of the Bishop of Durham (the Hon. Shute Barrington) ; five years later an unused balance of pf 173 and 100 copies of the work were presented to the Society. ^ Another reverberation of the Napoleonic troubles in Europe. Batavia was restored to the Dutch in 1814. ^ Lockhart, Life of Scott, vol. i. p. 119. 284 IN THE EAST (ii.) [1804- Company's service, but at the last moment the only post available was that of surgeon assistant. But if he accepted this he must qualify himself in the brief interval before sailing. One of those undaunted spirits who can compass in three or four months what takes ordinary men as many years, he obtained his degree in the beginning of 1803, having just before published his beautiful poem, The Scenes of Infancy; sailed to India; raised for himself within seven years a reputation as the most marvellous of Orientalists ; passed to higher and yet higher positions ; "and died, in the midst of the proudest hopes, at the same age with Burns and Byron." His work was not suffered to fall to the ground. Carey and Marshman were successful in securing the assistance of men learned in the Pashtu, or Afghan, the speech of that nation which Sir William Jones and others conjectured — and not without probability, it was believed — to be the descendants of the Ten Tribes carried into captivity by Shalmanezer, who "placed them in Halah, and in Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes."^ The report of May 1814 showed that this Afghan version had been carried forward as far as the Epistle to the Romans, and that Leyden's old assistants were continuing his work in the languages of Beluchistan and the Maldive Islands. Other heavy losses marked the progress of 181 2. On the nth March a disastrous fire burned down the printing office at Serampore, consuming ;^30oo worth of English paper, nearly half of which had been intended for the Scriptures that were to be printed for the Corresponding Committee and the Calcutta Auxiliary. The entire loss, which was estimated at ;^io,ooo, was promptly made good by the liberality of various religious societies and the ^ See Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, sub Tioc. " Halah," "Habor," "Gozan.' It lends no colour of course to this conjecture. i8i7] DEATH OF DAVID BROWN 285 Christian public ; and the Bible Society replaced the entire quantity of paper which had been destroyed. Happily little delay was caused by this accident, and the brethren, cheered by the sympathy and assistance which had been extended to them, were enabled to proceed with their arduous undertakings. On the 14th June the beloved secretary, David Brown, passed to his home eternal in the heavens. He had long been in declining health, and was on a voyage to Madras when the ship struck on a shoal off Saugor Island.^ The poor sufferer was taken back to Calcutta, where on the day of rest, a fortnight later, he breathed his last. During twenty-six years of unbroken service his one holiday was a short trip up the Ganges. "In the religious progress of the European community he found his reward. He lived to see the streets opposite to our churches blocked up with carriages and palanquins, and to welcome hundreds of communicants to the Supper of the Lord. He lived to see the doctrines of his Master openly acknowledged in word and deed, where once they had been scouted by the one and violated by the other. "^ Thomas Thomason succeeded him as secretary of the Calcutta Auxiliary and of the Corresponding Committee. In October, as we have seen, Henry Martyn was buried by the Armenians of Tokat, "with the honours due to an archbishop." Yet the year brought its blessings and its compensations. On the I St of August, thanks mainly to the zealous offices of Sir Alexander Johnston, Chief-Justice of Ceylon, the Colombo Auxiliary Bible Society was formed, with Governor Maitland as president, all the members of the Council in the island as vice-presidents, and most of the principal ' It was at Saugor that at the great annual festival, when the sun enters Capricorn, early in January, cocoa-nuts, fruit, flowers, and gems were offered to the sea, and little children were thrown to the crocodiles. Hundreds of thousands of innocent beings must have been sacrificed in this way. On a report drawn up by William Carey the abominable rite was suppressed by Lord Wellesley. ^ Kaye, Christianity in India, p. 165. 286 IN THE EAST (ii.) [1804- Crown officials as subscribers. Three years previously, the fact that there was in Ceylon a native population of a million and a half subject to the British Government had engaged the attention of the London Committee ; and it had been a question whether they should supply the Tamil and Sifihalese Scriptures from home, or improve the means of printing in the island, where already the New Testament and a portion of the Old had been translated into Sinhalese at the expense of the Government. They had the advantage of the advice of Sir Alexander during a visit to England, and on his return to Ceylon he conveyed with him a large assortment of English, Dutch, and Portuguese Bibles and Testaments, and several hundred reams of paper for the printing of Scriptures for the natives. The Calcutta Auxiliary had also extended its operations to the island ; and now both Auxiliaries, either independently or in concert, proceeded with measures for the extension of the Gospel. Mr W. Tolfrey, a distinguished Sinhalese scholar, besides undertaking a Pali version of the New Testament with the aid of two Buddhist priests, set about preparing another Siiihalese translation, as the old one was found to be very faulty; and on his death, in January 1817, the work was continued by the missionaries, Mr Chater and Mr Clough, assisted by Mr Armour, an accomplished schoolmaster. On the 13th June 1813 an Auxiliary was formed at Bombay under the auspices of the Governor, Sir Evan Nepean, who was a Vice-President of the Bible Society. Thus three towers of light raised their beacons over the vast triangle of Hindustan. That a great change had already taken place in Anglo- Indian life we have already seen. There was now evidence that, so far from the Hindu and Mohammedan being beyond the possibility of conversion, the printed Book became in their hands the most convincing of preachers. Several Brahmins and persons of high caste, not many miles from i8i7] ARMENIAN AND MALAY VERSIONS 287 Serampore, "obtained the knowledge of the truth," wrote Dr Carey, "and met for Christian worship on the Lord's Day, before they had any intercourse with missionaries, simply by reading the Scriptures. These were soon after baptized, and reported that, by the same means, as many as a hundred of their neighbours were convinced of the truth of the Christian religion, and were kept back from professing it only by fear of losing caste, and its consequences." Meanwhile Carey and his colleagues had been enlarging the place of their tent.^ Versions were in progress in Bruj- Bhassa spoken in the upper provinces of Hindustan, Gujarati, and Assamese ; the whole of the New Testament in Chinese had for some time been published, and more than half of the Old had been translated. In 1814 the Calcutta Auxiliary engaged in two under- takings which projected its influence far beyond the con- fines of India — the printing of the Bible in Armenian and in Malay. The extreme rarity and dearness of the Armenian Bible, which was seldom to be had except at the sale of some dead man's effects, and then fetched from 60 to 120 rupees, was brought to its notice by one of its members, Mr Johannes Sarkies, an Armenian by birth, who offered, on the part of his countrymen and himself, a donation of 5000 rupees in aid of a cheap edition. The Armenians had churches at Calcutta, Chinsurah, Dacca, and Saidabad ; they were found in groups scattered over the towns in the interior ; had settled in Madras, Bombay, Surat, Baghdad, Bushire, and Muscat, and ' ' were the general merchants of the East, in constant motion from Canton to Constantinople."^ Their Bible, which had been excellently printed at the Armenian convent among the lagunes of Venice, derived from an original ^ "Enlarge the place of thy tent" (Isa. liv. 2, 3) with its applications, "Expect great things from God," "Attempt great things for God," had been the text of Carey's memorable sermon at Nottingham on the 30th May 1792. — Stock, History of the Church Missionary Society, vol. i. p. 60, '■^ fuche^nan, Resecirches, p. 1 36, 288 IN THE EAST (ii.) C1804 which had been translated in the year 460, when men who had known St Jerome were still alive ! The printing of the Malay Scriptures, which had been suggested by Mr George Livett, the British Resident at Amboyna, one of the Spice Islands of the Molucca group, drew the attention of the public to a region in the very heart of paganism, in which there was a Christian population numbering 20,000. When the kingdom of Holland was annexed by Napoleon on the abdication of his brother Louis in 1810, the Oriental possessions which the Dutch had acquired in the seventeenth century became French colonies. In the same year the British seized Amboyna, and on the capture of Batavia in 181 1 the power of France in the East was annihilated. To the surprise of the Calcutta officials sent out to administer the archipelago, it was discovered that, in notable contrast with the rulers of India, the Dutch had spread the light of the Gospel in the territories they had conquered. In the Moluccas every village of any considera- tion had its church and pastor, or its school and teacher. As far back as the opening years of the seventeenth century the Gospel of St Matthew had been rendered into Malay. Passing to later times, a translation of the whole Bible, undertaken at the expense of the Dutch East India Company, was begun by Dr Melchior Leidekker, continued by Dr Petrus Van der Vorm, and revised by a commission of four Dutch ministers. It left the press in 1733, and copies were now extremely scarce. Among 10,000 native Christians in the Saigor Islands only two complete Bibles and a few Testaments were found; and in 1816, at a sale, a perfect Bible brought £10. Of this version the Calcutta Auxiliary reproduced, in Roman characters, 3000 copies of the New Testament ; towards the expense of which the Governor-General in Council contributed 10,000 sicca rupees. Subsequently, at the request of the Amboyna Auxiliary — established on the 1 1 1 ^ P"^ ■ ^ > r K ^ f '^'9 i^ig^H ^1 IHbK-. — .S»'4«*fe* ■^JA.f?i'n-^c>yiy. fhepi ""^'^^UBc.U ove/^s ''i^rary. i8i7] SABAT THE ARABIAN 289 5th June 1815 — an impression of 5000 Bibles and 5000 Testaments was undertaken at Calcutta. To a large pro- portion of the islanders, however, the Roman type was unknown ; and the Netherlands Society projected an edition in Arabic characters, for a large part of which the British and Foreign Society subscribed. In the meanwhile provision had been made for the Low Malay, a dialect as different from that of Amboyna as High is from Low German. On the 4th June 1814, the Java Auxiliary was formed at Batavia, under the patronage of Sir T. Stamford Raffles, with the special object of preparing a version of the New Testament in Low Malay. On the appearance of this new coadjutor the whole subject of Malay versions was discussed between the Auxiliaries at Calcutta and Batavia, and a course of friendly co-operation was arranged. Shortly afterwards, however, on the restoration of Java to the Dutch through the operation of the Treaty of Paris, the Auxiliary at Batavia was transferred to the Netherlands Bible Society. The Oriental translations under the control of the Calcutta Corresponding Committee had in the meanwhile been greatly retarded. Though an MS. of Martyn's Persian New Testament had reached St Petersburg months before, no copy had yet arrived from Shiraz ; and Sabat had seceded in the midst of his revision of the Arabic version. After a long absence he returned to the Corre- sponding Committee's service late in 1813, and in the following autumn, the work having been completed, he was discharged at his own wish. Few pages in biography are more tragic, more pitiful, more startling, than those which describe the career of Sabat, "the first Arabic scholar of the age," and the son of a noble family who traced their lineage to Mohammed. In early manhood he and his friend Abdullah travelled through Persia and Afghanistan. They parted at Cabul, where Abdullah was VOL. I. T 290 IN THE EAST (ii.) [1804- appointed to an office of state. By a simple reading of the Bible this young Arab was converted from Islam, and knowing that death was the penalty of such a change of faith, he determined to flee in disguise to one of the Christian Churches near the Caspian. In the streets of Bokhara he was recognised by Sabat, who had heard of his conversion and flight, and who ruthlessly betrayed him to the king, Murad Shah. He was offered his life if he would abjure Christ. On his refusal one of his hands was severed at the wrist. To a second offer he made no answer, but looked with streaming eyes steadfastly up to heaven, like Stephen the first martyr. "He did not look with anger at me," said Sabat. "He looked at me, but it was benignly, and with the countenance of forgiveness. His other hand was then cut off ; but he never changed, 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?" Haunted by remorse, Sabat wandered eastward, seeking rest and finding none. In the Madras Presidency he obtained a Government appointment as Professor of Mohammedan Law at Vizagapatam. Apparent discrepancies in the Koran led him to compare it with the New Testament, with the result that he became convinced of the truth of Christianity. Bitter persecution from the Moslems followed ; his life was attempted by his own brother ; and he was forced to seek refuge at Madras, where he made a public profession of faith and was baptized. He was now recommended to an appointment as a translator in Calcutta, and after a while was sent on to Mr Martyn at Dinapore. His proud temper gave much trouble both at Dinapore and Cawnpore, but his failings were overlooked on account of his great merits as an Arabic scholar. So far the story has long been made familiar by Dr Buchanan's account in The Star in the East, and one could wish it had no sequel. On Martyn's departure for Persia, i8i7] MARTYN'S PERSIAN TESTAMENT 291 Sabat was engaged in Calcutta by the Corresponding Com- mittee ; but after a while he neglected his duties, and at last renounced Christianity before the Mohammedan Cadi. He embarked as a merchant for the Persian Gulf, but the appearance of his wealth excited the cupidity of the crew, and when the ship put in at Tellicherry he swam ashore, obtained the protection of the English judge, and got his merchandise landed. The judge, who had read The Star in the East, recognised Sabat. The latter admitted his identity, but denied the betrayal, professed repentance for his apostasy, and so interested the judge that the latter obtained his conditional reinstatement at Calcutta. Once more he recanted, published Sabatean Proofs of the Truth of Islamism, and went to Penang. While there he again professed repentance, lamented the injury done by his book, expressed his desire as far as possible to undo its evil effects, and his wish once more to return to Christianity ; yet at the same time he continued to frequent the mosque with the Mohammedan population. But his end was approaching. The King of Acheen, being driven from his throne by a usurper, came to Penang to seek arms and provisions ; Sabat offered the royal fugitive his services, which were accepted, and accompanied him back to Acheen. There Sabat acquired such power and influence that he was regarded by the rebels as their greatest enemy, and being . taken prisoner, was treated with ruthless severity, and finally was sewn up in a sack and thrown into the sea.^ In 1815 an MS. of Martyn's Persian Testament was at last received by the Corresponding Committee and put to press ; the Calcutta Auxiliary sent a donation of 5000 rupees to aid the sister society at Colombo in producing the new Siilhalese version ; and the intelligence that an Auxiliary had been formed at Amboyna on the 5th June was accom- panied by a remittance of ;^346, which was afterwards ' Reminiscences of Seventy Years' Life, Travel, aiid Adventure, vol. i. p. 2l6«. 292 IN THE EAST (ii.) [''8°4- increased to ^^968, as the first year's contribution to the parent Society. Branches of the Calcutta AuxiHary had also been formed in Malacca and Penang under the patronage of the Governor and Commandant. In Bombay a Bibliotheca Biblica had been formed for the sale of the Scriptures in all the available tongues of the East and West, and efforts were being made to form a Library for the use of translators. The Roman Catholic churches in the Island of Bombay had been freed by the Government from the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Goa, whose pretensions were found to have no legitimate basis, and whose exercise of authority had caused general complaint. The Archbishop was distinctly hostile to the Bible Society, but, his opposition notwithstand- ing, there was every reason to believe that in Goa itself, the seat of the Inquisition, "the lower orders and even the priests would accept translations of the Scriptures." The Serampore missionaries, who had now completed the Bible in Oriya and printed three-fifths of it in San- skrit, Hindi, and Mahratta, besides producing the Chinese Pentateuch in movable type, issued in 1816 a memoir, in which they specified twenty-eight languages, for the most part derived from Sanskrit, and stated that, with the facilities they possessed, 1000 copies of the New Testament might be obtained in any one of these tongues at a cost not exceed- ing ;^500. So deeply impressed was Mr William Hey, an eminent surgeon at Leeds, with the wide range of benefit to be derived from this group of tongues, that he organised a fund to defray the expense of printing the New Testament in the twenty-six in which it had not yet appeared. He became convinced, however, that the object would be better attained through the Bible Society, and with the consent of the subscribers he transferred the amount raised to its Com- mittee. It was arranged that ;^5oo should be awarded for 1000 copies of every approved translation of the New Testa- ment into any Indian language not yet provided with a i8i7] GRANTS TO INDIA 293 version. The first ;^i5oo of the fund was awarded to the brethren at Serampore for translations into Konkani, Pashtu (Afghan), and Telinga (Telugu), over which they had been busied for six, eight, and fourteen years respectively. Such is the brief outline of the early phases of Christianity under British rule in India. In 1813 the exclusive powers of the East India Company were abolished ; a Bill emancipat- ing the Gospel and creating an Indian Bishopric received the royal assent on the 21st July, and took effect in the following April ; and in 1814 Thomas Fanshawe Middleton, the first Indian Bishop, was consecrated at Lambeth on the 8th May, and landed in Calcutta on the 28th November. The sketch may fitly close with the following synopsis of the relations of the Bible Society with its Auxiliaries in the East. MONEY AND OTHER GRANTS VOTED BY THE BIBLE SOCIETY, 1807-17. To the Corresponding Committee, Calcutta, (in aid of Oriental translations, including cost of 2000 reams of paper, and a loan of ;£ 1 200) ;£33)88s Do. (in aid of the Bibliotheca Biblica) . . . 366 To Bombay (for paper for the Malayalam New Testa- ment) 873 To Madras (for printing press and type for Tamil Scrip- tures, at Tanjore) 245 To Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society .... 1,500 To Bombay Auxiliary Bible Society 1,000 ^37,869 Bibles. Testaments. Value. Scriptures in English, Dutch, Portuguese, etc., for distribution — (chiefly through Calcutta) . 7,738 10,790 ;£3,s 14 (to Tranquebar) . . . 200 450 160 (to Madras) Syrian New Testa- ments ■■• 45°\ , (to Madras) Syrian Portions . ... 100/ ?^ 4,020 Carryforward . . 7,938 11,790 ;£4,020 ;£4i,889 294 IN THE EAST (ii.) [:8o4- Bibles. Testaments. Value. Brought forward . 7,938 11,790^4,020^41,889 Ceylon — Colombo Auxiliary Society (in- cluding type, paper, and cost of binding) Scriptures in European languages Java Auxiliary Bible Society Paper for Low Malay Version Arabic Bibles Malacca The following table shows the subscriptions sent to the Bible Society, by the Auxiliaries from the date of their foundation down to 1816-17 : — EASTERN AUXILIARIES. Date of Formation. ' Subscriptions. 181 1 (February 2 1 St) Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society . £s°o Branches — Malacca (181 5). Penang (Prince of Wales Island) (i2th June 181 5). 1812 (August 1st) . Colombo (Ceylon) Auxiliary Bible Society 1813 (June 13th) . Bombay Auxiliary Bible Society . 682 1814 (June 4th) . Java Auxiliary Bible Society 181 5 (June 5th) . Amboyna Auxiliary Bible Society 968 . ... 1,744 • 854 1,780 638 .£500 650 2,2>?,2 800 1,500 500 50 ... 56 1,706 IIS 274 i^°o 100 9,757 15,344 ^^46,077 Total . £'2,is° In the interval between its formation in 181 1 and the close of this period the Calcutta Auxiliary accomplished the work indicated in the following table : — Bibles. Testaments. In Circulation (from Europe) English . . 2,000 2,000 Do. do. . Portuguese . . ... 3,000 Printed and Distributed . Tamil . . . ... 5,000 Carry forward . . 2,000 10,000 i8i7] THE SYRIAC NEW TESTAMENT 295 Bibles. Testaments. Brought forward . 2,000 10,000 Printed and Distributed . Sinhalese ... 2,000 Do. do. . Malay (Roman char- acter) ... 2,000 In Stock . Malay (Roman char- acter) ... 1,000 In the Press . . Malay (Roman char- acter) 1,000 ... Do. . . . . Armenian 2,000 ... Undertaken . . Tamil . 2,000 ... Do. ... . Hindustani (Nagri character) ... 2,000 Do. ... . Malay (Arabic char- acter) 1,000 ... Do. ... . Malayalam ... ... 8,000 1 7,000 When Claudius Buchanan returned to England many a pleasant memory carried him back to Malayala. During his wanderings the sound of the Syrian bells among the hills at evening had reminded him of home ; the ancient Syrian churches had suggested the old parish churches of England ; the mere appearance of women among the friendly groups that came about him had assured him that he was in a Christian country. And all his religious sympathies had been awakened by the story of that venerable Church of the East which had entrusted him with one of those precious books that had been the heirlooms of a thousand years.^ He had promised to send them printed copies of the New Testament, and he must have often heard with the inner ear the words of the old white-robed priest, "They would be worth their weight in silver. Our Church languishes for want of the Scriptures." On the initiative of Zachary Macaulay, the Committee decided to print a Syriac version of the New Testament, and Dr Buchanan engaged to see the work through the press as a labour of 1 This complete copy of the Syriac Bible and other trouvailles were deposited in the University Library at Cambridge, 296 IN THE EAST (ii.) [i8°4- love. His last years were brightened with the joy and consolation he derived from his task, which he did not live to complete. In January 1815 he attended the funeral of his early benefactor Henry Thornton, but this effort in the inclement weather told severely on his declining strength, and he returned home to die. A successor for his work was found in Samuel Lee, who, as a carpenter's apprentice at Shrewsbury, had acquired a knowledge of the classical and Oriental languages, and had been sent to Cambridge at the expense of the Church Missionary Society, and who afterwards became Professor of Arabic and Hebrew at Cambridge and Canon of Bristol. The Syriac text has the distinction of being the oldest version in the world after the Septuagint ; ^ and a special interest is centred in the Churches which have preserved these ancient Scriptures through centuries of oppression. The vague geographical connotation of the word "India," however, and the misunderstanding of the phrase "the Christians of St Thomas " have enveloped the begin- nings of Christianity in Malayala in a mist of fables. There appears to be no historic attestation whatever of the existence of a South Indian Church in the first five centuries.^ The "India" of St Thomas lay west of the Indus; and whether Calamina, where he suffered martyrdom, was the modern Kerman in Eastern Persia or Calama in Gedrosia (Beluchistan), the place of his death must be looked for in that India west of Indus which he never left after his arrival. The "India" of Pantsenus (end of second century) was that of Alexander the Great, the valley of the Indus ; the " India" of John, Bishop "of all Persia and Great India," who was present at the Council of Nicaea (a.d. 325), lay between Persia and the Indus; the "India" of Frumentius (early fourth ^ Possibly, it may in part be older. "Like the Septuagint, it was not the work of one time or one hand." One tradition ascribed the beginning of it to Solomon, who is said to have had the Scriptures translated for Hiram. — Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, " Versions," vol. iv. p. 849. ^ Milne Rae, The Syrian Church in India, the first eight chapters passim. i8i7] THE HOLY EASTERN CHURCH 297 century) was Abyssinia; the "India" of Theophilus the Indian (third quarter fourth century) was Arabia Felix. "The Syrian Church of Southern India was a direct offshoot from the Church of Persia," which, at the date of the planting of the South Indian Church (the beginning of the sixth century), "was itself an integral part of the Patriarchate of Babylon. . . . The Patriarchate was, throughout its vast extent, Nestorian in doctrine, and in the line of direct suc- cession from St Thomas. . . . The Church of Southern India, therefore, which was a part of the Patriarchate, was in the first instance Nestorian, and its members, deriving the succession of their ecclesiastical ' orders ' from the Apostle, called themselves, and were called by others, 'Christians of St Thomas.'"^ There is no reason to believe that the saint himself ever was in Malayala or on the Coromandel coast. In their isolation the Churches in Southern India localised the legend of the Apostle, which belonged to a region west of the Indus. Neale presents a striking picture of the missionary energy of the Patriarchate. The envoys of Christianity "pitched their tents in the camps of the wandering Tartar; the Lama of Thibet trembled at their words ; they stood in the rice-fields of the Penjab, and taught the fishermen by the Sea of Aral ; they struggled through the vast deserts of Mongolia ; the memorable inscription of Singanfu attests their victories in China; in India the Zamorin^ himself respected their spiritual, and courted their temporal authority. . . . The power of the Nestorian Patriarch culminated in the beginning of the eleventh century" when "he had twenty-five metropolitans, who ruled from China to the Tigris, from the Lake Baikal to Cape Comorin."^ We cannot dwell here, however, on the story of the ^ Milne Rae, The Syrian Church in India, pp. 105, 112. ^ The Zaniorin was the ruler of Calicut. ' Neale, A History of the Holy Eastern Church, vol. i. pp. 3, 143. 298 IN THE EAST (ii.) [i8°4- Syrian Church, whose trials, after the Portuguese conquest, have already been indicated. The "memorable inscription" to which Neale refers takes us into that remoter East in which also the Bible Society was endeavouring to encourage the dissemination of the Word of Life. After having lain for nearly eight centuries in the earth, the granite tablet of Singanfu (Si-ngan-fou, or Se-gan) was dug up at the stately walled capital of Shen-si, between five and six hundred miles south-west of Pekin, in 1625. ^ The inscription recorded that Alopun, Olopun, orO-lo-pen {cf. Ulpian), with other mission- aries of the Nestorian college of Nisibis, had traversed Central Asia, "watching the azure clouds and bringing with him the Sacred Books," had reached the capital in 635, and three years later had obtained from Tai-tsoung a decree in favour of the new religion, the Scriptures of which "were translated in the imperial library." A Syriac MS. containing a large portion of the Old Testament and a collection of hymns was in 1725 discovered in the possession of a Mohammedan Chinese, and is supposed to be one of the few relics of that ancient Nestorian Church, though it is surmised that villages and tribes of Nestorian Christians may still survive among the mountains in the western provinces of China. Of the Chinese translation of O-lo-pen's sacred books, however, there is no trace ; and although there is evidence that in later times translations were made by the papal missionaries, none were published or placed in the hands of the people. Indeed, so utterly unknown was any Chinese version that the singular belief was apparently entertained about 1800 that a translation into Chinese was, from the very nature of the language, a literary ' Among the treasures of the Bible House there is a set of " rubbings" (presented in 1887 by the Rev. Evan Bryant) from this celebrated stone. It is about nine feet high, three feet two inches wide, and ten or eleven inches thick, and was erected A.D. 781, buried probably about the year 845, and unearthed in 1625 by Chinese workmen engaged in digging the foundations of a house. In 1887 it was standing, in a row of Buddhist tablets, in the grounds and amid the ruins of a Buddhist temple. A drawing of the tablet, with an account of the inscriptions, appeared in the Biile Society Monthly Reporter for 1887, p. 184. i8i7] ROBERT MORRISON IN CHINA 299 impossibility.! Yet at that moment a Chinese harmony of the Gospels, which in parts was a genuine translation, existed in the British Museum.^ A transcript of this the Rev. Robert Morrison took with him to Canton in 1807, and he found it of material assistance, though it gave him no little trouble, in the preparation of his own version of the New Testament. Morrison was born of humble parents in the neighbour- hood of Morpeth in 1782, and, like other distinguished scholars of his time, educated himself in strange tongues while pursuing a trade. His was last-making.* Dedi- cating himself to the work of the London Missionary Society, his first desire was to follow the steps of Mungo Park in the dark regions of Africa ; but a higher and more arduous undertaking was provided for him. Furnished with letters to the American Consul at Canton, he reached China after an eight months' voyage by way of New York and Cape Horn. If India in those days was a forbidden land, much more perilously so was the Empire of the Yellow Race. No one was suffered to remain except for purposes of trade, and natives were forbidden under penalty of death to teach the language to a foreigner. In spite of danger and many hardships, Morrison was in a position two years later to accept the office of translator to the East India Company, and that post gave him a secure footing in China. 1 In his curiously pretentious booklet on The Origin of the First Protestant Mission to China, the Rev. W. W. Moseley describes Sir William Jones, Mr Charles Grant, and the Bishop of Durham as holding this opinion. ^ See ante, p. 24. To this MS., which includes a harmony of the Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles of St Paul, and the first chapter of Hebrews, the following note is affixed : ' ' Evangelia Quatuor Sinice MSS. This transcript was made at Canton in 1738 and 1739, by order of Mr Hodgson, Jr. [of the East India Company], who says that it has been collated with care and found very correct. Given by him to Sir Hans Sloane in September 1739." It passed to the Museum with the Sloane Collection. ''■ In the church books at Long Horsley, a few miles from Morpeth, there is a record of his father coming into the district, and taking so keen an interest in the progress of education that, though only a poor man (a dogger or maker of wooden shoes), he was the means of getting a schoolroom built in an outlying part of the parish. (Bible Society Monthly Reporter, October 1879.) Robert served his apprenticeship as a last-maker in Newcastle-on-Tyne, in a small alley, afterwards called in his honour " Morrison's Court," leading out of the Groat Market. 300 IN THE EAST (ii.) i^^4- As soon as information reached the Committee in 1812 that he was engaged in translating and printing a Chinese version of the New Test;ament, they voted him a grant of ;^5oo ; in the following year, on receiving his version of St Luke, they encouraged him to pursue his labours by a second grant of ;^5oo ; on hearing that the New Testament had been completed they voted ;^iooo, and ;^iooo was granted in each of the two succeeding years. Two thousand copies of this Testament passed through the press in January 1814, and his colleague, the Rev. William Milne, who had gone out in 1813, proceeded to distribute them among the numerous Chinese in Java, Malacca, and Penang, where in many cases they seem to have produced some effect. "I often find," wrote the Rev. J. C. Supper from Batavia, "Chinese parents reading to their families in the morning out of the New Testament, and they also request instruction about some passages." Many had turned the paper idols out of their houses, and were in the habit of conversing about the doctrines of Christianity. With one of the richest Chinese in the country this missionary had an argument on the fatherhood of God, and the confidence His children should repose in Him. "'Are you not a father of five sons? What would you do or think if three of these were to paint images on paper or carve them out of wood, and pay them all the veneration and put that confidence in them which are justly due to you as their father? And if they acknowledged by way of exculpation that, from the great veneration they had for you, they could not venture to approach you except through the intercession of the images which they had made?' 'I should answer,' replied the Chinese, ' I have chastised you for your want of confidence in me ; these images, being unable to hear, see, move, or help themselves, I pronounce you to be out of your senses.' 'And do you act more wisely when you >8i7] THE SCRIPTURES IN CHINESE 301 worship the idols in your temples ? ' ' Ah ! we have never directed our views so far ; but I am convinced our idolatry can never be pleasing to the only true God.' And he went home seemingly dissatisfied with himself, and tore all the painted images from the walls, and threw them into the fire." But complete conversions were few and tardy. In May 1814, near the sea, by a spring which issued from the foot of a high mountain, Tsae-Ako, who had helped Morrison to print the New Testament, was the first Chinese convert to receive baptism. Shortly afterwards the Book of Genesis was in the press ; and in 1816, when he was engaged to accompany the English Ambassador, Lord Amherst, to Pekin, Morrison was trans- lating the Book of Psalms, and his colleague, Mr Milne, at Malacca, had nearly completed Deuteronomy. Arrange- ments too had been made for printing large editions of the New Testament at Malacca, where the work would not be liable to the interruption of Chinese jealousy. " By the good hand of God," wrote Mr Milne, "and by the aid of your excellent Society, we have been enabled to send the sacred volume to various parts of China, and to almost every place where very considerable numbers of Chinese are settled ; from Penang, through the Malay Archipelago, to the Moluccas and Celebes on the one hand, and from Kiddah, round the Peninsula, through the Gulf of Siam, and along the coast of Cochin China on the other. Still the supply is very inadequate. Many millions of these pagans have not yet so much as heard of the Word of God." It was nevertheless a beginning. The thoughts both of the Bible Society and of the mission- aries beyond Ganges had already turned to Japan, but the season for that great field had not yet come. Strangers were rigorously scrutinised ; expulsion followed the discovery of any Christian book ; and the detection, during a domi- ciliary visit, of even a scrap of paper relating to Christian 302 IN THE EAST (ii.) [1804-1817 worship, was sufficient to condemn a house to destruction, and the native occupants to death. And now far away rise in the South Seas the jagged pinnacles of Tahiti ; an earthly paradise, watered by a hundred streams and half-a-dozen rivers, gorgeous with hibiscus blossom, plentiful in trees pleasant to the eyes and good for food — plantain and palm and bread-fruit ; no more than a hundred and fifty miles in circumference, and yet even to-day two-thirds of it are still shrouded in virgin jungle. Twelve miles to the westward lies Eimeo, with its rugged hills and broad fertile straths ; and behold the good ship Active is heaving to, with a welcome supply of paper, voted by the Committee in 1816 for the printing of the Tahiti version of St Luke, in which King Pomare has given the missionaries much help. The Rev. William Ellis, who will one day write Polynesian Researches, has charge of the press, and in the dearth of paper he is well pleased at the prospect of being able to increase his edition from 1500 to 3000 copies. In a few weeks he will see thirty or forty canoes coming up from distant parts of Eimeo and other islands, simply to obtain copies of Te parau na Luka, the Word of Luke. Many will hand him plantain leaves rolled up like a scroll— letters begging for copies of the Gospel. All will have bamboo canes filled with cocoa-nut oil, their current coin. They will wait patiently for days, for weeks, while the sheets are printing.^ The "new religion" has brought an end to the re- lentless civil wars which for generations ravaged these islands. The days of idolatry are over. Cannibalism is a shameful memory of the past, and the most ghastly privilege of the royal house will survive only in a name.^ With this momentary glimpse of a fruitful mission- field the first period of our history closes. ' Ellis, Polynesian Researches, vol. i. p. 403. - ' ' The first name of Queen Pomare (Aimata, " 1 eat the eye ") is the last souvenir of the royal privilege."' — Nadaillac, Pre-Historic America, p. 63. CHAPTER XVI THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST PERIOD It is with men as with the bees of Virgil — a little dust stills all our stinging controversies.'^ Willingly would one overlook the charges and impeachments of a century ago, but for these things, too, fidelity requires a small space in our pages. And, after all, the survey is not without gleams of humour and a certain suggestiveness. The first direct attack on the Society was "made in 1805 by " A Country Clergyman," in a letter addressed to Lord Teignmouth, the gist of which was that the institution was endangering the Established Church. "It is to be expected," the writer contended, "that each member of your heterogeneous Society will draw his portion of books for the promotion of his particular opinion : for it is easily seen that a Bible given away by a Papist will be pro- ductive of Popery. The Socinian will make his Bible speak and spread Socinianism, while the Calvinist, the Baptist, and the Quaker will teach the opinions peculiar to their sects. Supply these men with Bibles (I speak as a true Churchman), and you will supply them with arms against yourself." In his concern lest an unanswered charge of such im- port should produce mischievous consequences, the Bishop of London (Dr Porteus) convened the episcopal patrons of the Society and discussed the pamphlet, with the ^ " Haec certamina tanta Pulveris exigui jactu compressa quiescent." — Georg. iv. 86. 303 304 THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST PERIOD [1804- result that their lordships expressed themselves completely satisfied with the conduct of the Society, and unanimously agreed that it should continue to receive their support. Another pamphlet appeared in the following January, in which the Bishop of London was charged with misleading his episcopal brethren and betraying the Church. The writer proved to be the "Country Clergyman" under another mask, and he had the grace to make his apology and withdraw all the copies of his publication. A vexatious and protracted controversy was initiated in 1810 by persons of greater influence and higher position. It will be remembered how the formation of the Colchester Auxiliary ^ was deferred in consequence of the hostile action of Dr Randolph, who had succeeded Dr Porteus in the see of London. Shortly after Bishop Randolph had ex- pressed his disapproval, the Rev. Dr Wordsworth, who had been invited to take part in the proceedings, published his Reasons for Declining to become a Subscriber to the British and Foreign Bible Society. Dated from "Lambeth Palace" by the ' ' Domestic Chaplain of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury," and published "in compliance with the request of a much respected friend," the pamphlet wore such an air of being inspired or authorised that Lord Teignmouth himself undertook the defence. The sum and substance of Dr Wordsworth's objections was that the Bible Society withdrew from the Society for Promot- ing Christian Knowledge the funds which would otherwise have been contributed to its support. While Lord Teign- mouth denied that this was the case, he contended that, even though it were, the contributions received by the Bible Society and devoted to the distribution of the Bible could not have been more beneficially employed by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge ; and he failed to see how the interests of "piety, peace, and true ^ Chap. V. p. 68. i8i7] REPLY TO DR WORDSWORTH 305 religion " had been injured by the application. Further- more, by circulating the Scriptures, the Bible Society was, to the extent of that circulation, relieving the funds of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and enabling it to devote a larger portion of its income to other operations. A reply, not less genial and cogent, was issued by the Rev. William Dealtry, examining chaplain to the Bishop of Bristol, and a personal friend of Dr Wordsworth. A member and zealous advocate of both societies, the Rev. W. Ward, rector of Myland, while urging that neither society could do the same good alone but conjointly could do good incalculable, adduced evidence to prove that so far from impoverishing the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, the new Society had, by the general interest it excited in the public mind, greatly contributed to the augmentation of its funds. The subscriptions to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in 1803, the year before the Bible Society began, amounted to ;^2ii9; those of 1809 reached the sum of ;^34i3. The number of Bibles, Testaments, and Psalters issued by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in 1803 was 17,779; '" 1^09 the number was 22,611.^ Turning finally to the great object of both societies, he pointed out that while in 1800 the issue of Scriptures and Psalters by the old society amounted to 13,763 copies, in 1809 the combined distribution of both societies was 99,883. These were the issues from the respective repositories in St Paul's Churchyard and Fleet Street only ; the work of the Auxiliaries in Ireland and Scotland, on the Continent, and in America was not included. At this point, and not without benefit to the Bible Society, the controversy closed, so far as Dr Wordsworth 1 It may be noted that both at home and in America the ordinary booksellers felt the benefit of an increased interest in the Scriptures. VQL, I, U 3o6 THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST PERIOD [1804- was concerned ; and one regrets that the roll of the Society's early supporters should not have included the name of the youngest brother of the great Wordsworth, the brother-in-law of Lamb's friend, Charles Lloyd, and the father of two sons who became distinguished bishops. A still more formidable attack, to which reference has already been made,i was opened in the same year, just before the organization of the Cambridge Auxiliary, by the Rev. Dr Marsh, Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity, in an address to the Senate of the University. It was an appeal to denominational prejudice. "The encouragement of the ancient Bible Society must contribute to the welfare of the Established Church " ; " the encouragement of the modern Society not only would contribute nothing to it in prefer- ence to other Churches, but might contribute even to its dissolution."^ He was answered by one of the Vice- Presidents, the Right Hon. N. Vansittart (afterwards Lord Bexley) ; and a few weeks later Dr Marsh, changing his ground, produced An Inquiry into the Consequences of neglecting to give the Prayer Book with the Bible, with various animadversions on the Society. Replies we"re, speedily forthcoming from the pens of Dr E. Clarke, Mr Dealtry, Mr Otter (afterwards Bishop of Chichester), and Mr Vansittart.^ In an eloquent speech at the second anni- versary of the Leicester Auxiliary the Rev. Robert Hall, the eminent Baptist preacher, answered with trenchant vigour : "I am at an utter loss to conceive of a revelation ^ See chap. v. p. 71- ^ It is but fair to state that this spirit of antagonism was attributable only to a section, more zealous than wise, of the supporters of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. One of these, anxious to improve on Dr Wordsworth's reference to the "unforced extent and dignity" of that society, and to "the silent and unostentatious manner in which all its proceedings were carried on," was sufficiently injudicious to add: "So far has this forbearance been carried that their very existence is unknown to many, even among the members of the Established Church." Well may one say, Amico, e guardati! ' The Rev. Charles Simeon, in the preface to his Four Sermons on the Liturgy, also defended himself and the clerical members of the Society against Dr Marsh's charges and implications, i8i7] DR MARSH AND THE PRAYER BOOK 307 from Heaven that must not be trusted alone; of a rule of life and manners which, in the same breath, is declared to be perfect, and yet so obscure and incompetent that its tendency to mislead shall be greater than its tendency to conduct in the right path."^ Dr Marsh's discomfiture must have been crowned by the publication of A Congratulatory Letter to the Rev. H. Marsh, D.D., on his judicious Inquiry into the Consequences of neglecting to give the Prayer Book with the Bible; together with a Sermon on the Inadequacy of the Bible to be an exclusive Rule of Faith, inscribed to the same, by the Rev. Peter Gandolphy, priest of the Catholic Church. In vain the Lady Margaret Professor disclaimed the doctrines ascribed to him ; the principle advanced in the Inquiry, the priest insisted, led directly and logically to those conclusions. If any further refutation were needed it was supplied by Dean Milner, who, in the spring of 1813, published a volume of Strictures on some of the Publica- tions of the Rev. H. Marsh, D.D., intended as a Reply to his Objections against the British and Foreign Bible Society. Laconic titles were not one of the characteristics of these old-time certamina tanta, but they often served as adequate summaries. The Lady Margaret Professor laid down his pen with the despondent admission : "I have long since abandoned the thought of opposing the Bible Society. When an institution is supported with all the fervour of religious enthusiasm, and is aided by the weight of such powerful additional causes, an attempt to oppose it is like attempting to oppose a torrent of burning lava that issues from ^tna or Vesuvius." One happy result sprang out of Dr Marsh's attacks. Mr G. F. Stratton, a gentleman of considerable influence, who had been opposed to the Society, became now so decidedly convinced of its excellence that he initiated and 1 Hall, Works, vol. iv. p. 365, 3o8 THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST PERIOD [1804- brought to a successful issue the preliminary arrangements for the establishment of the Oxfordshire Auxiliary.^ In the summer of 1812, while Dr Marsh was contending that in giving the Bible alone, the Bible Society had given too little, Dr Maltby, who many years afterwards became Bishop of Durham, protested that the Society was giving too much. " Out of sixty-six books, which form the contents of the Old and New Testament, not above seven in the Old, and not above eleven in the New," he declared in his Thoughts on the Utility and Expediency of the Plans of the British and Foreign Bible Society, "appear to be calculated for the study or comprehension of the unlearned." An able rejoinder was issued by the Rev. John Cunningham, vicar of Harrow, whom we have already met at Earlham ; and the Rev. Robert Hall dealt with the subject in one of his speeches. It is hardly needful to quote the brief sentences which contain, as in a nutshell, a complete answer to Dr Maltby's contention : ' ' From the Word of God there can be no appeal : it must decide its own character and determine its own pretensions. Thus much we must be allowed to assume, that if it was originally given to mankind indiscriminately, no power upon earth is entitled to restrict it."^ Probably Dr Maltby was scarcely aware of the mischievous consequences of the theory which he was advocating, but who can fail to be struck with the spectacle of two distinguished men, destined to episcopal seats, sacrificing to partisanship the open and unglossed Bible which was the charter of their Church ? In 1 81 5 and 181 6 pastoral charges, more or less adverse to the Society, were delivered by the Bishops of Lincoln (Dr Pretyman), Chester (Dr Law), Carlisle (Dr Goodenough), and Ely (Dr Sparke). That of the Bishop of Lincoln was 1 It is unnecessary to particularise the History of Translations, a pamphlet in which, with abundant misrepresentation and manifest ill-will, Dr Marsh endeavoured to disparage the work of the Society in another direction, or to recall the forgotten assaults of minor pamphlets. 2 liall, Works, vol. iv. p. 384. i8i7] FOUR UNFRIENDLY BISHOPS 309 not printed, but his lordship was represented as considering "the constitution of the Society to be very dangerous to the established religion," and as declaring it to be "as absurd and unaccountable for those who pray against false doctrine, heresy, and schism to join in religious associations with those who avow the falsest doctrine, most notorious heresies, and most determined schism," as it would be for patriots to abet, comfort, and arm the enemies of their country. The Bishop of Chester deprecated the possible danger of the Bible Society, and emphasised the unquestionable service that would be rendered to Church and State by adhesion to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Dr Good- enough (Carlisle) had no better reason to urge for his opposition than the extraordinary statement that he did not think the Bible Society "calculated to introduce purer notions of religion than we have at present, or to increase the understanding of the Scriptures beyond what our present means will do." The Bishop of Ely thought the Society superfluous and inexpedient in this country ; to its work abroad or to its foreign relations he had no objections. The history of the Society, the cause of its inception, and the character of its development constituted the most obvious and the most unanswerable reply to these charges. Of the letters and pamphlets of smaller antagonists, what were they but Worte vom Schnee der vor'm Jahre fiel — words of snow that fell yester-year? They were permitted in their season, and for a wise purpose ; to-day they are forgotten. It will be of interest, not solely as a record of the past, but as indicating the status of the Society, and the increas- ing range of its personal associations, to mention the chief speakers at its anniversary meetings : — 1805— May I. At the New London Tavern.— Lord Teignmouth, Presi- dent, in the chair. The Bishop of Durham (Barrington), William Wilberforce, Esq., M.P. 3IO THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST PERIOD [1804- 1806— May 7. At the New London Tavern. — Lord Teignmouth, Presi- dent, in the chair. Thomas Babington, Esq., M.P., Sir William Pepperell, Bart. 1807— May 6. At the New London Tavern. — Lord Teignmouth, Presi- dent, in the chair. The Bishop of Salisbury (Fisher), Sir William Pepperell, Bart. 1808 — May 4. At the New London Tavern. — Lord Teignmouth, Presi- dent, in the chair. The Bishop of Durham, William Wilberforce, Esq., M.P. 1809 — May 3. At the New London Tavern. — Lord Teignmouth, Presi- dent, in the chair. The Bishop of Durham, William Sharp, Esq., WiUiam Wilberforce, Esq., M.P. 1810— May2. At the London Tavern, Bishopsgate Street. — Lord Teignmouth, President, in the chair. Lord Henniker, the Bishop of St David's (Burgess), the Bishop of Salisbury, William Wilberforce, Esq., M.P., the Warden of Manchester (Rev. Dr Blackburn), the Bishop of Cloyne (Bennett), Sir Alexander Johnston, Chief Justice of Ceylon. 181 1 — May I. At the Freemasons' Hall. — Lord Teignmouth, President, in the chair. Lord Gambier, J. Du Pre Porcher, Esq., M.P., the Bishop of Durham, Thomas Babington, Esq., M.P., Henry Thornton, Esq., M.P., the Bishop of Salis- bury, Lord Headley, John Harman, Esq. 1812 — May 6. At the Freemasons' Hall. — Lord Teignmouth, President, in the chair. The Bishop of Kildare (Lindsay), Lord Calthorpe, William Wilberforce, Esq., M.P., the Bishop of Cloyne, the Rev. Dr Winter, Sir Thomas Baring, Bart, M.P., the Bishop of Meath (O'Beirne), the Right Hon. N. Vansittart, M.P., Charles Grant, Esq., M.P., Thomas Babington, Esq., M.P., the Bishop of Norwich (Bathurst), the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rev. Thomas White, M.A., Henry Thornton, Esq., M.P., Thomas Boddington, Esq.,' Lord Gambier. 1813 — May 5. At the Freemasons' Hall. — Lord Teignmouth, President, in the chair. H.R.H. the Duke of Kent (in the absence of the Duke of York), the Bishop of Salisbury, H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex, the Hon. and Very Rev. the Dean of Wells (Ryder), the Rev. Dr Gray, Prebendary of Durham, the Rev, John Clayton, the Rev. John W. Cunningham, Charles Noel, Esq., M.P., Lord Gambier, the Rev. Dr Young, the Bishop of Norwich, the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer (Vansittart), the Rev. W. Dealtry, the Bishop of St David's, the Bishop of Cloyne. 1814 — May 4. At the Freemasons' HalL — Lord Teignmouth, President i8i7l ANNIVERSARY MEETINGS 311 in the chair. H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, the Dean of Wells, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Bishop of Salisbury, Count de la Gardie (Swedish Ambassador to the Court of Madrid), the Rev. George Burder, the Bishop of Norwich, Charles Grant, jun., M.P., the Earl of Northesk, the Rev. Dr Romayn, the Warden of Manchester, J. Du Prd Porcher, Esq., M.P., Henry Thornton, Esq., M.P., the Rev. Dr Thorpe, Lord Gambler, the Rev. W. Dealtry, the Rev. Dr Macbride, Zachary Macaulay, Esq. 181 5 — May 3. At the Freemasons' Hall.— Lord Teignmouth, President, in the chair. The Dean of Wells, E. W. Stockhouse, Esq., H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart, M.P., R. H. Inghs, Esq., Dr Collyer, the Bishop of Norwich, Captain Hawtrey, Robert Grant, Esq., the Rev. Dr Thorpe, William Wilberforce, Esq., M.P., Lord Headley, John Thornton, Esq., the Rev. Hugh Pearson, the Rev. W. Dealtry, Lord Gambler, Baron Anker (Norway). 1816 — May I. At the Freemasons' Hall. — Lord Teignmouth, President, in the chair. The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Vansit- tart), the Bishop of Gloucester (Ryder), C. Barclay, Esq., M.P., the Bishop of Salisbury, the Hon. Charles Shore (son of the President), the Rev. William Roby, the Bishop of Clogher (Porter), Luke Howard, Esq. (of the Society of Friends), Lord Gambler, the Rev. J. F. Usko, the Bishop of Cloyne, the Rev. Jabez Bunting, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rev. Mr Kierulff (of the Danish Church, London), Charles Grant, jun., Esq., M.P. 181 7 — May 7. At the Freemasons' Hall. — Lord Teignmouth, President, in the chair. William Wilberforce, Esq., M.P., the Bishop of Sahsbury, the Bishop of Gloucester, Sir T. Dyke Acland, Bart, M.P., W. T. Money, Esq., M.P., the Rev. George Clayton, Sir George Grey, Bart., John Weyland, jun., the Rev. Dr Mason, the Rev. Richard Watson, the Rev. Dr Thorpe, Major-General Macaulay, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rev. Edward Burn, the Bishop of Cloyne, the Rev. John Paterson, the Rev. Professor Paxton, the Rev. Daniel Wilson, Lord Gambler. In May 1807 the Committee were empowered to nominate as Life Members such persons as had rendered essential services to the Society, and at the next annual meeting this 312 THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST PERIOD [1804- power was extended to the nomination of Life Governors. During the period under review, the following names, in recognition of eminent service, were included in the roll of Honorary Life Governors : — 1810-11— The Rev. Josiah Pratt, i8ii-i2 — Granville Sharp, Esq., The Rev. John Owen, The Rev. Joseph Hughes, The Rev. Charles Steinkopff, The Rev. John Jsenicke, Berlin, Thomas Hammersley, Esq., The Rev. Professor William Deal try, Richard Phillips, Esq., 1812-13 — The Rev. Dr Brunnmark, The Rev. Thomas Gisborne, Sir Alexander Johnston, Chief Justice of Ceylon, The Rev. John Cunningham, Harrow, The Rev. Dr Schwabe, The Rev. Dr Werninck, of the Dutch Church, Austin Friars, The Rev. John Townsend,' Bermondsey, and, on different occasions, the Rev. Dr Adam Clarke, Liverpool ; Lieut.-Col. Burgess, Hackney ; the Rev. Edward Burn, Birmingham ; Charles Stokes Dudley, Esq. ; Sir George Grey, Bart., and Lady Grey; the Rev. Dr F. W. Hertzog, Basel; the Rev. Charles Jerram, M.A., vicar of Chobham ; the Hon. and Rev. G. T. Noel, M.A., rector of Rainham ; Christopher Sundius, Esq. (Stoke Newing- ton) ; and James Gisbert Van der Smissen, Esq. (Altona). Over many familiar names, even in the brief space of thirteen years, time carved its Hie jacet. In 1807, John Newton, the sailor, slave-trader, hymn- writer, and author, the revered rector of St Mary Wool- noth, the counsellor whose spiritual influence left an ineffaceable mark on his period, passed away in the eighty- fifth year of his age and the fifty-third of his ministry. ^ Independent minister, founder of the London Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, and one of the original members and promoters of the London Missionarj' Society. i8i7] THE DEATH OF BISHOP PORTEUS 313 The Bishop of London (Dr Porteus) died at Fulham on his seventy-seventh birthday, 8th May 1808, and in accordance with his wish was buried among the aged trees in the grave- yard at Sundridge, his favourite summer resort in Kent, where he had built a chapel of ease and parsonage. While he was rector at Lambeth, Queen Charlotte had him raised to the see of Chester, in 1776, and eleven years later he was translated to London. His administrative ability and his erudition were not more conspicuous than his practical Christianity. Without committing himself to a party, he encouraged the Evangelical movement at a time when it required som^, independence to countenance so disparaged a section of the Church ; warmly promoted Sunday schools, the observance of Sundays and religious holy days, and the abolition of slavery ; supported all schemes of piety and benevolence, and, with a hand as liberal as his tongue was eloquent, concerned himself with the needs of his poorer clergy. His books have passed out of memory, though the curious in literature may still conjecture how and to what extent he assisted Hannah More in her Ccelebs in Search of a Wife, and readers of Boswell will recollect his reference to the "excellent charge" in which his lordship rebuked foppery among clerics. At the inauguration of the Chester Auxiliary the gentle Thomas Gisborne lamented his loss : — "The brightness of that Prelate's example irradiated the paths of the Bible Society over lands from which he is taken away, and shines to lead other Bishops of Chester and other Bishops of London to be — what once was Bishop Porteus." On the 6th July 1813, th& chivalrous Granville Sharp ^ lay dead in the house of his brother William's widow. No more in the early dawn shall he intone to his Davidic harp one of the songs of Zion. The quaint wig and queue and old-world garb have vanished from Clapham Common and 1 " As long as Granville Sharp survived, it was too soon to proclaim that the age of chivalry was gone." — Stephen, Essays in Ecclesiastical Biography, p. 540. 314 THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST PERIOD [i8°4- the streets of London. The kindly eyes, which seemed to be always gazing, as in a dream, upward and onward at something that pleased him well, are closed for ever to earthly vision. He was laid to rest in the family vault at Fulham, where there is an inscription to his memory. Chantrey carved a medallion, which was placed by the African Institution in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey ; but the most enduring monument to his good- ness is contained in the memorable phrase, "The slave who sets his foot on English ground is free." In 1785 he became a member of the Society for the Propaga- tion of the Gospel ; in 1804 he presided at the formation of the Bible Society ; in 1807 he helped to form the African Institution, and in 1808 the Society for the Conversion of the Jews. The history and destinies of the Chosen People exercised a singular fascination over his subtle and visionary intellect. In the Appendix to his Three Tracts on the Syntax and Pronunciation of the Hebrew Tongue, he printed Samuel Brett's remarkable ' ' Narrative of the Proceedings of a Great Council of Jews, assembled in the Plain of Ageda in Hungary, about 30 miles distant from Buda, to examine the Scriptures concerning Christ : on the i2th of October 1650."^ He must often have thought of that strange seven-days' dis- cussion "concerning Christ, whether He be already come, or whether we are yet to expect His coming," and the assem- bling on the eighth day, when those present agreed "upon another meeting of their Nation three years after " ; and every report sent into the Bible Society regarding the willingness of the Jews in Russia and Poland to receive the Scriptures must have given him a keen delight, for, like Samuel Brett a century and a half before, he believed "there were many Jewes that would be perswaded to own the Lord Jesus." He ^ A copy of Brett's " Narrative " is preserved in the Bodleian at Oxford, and it is to be found in vol. i. of the Harkian Miscellany, pp. 379-385, which was published in London in ten quarto volumes in 1813. The "Narrative" was issued as a pam- phlet by Longmans & Co. in 1875. '8i7] "THERE IS A REFUGE' 315 was a man of indefatigably active intellect and curious erudition. The list of his sixty-one works includes, among many forgotten treatises, that in which "he combated on more than equal terms the great Hebraist, Dr Kennicott, in defence of Ezra's catalogue of the sacred vessels, chiefs, and families," 1 and the Remarks on the Uses of the Definite Article in the Greek Testament, which contains his formulation of what came to be known as "Granville Sharp's canon" — the rule, namely, that "where two personal nouns of the same case are connected by the copulate koX, if the former has the definite article and the latter has not, they both belong to the same person " ; for example, in the phrase tov dcov ij^wv Kal Kvptov'l7]crovXpt,o-Tov, " God " and "the Lord Jesus Christ" are one and the same person. In 1814, on the 5th October, the Rev. Thomas Charles died at Bala. For some years he had been in failing health, but he lived to see his last wish fulfilled — the com- pletion of a new edition of the Welsh Bible which he had prepared for the press. "There is a refuge " were among his last words. The death of the first Chairman of the Bible Society was soon followed by that of the first Treasurer — Henry Thornton, M.P. Little need be added here to the brief sketch which appears in our third chapter. He was only in his fifty-fifth year, but his health had always been delicate. He appeared to pass unscathed through the bitter winter of 1813-1814,2 but grave symptoms set in during October in the latter year, and he was removed from his own house in Palace Yard to that of his friend William Wilberforce, at Kensington Gore. Here, encompassed by the tender observ- ances of those who were dear to him, comforted by the 1 Stephen, Essays in Ecclesiastical Biography, p. 540- '■ '^ The winter of 1813-14 was long remembered for its severity. For miles around London a dense fog prevailed, and was followed by a succession of snow-storms all over the country. On the 27th December frost set in, and continued almost without a break till the 5th February. The Thames was frozen over, and a "Frost Fair" was held on the ice. 3i6 THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST PERIOD [1804- promises of the Gospel, and especially by the familiar chapter on faith and "the worthy fruits thereof in the fathers of old time,"! he lay in calm and patient desire of "a better country." The end came on the i6th January 1815, and in a little while his gentle wife followed him. He was succeeded as Treasurer, both at the Bible Society and the Church Missionary Society, by his nephew, John Thornton, who was then in his thirty-second year, and who, at Cambridge, had been the intimate friend of Reginald Heber, and the Grants, Charles (Lord Glenelg) and Robert. In the same year the Society lost one of its honoured Vice-Presidents, the scholarly Vincent, Dean of Westminster, whose mind delighted to expatiate with erudite gravity over the romantic regions of the Voyage of Nearchus and the mysterious seas through which the old traders fared to Taprobane and the Golden Chersonese. A more notable Vice-President, Dr Watson, the Bishop of Llandaff, passed away on the 5th July i8i6, aged seventy-nine. Chemist, theologian, apologist for the Bible and Christianity, he was a celebrated figure, on which Nature had bestowed stalwart physical proportions in addition to brilliant mental endowments. It may be doubted whether the dignity of the mitre ever compensated him for the surrendered charms of the crucible. "When I was elected Professor of Divinity in 1 77 1," he relates, "I determined to abandon for ever the study of chemistry, and I did abandon it for several years ; but the veteris vestigia flamntcB still continued to delight me, and at length seduced me from my purpose. When I was made a Bishop, in 1782, I again determined to quit my favourite pursuit : the volume which I now offer to the public [the fifth and last of his Chemical Essays\ is a sad proof of the imbecility of my resolution. I have on this day, however, offered a sacrifice to other people's notions, I confess, rather than to my own opinion, of" episcopal dignity — I have ' Hebrews, chap. xi. i8i7] SUMMARY OF THIRTEEN YEARS 317 destroyed all my chemical manuscripts. A prospect of returning health might have persuaded me to pursue this delightful science ; but I have now certainly done with it for ever ; at least I have taken the most effectual steps I could to wean myself from an attachment to it ; for, with the holy zeal of the idolators of old, who had been addicted to curious arts, I have burned my books." Dr Marsh, as has already been mentioned, succeeded him in the see of Llandaff. But if the Society had lost in him a staunch episcopal supporter, it gained, about the same date, another to replace him in the Dean of Wells, the Hon. Henry Ryder, who was raised to the Bishopric of Gloucester on the death of Dr Huntingford. Here the first period of the history of the Bible Society closes. During thirteen years we have watched the steady growth of its Auxiliaries, Branches, and Associations throughout these islands ; we have seen allied societies springing up in the New World and the Old — among the nations of the North, in Central Europe, in Russia ; from Labrador to the Gulf of Mexico, from Long Island to the West beyond the Mississippi ; in South Africa ; in India ; in the isles of the Malay Archipelago. In many tongues the Word of Life has been scattered abroad. The Eskimo reads it on the margin of the polar ice-cap ; the Kaffir child spells it under the pear-tree in the Clough of the Baboons. The Red Indian carries it in his breast as he threads the forest or paddles on the Great Lakes ; the Negro learns it by heart on the plantations ; on the Russian steppe it is in the hands of the moujik and the wandering herdsman. It has reached the Brahmin and the Sudra ; the Chinaman ponders over it, and burns his idols of rice-paper. Armed frigates, merchantmen, convict-ships, bear it over the seas of the world. Even so, Paul may plant and Apollos water ; God alone can give the increase, 3i8 THE CLOSE OF THE FIRST PERIOD [1804-1817 In the year 18 16-17 the Society was reported to have in the United Kingdom 236 Auxiliaries and 305 Branches. It had received from England, Scotland, and Wales subscrip- tions, donations, legacies, etc., amounting to ;^407,905. By the sale of the Scriptures it had realised £ 1 79, 549. Up to 30th June 1817 there had been printed for the Society editions of the Scriptures in nineteen languages, i.e.: — 816,278 Bibles, 991,983 Testaments and Portions = 1,808,261 volumes; and there had been distributed — 765,936 Bibles, 950,446 Testaments and Portions= 1,716,382 volumes. There had been purchased on the Continent and issued for the Society 30,000 Bibles, 70,000 Testaments = 100,000 volumes. The total circulation up to date had accordingly been 795,936 Bibles, 1,020,446 Testaments and Portions= 1,816,382 volumes. On the Continent, Bible Societies, aided by donations from the British and Foreign Bible Society, had printed 446,100 Bibles, Testaments, and Portions. The Society had aided in the production and circula- tion of the Scriptures in sixty-six different languages. In promoting the cause in all parts of the world, the total expenditure had been ^541,504. SECOND PERIOD, 1817—1834 CHAPTER XVII THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY "Nature," said Richter, "forces on our hearts a Creator; history a Providence." In the preceding chapters the reader can hardly fail to have been impressed by the unforeseen developments, by the strange co-operation of contingencies, by the spiritual guidance which seemed to mark with divine approval the early years of the Bible Society, and not less — indeed still more — by the spirit of loyalty to a single purpose which had long bound together in active benevolence many men of different religious convictions, political principles, and social position. We now enter on the second period of our history. For some wise end God permitted it to be a period of checks and trials, of many losses, of ordeals so severe that the work, and the very fabric of the Society, appeared to be menaced with sudden dissolution ; yet who can doubt that in these times of crisis the blessing of Heaven was as manifestly operative as ever it had been in the prosperous years which •had gone by? This second period covers the interval between 1817 and 1834. It is limited by no arbitrary division. A natural line of cleavage separates the year 1833-4 from the remainder of the first half century, and may be said to close the era of the Early Men, One by one, as the years went past, 819 320 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [i8i7- the names of many of the most influential friends and patrons of the institution had dropped from the annual roll of its Vice-Presidents and the list of its Committee. By 1834 two of the original Secretaries were dead, the third had retired after two-and-twenty years of zealous service, and the first President, crowned with the honour of fourscore and the reverence of all good men, had departed to his rest. It was in 1834 also that definite shape was given to a new method in the administration of the Society. The development of Auxiliaries, Branches, and Associations had characterised the first period ; the second was marked by an extraordinary accession of Ladies' Associations, and by the general adoption of Mr Dudley's admirable scheme of district work. These, however, were but a more thoroughly organised extension of the system already in existence. What was new was the appointment of the "accredited agent," first one, then another, and yet a third, as the requirements of the time demanded, till at length, in 1834, the country was mapped out into four great districts, with an agent for each, constantly moving about in his own area, acquiring an intimate knowledge of the people within the limits of his charge, stimulating and guiding the Auxiliaries, assisting in the formation of new societies, and maintaining a constant relationship between the Committee and the many hundreds of institutions scattered all over the kingdom. At home this new method, which in a more completely developed form was destined to be permanent, was gradually evolved by the pressure of natural circumstances ; abroad it became a sudden necessity as the most adequate alternative to the original continental system which was dislocated by the great controversy of 1825. We shall see the matter more clearly, however, as the narrative follows the sequence of events. But before we can take up that narrative, an attempt must be made to shadow forth a suggestion of the unseen and "834] UNRECORDED INFLUENCE 321 unrecorded work which the Society must have been unconsciously performing during the dark years of distress and labour troubles and political excitement, which elapsed between the close of the Napoleonic wars and the passing of the Reform Bill. It is beyond the power of human insight to define the spiritual influence which it brought to bear on the momentous questions of the time ; the share which it took in abolishing barbarous and oppressive laws, and in securing for the nation the conditions of a more prosperous existence ; the extent to which it educated the young genera- tion and enlightened the ignorance of the old ; ^ yet to deny that the Society counted for much in all these respects would be to maintain that it was no more than a huge and unprofitable printing-machine ; that the numerous Associa- tions throughout the length and breadth of the land had no real significance ; that the Bibles and Testaments dispersed in hundreds of thousands among the population were so much waste paper ; and that the eagerness of all classes to obtain possession of the Word of Life was an unmeaning craze. The times were too cruel in their severity to admit of any such craze. Consider the picture of the misery which prevailed, and which was constantly recurring: "The harvest of 18 16 was so poor that wheat rose to io6s. per quarter. Employment was scarce, and wages in many occupations were low. Depression pervaded nearly all industries. Factories were closed ; iron furnaces were blown out ; coal pits were shut up. Idle and hungry men wandered over the country, vainly seeking for employment. Hunger persuades men to evil, and the sufferers of those days were no wiser than other sufferers have been. Incendiary fires lighted up the evening sky. Bands of lawless persons ' It would be easy to prove the remarkable impulse which the distribution of the Scriptures gave to the desire for learning among both young and old. A single indication will suffice. In 1833 there were 16,828 Sunday schools with 1,548,890 scholars. VOL, I, X 322 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [i8i7- attacked factories and destroyed machinery, which, as they supposed, lessened the demand for human labour. In cities riots of huge dimensions were of constant occurrence. Once the mob in Glasgow were strong enough and fierce enough to maintain a fight of two days with the soldiers."^ The colliers on Tyneside flung a chain of boats across the river to prevent vessels putting to sea without a regular permit ; in the Black Country they paraded the streets harnessed to loads of coal to excite commiseration, and some even set out for London to make a popular demonstration of their distress, but were stopped on the way. For thirty years the monstrous Corn Law, which was enacted in 1815 not for the purpose of public revenue but solely to maintain the rental of the landowners, blighted the hopes and energies of the people. "No foreign grain was to be imported until wheat in the home markets had been for six months at or over 80s. per quarter." In the Scottish capital an attempt was made to regulate by proclamation the family supply of bread, and sale was forbidden until the loaves had been twenty-four hours out of the oven. In country places labourers tried to keep body and soul together on roots and wild plants, and died of starvation. If corn might be imported on certain terms, trade in foreign cattle, alive or slaughtered, was prohibited sans phrase. Salt was taxed to forty times its value, and fortunate was the poor housewife who could use sea-water in her cookery. Windows were taxed, and men suffered the discomfort and unhealthiness of excluded light and air. Everything was taxed, from the schoolboy's top to the medicine of the dying man. Little wonder that in such circumstances there was a clamour for Parliamentary reform ; that men's minds were influenced by the cry that the land was "the people's farm," and the landowners their stewards ; that Reform clubs sprang up in all directions, that seats in the Commons ^ ^Upkenzie, The Nineteenth Century, bk. ii. chap, ii, 1834] DISTRESS AND REFORM 323 were claimed by unrepresented towns, and huge meetings were assembled to pass reiterated resolutions, and to sign gigantic petitions. And when the Government persisted in its exasperating policy of fixed bayonets and cavalry charges and hurried measures passed to silence the press and stifle open discussion, to search for arms, to prevent drilling, to supersede the ordinary course of justice, is it surprising that the English people hailed with a startling approval the revolution which tumbled Charles X. from the throne of France? It was a grim object-lesson to the country, and to its rulers, how a people might obtain in three days the reforms which had been refused through fifteen years of constitutional agitation. As late as 1830 the innumerable petitions presented to the House of Commons from every county distinctly showed the distress that prevailed in all parts of the kingdom, and in every branch of industry ; ^ yet during this long interval of suffering and trouble the Bible Society was extending its operations in all directions, and it was chiefly among the classes who most keenly felt the burden of heavy taxes, dear food, low wages, and commercial depres- sion that the new Branches and Associations were being formed. It is astonishing that in such conditions the work did not either come to a standstill for lack of means, or dwindle away into insignificant proportions. That it did not, — that on the contrary it maintained a high average level, is perhaps the most convincing evidence that the Society was a living power among the other moral, social, and political powers of the age, the influence of which, though it cannot be gauged by statistics, was none the less real, penetrating, and pervasive. Glance at the following figures, and endeavour to deduce from them some conception of their spiritual import. They show the remittances from the Auxiliary Societies, and the amount ' Molesworth, History of the Reform Bill of i>i^2, pp. 78-95. 324 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY L1817- received for the sale of Bibles and Testaments, apart from the resources derived from legacies, donations, annual subscriptions, etc. From Auxiliaries. By Sales. Total. I8I8 -£55,875 ^18,620 .£74,495 I8I9 56,604 27,499 84,103 1820 51,129 29,297 80,426 I82I 52,314 25,873 78,187 1822 59,117 30,561 89,678 1823 56,738 30,226 86,964 In the following year a change was made in the method of entry. The remittances from the Auxiliaries were no longer shown in the gross, but were divided into "free" contributions, applicable to the general purposes of the Society, and the amounts for which supplies of the Scriptures were to be returned, and these last were added to the sale figures. Free Contributions. For Scriptures. Total. 1824 .£42,007 .£41,700 ^83,707 1825 40,332 39,192 79,524 1826 36,631 36,013 72,644 1827 34,337 33,671 68,008 No doubt the decline in the last two years, as in those which succeeded, represents most saliently the effect of the Apocrypha controversy, and the secession of the great Scottish Auxiliaries which was among its unhappy con- sequences ; but it must not be forgotten that it bears, probably to no inconsiderable extent, the trace of the disastrous December of 1825, when the mania for specula- tion involved thousands of innocent victims in unparalleled ruin and desolation. Commercial panic followed the first metropolitan failures ; about seventy Banks stopped pay- ment ; public companies, firms, and private concerns were swept away wholesale. The three millions, which was the outside limit to which the Government induced the Bank of England authorities to make advances to private individuals 1834] ''MONTHLY EXTRACTS'* 325 on various securities, affords but a vague indication of the wide-spread catastrophe. The following table brings us up to 1830 : — Free Contributions. For Scriptures. Total. 1828 .^33,394 ;£33>336 .£66,730 1829 33,183 40,255 73,438 1830 29,470 39,625 69,095 Bearing in mind the condition of the country, it is impossible to look at these figures — one series showing, from 1824 to 1830, ;^263,793 spent on the circulation of the Scriptures, the other ;^249,354 freely devoted to the Bible cause — without being convinced that there is an aspect of the work of the Society as inscrutable to the historian as is the dark side of the moon to the astronomer. One can only conjecture to how many thousands, in those years of violence and distress, the Word of God was a restraint and a warning,^ a strength and a consolation, the well of hope and the bread of a fixed trust ; among how many of the educated and powerful it awoke a sense of justice and a sympathy with humanity, accompanied by a better wisdom for the guidance and rule of the country. We may now turn to the record of events. In August 181 7 the Committee gave effect to the happy idea of publishing monthly a sheet of extracts selected from its voluminous and singularly interesting correspondence. "Monthly Extracts" was a small and unpretentious issue of four double-column quarto pages, afterwards modified to eight octavo ; but it served to keep the Committee in touch with its Auxiliaries and Associations, whose meetings were thus enlivened by brief notes of events at home, and ^ Adverting to the turbulent state of the country, Lord Teignmouth wrote in October 1819 : "I cannot but flatter myself with a belief that matters would have been much worse if the Bible Society, with all its confederations, had never existed ; and I am willing to beheve that our Institution has promoted a religious feeling, which will in some degree counteract the machinations of treason and blasphemy." — Memoir of the Life and Correspondence of John, Lord Teignmouth, vol. ii. p. 359. 326 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [i8i7- by vivid glimpses of men and manners in remote countries and of the Bible work prosecuted among peoples whose very names were often a new sound in their ears. To the poorer subscribers in particular these pages were a source of surprise and delight, and the demand for them quickly rose to 40,000 copies a month. Even to this day much that they contain may be read with pleasure, and here and there one meets with passages which can still quicken the pulse or bring a mist to the eyes. In 1815, as we have seen, a Marine Bible Society — the first of the kind — was formed on board one of the Govern- ment packets on the Falmouth station. Earlier still, in 1813, the Thames Union Bible Committee, composed of the secretaries and a representative of each of the four Auxiliaries bordering on the river (the London, Blackheath, East London, and Southwark) had given attention to the needs of the sea-going population ; similar Associations had been formed at Whitby, Hull, and Aberdeen ; and among individual agencies Lady Grey had distributed many thousands of volumes among British ^nd foreign mariners at Portsmouth. It was now felt, however, that a more systematic effort should be made in this direction ; and on the 29th January 1818, under the chairmanship of the Lord Mayor (the Right Hon. C. Smith, M.P.) and the patronage of a list of vice-presidents which included Lord Melville, Lord Exmouth, Lord Calthorpe, Lord Gambier, the Hon. Nicolas Vansittart, the two Grants, William Wilberforce, and other distinguished persons, the Merchant Seamen's Auxiliary Bible Society was in- augurated at the Mansion House "to provide Bibles for at least 120,000 British seamen now destitute of them." An agent was appointed, whose duty it was to visit every outward-bound ship that brought up at Gravesend, or stopped long enough for boarding, to see how she was supplied with the Holy Scriptures, how many of the crew '834] BIBLE WORK ON THE THAMES 327 could read, and to provide by sale to the men individually, or otherwise, sufficient books for their use. Between the Februaries of 18 18 and 1819 Lieut. Cox, who was stationed at Gravesend, supplied as many as 1 68 1 vessels, whose crews numbered 24,765 men, of whom 21,671 were able to read. He found on board 1475 Bibles and 725 Testaments, the private property of officers and seamen, but no copies for general use. There were up- wards of 590 ships (6149 men, of whom 5490 could read) in which there was no copy of the Scriptures. In many other cases there was but a solitary volume. On the other hand, a number of Scottish vessels were better provided. On board the Mary of Kirkcaldy belonging to Henry Oliphant — one likes to preserve the good man's name — every hand had his Bible, from Sandy Craig, the master, to the cabin-boy. It was the same with a Dutchman, carrying a crew of twelve. Here there were prayers, sing- ing, and reading daily, and grace was said before and after meals. Occasionally both captains and men made such donations as they could afford, to help the Society and defray the expenses it was put to. Several mates got per- mission to call the men aft in the evening to hear the Word of God ; and it became a common practice for those who could read to teach those who could not. At times amusing or interesting little incidents occurred. A very old man in a French craft, with apples from Gravelines, was delighted with a copy of the New Testament, and earnestly begged the agent to take its value in "rosy- cheeks." Captain Lorand of the Dugay Trowen \Duguay Trouijt] of La Rochelle, had possessed a French Testament in the old days when he was a prisoner of war, but had unhappily lost it; "he greedily received the present of another, and promised to read the good book to all under his authority." "Sir," said the captain of another vessel, "we are all glad to see you. The Testaments you sold 328 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [i8i7- here on your last visit were given away at Prince Edward Island [off Nova Scotia] by those who bought them, and they were highly prized indeed, equal to old gold ! " During the year, 1705 Bibles and 4068 Testaments were gratuitously furnished to these ships for the use of the crews, and 390 Bibles and 207 Testaments were sold to the seamen at half price. No long interval elapsed before Seamen's Societies were established in various sea-ports ; the small coasting craft were not overlooked, and the Naval and Military Bible Society extended its work to the inland traffic on our rivers and canals. In ten years a remarkable change is to be noted in the character of the sea-faring population. During the year 1829, in the crowd of shipping visited at Gravesend only four vessels (with crews numbering 47 men) were found to be wholly destitute of the Scriptures ; and these four were foreigners. One thousand ships were boarded, and of these only 250 were now visited for the first time. In these 250 vessels there were 3891 men, of whom 3483 could read, and there were among them 1966 Bibles and 92 Testaments. Contrast this with the 1475 Bibles and 725 Testaments found among 24,765 men in 1818-19. A still more satisfactory condition of things appears in the report for 1830. In the first year of this kind of work, only 597 copies of the Scriptures had been sold to the seamen ; 5773 had been left on the ships without payment. Now 5369 copies were sold, and the agents — their number had been increased to three, two on the upper reaches of the river, and the third at Gravesend — had not found it necessary to leave more than three Bibles and seventeen Testaments unpaid for. Here we have evidence not only that such an Auxiliary was greatly wanted, but that the opportunities which it afforded were appreciated. It need scarcely be added that its exertions were heartily encouraged by the 1834] OWEN AND OBERLIN 329 Committee. At the outset a supply of the Scriptures to the value of ;£'io6i was voted, and other liberal grants were made in later years. During the whole period now under review Bibles and Testaments to the value of ;^440i were distributed at the expense of the Society to British soldiers and sailors, and to foreign seamen and fishermen who frequented our coasts. In 181 7 two of the Secretaries, Mr Hughes and Mr Owen, were prostrated by a long and severe illness. The former made a steady recovery, but Mr Owen's health was so far from being restored that in the following year the Committee prevailed on him to make a tour on the Continent, in the course of which he would have oppor- tunities of inspecting a number of the foreign Auxiliaries. Accompanied by the Assistant Foreign Secretary, Mr Ronneberg, he started on the 25th August, visited Paris, Strasburg, Waldbach, Colmar, Miilhausen, Basel, Constance, St Gall, Berne, Lausanne, Geneva and other centres of Bible interest in Switzerland ; and returned home by way of Paris on the 2nd December. ^ Perhaps the most interesting episode in this journey was the brief sojourn at Waldbach, where he spent a Sunday with the aged Oberlin, and accompanied him to one of the three churches in his extensive mountain cure. "Mr Oberlin took the lead, in his ministerial attire^ a large beaver and flowing wig, — mounted on a horse brought for that purpose, according to custom, by one of the bourgeois of the village, whose turn it was to have the honour of fetching his pastor and receiving him to dinner at his table." The evening of that day was spent in edifying conversation, and closed with a French hymn, in which all the household united. The following morning He left Paris by carriage on Monday afternoon, travelled the whole of Tuesday night, was fortunate enough to encounter no wolves, and reaching Calais on Wednesday morning, sailed at noon with the prospect of a quick passage. The wind changed, however, " and after tacking for some hours along the French coast, we came safely to a mooring in Dover roads, at 8 o'clock in the evening." 330 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [1817- he was introduced to two of the good women whose humble ministry among the poor of their rude hill villages had given rise to the scheme of Female Associations. Here were Sophia Bernard and Catharine Scheiddegger. Addressing them by name, Owen told them that he had now known them for nearly fourteen years, and that the account of their services, communicated by the pastor whom they so greatly assisted, had stirred up the zeal of many to labour after their example. "Oh, sir," said Sophia Bernard, as the tears sprang to her eyes, "this does indeed humble us!" — a strange and beautiful answer to fall from any lips, but wonderful in its lowliness and grace on the lips of a poor peasant woman among the wilds of the Vosges. Maria Schepler, the third of that sisterhood, had been taken to her rest. To his rest too had departed Henry Gottfried, the pastor's dear son. In 1816, while making, at the expense of the Society, a circuit of 1800 miles among the Protestant Churches in the South of France for the purpose of arranging a more adequate supply of the Scriptures, he assisted in extinguishing a fire that had broken out in the night in a town on his route. He caught a severe cold, and consumption set in. On his return to Alsace he remained some time at Rothau where his brother Charles was both minister and doctor, but when he found his malady left little hope of recovery, he longed to return to his birthplace on the mountain. Twelve of the hill-folk offered to carry him up on a litter ; but he could not bear exposure to the keen air, and he was laid in a covered cart, the kindly peasants going on in front and removing every loose stone on the rough road. On the i6th November 1817, without a struggle or a sigh, his spirit passed to the better life. ' ' It was not without many an effort that I tore myself away," writes Owen, "and hurried from Ban de la Roche, i834] THE DEATH OF OBERLIN 331 that seat of simplicity, piety, and true Christian refinement." The aged pastor, who from almost the beginning of the Society had been a distributor of the Scriptures, and who had extended his exertions far beyond the bounds of his own jurisdiction, had still some years of usefulness before him. In 1820 he was visited by Dr and Mrs Steinkopff and the Rev. Francis Cunningham, of Pakefield, Suffolk ; in the following year he received a grant of Bibles and Testa- ments to the value of jCyo for his depot. He was then grown feeble with age, but though the end was drawing near it came slowly. On Sunday, the 28th May 1826, in his eighty- sixth year, he was seized with shiverings and faintings, and three days later — on the ist June — the passing-bell was heard among the hills. The pastor, the benefactor, the intimate friend of over half a century was gone. He was buried near his son in the little churchyard on the 5th, in clear sunshine, after four days of rain. His clerical robes and his Bible were laid on his coffin ; to his pall was affixed the decoration of the Legion of Honour, awarded by Louis XVI IL "for services rendered to an extensive population." In front walked the oldest of his parishioners, bearing a cross to plant on his grave. On the cross were inscribed the familiar words "Papa Oberlin." That simple-hearted tribute was the work of another good woman — Louisa Schepler, who had entered his service as a young girl, when his wife was still living ; who mothered the little children she left behind ; " And all for love, and nothing for reward," had remained for forty-two years his devoted housekeeper. The people he loved came in crowds from the five hamlets ; the school-children, who were the apple of his eye, accompanied him to his last resting-place; all round the graveyard knelt in silent prayer groups of Roman Catholic women in deep mourning. 332 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [1817- Shortly after his return home, Mr Owen published Brief Extracts from Letters on the Objects and Connexions of the British and Foreign Bible Society ; and in the course of 18 19 he was engaged on the third volume of his History of the Society. The first two volumes, which closed with the celebration of the tenth anniversary, had been published in 1816, with a dedication to the President, Lord Teignmouth. The third, which appeared in 1820, and was inscribed to Mr Vansittart,^ who long afterwards as Lord Bexley became the second President, carried the record of events up to the fifteenth anniversary, an occasion rendered memorable by three incidents — the presentation of the first copies of the Turkish Testament, the assurance given of the goodwill of the French Government, and the declaration of H.R.H. the Duke of Gloucester, who, in acknowledging a vote of thanks to himself and their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of York, Kent, Cumberland, Sussex and Cambridge, said : ' ' I am satisfied that I am speaking the sentiments of my illustrious relatives as well as my own, when I testify to you our gratitude for your kindness to us, and express the greatest anxiety and readiness to render the warmest assistance — I say the warmest assistance — to this good, this great, this glorious cause." Mr Owen's History was a masterly achievement of a most difficult task — a well-ordered, engrossing and trustworthy narrative ; still aglow with the fervid spirit of the author, and lacking little but that pictorial element of personality which is so valuable after the lapse of a century, but which could hardly be expected from one writing of the living men in the very thick of events. In 1822 he issued Two Letters on the Subject of the French Bible, in reply to a charge of Socinianism brought against that particular version. These productions of his ever-ready pen were among his last ' Mr Vansittart had accepted the office of Vice-President at Lord Teignmonth's earnest request. iS34] THE DEATH OF OWEN 333 labours on behalf of the institution which he loved with a zeal as disinterested as it was indefatigable. Notwithstanding the benefit derived from his continental tour, his strength gradually declined, and he died at Ramsgate on the 26th September 1822, at the comparatively early age of fifty-six, leaving a widow and several children. He was buried by the side of Granville Sharp in the church- yard at Fulham, the curacy of which he had resigned in 1813, when Bishop Randolph required his residence in the parish. At Park Chapel, Chelsea, where he had also been minister, his funeral sei-mon was preached by his friend the Rev. William Dealtry ; another appreciation of his character and his services was pronounced by his colleague Mr Hughes, at Dr Winter's Meeting House, New Court, Carey Street ; nor were there wanting a Tribute of Gratitude and an Ode to his memory. His loss was deeply felt by the Society and by the Committee, who in a touching memorial gave expression to their affection and to their gratitude to God "for having so long granted the Society the benefit of the zeal and talents of their beloved associate." After a long and anxious search a successor was found in the Rev. Andrew Brandram, M.A., curate of Beckenham, Kent, and late of Oriel College, Oxford ; and a resolution was now adopted to attach to the post of Secretary, hitherto gratuitously filled, a salary of ;^300 a year — an amount, it was frankly stated, which represented rather "an economical attention to the finances of the Society than compensation for services which no salary could adequately remunerate." Mr Owen's last days were darkened by the storm of controversy which was now gathering over the Society. When the institution was formed even the most sanguine were unprepared for its sudden development. The rapid 334 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [1817- adoption of its principles and the spread of its operations abroad were neither anticipated nor provided for. The knowledge of ecclesiastical affairs on the Continent was at the best imperfect, and the character of the versions of the Scriptures used by Protestants, Catholics, and the Greek Church had not been the object of any particular attention. In framing the constitution of the Society the founders had very carefully guarded against the insertion of Notes or Comments (and in the grants which the Committee bestowed on foreign Auxiliaries that essential condition was constantly kept in view) ; but as in this country there was no impedi- ment to the omission of the Apocrypha, the possibility of difficulties arising among the Churches abroad in regard to these books never presented itself to the early Committees. The uncanonical writings known as the Apocrypha were at an early date interspersed in the Septuagint, in what were regarded as their appropriate places, among the inspired books of the Old Testament ; thence they were transferred to the Vulgate ; and from these Greek and Latin texts to the translations in various languages. At the Reformation they were withdrawn from the canonical Scriptures, and — prefaced, as a rule, with some indication of their true character — were placed by them- selves in a distinct part of the volume. The Council of Trent, however, declared the Apocrypha "sacred and canonical," and entitled to the same veneration as the rest of the Old Testament ; and although at first the pro- logues and monitory notes of St Jerome were retained in Roman Catholic Bibles, they gradually disappeared in sub- sequent editions, and full effect was given to the Tridentine pronouncement. When therefore in the early years of the Society's continental operations the Committee complied with the urgent petition made for the Scriptures, it was only natural that their liberal assistance should be employed by 1834] THE DIFFICULTY ABROAD 335 the continental Auxiliaries in distributing them in the form sanctioned by the Churches to which they belonged — in the case of the Reformed Churches generally with the Apocrypha included in the sacred volume in a place apart ; in that of the Romish and Greek versions with the uncanonical books interspersed, with or without any mark of differentiation, among the inspired writings of the Canon. And it is as well to observe that it was only in regard to foreign Churches, and then only in respect of versions in which the Apocrypha already existed, that this question arose ; at no time was the idea entertained of introducing the Apocrypha into the new translations initiated, adopted, or assisted by the Society. In the first instance it does not appear that in assisting foreign societies any stipulation or indeed any reference was made by the Committee with respect to the un- canonical books, but when the Bible began to appear without the Apocrypha, or when proposals were made for editions in which it should be excluded, great uneasiness began to be felt by the foreign Auxiliaries. Popular prejudice looked askance at the "imperfect" versions, and ecclesiastical jealousy resented any "tampering with recognised standards." As early as 1812 an attempt was made by the Committee to induce the foreign Auxiliaries to take the same view of the Apocrypha as had been adopted in practice by the Bible Society. Earnest remonstrances were submitted by the Auxiliaries at Berlin, Stockholm, St Petersburg, and other centres of activity, with the result that in June 1813 a resolution was agreed to "that the manner of printing the Holy Scriptures by Foreign Societies be left to their discretion, provided they be printed without note or comment." At that time the difficulty presented itself as a choice of alternatives — either the Bible was to be distributed in the traditional form sanctioned at the Reformation, or it 336 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY CiS'?- was not to be distributed at all. In adopting the only- alternative possible to men burning with zeal for the spread of the Word of God among nations distracted by infidelity and decimated by war, they yielded to what appeared an irresistible necessity. Serious objections, how- ever, were still raised by many members, and in 1820 the subject was brought up for the review of the Committee. On one side it was contended that the application of the funds to the distribution of any addition to the Holy Scriptures was a distinct violation of the paramount rule of the Society ; on the other it was maintained that the term "Holy Scriptures" extended to the "ecclesiastical Bible" (which even in the Church of England included the Apocrypha), and that where custom and familiarity led the people to insist on the "ecclesiastical Bible" the con- cession might lawfully be made ; others again hesitated as to the wisdom of a decision which might dissolve the con- nection with the foreign Auxiliaries, and perhaps arrest for ever the great work which had been so conspicuously begun. It seemed possible to devise an arrangement which, at least in the case of the Reformed Churches, could be carried out without difficulty. An illustration was furnished by what had happened in Sweden, when the popular dissatisfaction with the Bible printed without the Apocrypha on the suggestion of Dr Paterson was so emphatic that the Swedish Bible Society was obliged to issue 10,000 copies of the uncanonical books. For two years the subject was repeatedly discussed at Earl Street, and in the hope of effecting a compromise which would reconcile all parties, the following resolution was adopted on the 19th August 1822 : — "That when grants shall be made to any of the Bible Societies in connection with this Institution, which are accustomed to circulate the Apocrypha, it be stated to such Societies, that the attention of the Committee having been called to the fundamental Rule of the Society, as limiting the application of its funds to the circulation of the Holy Scriptures ; and it «834] RESOLUTIONS REJECTED 337 appearing that this view of the said Rule has been taken from the beginning by the great body of its members ; the Committee, anxious on the one hand to keep entire good faith with all the members of the Society, and, on the other, to maintain unimpaired the friendly intercourse which it has had the happiness so long to hold with Bible Societies which circulate books esteemed Apocryphal in this country, request of those Societies that they will appropriate all future grants which they may receive from the British and Foreign Bible Society exclusively to the printing of the Books of the Old and New Testament as generally received in this country ; such Societies remaining at full liberty to apply their own funds in whatever way, as to the printing and circulation of the Apocrypha, it may seem good to them." This solution of the difficulty proved by no means satisfactory. It was considered wanting in explicitness, and evasive in application ; notwithstanding the restricted application of money grants, and a full assurance that the condition would be respected, these grants, it was argued, would in effect contribute to the circulation of the Apocrypha. In December 1824, the question was again brought before the Committee. The President, who was prevented by ill- health from being present, drew up an impartial statement of the arguments on both sides, and emphasised the fact that the question must be decided by a reference to the constitution, and that appeals to expediency could only be admitted so far as they were not inconsistent with their laws. On the 20th December the Committee passed the following resolution : — ■ " That no pecuniary grant be made by the Committee of this Society for the purpose of aiding the printing or publishing of any edition of the Bible, in which the Apocrypha shall be mixed and interspersed with the Canonical Books of the Holy Scriptures ; and that grants of money to Foreign Societies, which are accustomed to publish Bibles containing the Apocrypha, but separate and distinct from the Canonical Books, be made under an express stipulation, and the assurance of the parties receiving the same, that such grants shall be exclusively applied to printing and publishing the Canonical Books only." A year of harassing controversy followed. In February 1825, the Edinburgh Bible Society transmitted its "firm VOL. I. Y 338 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY ['817- and respectful remonstrance," and the whole force of Scottish Presbyterianism was ranged against the resolu- tion. On the other hand a protest was lodged in March by twenty-six distinguished members of the University of Cambridge, who held the resolution to be "a violation of one of the grand and fundamental principles of the Society, namely, that of uniting in one common work the efforts of all Christian communities," and that it would "cut off some of the largest and most promising branches of the Society's labours, by giving up, in some quarters, the only way in which any part of the Word of God can be circulated, and, in other quarters, the only way in which the Old Testament can be circulated with the New."i Confronted with difficulties in all directions, the Committee cleared the ground by rescinding the previous resolutions ; but even more marked disapproval was bestowed on their next effort at compromise, which made no reference ' The following list of the names attached to this protest will suggest the perplexity which must have beset the Committee when they found themselves set to the task of shaping a course that would meet with the approval of either party : — J. Lamb, Master of Corpus Christ! College. Samuel Lee, M.A. , Professor of Arabic. Frederic Thackeray, M. D. , Emanuel College. W. Farish, B.D. , Magdalene College, Jacksonian Professor. A. Sedgwick, Trinity College, Woodwardian Professor. C. Simeon, King's College. G. King, M.A., Prebendary of Ely. James Scholefield, M.A. , Fellow of Trinity College, and Secretary of the Cambridge Auxiliary. Legh Richmond, M.A. , Trinity College (Turvey, Bedfordshire). W. Clark, M.A., Corpus Christi College. W. Mandell, Fellow of Caius College. H. P. Elliot, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College. George Milman, M.A. , St John's College. J. Lodge, M.A., Magdalene College, Librarian of the University. Baptist W. Noel, M.A., Trinity College. T. P. Piatt, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College. G. E. Corrie, M.A. , Fellow and Tutor of Catherine Hall. W. Twigg, M.A., Trinity College. Edward Edwards, M.A., Corpus Christi College (Lynn, Norfolk). Samuel Hawkes, M.A. , Fellow of Trinity College. Henry Venn, M.A. , Fellow of Queen's College. H. J. Sperling, M.A., Trinity College. W. H. Markby, B.D., Corpus Christi College. Samuel Carr, M.A. , Fellow of Queen's College. W. Cecil, M.A., Fellow of Magdalene College. H. Godfrey, D.D., President of Queen's College. 1834] A SPECIAL COMMITTEE 339 to money grants, and gave facilities for the addition of the Apocrypha, namely, — " Not to print or circulate the Apocryphal Books ; and at the same time to use their best endeavours to aid the circulation of the Inspired Volume in all foreign countries by grants of the Canonical Books, in whole or in part, without interfering with the future distribution of the same, whether with or without the Apocryphal Books." Straightway the committee of the Edinburgh Bible Society resolved to discontinue their remittances till "friendly intercourse" should be renewed "by a removal of the circumstances which led to its interruption " ; and some few Auxiliaries in England and Wales sent up remonstrances, while others asked for explanations. It was now unmistakably clear that no compromise would satisfy the anti-Apocrypha party. If they were to be conciliated, the uncanonical writings and the foreign Auxiliaries which continued to distribute them must' be excluded from the operations of the Society. A Special Committee of twenty-one members was appointed by the Society to pronounce a final judgment on the question. It consisted of the President, Lord Teignmouth ; five of the Vice-Presidents, the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (Dr Ryder), Lord Bexley, Lord Calthorpe, Sir R. H. Inglis and William Wilberforce ; six clerical members, the Rev. J. W. Cunningham, William Dealtry, W. Orme, Josiah Pratt, Charles Simeon, and D. Thorpe ; and six lay members, Thomas Allan, J. Butterworth, Zachary Macaulay, R. Phillips, R. Steven, J. Trueman ; and the three Secretaries, the Revs. A. Brandram, Joseph Hughes, and C. F. Steinkopff. Lord Teignmouth was unable to attend the meeting, which was held on the 31st October, but he forwarded a memorandum of his views, in which he pointed out that according to the laws and regulations of the Society, its 340 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [1817- "sole object" was "to encourage a wider circulation of the Holy Scriptures," and it could not, consistently with those laws, assist the publication by foreign societies of Bibles containing the apocryphal books. "The decided opposition which has been so extensively manifested to a contrary practice," he proceeded, "affords the strongest presumption that if a proposal had . been made at the meeting when the Society was instituted, for assisting the circulation of Bibles containing the Apocrypha in com- pliance with the usages or prejudices of foreign Churches, it would have been met by a decided negative." Two arguments he briefly noticed. To the first, that the Apocrypha might be classed under the denomination of "Scripture," he replied that till its divine inspiration had been established it could not be admitted as a part of the Holy Scriptures ; to the second, that the expression " Authorised Version " in the laws and regulations included the apocryphal books, he rejoined that such an interpretation would justify the circulation of the Apocrypha in our own versions — a course which had never been attempted, and which would not be tolerated. He urged the necessity for a final and positive decision : — "We see and feel the embarrassing consequences of a vacillating conduct ; and though it must in fairness be attributed to the influence of the most charitable and conscientious motives, I feel at the same time the fullest conviction that the glory of God and the salvation of men will be best provided by adopting the opinion which I have expressed," As for those continental Churches which held the apocryphal books to be of equal authority with the Sacred Canon, his trust was in prayer. "With respect to individuals of the Reformed Churches on the Continent, I should hope that on mature consideration and with proper explanations, they will agree to receive Bibles without the Apocrypha ; for a refusal would, in fact, amount to this — 1834] DECISION OF THE COMMITTEE 341 ' We will not have the Word of God, because it has not the word of man annexed to it.'" After long and anxious deliberation the Special Com- mittee gave effect to the President's views, and agreed on a recommendation which was accepted on the 21st November at a meeting of the General Committee, attended by some seventy members, and embodied in the following resolu- tion : — " That the funds of the Society be applied to the printing and circulation of the Canonical Books of Scripture, to the exclusion of those Books and parts of Books, which are usually termed Apocryphal ; and that all copies printed, either entirely or in part, at the expense of the Society, and whether such copies consist of the whole or of any one or more of such Books, be invariably issued bound ; no other Books whatever being bound with them : and further, that all money grants to Societies and individuals be made only in conformity with the principle of this regulation." "There was no debating," wrote Lord Teignmouth to his son, "but there were some strong protests made. The resolution was, however, carried by a majority of at least four to one, . . . and I think that the opinion of the country, as expressed in letters, remonstrances, and resolu- tions, was nearly in the same proportion. Simeon, Parish, our Secretary Brandram, and others were among the dissentients ; as was poor Steinkopff, but with that Christian firmness which are [?] his leading principles ; and I felt for him ; for he felt deeply the prot^able consequences of the resolution ; — and I love him in my heart. So the matter is settled, with my full concurrence ; but not at rest, I fear."i Regulations were drawn up on the basis of the resolu- tion, and adopted at the annual general meetings in 1826 and 1827. " I. That the fundamental law of the Society, which limits its operations ' Life of Lord Teignmouth, vol. ii. p. 462. 342 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [1817- to the circulation of the Holy Scriptures, be fully and distinctly recognised as excluding the circulation of the Apocrypha. "II. That, in conformity to the previous Resolution, no pecuniary aid can be granted to any Society circulating the Apocrypha; nor, except for the purpose of being applied in conformity to the said Resolution, to any individual whatever. "III. That in all cases in which grants, whether gratuitous or otherwise, of the Holy Scriptures, either in whole or in part, shall be made to any Society, the books be issued bound, and on the express condition that they shall be distributed without alteration or addition." In 1827 the following provision was added, and these four rules have since been regularly printed in the yearly reports as part of the fundamental laws of the Society : — " IV. That all grants of the Scriptures to Societies which circulate the Apocrypha, be made under the express condition that they be sold or distributed without alteration or addition ; and that the proceeds of the sales of any such copies of the Scriptures be held at the disposal of the British and Foreign Bible Society." At the annual meeting on the 3rd May 1826, some apprehension was felt that there might be a renewal of the controversy, but all passed over quietly. By a great physical exertion Lord Teignmouth was able to take the chair as President. "Though I was really not in a state to attend or to speak," he writes, "I went and took the chair for two hours and a half; and then retired, being succeeded by that good-natured man Lord Gambler, who kindly undertook to relieve me. Lord Bexley, whom I had pre-engaged, had a summons to a Privy Council, at which His Majesty was present, and could not attend. Lord Hartowby, and the Bishops of Lichfield and Salisbury were present ; and the meeting, in point of rank, was most respectable. . . . The resolutions respecting the Apocrypha were introduced in the very beginning of the Report, as bearing more particularly on the foreign Societies. They were received with acclamations ; and if any disapprovers 1834] THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN SHORE 343 were present, they were silent — so that now I hope the question is at rest." What a solemn effect would have been produced on that gathering in the Freemasons' Hall could they have seen in the spirit what was then taking place far away in the Vaucluse. "At eleven o'clock on the first Wednesday in May, the day allotted to the anniversary meeting of the Society — at the very instant, as it proved, at which Lord Teignmouth appeared in his accustomed place, amidst the acclamation of the members, — by a coincidence wholly unforeseen, the coffin containing his son's remains was received by the appointed bearers at the gate of Lourmarin."^ Captain the Hon. Henry Dundas Shore, in his twenty-sixth year, had gone to the South of France in the hope of restoring a constitution shattered by the climate of India, and had died at the hamlet of Pont Royal, between Aix and Avignon, in a little inn kept by a Protestant family. On the other side of the river Durance there was a colony of the same faith, descended from the Albigenses. The pastor of Lourmarin readily granted permission for a grave in their cemetery ; the municipal authorities and the members of the local Bible Society desired to do honour to the dead ; and the military, on hearing that the President's son had borne a commission in the British service, were anxious to show their respect to a brother-in-arms. The pall was borne by officers of the French Army ; volleys from the carbines of the gendarmerie indicated the progress of the funeral procession as it passed along the crowded streets, and a farewell salute was fired over the grave. ' ' We are all members of a small Bible Society," wrote the good pastor of Lourmarin. "Some of us have read the history of the British and Foreign Bible Society^ by the Rev. and good Mr Owen. Your lordship is well known to us. We all 1 Life of Lord Teignmouth, vol. ii. pp. 484-8. ^ A French translation had been published iri 1820, 344 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [1817- know what good has been done by your influence to reHgion in the East Indies ; and what generous and truly pious endeavours you have done, and are still doing, for the promotion of the sacred Scriptures through the world." In England the resolution of November 1825, which on its adoption had been extensively circulated, met with general acceptance as a settlement of the question, and many Auxiliaries sent in resolutions of acquiescence and assurance of confidence and goodwill. It was far otherwise in Scotland. "If credit is to be given to our enemies," wrote the President, "the Committee and myself are little better than Socinians and Deists, squanderers of the funds entrusted to our charge, and undeserving of the public confidence. . . . We are preparing for the satisfaction and information of our friends, some of whom have been staggered by the violence of the accusations against us, a statement of facts, and I have no fears that it will not produce a favourable impression. Yes, I do feel a confidence that the gracious God, who first inspired, and has protected and enlarged our noble institution, will not suffer it to be overwhelmed and destroyed." The concessions, which in the confused state of opinion the Committee thought might lawfully be made to ancient ecclesiastical usages abroad, were distorted into deliberate violations of the constitution and a "tampering with the Canon of inspired Scripture " ; and the new regulations were declared evasive or capable of evasion. A distrust of the Society's whole administration was sedulously fomented ; the general management of the funds was impugned ; and the agencies of Professor Kieffer at Paris and Dr Leander Van Ess at Darmstadt, the revision of the text of the Lausanne Bible published in 1822, and the insertion in one edition of the Bible published at Strasburg of a preface which on the demand of the London Committee had been at once withdrawn and the expenses connected with 1834] THE SCOTTISH SECESSION 345 it refunded, were subjected to unrestrained and often ill- informed censure. A deputation from Earl Street was sent to confer with the Northern Auxiliaries ; the President in a letter to the Presbytery of Glasgow reviewed and justified the course which had been pursued ; but these attempts to restore the old spirit of mutual co-operation and consideration were fruitless. Scotland demanded such a change in the executive, both at home and abroad, as would exclude from the service of the Society all who had taken part in its later proceedings, or who were supposed to have been favourable to the circulation of the Apocrypha. For a moment, indeed, it appeared as though this startling demand would be complied with by men, some of whom were overborne with illness, and all depressed by worry and that heartache which comes of worthy motives mis- interpreted and zealous toil misrepresented. Lord Teign- mouth, who was from home, was induced by a deputation of the Committee to assent to its members resigning and leaving their re-election in the hands of the sub- scribers. Happily Lord Bexley, who was on the spot and realised the inconveniences of such a step, prevented the matter from going further. The result was the secession, with few exceptions, of the Auxiliary Societies in Scotland. A more detailed balance-sheet was, however, adopted by the Committee ; specimens of the accounts of Professor Kieffer and Dr Van Ess, and the minutes of the Committee with respect to the Lausanne Bible and the Geneva preface, were published. These were considered a sufficient answer to specific charges, and with these the official defence of the Society closed. But the war of pamphlets did not cease ; on the contrary in certain quarters the controversy was continued with an acrimony and a personality altogether unworthy of a Christian cause. ' ' Dr Andrew 346 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [i8i7- Thomson, the Northern champion of the anti-Apocrypha party, now seemed bent on pushing his aggressive- measures to the extinction of the Society itself. The pages of his Christian Instructor, a periodical previously dedicated to the general promotion of religious truth, was now appropriated exclusively to topics connected with the Biblical discussions." ^ Whatever the ultimate purpose of his hostility, the temper in which he wrote was little calculated to improve the management of the institution, or to further the work of evangelisation in which it was engaged. Candour and charity could hardly be expected . of an antagonist who perceived in the constitution of the vSociety, its associates and correspondents, "a monster more uncouth than the fever-parched wretch beholds when, in restless slumbers, he sinks from woe to woe on the bed of sickness." His very violence,^ however, may have helped the reaction among old friends of the Society, who, though alienated or irresolute for a time, were after- wards ranged amongst its warmest supporters. On the 14th June 1827, a meeting of such friends was held at Edinburgh, and twenty-seven ministers, and other gentle- men of position, were appointed a "Committee of Corre- spondence " with the Society. The resolutions they passed, expressing their satisfaction with the regulations of 1826 and 1827, and "their entire confidence in the integrity and uprightness of the men whose office it was to carry those resolutions into effect," were published, and they ^ Life of Lord Teignmouth, vol. ii. p. 500. ^ " Thomson's violence," wrote Lord Teignmouth, in a letter to his son — and it was perhaps the hardest thing that gentle spirit ever uttered in the course of a long life — "reminds me of the following remark and admonition, in the words of the memorable J. Hales : ' St Chrysostom excellently observeth, that the Prophets of God and Satan were by this notoriously differenced, that they which gave oracles by motion of the devil did it with much impatience and confusion, vvith a kind of fury and madness ; but they which gave oracles from God by divine inspiration gave them with all mildness and temper. If it be the cause of God which we handle in our writings, then let us handle it, like the Prophets of God, with quietness and modera- tion, and not with the violence of passion, as if we were possessed rather than in- spired.'" — Life of Lord Teignmouth, vol, ii. p. 518, 1834] THE WORK DONE IN SCOTLAND 347 issued a statement vindicating their conduct in resuming a friendly intercourse with the Society. Reverting to the eight years previous to this unhappy rupture, it is desirable to give some brief indication of the work done in Scotland, and the position of the principal Northern Bible Societies. In 1823 the Edinburgh Society had affiliated 76 Auxiliaries, and was in a position to transmit to London ;^ii50 in free contributions. The Glasgow Society had grouped around it 50 Branches and Associations. Since its establishment in 1813, it had distributed 18,438 Bibles and Testaments, and its receipts had amounted to ;^i4,45o, of which more that ;^7ooo had been derived from its auxiliary organisations. As the result of a visit from Mr Dudley in that year, a Ladies' Branch Society had been formed, with eighteen Ladies' Associations. In a popula- tion exceeding 160,000 the ladies found that only two families were entirely destitute of the Holy Scriptures, while from the remarkable ratio which, both in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the free contributions bore to the subscrip- tions for Bibles, it was manifest that an abundant supply of the Word of God must have been scattered throughout the southern parts of Scotland. In the Highlands, how- ever, there was still a great dearth, and the Committee had delegated to the Edinburgh Society the super- intendence of two editions (5000 copies each) of the Gaelic version — one of the Bible, the other of the New Testament. In the following year the King's Printers in Scotland obtained an interdict against the importation of copies of the Authorised Version printed in England. The Scottish Auxiliaries were thrown upon their own resources, and this measure materially diminished the sales of the Earl Street Depository. From the beginning the contributions from Scotland 348 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [i8i7- had been marked by their liberality. For fifteen years, between 1810-11 and the secession, the Presbytery of Glasgow made a yearly collection within its jurisdiction. During the period of which we are writing it contributed in the aggregate ;^5o62, an average of ^630 a year. This generous assistance ceased with the year 1824-5. The total support received from the Scottish Auxiliaries from 1817-18 up to the secession was ;^50,40i, an average of ;^56oo a year. During the first four years of that period the aggregate was ^^25,487, but no distinction is shown in the accounts between the free contributions and the amount for Bibles. In the remaining five years the aggregate was ;^24,9i4, of which ;^20,685 were free subscriptions. In 1825, the crucial year of the controversy, the free con- tributions dropped to ;^i740; in 1826 they had fallen to ;^235. Efforts were made to retrieve some of the lost ground ; new Auxiliaries were formed at Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, and for the counties of Stirling, Fife and Elgin ; the Edinburgh Committee of Correspond- ence resolved itself into a regular Auxiliary in 1828, and a depot was opened for the supply of the Scriptures in English, Welsh, Irish, Gaelic, French, German, and some other foreign tongues ; but, as has already been pointed out,^ the manner in which the two great Scottish societies in particu- lar had grouped the Lowlands about them in Auxiliaries, Branches, and Associations, left scant room for fresh exertions. From the secession down to 1834 the free con- tributions received from these new organisations amounted to £4473- If Scotland withdrew its support from the Bible Society, the Bible Society did not relax in its goodwill and care for Scotland. Prior to the secession, the poor of the Highlands had been the object of its special solicitude. Thus in 1824 it had granted 1000 Gaelic Bibles to the ' See chap. vi. pp. 96-98. i834] THE DEARTH IN THE HIGHLANDS 349 Gaelic School Society, looo Bibles and looo Testaments to the Society for Educating the Poor in the Highlands, 750 Gaelic Bibles to the proprietor of The Lews, who had offered to purchase 750 more at cost price, 100 to the kelp-making disc of sand known as Benbecula ; and it was resolved to offer the Scriptures in the Highlands, through the local ministers, at extremely reduced prices. Down to the secession the Committee had voted Scriptures, chiefly in Gaelic, to the value of ;^2i37, and the sum included ;^332 for the accommodation of Roman Catholics. From the secession onward to 1834 the grants amounted to ;^38o8, including ;^i04 for Roman Catholics. In 1826 the Inverness Society for the Education of the Poor in the Highlands reported that in the western parts of Inverness and Ross there was only one Bible for every eight persons above the age of eight, while in other parts of the Highlands and Islands, including Orkney and Shetland, where reading was very general, there was one copy for every three. One fourth of all the families in these districts— 100,000 souls — still possessed no copy of the Scriptures. In the following year the secretary of the Inverness-shire Bible Society confirmed this account of the dearth in these regions, and added that in some parts, particularly in the Hebrides and on the shores of the Highlands, an almost inconceivable poverty prevailed: — "In some parishes there is indeed no money whatever in circulation ; multitudes pay the small rents exacted for their sterile patches by assisting in the manufacture of kelp, while their sustenance for part of the year is frequently sea-weed and shell-fish." In consequence of this deplorable condition of the people 7400 Gaelic Bibles and 1500 Testaments were voted by the Committee for distribution by the Inverness Auxiliary, the Gaelic School Society, and other organisations. As time passed by, the bitterness of the prolonged controversy was gradually allayed, but from the date of 350 THE APOCRYPHA CONTROVERSY [18171834 the schism the Bible work of Scotland was carried on independently, and the original relations between the Northern Bible Societies and the parent institution were never restored. 1 ^ At the Jubilee of the Society the Duke of Argyll, as President of the Scottish Bible Society, attended the meeting in Exeter Hall on the 8th March 1853. Referring to bygone differences, he said that the two Societies had long been in a position of earnest co-operation, and his own presence on that occasion was as much due to personal feeling and affection as to his official character. It was not till 1861, however, that all the Bible Societies north of the Border combined to form the National Bible Society of Scotland. CHAPTER XVIII THE TESTS CONTROVERSY We must now touch on various matters which, for the sake of clearness and continuity, were omitted in the preceding chapter. In process of time it became more and more evident to the Executive that the real strength of the Auxiliary system was centred in the Associations, and that the Associations were growing, year by year, more dependent on the exertions of the women-workers.^ The effect, too, of the presence of the Secretaries, or of members of the Society, or representatives of the Committee at the meetings of Branches, Auxiliaries, and Associations was too conspicuous to be mistaken. The real difficulty was to devise means for taking advantage of this natural opportunity. The Secretaries, who had already as much clerical and adminis- trative work to attend to as they could well execute, were unable to be everywhere, and although many members of the Committee readily gave their assistance, it was obvious that some regular plan of representation should be arranged. How much could be done in the way of stimulation by ' There is one point in connection with the Society's work to which, though it need not be emphasised, reference should be made. "It has been repeatedly asserted," writes one of the home agents, in 1832, "that a Bible Society always produces other charitable societies in the place where it is established. This remark, which has been almost universally verified, is not without confirmation at Keighley. The ladies of the Bible Society distributed among the poor 940 "blankets the year before last at reduced prices, and in the last year they carried on a clothmg society, by which above 1000 articles of clothing were either given or sold in this town and neighbourhood." 352 THE TESTS CONTROVERSY C'Si?- a single person was shown by Mr Dudley as early as 1817-18. In that year he travelled 4500 miles, and attended 107 Auxiliary committee meetings and 128 general meetings, at 59 of which new organisations were established. A reverse in business, however, compelled him to discontinue his gratuitous labours, but happily the Society was able shortly afterwards to secure his services as the first paid "accredited home agent." Thenceforward, notwithstanding the distress and the political agitation to which we have referred, new areas were steadily brought within the range of the Society's operations. In 1823-4, 5 new Auxiliaries, 22 Branches, 2 Ladies' Branches, 35 Bible Associations, and 60 Ladies' Bible Associations — in all 124 new institutions — were added to the roll. In 1825-6 the accessions numbered 56 ; in 1827-8 there were 50 ; and convincing evidence was produced in justification of the observation of the Committee, that in those places in Great Britain where the Bible Associations had not been brought into operation, a con- siderable dearth of the Scriptures generally prevailed. In Birmingham and the neighbourhood the local Ladies' Associations had found that as many as 2000 families had neither Bible nor Testament. In Wiltshire, within ten miles of a market town, an inquiry in 18 villages showed that 500 families were destitute of the Word of Life. In the area of another Association, the collectors of one district occupied by 80 families found 70 of them without a copy of the Scriptures. An illustration was also afforded of the searching and fruitful character of Mr Dudley's method in the account of a district which comprised about 36 villages and a population of 13,800, almost exclusively agricultural. "Of these only thirteen persons were subscribers to the Bible Society previous to 1825, and the aggregate amount of their contributions never exceeded ten guineas. The Branch society and its six Associations have now existed '7^ 'yf^'^C/i jy/tr , Am', h. , /' jTyfe^?/^ The Property of Boots Booklovers Library. 1834] DISTRICT AGENTS APPOINTED 353 two years ; the total number of subscribers exceeds 2400, of whom more than 800 are free contributors ; and the amount collected exceeds ;^86o, of which ;^334 has been remitted as free contributions in aid of the parent Society. More than 1 200 Bibles and Testaments have been distributed, and in no instance has it been found necessary to deliver a copy before the cost price was paid." In these circumstances the Committee considered them- selves justified in appointing a second agent — Mr W. Brackenbury^ — for the work was more than one man could compass, even with the help of such volunteers as the Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, the Rev. T. Thomason, on furlough from Calcutta, and James Montgomery, the poet. In the following year a third agent was needed, and Mr William Acworth, of Queen's College, Cambridge, was appointed. Messrs Dudley and Brackenbury had attended, together or separately, 65 meetings ; and 121 new Auxiliaries and Associations had been formed. In 1829-30, 133 more societies were added to the list. At this point we have some light thrown on the condition of Wales. Neither in the confusion of controversy nor in the pressure of multifarious transactions had the Principality been overlooked. It was visited by the agents and one of the Secretaries. In compliance with earnest requests a new edition of the Welsh version with marginal references had been published ; pocket Bibles and Testaments had been provided ; and a reduction in price had been made to meet the necessities of the people. Incredulity has often been expressed as to the Scripturally destitute condition of Wales at the time the Bible Society was formed. In 1829-30, Mr Dudley, describing the results of the systematic personal inquiry by the committees of six newly formed organisations in South Wales, shows how much there was still to do even after the large distributions of fifteen years. Of 4447 families visited, 1276 — over a fourth — were found YOL, I, 7- 354 THE TESTS CONTROVERSY [1817- totally unprovided, and beyond these there were many who had only imperfect or mutilated copies of the Scriptures. At the same time the people were willing to assist in supplying their own needs. The receipts of five of these organisations amounted to ;^i36i, and they had issued 4395 Bibles and Testaments. The aggregate number of subscribers to the Auxiliaries and their nine Associations exceeded 7000. In 1829-30 the Society was supported by 2349 organisa- tions — 274 Auxiliaries, 403 Branches, and 1672 Associations (of which 600 were conducted by ladies) — compared with 249 Auxiliaries, 372 Branches, and 1445 Associations — & total of 2066 — a year after the Scottish secession ; and the total net receipts, which had fallen to ;^8o,200 in '27 and to ;^78,900 in '28, now amounted to ;^85,ooo. Whether the repeal of the Test Acts in 1828 had excited anxiety and suspicion in the minds of religious people connected with the Bible Society it would be difficult to say, but apparently about this time the Society was threatened with the approach of another storm of con- troversy, scarcely less violent than that which was now dying away.^ It was not till the autumn of 1830, however, that this new subject of agitation was formally brought to the notice of the Committee. In September the Guernsey Auxiliary passed a resolution, which was transmitted to Earl Street, declaring that their members, "deeply im- pressed with the necessity of a simple dependence on the divine blessing, to be derived only through the Lord Jesus Christ, both God and man, pledge themselves to discountenance all union with Socinians ; and to promote, to the best of their power, this most desirable object among all other Branch Societies, they earnestly recommend to the parent Society totally to withdraw from those who deny the divinity of our Lord." A similar resolution was ' See Life of Lord Teignmouth, vol. ii. p. 519, for his answer to a letter from the Rev. G, Greatbatgh recommending the opening of meetings with prajfer, i834] THE BASIS OF UNION 355 sent by the Rugby Auxiliary, and a third was received from Derby advocating the introduction of prayer at all meetings of the Society. It was understood that this ill-advised proposal to destroy the catholicity of the institution would be projected into the regular proceedings of the approaching anniversary meeting, and statements were published, less in the hope of averting discussion than to prepare members to discount it. Under the signature " Sexagenarius " Mr Hughes issued Two Letters, addressed to Lord Teignmouth, on the subject of Prayer and Religious Tests; and an address signed in their individual capacity by the President, a number of the Vice-Presidents, including the Bishops of Winchester (Charles R. Sumner), Chester (John Bird Sumner), and Lichfield (Ryder), Lord Bexley and Mr Wilberforce, and by the Treasurer, Secretaries, and thirty- two members of Committee, was widely circulated. The signatories frankly stated that they objected to the proposed alteration "of the fundamental principle of the Society, which admits of the co-operation of all persons willing to assist in the circulation of the Holy Scriptures." With respect to the introduction of a Test which would operate to the exclusion of any particular class of persons, they believed that "the sound principles of Christian faith, as well as Christian charity, are more likely to be promoted by an adherence to our present constitution than by any change which would occasion a breach in the Society." On the subject of prayer, the Bible Society, by its constitution, united persons of different religious opinions in one object, for the furtherance of which they might all co-operate without any compromise of individual principles. "No arrangement has yet been suggested," the address went on, "which appears to us generally practicable, or which would not demand such a compromise on the part of some of our members ; and we cannot venture tq 356 THE TESTS CONTROVERSY [i8i7- recommend the adoption of a measure which might force any friends of the Society to the alternative of either retiring from it, or of appearing to sacrifice that consistency on which peace of mind and usefulness so materially depend." The tone which pervaded its reports and the sentiments which had animated its proceedings, it was added, made it manifest that the Society distinctly professed to look up to the favour of the Most High, and to ascribe its success wholly to His blessing. Friends who took other views than these were entreated to weigh against their private sentiments the danger of dividing, if not dissolving, a Society, which, as it was then constituted, had been honoured with such evident testimonies of the blessing of Almighty God. On the 4th May 1831, the anniversary meeting was held, for the first time, in Exeter Hall, which had just been erected, and for the first time in the history of the Society ladies were admitted to its gatherings. There was an unusually large attendance. Lord Bexley took the chair. Lord Teignmouth was prevented by illness and the infirmities of age from being present, and he was never again to preside at these memorable gatherings. He sent a letter in which he expressed his hope and prayer that the proceedings of the day would close in the deepest feelings of gratitude to God and of expanded charity towards their fellow-men. "The basis of our union," he wrote, "is the acknowledgment of the divine authority of the Holy Scriptures ; and the simple object of our institution is to promote the circulation of them in the widest possible extent. It does not assume the authority of interpreting them ; nor does it impose any test for the admission of its members." No bishops were present ; the President had concurred in their view that they should hold aloof from th? impending struggle, 1834] CONFLICTING VIEWS 357 In the fore-front of the annual report reference was made to the two issues which were uppermost in the minds of the crowded meeting. With regard to the introduction of oral prayer into the deliberations of the Committee and the public meetings of the Society, and the recommendation of the practice to the Auxiliaries generally, it was stated : — "Your Committee have never recorded their sentiments on this subject in the form of a resolution, but they may now state, as their almost unanimous judgment, that, viewing the petuliar constitution of the Society, they cannot advise the adoption of the measure. " When the second point, namely a modification of the fundamental laws of the Society with regard to qualifications for membership, was first brought under the notice of your Committee during the past year by two Auxiliaries (one of some years' standing, the other but just formed), they felt it their duty to record a resolution to the following effect, viz. : — ' That this Committee, feeling that it is their duty not only to confine themselves to the prosecution of the exclusive object of the British and Foreign Bible Society, but also to uphold the simplicity of its constitution, under which the contributions and assistance of all persons, without respect to religious distinctions, are admissible, earnestly, respectfully, and affectionately entreat the Committees of the Societies in question to reconsider the resolutions passed at their late meetings, with a view to their returning or conforming to the established principles of this Society.' "To the opinions thus expressed your Committee (with two exceptions) continue to adhere ; and they are at liberty to state that in that opinion they have the concurrence of your President and many of the Vice-Presidents, together with that of the Committees of several important Auxiliaries, who have addressed them on the subject." An abstract of the report was read, and the Rev. Dr William Dealtry, now Chancellor of the Diocese of Winchester, moved its adoption. Captain J. E. Gordon moved as an amendment : — " That the British and Foreign Bible Society is pre-eminently a religious and Christian Institution ; that no person rejecting the doctrine of a triune Jehovah can be considered a member of a Christian Institution ; that in conforrnity with this principle, the expression ' denominations of Christians ' in the Ninth General Law of the Society, be distinctly understood to include 358 THE TESTS CONTROVERSY ['Sir- such denominations of Christians only as profess their belief in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity." Another amendment, restricting the test to the Com- mittee and executive of the Society, was moved by the Rev. Lundy Foot : — " That the words of the Ninth Law, and of the others which prescribe the terms of admission to the agency of the Society, be not taken to extend to those who deny the divinity and atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ." Captain Gordon's speech, which was long and dis- cursive, was so frequently interrupted that the chairman, who could not make himself heard in the distant parts of the hall, desired the Rev. Daniel Wilson ^ to request that there should be neither approbation nor dissent to interrupt the calm, deliberate and Christian spirit in which such a discussion should be conducted. When Captain Gordon had exhausted the patience of the meeting the venerable Rowland Hill, then in his eighty-seventh year, rebuked the unseemly display of party spirit ; expressed the wish that all the Roman Catholics and all the Socinians in the world belonged to Bible Societies, for there they would find the truth to convince them of their errors ; and with a final reference to the disorder and noise, abruptly left the hall. Amid much excitement Mr Lundy Foot's amendment was seconded by the Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel ; Captain Gordon's by the Rev. G. W. Phillips. Mr Howell, the remarkable preacher of Long Acre Chapel, rose to support the more rigorous of the proposals, ' ' but the reverend gentleman having remained for some time in a supplicating attitude, resting on one knee, fold- ing his hands over his breast, relinquished his in- ' About this time much interest was taken in the Society by Daniel Wilson, who began in 1809 his ministry at Cecil's old chapel at St John's, Bedford Row, became vicar of Islington in 1824, and soon rose to a commanding position among the London Evangelicals, with a large following of Nonconformists as well as of Church people. In 1832 he was elevated to the metropolitan see of Calcutta. 1834] THE EXETER HALL MEETING 359 effectual attempt to propitiate the tumultuous audience." ^ Even the eloquent Dealtry, listened to for a little while, was subjected to frequent interruptions. In the course of his arguments he contended that, in the sense in which the expression was used in the first amendment, the Bible Society was not a "religious institution," and that view was enforced in a few quiet but effective sentences by Mr Luke Howard, a member of the Society of Friends and one of the trustees. "I hold your property," he said "on a certain understanding. I hold it on a certain condition, which I do believe would be violated were this amendment carried — by this change of the constitution of the Society. You may alter your laws, but I cannot alter my trust. I cannot alter my engagements : if I do I may be exposed to proceedings in Chancery, which might be very awkward." The Society was not a religious body. "It is a society for furnishing the means of religion, but not a religious society. In the Society of Friends we do not own Socinians ; but then we are a religious society. I have myself taken some pains to exclude Socinians from these ; but had we been engaged only in circulating the Scriptures, we should not have felt it needful to exclude them. The moment you establish a Test I will leave you ; but I will still act as trustee, according to the law under which I was so appointed." The amendments were then put and negatived, and the original motion — the adoption of the report — was carried, on a show of hands, by a majority of about six to one. An ineffectual attempt was afterwards made to re-open the question by the Test party, but as the Committee adhered to the wise precedent of abstaining officially from contro- versy, an appeal was issued by the party to the members of the Society and to the Auxiliaries and Associations, ^ Life of Lord Teignmouth, vol. ii. p. 547. A good account of the proceedings, together with the speeches, appears in the Monthly Extracts, 31st May 1831, but this grotesque incident is not referred to. 36o THE TESTS CONTROVERSY [1817- and numerous letters and pamphlets were published. Although the decision at the anniversary meeting was confined to the adoption of a report which, so far as the points in controversy were concerned, restricted itself to the maintenance of "the established principles of the Society," it was industriously given out that the meeting had pronounced against the practice of prayer and in favour of Socinians being regarded as Christians. Friends were not slow to defend, on their own responsibility, the cause of the institution. Indeed the number of apologists was larger than on any previous occasion, and the expenses of publication, defrayed by private con- tributions, exceeded ;^iooo. The Auxiliaries, too, made it clear that they desired no change in the law of member- ship. Of 280 representations received by the Committee, only 18 recommended a reconsideration of the subject. Seeing no prospect of effecting their object, the advocates of the Test amendments assembled in Exeter Hall on the 7th December 1831 ; and, under the title of the Trinitarian Bible Society, a new institution was formed, the members of which should "consist of Protestants, who acknowledge their belief in the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, three co-equal and co- eternal persons in one living and true God." "The trial, at the time," writes the second historian of the Bible Society, "was very great. It was grievous to its conductors and managers to have their motives impugned, their doings misrepresented, and their loyalty to the great Head of the Church brought under imputa- tion and suspicion. It was especially grievous to see the Society deserted by some of its best and warmest and holiest friends — for such they were — who, for a time at least, withdrew their countenance and active aid, even though they did not all join the [Trinitarian] Society."^ Browne, The History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. i. p. 134. 1834] GERARD AND BAPTIST NOEL 361 Among the able and honoured friends whom the Society thus lost was Mr Thomas Pell Piatt, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, who for eight years had held the honorary office of Librarian. It was he who had replied with knowledge and moderation to Southey's misleading and injurious attack in the Quarterly Review (June 1827)^ on several of the versions prepared at the instance of the Society, or published with its assistance. Among his many other services must be mentioned the laborious work in twelve folio MS. volumes, in which he compiled "An account of all the Translations circulated by the Society, stating the reasons which led to their adoption, or the history of the translating and editing of those which were new and revised versions." But if some valued workers were lost, others were the more firmly attached. At the next anniversary meeting — one of the most harmonious and enthusiastic ever recorded in the annals of the Society — the Hon. and Rev. Gerard Noel, who for a time had been in opposition, and the Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, who had seconded one of the Test amendments, now stood together on the platform, while the elder made in their joint names a fi-ank and affecting retractation of the errors into which, he confessed, they had fallen, and the injustice they had done the Society. They took their places once more amongst its friends and advocates, pledged, "as long as they had a voice to use and an arm to lift in its defence, to assist it in its benevolent designs." In the meantime the ordinary work of the Society had been carried on with unabated energy. ^ In 1830 as many as 164 new Auxiliaries and Associations had been ' In 1829, in his Progress and Prospects of Society, vol, ii. p. 79> Southey wrote of the Society: "I admit that weakness, rashness, enthusiasm, fanaticism, have been brought by it into action and into full display. . . . But in all great movements there has ever been this mixture of men and motives ; and with all drawbacks for this, all allowances for misdirected and wasted exertions, certain it is that there has been a great and good object in view, and that a mighty and holy work is in progress.' 362 THE TESTS CONTROVERSY [1817- established ; in 1831 more than 130 were added, and the issues of the Scriptures amounted to 583,888 copies — ^^the largest number distributed in one year since the foundation of the institution. In the autumn of 1831 England was smitten by that terrible visitation of the Cholera which carried off 53,000 of the population in that and the following year. It had reached Russia in 1830, swept with appalling mortality over Germany in 1831, and appeared at Sunderland on the 26th October, at Edinburgh on the 6th February 1832, in the shipping districts of London on the 13th, and in Dublin on the 3rd March. In anticipation of the epidemic, 19,537 copies of the New Testament bound up with the Psalms were distributed on loan, through the Auxiliaries, to as many destitute families in London and the neighbourhood ; in Manchester, 14,000 families were visited, and though the local Auxiliary had already distributed 100,000 copies, 4000 families were found without the Scriptures ; in Edinburgh 2000, and in Glasgow 3000 copies were supplied. In all, 30,865 copies of the New Testament and Psalms were distributed between 1831 and 1833 in various parts of the kingdom, at a cost of ;^3094. While meetings of a few Auxiliaries and Associations were suspended through the prevalence or the dread of cholera, the agents did not shrink from en- gagements which took them to places where the disease existed. They were "graciously preserved in all their journeyings." One distinguished and attached friend fell a victim to the plague — the Rev. Dr Adam Clarke, then in his seventieth year, the great Wesleyan leader who had rendered valuable literary assistance to the Society in its earlier transactions, and whose Commentary and other theo- logical works preserve the memory of his piety, industry, and profound Oriental scholarship. In the late summer of 1834] FOUR DISTRICT SECRETARIES 363 1832 his heart was almost broken by tidings of a frightful gale in which thirty fishing-boats and over a hundred and fifty of his beloved Shetlanders had perished. He hastened home from the West of England, and in his shattered health easily succumbed to the scourge which was sweeping the land.^ Even in this dark year 1 18 new organisations were formed, and it was found necessary to engage the services of the Rev. Thomas Brooke, rector of Westaston, Cheshire, as a fourth home agent. The funds of the Society had, however, shown a diminution of ;^6ooo, chiefly under the head of legacies, annual subscriptions and free contributions, compared with the previous year ; and though it was recognised that in the circumstances of the time there was cause for gratitude and astonishment that the diminution had not been far greater, attention was earnestly directed to the subject. A concentrated effort was made during the next twelve months. As many as 753 meetings were attended by the Secretaries, agents, and representatives of the Society ; 13 Auxiliaries, lo Branches, and 154 Associations were founded ; special collections were made by congrega- tions and institutions ; and at the anniversary meeting in 1834 the Committee were able to report that the receipts had risen to ;^83,897, giving an excess of ;^8400 over those of the preceding year. The result of these efforts was in itself sufficient to indicate the direction in which exertions should be developed. The whole of England and Wales, excluding the Metropolis, was mapped out into four sections for the constant supervision of the four agents, and this division of labour and allocation of districts was attended by so many advantages that it may be regarded as in no small measure contributory to the stability of the Society's financial position. ^ Stoughton, Hist, of Religion in England, vol. viii. p. 153. 364 THE TESTS CONTROVERSY [1817- The list of the various institutions and dependent organisations was now carefully revised and brought up to date. It showed 284 Auxiliaries, 388 Branches, 1824 Associations, of which more than 11 90 were conducted by- ladies — in all, 2496 active agencies in Great Britain alone. But if the year had been blessed with fruitfulness, it was also a year of memorable losses. On the 3rd October 1833, died the Rev. Joseph Hughes, the honoured Secretary whose inspiring question, "Why not for the kingdom — why not for the world?" originated, under divine providence, the institution which at the time of his death had distributed eight and a half million copies of the Scriptures in more than a hundred languages. Of his sixty-four years of life, thirty had been spent in the service of the Society ; in whose advocacy and defence he had employed an eloquent tongue and a prompt and convincing pen ; to whose councils he had brought wisdom, resourcefulness, moderation, and graciousness of disposition. " However any might be exalted in rank, whether in Church or State — however any might seriously differ from him in subordinate points," the Committee recorded in their memorial, "all were agreed to reverence and love an individual in whom so many excellencies appeared." Shortly before his death, he reluctantly tendered his resignation.^ "The office," he wrote, "has, I believe, greatly helped me in the way to heaven. But now my great Lord seems to say, ' I have dissolved the commission — thy work in this department is done ; yield cheerfully to my purpose, and prepare to enter those blessed abodes where the labours of the Bible Society shall reveal a more glorious consummation than the fondest hope had anticipated.'" He was buried in Bunhill Fields, the resting-place of John Bunyan, of the mother of the Wesleys, of many more ^ He bequeathed ;^ioo to the funds of the Society. 1834] THE GRAVE OF JOSEPH .HUGHES 365 whose names are beloved and reverenced. Thirty years later a Mr William Hardcastle, connected with the Societies to which Mr Hughes had been Secretary, visited the cemetery. It had recently been laid out in walks and planted with trees, ^ and with difficulty he found the humble grave, and deciphered among the grass, at the foot of the stone, the mouldering and incomplete inscription : Joseph Hughes M.A. 1833 British and Foreign He drew the attention of friends to this perishing memorial ; a fund was raised,^ and a seemly monument in red and grey granite was erected to the memory of the man to whom the Religious Tract and British and Foreign Bible Societies owed so much. In the course of the year the Rev. George Browne, minister of the Independent congregation at Clapham, was appointed to succeed Mr Hughes as Secretary. His reception by Lord Teignmouth was the last official act of the first President of the Bible Society. His lordship had recovered slowly from a serious ill- ness in the early part of the year, and had regained health and strength during a residence at Hampstead. A week or two before his eighty-second birthday (8th October) he returned to his London house, but on Christmas-day he suffered a relapse from which neither his physical nor his intellectual powers completely rallied. Lord Bexley and Dr Ireland, Dean of Westminster, were among the friends whose attention was constant during these declining days, and he had the affectionate care and spiritual assistance ^ Bunhill Fields was leased as a burial-ground in 1665. When the cemetery was closed in 1852 more than 120,000 persons had been interred. In 1867 it was committed to the care of the Corporation of London, laid out as a free space, and opened to the public on the 14th October i86g. 2 Among the subscribers were the Earl of Shaftesbury, President of the Society, Mr S. Morley, Dr Angus, the Rev. Thomas Binney, and Mr Thomas Hankey, one of the few who remembered Mr Hughes in the early years of the Bjble cause, 366 THE TESTS CONTROVERSY [i8i7- of his beloved son-in-law, the Rev. Robert Anderson, whom he had long before chosen to attend him in his dying hours. About a week before the event he foretold the day of his decease, which took place on the 14th February 1834, the anniversary of his happy marriage.^ His remains were laid in the parish church of St Marylebone, and in compliance with his strict injunctions his funeral was attended only by his immediate relatives and connections. The epitaph on the monument to his memory recorded no more than his title and age, and the fact that he had been " President of the British and Foreign Bible Society From its foundation to his death, a period of thirty years, And formerly Governor-General of India." Regret for his loss was tempered by gratitude that he had been so long permitted to give the Society the prestige of his rank and station, to guide it with his wisdom and experience in administration, to furnish it with an example of the generous catholicity, the winning candour, the unfailing charity, the simple Christian piety on which its harmonious activity depended. For many years he paid unremitting attention to the details of its proceedings ; the earlier reports were wholly written by himself; once only from the beginning up till 1830 had he been unable to preside at its anniversary celebration. Even when illness and declining strength prevented his presence in the Committee he exercised a constant superintendence by means of the unrestricted intercourse which he afforded to the officers of the Society. His prayers were continually offered up on its behalf. Its troubles and difficulties weighed upon his heart as though they had been the burdens of his own household. In a letter to one of his ' In the forty -second year of his marriage (1828) he writes to his son Frederick : "I could very conscientiously claim the flitch of bacon at Dunmow." Lady Teignmouth survived him only four months, i834] THE DEATH OF LORD TEIGNMOUTH 367 sons, shortly after the Scottish secession, he wrote : — " Such occurrences as have lately happened in our Society contri- bute to make me hang loosely on the world. My wish and prayer are that, while I am in it, I may devote the remainder of my life to the service of God " ; and there is a strange pathos in the memorandum which he jotted beneath his signature in another letter about the same time — "-iEtat. 74 y. II mo. 14 days." To the veneration in which his name was held abroad it would be difficult to indicate any limit. His introduction and recommendation never failed to ensure a kind and ready attention from many of the most distinguished persons of every country. The funeral of his son Henry was an affecting instance of the respect and attachment of the common people. Another son, his biographer and successor, travelling in Norway, reached the house of an aged minister in a wild sequestered nook of the Bergen district. After reading the letter of introduction which he presented, the venerable pastor beckoned him to follow, and at once led him up to a portrait of his father. The hospitality corresponded with such a welcome.^ The choice of a successor fell spontaneously and unanimously upon the Right Hon. Lord Bexley, whose zeal had long been known, who had often supplied the place of the President in Committee and at public meetings, and who, next to Lord Teignmouth, was most familiar with the character and affairs of the Society. As Mr Vansittart, he had been an unhesitating but prudent and far-seeing advocate and defender of the Society in the days when it was most exposed to obloquy and derision, and in the midst of the great war and under the pressure of the financial difficulties which it occasioned, he found time while Chancellor of the Exchequer to promote its interests. Nicholas Vansittart was born in April 1766. His father, ^ Life of Lord Teignmouth, vol, ii. p. 540, 368 THE TESTS CONTROVERSY ['S'? Henry Vansittart, had been Governor of Fort William, Bengal, from 1 760-1 765, and his mother was the daughter of Nicholas Morse, some time Governor of Madras. When the child was three years old Mr Vansittart, who had been appointed one of three supervisors of East Indian affairs, sailed for Calcutta in the frigate Aurora. It foundered at sea, and all on board perished. In connection with this tragic end a strange story is told on what appears to be good authority. Mrs Vansittart dreamed one night that her husband appeared to her, sitting naked on a barren rock. He told her not to give credit to any rumours relative to his death (which was announced soon after) ; and the lady was so deeply affected by what had occurred, and so prepossessed with the authenticity of the supposed communication, that she refused to put on mourning for the space of two whole years. ^ Young Vansittart was educated at Mr Gilpin's school at Cheam in Surrey, took the degree of M.A. at Christ Church, Oxford, was called to the bar in 1791, and five years later was returned to Parliament for Hastings. When the Bible Society was formed he was one of the two statesmen who represented ' ' the solitary shepherd of Old Sarum," and in the same year he was made a Lord of the Treasury. Upon the death of Mr Perceval he filled the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer till 1822 ; in 1823 he was created Baron Bexley, and from 1828 onward he took little part in public affairs. He was sixty-eight when called upon to succeed Lord Teign mouth, as second President, but he had still seventeen years in which to devote himself to the cause of the Bible. Probably little need be changed in the description of his appearance in the House of Commons to adapt it to his presence at the meetings of the Bible Society: — "The 1 Wilson, A Biographical Index to the present House of Commons, 1808. The statement was "communicated to the editor by a person of condition, well acquainted wjfh the family." Falconer, author of The Shipwreck, went down in the Aitrora, 1834] LORD BEXLEY, SECOND PRESIDENT 369 primitive simplicity of his character procured him many friends, and his white hair and unworldly gentleness acquired the sort of reverence men are accustomed to feel for a saintly priest. Above all, his perpetual good-nature secured a patient, even half-affectionate attention." ^ ' Morris, Founders and Presidents of the Bible Society, p. io8. VOL. I 2 A CHAPTER XIX THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVE During these eventful years the Bible cause had been making steady progress in Ireland. From the first, the Auxiliaries of Scotland and Wales had been contributory ; for many years the Irish Auxiliaries were less happily circumstanced. Ireland was in an impoverished condition, and though great efforts were made both in the circulation of the Scriptures and in the establishment of Branches and Associations, the necessities of the time called for the liberal assistance of the parent Society. In 1820 the Hibernian Bible Society had gathered about it 83 contributory organizations. During the next two years the number had increased to 147 ; and in 1822 the receipts amounted to £43^3, and there had been a distribution of 8628 Bibles and 7949 Testaments. At the anniversary meeting of the Bible Society in May 1823, the Rev. Robert Daly, vicar of Powerscourt (in 1843 Bishop of Cashel), drew attention to the condition of education in Ireland, and to the special importance of the Scriptures being made accessible in the native Irish. In Antrim, Armagh, and Londonderry, the number of children educated in Sunday schools was, to the whole population, in the proportion of one to twelve, and those were peaceable, quiet counties. But in Limerick — too well known by its atrocities and murders — the proportion was one to nine hundred and seventy-seven. In the whole province of Ulster it was one to seventeen; and in Munster one to 370 1817-1834] DISTRIBUTIONS IN IRELAND 371 about five hundred. People looked for the cause of the evil they deplored in a place where it was not to be found ; they did not look for it in the ignorance of the Scriptures and the lack of education. In the provinces of Munster and Connaught there were two millions of people who spoke no language but Irish ; and during all the years he had been looking for a copy of the Irish Bible in shops and at bookstalls he had found but one, and the price of that was two guineas. In parts of the country where the people happened to know sufficient English to answer a question on the roads or in the fields, it was Irish that was spoken by the fireside ; and by these people the Scriptures in Irish would be read where the English Bible would be rejected with disgust. Impressed by this representation of the case, the Com- mittee decided to print in the Erse character 5000 copies of Bishop Bedell's Irish Bible ; and an edition of 20,000 copies of the New Testament was also prepared. During the next two years munificent grants were voted to the Hibernian Bible Society (in addition to ;^300 to aid the printing of an Irish pocket Bible) ; to the London Hibernian School Society, which at this time occupied twenty-nine of the thirty-two Irish counties, and had 1072 schools with 88,699 scholars (160 for adults with an attendance of 10,817) ! to the Sunday School Society for Ireland, the Baptist Irish Society, and other organizations and individuals. By these means 16,700 Bibles (of which 700 were Irish) and 123,000 Testaments (3900 Irish), and 10,000 copies of the Irish version of St Matthew in the Erse character were distributed in Ireland, at a cost to the Society of ;^i3>539- From year to year there were fluctuations in the receipts, in the contributions, in the number of accessions to the Hibernian Bible Society. There were minor troubles ; the accuracy of the Irish reprints was attacked ; a few 372 THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVE [1817- associations withdrew because they could not have the Scottish metrical version of the Psalms circulated with the sacred text. But the general character of the period was progressive. In 1833-4 the Auxiliaries, Branches, and Associations of the Hibernian Bible Society numbered about 630, and the issue of the Scriptures from the beginning (1806) had reached an aggregate of 707,767 copies. Similarly, with the great distributive agencies just mentioned, the extent of the grants varied according to circumstances, but in the course of this second period the grants made to Ireland by the Committee amounted, from first to last, to no less than ;^79,284. The range of the London Hibernian Society's work became con- siderably enlarged; in 1834 there were 1690 schools — 770 week-day and 920 adult and Sunday schools. With this, as with other societies, precautions were taken by their inspectors and superintendents to render the abuse of these donations of the Scriptures impossible. And the effect? Some indication is given in a report of the Hibernian Bible Society: — "The good effects of the Irish Scriptures are incalculable. The native Irish so love their language that, despite of priestly anathemas and every opposition, they will receive and learn to read the Irish Bible. I have known several who, before they would give up their Irish Scriptures, have given up their own for a foreign land. . . . Within the last ten years I have seen hundreds of these poor peasantry, who are in con- nection with good schools, suffering, from attachment to the Irish Scriptures, the severest displeasure of their priests, and exclusion for years from all rites of the Church, before they would consent to exclude that book from their cabins. ... I am personally acquainted with more than 200 of these men who, because they would not resign their Bible-reading or teaching, have been way- laid, beaten, and abused." Experience proved, it was i834] PROVISION FOR EMIGRANTS 373 added, that wherever the Irish Bible went, the English followed. The activity of the friends of the Bible cause had also produced a reaction amongst the Roman Catholic clergy. Their bishops in the north had printed in Belfast some thousand copies of the Douai Bible, with notes, and the edition had had an extensive circulation. A comparison of its text, however, with that of the Authorised Version had gone far to break down the prejudice and distrust which had been felt against the latter. Let us glance for a moment at some of the other directions in which the Bible Society exercised its influence during this period. At home among our own people opportunities were not lacking, and were not neglected. We have already seen what was done for soldiers and sea-farers of every descrip- tion. To poor schools, and through the medium of various benevolent societies, grants of the Scriptures were distributed to the value of £,/\(y)'o. Poor foreigners, including Polish refugees, were supplied to the extent of ;^682. The votes to convict-ships, prisons, and the hulks amounted to ^Wjo. To the Isle of Man ;^438 was voted in grants ; and to the London Newfoundland School Society ;^i584. A specially interesting group of recipients was that of the emigrants. Our population had increased from close on fifteen and three-quarter millions in 1801 to more than twenty-four millions in 1831. The times were hard and were growing harder, and men's thoughts began to turn more adventurously to a new life in a freer world. The number of emigrants increased from 2081 in 1815 to 12,500 in 1816; to 20,600 in 1817 ; to 25,700 in 1820; to 56,900 in 1830. In 1840 it was 90,700. Not a great multitude, but emigration severed the adventurers and the exiles from old traditions, relaxed the familiar restraints, exposed to many dangers while it opened up bright prospects of life. The Bible Society was anxious that emigrant ships 374 THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVE [1817- should not cross the seas without bearing with them the message of the true Land of Promise ; and Bibles and Testaments in Enghsh and Gaelic and other tongues were furnished at a cost of ;^i885. The attention of the Auxiliaries at the different emigrant ports was called to the subject, and occasionally duly qualified persons were engaged to visit the ships. Circulars were also sent to the Auxiliaries of the colonies to which the emigrants were sailing, and special grants and arrangements were made to provide the new settlers with the Word of Life. One brief glimpse a Scottish minister has preserved for us of the sailing of the last emigrant ship of 1832. It had been unexpectedly detained by wind or tide over the Sabbath at its last port of call ; service was attended, and a sermon was preached from the text, "Ye are the salt of the earth." The preacher noticed the large number of strange faces in his auditory, and "judging them to be exiles from the land of their fathers — the land of Bibles and Gospel privileges — going to a far country, he was led to address himself to them in a manner which left few dry eyes in the deeply affected congregation. He besought them to be as ' salt ' in the wilderness where they were going ; and appealed to them as to the danger of 'salt losing its saltness.' In the course of the day he received a letter, signed 'An Emigrant,' expressing his and his fellow-voyagers' deep sentiments of obligation to the faithful and affectionate preacher, and their hope that the solemn services of that last Sabbath in Britain might not be lost upon them. Aboard that very vessel were not a few copies of the Scriptures, the very last of your former supply. That is a ' salt ' which will never lose its saltness." In one or other of these emigrant ships there went out a young Roman Catholic lad. He does not seem to have received a Bible on board, but one was placed in 1834] EXPENDITURE ON HOME WORK 375 his hands in the United States while he was yet a youth, and it impressed his mind and heart. More than thirty years rolled by, and in 1851 he stood on the platform at the anniversary meeting of the Society, and was introduced as the Rev. Dr Murray, the delegate of the American Bible Society. And other sails were bearing other sea-farers to distant lands, — missionaries and travellers of all kinds. To the care of these and other volunteers in the good work, Scriptures in various tongues were entrusted to the value of jC5^37- During these years, also, the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews, the Society of Friends to the Hebrew Nation, the Philo-Judean Society were all at work. During this second period the Bible vSociety expended on its home-work in the various directions indicated an aggregate of ;^ 108,000. Notwithstanding the secessions occasioned by the two great controversies, and the losses incidental to the chang- ing years, the Society was able to maintain the dis- tinguished character of its roll of patrons. The following Vice-Presidents accepted office between 1820 and 1834. 1820-1838 The Archbishop of Tuam (Hon. Power Trench). 1821-1839 The Duke of Bedford (6th Duke).i 1821-1834 The Earl of Hardwicke (3rd Earl).'' 1821-1834 The Earl Spencer (2nd Earl).^ 1821-1835 The Earl of Glasgow (5th Earl). 1 82 1 - 1 869 The Earl of Roden (3rd Earl). 1821-1850 The Earl of Gosford (2nd Earl). 1821-1832 Admiral Viscount Exmouth. 1821-1854 Lieut.-General Viscount Lorton. 1821-1846 Lord Calthorpe (3rd Baron). 1 821- 1 829 Lord Waterpark (2nd Baron). ' A munificent patron of art and industry ; rebuilt Covent Garden market at a cost of upwards of ;^40,ooo; father of Lord John Russell (ist Earl Russell). ^ Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland from 1801 to 1804. ^ First Lord of the Admiralty during the most brilliant period of our naval history. 376 THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVE [1817- 1821-1871 Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart.' 1821-1854 Sir Robert Harry Inglis, Bart.^ 1821-1865 The Right Hon. Charles Grant, M.P. (1835, Lord Glenelg). 1822-1885 The Hon. Charles John Shore (1834, 2nd Lord Teignmouth). 1 823- 1 826 The Bishop of Calcutta (Reginald Heber). 1823-1845 The Dean of SaHsbury (Hugh Nicolas Pearson). 1823-1866 Lord Barham (1842, Earl of Gainsborough). 1824-1835 The Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (Hon. Henry Ryder). 1825-1836 The Bishop of Salisbury (Thomas Burgess). 1 825- 1 870 The Earl of Rocksavage (1827, Marquis of Cholmondeley). 1826-1827 The Bishop of Llandaff (Charles Richard Sumner; 1827 Bishop of Winchester). 1827-1828 The Bishop of Calcutta (J. T. James). 1827-1855 Viscount Mandeville (1843, 6th Duke of Manchester). 1827-1838 Lord Farnham (5th Baron). 1 828- 1 874 The Bishop of Winchester (Charles Richard Sumner). 1 828- 1 837 The Bishop of Sodor and Man (William Ward). 1 829- 1 862 The Bishop of Chester (John Bird Sumner ; 1848, Arch- bishop of Canterbury). 1829-1831 The Bishop of Calcutta (J. M. Turner). 1829-1846 Lord Mount Sandford. 1831-1834 The Bishop of Bristol (Robert Gray). 1831-1885 The Earl of Chichester (3rd Earl). 1832-1858 The Bishop of Calcutta (Daniel Wilson). 1832-1840 Lord Henley. 1 833- 1 864 Viscount Morpeth (1848, 7th Earl of Carlisle)." We must now throw into chronological order a number of interesting details which do not lend themselves to any better arrangement. 1 M.P. for Devon from 181 2 to 1830, with an interval of two years, and of North Devon from 1837 to 1857 ; actively interested in the religious movements of the time. '^ A friend of Peel, whom he defeated at Oxford in 1829 on the question of Catholic Emancipation. At the coronation of George IV. he was charged with the unpleasant office of refusing Queen Caroline admission to Westminster Abbey. ^ Dr Ward, it will be remembered, took an active part while rector of Myland in the controversy arising out of the formation of the Colchester Auxiliary — chapter V, ^ Chief Secretary for Ireland, 1835; Lord-Lieutenant, 1855. 1834] MEMORABILIA 377 In 181 7-18 large editions of the Malay Bible and Testament, of Martyn's Hindustani Testament and Fitrut's Genesis, and of the Syriac Old Testament were put to press under the care of the Rev. Samuel Lee ; and with his assistance an Arabic Bible was being edited by Dr Macbride, Professor of Arabic at Cambridge. By the end of this period, revised versions or new translations had been printed, or were in the course of printing, at home, in thirty-nine different languages. On the 3rd March, i8ig, died Mr Joseph Hardcastle, at whose house in Old Swan Stairs, " on a dark December morning," in the second year of the century, the project of a Bible Society was first conceived. He was one of the founders of the Religious Tract Society, and the first treasurer of the London Missionary Society which he had also helped to establish. He was born at Leeds on the 7th December 1752, and was buried in Bunhill Fields. On the 24th May in the same year the Princess Victoria was born ; and in 1820, on the 23rd January, died her father, H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, one of the most illustrious patrons and warmest friends of the Society. On the 29th of the same month died his Majesty George III., whose wish it was "that every child in his dominions should be able to read the Bible." At the anniversary meeting of the Society on the 2nd May 1820, Mr Ward of Serampore presented copies of versions, prepared and printed in the settlement, in ten Oriental languages ; and Dr Adam Clarke introduced two Sinhalese converts. Reared from childhood in the temple of Buddha, they had reached the rank of high-priests when copies of the New Testament in their native tongue were given them to read. They were filled with astonishment. The Lord Jesus Christ had made friends of fishermen ! " They were of the fishermen's caste in Ceylon, and it struck them that if the author of this religion did associate with 378 THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVE [1817- persons of that profession who became the means of spread- ing the knowledge of His Gospel through almost the whole world, perhaps it might please Him to use them, who were fishermen also, to make known His Gospel to their countrymen." When Sir Alexander Johnston sailed for England, they left their temple, their friends, and their country, put off in a boat, came up with the ship, then under weigh, and were taken on board and brought to England. That had happened in 181 7. Dr Clarke had received them into his own house, and they had in time been admitted into full communion with the Church. These were of the labours of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 182 1 Thomas Scott, the eminent Evangelical whose name has so often appeared in these pages, passed to his reward. In May of the same year Parry set out on his Polar expedition, and took with him a few copies of the Eskimo Gospels. In 1822 the Society lost in the Bishop of Meath one of its honoured Vice-Presidents. The son of a Roman Catholic family, Thomas Lewis O'Beirne was educated with his brother John for the priesthood at St Omer, and it is a singular fact that years afterwards the brothers ministered in the same diocese, the one as a zealous parish priest, the other as a prelate of the Protestant establishment. His Excellency, Mr Papoff, the secretary of the Russian Bible Society, was present at the anniversary meeting of 1823 ; and the eldest son of Marshman of Serampore laid on the table a copy of the entire Bible in Chinese. In the following year another version in the same language was presented by Dr Morrison — the fruit of his own pro- longed labours and those of his deceased colleague, the Rev. Dr Milne. At this last anniversary two old Admirals whose battle-ships had encountered in the great war now met and 1834] POPE LEO XII. AND THE SOCIETY 379 shook hands — Lord Gambier and Count Ver Huell, the representative of the Paris Bible Society. In 1823 the Society had to mourn the sudden death, in his seventy-eighth year, of Charles Grant, the beloved "ruler of the rulers of the East." His remains were followed to their last resting-place by his friend Lord Teignmouth. Mr Ronneberg, who for some years had acted as Assistant Foreign Secretary, died in the same year, and his place was filled by Mr John Jackson. In 1823, also, Pope Pius VII. slept the sleep which the silver mallet cannot break. One of the earliest acts of his successor, Leo XII., was the publication of an Encyclical in which he attacked the Society : — " You are aware, venerable brethren, that a certain Society called the Bible Society, strolls with effrontery through the world ; which Society, contemning the traditions of the Holy Fathers, and contrary to the well- known decree of the Council of Trent, labours with all its might, and by every means, to translate, or rather to pervert, the Holy Scriptures into the vulgar language of every nation ; from which proceeding it is greatly to be feared that, by a perverse interpretation, the Gospel of Christ may be turned into a human Gospel — or, what is worse, the Gospel of the Devil. To avert this plague, our predecessors published many ordinances, and proofs collected from the Holy Scriptures and tradition, to show how noxious this most wicked novelty is to faith and morals. We exhort you, therefore, by all means to turn away your flocks from these poisonous pastures, being persuaded that if the Scriptures be everywhere indiscriminately published, more evil than advantage will arise on account of the rashness of men," etc. On the 19th April 1824 Lord Byron died at Missolonghi, and was succeeded in the title by his first cousin, the Commander of H.M.S. Blonde, which carried out to the Sandwich Islands the remains of King Kamehameha and his Queen, who had died in London of measles in that year. The Committee placed 100 Bibles and 300 Testaments in the charge of Mr Bloxham, the chaplain of the vessel, for distribution during the voyage. In the course of his cruising in the South Seas, Lord Byron lighted on an 38o THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVE [i8i7- island which he thought had not yet been discovered. At a missionary meeting which he attended a year or two later at Bristol, his lordship told how the boats were lowered, and with what precaution his men approached the suspected shore. Suddenly a canoe appeared. Instead of armed savages, its occupants were two noble-looking men clothed in cotton shirts and very fine mats. They boarded the ship, and presented a document from a missionary stating that they were native teachers employed in preaching the Gospel to the people of the island. His lordship then went ashore. He was led through a wood, beyond which a wide lawn opened before him ; and in the centre of the lawn stood a spacious chapel, and native cottages peeped through the foliage of the bread-fruit and banana trees in which they were embowered. Entering one of the cottages, which was beautifully clean, he found on the table a portion of the New Testament in the native language. His lordship's story was repeated by a clergyman at an overflow meeting in Exeter Hall at the anniversary celebration of the Society in 1836. When the speaker had concluded, a stranger arose, and introduced himself to the audience as the missionary who had discovered the island, made Christianity known to the inhabitants, and translated the very portion of the Scripture which Lord Byron had found, and which had sufficed to draw those savage tribes from cannibalism and idolatry to the worship of the true God. It was John Williams. In 1825 his Majesty George IV. graciously accepted for his private library a complete set of the versions published by the Society. With the view of extending the range of their usefulness in a fresh direction, the Committee arranged in 1825 to supply Sunday schools with the Scriptures at greatly reduced prices — the nonpareil Bible at two shillings, and the brevier Testament at ninepence. Many thousands of i834] RESIGNATION OF DR STEINKOPFF 381 copies were distributed in a little while through these channels. In 1826 the Society lost two of its eminent patrons — one, Dr Harrington, who for more than thirty-five years had occupied the see of Durham (the last but one in the long procession of its Princes Palatine), who had been a liberal benefactor of the French clergy in their exile during the Revolution, whose name had appeared in the first list of Vice-Presidents, and who at the last had bequeathed ;^500 to the Bible cause : the other, the Marquis of Hastings, who, as Lord Moira, accepted the office of Vice-President in 1813, not long before he took up the Governor-Generalship of India. Pursuing the policy of Warren Hastings and Wellesley, he made England the one great Power in Hindustan. He returned home, broken in health, in 1823, and two years later was appointed Governor of Malta. His last wish was com- plied with, — that his right hand should be preserved until the death of the Marchioness and then laid in her coffin to be buried with her. Weakened by illness, and feeling himself over-burdened by the complication of difficulties arising out of the Apocrypha controversy, Dr Steinkopff resigned his respon- sible position as Foreign Secretary on the 2nd December 1826. The Committee put on record their warm recognition of the magnitude, extent, and beneficial effects of his dis- interested services at home and abroad for more than twenty-two years ; but though he was released from the cares of office, Dr Steinkopff let pass no opportunity of promoting the interests of the Society, and twenty-seven years later he was able to take a part in the celebration of its Jubilee. . For some time the duties of his post were discharged by Dr Pinkerton, and when the latter was absent abroad Dr Steinkopff gave his services so far as his health and 382 THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVE [i8i7- circumstances would permit. In 1829, however, tiie concerns of the institution had become so extensive and varied that the appointment of a Superintendent of the Translating and Literary Department became imperative, and Mr William Greenfield, who besides editing Bagster's Comprehensive Bible had edited or revised for the press the Syriac New Testament, a large portion of the Polyglot New Testament, the Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, and Vulgate, was selected for the position at a salary of ;^300. Unhappily the Society had not long the benefit of his remarkable gift of tongues. While apparently in the full bloom of health he died suddenly in 1831, after having brought his talents into exercise in no fewer than twelve European, five Asiatic, one African, and three American languages, and acquired during the nineteen months of his engagement considerable skill in Peruvian, Negro-English, Chippeway and Berber. The Rev. Joseph Jowett, M.A., rector of Dilk Willoughby, Lincolnshire, succeeded him in the following year. In 1828 the Society lost another of its Vice-Presidents, Lord Liverpool, who was Prime Minister from 1812-1827, and during those busy years found frequent occasion to advocate its claims. In 1831, during the destructive Reform Bill riots, the palace of the Bishop of Bristol, one of the Society's Vice- Presidents, was plundered and burnt down with the Mansion House, Excise Office, the gaols and other public and private buildings ; the Bishop of Winchester, another of the Society's Vice-Presidents, was burnt in effigy close to his own palace ; and Dr Ryder, the Bishop of Lichfield, a third Vice-President, was in danger of being killed after preaching a charity sermon at St Bride's Church. In 1832 died Lord Gambler, one of the earliest Vice-Presi- dents and one of the most constant friends of the Society. In his will he bequeathed ;^200 to the institution. 1834] ENGAGEMENT OF GEORGE BORROW 383 In this year a strange and interesting figure enters into the history of the Bible Society. It is not known how George Borrow came to meet the Rev. Francis Cunningham, who introduced him to the Secretaries of the Society. Borrow walked from Norwich to London to see Mr Brandram and the Literary Superintendent, Mr Jowett, and in the July of the following year his services were engaged, and he was sent to St Petersburg to see an edition of the Manchu Testament through the press. In 1833 the Society lost three more distinguished supporters. Admiral Viscount Exmouth, one of its Vice- Presidents, died in January at the age of seventy-six. He was the beau id^al of a Christian British sailor. At the opening of the French war in 1793, he manned the 36-gun frigate Nymphe with Cornish miners and captured the first prize of the war, the "crack ship of France," Cleopatre, of 40 guns. In 1816 he bombarded Algiers for nine hours on the 26th August, compelled the Dey to surrender about 1200 slaves, and abolished Christian slavery in the Barbary States. In 182 1 he retired from active service, and was enrolled among the Vice-Presidents of the Bible Society ; and a year before his death was raised to the high station of Vice-Admiral of England. In 1833 also died, in his eighty-ninth year, the venerable Rowland Hill, who in the intervals of his spiritual ministra- tions, vaccinated as many of his Sunday, school children and their parents as were willing to avail themselves of his skill. On the anniversary of Jenner's birthday in 1806 he stated at a meeting of the Jennerian Society that he had vaccinated 5000 subjects without a failure.^ At the same great age and in the same year died Hannah More, whose name, influence, and liberal contribu- tions did much for the Bible cause in her own neighbour- hood. "The friends of the Society for many years met a 1 Annual Register, 17th May 1806. 384 THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVE [1817- cordial welcome at Barley Wood, and the anniversaries of the Wrington Bible Association were always happy days." She left the Society a legacy of ;^iooo, and a similar amount, payable on her death, had also been bequeathed by her sister Martha — the poet Cowper's "Patty." During this period the Committee had marked their appreciation of the valuable services of the following friends of the Society by enrolling them as — HONORARY GOVERNORS FOR LIFE. 1818 — His Excellency Lieut.-Gen. Brownrigg, Governor of Ceylon.i William Gray, York. The Rev. William Richardson, York. William Hey, F.R.S., Leeds.^ 1821 — J. H. Harrington, Harrow. The Rev. William Jowett, Malta. G. F. Stratton, Over Warton, Deddington, Oxon. The Rev. Marmaduke Thompson, M.A., Chaplain E.I.C., Madras. The Rev. Daniel Wilson, M.A., St John's Chapel, Bedford Row (afterwards Bishop of Calcutta). 1822— The Rev. R. P. Beachcroft, M.A., Rector of Blunham, Beds. The Rev. T. S. Grimshawe, M.A., Rector of Burton Latimer. The Rev. G. Hulme, M.A., Shinfield, Berks. 1823— J. D. Macbride, D.C.L., Principal of Magdalen Hall, Oxford. 1825— T. P. Piatt, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, M.A., F.A.S. 1827 — The Rev. Francis Cunningham, Rector of Pakefield, Suffolk. The Rev. T. T. Thomason, M.A., Chaplain E.LC, Calcutta. 1828 — John Mackintosh, Glasgow. The Rev. R. W. Sibthorp, B.D., Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. 1831 — Emanuel Schnell, Basel, Switzerland. 1832 — James Bentley, M.A., Professor of Oriental Languages, King's College, Aberdeen, who from i8i6 had been an Honorary Member for Life. In 1833 died the devoted Christian philanthropist and statesman, William Wilberforce, who had taken part in the deliberations which preceded the formation of the Society, ' Took Kandy and annexed the Island of Ceylon in 1815. ^ One of three successive generations of notable surgeons. i834] DEATH OF WILLIAM WILBERFORCE 385 who had "welcomed its birth as the dawn of a most auspicious day," who was among the first of the Vice- Presidents, and who appeared on its platform for the last time at the anniversary of 1830, when he closed a spirit- stirring speech with the words, *' May God bless this Society, and make it a blessing to the whole earth ! " In 1825 he had resigned to younger hands the championship of the cause to which he had consecrated the best years of his life, and now, in 1833, the final struggle was being decided in Parliament. He lived long enough to be able to thank God he had seen the day on which the English nation was willing to pay twenty millions, in compensation to the planters, for the abolition of slavery. Writing in July, Joseph John Gurney gives a two-fold picture of the man who, perhaps more than any other, impressed his views on the religious public of his time : — "I have now enjoyed a near friendship with William Wilberforce for near seventeen years, and I shall always consider my acquaintance with him as one of the happiest circumstances of my life. I well remember his first visit to Earlham (I think it was about the year 1816) at the time of our Bible Society meeting, when we were already crowded with guests. Wilberforce was the star and life of the party, and we all thought we had never seen a person more fraught with Christian love, or more overflowing with the praises of his Creator. . . . Wilberforce is now an old rnan— I think in his seventy-sixth year^ — and more than usually frail and infirm for his age. Since my first acquaintance with him, many troubles and sorrows have been his portion. His two daughters were his great delight — the cold hand of Death has smitten them both ; and in consequence of the imprudence of a near relation, he has been deprived, within the last two or three years, of by far the greatest part of his property. Frequent illness has ' He was only seventy-four, vol., L 2 8 386 THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVE [i8i7- also visited him, and increasing years have occasioned some failure of his memory. Nevertheless his eye is almost as lively as ever, his intellect lucid, and above all the sunshine of true religion continues to enlighten and cheer him on his way."^ He died on the 2gth July. Powell Buxton, writing to Zachary Macaulay, describes the last scene of all i — " We were a long time in the Abbey, standing near the grave, before the funeral came in — the coffin followed by a large unarranged but very serious troop of men, including royal Dukes, many bishops, the members of Government, many peers, and crowds of M.P.s of all sorts and parties. . . . Especially did I observe the Duke of Wellington's aged countenance, feeling how soon probably the same scene would be enacted for him."^ On the 28th August the Bill for the Abolition of Slavery received the royal assent, and the measure was to come into force on the ist August 1834. At the anniversary meeting of the Society in May that year, the Rev. Hugh Stowell, of Manchester, suggested that a separate fund should be raised in order to put a copy of the Word of God, in his own language, into the hand of every emancipated slave, as the one boon that could compensate him for the wrongs he had sustained. The Committee adopted the suggestion, which was communicated to the friends of the Society and to the Auxiliaries, Branches, and Associations ; collections were made — the little children in the Sunday schools giving their small treasure with the utmost delight ; remittances were received from Ireland and the Continent ; and when the fund was at length closed the subscriptions amounted to ;^ 16, 250. The project received the most hearty co-opera- tion in the West Indies among all classes, including governors and officials, clergy and missionaries, proprietors, managers, and, above all, the negroes themselves. ' Hare, TAe Giiitteys of Earlham, vol. ii. pp. 69-71. ''■ Ibid. p. 73. The Duke had still nineteen years to live, 1834] THE GIFT FROM ENGLAND 387 The advent of the day of liberation was looked forward to with some anxiety and uneasiness. Would the drunkenness, rioting, bloodshed, gloomily predicted by many, sully the first hour of emancipation ? " Fowell Buxton was at Northrepps Hall when, on the loth September, a large packet of letters came from the Colonies. He felt that he must open them alone ; so he carried them with him into one of the shady retreats of those solemn and beautiful woods, and, with no other sound in his ears than the melody of the wood birds, and no other witness of his emotions than the eye that seeth in secret, he opened his sealed papers and read. He read how, on the evening of 31st July, the churches and chapels of the islands were thrown open, and the slaves crowded in to await the hour of midnight. When that hour drew nigh, they fell on their knees, and listened for the stroke of the clock ; and when twelve sounded from the church-tower they sprang to their feet, for they were all free — all free. No confusion, no intoxication, no bloodshed ; and on the following Monday they all returned to their work — to work as free men, and thenceforth to be paid for their labour. "^ Nearly 100,000 copies of the New Testament with the Psalms were sent out — freight-free, thanks to the generosity of shipowners and others — as a national gift to the emanci- pated negroes. As it was found impracticable, however, to forward the books to their destination in time for "transition-day," Christmas was appropriately fixed for the date of distribution, though in the case of some colonies and islands the time was extended to the ist August 1835, and again to the ist August 1836. The number of Testaments required absorbed (with incidental expenses) ^13,657 ; the balance of the fund was reserved for the benefit chiefly of the poor negroes of the Cape and the Mauritius. * Geldart, The Man in Earnest, pp, 23, 24, CHAPTER XX THE AUXILIARIES IN FRANCE It will be remembered that in the course of his tour on the Continent in 1814 Dr Pinkerton visited Leyden and examined the MS. of a Turkish version of the whole Bible, which, among other Oriental treasures, had lain in the archives of the University for a century and a half. The translator, Albertus Bobowsky, or Bobovius, better known as Ali Bey, was born in Poland early in the seventeenth century. Kidnapped in childhood by the Tartars, he was sold to the Turks at Constantinople, where, after twenty years' training, he publicly professed the religion of the Prophet, and was appointed first dragoman ^ to Mahomet IV. He was a man of extreme erudition, master of seventeen languages, and spoke English, German, and French with the precision of a native. He composed and translated a number of works, but his most important achievement was a version of the Holy Scriptures, undertaken at the instance of Levin Warner, Dutch ambassador to the Court of the Grand Sultan. On its completion about the year 1666 — the very year in which Seaman's Tartar-Turkish New Testament was printed at Oxford — Warner forwarded it to Leyden, corrected and ready for the press. The printing was never executed, and the MS. was committed to the library ' Dragoman = Interpreter. Under the form Targumannu, the word occurs on the monuments of Khu-n-Aten (Amenophis IV.), in the fifteenth century B.c, 38§ I8J7-I834] THE TURKISH BIBLE 389 and forgotten. To the translator himself the work appears to have been so far blessed that he believed in the truth of the Gospel, and intended to return to the bosom of Christianity, but died before he could realise his intention. Having satisfied himself that the version would promote the cause of the Society, Dr Pinkerton obtained the loan of the MS. and made arrangements for its transcription and revision at Berlin. The task was entrusted to Baron Von Diez, counsellor of legation to the Court of Berlin, and sometime Russian ambassador at Constantinople. He was closely acquainted with the Turkish language, but he was advanced in years, and serious illness prevented him from making rapid progress with the work. On the ist April 1817, Dr Jaenicke, the secretary of the Prussian Bible Society, found him weak and suffering. " He was resting his head on his writing-desk, hardly able to speak, but the few words he said gave me great pleasure. ' I still indulge a hope that God will restore me that I may finish the Turkish Bible, but, if He should have otherwise ordained it. His will be done. I can say with Paul, If I live, I live unto the Lord ; or if I die, I die unto the Lord.'" On the morning of the 8th, the Baron breathed his last, having revised but four books of the Pentateuch. "The Society," Lord Teignmouth had once said, " never wanted means and instruments for the furtherance of its objects." The work which had dropped from the hands of Von Diez was taken up in 181 7-18 by M. Jean Daniel Kieffer, Professor of Oriental Languages in the Royal College of Paris, and Interpreting Secretary to the King of France. More than twenty years before, Kieffer, who was then in the French Foreign Office, had been despatched to Constantinople as interpreter to the French ambassador. When Bonaparte embarked on his wild dream of conquest in the East in 1798, the diplomatic staff at Constantinople 390 THE AUXILIARIES IN FRANCE [i8i7- were committed, according to Moslem custom when the Porte was at variance with any of the Powers, to the Castle of the Seven Towers ; and, during the term of his imprisonment, Kieffer spent his time, with the assistance of M. Ruffin, the Charge d'Affaires, in perfecting his knowledge of Turkish and other Eastern tongues. In 1803 he returned to Paris in the suite of the Turkish ambassador, and on his arrival was appointed Interpreter in the Foreign Office. Shortly afterwards, as deputy Professor of Turkish in the College of France, he filled the chair of M. Rufiin, who remained at Constantinople, and on his death was installed as his successor. In 1818 he was appointed First Secretary and Interpreter of the Oriental Languages to the King. When his services were requested for the Turkish version, he was permitted by the French Government to visit the Committee in London. Proceeding to Leyden, he obtained every facility for the transfer of the MS. to Paris ; through the liberality of the French Government, the paper and type were imported duty free ; arrangements were made with the Royal Printing Office at Paris ; and the Professor began, with the aid of Baron Silvestre de Sacy, to prepare the New Testament for the press. The work, as we have seen, was completed in time for presentation at the annual meeting in 1819; and preparations were at once made for an edition of the whole Bible. Notwithstanding the care with which the text had been edited, this issue of the New Testament was not free from errors of various kinds. The notice of the Committee was called to the subject by Dr Henderson, who was then travelling in Russia with his colleague, Dr Paterson. A revision was made by Professor Kieffer, who drew up a list of the minor errata, and cancelled pages where mistakes of importance had been discovered ; and,, as scarcely a hundred copies had been issued when attention was drawn 1834] HENDERSON AND PATERSON RESIGN 391 to these inaccuracies, the Committee regarded this course as all that was requisite. "But neither the Astrachan missionaries nor the two Bible agents in Russia deemed this enough."^ Nothing less than the suppression of the translation would, in their view, meet the exigencies of the case ; and as the Committee, who had other advisers equally erudite and not less scrupulously jealous of the purity of the sacred text, showed no disposition to adopt the measure which had been urged upon them, Dr Henderson and Dr Paterson united in tendering their resignation. Impressed, apparently, by this extreme procedure, the Com- mittee suspended the circulation of the volume in the spring of 1823, until they had ascertained the judgment of the Oriental experts of France and elsewhere as to the extent and gravity of the imputed errors. On the 15th December the question was considered by a Sub-Committee, and atten- tion was given to a long series of documents. In the collec- tive opinion of the Orientalists it was clear that, while in a future edition several alterations might be desirable, the version as it stood was prejudiced by no grave defect, and there was no cause for its suppression. The Sub- Committee accordingly decided that there was no sufficient reason for suspending the circulation of the volume longer ; and this conclusion was confirmed on the 29th. Dr Henderson was not satisfied with the negative protest of his resignation. In 1824 he published — with the motto, Qui tacet consentire vtdetur — an "Appeal" to the members of the Society, "containing a review of the history of the Turkish version, an exposure of its errors, and palpable proofs of the necessity of its suppression." Dr Samuel Lee replied ; and in the following year Dr Henderson returned to the charge in The Turkish New Testament Incapable of Defence, which Dr Lee also answered. Painful as this defection of two of their oldest colleagues was to the ^ Memoir of the Rev, E. Henderson, D.D., p. 266. 392 THE AUXILIARIES IN FRANCE ['8i7- Committee, it was recognised that only a stern sense of duty caused them to sever their connection with the Society, and in course of time friendly relations were resumed. In the meanwhile Professor Kieffer was not only revising the New Testament text, but proceeding with his edition of the Bible. In 1828, when the work was completed, Dr Henderson, to whom the proof-sheets had been forwarded, expressed his unqualified satisfaction, and added his prayer that God would bless "the labours of an institution, in the service of which he had spent many happy years of his life, and which he would rejoice still to aid to the utmost of his power." At that time he was Theological Tutor at the London Missionary College at Hoxton, and in 1853, when he had closed his long and useful connection with the work at Highbury, he revised for the Society a Danish Bible and superintended Mr Turabi's revision of the Turkish New Testament and a Turkish Genesis and Psalter. It is pleasant, too, to add that in the summer of 1832 Dr Paterson undertook a tour through Scandinavia on behalf of the Society, visited Berlin for it in 1836, and on his return, when he took up his residence in Edinburgh, acted as agent and special correspondent in Scotland until 1850. The earliest efforts of the Bible Society for the benefit of France were made, as we have seen, from cities beyond the frontier. The principal communication was held with Protestants, but there were not wanting Roman Catholics of piety, culture, and rank who approved of the Biblical move- ment. Among these. Baron Silvestre de Sacy drew attention by several articles in the Journal des Sgavans to the important contributions that were being incidentally made to philo- logical science by those versions which were revealing to benighted nations a purer morality and a higher code of dogma. It was at an early date that continental 1834] THE PROTESTANT B.S. OF PARIS 393 scholars recognised the value of that intellectual work which, it was acknowledged thirty-five years later, entitled the Society to a place in the Great Exhibition. ^ In 1 81 5 a Bible Society was formed at Strasburg and circulated an edition of the German Bible among the Protestant inhabitants of Alsace, who, in their annexation to France, had not surrendered their ancestral tongue. In 1816 valuable work was done by Henry Oberlin in his long tour through the east, south, and west of France, when arrangements were made for correspondence and for a constant supply of the Scriptures among the Protestants scattered over those regions. In 181 7, with the assistance of the Bible Society, an edition of the French Bible (Martin's) was undertaken by a group of pastors and professors at Montauban, and in 1818 the President of the Consistory of Toulouse took charge of another edition of 10,000 copies. Meanwhile several impressions of Ostervald's New Testament had been supplied from Paris. It was about this time that Mr Owen arrived in the French capital. With his impulsive fervour and administrative skill he gave the needful impulse to affairs ; the sanction of the Ministry of Police was obtained ; and on the 30th November 1818 the Protestant Bible Society of Paris was formed. The Marquis de Jaucourt was appointed president, and its principal officers (among whom may be mentioned the Baron de Stael, son of the brilliant woman who wrote Corinne and De V Allemagne) were chosen from members of the Chamber of Peers, the Council of State, the University, the National Institute, and the two Consistories. Auxiliaries were promptly organised in the Departement des Deux Sevres, at Bordeaux, Montauban, Toulouse, Montpellier, and other towns ; Associations sprang up ; and pastors in all ' The official communication sent to the Committee on the formation of the Asiatic Society at Paris in 1822 was another tribute to the scientific value of the versions published or aided by the Bible Society. 394 THE AUXILIARIES IN FRANCE [1817- parts of the country assisted in obtaining subscriptions and in making known the wants of their congregations. Thought was given also to the little groups of Protestants, who still survived, often without pastor or public worship, in isolated places. On the vast plains in the Departement de la Somme there were about six thousand ; and though they had been unable to replace the sacred books which had been torn from them in days of persecution, they had preserved from generation to generation the old hymns and prayers, and traditions of the most important lessons and the most touching narratives in the Bible. It is interesting to recall that the appearance of the Protestant Bible Society was made the occasion by the Abbe de Lamennais for a furious attack on the whole Biblical movement — "the last throe of an expiring sect." The disposition of the French Government, however, was significantly revealed by the fact that the Abbe's fulmination was answered in the columns of the Moniteur ; and when the institution celebrated its first anniversary H.R.H. the Due d'Angouleme, with the approval of the King, acknow- ledged a copy of the report in a most friendly letter ; the Due Decazes, President of the Council and Minister of the Interior, subscribed one thousand francs "towards the attainment of an end to which all Christian communions ought equally to direct their steps " ; and subsequently the regulations with regard to the importation of books were relaxed in favour of the Society, and the duties were remitted on consignments of the Scriptures. The Bible cause found supporters and adherents in all directions. In a year or two the Protestant Bible Society had associated in its labours thirty-six Auxiliaries, one consistorial institution, twenty-eight Branches and forty- nine Associations, of which there were seventeen in Paris alone. They seemed to be forming everywhere — at Caen and Marseilles, Rouen and Lyons, Sedan and Montbeliard, i834] PROFESSOR KIEFFER'S AGENCY 395 Chatillon and Grenoble, Orleans and La Rochelle ; there was one even at Ferney where Voltaire " Built God a church and laughed His Word to scorn." The generosity extended to newly formed societies by the great English Mother was not stinted in the case of Paris. Considerable money grants and large supplies of the Scriptures were voted by the Committee as occasion required. Up to April 1828 the Paris Society distributed 91,664 Bibles and Testaments ; in 1831 the number had increased to 130,000. While the Word of Life was thus being dispersed among the Lutheran and Reformed Churches, the hope of reaching the vast Roman Catholic majority of the popula- tion was not abandoned. In 1820 a depot, in the charge of Professor Kieffer, was opened in Paris with the special object of accomplishing that part of the work from which, by its constitution, the Protestant Bible Society was distinctly precluded. The reader must have been struck by the singular anomaly presented by this institution, wherein no place was found for that union and co-operation of all denominations which was one of the essential characteristics of the Bible Society. The members themselves felt and often regretted the unhappy limitation, both of their constitution and their operations, but it was forced upon them by the political and religious circumstances of the time and the country. The catholicity of the Bible Society was at that period an ideal beyond realisation, and the sole alternative before them was to sit with folded hands or to restrict their work to the area of their own faith. In the depot, however, a powerful supplementary agency was established. In 1822 upwards of 12,000 copies of the Scriptures were distributed, and the annual circula- tion rose to fifteen, seventeen, thirty, sixty thousand copies. In 1831-2 the issue was 176,139 Bibles and 396 THE AUXILIARIES IN FRANCE [1817- Testaments. The Society for Mutual Instruction and the authorities in charge of prisons, hospitals, and asylums gladly availed themselves of the opportunities placed at their disposal. In this manner both Roman Catholics and Protestants were reached, and where the reproof, the encouragement and the consolation of the Word of God were most needed there they were to be found. On board the galleys reckless men were seen grouped about some fellow-criminal who could read, and as the divine utterance touched their hearts their tears fell on their chains. The duties of the Paris Agency were onerous and important enough to preoccupy the superintendent ; but Professor Kieffer was a man of exceptional gifts, of un- bounded energy, and of methodical habits. Neither his recension of the Turkish Bible nor his rapidly increasing correspondence prevented him from superintending the print- ing of versions in half a dozen other languages. In 1822 the first version in Modern Armenian was completed by Dr Zohrab, an Armenian of Constantinople, who translated the four Gospels from the Ancient Armenian text. On his way through Paris Dr Pinkerton obtained as a specimen the Sermon on the Mount, which he printed at St Petersburg and sent for critical examination to various friends in Turkey. Several judges expressed their high approval, but the priests were dissatisfied with the style, which they found wholly wanting in the dignity and elegance of the ancient text. Undeterred by a censure which he probably attributed to an ecclesiastical prejudice against any attempt at a modern version, Dr Zohrab proceeded with his work ; the whole of the New Testament was translated, and after revision by M. St Martin, an Armenian scholar, was printed with the Ancient Armenian in parallel columns and published by M. Kieffer in 1825. Progress was being made by M. de Quatremere, and afterwards by Baron de Sacy, in Oriental versions for i834] BRETON AND BASQUE VERSIONS 397 the Christians at Aleppo, in the Lebanon, and other parts of Syria, and in 1828 an edition of the Carshun, and another of the Carshun and Syriac in parallel columns were issued. A Breton translation of the New Testament was also in preparation, but the account of this under- taking will be more conveniently included in our survey of the third period of the Society's operations in France. Considerable impetus was given to the distributions from the Paris Agency by the friends whom M. Kieffer interested in the cause and by the depots which he opened in a number of towns in 1825. M. Appert, who held an important office in connection with the public schools and prisons in France, distributed 18,000 copies of the Scriptures in 550 different places, and was afterwards engaged by the Society, on the recommendation of the Rev. Francis Cunningham, to make an extensive tour through the departments, while a clergy- man in the south, to whom 2000 copies had been intrusted, forwarded so many importunate requests for the Scriptures that in the course of the year 25,000 copies of De Sacy's Testament and editions of Martin and Ostervald's Bibles had to be printed. Mr Cunningham, who in the course of an extensive tour which he made in 1826 rendered such essential service to the Society as to receive a place among the Honorary Life Governors, bears testimony to the wide- spread labours of the Paris Agency : "I have seen the Testaments of this Society in various important schools ; in the hands of the sick and in the wards of the hospital. I have known them carried to the infirm and dying by those who are so emphatically called the Sceurs de la Charite. Much of the fruit will be discovered only on the great day when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed ; but in the meantime no man can follow the course of the Bible without perceiving the benefit resulting from its circulation." In 1825, under the superintendence of M. Pyt, a pastor of the Reformed Church in Beam, the Gospel of St 398 THE AUXILIARIES IN FRANCE [i8i7- Matthew was published in Basque, that mysterious and antique tongue, or mixture of tongues, the roots of which seem to strike back into the darkness of the Stone Age. Four years later the New Testament complete, edited by M. Montleza, under the supervision of friends at Bayonne and Bordeaux, was issued at the expense of the Bible Society. The story of the version is not without interest. The New Testament was translated into Basque by John de Licarrague, a Bearnais, it is said, and a minister of the Reformed Church ; dedicated to Jeanne d'Albret,^ mother of Henry IV. of France and Navarre ; and published at her cost at Rochelle in 1571 on the eve of the Massacre of St Bartholomew. In the course of two and a half centuries the book had completely dis- appeared. "Among 60,000 souls, forming the Basque population in France, it was found impossible, notwith- standing the most accurate search, to meet with a single copy of the Sacred Scriptures. By the manifest direction of Providence, nevertheless, there had been deposited in the Library of the University of Oxford, a copy of the Basque New Testament printed at Rochelle in 1571, and conveyed without doubt to England by a French refugee." ^ From this unique volume the Gospel of St Matthew was reproduced, but of the thousand copies printed, as many as eight hundred were seized and destroyed by the Roman Catholic Bishop. In the recension of the complete Testament, the text of Licarrague was modernised, and so many alterations were made that the version was practically a new one. A thousand copies of the Gospel of St Matthew, a thousand of the four Gospels and Acts, and a thousand of the entire New Testa- ment were issued and industriously circulated in spite of the opposition of the priests-^which, indeed, only served to stimulate the eagerness of the people. " In 1821," wrote M. ' Daughter of the beautiful Margaret, Queen of Navarre, who, with the charac- teristic incongruity of her time, was the author not only of the Heptavieron but of The Mirror of the Sinful Soul. ^ Jiefort for 1830, p. xxix. 1834] COLPORTAGE 399 Pyt, "I found the people of Beam utter strangers to the doctrine of the Gospel, and consequently to the life of God. I have left it (in 1830) in a very different condition. It is to the Bible that the change must be attributed. The preaching of the Gospel had little success before the establishment of Bible Societies in Beam ; but when they had spread the Word of the Lord, there was much inquiry about the truth, and from that time the blessed work proceeded." And probably it was with reference to this version that a lady in sending a donation wrote to the Committee: "In the secluded glens and remote valleys of the Pyrenees, I have traced the footsteps of the British and Foreign Bible Society and found in the shepherd's hut the precious Word of God conveyed there by your agents." The political revolution of 1830, which placed Louis Philippe on the throne of France, removed many of the obstacles that had hitherto interfered with the circulation of the Scriptures. A deputation from the Society visited the Agency and friends in Paris, arranged for a committee to advise with Professor Kieffer in cases in which measures of unusual magnitude might require immediate action, and otherwise gave a fresh impulse to the work, the results of which were manifested in the returns for the following year, when 186,000 copies were required for the supply of the depot. The members of the committee themselves disposed of 20,000 copies ; 20,000 were supplied to the Minister of Instruction, who appropriated 10,000 francs to the purchase of "the first and most salutary of books" for elementary schools ; M. Appert distributed 5610, and other adherents and helpers zealously co-operated. It was about this time that attention was specially attracted to the advantages of colportage. Professor Kieffer had already to some extent adopted the system, and in 1831 a correspondent wrote of the remarkable rate at which the Bible was selling in the streets of the capital ; " It is quite 400 THE AUXILIARIES IN FRANCE [i8i7- an occupation, independently of our usual engagements, to supply these colporteurs. Every day we have reports of a curious and interesting nature ; as our men go up the streets the people call from their shops, and are quite glad to be able to purchase their volumes. They assure me that they scarcely ever pass a corner of a street without placing one or more with the porters who are stationed there." It was, however, in the south of France that the system appears to have been used with the most striking results. The Messrs Courtois, three benevolent brothers, bankers in Toulouse, sent out colporteurs to distribute Bibles and Testaments at a low price from cottage to cottage, from mansion to mansion, from hamlet to hamlet. "A number of villages in the most retired situations, and whither a single New Testament had perhaps never before penetrated, were abundantly supplied." In fairs and at markets many copies were sold, particularly in places wholly inhabited by Roman Catholics. "In the Hautes and Basses Pyrenees, the inveterate opposition which had existed for so many years began to subside, and the Word of God was received with thankfulness and joy by Roman Catholics." In a word, the Bible ceased to be "a Protestant book." The Evangelical Society of Geneva, founded in 1830, with a special view to the benefit of France, still further developed the system. Active and suitable men were forthcoming, means were found for their support, and the London Committee supplied the copies of Scripture that were needed. In a little while thirteen " Bible missionaries," appointed to four different stations, were busily at work. The example of the Geneva Society was followed at Basel, and at Lyons and other French towns. In this manner was gradually perfected the colportage method, which, a little later, became a prominent characteristic in the operations of the Paris Agency. In 1832 the Plague swept over France, carrying off 18,000 1834] DEATH OF PROFESSOR KIEFFER 40^ in Paris alone between March and August. Professor Kieffer escaped, but, worn out witii many labours and cares, died after a short illness in January 1833. For some time his health had been declining, but he clung to his daily duties, which had become his daily delight. "It is my duty to go on working — nay, it is my delight ; yes, my soul's delight!" On the 21st he attended at the College of France, but was too weak to deliver his lecture. Instead of returning home, he went to the Bible depot to give directions respecting various consignments. He could not stand ; he could scarcely speak. The attendants cari-ied him to his house and to his bed, from which he never rose. He died peacefully on the 29th, at the age of sixty-six. The Bible Society deeply felt his loss, and warmly expressed their recognition of his fifteen years of service, during the last two of which as many as 347,541 copies of the Holy Scriptures had passed through his hands. Of this large number, the fruit of his watchfulness and his voluminous correspondence, 40,000 Testaments had during 1832-3 been distributed in French schools, where lay the chief hope of winning France to a religion based solely upon the Gospel ; and the brothers of Toulouse, who had engaged several new colporteurs, had received 800 Bibles and 13,200 Testaments. Immediately after the decease of Professor Kieffer a depu- tation was appointed by the Committee to visit Paris and make arrangements for the future conduct of the Agency, the operations of which had now assumed vast proportions. An able and devoted successor was found in M. Victor de Pressense, a gentleman of noble family, celebrated for its loyalty to the Papacy. In accordance with the Roman Catholic rule in the case of mixed marriages, he had been brought up in the religion of his father and had been placed under the care of the French refugee Jesuits in Holland, whither the family had fled during the excesses of the Revolu- VOL. I. 2 c 402 THE AUXILIARIES IN FRANCE [i8'7- tion. The influence of a beloved and afflicted sister had doubtless prepared his heart in his youth for the change which, in after life, threw him into the ranks of the most energetic promoters of the Bible cause. Reference has already been made to the denominational character and restricted operations of the French Protestant Bible Society, and to the political circumstances which had long restrained the activity of such associations. The time had now come, it was felt, when an institution should be established on the catholic basis and with the universal scope of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Accordingly in the course of 1833 the French and Foreign Bible Society was formed ; its claims to assistance were laid before the Committee by the Rev. Mark Wilks, and a grant of ;^300, with a set of stereotype plates, was voted with every good wish for its prosperity. Thus the period closed with new men and new and enlarged prospects of usefulness. Friendly communications were maintained by the Committee with the Protestant Bible Society, but for some years its adherence to the Apocrypha had restricted intercourse, and the aid extended to it was confined to grants of the New Testament, and these almost entirely for specific purposes. During the whole of the second period the grants of the Society for the work done in France amounted in the aggregate to ;^75,862. A very large proportion of this passed through the Agency at Paris, from which there were issued Scriptures to the value of ;^3340 in 1831, of ;^i6,536 in 1832, of ;^i3,034 in 1833, and of £2,^2,1 in 1834, for distribution among Roman Catholics and Protestants without distinction. In addition, however, special grants for Roman Catholics were voted during the period to the amount of ;^958o. Up to the date of the Apocrypha con- troversy the Protestant Bible Society received £'ji/[^ ; after that date the grants in aid did not exceed ;^I200. i834] THE WORK OF THE PERIOD 403 The review of the period may well close with the testimony of the three brothers of Toulouse: — "A great and good work has been done by the circulation of the Bible and the New Testament ; the population have much clearer ideas of what Christianity really is." CHAPTER XXI CATASTROPHE IN RUSSIA We left the Bible cause in Russia flourishing under the protection of the gracious Autocrat who, in 1816, had recognised the establishment of Bible Societies "as a peculiar display of the mercy and grace of God to the human race," and who had enrolled himself in the Russian Society "in order that the beneficent light of revelation might be shed among all nations subject to his sceptre." The sixth anniversary of the Russian Society was cele- brated in the magnificent rotunda of the Taurida Palace, on the 27th September 1819. The vast hall was nearly full ; and as the choir in the lofty gallery raised their voices in a hymn of praise and thanksgiving, the eye of the spectator travelled with astonishment and pleasure over the strangely composite assemblage. Nobles and bearded moujiks were there, craftsmen and Ministers of State, laymen and clerics. Christians of all denominations, Jews and Gentiles ; stars and ribbons drew attention to dis- tinguished administrators, to military and naval officers of European reputation ; and one thought of that company which John beheld, gathered "out of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues," for in the throng there were representatives of from twenty to thirty tribes and languages, and many appeared in their striking national costume. On either hand of the Prince president sat a Russian 104 I8IM834] THE SIXTH ANNIVERSARY 405 archbishop and the metropolitans of the Russian, Catholic, Uniate,^ and Moldavian Churches, besides a number of the clergy of different orders and confessions. On the right was a group of missionaries, who would soon be scattered in remote stations, where they would be engaged in preparing new versions, in distributing the Word of Life, in expounding its promises to the wild sons of Adam. In front sat a Georgian prince ; and next him— perhaps the most interesting figures in that crowded hall — the Mongolian chiefs who had translated for the Buriat tribes on the shores of Lake Baikal the Gospel of St Matthew (of which 2000 copies had just been printed), and were now nearing the close of the Gospel of St John. They had discovered "the pearl of a devout heart," and had written to their Prince: "We are fully and firmly resolved to receive the doctrine of the saving God, Jesus Christ. Although we are not yet acquainted with the manners and usages of His religion, and when we return home should find no teacher upon whose breast we could lean our head, neither any house of God, yet after the conviction we have obtained of the truth of the Word of God, we can no longer endure the want of it ; we must abide by this doctrine." The report stated that in the Russian Empire there were no fewer than 1 73 Auxiliaries and Associations. Yes ; the banner of the sacred cause was flying in all the four winds. An Auxiliary had been founded at Kieff, ' ' the Jerusalem of Russia " — the Bethlehem rather, for there, when in 988 Vladimir shattered his silver-headed and gold-bearded idol, Perun, and flung it into the Dnieper, Christ the Lord was born ; Auxiliaries had been founded in Taganrog and Tcherkask of the Don Cossacks (with Hetman Platofif among the vice-presidents) ; in Odessa, ' Churches recognising the supremacy of the Pope while retaining the Greco- Slavic rite. 4o6 CATASTROPHE IN RUSSIA [1817- the port of traders with Turkey and the thoroughfare of pilgrims to Jerusalem and Mecca ; in Orel and Vladimir and Kostroma, turning northward ; in Penza and at Simbirsk and Kasan, turning east ; at Georgievsk, which completed the chain between Astrakhan and the Georgian Society at Tifiis ; at Poltava, in Bessarabia, at Minsk and Grodno, on the west ; in Courland and Liefland, Dorpatia and Esthonia towards the north ; in the frugal, romantic lake-land of the Finns. And beyond the eastern mountain barrier Bible Societies were springing up in the Asiatic wildernesses of the Empire. There was one at Tobolsk, the populous mart of the Chinese caravans and the rendezvous of the Siberian fur-trade ; another at Krasnoiarsk, on the great road from Tomsk to Irkutsk ; a third at Irkutsk ; and in the towns still further east, at Nertchinsk, and Yakutsk,^ and Okhotsk, whose log-houses run out into the waters of the Pacific, there was eager questioning as to this wonderful revival. During the six years of its existence, the Russian Bible Society, according to the report, had printed (including editions in the press) 371,600 copies of the Scriptures, and of these 120,105 had been circulated. These had threaded the passes of the Caucasus in cart-loads ; they were read by the Kirghese on the steppe ; they had reached the prisoners in the silver mines at Nertchinsk ; the ships which sailed from Kronstadt on a voyage round the globe had taken a supply of Sclavonic Scriptures for Kamstchatka, and copies in English, French, and German, Spanish and ^ In 1820 a Bible Association in connection with the Irkutsk Auxiliary was founded at Yakutsk (in a latitude a little further north than Cape Farewell in Greenland), and nearly ;^35 was subscribed at its establishment. " It has been very pleasing to hear," wrote Dr Pinkerton, "that every family in the seaport town of Ochotsk, at the very extremity of Siberia, had been furnished with a copy of the Scriptures, through the generosity of Captain Gordon, who, on his stay at that place (which contains about 150 families) purchased Bibles from Irkutsk, and supplied them all." We have already seen Captain J. E. Gordon, R.N., for a moment. He moved one of the resolutions in connection with the Tests Controversy. He was for some time M.P. for Dundalk, travelled through the East, and was well known as a true Christian and sturdy Protestant. •834] SCRIPTURES IN MANY TONGUES 407 Portuguese, to supply the inhabitants of the different coasts at which they might touch. Addressing the hushed audience, Prince Galitzin spoke of a singular and most striking feature in the accounts of that vast field in which the Word of Life was being sown, namely, the indefatigable zeal with which the Holy Scriptures were being translated into the languages of all the unenlightened nations scattered over the face of the earth. In Russia it was not otherwise. " In the different Governments, both near and remote ; in the desert and in the valley ; in snow-clad Siberia and upon the mountains of Caucasus and Uralia, were to be found lovers of the Word of God who were engaged in rendering the Gospels and other parts of the Bible into the languages and dialects spoken by the tribes who inhabited Russia. For what end did they thus toil, what prospects of advantage could prove an inducement to undertake a species of labour which promised to the labourer so little renown? The solution of the question lay in the power of that Word itself which these men were translating." There was indeed already a very Babel of tongues ; the speech of literary nations, the dialects of half-civilized hordes, of traders and hunters, shepherds and trappers and fishers, nomads of the tundra and tillers of land on the edge of the "virgin forest," the taiga; Siberian Tartar, Tungusian, Ostjak and Samoyede, Tartar Hebrew, Nogai Tartar, Wogul and Tschapoginian, TscheremiSs and Tschuwash, and a score of others. The Russian Society had printed authorised versions in fourteen languages and new translations in twelve, and had distributed Bibles and Testaments imported from foreign countries in thirteen others, while in seven more tongues translations were in progress — in all, forty-six different forms of human speech. A change, the Prince declared, was observable in the 4o8 CATASTROPHE IN RUSSIA [1817- country. Soldiers and sailors had learned to value the Scriptures, and the use of them was becoming general. In many villages the people gathered on Sundays and holy days to listen to the divine message, and the young were instructing their parents who had never been taught to read. In obedience to the -will of the Czar the reading of the Word of Life had been introduced into schools and seminaries, and that would doubtless lay a foundation for the piety of the new generation, and promote the Kingdom of Christ in the earth. During the six years the total receipts had amounted to 1,361,499 roubles (about ;^56,729), and the expenditure had been 1,244,362 (;^5i,848). While Dr Paterson and Dr Henderson ^ were watching the incidents at this interesting gathering in the Taurida Palace, Dr Pinkerton was in the plague-stricken city of the Golden Horn. He had left Paris, nearly seven months before, on a Biblical tour which was to take him through France and Italy to Malta and the Greek Isles, to Corinth and Athens, possibly to Smyrna, to Constantinople (whence a visit might be made to Trebizond), and thence by way of Salonica, over the Balkans to Bucharest in Wallachia and Jassy in Moldavia, and so into Russian territory, and home to St Petersburg. His principal objects were to gather information as to the existence of certain versions and MSS. and respecting the prevailing dearth of Scriptures, and to devise measures to promote the purposes of the Society. At the daily risk of infection in the reeking lanes of Pera, he arranged for the revision of the MS. of the Turkish Bible, the translation and printing of the Old and New Testaments in Modern Greek, the preparation of a New Testament in Albanian, the issue of the Turkish ' Henderson received his diploma of Doctor of Philosophy from Kiel in June 1816. At the celebration of the tercentenary of the Reformation in 1817 the Czar conferred the degree of D.D. on Paterson, in recognition of his services in connection with the Russian Bible Society. 1834] DR PINKERTON'S TOUR 409 text in Greek characters, the distribution of the Scriptures at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, and enlisted in the Bible cause the interest of Gregory, the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople, who dreamed not of the tragic end which was drawing near. Then he began to spit blood, "fell to pieces just as he had finished his business," and the journey on horse- back to Bucharest had to be abandoned. " My friends are engaged in procuring me a passage to Odessa," he wrote. "It is a dangerous time of the year to cross the Black Sea. But my dangers are on every side, and my greatest, I fear, are within me. Oh, let me share your sympathy and prayers ! " The captain of the vessel which was to have conveyed him, and aboard of which, in the captain's cabin and on his mattress, Pinkerton had slept, manifested symptoms which caused the latter to leave the vessel ; and when, in consequence of the captain's death, the vessel put back to Bayukdere, the case was pronounced to be one of plague. On the 8th November he sailed, and reached Odessa on the 13th, somewhat improved by the sea air. Here he saw a copy of the four Gospels in Modern Russ— so much of the Czar's own project had at last been realized ! In one of his letters in quarantine at Odessa he relates a "providential interposition" which reminds the reader of the night on which Ahasuerus could not sleep. In the winter of 181 7 when Pinkerton was busy with one of the sons of King Heraclius of Georgia in preparing type of the civil character for a new edition of the Georgian Testament, their talk fell on the difficulties of producing the Old Testament on account of the inaccuracy of the printed text. The Prince mentioned that while lately reading in the annals of his nation he had come upon a passage in which it was stated that in the eighth century St Euphemius had translated the Holy Scriptures into 4IO CATASTROPHE IN RUSSIA ['817- Georgian and had deposited a copy in the monastery on Mount Athos. Pinkerton informed Prince Galitzin and urged him to make enquiry whether the precious MS. was still in existence. The librarian of the monastery replied that they were yet in possession of the MS. in two parchment volumes, "in the hand-writing of Euphemius"; that from time immemorial the most terrible excommunica- tion and anathemas had been pronounced by the Holy Synod and the Patriarchs against those who should dispose of or carry away a single volume of that library, but that a faithful transcript might be taken of that or any other volume which should be found salutary or useful. At Constantinople Pinkerton had seen the archimandrite of the monastery, and he had confirmed the statements of the librarian. The last three nights and days of 1819 the traveller sledged over the boundless fields of snow and ice north of Kieff, in an excessive cold of from 25 to 30 degrees of frost, and passed New Year's Day with the friends of the Bible Society of Orel. Thence he proceeded to Moscow, hearing in every town and village of the hundreds who had lost their lives in the deadly frost and blinding drift of the i6th of December. On the 13th January 1820 he reached St Petersburg, and home and wife and children, "after a separation of twenty long months." "A sweet little girl, about a year old, was laid in my arms for the first time ; my only boy, who was an infant when I left him, I found running about, and prattling in two languages, English and Russ." But all the news he heard was not joyful. Dr Henderson — here on his way to take up his residence at Astrakhan — "had been thrown from his travelling carriage near Gothenburg, had dislocated his shoulder and lost the proper use of his right arm." He had been married to Miss Susannah Kennion at London Stone Church by Mr Owen in May 1818, and was making his circuitous way i834] FROM ST PETERSBURG TO TIFLIS 411 among the Prussian and Swedish Auxiliaries to St Petersburg when the accident happened. " Paterson had lost his second wife, who was interred only three days before I reached the gates of St Petersburg." She died of typhus and was lovingly tended by Mrs Henderson during her illness. In this double picture we have an epitome of the story of the Russian Bible Society — a type indeed of all Bible work — with its spiritual conquests, its human labours, its journey- ings often, its accidents, its joys, its losses, its bereavements. The death of Mrs Paterson led to another long journey. For Paterson new scenes, new thoughts, new activities were indispensable, and it was decided that Dr Henderson should accompany his friend. The spring of 1821, however, had arrived before the necessary arrangements could be com- pleted. Furnished with letters to all the civil and ecclesi- astical authorities on their proposed route, they set out on the 14th March. They passed through two and twenty provinces of the colossal Empire ; visited Volhynia, Podolia, and Bessarabia on the west, the Crimea on the south, Astrakhan on the east, and crossed the Caucasus to Tiflis ; attended many public meetings, consulted with the principal officers and friends of nearly half the Auxiliaries of Russia, and contributed materially to the consolidation and extension of the work. The record of their journey is still interesting reading,^ but as one turns the page the shadows of com- ing events seem constantly falling on the incidents which marked their progress. They were present, with a numerous company of Russian, Armenian, Greek and Georgian clergy, at the anniversary of the Moscow Auxiliary, and heard Seraphim, the Metro- politan of the ancient capital, deliver an admirable address, which closed with an imprecation of Woe, woe, woe, on the '■ Report 1822, pp. 1-27, and Henderson, Biblical Researches and Travels in Russia. 412 CATASTROPHE IN RUSSIA [i8i7- man who should do aught to impede the circulation of the Holy Scriptures in Russia, or in the world at large. Here the first deep shadow falls. That celebrated address produced its effect on Prince Galitzin and the Czar ; on the death of Michael, the Metropolitan of St Petersburg and Novgorod, to whose stool he aspired, Seraphim's ambition was gratified. But no sooner did he find himself head of the Russian Church than he became the deadly enemy both of the Prince and the Bible Society. It was in this spring that the Greek War of Independence began in Wallachia and Moldavia. On the 22nd April the enraged Mussulmans seized the aged Gregory, the Greek Patriarch, and on the following morning he was ignominiously hanged under the shadow of his own Cathedral. As the travellers passed southwards, they came in sight of encampments and hostile troops, and "near the Pruth they had a view of the spot where five hundred partisans of the Hetaireia were gathered under the red-cross banner of Ypsilanti.''^ At Odessa, on the 19th June — two months after his murder — they attended the splendid obsequies of the Greek Patriarch, whose corpse had under- gone strange vicissitudes before it found the quiet of the grave. " For three days it had hung at the gate of the Patriarchal Palace ; for three days more had been the object of Jewish scorn ; and a day and a night had been in the deep." Early in August they reached Taganrog. It was well that the future was hidden from them ; that they could not foresee that in little more than four years the Czar would be lying here in his shroud, and the days of the Russian Bible Society would be numbered. Dr Henderson was seized with ague, which clung to him through the remainder of the journey, and more than once threatened to terminate fatally. At Novo Tcherkask, where they heard of the death of ' Memoir of the Rev. E. Henderson, D.D., p. 251. '834] THE RUSS NEW TESTAMENT 413 Napoleon, his sufferings were so severe that the Cossack landlady in her pity brought him some earth from the consecrated graveyard — an "infallible specific," no doubt, when applied with the sexton's spade. Depression and anxiety had much to do with the recurrence of this illness, for what seemed his duty in connection with the Turkish New Testament pointed to a severance of his connection with the British and Foreign Bible Society. At Karass he stood by the grave of Douglas Cousin, "with whom in early life he had taken sweet counsel about the things of God " ; with an escort of a hundred soldiers, about twenty Cossacks, and two pieces of cannon (travelling sometimes in the darkness, with no light but the match burning on the gun-carriage), they threaded the foot-hills of the Caucasus ; crossed the mountain range, and reached Tiflis in November. They learned that, owing to the disturbed state of Turkey, the deputation which was to have gone to Mount Athos to obtain a copy of the ancient Georgian Old Testament had not been able to proceed. Death, too, had carried off the secretary and most of the committee of the Georgian Bible Society. They set matters in train for a thorough reorganisation ; and as they had sent in their resignation to the London Com- mittee, and could not in the circumstances continue their journey into Persia, they turned their steps homewards. A week or two later. Prince Galitzin presented to the Czar on his birthday, 12th December, the first complete copy of the New Testament in Russ. Thirty thousand copies quickly passed through the press ; 15,000 copies of the Book of Psalms in Russ had already been published, and considerable progress had been made with a transla- tion of the whole of the Old Testament. During the year large editions had been issued by the Russian Society of the Bible in Greek and German, of the Polish New Testament (Wuyk), and of the four Gospels and the Acts in Kalmuk and Mongolian ; and it had undertaken editions 414 CATASTROPHE IN RUSSIA [i8«7- of the Bulgarian New Testament, of the Gospel of St Matthew in Zirian (a dialect of Tobolsk, Perm, and Vologda), and a Hebrew version of St Matthew and the Epistle to the Hebrews, for the benefit of the Jews. The expenses were heavy, great sacrifices had been made by the benevolent in Russia for the relief of Greek refugees, so that much could not be expected from them, and the Earl Street Committee, with its usual promptitude and liberality, voted ;^2000 to meet the difficulties of the situation. On their return to St Petersburg in February 1822, Dr Paterson was appointed to the control of the executive of the Russian Society, and Dr Henderson was retained to supervise the publication of versions in the Oriental languages. At the anniversary meeting in June it was stated that the Russian Society was in co-operation with 267 Auxiliaries and Associations. During the nine years of its existence it had printed, or caused to be printed at its expense, 507,600 copies of the Scriptures in twenty-six different languages, and had circulated 308,643 copies ; and the receipts had been ;^i02,889, against an expenditure of ;^ 101,666. By the close of 1823 there were 289 Auxiliaries, the distribution of the Scriptures had increased to 448,109 copies, and the total receipts from the beginning stood at ;^i45,640. These were the last golden days in the story of the Russian Bible Society. Many powerful influences were converging towards its overthrow ; and if that unseen hand which alone could have averted the catastrophe was with- held, doubtless in this too the ends of a wise providence were accomplished. Certain of the clergy began to take alarm at the change which was being produced in the minds of the people by the reading of the Scriptures. One typical instance may be given. A lad had been reading to his grandfather the forty-fourth chapter of Isaiah ; the hoary-headed Russian listened amazed to the folly of the 1834] INTRIGUES AGAINST THE SOCIETY 415 idolater — how he takes of the trees of the forest, and with a part roasts flesh and eats and is satisfied, and warms himself by the fire he has made: "And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image : he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me, for thou art my god " ; and as he listened the force of truth prevailed, and he rose and tore down the sacred eikons before which he had bowed from childhood. The offender was sentenced by the Holy Synod to a heavy punishment, but instead of ratifying the judgment the Czar referred to the ukase of Peter the Great regarding the destruction of sacred pictures. This ukase was unique : for the first offence it prescribed that the man should be sent for eight days to a monastery ; for the second, for a fort- night, and "let him be taught the catechism by a priest"; for the third the instructions were the same as Dogberry's, "Why, then, take no note of him, but let him go," for he is incorrigible. The Czar's leniency showed the enemies of the Bible Society that if they were to exercise their inquisitorial power, it must be by working on his anxieties and fears. Another hostile influence was that of the Jesuits. They attributed their expulsion in 1820 to Prince Galitzin, then Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs and Public Instruction, and had formed designs of the keenest animosity against him and the great society of which he was the active spirit. They had their agents and emissaries everywhere, and they did all in their power to impress the public mind and the authorities that one common object, the disorganisa- tion of society, leagued together the Carbonari of Italy, the Burschenschaft of Germany, the English Radicals, and the members of the Bible Society. The Czar himself was timid, and the memory of his father's tragic end probably weighed now more heavily on his mind than it had done when he was a younger and more hopeful man ; but he 4i6 CATASTROPHE IN RUSSIA ['817- was too well acquainted with the personnel and the opera- tions of the Bible Society to associate them with political conspiracies. The revolutionary movements in Spain, Piedmont, Naples, Sicily, had, however, affected him ; he had grown doubtful of the wisdom of enlightening the people, and suspicious of all unions and combinations. Stronger and more daring men had taken fright at these popular upheavals ; the Powers had discussed them in conference ; and Alexander had returned from Laybach disturbed and depressed by Metternich's subtle warnings. The reins of government were in the hands of "that enemy of all good," the Count Aretcheof, who had proved the ruin of his father Paul. One of the Count's creatures was Photi, a fanatical archimandrite of the Greek Church, who laboured hard to bring back the darkest ages of superstition and priestly tyranny. "He was a decided enemy to the Bible Society," writes Paterson,^ "and, I have no doubt, was a tool in the hands of the Jesuits, and that they, through Metternich, influenced Aretcheof." Seraphim was now Metropolitan of St Petersburg, and was at last able to throw aside the mask of hypocrisy. The intricate story of intrigue cannot be told here. Prince Galitzin ceased to be " Ministre des Cultes"; in obedience to the Czar's advice he resigned his position as president of the Russian Bible Society ; but the ukase of the 17th April 1824, which appointed Seraphim in his place, expressly ordered that all papers, etc., connected with the society should, as hitherto, be presented to his Majesty through the Prince. So far, the hostile influences had been triumphant, but Galitzin had not been ruined, and the society was still sheltered by imperial patronage. In his capacity as the new president, Seraphim was received with the respect due to his office and with the congratulations of men who had learned to think no evil. ^ The Book for Every Land, p. 364. i834] THE POLICY OF SERAPHIM 417 His Eminence "expressed a lively hope that the Lord would be pleased to shower down His blessings on the labours of the committee, and grant them His gracious aid in their work." At the desire of the Earl Street committee, Lord Teignmouth sent a cordial greeting to the Metropolitan. Comparatively little was done, . how- ever, after the accession of the new president ; the committee seldom met ; one of the secretaries had with- drawn with the Prince. Dr Paterson and Dr Henderson promoted, as far as they were able, the circulation of the editions already printed, and the Protestant branch societies, under the care of Count Lieven, went on with their work uninterrupted. Lieven was not afraid to speak his mind freely to the Metropolitan ; none of that faction had the power to injure him in the eyes of his imperial master. At the end of the year the printer, one of the stereotype founders, and the English journeymen binders left for England ; already a number of the Russian workmen had been dismissed ; still the Scotsmen remained at their posts, perfecting the works they had in hand, so that, should they be obliged to leave, there might be a large stock of bound books which, it was hoped, would eventually find their way into the homes of the people. It seemed as though the policy of the Metropolitan was to let the Russian Bible Society decline into dissolution and oblivion through sheer inactivity. In the early spring of 1825, however, he summoned a meeting of the committee, not at the imperial Bible House, but in his own rooms at the Nevsky Monastery. To the amazement of the members, he inveighed against the indiscriminate distribution of the Scriptures, which, he complained, were being read without the guidance of the priests, and that would lead to the abandonment of the Church — the words seem an echo of the evils predicted in England years before and so completely falsified by ex- YQU I, 3 P 4i8 CATASTROPHE IN RUSSIA [i8i7- perience — and to all manner of disorders. Count Lieven protested against any circumscription of the Word of God, but it was clear that Seraphim was prepared for the suppression of the organisation. Shortly afterwards Dr Henderson returned home, but Dr Paterson still found work to his hands at St Petersburg. The end, however, was not far distant. Heart-sick at the discovery of a conspiracy in which the leaders were men whom he trusted and on whom he had conferred many favours ; indifferent, it would seem, to a prolongation of his life, Alexander succumbed to typhus, at Taganrog, on the ist December 1825. At his funeral the members of all corporate bodies, the committees of all societies, and all persons of rank, lay and clerical, were ordered to join the procession at the city gates, but the Russian Bible Society — the one society which owed more than all the rest to his patronage and personal favour — was overlooked. On the 1 2th April 1826 the Emperor Nicholas issued a rescript for the temporary suspension of all the operations of the Russian Bible Society, with the exception of the sale of the copies of the Scriptures already printed and in the depots. In England the lovers of the Bible looked eagerly forward to the time when the edict would be withdrawn ; and at the anniversary gathering of that year a hopeful reference was made to the fact that his Imperial Majesty had confirmed his own subscription to the Russian Bible Society. But the evil genius of the institution was insidiously at work. Seraphim represented to the Emperor that if the Russian Bible Society were placed under the management of the Holy Synod, the circulation of the Scriptures would be as efficient as heretofore, and less expensive, and the burden of his responsibility, as president of the one and head of the other, would be lightened for his aged shoulders. On the 15th of August appeared a ukase giving effect to this arrangement, but "834] SUSPENSION OF THE RUSSIAN B.S. 419 happily allowing the sale at the depots to proceed as usual. These were stocked with about 200,000 copies, and events amply justified the foresight and energy of the Scottish agents in making this provision. With his unfailing spirit of helpfulness, Dr Paterson wound up the affairs of the British and Foreign Bible Society so far as they were connected with its Russian associate, and reluctantly prepared to abandon the field of his exertions. And here we obtain a favourable glimpse of the personality of the new Emperor. ' ' Why should Dr Paterson leave Russia? He may still be usefully employed in promoting the circulation of the Scriptures." "The Holy Synod do not desire his services," replied Prince Galitzin. "Why?" "Because they look upon him as a heretic!" "A heretic! I cannot endure such bigotry!" Statecraft and priestcraft, however, carried the day. The splendid organisation which had begun to bring within the pale of one vast brotherhood the Samoyede on the icy shores of the Arctic seas, the trader of Okhotsk, the Mon- golian tribes under the shadow of the Great Wall, the sturgeon-fishers of Baikal, the horsemen of the Scythian steppes, the bark-eaters of Karelia, and the cavern-dwellers of Inkerman, was arrested and dismantled in the heyday of its activity. Shortly after he left Russia in 1827, Dr Paterson received the good news that the Emperor had sanctioned the establishment of a Protestant Bible Society, with Count (now Prince) Lieven as president. During this period grants amounting to ;^687o were voted by the London Committee for the promotion of the Bible cause in Russia and Finland. ;^4ioo went direct to the Russian Bible Society, and over ;^iooo was dis- tributed among the Finnish Auxiliaries. During the fourteen years in which the British and Foreign Bible Society conducted its operations in the dominions of the Czar, its donations had amounted to ^22,949. 420 CATASTROPHE IN RUSSIA [i8i7- The work of the Russian Bible Society was briefly summarised by Dr Paterson at the anniversary meeting at the Freemasons' Hall in 1828. "We were enabled," he said, "to translate the Scriptures, or parts of the Scriptures, into seventeen languages, in which they had never before been printed. We printed them in all in thirty different languages, and put them in circulation in forty-five. The whole number of copies of the Scriptures which were printed was no fewer than 876, 106 ; and when I quitted Petersburg in May last, I left in the depository of that city about 200,000 copies, so that, making allowance for what may remain unsold, it will appear that 600,000 copies have been put in circulation." In the sequel to these events, God found hands to shelter the lamp which it was not His will to have quenched. The Rev. Richard Knill, of the London Missionary Society, who had served in India, was at this time minister of the Protestant congregation (chiefly English and Americans) in St Petersburg. Two years after the suppression of the Russian Societies, he was preparing for the departure of a young missionary, when a peasant women called at his house. Picking up one of the Bibles he was packing, he asked, "Can you read?" "Yes," she answered, "in my own language — in Finnish." "Here is a Finnish Bible; read it." She complied, and handed him back the book. "Have you a Bible?" he asked. "No, I never had one; I never had enough to buy one." Even now she had but a rouble, and to her astonishment and delight he gave her the Bible for that sum. " Go, and tell your neighbours," he said, "that if any of them wish to have a Bible, they shall have one for a rouble." The news spread ; in six weeks he had sold eight hundred ; people travelled sixty versts (nearly forty miles), and arrived at daybreak, so as not to lose their opportunity. He had not been prepared for so large a demand, and questioned i834] A NEW START 421 whether his circumstances justified his incurring so much expense. His wife encouraged him : " It is God's work!" and as he still hesitated, a funeral passed at the end of the street. "There is no work nor device in the grave .... whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." In a little while he was distributing Testaments and Psalters in Russ — with trepidation, and in twos and threes, for the Holy Synod had put its veto on the Czar's version ; afterwards more boldly. Friends in Scotland and England, friends in India, sent him assistance. Then the London Committee came to his aid ; first a thousand volumes in Russ, German and Finnish were placed at his disposal ; in a month or two they had been disposed of, carried away to villages five, six, seven hundred, a thousand miles inland ; then 2000 volumes, and before the year (1829) closed they too had vanished, and 4000 more were voted. In 1830 he established small depots in Finland, at Karass, Astrakhan, Selinginsk, Tiflis, Shusha ; and the Scriptures in many tongues had free course. Up to that year, from September 1828, he had distributed 22,000 copies. At the anniversary meeting in May 1834 he told the moving story of his undertakings ; by that time 30,000 volumes had been dispersed. " Most of these passed through my own hands ; and when I had not strength to circulate them, friends were raised up to do it." Nor were friends wanting elsewhere, though the work of all cannot be recorded in these pages. Professor Sartorius of Dorpat had paid especial attention to the recruits, young Esthonian peasants, who were ' ' frequently drafted into Russian regiments, which were stationed at a very great distance from their homes, and in which they were obliged to serve twenty-five years without ever hearing a Protestant clergyman address them in their native tongue." Chiefly through his advocacy, the Dorpat Bible Society 422 CATASTROPHE IN RUSSIA [1817-1834 was revived in 1832, and connected with the Protestant Bible Society in St Petersburg. Kindly relations were also maintained with Finland. After the disastrous fire of 1827, which spared scarcely more than a hundred of the thousand houses of Abo, and destroyed the stereotype plates and printed stock of the Finnish Bible Society, the Committee despatched to Arch- bishop Tengstrom 500 Swedish Bibles and 1000 Finnish Testaments of a specially printed edition. In the meantime the Protestant Bible Society at St Petersburg was pursuing its course in silence and without molestation. From its institution down to the 31st March 1832 it had distributed 3015 Bibles and 8842 New Testaments in ten languages, and nearly half of these had passed through the committees and correspondents of the branches connected with it. In the latter part of this period the London Committee's grants to Russia amounted to ;^2056. CHAPTER XXII THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA At the close of the first period, it will be remembered, Austria, in obedience to the Holy See, had shut the gates of its vast dominions against the Bible. Operations were brusquely arrested in Bohemia ; consignments of the Scriptures were seized ; the Hungarian Auxiliary at Pressburg was abolished, and over a million and a half of Protestants were denied the privilege of obtaining the Word of God at a price which brought it within reach of their extreme poverty. In Bavaria the same rigorous measures were taken. The Branch at Nuremberg — the seat of the first of all the continental Auxiliaries — was suppressed in 1817, and though the interdict was withdrawn in 1823, the work of organised distribution was suspended for seven years. During that interval, however, much was accomplished by individual enterprise, and even among the Roman Catholics there were devout and distinguished men who apparently considered the earnest injunctions of Pius VI. ample justification for disregarding the prohibition of his suc- cessor. Applications were made from the remotest parts of Bavaria, Swabia, and the Rhenish provinces for Gosner's New Testament. The Bishop of Constance, Baron von Wessenberg, and many of the clergy and laity, continued to distribute Testaments among the German and French Roman Catholics of Switzerland and adjoining countries. Professor Van Ess supplied in scores of thousands his own 423 424 THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA [i8i7- version of the New Testament, which had received the approval of the Bishop of Fulda and other ecclesiastical dignitaries. In Central Europe a lively interest in the societies was aroused at the Tercentenary of the Reformation, which was celebrated about the beginning of November 1817. Solemn services were held, collections were made on behalf of the funds, and in nearly all the Protestant churches Bibles were distributed to the young people, and especially to the children of the poor, as memorials of the festival of emancipated Germany. In the summer of 1818 Dr Pinkerton made a journey from St Petersburg to Basel. Visiting prisons and hospitals, in the hands of whose poor inmates no one had yet thought of placing the consolation of the Gospel, distributing the Hebrew Scriptures among the Jews, conferring with Bible committees, suggesting Ladies' Associations, promoting the formation of Auxiliaries, promising the aid of the British and Foreign Bible Society in the printing of large editions of Bibles and Testaments in various languages, he traversed White Russia and Samogitia, paused at Memel and Konigsberg, travelled by way of Thorn, Posen, Breslau and Dresden to Berlin, and proceeded thence through Hanover, Frankfort and Carlsriihe to Switzerland. "Everywhere in the hospitals," he wrote, "the Bible was welcomed gladly among the sick and wounded." In the five prisons at Konigsberg "many wept bitterly, probably at the recollection of the days of their youth, when they read the Bible at school, or in the habitation of their parents, but suffered not its principles to sink deep into their hearts. The keepers of the prisons themselves, and a member of the society who went with me, frequently wept like children." Jn compliance with his advice, the Saxon Bible Society undertook to despatch a supply of the Scriptures to the 1834] "WE MUST AT LAST RETURN" 425 Wends, and to take advantage of the promised co-operation of several ladies of title in the establishment of Female Auxiliaries. The Prussian Bible Society he found in prosperous condition ; and he prevailed on the Brunswick Society not only to provide prisons, hospitals, and other public institutions with the Word of God, but to revive the ancient statute of the Duchy, which had fallen into abeyance during the late wars and social troubles, that every newly-married couple should possess a Bible at their union, and that every child should receive one at confirmation. In connection with the Universities, he observed with delight that the Scriptures had very con- siderably recovered their lost ascendency over the minds of the learned. A Bible Society which had been formed at Gottingen numbered among its members not only all the clergy of the town but professors of the University ; and at Heidelberg they "were heartily willing to join their colleagues in Gottingen in building up that which many, alas ! had spent the greater part of their lives in endeavouring to pull down. One of the chief anti-supernaturalists of the age, on being lately asked by one of* his learned brethren how it came to pass that he now spoke so favourably of Christianity, replied, ' We must at last return to the good old way.' " At Basel Dr Pinkerton met Mr Owen, who, as we have seen, had gone abroad chiefly for the benefit of his health, and who, on his way from Paris, had visited the Auxiliary at Strasburg and promised in the name of the parent Society a donation of ;^200 in furtherance of an important edition of the French Scriptures. At Basel various plans were adopted for the consolidation and extension of the work of the Auxiliary in that city, and substantial assistance was given in the form of two grants of ;^5oo each. They went on together to Neuchatel, where they parted. Pinkerton crossed the lake, and at Yverdun 426 THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA [i8i7- made the acquaintance of the distinguished Pestalozzi, who for the last fourteen years had been carrying out his scheme of education at the castle assigned to him by the Govern- ment. "My conversations with this venerable old man," wrote the traveller, "turned chiefly on the necessity of imparting genuine Christian principles along Avith the very first rudiments of human learning. Before leaving me he assured me that he would introduce the reading of the Holy Scriptures more generally and frequently in his seminary, now consisting of one hundred boys." And to enable him to carry out this project at once, Pinkerton presented him with thirty German and French Bibles and Testaments in the name of the Society. Most of the important Auxiliaries in Switzerland shared the advantage of Mr Owen's experience and the promises of financial assistance which he was authorised to make. At Geneva, where feeling ran high in consequence of religious party divisions and grave accusations of heterodoxy, Mr Owen required all his tact, good feeling and Christian principles in meeting the members of the Auxiliary. He succeeded, however, in making arrangements for the establishment of a depot, to be supplied, at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society, with a sufficient stock of the Scriptures in French, German, English and Italian, and for the printing and distribution by the Auxiliaries of Geneva, Lausanne, and Neuchatel of a monthly publication founded on the Monthly Extracts of the parent institution. These measures, it was reported in the following year, had resulted in a distribution more than double that of 1818. It is interesting to note in this connection that copies of De Sacy's New Testament were placed in the keeping of "the pious and hospitable monks of the Great St Bernard ; for it appeared to us," wrote the secretary of the Geneva Auxiliary, "that in this asylum of peace and safety, where the traveller finds a 1834] THE PRUSSIAN AND SAXON B.S.S. 427 shelter against the frost and a protection from other dangers, his soul, open to solemn impressions, could not fail to lift up itself to God, and with delight draw from His Word the light which lightens man in the paths of life." A pleasant thought that the gift of the Bible Society had found a home on that spot among the peaks of everlasting snow, which had been held sacred for thirty centuries ; where, on the altar of rude boulders, sacrifice had once been offered to Pen, the god of the mountains ; where, ages afterwards, the Roman legionaries and the chapmen of the East had left their thank-offerings at the shrine of Pennine Jove ; where at last, in the tenth Christian century, Bernard de Menthon founded the hospice which still bears his name. In this year (1819) thirty-three Auxiliaries, besides Associations, were connected with the Prussian Bible Society, and many of these had put themselves in direct communication with the London Committee, and had received grants in aid. During the twelve months closing in October they had distributed 13,750 Bibles and 11,550 Testaments. The Prussian Society itself had been five years in existence in its nationalised form, and in that period had circulated 22,724 Bibles and 8900 Testaments in German, Polish, Bohemian, Wendish and Swedish. It included among its members and executive officers many of the most distinguished in the land, and the King still continued to express his interest and approval in regard to its work. The Saxon Society had, in the same time, issued 15,091 Bibles and 6216 New Testaments. The Wends had received the Bible in their own tongue with delight, and the whole edition of 3000 (which the London Committee had aided with a grant of ;^30o) had been exhausted. Another was asked for ; and to relieve the embarrassment of the society in face of the demands it could not satisfy. 428 THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA [1817- another grant of ;^300 was made by the London Committee in furtherance of an edition of 5000 copies. In spite of all hostility, Gosner's New Testament was being dispersed in large quantities. "Jesuits, Franciscans, and all the clergy, high and low, learned and unlearned," wrote Van Ess, "have set their faces against it, and are resolutely determined to exterminate it. The Papal Bull is equally severe." But the demand was so great that it was scarcely possible to procure a sufficient number of copies. A letter from a shepherd at Wertheim, in the hill-pastures on the edge of the Main, shows that it was not among the well-to-do in towns and villages alone that the gladness of the Gospel tidings had spread. "As I am a lover of religious books, and have heard a great deal of your society [Frankfort], I am sure you will not refuse to give the Catholic Old Testament to a poor shepherd who cannot hear the Word of God." He had already received a New Testament, but in it he did not find ' ' the psalms of David, nor the history of the Patriarchs Jacob, Moses and David, who were all shepherds. All this I wish to read, and to follow the example of those great men. . . . When I read it in my solitude, I shall find in it many things which will be profitable to me and my children." In 1820 Dr Steinkopff undertook his fourth continental journey on behalf of the Society. He was absent from the middle of May till the end of November, communicated with many friends in France and Switzerland, visited forty of the Bible Societies in Germany, and assisted at the formation of nine new Auxiliaries. He was authorised to make grants in money and in copies of the Scriptures to the extent of ;^2275. At Dresden he arranged that, in addition to the donation of ;^300 in aid of the Wendish Bible, the Committee should grant the Saxon Society a loan of ;^200 (to be repaid in German Bibles from the 1834] DISTRIBUTIONS IN BOHEMIA 429 stereotype plates), so that an ample supply might be sent to the branch at Herrnhut, one of the most active of the Saxon Auxiliaries. From the Herrnhut secretary he learned that since the preceding autumn 4500 copies of Gosner's New Testament and several hundreds of Van Ess's had been dispersed among the Bohemian villages, where the Scriptures were proscribed. "Obstacles had been thrown in the way ; persecutions had been raised ; some of our Bohemian fellow-Christians had even been imprisoned ; but many waters had not been able to quench this flame." Some enlightened priests had quietly, yet firmly, resolved to provide their people with the Bread of Life. A traveller, passing through one of the Bohemian villages, was surprised to hear at the inn many voices raised in singing the praise of God ; the innkeeper informed him that the New Testament had lately reached them, and since that time a flame of devotion had been kindled, and little gatherings of pious Christians had been held. Five years later, sitting on the Hutberg, among the hills around Herrnhut, Dr Pinkerton looked down with joy on. the panoramic view of the Biblical field, in which so many towns, hamlets and homesteads had been supplied with the Scriptures. Beyond lay the forbidding aspect of the Bohemian frontier, with the Giants' Mountains in the background, and it gladdened him to think that in spite of civil edict and ecclesiastical anathema, upwards of 30,000 copies of the sacred volumes had penetrated through their rocky passes to the Roman Catholic popu- lation, through the instrumentality of the society in that place. In Bavaria the prohibition had not yet been withdrawn, but it was a centre from which many editions of the New Testament had been issued. Dr Steinkopff ascertained that over 350,000 copies of Van Ess's translation had gone through the Seidel press at Sulzbach, nearly 80,000 of 430 THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA [1817- Gosner's had been printed at Munich, and more than 60,000 of Wittman's at Ratisbon. The Hanover Society, under the patronage of H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, had ten Auxiliaries and a number of Associations, and during the five years of its activity had issued 15,027 copies of the Scriptures. The most remarkable feature of the Foreign Secretary's tour, however, was the intense interest manifested by the people in his pleading of the Bible cause. At Winterthur a congregation of 3000 persons, including a dozen clergymen and the magistrates of the town, assembled in the large church on a week-day morning. A similar incident occurred at Schaffhausen. At Ludwigsburg, his birthplace, he addressed — again on a week-day — a gathering of 2000, and had the satisfaction of attending the establishment of a new Auxiliary. At Ulm, where the magistrates and clergy also united in forming an Auxiliary, 4000 were present ; and there were 4000 at Dresden. At Stuttgart he preached ten sermons in ten days to congregations ranging from two to four thousands, and ' ' rejoiced to see the plates filled with contributions of every value, from the dollar to the half kreutzer." The Wiirtemberg Society was in good case. The year before, the King, William I., had granted the use of a building for a printing-office and warehouse — a gift which had been supplemented by the Earl Street Committee with a present of printing-presses and a vote of ;^200. More than forty Auxiliaries and Associations (among the former that for the University of Tubingen) co-operated with the central administration at Stuttgart ; and in the capital, in addition to the private support of all classes, twenty-two trade guilds contributed to its funds. Since its establishment the Wiirtemberg Society had distributed 45,000 Bibles and Testaments, and over 10,000 copies, issued from its presses, had been circulated in adjoining territories. 1834] STEINKOPFF'S FIFTH TOUR 431 During his stay Dr Steinkopff had an audience of the King, to whom he presented a copy of the Chinese Testament, as a mark of the respect and gratitude of the British and Foreign Bible Society. " Sir," said his Majesty, after speak- ing in admiration of the Emperor Alexander's patronage of the Bible cause in Russia, "if I can render you any service, freely mention it ; I consider it a sacred duty to promote the cause of the Bible Society, and when you return to England, forget not your native land. My Wiirtembergers are a good people." Dr Steinkopff had also the honour of being received by the Queen and by the Queen-Dowager, formerly Princess-Royal of Great Britain, who both gave evidence of their warm interest in the movement. Again, in 1823, he made another circuit among the continental societies. He passed through Brussels, where a British Bible Society was founded shortly afterwards ; Cologne, whence 30,000 Bibles and Testaments had been circulated among Protestants, Catholics, and Jews in the course of seven years ; Elberfeld, where the Berg Society and its five branches laboured in a fair region, overlooked by the monument of ' ' the first messenger of the Gospel to these parts, St Swibert, who came from England in 649, and died in 711"; Frankfort, whence in little more than seven years there had been dispersed 11,248 Bibles, and 35,041 Testaments — in all, 46,289 copies of the Scriptures; and so south into Switzerland. At the close of 1822 the Basel Society had printed or purchased 142,673 Bibles, Testaments, and Psalters, of which 128,416 had been distributed, and, in addition to these, there had been circulated among the Roman Catholics 18,214 copies of the New Testament, pro- vided by the parent institution. At this date the Prussian Society's circulation amounted to 42,246 Bibles and 27,252 Testaments, and its forty- two Auxiliaries (leaving the minor Associations out of account) had during the year disposed of 22,400. In eight 432 THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA [1817- years the Hamburg-Altona Society had distributed 23,864 copies. In 1825 Dr Pinkerton visited the Bible establishments in seven kingdoms. From Herrnhut, he reported, 47,000 copies had been scattered far and wide. At Wittenberg an Auxiliary had been formed in 1823, and one of its most active members was at the head of a religious seminary in the very monastery in which " Luther lived the greater part of his life, first as monk, and afterwards as Reformer." At the sight of the historic cell, with its rude fir table and chair, he was deeply impressed with the need of another Reformation, " not from the errors of Popery, but from the mazes of an all-overturning philosophy, before which nothing was sacred, and according to which everything was doubtful." At Erlangen he saw members of the recently-formed Auxiliary, but not the leading spirit, "the famous philosopher Schelling, who, after having travelled through the boundless and barren wastes of speculative science, had now taken his stand on revelation." At Frankfort he found that the total distribution had risen to 61,329 copies, while that of the Wiirtemberg Society, at home and abroad, stood at 135,786 copies. These figures and notes of travel must suffice to indicate the condition of the Continent, where the Bible Societies were too numerous and their operations too complex to be dealt with in detail. From 182 1 to 1825 these societies presented their fairest picture of prosperity. Their connection with the great mother organisation was undisturbed in its affection and admiration by any breath of controversy. In Switzerland some trouble was caused by a departure from the fundamental rule of the Society in connection with Ostervald's admirable version of the Bible in French, of which an edition of 10,000 copies was printed at Lausanne in 1822. The work, which was under the superintendence of Professor Levade and several pastors and professors, occupied four years. When it appeared, it was found to contain som§ 1834] THE NETHERLANDS BIBLE SOCIETY 433 notes, which, though unobjectionable in themselves, necessitated an immediate remonstrance from the London Committee, who had contributed £^50 to the undertaking. Explanations, accompanied by expressions of deep regret, were made, and a strict admonition against the recurrence or any such procedure closed the incident, which gave rise to much angry criticism at home in the course of the Apocrypha controversy. Nine years later, when this version was revised for a new edition, Professor Levade wrote: "We have rejected eveiy note whatsoever, as well as the books ot the Apocrypha ; and we have, moreover, carefully weighed all the critical observations with which we have been favoured on the part of the Societies of Paris, London, Edinburgh, etc." In 1833 Levade, who was then president of the Canton de Vaud Bible Society, died at the age of eighty- four. In Germany, by the close of 1824, the editions of the New Testament issued by Leander Van Ess reached a total of 550,000 copies, and about the same time the translation and printing of his Old Testament, to which, however, no funds of the Bible Society were applied, were completed. In Hanover, in Saxony, and most signally in Prussia, the work was prosecuted with energy, and in 1825 the King of Prussia authorised an annual collection for the promotion of the Bible cause to be made in all the Protestant churches of the kingdom. The Netherlands Bible Society, founded in 1814, had not only grouped round itself some sixty Auxiliaries and Associations, but had become actively engaged in provid- ing for the spiritual welfare of the Dutch settlements at Amboyna, Sumatra, and other remote localities. Assist- ance had been sent to the societies in the East, and a Malay Bible in Arabic characters had been printed at Amsterdam. VOL. I. 2 E 434 THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA [i8i7- "I cannot sufficiently bless God," wrote Dr Pinkerton in the course of the tour to which reference has just been made, "for the innumerable proofs which I have had that everywhere the work of Bible distribution is proceeding with more or less vigour, and that every- where it is acknowledged to be a powerful instrument in the hand of God, in these awful times, for preserving alive among the people the faith and practice of genuine Christianity." At the close of 1825-6 the twelve Swiss societies, so far as their reports had reached Earl Street, had issued 253,676 Bibles and Testaments. The societies of Central Europe had circulated 859,688. Among these, thirty in number, with a host of Auxiliaries and Branch Associations, the following may be particularised : — Issues of Scriptures Founded up to 1826. 1814 The Prussian (1805, the Berlin) Bible Society — Bibles and Testaments 88,247 43 Auxiliaries ....... 200,000 1812 The Wiirtemberg Bible Society, with 46 Branches 135,941 1814 The Saxon Bible Society, with 5 Auxiliaries . . 104,505 1814 The Hanover Bible Society, with 23 Auxiliaries and Associations 35,ooo 1814 The Netherlands Bible Society, with 60 Auxiliaries (Dutch) 19,100 (Malay, in Arabic type) .... 13,000 (Malay, in Roman type) .... 10,000 1816 The Frankfort Bible Society .... 69,699 Strangely enough, the year 1826, which was marked by the suspension of the Russia Bible Society, witnessed a distressing change in the relations between the British and Foreign Bible Society and its continental allies. As the result of the Apocrypha controversy and the new laws formed for its settlement, an official circular was despatched to all the foreign Bible Societies, in February 1826, intimating that, while nothing was further i834] THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 435 from the intentions of the Society than to interfere with the reHgious views and opinions, the rites and usages of foreign Churches, the funds intrusted to the Society could be applied solely to the printing and circulation of the canonical books, and that the Apocrypha must find no place in any volume printed at the expense or with the aid of the Society. Five-and-twenty societies replied in the course of a few months. While gratefully acknowledging the liberal assistance they had received up to that time, earnestly pointing out the dangers of giving effect to the decision, and praying for reconsideration, the most influential — the Prussian, Hanoverian, Saxon, Danish and Swedish, and those at Frankfort, Basel, Berne, Ziirich, Lausanne, Geneva and Paris — declared that they must continue to disseminate the Sacred Scriptures in the form in which they had been handed down to the people and authorised by the Church. At the same time, in many instances the societies, though unable themselves to surrender the Apocrypha, were not unwilling to accept and distribute Bibles purely canonical, or at least the New Testament, on the conditions laid down by the Society. As, however, some misappi-ehension seemed to exist regard- ing the views and intentions of the British Society, a second circular, signed by Lord Teignmouth, was issued early in 1827. It embodied a copy of the resolutions passed on the 3rd May 1826, and proceeded to state the extent of the assistance which the Society was still able to afford to its foreign associates : — " By the preceding resolutions it will appear that the Committee cannot make any grants of money to such societies as apply their funds to the circulation of the Apocrypha together with the canonical writings ; because these resolutions require that the funds of the British and Foreign Bible Society shall be appropriated exclusively to the dissemination of the canonical books of Scripture. But still, even under these resolutions, the Committee are competent to afford very considerable assistance to their continental coadjutors, viz. :— 436 THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA ["8i7- " 1st. To all societies whose rules and practice accord with those of the British and Foreign Bible Society in a total exclusion of the Apocrypha, they can grant assistance in money and books as formerly. " 2nd. To societies which circulate the Apocrypha with the Canon of Scripture, whether intermixed or separate, they can afford supplies of the Holy Scriptures, in whole or in part, for sale or gratuitous distribution, as follows : — "(a) Grants of bound Bibles in different authorised versions in usage on the Continent, containing the canonical books only ; " {b) Grants of bound New Testaments of the same versions : " {c) Grants of the New Testament and the Book of Psalms, bound in one volume ; and "((^ Grants of one or more books of the sacred Canon bound up together. " It is to be observed that, in all the foregoing cases of grants, the books will be delivered bound. "All such grants of the Holy Scriptures are placed by the Committee at the full disposal of the Foreign Societies for sale at cost and at reduced prices, or for gratuitous distribution among such as are unable to pay any part of the price of them. The only conditions which the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society require to be complied with, on the part of the Foreign Societies receiving such grants, are : — " (a) That the books be circulated in the state in which they are received, without alteration or addition; " {b) That a distinct account of the copies sold and distributed gratuit- ously be kept, and a copy of it forwarded to the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society ; and "(c) That the proceeds, or moneys received for the copies sold, be transmitted to the Treasurer of the British and Foreign Bible Society." With a view to removing every ground of misconception, and ascertaining the possibilities of individual agency where the new regulations were not accepted, Dr Pinkerton and the Rev. Richard Waldo Sibthorp visited the Continent in the summer of 1827 on behalf of the Committee. "We found the door closed — and, I may say, in most cases barred — against the operations of our Society," wrote Mr Sibthorp ; ^ but principles were explained, misunder- standings cleared up, fears allayed, and some ill-will was ^ In recognition of the Society's indebtedness to Mr Sibthorp, who defrayed his own expenses during the tour, his name was enrolled on the list of Honorary Life Governors. i834] HOPES OF REUNION 437 checked. The Prussian Society empowered certain of its members to receive and distribute grants on the Committee's conditions ; the Saxon and Wiirtemberg Societies declined to receive Bibles without the Apocrypha ; but at Leipzig and Nuremberg, Schaffhausen, St Gall, Aarau, and, after long deliberation, at Basel, it was agreed to circulate them on the terms specified. Several offers of personal agency were accepted, and while the deputation thought there might be an advantageous development in that direction, they strongly urged the establishment of a central agency, by means of which energy might be diffused, effort concentrated, expense saved, and supervision exercised over the printing of the Scriptures and the action of subordinate agents. The free city of Frankfort-on-the-Main, with its facilities of communication, its extensive commercial intercourse, and its liberal government, commended itself as the most suitable centre ; and accordingly Mr Glaus, the old and tested correspondent of the Society, was engaged to devote himself to its service. Various intimations were received which strengthened the hope that the foreign societies might gradually take the British view of the Apocrypha. Both from Frankfort and Herrnhut they heard that the exclusion of the un- canonical books was not resented by the people. * ' Several have said to me," wrote Bishop Fabricius, "'We only seek after the Word of God, in order to gather edification therefrom; that we possess here entire in one volume.'" "The dispute respecting the Apocrypha," wrote the secretary of the Lubeck Society, "although it may prove highly unpleasant to many for the time being, will be, in my opinion, beneficial to the Protestant Church on the Continent." The most significant note, however, sounded from Basel. "Your visit," Dr Blumhardt wrote, "has been the means of causing the people on the Continent to 438 THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA [1817- take a clearer view of the Apocrypha question, to examine into the real value of those books, and to separate them more distinctly than hitherto from the collection of the inspired Scriptures. It is true, all the public papers and literary journals speak more loudly than ever in favour of the Apocrypha being retained. The Socinian party, which continues still to be very strong, is particularly interested therein, in seeking by these means to envelop in obscurity and to lower the idea attached to inspiration ; whilst the Evangelical party, which is on the increase, dare not, on account of the consequences, suffer the Apocrypha to be given up in the Church. However, amidst this mental commotion, the cause itself can only be benefited, and the Lord will take care for it that it be made instru- mental in promoting the true interests of the kingdom of God." But time, as it went by, made it unmistakably clear that most of the continental societies, and among them the most influential, were settled in their adher- ence to the Apocrypha. Money grants to these had ceased ; even the grants of Scriptures were much reduced ; and if the British and Foreign Bible Society was to carry forward to any large and permanent extent a circulation of the canonical books only, it must be by means of direct agency. The resignation of Dr Van Ess, about the end of 1829, decided the CommJttee to take the important step of appointing Dr Pinkerton to the complete control of the Frankfort Agency, with Mr Claus associated as coadjutor. Notwithstanding the shadows which fell upon his closing years, the career of Leander Van Ess was too remarkable to be passed over without further notice. The first edition of his version of the New Testament appeared in 1807. In 1821 Dr Pinkerton sent home a statement showing the wide area over which the book had spread. It affords a striking illustration of the good work which i834] LEANDER VAN ESS 439 may be accomplished through the instrumentality of one man. There had up to that date been circulated — In the Kingdom ofWiirtemberg, upwards of In the States of Baden In Switzerland In the Austrian dominions In Bavaria, about In Nassau In the States of Darmstadt, upwards of In and around Elberfeld In the country about iMiinster In and near Osnabruck .... In the Principality of Wildenheim In the Prussian States, about Berlin, Stettin In Silesia, upwards of . In and around Frankfort-on-the-Main . In the country around Fulda . In addition, there had been circulated in smaller numbers in every part of Germany and other countries of Europe where German Roman Catholics were found 239,663 etc. 38,000 copies 20,000 „ 10,000 ,, 24,500 „ 3,000 „ 10,000 „ 10,000 ,, 3,000 „ 2,000 ,, 6,000 „ 10,000 „ 10,000 „ 30,000 „ 10,000 „ Total issues 431,163 copies At the time of the Apocrypha controversy, the agency of Leander Van Ess — for his services had become so valuable to the cause that he had been prevailed on to give up his professorship and devote himself wholly to the Society — was made the subject of severe animadversion. In his Quarterly Review article, Southey jeered at Steinkopff s remark that Dr Van Ess ' ' sought no earthly emolu- ments" — desired neither the applause of a vain world, nor the treasures which rust and moth consume. "Coupling the profits derived from this source [the sale of his New Testament] with the annual salary of £z^i ^.nd taking into consideration, at the same time, that a pound sterling in Catholic Germany is, in exchange for commodities, equal to double that amount in this country, we arrive at the conclusion," wrote Southey, "that the Dogtor's 440 THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA [1817- feelings in regard to ' earthly emoluments ' have been cruelly outraged by the Directors." Smartly put, but recklessly untrue. Mr Sibthorp brought home evidence that four years before Van Ess became acquainted with the Society, and ten before he was engaged as its salaried agent, the copyright of his New Testament version had been disposed of to the printer Von Seidel on terms which enabled the Doctor and his brother to realise between them, in money and books, for the nineteen years the agreement had lasted, "rather more than £t,2 per annum." Called upon in 1826 to give his opinion of the expediency of retaining the services of Van Ess, the Foreign Secretary stated that up to that time the Doctor had brought into circulation 583,000 copies of his own version, "besides 11,984 Bibles and several thousand New Testaments of Luther's, and a considerable number of the Scriptures in ancient and modern Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, and in other European and Oriental languages, the latter chiefly among Roman Catholic students of divinity " ; that, notwithstanding the late restrictions. Van Ess had still many and most favourable opportunities of dis- tributing the Scriptures in various tongues ; and that "many might, perhaps, be found willing to offer their services, but he said not too much if he asserted, ' There is but one Leander Van Ess.'" In spite of strong opposition, the Committee declined to part with a servant whose character stood so high, and whose labours had for so many years spread the Word of Life through the kingdoms of Europe. The end came unexpectedly. In the report for 1830 it was announced with "particular regret" that circum- stances had arisen which had led to the termination of the agency. All receipts and disbursements had been accounted for, and the affairs of the agency had been satisfactorily wound up. The cause of this painful incident. 1834] THE FRANKFORT AGENCY 441 writes the Rev. George Browne,^ "was entirely personal, and remains in some obscurity ; for Leander Van Ess, while protesting his innocence in regard to certain imputa- tions affecting his moral character, alleged that his oath as a Catholic priest precluded his making such explanations as might have cleared up the suspicions arising from his ambiguous domestic relationships." He was now an old man ; for some years his health had been failing. In the autumn of 1827 Pinkerton and Sibthorp had found him in so grave a condition that his recovery seemed doubtful. "His memory is much impaired; and there is altogether a degree of mental weakness manifest, which it was indeed affecting to observe." Although his connection with the Society was necessarily closed, friends did not fail him in his dark hour. A private subscription was raised among the members, who had not forgotten his great and valuable services through many years, and a small annuity was secured as his chief support for the remainder of his life. In October 1830, Dr Pinkerton entered upon his new duties at Frankfort, and at once set himself to the enormous task of consolidating the new system, on which henceforth the operations of the Bible Society were to be conducted on the Continent. The effects of the use of agencies had in a measure been demonstrated at home. Agencies had been established in Paris and in the Mediterranean ; an agency was gradually shaping itself at St Petersburg. At Frankfort the capabilities of the system were to be tested on a large scale. In the first three years he distributed from the Frankfort Agency and the depots in Munich, Leipzig, and Halle 154,898 copies of the Scriptures in German, Polish, French, Italian, Greek, Latin and Hebrew. Of this large aggregate, which exceeded the returns of the national societies of Prussia, Saxony, or Wiirtemberg, and which was dispersed ' Browne, History of the British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. i. p. 361. 442 THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA [iSi7- through Prussia and Poland, Hungary, Austria, and Bohemia, Switzerland on the south and Alsace on the west, no fewer than 74,796 copies were circulated among Roman Catholics. Much time was necessarily taken up in the supervision of printing and binding (in regard to which, while securing better material, Dr Pinkerton effected considerable economies), and in correspondence with individuals and the continental societies, in whose exertions the Committee took unabated interest ; but in addition to these duties, he managed in the three years to make four extensive tours, the accounts of which contained frequent evidence of the salutary influence of the Scriptures distributed. At Stuttgart he met Dr Blumhardt of Basel, and made arrangements with him respecting the versions which the missionaries of the Basel Missionary Society were preparing at Shusha, and the supplies of Scriptures which it was desirable to send them. At Halle Professor Tholuck drew his attention to the ' ' re- markable fact that formerly it was an unusual thing for the students of theology to have in their possession, much more to peruse, the German Scriptures for their edification ; now nearly all the young men studying under him for the sacred ministry had supplied themselves with German Bibles for the above purpose." In the same year (1833) he took farewell of the good Bishop Fabricius, of the Church of the United Brethren at Herrnhut, whom he had persuaded nineteen years before to take part in the Society's labours, and who had distributed in Lusatia and Bohemia 58,926 Bibles and Testaments in German and Bohemian solely at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and upwards of 5000 on account of the Herrnhut Auxiliary. The Bishop had retired from his public duties a year before, but now the infirmities of age compelled him to resign his Bible work too. He was grateful to God for the privilege of co-operating for 1 834] THE EFFECT OF THE SECESSION 443 so long a period, and expressed his conviction that "this precious seed of divine truth would produce good fruit in the ages to come." Notwithstanding the independent condition in which the greater number of the continental societies now stood, a friendly intercourse was still in a considerable measure kept up ; many obtained supplies of the Scriptures from the Frankfort Agency, and the Committee at home were always glad to hear of their prosperity, for many of them were the children of the British Society's inspiration and fostering, and all were labouring in the same sacred cause. During the eight years which had elapsed since the Apocrypha secession, the societies of Central Europe distributed 1,986,009 copies of the Scriptures. Of these Switzerland circulated 399,840; Germany, 1,420,695. The radical and pervasive effect of the change which had taken place is, however, most significantly displayed in the following analysis of the grants made during this period by the British and Foreign Bible Society : — GRANTS TO CENTRAL EUROPE 1818-1834 . . ^112,780 Total from 18 i 8 to 1826 ^69,840 Total from 1827 to 1834 .£42,940 To Societies . . -^511918 To Dr Van Ess- Roman Catholics ;£io,383 General . . 3,5 14 13,897 Miscellaneous grants through various corre- spondents and friends 4,025 Total . ^69,840 To Societies To Dr Van Ess — Roman Catholics ;£i,02o General . . 392 .£12,026 1,412 To Frankfort Agency 12,923 Miscellaneous grants, chiefly to correspond- ents in place of the old Auxiliaries 16,579 Total .£42,940 444 THE CONTINENT AND THE APOCRYPHA [1817-34 By including the grants distributed through various channels in Poland, and those placed at the disposal of Dr Steinkopff, during his tour of 1820, we have a gross total of ;^i 16,327. Few of the societies received grants up to 1830, and none after 1832. The grants on behalf of Roman Catholics, so far as they are distinguishable, amounted to ;^23,994 in 1818-26, and to ;^3,48o in 1827-34 — ^ total of ;^27,474 ; but, from the figures quoted a few pages back in regard to Dr Pinkerton's operations at Frankfort, it is obvious that the sum specifically voted in the latter part of this period by no means represents the actual circulation of the Scriptures among Roman Catholics. CHAPTER XXIII NORTHERN EUROPE AND THE APOCRYPHA We now turn to the societies of Northern Europe, a survey of which is necessary to complete the record of the opera- tions and condition of the Continent. EstabHshed at Copenhagen in 1814, the Danish Bible Society speedily obtained a position of distinction. Frederick VI. favoured it with his special interest ; under the auspices of his Highness Prince Christian a flourishing Auxiliary was founded in the island of Fiinen ; persons of the highest rank and influence in Church and State promoted the circulation of the Bible ; and the rapid growth and ex- cellent organisation of the dependent Associations were in no small measure due to Dr Henderson, who, during his residence in Denmark, made frequent tours in furtherance of the cause. Year after year the rate of its circulation increased ; numerous accessions strengthened the array of its Auxiliaries ; and clear testimony was borne both to the previous dearth of the Scriptures and to the beneficial results of their distribution. In 1818 a new edition of the Creole Testament was issued at Copenhagen for the use of the negroes in the Danish West Indies, where a Bible Society had been formed at St Croix (Santa Cruz) ; and the society accepted from the Rev. Mr Schroter, rector of one of the churches in the Faroes, a version of the Gospel of St Matthew in the old Norse dialect of the islanders, wherein no book had ever 445 446 NORTHERN EUROPE AND APOCRYPHA [1817- yet been printed. The work was much needed, for Danish was all but unintelligible to them ; and through that cluster of eider - haunted bergs the stormy seas raced with such violence as to render it impossible for many of the people to attend divine service half a dozen times a year. The sheets were seen through the press by a learned pastor in Jutland, the Rev. Mr Lyngbye, who, during his botanical excursions in the islands, had acquired a familiar knowledge of the language ; and at last, in 1823, an edition of 1500 copies, with the Danish in parallel columns, was ready for distribution. Iceland was not forgotten when the spring ships sailed, and an annual supply of Testaments was despatched to Greenland. Under the influence of the Gospel, the Eskimos had shown themselves "a simple- hearted and docile race," and as they had no knowledge of the Old Testament save such as might be gleaned from a history of the Bible by Fabricius, who had laboured like an apostle among them, the Danish committee resolved to prepare and print a version of the most important books. In 1821, although he was in his seventy-eighth year, the venerable Bishop Fabricius, superintendent of the Greenland Mission, cheerfully undertook the difficult task of translating Genesis, the Psalms and Isaiah. In a few months his earthly toils were brought to a close, and the work was taken up by the Rev. Mr Wolff, chaplain to the citadel of Copenhagen, who had himself been a missionary among the Eskimo, and who had acquired a knowledge of their speech scarcely inferior to that of the Bishop himself. In 1826 the whole of the Pentateuch, the Psalms, and Isaiah had been printed, and copies had been sent to Greenland. Wolff, too, passed to his rest, and the other portions of the Old Testament were intrusted to Pastor Kragh, who had married a Greenlander, and who, during a ten years' t834] THE DANISH BIBLE SOCIETIES 447 residence, had won for himself the repute of a second Fabricius. From Iceland Dean Helgasen, the secretary to the Icelandic Society, reported in 1821 that every family throughout the island was now in possession of a Bible or a New Testament, and many of more than one copy. "The sacred volume is read with diligence during the long winter evenings." In the German part of the Danish dominions, the Sleswick-Holstein Society, under the presidency of his Serene Highness the Landgrave Charles of Hesse, enjoyed the same royal favour as the sister society at Copenhagen. In 1818 the London Committee had presented it with a set of stereo plates of Luther's Bible, and an edition of 10,000 copies was struck off at the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, the boys of which, Dr Henderson noted, were rejoiced to think that they, in their silent and soundless world, should become in a sense preachers, sending forth the Word of God in its power. The inception of this edition was made a memorable episode in the history of the Auxiliary. "The printing began on the 8th December, in the presence of the Directors of the Deaf and Dumb Institution and all the members of the committee of the Sleswick-Holstein Bible Society. The Chancellor of the Supreme Court first struck off a proof sheet, then the General- Superintendent, and afterwards every one present in rotation. With prayer to God," wrote Dean Callisen, "that He would grant success to this new institution in furtherance of the cause of His holy Word, I lifted up my eyes to Heaven, imploring at the same time a blessing on all those worthy men to whose ardent zeal and benevolence we are indebted for this great gift." In 182 1 the society was supported by 120 Auxiliaries and Associations. Throughout the existence of the societies up to this date there had been circulated in the dominions of 448 NORTHERN EUROPE AND APOCRYPHA [1817- Denmark over 80,000 Bibles and Testaments — ^44,160 by the Danish Society, 24,000 by that of Sleswick-Holstein, 10,000 in Iceland, and 2000 in the principality of Lauenberg. In 1825 the circulation had increased to 120,000, and Bishop Miinter .wrote: "The work is still prospering, amidst the calamities of the present times. ... In the progress of my last Biblical tour, it was delightful to me to observe the beneficial effects which the dissemination of the Holy Scriptures has produced in our native land, with respect to the sentiments and morals of the people." In Sweden Charles XIII. died in February 1818, but in his successor, Charles XIV. (the high-minded Bernadotte), the Swedish Society had a gracious sovereign, who in the past had been its "first member and patron," and who was still devoted to its interests. The bishops and clergy zealously promoted the great enterprise, and evidence of their influence was seen in the array of auxiliaries which sprang up at Lund, Gothenburg, Skara ; at Upsala and Wexio ; at Westeras, Carlstadt, and Hernosand ; at Wisby in Gothland, Nerike, and Linkoping. A Marine Bible Society was formed at Skipsholm, and in 1819 Dr Henderson was instrumental in establishing a naval organisation under the patronage of the commandants at Carlscrona, "the Portsmouth of Sweden," which harboured nearly twenty sail of the line, and contained, besides the ordinary civil population, between seven and eight thousand people employed by the Admiralty. In that year Strangnas was the solitary diocese in Sweden in which there was no Bible Society. The Bishop, Tingstadius, was one of the first Hebrew scholars of the age. He had been employed in preparing a new translation of the Swedish Bible, but it was in vain that both Dr Paterson and Dr Henderson endeavoured to persuade him of the general utility of Bible Societies. With a singular short-sighted- ness, he opposed the circulation of the old Swedish version 1^34] THE SWEDISH BIBLE SOCIETY 449 as certain to prejudice the success of his own under- taking. Thirteen years later, under his successor, Bishop Thyselius, a society was founded at Strangnas, and the Word of God had a free course through the whole kingdom. In Stockholm the first Swedish Ladies Society was founded, and in 1820 Dr Paterson explained to its members the system on which these Associations in England enabled the poor to provide themselves with the Scriptures. In a little while the beautiful practice was adopted by many Auxiliaries of presenting Bibles to children at baptism, and to virtuous couples in the course of the bridal ceremony. In 1821 the Swedish Society had distributed nearly 170,000 Bibles and Testaments ; but it was still a long way from the accomplishment of its ultimate design — "that the meanest cottage of the kingdom should not be destitute of the Word of God." In the diocese of Linkoping, with a population of 250,000 and upwards, a special investigation in every parish had revealed that only one person in eight was , in possession of a Bible or Testament ; and another Auxiliary discovered, on a fresh survey, 13,900 families, of whom 4385 were unable to pay the full price for either, and 4403 unable to pay at all. This state of matters was all the more to be regretted when it was remembered that there were very few grown-up persons in the country unable to read. The number of schools for the poor was limited, indeed ; but the child learned to read at its mother's knee, and itinerant teachers travelled from hamlet to hamlet, keeping school for three or four months according to the encourage- ment they received. To meet the exigencies of the case, the Swedish Society received a grant of ;^50o, of which ;^30o in Bibles and Testaments was to be equally divided between the Auxiliaries at Carlstadt and Gothenburg and VOL, I, 2 r 450 NORTHERN EUROPE AND APOCRYPHA [1817- the Ladies' Society at Stockholm ; and a similar grant was voted in the two following years. The effect of these exertions was patent to the observer. " Before the establishment of a Bible Society in 1808 in Sweden," said a faithful pastor of Gothland, "pure Christian principles seemed to be dormant, and indifference and infidelity gained ground every day. A happy change has begun, yea, more than begun ; and we anticipate, in faith and patience, a glorious and universal triumph." And the Prime Minister, Baron Rosenblad, president of the Swedish Society, expressed himself still more strongly in a letter to the London Committee in December 1822 : " I perceive the present to be a serious crisis for better or worse, which will perhaps determine the moral state of mankind for centuries. God is abundantly sowing His good seed, but the enemy is no less actively sowing his tares. Had not Bible Societies, through the merciful providence of God, been established to counteract the evils of infidelity and ignorance of spiritual things, in what a state of moral degradation would the world have been at this moment ! " In 1825 the total issues of the Swedish Society amounted to 204,645 copies. Beyond the fact that an Auxiliary had been formed at Stavanger, little was heard of the Norwegian Society for a year or two after its foundation. Indeed, it was not till 1820 that it was re-organised on the strict lines of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and received the grant of ;^5oo which had been promised at the close of the first period. That there was a great dearth of the Scriptures in Norway, and a great eagerness on the part of the people to become possessed of them, is attractively demon- strated in a letter from a friend who was travelling in the north in 1818 : "The pilot, who came on board to conduct the vessel to Stavanger, having learnt by some means or i834] THE NORWEGIAN BIBLE SOCIETY 451 other that we had some Bibles with us, earnestly entreated that he might be permitted to buy one. He lives on one of the little islands with which this harbour [Christiania] abounds, and stated that a single copy, which they had among them, had almost excited a quarrel, so many wished to possess it. They were at last obliged to decide the matter by drawing lots, and much did he regret that the lot did not fall upon him. We gave the old man a copy, which he received with marks of the deepest gratitude." In 1819, in the course of his circuitous marriage-tour to which we have referred, Dr Henderson was setting out on a two-months' journey through the mountainous regions of Norway, when he was thrown from his carriage a few miles beyond Gothenburg. Norway may be said to have been first brought into touch with Earl Street by the Rev. Peter Treschow, a Norwegian pastor in London, who visited it in 1821 on behalf of the parent Society. He had the honour of being presented to Charles XIV., who closed an interesting conversation with words very similar to those of his Majesty of Wiirtemberg : "You see, therefore, sir, that as a Christian and a King, I feel myself bound in duty to support the circulation of the Bible." He was able to report favourably of the prospects of the society in Christiania and the surrounding country. The London Committee were not slow to avail themselves of every possibility of co-operation. They encouraged the Norwegian Society to undertake a fresh edition of 10,000 copies of the New Testament — they had just issued one of 6000 — by offering to bear half the expense. About this time, too, an opening presented itself further north. At the instance of two gentlemen of Trondhjem, 1500 Danish Testaments were forwarded to the busy city of St Olaf, and the Committee decided themselves to print 500Q 452 NORTHERN EUROPE AND APOCRYPHA [i8i7- copies of the Norwegian version for the benefit of its people. The most notable result of Mr Treschow's work, however, was the tidings he sent of a Christian tribe — the Kwains — inhabiting, under the seventy-first degree of latitude, the bleak region between the Alten and Varanger Fjords, where the sun never rises during two months of the year. "They are not wanderers, like the Swedish Finns," he wrote, "but support themselves by fishing or agriculture. The majority can read, but so great is the scarcity of religious books, and the eagerness of profiting by them, that they do not think it too hard to walk twenty or thirty miles to gratify their taste for hearing a good book read, or to sing religious hymns." Copies of o the Finnish Bible, printed at Abo, had been sent to them, but had been found unintelligible on account of the difference of their dialect. The Committee at once took up their case, and offered a grant of ;^200 ; the archives at Copenhagen were searched, but no Kwain MSS. were discovered, and the few ministers who knew the language were too aged or too much occupied with other duties to take up a translation of the New Testament. At length a zealous worker was found. The Rev. Mr Stockflieth, who had been an officer in the army, resigned a more profitable charge, and took up his residence among the Kwains, that he might devote himself to the task. In 1828 Dr Pinkerton arranged that the Committee should bear the cost of producing and binding a first edition ; but it was not before 1840 that the version was finished and printed, with the Danish text in parallel columns, under the supervision of the Norwegian Bible Society. The Norwegian Society gradually shaped a number of Branches and Associations. In 1824 the secretary of the Auxiliary at Bergen wrote: "Even here, among the Norwegian rocks, the long slumbering desire after th^ 1834] ADHERENCE TO CUSTOM 453 divine Word has at length been awakened in the souls of our fellow-Christians " ; and in the following year the committee at Christiania were ' ' happy to communicate the joyful intelligence that the Bible cause acquires more and more friends in our country also." In 1826 Scandinavia, like the rest of the Continent, experienced the disorganising effects of the Apocrypha controversy. In Sweden the attempt of the Evangelical Society of Stockholm to circulate the Bible without the uncanonical books had already aroused the strong dis- approval of the public ; and on behalf of the Swedish Bible Society, the president. Baron Rosenblad, now wrote to say that it was impossible for them to depart from the tradition establish d during three centuries in the Church of Sweden. In following their conscientious convictions, however, they would ever cherish towards the British and Foreign Bible Society the deepest respect, gratitude, and affection. In Denmark and Norway the suppression of the Apocrypha was regarded from the same standpoint of ancient ecclesiastical custom. The conciliatory results of the tour of Messrs Sibthorp and Pinkerton in Germany and Switzerland suggested the wisdom of adopting a similar course in regard to the north, and in 1828 Dr Pinkerton spent the summer months in Sweden and Denmark. At Copenhagen he found Bishop Miinter strongly opposed to any attempt to introduce Bibles without the Apocrypha. After long discussion, the directors of the Danish Society accepted the offer of 200 Hebrew Bibles and 150 Greek Testaments for the benefit of students ; they were willing to distribute the Danish New Testament, if printed at the Royal Orphan House at Copenhagen ; and, if the British and Foreign Bible Society gave an order for a purely canonical edition of the Danish Bible, 454 NORTHERN EUROPE AND APOCRYPHA [1817- also to be printed at the Orphan House, they would ascertain from the Royal Chancery whether they would be allowed to undertake its distribution. The Sleswick- Holstein Society was better disposed to enter into co- operation on the new basis, and it was assigned 500 Bibles and 1000 Testaments, to be accounted for according to the regulations. At this time the issues of the societies in Denmark amounted to 142,310 copies of the Scriptures, of which 71,500, in Danish, had been printed at the Orphan House, and 62,500, in German, had been produced by the Deaf and Dumb Institution at Sleswick. As time went by, however, these societies appeared to prefer an independent course of action, and correspondence with Denmark was chiefly maintained through a few private friends, among them the Rev. Mr Rontgen of Christianfeld, and Mr Reiche of Sleswick, who for several years carried on an agency under the direction ot the London Committee. In Sweden Dr Pinkerton was received with extreme cordiality. At Gothenburg Bishop Wingard expressed much apprehension of public dissatisfaction if a second attempt were made to suppress the Apocrypha, but the society was nevertheless persuaded to make a trial with 250 Bibles and 800 New Testaments. It had already distributed nearly 51,600 copies in the diocese, which contained a population of 300,000, and as this was about one-sixth of the aggregate issues of all the Swedish societies, much still remained to be done throughout the kingdom. Whole-hearted co-operation awaited him at Upsala, the sacred capital of the old days, when the kings of Sweden, Christian and pagan, used to stand on "the King's Stone," to receive homage within sight of the hill on which the first temple to Odin was built. Archbishop Rosenstein, the Primate of Sweden, assured him that he had ' ' never 1834J THE CODEX ARGBNTEUS 455 considered the apocryphal books as forming any part of his Bible," and readily engaged, on behalf of the Upsala Society, to distribute 300 Bibles and 500 Testaments. To this grant were added, for poor students, 50 Hebrew Bibles and as many Greek Testaments. In the Royal Library Dr Pinkerton turned over the aged leaves of the famous Codex Argenteus, containing nearly all that survives of the Gothic version of the Bible by Bishop Ulfilas-^the earliest writing we possess in the tongue of our ancestors. A purple parchment MS. of the fifth century, inscribed in letters of silver and bound in solid silver, it was discovered in the eleventh century in the Abbey of Werden, in Westphalia ; it was afterwards transferred to Prague, and when that city was taken in 1648 by Count Konigsmark, he carried the precious relic with him to Upsala.^ "I felt again," wrote Dr Pinkerton, "as I once did at Rome, while standing beneath the Arch of Titus, and beholding sculptured on its walls the Ark of the Covenant, the golden candlestick, and other sacred things taken from the sanctuary — in both instances valuable testimony confirmatory of our holy faith." The Swedish Society adhered to its resolution to apply ^ Miiller: Lectures on the Science of Language, vol. i. p. 214. More fragments of the Gothic version were found in 181 8 in the monastery of Bobbio, "where they had probably been preserved ever since the Gothic empire of Theodoric the Great in Italy had been destroyed." Even after nineteen hundred years, the speech of the warlike Goths, whom the good Bishop dared not trust with a translation of the heroic "gestes" of the Books of Kings, does not sound wholly unfamiliar to our ears in the following passage : — Yah hwazuh-saei hauseith waurda meina, yah ni taugith tho, galikoda Yea whoso he heareth words mine, yea nor doeth them, I liken to mann dwallarama saei getimbridad razn sein ana moelmin. man dull (foolish) who timbered (built) erection (house) his on sands. Yah at-iddya dalath rign, yah cwemun aquos, yah waiwoun Yea to-hied (rushed) down rain, yea came waters, yea waved (blew) windos, yah bistigwun bi janamma razna, yah gadraus, yah was draus is winds, yea begushed on that house, yea thrust, yea was thrust that mikils. mickle (great). Benham, Dictionary of Religion, p. 1060. Compare mcelmin with North Meols, the North Sands, on the Lancashire coast. 456 NORTHERN EUROPE AND APOCRYPHA [1817- its funds to the version containing the Apocrypha, but consented to distribute the canonical Scriptures to those who desired to purchase them. A grant was accordingly- made of 500 Bibles and 1000 Testaments in Swedish, 100 Hebrew Bibles, 100 Greek Testaments, and some copies in English. At Wexio the committee of the society agreed, subject to the approval of the Bishop, to accept a small consignment. A few days later Dr Pinkerton met the Bishop, who not only sanctioned the proceeding, but doubled the number of Bibles, and promised that the new regulations should be complied with. This friendly prelate was no other than Esaias Tegner, "the glory and boast of Sweden, the first among all her poets, living or dead," whose Children of the Lords Supper has long been familiar in the beautiful translation by Longfellow. ' ' It was to this country about Wexio," wrote Dr Pinkerton, "that missionaries were sent from England about 800 years ago" — Sigfried, Archdeacon of York, and his three nephews, according to the hagiographer. Admonished by an angel in a vision of the night, Sigfried built the Cathedral of Wexio, and was buried within its walls when his labours were done; "and it is a pleasing reflection that, after the lapse of so many centuries, highly-favoured England is still enabled to send the sacred volume to the Christian inhabitants of the same place." At Carlscrona, Lund, and Christiania arrangements of a like description were made, and the hopeful traveller regarded with some satisfaction "the channels which had been opened in the most influential parts of the country for the dissemination of the pure Word of God." Immediate good was no doubt effected by this tour in the North in 1828, and the old friendly relations were confirmed ; but with the cessation of pecuniary assistance, the restriction of grants almost entirely to the New Testa- ment, and the rarity of personal visitation, the benevolent 1834] THE NEED FOR AGENCIES 457 operations of the parent Society were narrowly limited in comparison with what they had been. It became evident that the one satisfactory prospect of maintaining a close connection with the vast peninsula was by an extension of the agency system which was being adopted for Central Europe. Initial steps in that direction had already been taken by Dr Pinkerton ; but the survey made by the Hon. Charles Shore during a tour in 1831 — the year in which the Swedes celebrated the millenary of the introduction of Christianity^ and the tercentenary of the Confession of Augsburg — demonstrated the necessity for measures being taken on a vigorous and comprehensive scale. In Norway Mr Shore discovered that the only Bible Society which retained any degree of energy was that of Christiania. It had circulated a large number of Testa- ments, but it had practically confined itself to meeting demands, instead of stimulating them by means of Auxiliaries and frequent correspondence. In Bergen there was no society, though individuals had exerted themselves in distri- buting the Scriptures. In Trondhjem the Bishop, through indisposition, had withdrawn from all religious institutions ; correspondence in connection with Christian efforts had ceased, and the Bible cause was well-nigh extinct. Although even in the unfrequented wilds it was rare to enter a cottage in which there was not some religious book, still the Bible, and especially the New Testament in separate forrri, were greatly needed. In the sister kingdom matters were on a better footing. The Swedish Society was "eminently flourishing." At the same time, it was pre-engaged too completely to afford any assistance to Norway, with which all intercourse had ceased ; and there was ample occasion 1 The first apostle to Sweden was St Anskar or Ansgar, a monk of Corbie Abbey, near Amiens, who landed in 831 ; a faithful heroic soul, to be remembered with glad- ness among the wild figures of that age. " One miracle," he once said, " I would, if worthy, ask the Lord to grant me : that by His grace He would make me a good 458 NORTHERN EUROPE AND APOCRYPHA [i8i7- for the assistance of the British Society among those who were too poor to pay the full price for the Scriptures. No more acceptable and competent representative than its old friend Dr Paterson could the parent Society have selected to build up the agency system that was now in contemplation ; and he was fortunately in a position to comply with the request that he should once more traverse the ground which had grown familiar to him twenty years before. He left Harwich in April 1832, and, after cover- ing a distance of more than 4500 miles, reached home in September. Everywhere he was received with open arms. If the Bible Societies in Sweden still adhered to their traditional Bible, they had no objection to circulate the canonical version. At Stockholm he founded an independent agency, the personnel of which was warmly approved by the Swedish Society ; provided for the printing of successive editions of the Scriptures as they were required ; and arranged that the Auxiliaries in Finland should henceforth be included in the field of the agency's operations. Of the work that had already been accomplished he spoke highly. Considering the scantiness of its resources, the poverty of the people, and the vast tracts of country covered by its labours, no other continental society had done nearly so much as the Swedish. Yet it was known that not one-half of the families in the kingdom possessed the New Testament, and not one-sixth the complete Bible. "I do think," he added, "that there is more encourage- ment at present to labour in this part of the Lord's vine- yard than at any former period. There is a better spirit existing. They are willing to help themselves to the utmost of their power ; and they are willing, at the same time, to receive whatever help their friends in England are pleased to afford them." In Norway, though little had yet been done, there were many difficulties to contend with, of which only those who 1834] DR PATERSON'S TOUR 459 knew the country were aware. There was, however, a growing disposition to use greater exertion. On the question of the Apocrypha, the leading men of Christiania were of the same mind as the Bishop of Upsala, and had even proposed to leave it out of their Bibles ; but appre- hension of public distrust and displeasure had prevented them from taking this course. Here, too, Dr Paterson established an agency, and made arrangements for printing a constant supply of the Scriptures, and branches were formed at Christiansand, Stavanger, Bergen, and Trondhjem. From Christiania he travelled to the capital of the old Norse kings, "almost the whole way through a deep, narrow glen, in which the clergy live from about fifty to sixty miles asunder." For leagues he did not see a house, and "on each side of the glen, to the distance of forty miles and more, all was mere wilderness." Rivers in spate and roads broken up by the rain retarded his progress. From Trondhjem he crossed the Dovrefjeld to Bergen. It was July, and bitterly cold, with snow white upon the mountain ridges, and snow driving along the foot-hills — a veritable glimpse of Jotunheim, with the old shaggy giants of frost and tempest still alive among cloudy rocks. The further he went the clearer it became to him that, to keep in touch with the people of this tumbled fell- country of inhospitable distances, a travelling agent — a young, devoted, and adventurous representative — was absolutely necessary, so soon as the various depots had been properly stocked. Bergen he considered the most important point in Norway for a Bible depot. Besides the extensive and most destitute district at its own door, it commanded the whole coast from Stavanger to the North Cape. At least 200 fishing-vessels from the north visited it twice a year to dispose of their fish and procure supplies. It could not only provide their crews with the Scriptures, but through them had the 46o NORTHERN EUROPE AND APOCRYPHA [1817- means of sending to the poor people all along the sea- board. There was a considerable trade, too, with France, Spain, and Italy, and through the sea-farers from those countries many copies in various tongues might be distri- buted abroad. From Bergen he went to Stavanger, a distance of about a hundred and twenty miles, in an open boat. The weather was fine, but Dr Paterson was in his fifty-sixth year — not now that strength which in old days "roughed it" gaily on the Kalmuk steppes and in the passes of the Caucasus. "I am far from well," he wrote, "need rest, but can get none, nor do I expect any till I get on board a vessel for dear home." The report for the last year of this period showed that the Bible cause was making steady progress in the north. The Swedish Society had now distributed in all 368,041 copies of the Scriptures. Large as the total was, it was 115,000 less than the increase of population since 1815, and 176,000 less than the number of householders in the kingdom. The agency at Stockholm had been active both at home and among the Auxiliaries in Finland, and the London Committee had enlarged its powers and increased the efficiency of its organisation. In Norway the agency at Christiania had issued an edition of the New Testament, and was now busy with one of the whole Bible without the Apocrypha ; while the other agencies were diligently carrying on the work of dis- tribution from their various depots. The Danish Societies had circulated an aggregate of 203,314 Bibles and Testaments in Denmark, the Duchies, and Iceland, and to the Greenland version had now been added the books of Job, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Ruth. The grants voted during this second period to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway amounted to ;^i4,435 — 1834] THE GRANTS FOR THE PERIOD 461 ;£'6442 up to the date of the Apocrypha decision, and ;^7993 afterwards. The first of these sums went almost entirely to the societies ; of the latter, ;^39i2 was administered by the societies, ;^24io by correspondents and friends, and £16'] i by the agencies. APPENDICES APPENDIX I Chapter i. p. 6. The " sweet Welsh maiden " was Mary Jones, variously described as of Cwrt Abergwynolwyn, or Llanvihangel — but more correctly, one gathers, of Ty'nyddol, a small cottage (now a ruin) situated in a narrow but beautiful cwm or valley on the south-west side of Cader Idris, in the parish of Llanvihangel-y- Pennant, Merioneth, and about a quarter of a mile from Llanvihangel, and two miles from Abergwynolwyn. Her story appears to have been published for the first time in the Bible Society's Monthly Reporter for January 1867, from which I reproduce it, with the Editor's prefatory note : — The Rev. D. Rowlands, who has lately been attending several meetings of the Society in Merionethshire, has furnished a most satisfactory account, etc. . . . He speaks of the following incident, which he heard from the hps of a warm friend of the Society, as being well authenticated : — " It is not long since Lewis William of Llanfachreth died [14th August 1862, aged 88]. He was a very pious man, exceedingly beloved by all that knew him. He died in a good old age. In his younger days he used to keep one of Mr Charles's ' circular' schools, and there he taught the children the little Enghsh he knew himself; but especially he taught them to read their Bible in their own language, and took care to ground them in the great truths of religion. Among others that attended his school there was a young girl of some fourteen or fifteen years of age, called Mary Jones, of Cwrt Aberganolwyn : she very soon learned to read, and it appears that her heart was opened by the same divine grace that opened the heart of Lydia to receive the Word of Eternal Life. But she had no Bible herself. There was a copy in the house of a relative two miles off, and there she used to go very often, in order to slake her thirst for the Water of Life. Presently she began to yearn for a copy of her own, and inquired would it not be possible for her to get a Bible somewhere. She had collected a little money to buy one, but knew not where to turn her face for a copy. Somebody told her that the likeliest place for her to find a Bible would be at Mr Charles's, at Bala, and that it was possible that he could get her one. The little maiden determined that she would not sleep before she reached Bala and ascertained if she could get a Bible there. She had a long distance to go, something like twenty-eight miles, but she walked it cheerily, her young heart sustained by the hope of finding at the end of her journey the long-yearned-for treasure. VOL. I. 2 G *"* 466 APPENDIX I When she reached Bala, she inquired for the house of Mr Charles. When she found it, she was told that Mr Charles had gone to rest, for it was his custom to retire early, and to rise about five o'clock in the morning to prosecute his multifarious and most important labours. She was taken, after she had told her errand, to the house of a worthy man there, David Edward, an elder with the Calvinistic Methodists. . . . Between five and six the next morning, David Edward and the little girl were in the street, and on their way to Mr Charles's. Yes, as usual, the light was in the window of his study ; the indefatigable man was already hard at work in the service of his blessed Master. They knocked, and were receiveti in. David Edward introduced the little girl, and her story was told. ' Really,' said Mr Charles, ' I am very sorry that she should have come from such a distance, but I fear indeed that I cannot spare her a copy, Bibles are so very scarce.' This was too much for the poor girl : she wept as if she would break her heart. And that again was too much for Mr Charles : he said that she should have a Bible. He reached her a copy, she paid him the money, and there the three stood, their hearts too full for utterance, and their tears streaming from their eyes : the girl now weeping sweet tears of unutterable joy : Mr Charles shedding tears of mingled sorrow for his country's famine for the Word of God, and of holy sympathy with that young disciple who so rejoiced in the possession of the great treasure ; while good David Edward was overpowered with the scene before him, and he also wept like a child. What a subject for a grand painting, that scene in Mr Charles's study by candle-light at six o'clock in the morning ! When Mr Charles was able to speak, he said, ' Well, David Edward, is not this very sad, that there should be such a scarcity of Bibles in the country, and that this poor girl should thus have walked some twenty-eight or thirty miles in order to try to get a copy ? If something can be done to alter this state of things, I will not rest till it is accomplished.' " Such is the story. Mr Rowlands adds : — "However he may have been impressed with similar circumstances in other places, it is certain that he [Mr Charles] could not forget Mary Jones of Cwrt Abergynolwyn, until on that memorable occasion in the London Tavern ' he had the opportunity of pleading the poverty for Bibles which was felt so deeply among his countrymen, and asking the wonderful question about forming a society for the permanent supply of Wales, which suggested the immortal answer from the Rev. Joseph Hughes, ' If for Wales, why not for the British Empire ? and if for the British Empire, why not for the world ? ' " Mary Jones was born on the i6th December 1784, and was baptized on the 19th, according to the register of the church at Llanvihangel. As may be ' Not at the London Tavern, but at a committee meeting of the Religious Tract Society at Mr Hardcastle's, Old Swan Stairs, Upper Thames Street, near London Bridge. APPENDIX I 467 seen in her own handwriting in her Bible preserved at the Bible House, she bought the book in 1 800, in the sixteenth year of her age. The volume itself, a stout octavo, belonged to the edition issued by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in 1799 — the last edition of the Welsh Bible prior to the foundation of the Bible Society. Mary married Thomas Lewis, a weaver of Bryncrug : died, according to the register, on the 29th December 1864 ; and was laid to rest in Bryncrug churchyard, where a gravestone was erected by those who loved to recall the incident of her girlhood and her devotion through life to the Bible and to all Bible work. The Monthly Reporter for 1896 (p. 92) contains "A Visit to Mary Jones," the date of which is the 15th of August 1863. The article is unsigned, and the writer, or very possibly the Editor, makes the mistake of assigning Mary's death to 1869, but the account, with its characteristic touch, " I had a good wash in a brook before I entered the town, and I put on my skoes," agrees very closely with the narrative given above. The latest personal reference to Mary Jones occurs in a charming sketch by Mr Crayden Edmunds, M.A. (sometime secretary of the Calcutta Auxiliary), entitled " Bible Work in Assam," in the Monthly Reporter for 1902, p. 62 : — " At the afternoon service I told [the Khasi Christians at Cherra Poonjee] the story of Mary Jones, and this was well driven home when Dr Roberts [the translator of the Khasi Old Testament and the reviser of the New] declared that he had both seen and spoken to Mary her- self, when he visited the village of Bryncrug many years ago. This was the first time I had ever met any one who had enjoyed that privilege." An account of Mary Jones was written in Welsh and published in 1879 by Robert Oliver Rees, of Dolgelly, who got his materials from Lewis Williams, the authority (notwithstanding the additional "s") of the story transcribed above, and from the Rev. Robert Griffiths, of Bryncrug, to whom Mary left her Bible. This account, a MS. translation of which is pre- served by the Society, held certainly the first place among "the best materials" from which M.E.R. (Miss Ropes) collected and retold The Story of Mary Jones and Her Bible, published in 1882. Mr Griffiths of Bryncrug gave Mary's Bible to Rees, and he committed it to the custody of the trustees of Bala College. Mr Coles of Dorking (who joined the Society in 1856 and died in 1882) paid many visits to Bala, to learn all that could be gathered about the life of Mary Jones, and as a friend of M.E.R., he probably contributed to her "best materials." It was through his interposition that Mary's Bible was secured for the Society's Library, where it is still shown to visitors. The story — clear, straightforward, and, notwithstanding some minor discrepancies due to loose writing, palpably authentic — has long been the delight of lovers of the Bible. It is just one of those beautiful and touching incidents which are so often found associated with great movements or events that stir the heart and imagination of the people ; which, when they fail to happen in reality, the spirit of folklore creates : and which, when 468 APPENDIX I historically true, are frequently invested with an importance whereto, when placed in their correct historical perspective, they are by no means entitled. True in itself, the story of Mary Jones has thus been given an unwarranted prominence. For example, in the Monthly Reporter for 1882, we read of " Mary Jones, the girl whose meeting with the Rev. Thomas Charles suggested to the latter the idea of establishing a society for the supply of the Scriptures." As early as 1787 — more than a dozen years before the incident occurred — Mr Charles was deploring to Thomas Scott the dearth of Bibles in Wales : in 1791 his friend, the Rev. Thomas Jones of Creaton, was projecting schemes for the relief of the Principality ; and a " plan " was eventually initiated by Mr Jones, and came little short of being a proposal for a Bible Society in Wales for Wales. Indeed it even foreshadowed in some degree the most remarkable characteristic in the constitution of the Bible Society itself: — " We must try not to accommodate any particular sort [denomination, one takes the writer to mean], but all men that want Bibles, and upon the terms they can afford." When Mr Charles went to London at the close of 1802, it was not his intention to establish a society of any description, but to ask for contribu- tions in aid of the "plan," arranged in the preceding summer, for contracting with a printer for an edition of the Welsh Bible and for raising a fund to defray the expense of a reduction of price and of gratuitous distribution among the poor. The project of forming a society for the supply of Welsh Bibles occurred to him in London. " While awake in bed, as he told me himself," writes his biographer Morgan, "the idea of having a Bible Society established in London on a similar basis to the Tract Society occurred to his mind, and he was so pleased with it that he instantly arose, dressed himself, and went out to consult some friends on the subject," and the first person he met was Mr Tarn of the Religious Tract Society. Having regard, then, to the whole Biblical movement in Wales, and bearing in mind how it was connected, remotely, with the circulating schools of Griffith Jones, " the morning-star of the Welsh Evangelical Revival," and proximately with the great spiritual awakening in North Wales in 1 791 -3, one can regard the incident of Mary Jones as being, in its rela- tion to the founding of the Bible Society, no more than a beautiful and affecting illustration of the dearth of the Scriptures in Wales and of the desire of the people to possess them, which did actually lead to the establish- ment of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Another point may here be briefly dealt with. In the Society's Monthly Extracts for January 1841 there occurs, for the first time, a reference to what appears to be anpther well-known and wholly different story. One of the Society's agents relates how a clergyman in Sunday school, " intending to speak of the little Welsh girl's tears," asked if any of the children knew the origin of the Bible Society ; whereupon one small child, to his great delight, answered, " God." So far as I can learn, the first APPENDIX I 469 printed version of this story of " the little Welsh girl's tears " appeared in ihe Jubilee Memorial of the Religious Tract Society as follows : — "Several circumstances, apparently trivial in themselves, led to the formation of the British and Foreign Bible Society. In the year 1802, the Rev. Thomas Charles of Bala was walking in the streets of that town, when he met a child who attended his ministry. He inquired if she could repeat the text from which he had preached on the preceding Sunday. Instead of giving a prompt reply, as she had been accustomed to do, she remained silent. ' Can you not tell me the text, my little girl ? ' repeated Mr Charles. The child wept, but was still silent. At length she said, ' The weather, sir, has been so bad that I could not get to read the Bible.' This remark surprised the good man, and he exclaimed, ' Could you not get to read the Bible ? how was that ? ' The reason was soon ascertained : there was no copy to which she could gain access, either at her own home or among her friends : and she was accustomed to travel every week seven miles over the hills to a place where she could obtain a Welsh Bible, to read the chapter from which the minister took his text. But during that week the cold and stormy weather had prevented her usual journey. . . . This incident made a deep impression on the benevolent mind of Mr Charles, and increased the anxiety he had long felt to secure for the Welsh a good supply of the Scriptures in their own tongue." From this time onward allusions to this second story are not uncommon. At the anniversary meeting of the Society in the Jubilee Year, Bishop M'llvaine, the special envoy from the American Bible Society, referred to the nameless little girl who could not repeat the text. In the same year, Charles's grandson, the Rev. D. Charles, President of Trevecca College, spoke of the tears of the little Welsh girl when asked for the text of a sermon. Now, two things are obvious. The maiden from Llanvihangel who bought a Bible in 1800 could not have been the Bala child who had no Bible in 1802 ; and if the Society originated in the tears of the first, it could not have originated in the tears of the second also. Let us look at this story of the child and the text, and see how far it carries conviction to the mind of the reader. Observe the excuse of the child : The weather was " so bad that I could not get to read the Bible " ; and note the surprise of Mr Charles : " Could you not get to read the Bible? how was thatf' This from the man who of all men knew of the dearth of Bibles in Wales. Bibles were so rare even in Bala that one had to go into the hills to get a sight of one. Yet " this remark surprised the good man." Consider next the explanation, — "She was accustomed to travel every week seven miles, to read the chapter," etc. Every week- seven miles ! — and this was " a little girl," a " child." Grant the possibility, suppose the seven miles to include the return home. Is the story probable? Finally, here is a child who attended Mr Charles's ministry, a thoughtful little girl, accustomed to give prompt replies when asked about texts, in a small town where every one knew his neighbour's 470 APPENDIX I concerns ; and Mr Charles, a model minister, does not know that she has no Bible, and has never heard that she has been "accustomed" to travel every week to a place where she can obtain the use of one. This second story lacks the obvious credibility of the first, but a careful comparison of the two stories suggests the simple explanation that they are two versions — one substantially accurate, the other extremely inaccurate — of the same incident. The accurate version is that of the Rev. D. Rowlands, first published in 1867 ; the other is that which floated from meeting to meet- ing, for nearly fifty years after the event, until it got into print in the pages ai \h^ Jubilee Memorial Qti 'Cae. Religious Tract Society. Probably enough, in urging the need for some " new and extraordinary means " (Owen, vol. i. p. 15), Mr Charles spoke of Mary's going over the hills to read the Bible as an affecting instance of the dearth in his own district, just as, at the meeting of the Tract Society in May 1803, " the Rev. Mr Knight related an instance of a man who had travelled sixty miles over the snow in Nova Scotia to obtain a Bible." How much of the story Mr Charles told, and how often he told it, we do not know (we do know that he did not attach to it the importance with which it was afterwards invested), but out of his casual and illustrative account of the incident, repeated, and in all likelihood varied and expanded as it passed from mouth to mouth, arose the child of the text — a curiously distorted foreshadow of the real Mary of Llanvihangel. The scene in each narrative was Bala : one girl often went two miles to read the Bible, the other travelled seven miles weekly ; both wept memor- able tears ; both illustrated the dearth of the Scriptures in Wales. But while there are persons yet alive who spoke with Mary, while hundreds have stood by her grave and thousands have seen her Bible, the unconvincing child of tearful excuses has passed from our midst without leaving a trace of " a local habitation or a name." By this simple and natural explanation — and that it is natural many examples of stories similarly duplicated and distorted could be adduced to show — we shall not only solve a difficulty, but we shall add something in confirmation of the truth of the tender and lovely story of Mary Jones and her Bible. APPENDIX II THE AUXILIARY SYSTEM IN ENGLAND AND WALES UP TO 1816-17.I Established. 1806— April Auxiliaries. Birmingham Association . Total Contributions to the British and Foreign Bible Society to date. 1809— 28th March 30th March Reading Nottingham Branch — Greasley and Eastwood. 30th July . . Newcastle-on-Tyne Branch— Morpeth. 25th October . Leeds ... ... Branch — Rawdon. 8th December . (Devon and) Exeter Branches — Axminster, Collumpton, Honiton, Minor Devon and Exeter, N. Devon, Tiverton, Torquay, Sidmouth. Patronage — Reading : The Bishop of Salisbury. Newcastle-on-Tyne : The Bishop of Durham. Leeds : The Earl of Harewood. Exeter : Earl Fortescue. 1 810 — 4th January 15th January Manchester and Salford .... Branches— A\tT\ngha.m, Bacup, Old- ham, Rochdale, Warrington. Kendal Branches — Appleby and Temple Sowerby, Kirkby Lonsdale. 2,232 3,881 3,116 6,728 4,348 13,303 2,302 ' The following figures show the gross receipts from the Auxiliaries, to which in most cases a large proportion was returned in the shape of Bibles and Testaments at cost price. Only the principal patrons are here mentioned. Auxiliaries, the date of the formation of which is not recorded, are arranged in the order in which they appear in the reports of the Society. 471 472 APPENDIX II Total Contributions to the British and Established. Auxiliaries. Foreign Bible Society to date. i8io— 1st February . Bristol ;^i5)7o8 5th February . Sheffield 4,872 19th February . Leicester 5,583 22nd March . Hull 4,367 27th April . Swansea 1,386 5th May . Uttoxeter (see Staffordshire) 26th June . Bishopwearmouth, Sunderland, and Monkwearmouth 1,132 24th September Neath 432 26th October . Uxbridge 2,272 Huddersfield 1,190 Rotherham 922 Cornwall 6,346 Branches — St Austell, St Columb, Fal- mouth, Helston, Lostwithiel, Padstow, Penryn, Penzance, Redruth, Truro. Patronage — Bristol : The Bishop of Bristol. Sheffield : Earl Fitzwilliam. Swansea : The Bishop of St David's. Neath : Lord Vernon. Uxbridge : Lord Gambier. Rotherham : Viscount Milton. Cornwall : Lord Falmouth. Weymouth (^see Dorset). Liverpool. 5,8o6 Branch — St Helen's. Warrington [see Manchester and Salford). Colchester and East Essex . . . 10,744 Branches — Coggeshall, Hinckford Hun- dred (50 parishes), Mersea Island, Witham, Wivenhoe. Derby and County .... 3,034 Norwich and Norfolk .... 12,688 Branches — Acle, Downham, East Dere- ham, Fakenham, Harleston, Holt, Loddon, Long Stratton, Lynn, North Walsham, Reepham, Swaflfham, Wymondham, Yarmouth. 26th October . High Wycombe and S. Bucks. . . 2,215 Branch — Marlow. 28th November Evesham 1,122 Branch — Alcester, 181 1 — 20th February 25th March 19th April July . 2nd August nth September APPENDIX 11 473 Established. 1811 — 28th November Auxiliaries. Total Contributions to the British and Foreign B ibl e Society to date. ^5,226 Bedfordshire Branches — Ampthill, Biggleswade and Potton, Harrold, Leighton Buzzard, Luton, Risley and Woburn, Dun- stable. loth December Suffolk 8,119 E. Division, Ipswich. W. Division, Bury. Branches — Aldborough, Beccles, Low- estoft, Southwold, Stowmarket, Sud- bury, Woodbridge. I2th December Cambridge and County .... 3,712 Branches — Haslingfield, Melbourn, Swavesey and Over Waterbeach. 13th December Hitchin and Baldock .... 1)831 31st December Huntingdonshire 1,7°° Sussex, E 6,283 Stafford and County .... 7)25° Branches — Darlaston, Newcastle, Tam- worth, Uttoxeter. Darlington 2,341 Branches — Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland, Richmond, Staindrop, Yarm. Saffron Walden 1,886 Maidenhead 1,620 Macclesfield 772 Launceston and North Cornwall 264 Chesterfield 960 Plymouth, Plymouth Dock, and Stone- house 2,155 Shrewsbury 3j877 Branches — Madeley, Wellington, Newport. Coventry 37 Sutton Coldfield 522 Dudley 2,661 Bradford 1,551 Bridlington 325 Halifax 2,879 Howden (Yorkshire) . . . .• 834 Knaresboro' and Harrogate . . . 1,100 474 APPENDIX II Total Contributions to the British and Established. Auxiliaries. Foreign Bible Society to date. 1811 — 31st December . Scarboro' £^>°59 Whitby 1,010 Branch — Pickering. Patronage — Liverpool : The Earl of Derby. Colchester : The Earl of Chatham, the Marquis of Tavistock, Lord St John. Derbyand County : Lord G. H. Cavendish. Norwich and County : The Bishop of Norwich, the Earl of Orford, Lord Calthorpe, Viscount Anson. High Wycombe and South Bucks : The Marquis of Buckingham, the Earl of Cardigan, Earl Temple, Viscount Hampden, Viscount Mahon, Lord Grenville, Lord Carrington, Lord Gardner. Evesham : The Earl of Coventry, Lord North wick. Bedfordshire : The Duke of Bedford. Suffolk : The Duke of Grafton, the Mar- quis of Cornwallis, the Earl of Dysart, the Earl of Bristol, the Earl of Yar- mouth, Lord Charles Fitzroy, Lord Henry Fitzroy, Lord Henniker. Cambridge and County: H.R.H. the Duke of Gloucester (Chancellor of the University), the Duke of Bedford, the Earl of Hardwicke (Lord- Lieutenant of the County and High Steward of the University,) the Bishop of Bristol (Master of Trinity), the Bishop of Llandaff, the Earl of Bristol, Lord Francis Osborne, M.P,, Lord Headley, the Right Hon. Sir William Wynne (Master of Trinity Hall), DeanMilnerof Carlisle (President of Queens' College), Rev. Dr Davy (Master of Caius). Huntingdonshire : The Duke of Man- chester, the Earl of Sandwich, the Earl of Carysfort, Viscount Hitchinbrook, Viscount Proby Nelson, Lord Frederick Montague. APPENDIX II 475 Total Contributions . to the British and Established. Auxiliaries. Foreign Bible Society to date. Patronage— Sussex East : H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex, the Earl of Ashburnham, the Earl of Egremont, Viscount Hampden, Lord George Cavendish, Lord Colchester. Stafford and County : Viscount Anson. Darlington : Viscount Bernard. Saffron Walden : Lord Braybrooke. Maidenhead : Viscount Kirkwall, Lord Boston, Lord Riversdale. Sutton Coldfield : Lord Middleton. Dudley : Viscount Dudley. 1812 — 2nd January » ») 7th January 19th January 24th January 22nd February . 23rd March loth March 13th March 27th May 3rd June 6th August 15th October . 17th December 19th December Great Marlow (see High Wycombe). Bucks, North ^2,119 Branches — Newport Pagnell and Olney. Wallingford 1,152 York 4,328 Branches — Malton, Easingwold. Hertford 2,478 Branches — St Albans, Bishop's Stort- ford, Tring and Berkhampstead. Blackheath 4,311 Chelmsford and Essex, W. . . . 3,858 Branches — Billericay, Dunmow, Maiden, Rumford, Rochford Hundred. Bath 2,614 Tewkesbury 793 Northampton and County . . . 4,104 Branches — Kettering, Oundle, Thrap- ston, Wellingborough. Southwark i3,o39 London, City of 8,651 London, East 2,300 Westminster 6,720 London, North, and Islington . . 3,379 London, North Britons .... 502 London, Ordnance, Tower . . . 665 London, Jewry Street .... 137 Chester and County 4,183 Branches — Congleton, Knutsford, Northwich, Broxon Aberystwith 1,711 476 APPENDIX II Total Contributions to the British and Established. Auxiliaries. Foreign Bible Society to date. i8i2 — 19th December . Anglesea .£3>°89 1,210 2,071 2,749 Carmarthen Carnarvonshire Denbighshire (Ruthin) .... Branches — Abergele, Denbigh, Llan- drillo, Llangollen, Llarwst, Wrexham. Llanfair Branch — Myfod. Lleyn and Eifionydd .... Merionethshire (Bala) .... Branches — Barmouth, Corwen and Edernion, Dolgelly, Dyffryn, Gwyn- frun and Harlech, Towyn, Traws- fynudd, Festiniog, Maentwrog, Llanfrothen and Penrhyn, Yspyty, Pembrokeshire Stockport . Cornwall East Whitehaven Bideford . Kingsbridge Tavistock . Durham City Stockton-on-Tees Essex, South-West Branch — Epping. Bourton-on-the- Water (Gloucester) Guernsey Portsmouth Dockyard Kent (Maidstone) . Branches — Rochester and Chatham Sevenoaks and Westerham, Sutton- Tunbridge, Gravesend and Milton. Canterbury Gloucester and County ... Branches — Forest of Dean, Nailsworth, Tetbury, Thornbury. Man, Isle of ... . Hackney and Stoke Newington Middlesex, North-East . North Shields and Tynemouth Tindale Ward (Northumberland) Branches — Alston, Weardale. 456 1,463 3,414 1,951 1,160 290 921 284 332 491 479 349 2,039 411 1,197 699 5,205 1,510 4,502 494 1,743 1,593 877 1,798 APPENDIX II 477 Bstablished. Auxiliaries. i8i2 — 19th December Patronage- Henley .... Rutland and Stamford Frome .... South Petherton (Somerset) Wellington (Somerset) Yeovil .... West Bromwich and Wednesbury Surrey (Guildford) . Branches — Dorking, Chertsey, and Egham, Epsom, Farnham, Godalm- ing, Kingston. Camberwell Clapham Wiltshire Branches — Bradford, Corsham, Melks- ham, Trowbridge, Warminster, Westbury, Wilton. Stourbridge Beverley Doncaster Pontefract -Bucks, North ; The Marquis of Bucking- ham. Wallingford : The Bishop of Salisbury, the Earl of Radnor. Hertfordshire : Viscount Grimston, Lord John Townshend, M.P. Blackheath: H.R.H. the Princess of Wales, the Earl of Dartmouth, the Dean of Windsor. Bath : The Marquis of Bath, the Earl of Leven and Melville, the Earl of Cork and Orrery. Chelmsford and Essex, W. : Lord Bray- brooke. Tewkesbury : The Earl of Coventry. Northampton : The Duke of Grafton, Earl Spencer, the Earl of Pomfret, the Earl of Northampton, Earl Carysfort, Viscount Milton, Lord Compton. Chester : The Earl of Stamford and Warrington. Total Contributions to the British and Foreign Bible Society to date. .£1,732 1,791 1,438 222 841 655 546 4,510 1,993 3,306 4,350 69s 320 968 893 478 APPENDIX II Established. Auxiliaries. Total Contributions to the British and Foreign Bible Society to date. Patronage — Anglesea : The Earl of Uxbridge. Stockport : Viscount Bulkeley Kent : H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, the Earl of Romney. Tavistock : The Duke of Bedford. Guernsey : Admiral Sir James Saumarez. Gloucester : The Duke of Norfolk, the Duke of Beaufort. Man, Isle of : The Bishop of Sodor and Man, the Duke of Atholl. Hackney : The Marquis of Downshire. Wellington : The Marquis of Wellington. West Bromwich : The Countess of Dart- mouth. Surrey : Earl of Onslow. Camberwell : Their Royal Highnesses, the Dukes of Kent, Sussex, and Cambridge. Stourbridge : Lord Foley. Doncaster : Earl Fitzwilliam. Pontefract : The Earl of Mexborough. Southwark : The Earl of Rothes, Earl Spencer. London, City of: Sir Claudius Stephen Hunter, Bart. (Lord Mayor). London, East : The Earl of Moira. Westmitjster : Their Royal Highnesses, the Dukes of York, Kent, Cumber- land, Sussex, and Cambridge. London, North : The Marquis of North- ampton. 1813- -i6th February . 25th February . 1 8th March 2 1 St April 25th June 3rd August 23rd September London, North-East .... Do., Bloomsbury and St Pancras Do., North-West .... Somersetshire Branches — Bridgewater, Bruton, Quan- tock, Ringwood, Taunton, Wells, Western, Northern, (Wrington) Oxford and County Branches — Chipping Norton, Banbury Flintshire Cumberland Branches — Brampton, Cockermouth, -^3.390 3,251 2,912 3,004 2,759 938 3,207 APPENDIX II 479 Established. 1813— 23rd September Total Contributions to the British and Auxiliaries. Foreign Bible Society to date. Maryport, Penrith, Patronage- Ireby, Keswick, Wigton. Abingdon Ely, Isle of Branch — Long Sutton. Workington Chapel-en-le-Frith .... Lymington ..... Hants, North-East .... Branch — Alton. Jersey Cinque Ports Branches — Tenterden and Rye, Folke stone. Sheppey, Isle of Kent, Weald of (Cranbrook) Preston Boston Gainsborough . Bolton-le-Moors Brecon Branch — Caerphilly. Cardigan Branches — Newcastle-En:ilyn,Llwynda- fydd. Llanidloes Branches — Carno, Llandinam, Llangir- rig, Llanwonog, Trefeghoys. Machynlleth Merthyr-Tydvil London, Welsh . Mansfield, Notts. Ilminster . Worcester and County Berwick-on-Tweed . -London, N.E. : The Earl of Darnley. Bloomsbury : The Duke of Bedford. London, N.W. : Lord Teignmouth. Somersetshire : The Earl of Egmont, the Hon. and Rev. Dr Ryder, Dean of Wells (afterwards Bishop of Glou- cester). .£910 1,560 310 302 63 1,443 339 1,580 802 295 1,080 899 801 2,530 1,400 739 149 418 433 1,241 994 120 2,511 430 48o APPENDIX II Established. Auxiliaries. Patronage— Oxiord : The Bishop of Durham, the Duke of Marlborough, Lord Grenville. Flintshire : The Earl of Grosvenor. Cumberland : Viscount Morpeth, the Dean of Carlisle. Abingdon : The Earl of Harcourt. Ely, Isle of : The Earl of Hardwicke. Hants, N.E. : Lord Bolton. Jersey : His Excellency Lieut.-Gen. Don. Cinque Ports : The Earl of Liverpool. Brecon : The Duke of Beaufort. Worcestershire : The Earl of Coventry. Total Contributions to the British and Foreign Bible Society to date. 1814 — 29th August Herefordshire Newbury ....... Dorsetshire Branches — Blandford, Bridport, Dor- chester, Lyme, Poole, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Wareham, Weymouth, Cerne. Hampshire (Winchester) Branches — Southampton, Hants, S.W, Hants, E. Lincoln, N.E Spilsby and Alford . London, German (in the Savoy Kensington, Chelsea, Fulham and Hammersmith . Abergavenny .... Glendale Ward (Northumberland) Martock (Somerset) Bradford Juvenile Dewsbury Haworth Keighley Wakefield Bridgend Patronage — Newbury : The Earl of Craven. Dorsetshire : The Earl of Digby. Hampshire : The Marquis of Winchester, the Marquis of Buckingham. Lincoln, N.E. : Lord Yarborough. ^629 680 4,125 1,856 273 402 122 1,828 129 300 162 50 296 219 336 1,523 60 APPENDIX II 481 Total Contributions to the British and • _ ForeignBible Established. Auxiliaries. Society to date. Patronage — Spilsby and Alford : Lord Gwydyr. Kensington, N. : H.R.H. the Duke of Kent, H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex, Lord Holland. Glendale Ward (Northumberland) : Lord Ossulton. Keighley : Lord G. H. Cavendish. Wakefield : Viscount Milton. and 181 5 . . Aberdare Aylesbury, Vale of . London (Holborn Sunday School Portugal House) . Newport Alnwick Wolverhampton Barnsley and Staincross . Otley Ripon Patronage — Wolverhampton : The Earl of Harrowby, ^42 174 273 160 80 290 534 76 ISO 1 8 16 . . . Durham (Weekly) . Bury (Lanes.) . Lancaster Lincolnshire Hampstead and Highgate Sussex, W. (Chichester) Patronage — Lincolnshire : The Earl of Mexborough. Hampstead and Highgate : Lady Wilson. 20 100 312 298 500 ;£372,203 VOL, I, 2 H 482 APPENDIX II THE AUXILIARY SYSTEM IN SCOTLAND UP TO 1816-1817. Total Contributions to the British and Established. Societies. Foreign Bible Society up to date. 1809 — Edinburgh with its Branch Societies . . . . ;^io,o34 11 2 (President — Viscount Cathcart, Vice- President — Lord Calthorpe.) The Scottish Bible Society .... 300 o o Lothian, E. ijio3 19 i {President — Sir A. Lauder Dick.) 1810 — Lothian, W 436 o o 181 1 — Aberdeen . ii5So o o {President — The Marquis of Huntley.) Aberdeen, Gilcomston Chapel . . . 67 15 o Arbroath 327 14 6 {President — The Earl of Northesk.) Brechin 381 o o Dumfriesshire, with Branches at Annan, and San- quhar 1,023 8 o {President— T^xe. Duke of Buccleuch. Vice- Presidents — The Earl of Dalkeith and the Marquis of Queensberry.) Dundee, with Branches at Meigle, Langleys and Newtyle 787 19 o Forfar and Strathmore 275 2 2 Glasgow, with its Branch Societies .... 5,372 12 4 {President — The Earl of Glasgow.) Montrose, with Branches at Craig, Dun, and Logie- pert 638 I 8 18 12 — Fife and Kinross-shire 2,400 o o {President — The Earl of Moray.) Inverness 500 o o Paisley (Penny-a- week) 251 o 3 Perthshire 1,574 12 o {Patron — The Duke of Atholl. President — Lord Gray.) 1813 — Ardrossan and Stevenston, with Branch at Kilbride. 38 o o Clackmannanshire 476 o o Denny (Penny-a-week) 65 o o Dumbarton 60 o APPENDIX II 483 Total Contributions to the British and Established. Societies. Foreign Bible Society up to date. 1 813 — Greenock and Port Glasgow, W. Renfrewshire . ^55° o o Hamilton . . 565 o o (President — The Marquis of Douglas and Clydesdale.) Irvine 86 7 6 {President — The Earl of Eglinton.) Kilwinning 135 o o Paisley and E. Renfrewshire ijS^? 17 9 (President —The Earl of Glasgow.) Selkirkshire 151 19 6 Stirlingshire 2,060 o o (President — The Earl of Dunmore.) Wick 120 o o (President — The Earl of Caithness.) 1814— Buchan 156 4 8 Elgin and Morayshire 310 o o (President — The Earl of Moray.) Gatehouse 20 o o Kilsyth, with a Branch at Banton .... 48 o o Rattray 53 '8 6 Rutherglen 20 o o Stewarton 24 o o Thurso 150 o o 1815 — Arran (Female) 800 Ayrshire 550 o o (President— The Earl of Eglinton.) Cavers, near Hawick 3 6 10 The Cumbraes 77° Galloway 150 o o (President — The Earl of Galloway.) Kintyre 100 o o Lower Strathendrick 77 o o New Lanark 25 o o TuUiallan 20 o o 1816—Beith (Female) 33 o o TOTAL ;£34,4S4 16 II APPENDIX III From the accompanying plan it will be seen that the site of the Old Bible House, lo Earl Street, occupied the entire breadth of the roadway of what is now Queen Victoria Street, a little to the east of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. The front of the house looked towards the river ; at the west corner at the back a flight of steps led into Printing House Square. The immediate neighbourhood is alive with historical associations. Here stood the wealthy monastery of the Black Friars, who left their house in Holborn (the site of Lincoln's Inn) in 1275. At the Dissolution "the magnificent church of the Dominicans was destroyed. Either the hall of the abbey or a portion of the church was used as a store- 484 APPENDIX III 485 house for the 'properties' of pageants" (Besant, London, p. 178). In consequence of the privilege of sanctuary belonging to the district, when the Players were ejected from the City, " a playhouse was erected by Shakespeare and his friends among the ruins, which remained standing for a long time. Only a few years ago the extension of the Times offices in Printing House Square brought to light many substantial remains." {Op. cit.) Thanks to this old privilege of sanctuary, which preserved the district from inclusion within the jurisdiction of London City, Noncon- formists were able to gather together in Blackfriars when prevented by the law from worshipping God according to the dictates of their conscience. St Andrew by the Wardrobe, one of Wren's churches built after the Fire, stands near, if not exactly on, the site of the church of the Black Friars within whose walls Katharine of Arrag^n pleaded for justice, and Parliament condemned Cardinal Wolsey. Earl Street led, eastward, into Upper Thames Street. From the latter a passage opened, a little to the west of London Bridge, on to Old Swan Stairs, the spot on which the committee of the Religious Tract Society projected the scheme of the Bible Society. APPENDIX IV THE BIBLE SOCIETIES OF CENTRAL EUROPE ^ Grants from the British and Foreign Bible Society, 1804— The German Biblb Society (Nuremberg, Basel) Editions printed to 1816-17 . . . ^3j8oo German . 20,000 Bibles . 15,000 Testaments. E- , f Set of plates of French . 3,000 „ . 4,000 „ | French Bible. Romanese (two dialects) . 4,000 „ Italian .... 3,000 „ 23,000 Bibles . 26,000 Testaments. 1805 — The Berlin Bible Society .£3475 Bohemian . 8,000 Bibles Polish . 8,000 „ . 4,000 Testaments. 1814— 2nd August— The Prussian Bible Society (absorbing the Berlin Society). 23,000 Bibles . 3,000 Testaments. Auxiliaries — Potsdam (1814) 100 Dantzic (1814) 411 Halle Committee (1812) Breslau 500 Wesel (1815') TOO Cleve(i8i5) Stralsund (1816) 100 *K6nigsberg(i8i2) 828 ^Lithuanian 3,000 Bibles . 3,000 Testaments. 42,000 Bibles . 10,000 Testaments. 1812— The Hungarian Bible Institution (Pressburg) . . 500 Slavonian and Wendish — 5,000 Testaments. ^ In several instances no returns were made of the number of volumes printed or circulated. 486 APPENDIX IV 487 I8l2- I8I2- I8I3- 1813- I8I3- I8I4- 1814- I8I4- I8I4- I8I4- I8I4- I8I4- I8I4- I8I4- I8I4- 1815- I8I5- 1815- I8I5- I8IS- -The Wurtemberg Bible Society (Stuttgart) German — 15,000 Bibles, 7,000 Testaments. -The Zurich Bible Society German — 3,000 Bibles, 4,000 Testaments. -Chur (Coire) Bible Society Romanese — 3,000 Bibles, 2,000 Testaments. -schaffhausen bible society -St Gall Bible Society -loth August — The Saxon Bible Society (Dresden) . German — 13,000 Bibles. Auxiliaries — Leipzig Herrnhut, etc. -The Thuringian Bible Society (Erfurt) . Auxiliary — Eisenach .... -13th July— Berg Bible Society (Elberfeld) Auxiliaries — Cologne, Solingen, etc. -25th July — Hanover Bible Society . German — 10,000 Bibles. Auxiliaries — Osnaburg Buckeburg East Frisia -i2th October — Hamburg-Altona Bible Society German — 10,000 Bibles -i6th September— LtJBECK Bible Society .... Auxiliary — Eutin (January 18 17) -April — The English Bible Society for the Nether- lands -2gth June — The Netherlands Bible Society (Amster- dam) Auxiliaries — Upwards of 40, including Rotterdam The Hague Utrecht Haarlem -30th December— Lausanne (Pays de Vaud) Bible Society -31st December— Geneva Bible Society .... -i8th June— Brun.swick Bible Society (;£20o per Dr Steinkopff. See Tours, p. 490) -Sleswick-Holstein Bible Society . -Bremen Bible Society -15th March — Eichsfeld (Saxony) Bible Society Auxiliary — Nordhausen -Strasburg Bible Society .... Grants from the British and Foreign Bible Society. ^800 450 100 105 221 1,200 200 100 400 50 500 SO 870 132 50 175 1,120 200 395 581 100 300 100 700 488 APPENDIX IV 815— Aargau (Switzerland) Bible Society . 816 — Berne Bible Society 816 — La Tour (Waldenses) Bible Society 816 — NeuchAtel Bible Society 816— konigsfeld bible institution 816 — 1st January — Nassau-Homburg Bible Society 816— Kreuznach Bible Society 816— Anhalt Bible Society 816— 8th January— Neu-Wied and Wied-Runkel Bible Society 816 — Lippe-Detmold Bible Society 816— 1 8th August— Lauenburg-Ratzeburg Bible Society 816— Mecklenburg-Schwerin Bible Society 816— 4th January— Frankfort Bible Society 817 — January — Hesse-Darmstadt Bible Society Auxiliaries — Worms .... Michelstadt in Odenwald . 1817— Waldeck and Pyrmont Bible Society Totals 119,000 Bibles ; 54,000 Testaments Grants for the poor, refugees, etc. . „ Roman Catholics. „ France Grants from the British and Foreign Bible Society. • .£155 200 200 100 50 100 5° 100 200 357 200 50 5° 150 Expenditure in Central Europe . .£21,025 1,317 3,108 2,073 ;£27,523 THE BIBLE SOCIETIES OF NORTHERN EUROPE. 1814— 22nd May— The Danish Bible Society To Scriptures distributed in Denmark by the British and Foreign Bible Society 1808 — 29th February — The Swedish Evangelical Society (Stockholm) (Of this ;^35o in aid of Lapp, ;^i,2oo in aid of Swedish Scriptures.) 1814— 6th July — The Swedish Bible Society .... Auxiliaries — Westeras ....... Gothenburg Wisby in Gothland ^1042 2,500 560 800 300 100 APPENDIX IV 489 Auxiliaries — Upsala Lund(i8i5) Wexio (1816) . Hernosand (1816) Skara Carlstad . Askerstrom Grants from the British and Foreign Bible Society. £300 300 100 200 200 150 100 Grants for prisoners of war, refugees, and the poor in Sweden and Lapland Editions printed up to January 1816 — Bibles 31,500; Testaments 60,600 ; Psalters 3,000. o 1 812 — The Finnish Bible Society (Abo) I^znn — 5,000 Bibles, 5,000 Testaments. 1815 — loth July — The Icelandic Bible Society To aid printing of 5,000 Bibles and 8,000 Testaments in Icelandic prior to formation of Icelandic Bible Society 1816 — 28th December — The Norwegian Bible Society . Total Grants to Northern Europe . Editions printed, 41,500 Bibles ; 73,600 Testaments ; 3,000 Psalters. 616 ;£6,226 1,95° 300 1,75° .£2,050 522 ;£l 1,890 1 812 — Continental Tour by the Rev. C. Steinkopff 1815 — Do. do. 2,712 4,000 ^6,712 490 APPENDIX IV THE BIBLE SOCIETIES IN EASTERN EUROPE Grants from the British and Foreign Bible Society. 1807— The Revel Bible Society .... i8ii— The DoRPAT (Livonia) Bible Society . (For printing Esthon and Lett Scriptures.) 1812— The Riga Bible Society .... (For printing German Scriptures.) 1813— The Russian (St Petersburg) Bible Society . Auxiliaries— Moscow (i6th July 1813) Dorpat (1813) Courland (Mittau, 1813) . Riga (1813) Revel (1813) Theodosia (Kaffa) . . . . (Esel, Isle of Pernau and Fellin (Livonia) And Yaroslav, Arensburg, Voronez, Kamentz- Podolsk, Tula, Simpheropol, Odessa, Kronstadt, Wilna, Mohilev, Witepsk, Grodno, Minsk, Saratov, Astrakhan, Kostroma, Pscow. Grants to Karass for Tartar Testament „ Sarepta for Kalmuk „ the poor of the German Colonies on the Volga .... „ prisoners of war, and poor British subjects in Russia . ^270 313 8,705 500 328 499 500 257 200 ;£i2,572 650 60 185 1,209 ;£l4,676 Editions printed in Sixteen Languages by the Russian Bible Society ivaiuiui^ Armenian. 5,000 Bibles 8,000 Testaments. Finn 5,000 „ 2,000 V German 5,000 „ . 5,000 )) Polish . . . 5,000 »> Carry forward 1 5,000 Bibles 20,000 Testaments ; 3,000 Portions APPENDIX IV 491 Brought forward 1 5,000 Bibles ; 20,000 Testaments, 3,000 Portions French S,ooo ,, 1,000 Sclavonian 30,000 „ • 15,000 Dorpatian-Esthonian . S,ooo Revel-Esthonian 10,000 Lett 15,000 Persian . 5,000 Georgian . . 2,000 Samogitian . 5,000 „ Modern Greek 3,000 „ ■ S>ooo Moldavian S,ooo „ 5,000 Tartar . . 2,000 Tartar . 2,000 Gospels Tartar . 2,000 Psalms 58,000 Bibles . go,ooo Testaments 7,000 Portions 1816— 2ist October— The Polish (Warsaw) Bible Society ^635 Auxiliaries — Cracow . . . . . 500 Posen 100 Distributed by Mr Pinkerton Total Grants to Eastern Europe i^i,235 168 ;^i,403 ;^l 6,079 Central Europe Northern Europe . Tours on the Continent . Eastern Europe SUMMARY Bibles. Testaments. Portions Grants. 119,000 54,000 ... ;^27,523 41,500 73,600 3000 11,890 6,712 58,000 90,000 7000 16,079 218,500 217,600 10,000 ;£62,204 INDEX Aargau Bible Society, 437, 489 Abdullah, conversion and martyrdom, 289-90 Aberdeen Female Servants' Society, 55« Abolition of Slavery, see Slavery Abyssinia, Ethiopia Scriptures, 102, 140; the "India" of Frumentius, 296 Acworth, Mr William, home agent, 353 Africa, South, appeals for Scriptures for the Hottentots, 129, 131 ; Moravian Mission, 1 29 ; Scriptures for colonists, 131 ; Bible and School Commission, 132 ; the Society's Fund for the emancipated slaves, 387 West, the Society's efforts, 133 Aitken, Mr Robert, prepares first Ameri- can edition of the English Bible, 239 Albrecht, Rev. C, Namaqua translator, 132 Alers, Mr William, takes part in forming the Society, 9, 11 ; member of the first Committee, 16, 45 Alexander I., Czar, favours work in Fin- land, 175 ; religious experiences, 194, 207 ; sanctions St Petersburg Bible Society, 195 ; his meeting with Frede- rick William III. of Prussia, 197 ; receives deputation in London, 199 ; establishes Polish Bible Society, 204, 228 ; Congress of Vienna, 206 ; his meeting with Madame de Krudener, 207 ; his interest in the Russian Bible Society, 223, 404, 431 ; Modern Russ version, 223, 409, 413 ; his treatment of a religious offender, 415 ; his doubts and fears, 415-16 ; his death, 418 Ali Bey, Turkish version, 203, 388 Altona, Bible Committee formed, 189 ; jce Hamburg- Altona B.S. Amboyna, Christian population, 288 ; Auxiliary, 288, 291, 294, 433 America, see Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, U.S.A., South America, Berbice, Demerara American Bible Society, established, 249; Pr Hobart's opposition, 250 Anhalt Bible Society, 489 Antigua, 255 - 56 ; Auxiliary formed, 257 Apocrypha Controversy, 333-36; aproblem of the foreign Churches, 137, 334, 336, 402, 433 ; the Committee's early effort to discontinue the Apocrypha, 335 ; attempted compromises, 336-39; re- monstrance from Scotland, 337 ; the Cambridge protest, 338 ; Special Com- mittee, 339 ; the President summarises the situation, 339-41; the Committee's recommendations, 341 ; new regula- tions adopted, 341-42 ; reception of the decision, 344 ; Scottish secession, 344- 45 ; the new rules and foreign grants, 434-35, 453 ; the principal Continental Societies decline to adopt them, 433-38, 4S3 - 55 ; deputations sent, 436, 453, 458 ; friendly relations maintained , 437-38, 453-58 Appert, M., his work in France, 397, 399 Arabic version, 103, 133, 377 ; Sabat's translation, 275, 283, 289 ; the Bishop of Durham's edition, 283K Aretcheof, Count, 416 Armenian Church, the Patriarch's ap- proval, 140; dearth of Scriptures, 157; churches in India, 287 (Modern) version, Dr Zohrab's New Testament, 396 Armour, Mr, assists in Sinhalese transla- tion, 286 Assamese version, undertaken at Seram- pore, 287 Associations, beginnings of the move- ment, 53-55 ; Mr Phillips draws up rules, 54 ; work of Southwark Auxili- ary and its Associations, 56 ; their rapid increase, 56 ; criticisms, 57 ; reply of Dr Chalmers, 57 Astrakhan, Scottish Mission, 180, 226, 391 ; dep6t, 401 Athos, Mount, Georgian version in monastery at, 410 494 INDEX Austria, dearth of Scriptures, 23 ; Pro- testant Consistory at Vienna, 211; proposed Bible Society, 227 ; Papal opposition, 229, 423 ; Imperial pro- hibition, 230 ; efforts maintained, 423, 429 Auxiliaries, spontaneous origin, 47 ; rules by Messrs Phillips and Dudley, 49 ; financial effect, 49 - 5 1 ; distributive operations, 51-53; patronage secured by them, 65 ; list of Auxiliaries in Eng- land and Wales (1806-17), 471-82; Auxiliaries in Scotland, 94-97> 482-84; in Ireland, 111-12 ; in British North America, 251-52 ; Jamaica, People of Colour, 257 Ayer, Ananda, Telugu version, 283 Babington, Mr Thomas, member of the first Committee, 16 ; the Clapham circle, 31 ; a Vice-President, 64 Baghdad, dearth of Scriptures, 140 Bahamas, 255 Ban de la Roche, Pastor Oberlin's labours, 158-62 Baptist Missionary Society, founded, 269; the Serampore missionaries (g.v.), 259, 267, 269 Barbary States, abolition of Christian slavery, 383 Barker, Mr John, aids the work at Aleppo, 140 Barrington, Hon. and Rev. Shute, (Bishop of Durham), Vice-President, 20, 63 ; publishes Arabic Bible, 283» ; his death, 381 Basel, the Roumansch Scriptures, 144, 146 Bible Society, see German Bible Society Christian Society, see German Re- ligious Society Missionary Society, mission at Shusha, 442 Basque version, issue of New Testament, 397 ; the Queen of Navarre's version, 398 Batavia, its capture by the English, 283, 288; Java ig.v.) Auxiliary formed, 289 ; effects of reading the Scriptures, 300-1 Bathurst, Bishop, Vice-President, 64, 73 Bavaria, dearth of Scriptures, 23 ; the Society supplies, 24 ; Bible work arrested by Holy See, 423 ; circulation of Scriptures goes on, 423, 429 Beachcroft, Rev. R. P., Hon. Life Governor, 384 Beck, John, Eskimo translator, 234 Bedell, Bishop, his Erse version, 1 16- 18; the Society's edition, 371 Bengal, Corresponding Committee of, see Calcutta Bengali version, 274, 282 Bentley, Professor James, Hon. Life Governor, 384 Benwell, Mr Joseph, member of the first Committee, 16 Berbice, 255 ; Auxiliary formed, 257 Berg Bible Society, 202-3, 43ii 4^8 Bergen, Bible work at, 452, 457, 459 Berlin Bible Society, 24, 148, 200; first efforts hindered by French invasion, 149-154; Bohemian and Polish Scrip- tures, 152, 186, 284, 487 ; becomes Prussian Bible Society (q.v.), 202, 203 Bernadotte, Marshal, Crown Prince of Sweden, 171 ; patron of Swedish Bible Society, 201, 448 ; Norwegian Bible Society, 217 ; Charles XIV. of Sweden, 448 ; receives the Society's representa- tive, 451 Bernard, Mr Thomas, member of the first Committee, 16 Berne Bible Society, formed, 211, 488; Apocrypha difficulty, 435 Bexley, Lord, see Vansittart Bible, The, its missionary functions, 4, 287, 290, 377, 414 ; principle of the Waldensian Church, 17 Society, The, see Naval and Military Bible Society The British and Foreign, see British and Foreign Bible Society Birkbeck, Mr Wilson, member of the first Committee, 16 Birmingham Auxiliary, formation, 48, 65 ; contributions, 467 Blackheath Auxiliary, early work, 55 ; Princess of Wales patroness, 478 Blumhardt, Rev. Mr, Secretary of German Religious Society, 143, 442 ; the Apocrypha difficulty, 437 Boase, Mr Henry, member of the first Committee, 16 Bobowsky (Bobovius), Albertus, see AM Bey Bogue, Dr, 109, 132, 137 Bohemia, dearth of Scriptures, 24, 186 ; issues of the Berlin Bible Society, 149, 153-54 ; work arrested by Papal influ- ence, 423, 429 ; circulation of Scrip- tures from Herrnhut, 429, 442 Bombay, Auxiliary formed, 286 ; depSt and library, 292 ; grants and remit- tances, 293, 294 Borrow, George, picture of England in 1804-5, 28 ; description of Joseph John Gurney, 76-78 ; enters the Society's employment, 383 INDEX 495 Boston Bible Society, see Massachusetts Botany Bay, 122 Boudinot, Hon. Elias, president of American Bible Society, 249 Boyle, Hon. Robert, publishes Irish New Testament, 116, 118; Tartar-Turkish version, 180K Brackenbury, Mr W., home agent, 353 Brahminism, converts baptized at Seram- pore, 287 Brandram, Rev. Andrew, appointed Secretary, 333 ; attitude in Apocrypha controversy, 341 Bremen Bible Society, 202, 489 Breton version, 397 Brett, Samuel, Messianic hopes of the Jews, 314 Bristol Auxiliary, early work, 5 1 British and Foreign Bible Society, con- nection with the Evangelical revival, 1-3 ; singleness of purpose, 3 ; earlier efforts for distribution of the Scrip- tures, 3 ; divine guidance in its incep- tion, 4 ; and its progress, 82 ; its immediate origin, 5-7 ; deliberations ofR.T.S. Committee, 9-1 1; co-opera- tion of Rev. J. Hughes, 10 ; the Society founded, 11-13; its catholicity, 12-16; the Constitution of the Society, 10, 17- 20, 342 ; its expenditure and distri- bution at the close of the century, 14 ; constitution of the Committee — the first Committee, 15-16; the first Sec- retaries, IS, 42-46, 74. 320, 329. 333. 364, 381 ; their gratuitous services, 20, 333 ; " without note or comment," 17, 25, 188, 227, 334, 432 ; the first pro- spectus, 21 ; operations begun, 22 ; first new foreign version, 25, 251 ; the Library founded, 26 ; rise of Auxili- aries (jf.j<.), 47; their financial effect, 49-51 ; rise of Associations (q.v.), 53- 56 ; loan Bibles and Testaments, 54» ; the first Female Bible Society, 59 ; list of Vice-Presidents (1805-17), 63; attacks on the Society and its work, 57, 69, 71, 266, 267, 303-309, 332, 361, 379. 394. 415. 439; revenue up to 1816-17, 82 ; home needs, 100, 119; the distressed, 119-23; Bible House at 10 Earl Street, 103, 485 ; versions printed to 1816-17, 103; entering on its world-wide mission, 128-142; de- putation to the Czar, 199 ; ditto to the King of Prussia, 200 ; Iceland's poeti- cal tribute, 213-216; list of speakers at anniversary meetings (1804-17), 309 -II; Honorary Life Governors, 311, 312; progress of first thirteen years, 317-18; formation of district agencies, 320, 352-53, 363 ; Monthly Extracts, 325 ; Owen's History, 332 ; the Apocrypha controversy {q.v.), 333- 346; Tests controversy (q.v.), 354- 361 ; first meeting in Exeter Hall, 356 ; efforts during cholera visitation (1831-32}, 362; death of Lord Teign- mouth, first President, 365 ; list of Vice-Presidents (1820-34), 375; Pope Leo's Encyclical, 379 ; Scriptures for the emancipated slaves, 386, 387 ; Turkish New Testament difficulty, 390-92 ; scientific appreciation of the Society's work, 392 ; the case of Van Ess, 438 - 41 ; see also Colportage, Criminals, Poor, Roman Catholics, Schools, Seamen, etc. Brooke, Rev. Thomas, home agent, 363 Brown, Rev. David, Calcutta, 259, 264, 271; policy of Indian Governors, 260 ; Provost of Fort William College, 271 ; befriends Claudius Buchanan, 272 : urges claims of the Hindus, 277 ; Secretary of Calcutta Auxiliary, 280 ; his death, 285. Browne, Rev. George, appointed Secre- tary, 365 Brownrigg, Lieut. -Gen., Hon. Life Governor, 384 Brunnmark, Dr, tours in Sweden, 201, 312 Brunswick Bible Society formed, 208, 488 ; marriage custom, 425 Brunton, Henry, Tartar-Turkish trans- lation, 179 Brussels (British) Bible Society founded, 431 Buchanan, Dr Claudius, Syriac New Testament, 102, 295 ; work in India, 165, 259, 260; Fort William College, 271 ; sketch of, 272 ; visits Syrian Churches of S. India, 275, 279, 295 ; return to England, 276, 295 ; the In- quisition at Goa, 28o» ; his death, 296 Buenos Ayres, first Spanish New Testa- ments, 232 ; effect of Spanish occupa- tion, 232 ; the Inquisition abolished, 232 Bullom, G6spel in, 134. Bunnell, Mr Joseph, member of the first Committee, 16 Burgess, Bishop, Vice-President, 20, 63, 376 Lieut. -Col., Hon. Life Governor, 312 Burghardt, Rev. C. F., Eskimo (Labrador) translation, 253-54 Buriats, The, 183, 224, 405 Burmese version, 283 496 INDEX Burn, Rev. Edward, Hon. Life Gover- nor, 312 Butterworth, Mr J., member of the first Committee, 16 Buxton, Sir Thomas Fowell, see 7ovie\\ Buxton Byron, Lord (Navigator), incident at Anniversary meeting, 379-80 Calcutta, formation of Corresponding Committee, 25, 259, 260, 267, 273, 276 ; its first efforts, 277, 289 ; the first Christian Church, 262 ; Biblical dep6t and library, 278 ; Auxiliary founded, 280 ; its early work, 280, 286, 291, 294 ; needs of Armenians in India, 287 ; Malay Scriptures, 288, 289 ; Bishopric instituted, 293 ; sum- mary of grants and remittances (1805- 1817). 293 Caledon Auxiliary, formed, 132 Calliergi (CaUipoli), Maximus, Modern Greek version, 137 Callisen, Dean, 447 Calthorpe, Lord, Vice-President, 375 Camberwell Auxiliary, 80, 478 Cambridge Auxiliary, 71, 72, 306 ■ Protest, in Apocrypha controversy, 338 Campbell, General Sir Alexander, 129 Rev. J. , sets Messrs Henderson and Paterson on their life-work, i65 Canada, development of, 235 ; Mohawk Gospel, 25, 251 ; Gaelic Scriptures for colonists, 92 ; the Society's efforts, 251, 252 Canary Islands, 135 Canstein Bible Institution, 147 ; Mr Steinkopffs visit, 185 Canton de Vaud, Bible Society founded at Lausanne (g-v.), 204; Bibles at marriages — disused law, 205 Cape Town, see South Africa Carey, William, Baptist Missionary at Serampore, 2, 259, 260 ; sketch of, 267, 275, 287« ; at Fort William College, 271 ; abolition of Saugor sacrifices, 285« ; receives Brahmin converts, 287 Carlscrona, Swedish Auxiliary at, 217, 448, 456 Carlstad, Swedish Auxiliary at, 217, 448, 490 Carshun version, issued at Paris, 397 Castlfreagh, Lord, 81 Cecil, Rev. Richard, 272 Celebes, Chinese Scriptures for, 301 Ceylon, Colombo Auxiliary formed, 285 ; the Society's earlier efforts, 286 ; Gov- ernment prints Siiihalese Scriptures, 286 ; efforts of Calcutta Auxiliary, 286, 291 ; grants and remittances up to 18 1 6- 1 7, 293; Sinhalese converts in England, 377 Chalmers, Rev. Dr, defence of Bible As- sociations, 57 Channel Islands, Scriptures for, 100, 105 Charles XIII., of Sweden, 448 XIV. , of Sweden, see Bernadotte of Hesse, Landgrave, supports work in Sleswick-Holstein, 447 Rev. Thomas, sketch of, 5-7 ; friendship with John Newton, 6 ; relations with the Church of England, 6 ; the story of Mary Jones, 6, 465- 70 ; lack of Scriptures in Wales, 6, 468; applies to S.P.C. K., 7j brings question before R.T.S., 9; Welsh enthusiasm for the Society, 22 ; his revision of the Welsh version, 25 ; visit to Ireland, 109; his death, 315 Chater, Mr, Sinhalese translator, 286 Chester Auxiliary, 79 China, traces of Nestorian Christianity, 298 ; tablet of Singanfu, 298 ; copy of Syriac version, 298 ; closed to mission work, 299 ; Morrison begins Chinese version, 299, 300 ; his first convert, 301 Chinese versions, Chinese MS. in British Museum, 24, 299 ; the Society's first thoughts of a version, 25 ; progress of version at Serampore, 274, 282, 287, 292, 378 ; Morrison's work, 299, 300, 301 ; assisted by Milne, 300, 378 ; issue of New Testament, 300 ; com- pletion of Old Testament, 378 Christiania, Dr Paterson establishes agency, 459 ; its early efforts, 460 Chufat Kal^, Tartar version found, 226 Chur (Coire) Bible Society, i86, 488 C.M.S., its origin, 3, 264; Mission in Sierra Leone, 134 Church of England, attitude towards its Evangelical clergy, 13 of Rome, see Rome Churwelshe version, issue of Old Testa- ment, 146 Clapham Evangelicals, sketches of, 30-42 Clarke, Rev. Dr Adam, Hon. Life Governor, 312, 377 ; his death, 362 Mr, first English missionary to India, 264 Clarkson, Thomas, 1, 67 Claus, Mr, Agent at Frankfort, 437, 438 Close, Dean, 67 Clough, Mr, Sinhalese translator, 286 Coape-Sherbrooke, Sir John, 252 Cock, Mr Horatio, 69 Coire Bible Society, see Chur INDEX 497 Colchester, Ladies' Association, 59 ; formation of Auxiliary — Bishop Ran- dolph's opposition, 67-68, 304 Cologne Auxiliary, 431, 488 Colombo Auxiliary, see Ceylon Colportage, adopted by Prof. Kieffer, 399 ; successful efforts of Messrs Courtois, 400, 401, 403 ; other efforts in France, 400 Committee, The Society's — its constitu- tion, 15; the first Committee, 16; its labours, 20 Confirmation, gift of Scriptures at — ancient Brunswick statute, 425 Connecticut Bible Society, 242 ; early efforts, 244, 246, 248 Continental Bible Society, the first, 23 Convicts, Scriptures for, see Criminals Copenhagen, Paterson and Henderson detained at, 165 ; siege, 167 ; preserva- tion of Scriptures, 168 ; Icelandic edition, 173, 200 ; Danish Bible Society (q.v.), 200 Cork Bible Society, 111-13 Cornwall Auxiliary, 67, 472 Corrie, Daniel, Calcutta, 259, 276 "Country Clergyman," attacks on the Society, 303-4 Courland, Russian Auxiliary, 196, 225, 491 Courtois, Messrs, of Toulouse, 400-3 Cowie, Mr Robert, takes part in first meeting, 11 ; the first Committee, 16 Cox, Lieut., work at Gravesend, 327 Cracow, Pinkerton's visit, 227 ; Polish Auxiliary, 492 Cradock, Sir John, 132 Crawford, Mr Charles, member of the first Committee, 16 Creole version, 445 Criminals, Scriptures for, 122, 373, 396, 397, 424 ; gratitude of convicts, 123 Cunningham, Rev. Francis, visits Pastor Oberlin, 331 ; introduces George Borrow, 383 ; Hon. Life Governor, 384. 397 Rev. John, at Earlham, 75 ; replies to Dr Maltby, 308 ; Hon. Life Gover- nor, 312 Cyril, CEcumenical Patriarch, disapproval of Modern Greek version, 137 Sclavonic translator, 223 Czar, see Alexander I., Nicholas Czartorisky, Prince, supports the cause in Poland, 228 Dale, David, first supporter in Scot- land, 22, 84, 95K ; sketch of, 85, 86, 96», 161 Daly, Rev. Robert, urges need of Erse Scriptures, 370 VOL. I. 2 Daniel, Rev. William, early Erse trans- lator, 370 Danish Bible Society, 200, 216, 219, 232, 445. 489 ; declines Apocrypha regula- tions, 435, 453 ; Dr Pinkerton's visit, 453 ; its later progress, 448, 454, 460 — — East Indies, 259, 26i», 269 Evangelical Society, issues Scrip- tures for Iceland, 166, 185, 200 Missions, in Tranquebar and Tan- jore, 26i«, 275, 277 West Indies, Creole Scriptures for, 445. Dantzic AuxiHary, 204 ; Polish version, 204 Darlington Auxiliary, 55 Dartmoor Prison, 124 ; Scriptures for American prisoners of war, 126 Dealtry, Rev. William, replies to Dr Wordsworth, 305 ; Hon. Life Gover- nor, 312 ; his part in Tests controversy, 357, 359 Decazes, Due, official support for work in France, 394 Demerara, 255 Denmark, the Society issues Danish Scriptures, 102, 103 ; Messrs Paterson and Henderson in, 165, 173, 200, 216, 445 ; work of Danish Evangelical Society (g.v.), 166; siege of Copen- hagen, 167 ; Scriptures for Danish Lapland, 172 ; Danish Bible Society (q.v.), 200; royal interest in its work, 445 ; Apocrypha difficulty, 435, 453 ; visit of Dr Pinkerton, 453 ; conciliatory attitude of Sleswick - Holstein Bible Society {q.v.), 454 Derby Auxiliary, 355 Derry Bible Society, 112, 114 De Sacy, see Sacy Desgranges, Rev. Augustus, Telugu version, 2S3 Diez, Baron von, revises'Turkish version, 203, 389 Diodati, ItaUan version, 117, 138 Dionysius; Mar, superintends Malayalam version, 279 Dolben, Sir William, 67 Dominica, 255 Dorpat, Bible Society founded, 179 ; revived, 422 ; Russian Auxiliary at, 196, 225 ; efforts of Prof. Sartorius, 421 Dositheos, Archbishop, the needs of Georgia, 222 Douai version, issued by R.C. Church in N. Ireland, 373 Dresden, Saxon Bible Society (q.v.) founded, 204 I 498 INDEX Dublin Association for discountenancing Vice and promoting the Knowledge and Practice of the Christian Religion, 21 ; its co-operation, 109 Bible Society, see Hibernian Bible Society Dudley, C. S. , draws up rules for Auxili- aries, 49 ; and scheme and rules for Female Societies, 59-61 ; results of his labours, 61, 320, 347 ; Hon. Life Governor, 312; first home agent, 351, 352. 3S3 Dutch East India Company, undertakes Malay version, 288 East Indies, Holland's Christian policy, 288 ; Netherlands Bible Society's efforts, 432 Guiana, see Surinam Earl Street, No. 10, first Bible House, 103, 485 East India Company, its hostility to Missions, 164, 259, 260, 264-267 ; change of policy, 165, 266, 293 ; tribute to Schwarz, 265 ; Mr Twining's representations, 266 ; abolition of its exclusive powers, 293 ; Morrison engaged as Chinese translator, 299 Lothian, see Lothian Edinburgh, early support from Presbytery of, 84; Edinburgh Bible Society (y.w.), 95 ; new British Auxiliary formed, 346, 348 ; cholera visitation, 362 Bible Society, undertakes dis- tribution of Gaelic Scriptures, 93 ; its constitution, 95, 96 ; relations with parent Society, 97, 102 ; early work and progress, 98, 347, 482 ; remon- strances on Apocrypha question, 337 ; secession, 339 ; action of the supporters oftheB.F.B.S., 346, 348 Egede, Hans and Paul, their labours in Greenland, 233 Eichsfeld Bible Society, 489 Eimeo, Tahitian Gospel printed at Mission Press, 302 Elberfeld Bible Society, see Berg Bible Society Eliot, John, Indian version, 240^ Elliot, Catherine, Juvenile B.S., 55« Ellis, Rev. William, issues Tahitian Gospel, 302 ; Christianity in Tahiti, 302 Emancipation of the Slave. See Slavery Emigrants, 92, 373 ; a Sabbath service on an emigrant ship, 374 England, state of the country (1800-5) and threats of French invasion, 7, 10, 27-29; dearth of Scriptures, 22, loi, 352 ; early auxiliaries, 65-83, 471-4S2 ; state of criminal law (1800-20), 120; condition of prisons, 121 ; Napoleon's Berlin Decree, 150; his anti- British policy, 167, 170, 177, 198, 246; war with Denmark, 167 ; war with Sweden, 173. 174; Russian policy, 177; war with U.S.A., 246; condition of the people (1815-30) and influence of the Society's work, 320 - 23 ; the first home agents and district agencies, 320, 352-53, 363 ; the royal family and the Bible cause, 332 ; cholera visita- tion (1831-32), 362; death of George III., 377; Reform Bill riots, 382; abolition of slavery, 385, 386 England, Church of, see Church of England English Bible, adoption of Authorised Version, 1 7 ; first edition published in America, 239 Erfurt Bible Society, see Thuringian Bible Society Erlangen Auxiliary, Schelling supports, 432 Erse version, loi, 102, 115 ; the Society's issues, 102, 103, 371 ; history of tiie translation, 11 6- 18 Eskimo version, issue of New Testament portions, 102, 103, 232, 233, 253, 254 ; work of Hans and Paul Egede and John Beck in Greenland, 233 - 34 ; Rev. B. Kohlmeister and Rev. C. F. Burghardtin Labrador, 253-54; Bishop Fabricius, 446 ; Rev. Mr Wolff, 446 ; Pastor Kragh, 446 ; Danish Bible Society issues Old Testament Scrip- tures, 446, 460 Ess, Rev. Leander Van, German New Testament, 188, 443 ; engaged by the Society, 439 ; circulation of his version, 211, 423. 429. 433. 438; his resigna- tion, 438, 440 : Southey's attack, 439 ; the Society's confidence, 440 Esthonia, dearth of Scriptures, 178; condition of the people, 178, 225 ; Auxiliary at Revel (?.».), 196 ; end of serfdom, 225; Professor Sartorius, 421 Ethiopic Psalter, 102-3, ^4° ! progress of Gospels, 102 Europe, founding of the Society welcomed on the Continent, 23 ; Napoleonic troubles, 144, 198, 209 ; progress of Bible work (1805-17), 211, 218, 230, 492 ; appreciation of Society's work, 392 ; Apocrypha difficulty, 137, 334. 335. 402, 433. 434. 435 5 seces- sion, 437-38, 453 Central, progress of work (1805-17). 211, 2i8, 231, 487-89; prohibitions of the Holy See, 229, 423 ; private INDEX 499 Europe {continued ) — efforts, 423, 424 ; Tercentenary of the Reformation, 424 ; progress of work (1817-34), 423-44; Apocrypha diffi- culty, 334, 434 ; secession of the principal Societies, 437-38 ; Frankfort Agency established, 437 - 41 ; circu- lation of New Testament of Van Ess, 439. See also Austria, France, Germany, Prussia, Switzerland, etc. Europe, Eastern, progress of work (1805- 17), 230, 231, 491, 492. See also Russia, Russian Bible Socie.ty Northern, progress of work (1805- 17), 211, 219, 231, 489, 490; later efforts (1817-34), 445, 448, 451, 4S4, 460 ; the Apocrypha difficulty, 335, 43Sj 4S3; Dr Henderson's tour, 451 ; Dr Pinkerton, 453 ; Hon. Charles Shore, 457 ; Dr Paterson establishes agencies, 458-460. See also Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Lapland, Norway, Sweden Evangelical Revival, The, and the origin of the Society, 1-3 ; influence of the French Revolution, 2 Evangelicals, The Clapham. See Clap- ham Evangelicals Evans, Rev. Dr, 67 Exeter Hall, first anniversary meeting, 356-359 Exmouth, Admiral Viscount, Vice- President, 375 ; his death, 383 Fabricius, Bishop, conciliatory view of Apocrypha question, 437 ; work at Herrnhut, 442 ; labours in Greenland, 446 Faroe Islands, 232, 445 Fellin Auxiliary. See Pernau Female Bible Societies. See Ladies' Bible Societies Fenn, Mr John, member of the first Committee, 16 Finland, Sweden loses, 170; visit of Paterson and Henderson, 172 ; dearth of Scriptures, 174 ; the Rev. J. Paterson's commission, 174; the Czar's approval, 175 ; Bible Society founded at Abo, 175 ; corn tithes devoted to printing Scriptures, 175 ; the people, 175; the Society's later efforts, 219, 419, 422 ; Rev. J. Knill opens depdts, 421 ; the work entrusted to Stockholm agency, 458, 460 Fisher, Bishop, Vice-President, 63, 64 Fitrut, Mirza, Hindustani translation, 275. 282, 377 Fitzralph, Bishop, early Irish translator, 116 Flintshire, dearth of Scriptures, 82 Foot, Rev. Lundy, his part in the Tests controversy, 358 Fowell Buxton, 75, I22k; burial of Wilberforce, 386 ; emancipation of the slaves, 387 France, early Bible Society, 3 ; dearth of Scriptures, 8, 44 ; first issues of Scriptures for, 102, 103 ; Basel Society's eiforts, 144 ; Bible Com- mittee formed at Paris, 185 ; Roman Catholics welcome Scriptures, 145 ; co-operation of Consistories at Paris, 206 ; the Society's efforts (1805-17), 218 ; the goodwill of the Government, 332 ; burial of Hon. Henry Dundas Shore at Lourmarin, 343 ; progress of work (1817-34), 392-403; Scriptures issued, 393 ; Protestant Bible Society founded {q-'v.), 393 ; Abbi de Lamennais' attack on the Biblical movement, 394 ; Paris Agency estab- lished, 395 ; efforts of M. Appert, 397, 399 ; Basque version, 397 ; R.C. Bishop destroys Gospels, 398 ; Revolu- tion of 1830, 399 ; adoption of col- portage, 399, 400 ; effiDrts of Messrs Courtois, 400, 401, 403 ; French and Foreign Bible Society formed, 402 Franke, Rev. Professor, the Canstein Bible Institution, 148 Frankfort, Bible Society formed, 189, 210, 431, 432, 434, 489 ; a shepherd asks for the Bible, 428 ; Apocrypha difficulty, 435, 437 ; British Agency established, 437, 438 ; its early efforts, 441.443 Frederick IV. of Denmark, colonial policy in East Indies, 261 VI. of Denmark, his interest in Danish Bible Society, 445 William III. of Prussia, sanctions Berlin Bible Society, 148, 149 ; receives Society's deputation, 200 Freemasons' Hall, Anniversary meetings, 310, 311 French and Foreign Bible Society, formed, 402 Bible Society, an early, 3 Revolution, and Evangelical revival in England, 2 ; no Bible atXyons, 44 versions, charge of Socinianism, 332 ; Martin's Bible issued at Montau- ban, 393 ; Ostervald's New Testa- ment, 393 ; breach of Society's regula- tion, 432 Freyberg, pious practice of silver-miners, 205 Fridag, Mr Sebastian, member of the first Committee, 16 500 INDEX Frumentius, his "India," 296 Fry, Elizabeth, at Earlham, 75 ; condition of prisons, 121, I22K Fiinen, early Bible work at, see Danish Evangelical Society ; Auxiliary formed, 216, 445 Gabriel, Moldavian Exarch, supervises Wallachian Scriptures, 227 Gaelic version. Rev. J. Stuart's work, 90 ; translation of Old Testament, 91 ; the Society's early issues, 91, 93, loi, 103 Galitzin, Prince, negotiations to form Russian Bible Society, 191, 194 ; president of St Petersburg Bible Society, 195, 410, 412, 413 ; new versions of Scriptures, 407 ; resignation of office, 416 Gambia River, missionary's adventure, 133 Gambler, Admiral, Vice-President, 20, 63, 382 ; the Clapham circle, 32 ; siege of Copenhagen, 167 ; meets French opponent on Society's platform, 378 Geneva Bible Society, 204, 488 ; Owen's visit, 426 ; dep6t established, 426 ; Apocrypha difficulty, 436 Evangelical Society, colportage in France, 400 George III., his death, 377 IV. , accepts set of versions, 380 Georgia (U.S.A.) Bible Society, 243, 248 Georgian version, 222, 410, 413 ; matrices of type escape burning at Moscow, 223; reconstruction of Bible Society, 413 German Bible Society — first Continental Auxiliary — founded at Nuremberg, 23 ; transferred to Basel, 143 ; its early efforts, 144, 185, 189, 210, 487 ; forms French Bible Committee, 185 ; the Waldenses, 186 ; visit of Messrs Pinkerton and Owen, 425 ; Apocrypha question, 435, 437 Religious Society, 23, 43, 143 versions, New Testament of Wittman, 147, 430 ; New Testament of Van Ess, 188, 211, 423, 433, 438; New Testament of Gdsner, 211, 423, 428, 429 Germany, the new Society welcomed, 23; first issues of German Scriptures, 102, 103 ; German Bible Society (q.v.), 143 ; leaders of Pietism, 162 ; Dr SteinkopfPs visits, 188, 210, 428; Roman Catholic Bible Society at Ratisbon (g.v.), 188 ; new societies formed, 189, 202, 488, 489 ; Dr Schwabe's tour, 205 ; the Freyberg silver-miners, 205 ; celebration of Re- formation Tercentenary, 424 ; Dr Pinkerton's visit, 424 Gibraltar, 135 Gisborne, Thomas, reply to charges against the Society, 69; sketch of, 69-71; speech at Chester, 79, 312; Hon. Life Governor, 312 Glasgow, early support from Synod and Presbytery, 22, 84, 94, 95, 348 ; origin of Glasgow Bible Society, 95» ; its progress, 97, 347, 483 ; scriptures for Catholic Schools, 99 Glenelg, Lord, see Grant, Rt. Hon. Charles Gloucester Auxiliary, opposition of Bishop Huntingford, 80 Goa, Inquisition at, 280K ; hostility of R.C. Archbishop to Society's work, 292 Godalming Ladies' Association, 59 Goodenough, Rev. Dr, attitude to the Society, 308, 309 Gordon, Capt. J. E. , his part in Tests controversy, 357, 358 ; his efforts at Okhotsk, 406?? Goree, Scriptures for, 133 Gosner, circulation of his German New Testament, 211, 423, 429; hostility of R.C. clergy, 428 Gothenburg I3ible Society, 201, 448, 449, 490 ; Apocrypha question, 454 Gothic version by Ulfilas, 26, 455 ; copy presented to the library, 26 Gottingen Bible Society, support of University professors, 425 Gottskalksson, Oddr, Icelandic translator, 163, 212 Grant, Charles, approves idea of Bible Society, 11 ; member of first Com- mittee, 16; Vice-President, 20, 63; sketch of, 31, 38-39 ; interest in Indian affairs, 165, 264, 266 ; befriends Claudius Buchanan, 272 ; his death, 379 Rt. Hon. Charles, 31, 316; Vice- President, 376 Gravesend, work amongst seamen, 326-28 Gray, Rev. Robert, Vice-President, 376, 382 Great St Bernard, Scriptures for Hospice, 426 Greece, distribution of Scriptures, 136-37; War of Independence, 412-14 Greek Church, Modern Greek Testament welcomed by clergy, 136, 137, 139; dearth of Scriptures, 157 ; support for Russian Bible work, 195, 196, 212, INDEX 501 Greek Church (continued) — 224, 404, 411 ; Czar orders Modern Russ version, 223, 413 ; the Patriarch of Constantinople, 409, 412 ; Seraphim, Russian Metropolitan, betrays the cause, 411-12, 416-18; Photi the archiman- drite, 416 ; Russian Bible Society and the Holy Synod, 418, 419, 421 Greek (Ancient) version, 102-3 ; (Modern) version, 102-3, I37 Greenfield, Mr William, first Editorial Superintendent, 382 Greenland, first issues of Eskimo version (g.v.), 102, 103; early missions, 232; the people, 233, 446 ; work of Moravian missionaries, 233-34, 446 Greenock and Port - Glasgow Bible Society, 48K, 95-96 Gregory, Greek Patriarch at Constanti- nople, 409 ; his murder and burial, 412 Grey, Sir George and Lady, Hon. Life Governors, 312 Grill, Mr Claes, member of first Com- mittee, 16 Grimshawe, Rev. T. S., Hon. Life Governor, 384 Guadaloupe, Scriptures for, 255 Guernsey, Scriptures for, 105 ; Auxiliary, 105 ; the Tests controversy, 354 Guildford, Ladies' Association, 59 Gujarati version, 274, 287 Gurney, Joseph John, Norwich Auxiliary, 73 ; Bible meetings at Earlham, 75 ; Sorrow's description, 76-78 ; friendship with Wilberforce, 385 Haldane, Robert, his projected East Indian Mission, 165 Hall, Rev. Robert, reply to Dr Marsh, 306 ; to Dr Maltby, 308 Halle, the Canstein Bible Institution {q.v.), 147 ; dep6t at, 441 Hamburg- Altona Bible Society, 202, 206, 432, 488 Hammer, Von, report on the needs of Turkey, 157 Hammersley, Mr Thomas, Hon. Life Governor, 312 Hanover Bible Society, 202, 203 ; its progress, 430, 433, 434i 488; the Apocrypha, 135 Hardcastle, Mr Joseph, visits Paris, 8 ; member of first Committee, 16, 45 ; his death, 377 Mr William, monument to Rev. J. Hughes, 365 Harrington, Mr J. H., Hon. Life Governor, 384 Harrowby, Earl of, Vice-President, 64 Hastings, Marquis of, Vice-President, 64; death, 381 Hayti, see San Domingo Heber, Reginald, at Moscow, 192 ; Vice- President, 376 Richard, 283 Heidelberg University, the return to faith, 425 Helgasen, Dean, diffusion of Icelandic Scriptures, 447 Henderson, Rev. Ebenezer, leaves for India, 164, 165 ; at Gothenburg, 169 ; northern tour, 171 ; again in Copen- hagen, 173, 445, 447; organises work in Denmark, 185, 200, 216; visit to Iceland, 200, 212-16 ; objections to Turkish version, 390, 391 ; resignation, 391, 413 ; reconciliation, 392 ; receives doctorate, 408« ; his marriage tour, 410, 451; tour in Russia, 411-13 ; later labours in Russia, 417 ; return to England, 418 Hernosand, work of Bishop Nordin, 171- 72 ; Swedish Auxiliary at, 448, 490 Herrnhut, Saxon Auxiliary at, 204, 429, 432, 442 ; the Apocrypha, 437 Plertzog, Rev. Dr, work of German Bible Society, 144 ; Hon. Life Governor, 312 Hess, Chief Pastor, forms Zurich Bible Committee, 189 Hesse-Darmstadt Bible Society, 489 Hey, Mr William, fund for Oriental translations, 292; Hon. Life Governor, 384 Hibernian Bible Society, III; early progress (1805-17), 112, 113; effects of the schools, 114; later progress, (1817-34), 370-73 Highlands (of Scotland), condition in 1804, 87-91 ; dearth of Gaelic Scrip- tures, 89; use of Erse Bibles, 89, 118; protest of Dr Johnson, 90 ; issue of Gaelic Bibles, 91, 93; Edinburgh Bible Society undertakes distribution, 93 ; reception by the people, 93 ; the Society's later efforts, 347-49 High Wycombe, first regular Association, 55 Hildebrand, Carl, Baron von Canstein, 147 Hildesley, Bishop, completes Manx ver- sion, 107 ; his bequest, 107 Hill, Rev. Rowland, the Tests controversy, 358 ; his death, 383 Hindi New Testament, 282, 292 Hindustani version, work at Serampore, 267, 274 ; Henry Martyn's New Testa- ment, 275, 282 ; printed in England, 377 502 INDEX Hoare, Mr Samuel, I22« Mr W. Henry, member of first Committee, i6 Hobart, Dr, opposition to American Bible Society, 250 Hodson, Mr Thomas, member of first Committee, 16 Holland, the Society's first issue of Dutch Scriptures, 102, 103 ; Netherlands Bible Society {^.v.) formed, 202, 210 ; dearth of Scriptures, 203 ; Christian policy in East Indian colonies, 288 Homburg Bible Society, see Nassau- Homburg Honduras, Scriptures for, 255 Hose, Mr John Daniel, member of first Committee, 16 Hottentots, Moravian mission, 129; read- ing the Testament, 131 Howard, Mr Luke, the Tests contro- versy, 359 Mr Robert, member of first Com- mittee, 16 Howell, Rev. Mr, the Tests controversy, 358 Huell, Count Ver, meets his naval opponent on Society's platform, 379 Hughes, Rev. Joseph, R.T.S. Com- mittee, 9 ; suggests idea of the Society and publishes essay, 10, 466 ; suggests name of the Society, 12; Secretary, 15, 329, 333 ; sketch of, 42 ; at Earlham, 75 ; in Ireland, 109 ; Life Governor, 312 ; the Tests, controversy, 355 ; his death, 364 ; monument in Bunhill Fields, 365 Hull Auxiliary, 67 Hungarian Bible Institution, at Press- burg, 186, 488 ; press authorised, 187 ; the Committee's work, 187, 211 ; sup- pressed by papal influence, 423 Hungary, Hungarian Bible Institution (?.f.), 186; dearth of Scriptures, 186; the authorised version, 187 ; religious liberty, 187K ; times of persecution, ■ l88« ; progress of work, 218 ; opposi- tion of Holy See, 230, 423 ; Great Council of Jews (1650), 314 Iceland, the country, 163 ; dearth of Scriptures, 164, 212; efforts of Danish Evangelical Society, 166, 185, 200 ; preservation of Icelandic Scriptures at Copenhagen, 168 ; Henderson's visit, 200, 212, 2i5; Icelandic Bible Society i^.zi.), 213; poetical tribute to the B.F.B.S., 213-16 ; the Society's efforts, 219, 490 ; the Danish Bible Society, 446, 448 ; diffusion of the Scriptures, 447 Icelandic Bible Society, founded at Reykjavik, 213, 490 India, Corresponding Committee at Cal- cutta, 25, 259, 271-77; East India Company's hostility to Missions, 164, 259, 260, 264-67 ; change of policy, 165, 266, 270, 293 ; the " Five Chaplains," 259, 271, 272, 275, 276 ; Serampore mission, 259, 260, 267- 70 ; Danish settlements and missions, 259, 261, 269 ; religious influence of Anglo-Indians, 261-63 ' notable excep- tions, 263 ; Vellore Mutiny, 266 ; Fort- William College established, 270, 273; the Society's early efforts, 273, 274 ; Calcutta Auxiliary founded, 280 ; pro- gress of native versions, 267, 274, 277-79, 282-94 ; Syrian Churches in Southern India, 279, 295-98 ; Bombay Auxiliary, 286 ; conversion of Brah- mins, 286 ; Armenian Christians in India, 287 ; Serampore translation scheme, 292 ; East India Company's powers limited, 293 ; first Indian Bishopric, 293 ; summary of grants, etc. (1807-17), 293-95 ; use of name "India" in early times, 296 Inquisition, abolished in La Plata, 232; sufferings of Syrian Christians, 279 ; at Goa, 28o« Ionian Islands, Scriptures for, 141 Ireland, dearth of Scriptures, 22, 370 ; Erse version [f.v.), loi, 115; Scrip- tures for R.C. Schools, 109 ; visit of Society's deputation, 109 ; condition of the people (1805-15), iio; Hiber- nian Bible Society (;?.».), Ill; other Auxiliaries, III -14; the London Hibernian Society (?.».), Ill -12; Roman Catholic Schools, 1 14 ; pro- gress of work (1817-34), 370; condi- tion of education, 370 ; effects of Erse Scriptures, 372 Irish version, see Erse Irkutsk, Russian Auxiliary at, 406 Isle of Man, see Man Italy, issue of New Testaments, 102, 103; their reception, 137-40; Diodati's ver- sion, 138 Jackson, Mr John, Assistant Foreign Secretary, 379 Jsenicke, Rev. John, Berlin Bible Society, 149; distress in Berlin, 153; Life Governor, 312 Jamaica, 255 ; contributions, 256 ; Auxiliary of People of Colour, 257 Japan, closed to Christianity, 301 Jaucourt, Marquis de, president of Paris Protestant Bible Society, 393 INDEX 503 Java, death of Dr Leyden, 283 ; Auxili- ary formed, 289, 294; transferred to Netherlands Bible Society, 289 ; dis- tribution of Chinese Scriptures, 300 Jerram, Rev. Charles, Life Governor, 312 Jersey, Scriptures for, 100, 105 ; Ladies' Association, 105 Jesuits, destroy Polish Scriptures, 204 ; hostility to work in Russia, 415; in Prussia, 428 Jews, Tartar Old Testament found in Crimea, 226 ; Great Council at Ageda — Messianic hopes, 314; Bible work amongst, 375, 424 Johnson, Dr, and the Gaelic Scriptures, 90 Johnston, Sir Alexander, his efforts in Ceylon, 285, 286, 378 ; Life Gover- nor, 312 Jones, Mary, her story, 465-470 Rev. Thomas, Scriptures for Wales — co-operation with Rev. T. Charles, 7, 468 Jowett, Rev. Joseph, Editorial Superin- tendent, 382 Rev. William, mission to Malta, 139; Hon. Life Governor, 384 ? Jutland, Bible Society, 216 Juvenile Associations, an early example, 5S» ; defended, 57 Kalmuk version, begun at Sarepta, i8i, 231 ; transferred to St Petersburg Bible Society, 219, 224, 413, 491 Kalmuks, migration to China, 182 Karass, Scottish Mission, 177, 179 ; issue of Tartar-Turkish Scriptures, 180, 230 ; Dr Henderson's visit, 413 ; dep6t, 421 Karnata version, 282 Karolyi, Gaspard, Magyar translator, l87» Kashmiri version, 282 Kent, Duke of, 80, 377 Kieff, Russian Auxiliary at, 405 Kieffer, M. Jean Daniel, 389 ; revises Turkish version, 390-92 ; first Agent in Paris, 395 -97 ; adopts colportage, 399 ; his death, 401 ICiesling, Mr, dearth of Scriptures in Central Europe, 23 Kirke, Rev. Robert, Gaelic translator — mysterious end, 88», 118 Knapp, Dr, Canstein Bible Institution, 148 ; visit of Mr Steinkopff, 185 Knill, Rev. Richard, work in Russia, 421 Kohlmeister, Rev. B., his Eskimo (Labrador) translation, 253 Konigsberg Bible Committee, 156 ; dis- tribution of Polish Scriptures, 156, 186 ; becomes Bible Society, 204, 487 ; Dr Pinkerton's visit to hospitals, 424 Konigsfeld Bible Institution, 210, 489 Konkani version, work at Serampore, 293 Kragh, Pastor, Eskimo (Greenland) translation, 446 Krasnoiarsk, Russian Auxiliary at, 406 Kreuznach Bible Society, 489 Krudener, Madame de, visit to Pastor Oberlin, 162 ; predicts French disas- ters, 206 ; influence on Czar Alexander, 207 Kwains, the, Stockfleth's translation, 452 Labrador, reception of Scriptures, 253-54 ; see Eskimo Ladies' Bible Societies, early examples, 55« ; objections, 58 ; first regular Association, 59 ; Dudley's rules, 59, 61 ; origin of his idea, 59-61 Ladinische New Testament, 146 Lamennais, Abbe de, attack on the Biblical movement, 394 Lapland, issue and distribution of New Testament, 171-72 La Plata, 232 Lassar, James, Chinese translator, 274K La Tour, Waldensian Bible Society, 489 Latrobe, Rev. C. J., Scriptures for Hottentots, 129-31 Lauenberg-Ratzeburg Bible Society, 489 Lausanne Bible Society, formed for Canton de Vaud, 204, 426, 433, 488 ; issue of Ostervald's French Bible with notes, 432; the Apocrypha, 433, 435 Law, Rev. Dr, opposes the Society, 308-9 Lea, Mr. R., Alderman, member of first Committee, l6 Leidekker, Dr Melchior, Malay version, 288 Lee, Samuel, supervises Syriac New Testament, 296 ; Cambridge protest, 338 ; superintends issues of Malay, Hindustani, and Arabic Scriptures, 377 ; defends Turkish version, 391 Leo XII., Pope, attacks the Society in his first Encyclical, 379 Leyden, Dr, Oriental translations, 278, 283 ; sketch of, 283-84 University MS. of Turkish version, 203, 388, 390 Library of the B.F.B.S., founded — Granville Sharp's gifts — contents at end of half century, 26 ; the Bible of Mary Jones, 466 504 INDEX Licarrague, John de, Basque version, 398 Lieven, Count, superintends Protestant Societies in Russia, 417 ; opposes policy of Seraphim, 418 ; president of new Protestant Bible Society, 419 Lindsay, Rev. H., aids work in the Levant, 140 Lithuania, condition of the people — the Society's efforts, 155, 210 Lippe-Detmold Bible Society, 489 Liverpool, Ladies' Bible Society, 62 ; Auxiliary formed, 67 Earl of, Vice-President, 64, 82, 382 Livonia, condition of the people, 178 ; Bible Society founded at Dorpat {g.v-}, 179 ; Mr Paterson's visit, 225 London, earliest Auxiliary movement, 47-48; work of Southwark Associations, 56; City Auxiliary formed, 80; Thames Union Bible Committee and Merchant Seamen's Auxiliary, 326 ; the Society's anniversary meetings (1805-17), 309- 1 1 ; first meeting in Exeter Hall, 356 ; list of Auxiliaries and contributions (1806-17), 475-79 London Hibernian Society, work for Irish schools, 1 1 1-12, 371 ; its effects, 114. 372 L.M.S., founded, 3, 377 ; resolution to distribute French Scriptures, 8 ; be- ginning of Travancore Mission, 264 London Newfoundland School Society, 373 London Society for Promoting Chris- tianity among the Jews, 375 Londonderry Bible Society, see Derry Lothian, East, Bible Society, 95, 482 West, Bible Society, 95-96, 482 Louisiana, 236, 244-45 > dearth of Scrip- tures, 248 ; Bible Society (New Orleans), 244-45, 248 Liibeck Bible Society, 202, 488 ; Apocrypha difiSculty, 437 Liidwigsburg Auxiliary, 430 Lund, Swedish Auxiliary at, 217, 448, 456, 490 Luther, his cell at Wittenberg, 432 Lymington, Ladies' Association, 59 Lyngbye, Rev. Mr, Norse Gospel for Faroe Islanders, 446 Macaulay, Zachary, approves idea of Bible Society, 1 1 ; member of the first Committee, 16 ; the Clapham circle, 30 ; interest in West Africa, 132 ; Syriac New Testament, 295 Macbride, Dr, edits Arabic Bible, 377 ; Hon. Life Governor, 384 Mackintosh, Mr John, Hon. Life Governor, 384 Macleod, Rev. Dr Norman, the Society's first supply of Scriptures to the High- lands, 92 Madeira, Scriptures for, 135 Madras, first Christian Church built, 261 ; press and type for Tamil Scrip- tures, 278, 293 Magyar version, i87« Mahratta (Marathi) version, progress of, at Serampore, 267, 274, 282, 292 Maitland, Mr A., member of first Committee, 16 Governor - General, president of Colombo Auxiliary, 285 Malacca, branch Society at, 292, 294 ; distribution of Chinese Scriptures, 300 ; press at, 301 Malay version (Dutch East India Company's), 288 ; Calcutta Auxiliary, 295 ; the Society's edition, 377 (Low) version, 289, 294 Malayalam version, 274, 279 ; the language area, 279 Malaysia, dearth of Scriptures, 288 ; circulation of Chinese Scriptures, 300-1 Maldivian version, 278, 284 Malta, dep6t established — its central position, 137-38 ; remarkable appeal of a Roman Catholic, 138; C.M.S. re- presentatives sent, 1 39-40 ; Auxiliary formed, 142 Maltby,;Dr, his attack on the Society, 308 Man, Isle of, issue of Manx version {?.v.), 102; demand for English Scriptures, 108 ; the Society's later grants, 373 Manchester and Salford Auxiliary, 52, 362, 471 Manchu version, Borrow at St Peters- burg, 383 Manx version, 102, 103, 106 ; history of the translation, 106-9; in use up to 1872, I09« Marine Bible Society, the first — formed at Falmouth, 119, 326 Marriage custom (Switzerland), 205 (Brunswick), 425 Marsden, Samuel, 3 Marsh, Dr, opposes the Society at Cambridge, 71, 72, 306, 307 Marshman, Joshua, missionary at Seram- pore, 259, 260, 270, 284 ; Chinese translation, 274«, 378 Martin, Mr Ambrose, member of first Committee, 16 Martyn, Henry, his Persian New Testa- ment, 219, 280 ; Persian Passion Play, 220; the "Five Chaplains," 259, 280; his Hindustani New Testament, 275, 282 ; sketch of, 275 ; his death, 221 INDEX 505 Mary Jones, story of, 465-70 Massachusetts Bible Society, 242, 243, 248 ; friendly actions in war of 1812, 246-47 Mauritius, Aiixiliary formed, 129 ; slave emancipation, 387 Mecklenburg - Schwerin Bible Society, 489 Merchant Seamen's Auxiliary, 326-28 Methodius, Sclavonic version, 223 Metternich, Prince, proposed vifork in Austria, 227 ; influence on Czar Alexander, 416 Middleton, Thomas Fanshawe, first Bishop of India, 293 Mills, Mr Samuel, drafts Constitution for the Society, 10 ; attends first meeting, 12 ; member of first Committee, 16, 45 ; visit to Ireland, no Milne, Rev. William, the Chinese version, 300, 301, 378; distributes Chinese Testaments, 300 ; press at Malacca, 301 Milner, Dean, Vice-President, 32, 64 ; replies to Dr Marsh, 307 Joseph, 271 Mitau Auxiliary, see Courland Mohammedans, in West Africa, 133; in India, 286 ; Abdullah and Sabat, 290- 91 Mohawk version, St John's Gospel, 25, 103 ; its distribution, 251 Mohilev, White Russian Bible Society, 229 Moira, Lord, see Hastings Moldavia, dearth of Scriptures, 157, 227 Moluccas, Christian population, 288 ; Chinese Scriptures, 301 Mongolia, 183 ; Buriat chiefs translate Scriptures, 405, 413 Monte Video, Spanish Testaments for, 231 Montgomery, James, aids work of the Society, 353 Monthly Extracts, first issued, 325 Montleza, M., edits Basque version, 398 Moravian Mission to the Hottentots, 129-31 ; settlement at Sarepta, 181 ; Auxiliaries at Herrnhut, etc., 204; Greenland Mission, 232-33, 446 ; Lab- rador Mission, 253 ; their first West Indian Mission, 255K ; Paramaribo Mission, 256 More, Hannah, 31, 81, 384 Morrison, Rev. Robert, sketch of, 299 ; Chinese version, 300, 378 ; his first convert, 301 Moscow, Rev. J. Paterson's visit before burning of, 192 ; preservation of matrices of Georgian type from fire. 223 ; Auxiliary established, 196 ; first anniversary, 411 Muir, Mr William, early agent in Scotland, 85, 95 Munich, German Scriptures, 429; dep6t opened, 431 Munter, Dr, promotes work in Denmark, 200, 448 ; the Apocrypha question, 453 Murray, Rev. Dr, delegate from American Bible Society (1851), 374 Namaqua version, 132 Napoleon, invasion of Prussia impedes Bible work, 149-53 > Berlin Decree, 150; anti-British policy, 167, 170, 177, 198, 246, 283K ; march to Moscow, 189 ; retreat, 193, 195, 196 ; his abdication, 198 ; escape from Elba, 207 ; in St Helena, 132, 209 Nassau Hall (Princeton) Bible Society, 244, 248 Nassau - Homburg Bible Society, 210, 489 Naudi, Cleardo, remarkable appeal, 139 Naval and Military Bible Society, 3, 328 Neitz, Conrad, Kalmuk version, 181 Nepean, Sir Evan, Vice-President, 64, 286 Nestorian Church, connection of Syrian Churches in Southern India with, 297 ; traces in China, 297-98 Netherlands Bible Society, 202, 211, 434, 488 ; Malay Scriptures, 289, 433-34 Neuchatel Bible Society, 489 Neu-Wied and Wied - Rinkel Bible Society, 210, 489 Newbigging, Mr Archibald, early agent in Scotland, 85 New Brunswick, 251 Newfoundland, 251 ; schools — grants to London Newfoundland School Society, 373 New Jersey Bible Society, 239, 242, 248 New Orleans Bible Society, see Louisiana New Ross Bible Society, 112 New South Wales, 129 Newton, Rev. John, his friends — Rev. T. Charles, 6 ; Wilberforce, 38 ; David Brown, Claudius Buchanan, 272 ; his death, 312 New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society, 242, 248, 250 New York Bible Society, 242, 244-45, 248 Nicholas, Czar, suspension of the Russian Bible Society, 418 ; sanctions Pro- testant Bible Society, 419 5o6 INDEX Noel, Hon. and Rev. Baptist, 353 ; the Tests controversy, 358, 361 Hon. and Rev. G. T., Life Governor, 312 ; the Tests controversy, 361 Norse version for Faroe Islands, 445 Northampton Auxiliary, 78-79 Norton, Captain, Mohawk translator, 25 Norway, Norwegian Bible Society (?.z'.), 217 ; dearth of Scriptures, the Kwains, 451-52 ; visit of Hon. Charles Shore, 457 ; Dr Paterson's visit — agency at Christiania, 458-60 Norwegian Bible Society, 217, 490 ; re- organised, 450, 452, 457 ; declines to adopt Apocrypha regulations, 453, 459 Norwich Auxiliary, 72-75 Nottingham Auxiliary, 48-49, 471 Nova Scotia, 92, 251 ; Scriptures seized by U.S. privateer, 246; Auxiliary at Halifax, 251 ; at Pictou, 252 Nuremberg, first Continental Bible Society, 23 ; transferred to Basel, 24, 143; circulation of Scriptures, 423 Nylander, Rev. G. R., Bullom transla- tion, 134 O'Beirne, Bishop, Vice-President, 64, 378 Oberlin, Henry Gottfried, 161 ; tour in France, 330 ; death, 393 Pastor, 23-24, i8l« ; women's work at Ban de la Roche, 59-61 ; bio- graphical sketch, 157-162 ; visit of Owen, 329; death, 331 CEsel, Isle of, Russian Auxiliary, 225, 491 Okhotsk, 406 Old Swan Stairs, 9 Oriya version, 267, 274, 282 ; completed, 292 Osnaburg Bible Committee, 189 Ostervald, version issued at Paris, 393 ; issued at Lausanne with notes and Apocrypha — breach of Society's rules, 432-33 Ouseley, Sir Gore, Vice-President, 64 ; Henry Martyn's Persian New Testa- ment, 219-22 Owen, Rev. John, supports the Society, 12; appointed Secretary, 15; biogra- phical sketch, 44-45 ; his attitude to Female Associations, 58 ; reply to Mr Twining, 267 ; Life Governor, 312 ; visits Pastor Oberlin, tour to Switzer- land, 329, 393, 425, 426 ; History of the Society, 332, 343 ; death, 333 Oxford Auxiliary, 81, 307-8 Paisley Female Bible Association, S5» Pali version, at Serampore, 282 ; m Ceylon, 286 Papoff, M., secretary of Russian Bible Society, 378 Paramaribo, 255 ; Moravian Mission, 256 Paris, dearth of Scriptures, 8 ; Owen's visit — Protestant Bible Society estab- lished, 393 ; Agency established, 395- 401 ; visit of London deputations, 399, 401; colportage adopted, 399-401; M. de Pressense appointed agent, 401 Protestant Bible Society of, 393-95 ; limits of its constitution, 395, 402 ; the Apocrypha question, 435 Parry, sails with Eskimo Gospels, 378 Pashtu (Afghan) version, 278, 284, 293 Paterson, Rev. John, leaves for India, 164-65; supervises Icelandic New Testament, 166 ; the siege of Copen- hagen, 167; Stockholm, 169; northern tour, 171; visits Finland, 172, 174; marriage, 173, 196 ; in St Petersburg, 177, 183, 191, 192; plans for Russian Bible Society, 193-94; forms Auxiliaries, 196 ; travels in Europe, 202, 225 ; objections to Turkish version, 390 ; resignation, 391 ; agent in Scotland, 392 ; Czar confers doctorate, 4o8» ; Russian tour with Dr Henderson, 411- 13 ; close of work in Russia, 417-20; tour in Norway and Sweden, 458-59 Paxo, Isle of, the legend of Pan, 141 Penang, Sabat in, 291 ; branch Auxiliary, 292-94 ; Chinese Scriptures for, 300-1 Penrose, Sir Charles, Mediterranean commander, aids Society's work, 140-41 Pepperell, Sir William, Vice-President, 20, 63 Perceval, Rt. Hon. Spencer, and North- ampton Auxiliary, 78 ; his murder, 79 Pernau and Fellin, Russian Auxiliary, 225, 491 Persia, Henry Martyn's work — the Passion Play — Persian New Testa- ment presented to the Shah, 219-22 Persian versions, Henry Martyn's New Testament, 219, 289, 291 ; printed at St Petersburg, 222 ; early version of the Gospels, 28o« ; Sebastiani'sGospels, 282 Pestalozzi, Dr Pinkerton visits, 425-26 Philadelphia Bible Society, 242-48 Phillips, Rev. G. W., the Tests contro- versy, 358 Mr Richard, rules for Auxiliaries, 49 ; for Associations, 54 ; Life Gover- nor, 312 INDEX 507 Philo-Judean Society, 375 Photi, his opposition to Russian Bible cause, 416 Pictou Auxiliary, 252 Pinkerton, Rev. J., missionary at Karass, . I77> 179 ; Hungarian Scriptures, 187 ; formation of St Petersburg and Moscow Bible Societies, 196 ; organises work in Holland, etc. , 202 ; finds Turkish version at Leyden, 203, 388-89 ; personal, 223, 410 ; tour in Russia, 225 ; finds Tartar version at Chufut Kale, 226 ; organising work in Poland, 228 ; secretary in London, 383 ; Armenian (Modern) version, 396 ; in Constantinople, 408 ; Georgian version at Mount Athos, 410 ; return to St Petersburg, 410 ; tours in Central Europe, 424, 429, 432 ; Apocrypha difficulty, 436, 453 ; first Agent at Frankfort, 438, 441-42 Pius VI., approves circulation of the Bible, 229K VII., 379 Plato, Archbishop, 178 Piatt, Mr Thomas Pell, 361 Poland, Scriptures for Poles in England, 102 ; Berlin Bible Society's issues, 152, 154, 186; distribution by Konigs- berg Bible Committee, 156, 186 ; dearth of Scriptures, 204 ; Polish Bible Society, 203-4, 227-28 Polish Bible Society, established by the Czar Alexander's order, 228 ; its pro- gress, 230, 492 versions, 204 Pomare, King, aids Tahitian translation, 302 Pomerania (Swedish), Bible Committee 189 Poor, Scriptures for — at home, 54«, 119 ; on the Continent, 143, 148, 173, 185, 186, 189, 219, 231, 373, 491 Porteus, Dr, Bishop of London, the Society's Constitution, 17 ; Vice-Presi- dent, 20, 63 ; Clapham circle, 32 ; Arabic Bible, 133; replies to attacks of "Country Clergyman," 303-4; death, 313 Portugal, issue of Scriptures, 102, 103, 231 Potsdam Bible Society, 203 Preservation of Scriptures, at Copenhagen, 168 ; at Moscow, 223 Pressburg, Hungarian Bible Institution (q.v.], 186 Pressens^, M. Victor de, appomted Agent in Paris, 401 Pretyman, Rev. Dr, opposes the Society, 308 Prince Edward Island, 251, 327 Prisoners of war, British prisoners in France, 1 19 ; French and other prisoners in Britain, 98, 124 ; their gratitude, 124, 125, 127 ; American prisoners, 126-27 Prisons, Elizabeth Fry's work, 121, I22k; Scriptures for, see Criminals Prussia, Berlin ISible Society [q.i).], 148 ; French invasion, 149 ; condition of the people, 151-55 ; the Cossacks in Berlin — national uprising, 197 ; dearth of Scriptures, 210 ; the return to faith, 424-25 ; opposition of R. C. clergy, 428 Prussian Bible Society, formerly Berlin Bible Society {q.v.)^ 203; progress, 425, 427, 431, 434, 487 ; collections in Protestant Churches, 433 ; the Apocrypha question, 435, 437 Pyt, M., supervises Basque version, 397 ; effects of its issue, 399 QuATRKiiiiRE, J\I. DE, Oriental versions, 396 Quebec Auxiliary, 252 Raffles, Sir Stamford, befriends work in Batavia, 289 Randolph, Bishop, opposition to the Society, 68, 304 Ratisbon, Roman Catholic Bible Society, 147 ; visits of Mr Steinkopff, 188, 211 ; issue of Wittman's version, 430 Reading, first regular Auxiliary, 48-49, 66, 471 Reformation, Tercentenary celebrations 424 Reiche, Mr, his efforts in Denmark, 454 Religious toleration, granted in Hungary, i87re ; in La Plata, 232 R.T.S., founded, 3, 377; its connection with the founding of the British and Foreign Bible Society, 9-11 Revel, Russian Auxiliary, 196, 225, 491 Reyner, Mr Joseph, part in origination of the Society, 9 ; member of first Committee, 16, 45, 166 Reynolds, Captain, distributes Scriptures at San Domingo, 257 Richardson, Rev. W., Hon. Life Gover- nor, 384 Richmond, Legh, 75, 338 Riga, Bible Society, 196 ; Russian Auxili- ary, 225, 491 Roberts, Rev. John, Charles's Welsh revision, 26 Roman Catholics, the Society's efforts for — Bavaria, 24 ; Scotland (schools), 99; Ireland (schools), 109, 371; 5o8 INDEX Roman Catholics {continued) — Switzerland, 146, 218, 423 ; Germany, 188, Z03, 218 ; France, 207, 395, 398, 402 ; Europe generally, 211, 423, 429, 438, 442, 444 ; South America, 232 Roman Catholic approval — a friendly Irish priest, 1 14- 15, 372; the Pope's Nuncio in Spain, 135-36; Italy, 138; appeal from Malta, 139; France, 145, 392, 400 ; Ratisbon Roman Catholic Bible Society, 147 ; Bohemia, 186 ; Russia, 195 ; Buenos Ayres, 232 ; New Orleans, 245 ; Prussia, 428 Romanese, see Roumansch version Rome, Church of, attitude to translation and circulation of the Bible, 17, 229K ; Jesuits destroy Polish Scriptures, 204 ; work opposed in Poland, 228 ; work opposed in White Russia, 229 ; inter- dict in Austria- Hungary, 229, 423, 429 ; attitude in Buenos Ayres, 232 ; opposition of Archbishop of Goa, 280K, 292 ; the Apocrypha, 334 ; Douai Bible issued in N. Ireland, 373 ; Pope Leo's attack, 379 ; De Lamennais' attack, 394 ; destruction of Basque Gospels, 398 ; hostility of Jesuits in Russia, 415 ; in Prussia, 428 Romilly, Sir Samuel, 120 Ronneberg, Mr, assistant Foreign Secre- tary, 329, 379 Rontgen, Rev. Mr, his efforts in Den- mark, 454 Rosenblad, Baron, work in Sweden, 217, 450 ; Apocrypha question, 453 Rosenstein, Bishop, view of the Apo- crypha, 454 Roumansch (Romanese) New Testament, 144, 146, 185-86 Rugby Auxiliary, its part in Tests con- troversy, 354 Russ (Modern) version, 223, 409, 413 Russia, Czar approves work in Lapland, 172; in Finland, 175; Russian Bible Societyprojected, 177-78,191-94; needs of Esthonia and Livonia, 178; Scottish Mission at Karass, 179-80; Moravian settlement at Sarepta, 181 ; the Czar sanctions St Petersburg Bible Society [q.v.), 195 ; it becomes Russian Bible Society (q.v.), 222; dearth of Geor- gian Scriptures — preparation of Russ (Modern) version {q,v.); the Sclav- onic version, 223 ; tour of Dr Pinker- ton, 408 - 10 ; Drs Paterson and Henderson, 411-13; words of Sera- phim at Moscow Anniversary, 411 ; his change after preferment, 412, 416-17; Jesuit intrigues, 415-16; Protestant branch societies, 417 ; the Russian Bible Society suspended, 418 ; Protestant Bible Society established, 419, 422; the Societ)r's grants (1817- 34), 419 ; work of Rev. R. Knill, 420 Russian Bible Society, formerly St Petersburg Bible Society (q.v.), 222; Czar's personal interest in its work, 223, 404 ; gift of Bible House, 224 ; progress, 224, 227, 230, 492 ; Mr Pinkerton's tour, 225 ; Papal opposi- tion, 229; anniversary of 181 9 — a notable assemblage, 404-8 ; variety of translations and issues, 406-7, 491 ; effects of the work, 408, 414; issue of Russ Scriptures, 413 ; alarm of the clergy, 414 ; resignation of Prince Galitzin, 416; policy of his successor. Seraphim the Metropolitan, 416-18 ; the Society suspended, 418 ; summary of its work, 419, 420 Ryder, Hon. and Rev. Henry, Vice- President, 64, 317, 355, 376, 382 Sabat, his Arabic translation, 275, 283 ; his career, 289-91 Sacy, De, his French version, 206, 218 Baron Sylvestre de, revises Turkish New Testament, 390 ; literary apprecia- tion of the Society's work, 392 ; under- ' takes Oriental versions, 396 Saigor Islands, dearth of Scriptures, 288 Sailors, Scriptures for, see Seamen St Euphemius, Georgian translation, 409 St Gall Bible Society, 189, 210, 488; the Apocrypha question, 437 St Helena, Auxiliary, 132; Napoleon at, 132, 209 St Kitt's, 255, 256 St Martin, M., revises Modern Armenian version, 396 St Petersburg, Rev. J. Paterson's visit — proposed Bible Society, 191 - 93, 194 ; Czar Alexander sanctions St Petersburg Bible Society (q.v.), 195; Sir Gore Ousele/s visit — Henry Martyn's Persian version, 219-22; Borrow engaged to print Manchu version, 383 ; Rev. R. Knill's efforts, 420 Bible Society, 193-9S, 222 ; early progress, 196, 219; becomes Russian Bible Society {q.v.), 222, 491 St Thomas (Apostle), in "India" — " Christians of St Thomas," 296-97 (Island), the first Moravian Mission, 255« St Vincent, Granville Sharp and the Caribs, 256 Salt, Mr, his good offices in Egypt, 140 San Domingo (Hayti), Scriptures for, 255, 257, 258 ; its political changes, 257 INDEX 509 Sanskrit version, 274, 282, 292 Santa Cruz (St Croix) Bible Society, 445. Sarkies, Mr Johannes, Scriptures for Armenians — his offer, 287 Saxon Bible Society, 202, 204 ; Scrip- tures for the Wends, 204, 424, 427, 428 ; progress, 434, 488 ; Apocrypha difiaculty, 435, 437 Schafifhausen Bible Society, 210, 488 Schelling, Erlangen Auxiliary, 432 Schnell, Emanuel, Hon. Life Governor, 384 Schools, Scriptures for — Glasgow (Roman Catholic), 99 ; Irish, 112, 114, 371-72 ; South African, 132; Polish, 156; French, 397 ; Pestalozzi's school, 426 ; cheap edition for Sunday schools, 380 Schreder, Mr H., member of first Com- mittee, 16 Schroter, Rev. Mr, Norse translation for Faroe Islanders, 445 Schwabe, Dr, work in Germany, etc., 202-3, 205; Life Governor, 312 Schwartz, the missionary, 261 ; East India Company's tribute, 265-66 Schwarzel, German version, 147 Scilly Isles, 105 Sclavonic version, 187, 223 Scotland, privilege of the King's Printers, 8, 347 ; early support from Presby- teries, 22, 84 ; condition of the Low- lands in 1804, 86 ; rise and effect of Scottish Auxiliaries, 94 ; independence of action reserved, 96-97 ; formation of Associations and Branches, 97 ; French prisoners of war, 98, 124 ; the Apocry- pha controversy, 337, 339, 344-46, 349 ; Dr Thomson's violence, 346 ; new Auxiliaries formed, 346, 348 ; cholera visitation (1831-32), 362; Sabbath service on an emigrant ship, 374 ; Dr Paterson's Agency, 392 ; Auxiliary system up to 1816-17, 482- 84 ; see also Highlands Scott, Rev. Thomas, dearth of Scriptures in Wales — correspondence of Rev. T. Charles, 6, 468 ; his influence on Carey, 268 ; his death, 378 Sir Walter, and Dr Leyden, 283 Scottish Bible Society, 95 Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 3, 90; its co-operation, 84, 91 Seaman, Rev. W., his Tartar-Turkish translation, 179 Seamen, etc. , Scriptures for— Naval and Military Bible Society, 3, 328; first Marine Bible Society, 119, 326; Thames Union Bible Committee, 326 ; Merchant Seamen's Auxiliary, 326-28 Sebastiani, L., Persian version, 283 Serampore, Baptist missionaries at, 259, 260, 269-70 ; progress of their trans- lations, 267, 274, 282, 284, 292, 377- 78 ; printing office burned, 284 Seraphiin, Metropolitan of St Petersburg — changes after his preferment, 411- 1 2 ; president of Russian Bible Society, 416-18 Servia, dearth of Scriptures, 157 Sharp, Granville, presides at inaugural meeting of the Society, 1 1 ; member of first Committee, 16; first contribu- tor to Society's library, 26 ; sketch of. 32-35. his hfe-work, 132, 256, 314 ; Life Governor, 312 ; his death, 313-15 Mr William, 66 Shore, Hon. Henry Dundas, death in France, 343 Hon. Charles John, Vice-President, 376 ; tour in Scandinavia, 457 Shusha, Scriptures for Basel Missionaries, 442 Sibthorp, Rev. R. W., Hon. Life Governor, 384 ; visits Continental Auxiliaries, 436-37, 440-41 Sicily, a Bible tour, 139-40 Sierra Leone, Auxiliary formed, 133-34 Sikh version, 282 Simeon, Rev. Charles, at Earlham, 75 ; friendship with David Brown and Claudius Buchanan, 272 ; influence on Henry Martyn, 275 ; reply to Dr Marsh's charges, 3o6« ; attitude on Apocrypha question, 341 Singanfu, Nestorian tablet, 298 Sinhalese Scriptures, Netherlands version, 286 ; Tolfrey's revision, 286 Skara, Swedish Auxiliary, 217, 448, 490 Skipsholm, Swedish Marine Bible Society, 448 Skurlason, Bishop Thorlak, revises Icelandic version, 164 Slavery, Abolition of, efforts of Granville Sharp, 36, 314; Wilberforce, 36, 385 ; Abolition Bill passed, 385-86; Scriptures for the emancipated slaves, 386-87 ; the negroes' midnight service, Sleswick - Holstein Bible Society, 216, 489 ; Scriptures printed at Deaf and Dumb Institution, 447 ; progress, 448, 454, 460 ; the Apocrypha regulations, 454 Smissen, Mr James Gisbert van der. Life Governor, 312 Smith, Rt. Hon. C, Lord Mayor of London, 326 5IO INDEX Smith, Mr Joseph, member of first Com- mittee, 1 6 Sydney, attack on the Society, 267 Mr Thomas, first Collector, 1 5 Rev. Dr, Gaelic translator, 16 S.P.C.K., founded, 3 ; dearth of Welsh Scriptures, 5, 6 ; publishes early Manx Scriptures, 107-8 Society for Promoting Christian Know- ledge among the Poor (1750), 3 S.P.G., its objects, 3 Society of Friends to the Hebrew Nation, 37S for the Support and Encourage- ment of Sunday Schools, 3 Socinianism, charge against the Society's French version, 332 ; see also Tests controversy Soldiers, Scriptures for, 119, 274, 329; see also Prisoners of War South Africa, see Africa, South America, Scriptures for, 231, 255 Squthey replies to Sydney Smith, 267 ; attacks the Society's versions, 361 ; attack on Van Ess, 439 Soulhwark Auxiliary, work of its Associa- tions, 56 ; early contributions, 475 Spain, issue of Scriptures, loi, 103, 231 Sparke, Rev. Dr, opposes the Society, 308-9 Stael, Baron de, 393 Staffordshire Auxiliary, 69, 473 Stainforth, Mr R., member of first Com- mittee, 16 Stavanger, Auxiliary, 450; dep6t opened, 459-60 Steinheil, Count, good_, offices in Finland, 174; president of Abo Bible Society, 175 Steinkopff, Rev. C. F. A., connection with R.T.S., 9, 23, 161 ; takes part in first meeting, 12 ; appointed secretary, 15 ; sketch of, 43 ; first European tour, 183, 184-89 ; meets the Czar Alexander in London, 199 ; second European tour, 210-11, 231 ; Life Governor, 312 ; visits Pastor Oberlin, 331 ; attitude on Apocrypha question, 341 ; resignation, 381 ; fourth European tour, 428-31 ; fifth con- tinental journey, 431 Stephen, Mr James, member of first Committee, 16 ; the Clapham circle, 30. 32 . Stereotyping, 22, 148 Steven, Mr Robert, member of first Committee, i6 Stockfleth, Rev. Mr, Kwain version, 452 Stockholm, Swedish Bible Society (?.».), 174; DrPaterson establishes Agency, 458, 460 Stowell, Rev. Hugh, Scriptures to emancipated slaves, 386 Strasburg Bible Society, 393, 425 Stratton, Mr G. F., organises Oxford- shire Auxiliary, 307 ; Hon. Life Governor, 384 Stuart, Rev. James, Gaelic translator, 90 Rev. Dr John, Gaelic translator, 91 Suffolk Auxiliary, 55, 67 Sumner, Bishop (Winchester), his part in Tests controversy, 355 ; Vice- President, 376, 382 Bishop (Chester), his part in Tests controversy, 355 ; Vice-President — Archbishop of Canterbury, 376 Sunday Schools, see Schools Sunderland Auxiliary, scarcity of Scriptures, 97 .Sundius, Mr C., member of first Com- mittee, 16, 45 ; Hon. Life Governor, 312 Surinam, 251 ; Moravian Mission at Paramaribo, 252 Swabia, 24, 423 Swansea, first Welsh Auxiliary, 67, 472 Sweden, Swedish Evangelical Society (q.v.), 169, 174; dearth of Scriptures, 169, 449, 458; war with Russia, 170; northern tour of Paterson and Hender- son, 171 ; Lapponese Scriptures dis- tributed by Royal Chancery, 171-72 ; war with England, 173 ; Dr Brunn- mark's tours, 201, 219 ; Swedish Bible Society (q.v.) formed, 174, 201 ; effects of the work, 217, 450; expenditure of the Committee (1805-17), 219; Apocrypha difficulty, 453 ; Dr Pinkerton's visit, 454 ; Hon. Charles Shore, 457 ; Stockholm Agency founded, 458, 460 ; grants (1817-34), 460 Swedish Bible Society, formed, 201 ; its Auxiliaries, 217, 490; episcopal support — effects of early efforts, 216-17; i's later progress, 448, 449, 450, 457, 460 ; the Apocrypha difficulty, 435, 453, 455, 458 ; friendly relations, 443, 456, 458 ; first Ladies' Society, 449 Evangelical Society, founded, 169, 490; its efforts, 172, 173, 185, 219; becomes Swedish Bible Society {q-v.), 201 Switzerland, Romanese Scriptures for the Grisons, 144, 146, 185 ; SteinkopfPs visit, 210 ; progress of work, 2ii, 218, 434, 443 ; Owen's visit, 329, 425, 426 ; Auxiliaries issue monthly pubhcation, 426 ; Ostervald's French Bible — breach of Society's regulations, 432 INDEX 5" Sydney, in 1793, 122 Syriac version, 102, 103, 295, 377, 397 ; antiquity of text, 296 ; portion of Old Testament and Hymnary found in China, 298 Syrian Churches, in South India, visit of Claudius Buchanan, 279, 295 ; " Christians of St Thomas," 296-97 Tahiti, Rev. W. Ellis issues first Gospel, 302 Tamil version, 277 ; work at Madras, 278, 293 ; Calcutta Auxiliary, 294, 29s Tarn, Mr, Assistant Secretary, 9, 15, 45, 468 Tartar-Turkish version, work at Karass, 179 ; issue of Scriptures, 180, 226, 230 ; Old Testament found at Chufut Kale, 226 Tasmania, 129 Tegn^r, Bishop, and Apocrypha, 456 Teignmouth, Lord, approves idea of Bible Society, 1 1 ; first President, 19- 20, 332; Clapham circle, 31; sketch of) 39 ■ 42, 366 - 67 ; replies to Dr Wordsworth, 304 ; influence of the Society's work, 302^ ; Apocrypha controversy, 339 -.341. 346», 43s; pathetic coincidence, 343-44 ; Tests controversy, 355-56 ; his death, 365 Telugu (Telinga) version, 274, 282, 293 ; Ananda Ayer's translation, 283 Tengstrom, Archbishop, work in Fin- land, 174, 195, 422 Tests Controversy, 354 ; constitutional objections, 355 ; the meeting in Exeter Hall, 356-59 ; the Committee's state- ment, 357 ; amendments proposed and negatived, 357-59 ; action of dis- sentients, 359-60 Thames Union Bible Committee, 326 Tholuck, Professor, German students and the Scriptures, 442 Thomason, Thomas, 259, 276 ; secretary at Calcutta, 285 ; in England, 353 ; Hon. Life Governor, 384 Thompson, Rev. Marmaduke, Hon. Life Governor, 384 Thomson, Rev. Dr Andrew, and the Apocrypha, 345-46 Thorkehn, Justiciary, his good offices, 166 Thorlaksson, Rev. Jon, Icelandic poem to the Society, 213-16 Thornton, Henry, approves idea of Bible Society, 13; Vice-President, 20; sketch of, 35-36 ; befriends Claudius Buchanan, 272 ; his death, 296, 315 John (the elder), 6, 122 Thornton, John, Treasurer, 316 Thuringian Bible Society, Erfurt, 203, 205,488 Thyselius, Bishop, befriends the cause, 449 Tingstadius, Bishop, new Swedish version, 448 Tobago, 256 Tobolsk, Russian Auxiliary, 406 Tolfrey, Mr W., Pali and Siiihalese versions, 286 Townsend, Rev. John, Life Governor, 312 Tranquebar, Danish Mission, 261, 293 Travancore, L.M.S. Mission, 264; Malayalam Scriptures, 279 Treschow, Rev. Peter, tour in Norway, 451-52 Trinidad, 256 Trinitarian Bible Society, 360 Tsse-Ako, Morrison's first convert, 301 Turabi, revises Turkish version, 392 Turkey, condition of Christians in Asiatic provinces, 139 ; Scriptures for "the Seven Apocalyptic Churches," 141 ; condition of European Christians, 157 ; war of Greek Independence, 412, 413 Turkish version, Ali Bey's translation, 203, 388, 408 ; issue of New Testa- ment, 332, 390; Prof. Kieffer's re- vision — objections of Drs Paterson and Henderson, 389-92; issue of Old Testament, 392 Twining, Mr, opposes work in India, 266-67 Tyndale Ward Auxiliary, 55 Udny, George, 260, 264, 269 Ulfilas, Bishop, Gothic version, 26 ; (the Codex Argenteus), 455 Ulster, Synod of, Bible Committee, 111-12 U.S.A., Scriptures for Highlanders, 93 ; prisoners of war in Great Britain, 126- 27 ; its growth, 236 ; population in 1800, 237 ; its literary men, 238-39 ; first independent production of English Bible, 239 ; reaction of religious thought, 240 ; the first Bible Societies, 241-48 ; summary of Societies and Asso- ciations in 1814, 244 ; war with Britain, 246 ; seizure of Scriptures, 246 - 47 ; progress of work (1815-16), 247; early grants from London, 248 ; American Bible Society [q^v.] established, 249 ; expansion of territory, 250 Upsala, Swedish Auxiliary, 217, 448, 490 ; Apocrypha regulations, 454 ; Dr Pinkerton's visit, 455 512 INDEX Urdu version, see Hindustani Usko, Rev. J. F. , superintends Modern Greek version, 137 Valpy, Dr Richard, 66 Vansittart, Henry, 368 Right Hon. Nicholas (Lord Bexley), Vice-President, 64, 332 ; replies to Dr Marsh, 71, 306 ; Tests controversy, 3SS. 356 ; President of the Society, 367 ; sketch of, 368-69 Vaud, Canton de, Bible Society, see Lausanne Vincent, Dean, Vice-President, 64, 316 Vorm, Dr Petrus Van der, Malay trans- lator, 288 Wagner, Mr Anthony, member of first Committee, 16 Waldbach Bible Society, 161, 329 Waldeck and Pyrmont Bible Society, 489 Waldenses, love of the Bible, 17, 186 ; Bible Society, 489 Wales, scarcity of Scriptures, 5-7, 9-10, 468 ; early support from, 22 ; Auxili- aries, 69, 472, 476-81 ; first issues of Welsh Scriptures, 23, loi, 103-4 j their reception, 104 ; later eflForts, 353 ; story of Mary Jones, App. L, 465-70 Walker, Dr, Manx translator, 106 Wallachia, dearth of Scriptures, 157, 227 Ward, Rev. William, Baptist missionary at Serampore, 259-60, 270 ; in Eng-. land, 377 Rev. William (rector of Myland), replies to Dr Wordsworth, 305 ; Vice- President, 376 Warde, General, 129 Warner, Levin, Turkish version, 388 Warren, Dr, Bishop of Bangor, 22 Watson, Bishop (Llandafif), Vice-Presi- dent, 64, 316 Welsh version. Rev. T. Charles revises, 25-26 Wendish version, 204, 424, 427, 428 Werninck, Rev. Dr, Life Governor, 312 Wesel, Prussian Auxiliary at, 210, 487 Wessenberg, Baron von, his efforts in Switzerland, 423 West Africa, see Africa, West Westeras, Swedish Auxiliary, 201, 448, 490 West Indies, 255-58 ; progress of negro population, 256 ; Scriptures for eman- cipated slaves, 385-87 ; Creole Scrip- tures, 445 Westminster, first Ladies' Bible Society, 59, 61 ; Auxiliary, 59, 81 Wexio, Swedish Auxiliary, 217, 448, 490 ; the Apocrypha, 456 Whitbread, Mr Samuel, 81 Wicliffe, 81, 187 Wilberforce, William, approves idea of Bible Society, 11 ; member of first Committee, 16; Vice-President, 20, 63; sketch of, 31-32, 36-38, 75, 122, 385 ; influence on East Indian policy, 165 ; Tests controversy, 355 ; his death, 384-86 William I. of Wiirtemberg, presents Bible House to Wiirtemberg Bible Society, 430 ; receives Dr Steinkopfi', 431 Williams, Rev. John, incident at anni- versary meeting (1836), 379-80 Rev. Mr, of Birmingham, antici- pates Bible Associations, 53 Wilson, Bishop, Manx translator, 106 Rev. Daniel, Tests controversy, 358; Vice-President, 376; Hon. Life Governor, 384 Mr Joseph, member of first Com- mittee, 16 Wingard, Bishop, attitude on Apocrypha question, 454 Winnipeg, its growth, 236 Wisby, Swedish Auxiliary, 201, 448, 490 Wittenberg Auxiliary, 432 Wittman, Regens, Ratisbon Bible Society — his German version, 147, 430 Wolif, Mr George, member of the first Committee, 16 Rev. Mr, Eskimo translator, 446 Wordsworth, Rev. Dr, attack on the Society, 304-5 Wiirtemberg Bible Society, 189, 488 ; its progress, 430, 432, 434 ; Queen's interest, 211 ; ICing's gift of Bible House, 430 ; Apocrypha regulations, 437 Wuyk, Polish version, 204, 413 Yakutsk, 406 York Auxiliary, 78 Youghal Bible Society, 112 Zay, Baroness de, work in Hungary, 186 Ziegenbalg, Danish Missionary in India, 261 Zirian version, undertaken by Russian Bible Society, 414 Zohrab, Dr, his Armenian (Modern) version, 396 Ziirich Bible Society, i8g, 210, 488 ; Apocrypha difficulty, 435 PRINTED AT THE EDINBUKGH PRESS, 9 AND II YOUNG STREET. This Laber mu^gn no account be detached from this book, ngifner may the figures thereon be altered. '^ I A ^«J g^ ^JF^ f ^