YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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THE LIBRARY OF THE
DIVINITY SCHOOL

*

THE DAY MISSIONS LIBRARY

MEMOIR

OP THE LATE

ANTHONY NORMS GROVES,

CONTAINING

(fiatafai km |b fattens attb Jtarrak

COMPILED BY HIS WIDOW.

"Biography is the history of what God has done; and its faithfulness is its
profitableness," (Page 525.)

LONDON :
JAMES NISBET & CO., BERNEBS STREET.
BRISTOL :
SOLD AT THE BIBLE AND TRACT WAREHOUSE OF THE SCRIPTURAL KNOWLEDGE
INSTITUTION FOR HOME AND ABROAD, 34 PARK STREET.
1856.

Yale Divinity Library
jjfett Haven, Conn.

v\Jd\

J. B. BATEMAN, PRINTER,
I IVY LANE,
PATERNOSTER BOW.

PREFACE.

It has been the editor's aim, to give as much as possible
the history of this dear servant of God in his own words ;
interspersing only a few notices, in order to make the records
left in his own writing more intelligible to strangers. The
journal of his residence in Bagdad, published in 1831,
having been some time out of print and often enquired for,
it has been thought desirable to introduce into this memoir
an abstract of the less interesting parts and copious extracts
from the remainder. In the present divided state of the
Church, it may be found useful to review the life of one,
whose whole history illustrates the possibility, amidst every
division, of remaining a witness to the true unity of the one
family of God, of rejoicing in every display of the grace of
God, and of joyfully acknowledging His work, wherever it
was manifested.
Throughout his whole course, Mr. Groves fully acted out
what he often delighted to express, that he felt more united
with Christians for what he saw the Spirit of God had
wrought in them, than separated from them on account of
differences of judgment.
.. ' An extract from a letter from a well known missionary
may take the place of any prefatory remarks on the part
of the editor : —
" I rejoice to learn that there is to be a memoir of so

PKEFACE.

devoted a man as my late revered friend, Mr. Groves ; and
right glad should I be to contribute the humblest mite
towards it. Speaking for myself, I can simply say, that my
feelings of esteem, and reverence, and love for him, were
only enhanced by increased converse and more familiar
fellowship with him. Apart altogether from his peculiar
views, or even in spite of some of them, I could not help
regarding him as one of the most loving and loveable of all
Christian men ; while the singular fervency of his spirit
made it quite contagious, diffusing all around the savour of
1 unearthly sanctity and self-consuming devotedness. 0, that
a double portion of His Spirit would descend upon all our
drowsy and sleeping Churches throughout Christendom !
The Lord grant that professing disciples, in this luxurious
age of self-pleasing and self-indulgence, may, at least, learn
from his example the lesson which they preeminently need,
and which he was honoured of God preeminently to teach,
and that is, the lesson of real scriptural self denial, the
divine lesson of taking up the cross, forsaking all, and fol
lowing the Lord I " I remain, dear Mrs. Groves,
" Yours sincerely in the Lord,
" Alexander Duff.''

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
His birth and family circumstances. — His educational and professional es-
tablishmant. — His residence in Exeter. — Early history of his protege,
Dr. Kitto. ^Exertions for Mr. Alexander and other converted Jews. —
Letters to Mr. Caldecott.- — Sketch of that much esteemed friend.
page 1 to 13.
CHAPTER II.
Introduction. — Mr. Groves'a autobiography, commencing with his earliest
missionary impressions and extending to the period when he determined
to go to Persia. — Observations on his influence on others . . 14 to 28.
CHAPTER III.
Continuation of the autobiography, with a sketch of his religious views, and
the origin of those convictions which originally distinguished the
Christians called " Plymouth Brethren." — ¦ Letters to Mr. Caldecott. 29 to 37.
CHAPTER IV.
Preparation for departure for Persia. — The missionary party. — Unexpected
provision for the voyage. — Stay at Petersburgh. — Journey through
Russia. — Arrival at Bagdad  38 to 62.
CHAPTER V.
Mr. Groves seeks access to the poor of Bagdad, through the exercise of his
Surgical skill. — The language and population. — Religious condition of
the people. — Mr. Groves takes a house and commences an Arabic
school. — Arminian schoolmaster. — Satisfactory progress of the children.
— The Jews at Bagdad. — Political state of the Pashalic— Quarrels of
the nominal christians. — Dangerous state of the country. — Approach of
pestilence — Mr. Groves's feelings at the close of his first year's resi
dence at Bagdad  63 to 98.
CHAPTER VI.
Supply of their temporal wants. — Full peace in the prospect of pestilence. —
Opportunities of usefulness. — Promising state of the school. — Actual
appearance of the plague. — Dissolution of the school. — Eesolutions
of Mr. and Mrs. Groves to abide at their post. — Awful mortality. —
Feelings of the people. — Danger of inundation. — Mr. Groves exerts
himself to save the property of the Resident. — Difficulties as to the burial
of the dead. — Four thousand dying daily. — Multitudes of orphans. —

IV CONTENTS.
Inundation of the city. — Preservation of the missionary family till
the end of the plague. — More than half the population swept away in
two months. — Description of the disease. — Illness of Mrs. Groves. —
Her calmness and faith.— Her suffering and peaceful departure.— Others
of the household attacked. — Mr. Groves's arrangements and feelings in
prospect of his own removal. — His happy confidence when attacked
by the plague. — His speedy recovery, — Decrease of the pestilence. —
Preservation of Mrs. Groves's children. — The review of their work, and
and of his beloved wife's preparedness for her heavenlyrest. . 99 to 154.

CHAPTER VII.
The man of faith amidst scenes of terror and desolation. — Commencement
of the siege of Bagdad. — Conflicting reports. — Mr. Groves's new trials. —
His conversations with his patients.' — His danger from the balls and
shells of the besiegers. — Observations on various subjects. — Misery of
the besieged. — Lawlessness of those within. — Mr. Groves loses his be
loved infant. — His visit to the Pasha.— Provision in time of famine. —
Entrance of the new Pasha. — Mr. Groves's illness. — Restoration of tran
quillity at Bagdad.— Mr. Groves's letter  155 to 197.
CHAPTER VIII.
Circumstances of Mr. Groves's departure from Bagdad. — His arrival in
Bombay. — His voyage along the western coast of India. — His visits
to missionary stations. — Notes of his daily meditations on the
scriptures  198 to 236.
CHAPTER IX.
Journey inland to Palamcottah. — The TinneveUy mission. — The journey
with Mr. Rhenius. — Visit to missionary stations up the country. — First
visits to the Nilgherry Hills  227 to 223.
CHAPTER X.
Coimbatore. — Palanquin journey to Trichinopoly. — Visit to Schwartz's
successor and other missionaries. — Arrival on the eastern coast. 
Visit to Jaffna. — Mr. Groves's great interest in that mission.—
Return to the continent of India. — Journey along the eastern coast to
Madras  244 to 262.
CHAPTER XI.
Voyage from Madras to Calcutta in a little French Brig. — Mr. Groves's
objects and thoughts in connection with the Lord's work in India. 
Striking appearance of Calcutta. — Intercourse with Archdeacon Corrie
and other servants of God in that city. — Happy visit to Serampore. 
Visits to other missionary stations.— Journey along the Banks of the
Ganges. ^-Satisfactory Visit to Morghier  263 to 282

COIN TENTS.

CHAPTER XII.

Visit to Patna. — Intercourse with Mr. Start.— Visits to BeuareB, Chura, and
Jaunpore. — Second Visist to Burdwan and its results. — Second Visit to
Calcutta. — Letter to Mr. C. on the only way of leading a holy Life.—
Intercourse with Christians in Calcutta.— Mrs. Wilson's school. — Dr.
Duffs Institution. — Motives of Mr. Groves's return to England. Dr.
Duff's Illness  • •  r  283 to 305.
CHAPTER XIII.
Mr. Groves sails from Calcutta in company with Dr. Duff, and other inter
esting fellow-passengers. — Circumstances of the voyage to Madras. —
His visit there, and happy parting prayer with Mr. Tucker.' — Bible
Studies. — Services on Board. — Loss of his Bible. — Discomfort of the
voyage. — Refreshing visit to the Cape. — Voyage home. — Occasional
Services and Observations on Scripture. — Thoughts on Commending
Ourselves to every man's Conscience.- A gale of wind off the Cape. — ¦
Description of the scenery, and of Cape Town. — Interview with Mr,
and Mrs. Deck. — -Meditations on many subjects. — H3 speaks to passen
gers on decision in God's things, also on the love of God. — Finds no
resting place but the ark. — Diligence to the end in the study of the
"Word.— Thoughts when near England  306 to 340.
CHAPTER XIV.
Mr. Groves reaches England. — Visits Germany and Switzerland in quest of
labourers.— Meets with great success. — Returns to England. — His Mar
riage. — He sails for India with his missionary party. — Residence in
Madras. — Arrival of the Bagdad brethren. — Trials in connection with
the TinneveUy mission. — Visit of Mr. G. Baynes, who joins the
mission. — Departure of the Brethren from Bagdad  341 to 355.
CHAPTER XV.
Removal to Chittoor. — Happy result of his English ministry. — Plans for a
self-supporting mission among the natives. — Missionary Tours. —
Accession of valuable missionary help. — Account of Macarthy and
Macfarlane, also of Mr. Walhouse. — Departure of Dr. and Mrs. Gun-
dert.— Death of Mr. Walhouse  356 to 381.

CHAPTER XVI.
Sketch of events from 1841 to 1845.— Mr. Groves's plan for a self-support
ing mission. — Favourable commencement of the attempts to cultivate
silk. — Happy state of the mission. — Source of subsequent trials. —
Failure of the Silk-worms.— Death of Mrs. H. Groves. — Runganotham,
the Brahmin.— Mr. Groves's adopted daughter.— His exposition of
Scripture in time of trial. — Progress of missionary work at Chittoor. —
Happy death of Mrs. T. Hull.— Extracts from letters. — Visits from Mr.
and Mrs. Lechler. — The Church not a widow  382 to 398.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVII.

Success of various plans for carrying on the Chittoor mission. — Mrs. Groves^'s
return to England.— Sudden reverse in circumstances.— Mr. Groves's
experience under trials, detailed in letters to his son, and to Mrs.
Groves.— Visit to Madras.— Ministry there among Christians. — Arrival
of Mr. and Mrs. F. Groves. - Return to Chittoor.— Visit to Bangalore. 399 to 429.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Continuation of Journal, 1849. —Mr. Groves visits Ootacamund' — Xind
reception by his friends. — Union with all saints. — Korah's Rebellion. —
Mrs. Gundert. — Happy result of his visit to many. — Catholicity of
Messrs. Fox and Noble.— Services on the Lord's Day. — Fluctuating
experience. — Pilgrim character of God's People. — Return to Chittoor
through Mysore and Bangalore.- — Honey in the Lion's Carcase. — English
School at Chittoor. — Church order and discipline. — Visits to many in
Madras. — Ministry in Black Town and other places. — Account of Dr.
Cleghorn. — Macarthy. — Notes of Poonamalee. — Aroolappen. — Union
with all. — Reflections on God's ways and many parts of Scripture. —
Faith in a dark day. — Madras city Mission. — Various Spiritual Reflec
tions  430 to 469.
CHAPTER XIX.
Mr. Groves visits England in 1848— His feelings on this occasion — Account
of overland route — Arrival in Bristol — Visits in Devonshire, London,
and Scotland — Return to Bristol — Events which took place there  Sails
to India — Reaches Chittoor — Account of his work there  Changes in
Society — Failure of his own health  460 to 479.
CHAPTER XX.
Failure of Mr. Groves's health — His return to England with Mrs. S. Groves
determined on — He parts with his family at Chittoor  Leaves Madras,
with Christian friends,_ by steamer, August 14th— Some account of
overland route — Experience of God's help, in sickness and various
trials by the way — He lands at Southampton, and goes to Bristol 
Some account of his ministry there — Happy visits at Barnstaple,
Bristol, and Tottenham— Variable accounts of his health— He visits
Sidmouth, Exmouth, and Torquay — Interest excited by him about
missions at Tottenham and Hackney — He visits Malvern  Rapid
decline in his health, and happy experience of God's help in sickness
—He returns to Bristol— Letters and Journals of various friends
describing the peace and triumph granted him at the last— Some
account of his death and funeral.  480 to 522
CHAPTER XXI.
Conclusion ,  523 to 534

MEMOIK

ANTHONY NOERIS GROVES.

CHAPTER I.
HIS BIRTH AND FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCES — HIS EDUCATION AND
PROFESSIONAL ESTABLISHMENT  HIS RESIDENCE AT EXETER —
EARLY HISTORY OF HIS PROTEGE, DR. KITTO — EXEETIONS FOR
MR ALEXANDER AND OTHER CONVERTED JEWS  LETTERS TO
MR. CALDICOTT — SKETCH OF THAT MUCH ESTEEMED FRIEND.
Anthony Norris Groves was born at Newton, in Hants, 1795.
He was one of six children. His father, who was originally in
a very prosperous business in Lymington, had a very generous
disposition ; was fond of giving liberally to others ; but being
of a speculative turn, he engaged in many things which lost
him the riches his business had gained. One undertaking was
the cultivation, by a new system of draining, of a property,
called Normandy, near the sea, on which he expended many
thousands ; but although the plan proved eventually successful,
the benefit was lost to his family. This resulted from his
finding himself under the necessity of disposing of the property
in the time of the war, for lack of funds to carry on the im
provements. Previous to this, a share he had in a large ship,
called the Royal George, was also lost, as the ship went down ;
and, lastly, he had a factory for refining salts, which, with his
B

2 mr. groves's mother.
son's help, succeeded well ; but, through the treachery of a
servant, who revealed the chemical secret to those able from
circumstances to produce the article more cheaply, its profits
were eventually lost. These trials early associated his son with
loss and discipline, as also three surviving daughters, who, being
unmarried at the time, were made to feel with their brother the
vanity of human expectations ; and are still spared to witness
. to the blessing of those higher possessions, which have many
years enabled them to account the glory of the world as dung
and loss, that they may win Christ. Two elder sister3 married
and died some years before the death of their brother.
Mr. Groves's mother seems to have been a most remarkable
woman, and her character left a deep impression on the hearts
of all her children. Her patience under reverses of fortune ;
her uncomplaining gentleness, combined with unusual energy,
and talents which enabled her to make the best of everything ;
her ability to bear without a word of complaint, or reflection
on others, the trials* which various undertakings had brought
upon her, were the prominent features in her character. She
died, after an illness of six months, July 24th, 1823. Being an
only son, Mr. Groves was greatly beloved by his parents and
sisters ; and his character, which was full of affection, made
him all a brother and a son could be ; so he was happy in his
family relations. His father spared no expense in his educa
tion. He was first placed at a school in Lymington, and after
wards with a Dr. Roy, at Fulham, where his aunt, Mrs.
Thompson, resided. It is at this time his own narrative begins.
On leaving Fulham, he learnt chemistry in London, with
Messrs. Savory and Moore; and, in after life, this science
proved very useful to him. He then availed himself of the
offer of Mr. Thompson, his uncle, an eminent dentist, practising
in George Street, Hanover Square, to learn that profession;
and, at the same time, walked the hospitals with a son of Mr.
Thompson, and acquired considerable surgical skill. This was
afterwards of much service to him, both in England and in
foreign lands. He was ever ready, at any hour of the night
or day, to afford his aid in cases of distress, and was very

HIS ESTABLISHMENT AT PLYMOUTH. 3
successful in many branches of surgery, as well as in his own
profession. He was so skilful as a dentist, that, at the age of
nineteen, he was able to support himself, besides being of use to
others. Plymouth was the place he first fixed on for practice ;
and, though his time was much occupied in professional pursuits,
he was able to devote himself to many scientific objects ; and
was a leading member of the Athenaeum, a literary society,
in which his talents were much appreciated. It was here, also,
he was able to profess himself a disciple of Christ, having owed
much to the ministry of Mr. Joseph Richards and Mr. Hitchins ;
but his entrance into the full liberty of gospel light did not
take place till some time after, in Exeter, where he was greatly
indebted to a Christian lady, Miss Paget, to whom, he says, he
ever looked up as his mother in the things of God. His clear
mind, and his readiness in expressing his thoughts, made him
a universal favourite ; and his society was much sought after.
Among his many christian friends may be mentioned Mr.
Whitlock Gandy, and Mr. Lampen, besides the two other
clergymen, Messrs. Richards and Hitchins, before alluded to.
One who knew him well at this time, writes to his sister, on
hearing of his removal : " How fondly do my thoughts turn to
the memory of those days, when the loving ways and acts of
your beloved brother, now resting in the peaceful bosom of the
Lamb, made us look upon him as the most interesting of human
beings. The years that have separated us from him, have had
no power in making us cease to love the memory of one we so
unfeigned] y esteemed, and affectionately remember, — one so
peculiarly attractive in all his Christian ways, towards every
being to whom he could do good, and lead onward, in the safe
and narrow path, to the heavenly fold of Jesus Christ."
In the year 1816, Mr. Groves was married to his cousin,
Mary Bethia Thompson, to whom he had formed a very early
attachment, which he represents in his own narrative as having
had a very marked influence upon his history. Soon after his
marriage, he removed from Plymouth to Exeter, which it was
thought would afford a wider field for his practice. It pleased
the Lord greatly to bless and prosper him there, in every way.

4 HIS. CONDUCT TO HIS RELATIONS.
He grew rapidly in the knowledge of God, having, as his own
narrative will show, a desire to fulfil all the will of God, as soon
as it was revealed to him. The energy with which he helped
forward every undertaking, which could benefit others, and his
extensive liberality, made him an object of. general interest.
The warmth of his family affections may be judged of by the
following anecdote, related by his sisters. — While fully en
gaged in his professional practice in Exeter, and in many public
objects, he was in the habit, during the months of his beloved
mother's last illness, of setting off, every Saturday afternoon,
for Hampshire, where he arrived in the middle of the night, so
as to take his turn in watching her, and returning early on
Monday. " Norris, you have only done too much for us," were
her last words to him. This remembrance of a beloved parent
was treasured by him to the day of his death. Many were
those who for years experienced under his own roof a father's
and a brother's care. One distant relative he brought up as
a younger brother ; taught him his profession ; and ultimately
gave him his practice. He provided, also, for another son of the
same family, and the sister he adopted from the age of three
years, and afterwards took her with him to India. But his
Christian benevolence was by no means confined to his relatives ;
many strangers experienced the same friendly aid, and heart
felt sympathy. An interesting instance of this occurred at
Plymouth. — When visiting the work-house, he became ac
quainted with a mason's boy, who, from an injury received in
falling from a ladder, had become completely deaf. This in
dividual was afterwards the well known Dr. Kitto, author of
the Pictorial Bible, and other works connected with biblical
literature. Some writings of the poor boy's, found on scraps
<5f paper, convinced Mr. Groves that he was gifted with a mind
superior to his circumstances ; and, with the aid of several
gentlemen, belonging to the literary society before alluded to,
he succeeded in getting him educated ; and, during the years in
which he could do nothing for himself, maintained him, as if he
had been a member of his own family. Afterwards Mr. Groves
had him taught printing, and paid a considerable sum to get

HIS CHRISTIAN LOVE. 5
him employment. He had for a time the charge of the mission
press at Malta ; and when, not liking the employment, he re
turned to England, Mr. Groves again received him into his
house ; and, not finding any suitable provision for him, took
him with him to Bagdad.
Many are still spared who can bear witness to Mr. Groves's
activity, even in these early days, in that which had more im
mediately to do with the work of God, and helping forward
His kingdom. Among those of most public interest, who owed
much to his Christian love and help, may. be mentioned Mr..
Alexander, at first a Jewish Rabbi at Plymouth, afterwards
Bishop of Jerusalem. In him, Mr. Groves took the deepest
interest, and was among those who helped him on in the,
knowledge of Christ. He was baptized at St. Andrew's
church, at Plymouth, by Mr. Hatchard. Mr. Groves was
also very instrumental in establishing in the knowledge of
Christ two other Jews, Belsom and Abraham by name, who
were led to Exeter to enquire about Mr. Alexander's baptism.
Both of them, in the end, were baptized, and became teachers
of the gospel.* One more individual remains to be noticed, as
among those on whom his intercourse had a very marked effect.
This was his beloved friend, the Rev. Mr. Caldicott, formerly
curate of Claybrook, the nephew of one for whom Mr. Groves
had a great regard, the Rev. John Marriott, of Broad Clyst,
near Exeter. Mr. Caldicott attributed to his intercourse with
Mr. Groves much of that devotedness of spirit, which so cha
racterized his whole Christian course, and made him a bright
and shining light : they were men of the same mind ; greatly
united in spirit ; and remarkable both for their devotedness
to the Lord and that catholicity of spirit, which made them
desire union and intercourse with every part of the family of
God. The character of their intercourse, and his. own progress,
at this time, may be judged of by extracts of letters, kindly
supplied by Mrs. Caldicott, which throw much light on the
state of Mr. Groves's mind, during many years of his residence
* For further particulars see Appendix A.

6 ON PREPARATION FOR MINISTRY.
in Exeter, embracing that period specially dwelt on in this
short Sketch. He writes, June 2nd, 1825, to Mr. Caldicott,
who was then about to enter the Church of England : —
" I know no circumstance that can occur to a pilgrim on this
earth half so important as being prepared by God Himself for
the ministry of His word. That you are thus preparing I feel
the fullest persuasion ; and that God will bear witness to your
ministry, if you follow on to know the Lord. If I might be
allowed to rejoice in one thing more than another, it is in the
singleness of heart and eye, which I trace growing within
you. I say this, not because it accords with my views of
Christian duty, but because I am sure it is the way to find the
largest measure of happiness even earthly things can yield ;
besides, and above all, being the key that unlocks those things
in the Divine word, which are hard to understand, and for this
reason, that we come to the consideration of them with hearts
pre-occupied by a ready made decision, more in union with the
worldly systems, by which we are pressed on every side. And,
against all this overwhelming influence, there is but one remedy,
to read the word of God with a single view to know His will,
by whom it was inspired ; and then the baseless nature of all
systems but the one that has a single and undivided reference
to the glory of God, and the advancement of His kingdom,
appears as clearly as if it were the subject of material vision.
I believe the delusions of Satan in this matter are more nu
merous and subtle than in any other ; because he knows if he
can but poison the fountains of life, so that those who drink
with the appetite of the sick, seeking to be healed, find that
which should have been an instrument of their health turned
into a means of destruction, he has gained a momentous victory,
and so much the more as it is over those he always dreads, the
Bible readers. I do most heartily rejoice to see you lie so
humbly at the foot of our dear Lord's cross ; for whilst I know
it to be the only true exaltation, my foolish wicked heart, at
times, despises those waters of Siloa which run softly. O that
I could feel my heart like a weaned child, mourning after Him
who should be all its desire !  I will not deny the

MR. AND MRS. ALEXANDER. 7
pleasure it affords me to know that you esteem me instrumental,
in however small a degree, to your spiritual improvement, by
scattering God's heavenly seed on the rich soil of your heart ;
for it is indeed a higher honour than to be the medium of all
earthly blessings. Oh, that you may bear fruit to His praise !
For, I trust, that however diverse our situation and circum
stances may be here, in eternity we shall be glorifying together
Him from whom all blessings flow."
Another letter, dated Exeter, June 22nd, 1825, commences
with similar expressions of thankfulness, and continues thus : —
" Kitto is accepted by the Society, as a Printer, and is going
on Friday week to town, for two years, to learn his business ;
after which he goes whithersoever they may think it light to
send him. I thank God for this proof of His love to me : I
have engaged to pay £50 a year, for the two years, which I
hope to raise with the help of my friends.
" Our missionary meeting is to be on the 18th or 19th of next
month, and Mr. Bickersteth is to be my guest, when much that
relates to my future history will probably be put in train. Ah !
my dear friend, it is a glorious cause, and one much at variance
with the snares, temptations and allurements of this world. It
has, doubtless, its own peculiar trials, but they are spiritual. — •
I know no state where such close communion with God is
•necessarily kept up, as where you are almost placed, like the
ravens, to be fed day by day from your Father's hands.
" To-morrow, two very interesting individuals are coming to
.spend some time with me ; Mr. and Mrs. Alexander. — He is,
or rather was, the Jewish Rabbi at Plymouth ; he is a most
respectable and highly estimable young man, of about twenty-
ifive ; he has long been anxiously searching the New Testament,
for the truth as it is in Jesus, and has at length fully embraced
it, giving up all worldly possessions and prospects, and casting
himself on his and our dear Master's bounty, who will, I have
no doubt, feed him with the fulness of His house. His baptism
is to be administered to-day, by Mr. Hatchard, after which he
returns to our house, away from the persecutions and trials of
Plymouth. His Jewish connections there, were the day before

8 ON SIMPLE RELIANCE ON GOD.
yesterday, thronging his house to persuade him to draw back ;
but, I trust, by God's grace, he has stood firm, and will become
a bright and shining light to his brethren."
A day or two later, he adds : —
" The individuals alluded to above are now staying with me,
and indicate sincere and affectionate devotedness to the Lord,
in whom we have righteousness and peace. They have very
strong missionary feelings, especially Mrs. A., and these, by
God's blessing, will, I hope, be deepened during their stay with
us, which we, at present, imagine may be some three or four
months.'' "June 26th. — Since we parted, 1 have had, on many occasions;
to stand in defence of those views which I feel to be so essentially
connected with that great characteristic of the gospel- dispensa
tion, love and simple reliance on God. Every review of the
word of God, as well as the steps by which I have arrived at
my present conclusions from that word, convince me, that self-
devotion, in the largest sense, is the indisputable claim of Christ
from His members ; and, as a corollary, that, therefore, it is the
highest happiness of a Christian, and the instrumentality by
which God will most essentially bless His Church.
" The soul that, in very deed, casts all cares for the future on
Him who careth for us, and has told us that our Heavenly
Father knows our necessary wants, so that He would not have
us careful or anxious about them, is of all created beings the
happiest upon earth  The state of mind most to be avoided
by a searcher after truth is, deciding with the understanding that
a course is right, but with the will and affections determining
against pursuing it : it destroys all honest dealing with God.
"May our Heavenly Father bless you with all spiritual
blessings ; giving you light to see His truth, and grace to follow
it with all your heart !" " Exeter, July <28th.
"My very dear Friend,
" ' Grace unto you and peace be multiplied from
God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,'— and may this
grace prove sufficient for you, in every trial to which you may

MR. BICKERSTETH. 9
be exposed ; and may the holy, lovely image of our dear Lord
and Master, shine so brightly in you, that you may be in your
generation as a ' light set on a hill !'
" We have been peculiarly privileged, during the last week,
by having dear Mr. Bickersteth with us for three days. A
more holy, single hearted man, I do not recollect having ever
met with, and I trust his visit will be blessed to us both. I
found him, in many respects, a counsellor peculiarly adapted to
toy circumstances, because he himself gave up, as an attorney, a
situation of a thousand or twelve hundred a year, and that which
he now fills produces only three or four hundred ; and he as
sures me that he has never once regretted it, on the contrary,
he looks on it with peculiar thankfulness. .
"Mr. and Mrs. Alexander have just left my house for lodgings,
after a stay of five weeks. I am learning Hebrew, and just
going to commence German with him. I have the fullest con
viction, that, with the cross of baptism, he has taken up the
real cross that his Master has left, as a legacy, to all those who
are really His disciples. May they both be enabled to hold their
professions firm unto the end, that they may receive a crown in
the great day of their Lord's appearing.
" Every day convinces me more and more that there is but
' one thing needful,' and that is, being heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ j and may our eyes and hearts be so singly
set on this great object, that it may absorb every other, and, by
the grace of God, lead us to choose, in truth, that ( good part '
which shall not be taken from us.
" May every blessing, my very dear friend, attend you !
" Yours affectionately,
"A. N. Groves."
"January 21st, 1826.
"My very dear Friend,
" I feel greatly delighted, when I peruse the con
tents of your letters, td find that the Spirit of truth is still
with you, and the love of that dear Saviour, who is the ground
of hope and rejoicing to all them who love His appearing.

10 TRACT ON CHRISTIAN DEVOTEDNESS.
Miss Paget tells me your missionary ardour is not abated :
may God bless you, and lead you in the way in which you
should go ! You know this cause is very near my heart, and I
have learnt to bless God for every heart which He has separated,
as He did Barnabas and Saul, for this most holy and noble work.
Should it please our great Captain to send you forth in such a
service, how I should rejoice to bear my burthens with you. I
rejoice at your holy zeal and boldness, and pray that the weeds
that seek the same soil to thrive in, may, by watchfulness and
prayer, be kept under."
In reference to a little work on Christian devotedness which
he had published the year before, he writes to the same
friend : —
" I believe the case made out is a very strong one : its
success, however, must depend on the measure of blessing God
pours down upon it ; for I cannot but feel, if the declarations
in the word of God, which are so numerous and so clear, that a
'wayfaring man, though a fool, could not err therein ;' if it be
true, that ' he who runneth may read ;' and if all these have
been passed by, my hope can be but small of rousing the dor
mant sensibilities of the christian world ; but should it reach
but one heart in its full power, much, very much may be the
result. It has been, in some respects, painful to me to publish
it ; as I fear it may involve me in dispute, and subject me to
much obloquy ; but I hope, by the grace of God, I have been
enabled to count the cost, and to cast my cares and anxieties
respecting the result on Him who will assuredly sustain those
who repose in faith, nothing doubting.
" I believe I mentioned the baptism of Mr. Alexander and
his wife, in some of my preceding letters. On Christmas day,
were baptized two other Jews, not Rabbis, whom we are now
keeping, with the hope of their finally becoming ambassadors
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Belsom has more of
intelligence and natural acuteness than any Jew I have met
with, and presents up to this time a most unspotted character •
he came here to enquire into the reasons of Alexander's baptism'

VALUE OF CONSISTENCY. 11
set to work, in earnest, to enquire whether or not the things
spoken to him were so, and having found and believed that they
were, he embraced Christianity publicly. We have one or two
more coming on, of whom I cannot as yet write anything very
decided. " Let us, my dear friend, labour with all our might, for the
accomplishment of that day ; let us learn to esteem all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Preaching Christ crucified, ' to the Jews a stumbling
block, and to the Greeks foolishness,' is the great instrument of
pulling down Satan's kingdom, and establishing that which
shall never be moved."
" February \6th, 1826. — May you be enabled to proclaim that
there is but one thing needful wheresoever you go, and evidence
the power of that constraining love, which makes us more than
conquerors over the world.
¦'In looking within me, and around me, how much I am
struck with the want of, and yet the value of consistency ; how
much we are all disposed to make some one or two points, that
run more naturally into the constituted habitude of our hearts
and affections, stand for others to which we bend with more
difficulty, but which are no less the rule which God has laid
down. I feel it necessary very earnestly to pray against this
caricature of Christianity being the exhibition which my life
presents ; and that all who name the name of Christ may have
a beautiful symmetry in all the parts of their Christian character,
so that they may neither cause the enemies of the Lord to
triumph, nor the weak among the flock to stumble. I feel
sometimes so much the want of that holy proportion in myself,
that I almost feel tempted to despair of ever exhibiting at all
that character which our profession demands.
The partial communication which has so far been made of
the sentiments contained in my little pamphlet, called ' Chris
tian Devotedness ' has had much more effect than I ever
anticipated; and, if God's blessing rests upon it, it will have
much more yet 
" That you may be supported through your career of trial,

12 GOD'S PROMISES OF PROVISION.
and, I trust, of conquest over the world, the flesh and the devil,
I shall always sincerely pray, and that you may be a bright
and shining light, which ' shineth more and more unto the per
fect day.'"
In reference to some who insist that the children of those
who act on the scripture principles of devotedness to God are
likely to suffer, Mr. Groves writes to the same friend, on May
11th, 1826.
" I think I am justified in taking it for granted, that God
has made a promise that all the events which happen to His
servants, in consequence of such a course, shall be for their
good. Let us imagine, for a moment, that whilst all the males
of some little family, on the borders of Syria, were on the point
of setting off for one of the solemnities at Jerusalem, one of the
residue had said, ' suppose the Syrians come and take us into
captivity, whilst you are gone :' would you not think the
answer valid, that ' the Lord hath said, Whilst you are away
they shall not desire thy land '1 So we, when any would stagger
our faith, may say, the Lord hath said that ' there is no man
that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children,
for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold
more in this present time, and in the world to come life ever
lasting.' "I hope to remember you continually before a throne of
grace, that the life-giving Spirit may anoint you from above,
and make you an able minister of the New Testament ; not of
the letter, but of the Spirit ; that you may be the joyful parent
of thousands of souls, born unto God under your ministry."
A few particulars concerning the much esteemed friend to^
whom these letters are addressed may be interesting to the
reader. —
Mr. Caldicott became acquainted with Mr. Groves in 1823, about
the time that he was converted to God through the ministry of his uncle,
Mr. Marriot, well known as the author of a little poem, beginning
" A saint, 0, would that I could claim
That privileged, that honoured name !" &c.
The interest Mr. Groves took in Mr. C.'s progress in the things of God,
may be judged of by his letters. He had the joy of seeing him grow

SKETCH OF MR. CALDICOTT 13
rapidly in the knowledge of Christ, and in devotedness of heart and life
to their common Lord. Mr. Caldicott continued curate of Claybrook for
two years after Mr. Groves's departure for Bagdad ; his last sermon there
had for its text, " Christ is all and in all." On the 31st September 1831,
he left the Establishment from conscientious scruples ; and at first he
proposed joining Mr. Groves, afterwards accompanying Mr. Start as a
missionary ; but he became very ill ; and when, on reviving for a time,
he began again to make preparations for joining his dear friend Mr. Start
at Patna, the same illness returned. He laboured for a time at Collaton
and other villages near Sidmouth, and in other parts of England, and
was made very useful in helping forward many in Bristol, who sought to
follow the Lord fully, being a man of singular holiness. All who had
the privilege of intercourse with him, felt it to be a blessing. He had a
long and trying illness, during which his joy and peace in the Lord, and
love to all saints abounded ; his great delight was to dwell on the suffi
ciency of Christ, and the security of the everlasting covenant. Among his
last words, were expressions of the comfort he derived from meditating
on God's " I will," and " they shall" as distinguishing the new covenant
from the old, which demanded something from man, its terms being
"thou shalt," Sua. See Heb. viii, 10, 11. He fell asleep in Jesus at Tor
quay, January 9th, 1840, at the age of thirty-eight.

CHAPTER II.
INTRODUCTION — MR. GROVES'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY, COMMENCING
WITH HIS EARLIEST MISSIONARY IMPRESSIONS, AND EXTEND
ING TO THE PERIOD WHEN HE DETERMINED TO GO TO PERSIA
— OBSERVATIONS ON HIS INFLUENCE OVER OTHERS.
It will be interesting now to trace those steps by which Mr.
Groves was led to spend his energies and means for the good
of others, and the promotion of Christ's Gospel. We have,
happily, in his own words, the history of his early life : it was
written after he quitted Bagdad in 1834 ; and forms a most
instructive and interesting narrative of the Lord's dealings with
him, and with the one whose privilege it was to share his earliest
trials ; first in a life of self-sacrifice and devotedness to God, and
then in the missionary field. Thus he became the biographer,
both of her entrance into the life and service of God, and of her
quiet and peaceful departure to be with Christ.
The autobiography which follows, was written expressly for
the Editor.
" This will be the first time I ever put to paper the following
remarks : I commit them simply to your charge-. I have to
many mentioned them "viva, voceV' but this is altogether different
from a written narrative. I will begin with my earliest con
nection with missionary objects. When I was between thirteen
and fourteen, I used to attend Fulham church with the school
to which I was sent, and all I recollect of my general relioious
state then was, that it was a common practice with us to take
the smaller novels, such as Fielding's and Smollett's, within our
prayer-books, to read at church ; and yet it was durino- this
state of open rebellion against God, and while walking in open
defiance of His holy will, that the first permanent impression
was made on my mind relative to missions. It was after a

MR. GROVES'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 15
sermon preached by John 0  . I recollect the thought
arising in my dark soul, " surely it would be a worthy object to
die for, to go to India, to win but one idolater from hopeless
death to life and peace." Little did I then think that I was
ten times worse than he, as great a sinner and with none of
his excuses. The impression soon wore away, yet I never was
free from recurring convictions, and I recollect from a hundred
little circumstances too minute to mention, that these thoughts
still dwelt in my heart, though buried under a load of ignor
ance and love of sin. Yet the Lord dealt with me most indul
gently, and kept me out of sin in the midst of which I was
moving, and into personal intercourse with which, I was
fast sinking, by the sweetest, and at the same time the
most powerful constraint that could hold a natural mind,
the growing attachment between dearest Mary and myself.
Her mind, like my own, had a certain tincture of religious
feeling, which even at that time endeared us to each other ;
and as we walked to church, or round the garden at Ful
ham, the subject of religion often engaged our thoughts,
and One of the very few presents I recollect ever making
her, was a bible. From the time I was about sixteen till
I was nineteen, was to both of us a period of peculiar
trial ; but it is now needless to mention from what causes.
I felt my dear aunt was not opposed to our union ; and
I did not think my uncle would be, had I ever the means of
supporting her in that affluence to which she had been accus
tomed ; my hopes were young, and my prospects bright, and
with a sad, yet hoping heart, I left London, towards the conclu
sion of my nineteenth year, and commenced my professional
career at Plymouth, the 1st February, my nineteeth birthday.
My success soon surpassed my hopes, and although I had felt it
would be useless to make an offer when I knew not how I was
going to live, yet now things were changed, and I had £400 a
year, I wrote to dearest Mary to tell her my happy circum
stances, and asked leave to speak to her father ; but she, without
sending me a reply, spoke to him herself, and met with so
strong and decided a refusal, that, knowing his character, all

16 CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS CONVERSION.
hope was for ever extinguished, and on grounds that nothing
could remove, that of our being first cousins. To me the blow
was as complete as it was unexpected. I knew my uncle loved
me, and had been very kind to me. I did all I could — I wrote
to him to say that I felt how much I owed him, and that
therefore I never would renew the intercourse with my dearest
M. without his consent. I now became supremely miserable,
and the more so because I could not help hearing of her, and
that she was silently "but uncomplainingly sinking. My slight
thoughts about religion now became my solace. I made the
acquaintance of dear Mr. Joseph Richards and Mr. Hitchins,
at Plymouth. They did all they could for me ; yet my soul had
much and deep sorrow to go through before it knew either the
peace or the power of Jesus' blood."
This was evidently the great turning-point in his spiritual
history : he does not enter on any particulars of the " much
and deep sorrow " he had to go through, ere he found peace in
the blood of the Lamb ; but, in comparison of the light he
gained through the ministry of Mr. Joseph Richards, he looked
on his former thoughts about religion, as having had no real
foundation : he now speaks, after a season of much conflict, of
" the peace and power of Jesus' blood," and labouring, as he
then did, under a deep natural disappointment, doubtless, the
gospel of glad tidings must have been, from the relief it brings,
a pleasant sound ; but it is evident, by his own account, it was
at this time more the burthen of natural sorrow, than a sense
of sin, which made him seek peace out of himself in Jesus.
The full gospel was not yet known by him, as it was a few
years after, through the instrumentality of a dear friend in
Exeter. At first his views were decidedly Arminian : he
thought more of what he was to do for the Lord, than of what
the Lord had done for him : this accounts for his fixing at once
on missionary work as that which would involve the greatest
amount of personal labour and self-sacrifice, and even this it
would seem, was at first more from the relief he sought from
the trial of his circumstances, than, as it afterwards became, the

CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS MARRIAGE. 17
esult of deep experience of the love of Christ. He had been,
rom the testimony of those still alive, a strictly moral character
rom his youth, and a great observer of external forms of reli-
;ion, and so absorbed was he in plans of service for the Lord,
hat it was not till a late period of his history that he attained
hat remarkable self-loathing and deep knowledge of the evil of
in which characterized his later years.
To return to his narrative, he says, " However, these new views
ibout the religion of Christ strengthened my almost extin
guished thought of being a missionary. It was some consola-
ion to feel that a life which was become useless to myself,
night yet bless others. I, then, after consulting these good
nen, in perfect good faith, gave myself to the Lord and missionary
vork abroad, and though I for many years turned back, I ever
felt myself a renegade, in fact, like Jonah, shut up in the belly of
the whale. I wrote to the present Bishop of Litchfield and
Coventry ; he was then Dean of Wells ; and he wrote me a
kind letter and referred me to Mr.  , of the Church
Missionary Society. To him I also wrote, offering my services
bo the Society, and received an encouraging and kind answer.
I then instantly began to prepare for my future work.
" During this time my dearest Mary had been nursing a sick
sister, very dear to us both ; when she died, Mary's health had
become so alarmingly undermined, that her dear father, who
loved her much, having lost one daughter, felt unable longer to
refuse his consent, and became as willing that we should be
married, as he had before been anxious that we should not.
When the communication was made to me, I did just like
Joshua with respect to the Gibeonites — accept what came, I am
sure of the Lord, but without consulting Him. We soon were
married, before I was twenty-two^ and in the joy of possessing
one who had so truly loved me, and after five years of trial,
I for a moment quite forgot all my promises to the Lord and
His work abroad ; but this could not last long. I do not think
I was wrong in marrying my dearest Mary, for I had fully felt
we were married in the sight of God years before ; but I did a
right thing in a wrong spirit. I ought to have asked Him, (my
c

18 HINDRANCE TO BECOMING A MISSIONARY.
Lord,) and told. Him my difficulties, and He would, I know,
have eased my way, and still have let me had all I sought.
After we were married, and the first joy of surmounted diffi
culties had passed away, our religious judgments could not
long remain uncontrasted, and I soon powerfully felt they were
awfully different, either from her having gone back through
sorrow, or from my having got forward, or partly perhaps from
both. But it now became the settled bent of her life, to root
out my desire to go out as a missionary, and to reduce me to
the same state of religious feeling as herself. She found those
whom she loved not agreeable to me, and I did not wish to
press on her those whom she did not love, so we lived almost
alone after we arrived at Exeter ; sometimes, for a month,
we did not go outside our garden gates, and for four months,
sometimes, we did not take a cup of tea from home ; having
me and the little children, with the cultivation of a few
flowers and painting from nature, of which she was very fond,'
she was .happy. We were greatly prospering in the world, her
family were delighted and happy, and these things embraced
all she ever knew or thought of happiness ; but it was not
so with me, I had given myself to the Lord, and to a work that I
had not fulfilled, and there seemed nothing but daily increasing
difficulties. We were prospering more and more, so that renunci
ation became doubly difficult, and by six years' opposition her
mind had settled down into a fixed resistance, and her only
care was, (besides making me happy in every way which love
and watchful care could devise,) to provide for the dear little
ones. Often did I, with every earthly thing that man could
desire, feel most miserable. I had a wife who loved me, dear
little children, and a most lucrative profession, yet I had not
the Lord's presence as in days past, and therefore I was
miserable. " About this time I was led to see that the plan I had been
pursuing of making myself acquainted with general literature,
in order to gain influence over those I came in contact with,
was founded in error, and I was led to beheve, that if I laid
aside these false grounds of Christian influence, and gave myself

DEVOTES A TENTH OF HIS INCOME TO THE LORD. 19
up to the study of His holy word, the Lord would lead me
to learn such principles from it, that I should see its sufficiency.
From this moment, the Lord began to bless me, and was about
to commence that great work of stripping off from our united
hearts the thick clog with which we had been cumbering our
selves so many years, and to show us that nothing is too hard
for Him.
" Soon after this, my mind became exercised about the right use
of property '* from the study of God's word, and I soon saw that we
had been greatly to blame, and as I was walking round the gar
den at E  one day, underneath that great elm tree near the
gate, I said to Mary, '.my love, I think we ought to lay by some
thing regularly for the Lord, for you recollect when we com
menced our career we often said, if we ever possessed a thousand
a year, it would be the height of our wishes ; now, we have much
more than this, therefore, let us begin to give some.' She
replied, ' well, my dear, do as you like,' and I fixed that it
should be a tenth. It then became the question, who should
give it, and how 1 Personally I could not, from my engagements,
and therefore she consented to go and distribute it, as opportu
nities presented themselves. Besides the poor in our own
parish, Mary Walker, in the college near the cathedral, was
one about whom she became most deeply interested ; she was
in every way a sufferer ; she had a bad husband, great poverty,
and a most agonizing, slow mortification of the feet and hands, to
contend with, yet faith, and love, and praise mounted over all.
Her intercourse with this poor saint soon taught dearest M —
there was something in religion of which she knew nothing, a
sustaining power of which she felt nothing. Her mind became
deeply affected under the trials of her own soul, and her bodily
health soon gave way ; yet, from the dread lest the idea of mis
sionary labour should rise in my mind again, she gave me not
the least hint of what was passing within. Her throat be
came so much affected, that Dr. B  , and Mr. B  , for
bade her reading, so that being obliged to give up the education
of her dear little boys, I got a tutor for them. Just about the
time of her confinement with the dear Uttle girl we lost in

20 CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS WIFE'S CONVERSION.
Exeter, her mind was in the lowest state of despondency ; she
was soon obliged to go to Dawlish for change of air ; but she
had not been there many days, befbrel received a letter, written
in the deepest distress, saying, that both she and the baby were
dying. I hastened down, and found the dear little baby
hardly alive, and I hurried back immediately to Exeter. Mr.
B. told me instantly to get a wet nurse for my baby, and
the Lord sent me such an one, that my heart could have
desired no more, and I soon saw my sweet little one thriving,
and was at rest as to her. Dear M. took to her bed, told
me she felt she was dying, and gave me directions what to do,
in the event of her death. I was almost distracted, yet knew
not where to look but to the Lord for her. After some weeks
she again recovered a little, and went out again among the poor,
but, as she often used to say to me afterwards, feeling that hell
was yawning for her ; she felt she was keeping me back, yet so
fixed and determined was her opposition, that long after she got light
and peace it remained. But on those days, when there was ser
vice at the penitentiary, she was accustomed to go and hear
Mr Marriott, and one day he expounded the concluding verses
of the 1 Cor. i, ' God hath chosen the weak things, &c.' This
was the first thing that gave her a ray of hope, for she said,
'if this be the plan of God's government, then there is
hope that he may for His name's sake glorify Himself in me,
the vilest, the most worthless of His creatures ;' but yet she
dreaded so much the reviving my missionary hopes, that she still
buried all these thoughts ; but on the next Tuesday or Friday,
we were invited to dearest B  's, and Mr. Marriott ex
pounded the same chapter, and the Holy Ghost seemed to say
to her, 'that's for you, poor troubled soul, take it and go in
peace.' Her soul was overwhelmed, she returned and told me
all her heart, and from that day, the Lord began to let light
shine into our dwelling, the days of our mourning were
ended, as we thought, and the days became too short to tell of
the Lord's goodness, and think of our happiness.
I did not yet feel able to touch the subject of missions, but I
said to her, 'Dearest M., since the Lord has so graciously

THEY DEVOTE A FOURTH OF THEIR INCOME. 21
received our little dedication of a tenth, and made it the means
of so blessing us, perhaps He would graciously also receive more
at our hands.' 'Well,' she said, 'it shall be so ; we have now
three little children, let it stand as one, and be a fourth :'
the more we gave the more we were blessed. My dearest M.
threw aside all superfluous articles of dress, and put by all
the things we had in our, or rather her, worldly days. In
visiting the poor, no weather hindered her ; she soon joined
the prison committee, but took, I think, the treasurer's.
office, feeling, from the state of her health, and her throat,
quite unable to do more; and for the last year, she had
been but little off her sofa; yet the more she did, the
more the Lord strengthened her, and the most timid,
nervous vessel, that the Lord ever let His strength be mani
fested in, and, I may add, the most dependent, became at
once active, decided, and, with a strong independent judg
ment, which, though she would yield it, no private affection could
change. With respect to property, we had only yet gone a
certain way ; some may think it far enough, others too far ;
but my heart, which had been so blessed that it could not con
tain its blessing, felt that so long as anything was kept back
from so gracious a Lord who had dealt so bountifully by us, it
was as though nothing were given ; and this led me to propose
one day to my dearest M., that as the Lord had blessed us
more and more, in all that we had given up for Him, perhaps
He would accept all from our loving grateful hearts, which at
that time at least, they were ; but. I recollect the tear coming
into her eye, when she said, ' My dear, I think it would be most
wicked, consider the dear little children.'
" I saw the time was not come, and I only added, that I thought
not so, but that the Lord would receive it. The thought
rested on her mind, and I think she proposed that Kitto, who
was then staying with us, should search out the mind of the
Lord from the New Testament, and say what he thought, and
then, if we, on examination, found the Lord would graciously ac
cept it, we would thankfully use these base things to testify our
sense of the value of the true riches He had given us. The result

22 THEY GIVE UP THEIR PROPERTY.
was, as might be expected, seeing Kitto had no interest in the ques
tion, and he said, he felt we were more than free. After the deep
est thought and most earnest prayer, M., without reserve, gave it
all up ; and till the day of her death, only rejoiced in it more
and more. When this great burden was once got rid of, we
began to feel other than before ; we had no object now in life,
but living to the Lord and the church, and in thus doing
we were really living for our dear Uttle ones ten times more
effectually than in laying up poisonous heaps of gold.
" I had never yet spoken to M. about missions, yet seeing
the Lord had done so much, I saw no reason to doubt
He could do all that remained. Just at this time, Bishop
Chase came over from Ohio, and we were deeply interested in
him, from hearing he had given up all for the Lord's cause in
Ohio. Sir T. A. brought him to us, or rather to me, and said,
'here is a man after your own heart ' I can only say, I was
confirmed and strengthened by my intercourse with him. He
asked me, if I would go out to B  , and spend Sunday with
him. During Sunday, he conversed much with me on going,
out with him, and all my hopes of going and my ardour revived ;
and I thoaght that it was of the Lord, and would appear more
easy as a first step, than going to the south of India, where my
heart was first set. On Monday, he came in and lunched with
us, and when we were sitting at table, he said, turning to my
two dear little boys, ' Well, my little men, will you go to Ohio ?
there are plenty of peaches in Ohio.' I turned round to poor
M., and said, ' Well dear, will you go V It was too soon ; her
heart could not bear it ; she burst into a flood of tears, and
said, ' I expected this would come out of your visit yesterday,
and, therefore, was so reluctant .you should go.' I replied, ' well
my love, I have waited now ten years, and whatever burdens of
soul or body I have brought on myself, I will not bring them
on you ; you had no share in them, nor will I urge you.' Thus
it continued about four months, when one day she came to
me and said, 'well K, you may write to Bishop Chase, and say
we will come.' I wrote, and waited long for an answer, and at
length, when none came, I concluded all that had passed in

MR. BICKERSTETIl's COUNSEL. 2S
England amounted to nothing, and I gave up the thought ;
she then said, ' well 1ST., now you had better write again to the
Church Missionary Society, and say, we are ready to go any
where.' I accordingly wrote, and they accepted my offer, and
begged me to change from India to Persia.
"Now I recollect, I did not write; Mr. Bickersteth came down,
and, in our dining-parlour at E., I related to him my circum
stances. I told him, I had offered myself to the Society ten
years ago ; and that my whole desire was to do the Lord's
will, and the greatest good to the church at large, but more
especially to that object, to whose interests I had pledged my
self — the cause of missions. ' But this,' I said ' may be done in
two ways, first, by giving one's means, secondly, by personal exertions.
In the first point of view, I have an increasing professional in
come, and have this year received nearly £1500, and dear Mrs. G,
on the death of her father, will most probably have £10,000 or
£12,000 more, the whole of which, with my present income,
will, of course, vanish, the moment we take the contemplated
step.' Mr. Bickersteth's answer was, ' If you are called of the
Lord to the work, money cannot be set against it ; it is men whom
the Lord sends, and He stands in need of men more than money.'
I thought his judgment a wise and holy one, and I do to this
day. He added, 'if you could give to the work as many
thousands as you could hundreds, still, I would say, Go .*' — for
we had told him, if we remained, we intended simply living on
a minimum, and devoting all besides to God. Hitherto, all
our way had been together, and much in the retirement of our
own souls with God ; the sacrifices we had made were properly
our own, and the loving reception of our most gracious Lord,
even of the least, and His quick return of blessing, prepared us,
by the experience of His love, to bear the loss of much beside,
when we were called upon so to act as to involve the happiness
of others, peculiarly dear to us. We were to the heart of a
natural parent, indeed prospering ; we had a little circle of
natural blessings seldom equalled, and rarely surpassed, and we
knew them, and we were peculiarly capable of enjoying them ;
but we had found something better — to suffer with Christ.

24 NEW HINDRANCES TO BECOMING A MISSIONARY.
" We had come to the point when it became necessary to com
municate this strange, this heart-rending choice, to those we
loved, especially to dear M.'s family, whose wounded affections
and disappointed hopes, after all their love and kindness, were
naturally shown to us. My heart bleeds, even to this day, while
I am writing, to think of what I know her dear father suffered.
At first everything that kindness and love could do to induce
us to stop, was done ; when this failed, less kind, but equally well-
intentioned efforts, were made to deter us ; besides our being
cut off from the sweets of family intercourse, dear M.'s father
alluded to a mortgage of £1000 he had lent, out of kindness,
to my father. I was deeply wounded by the way he. alluded to
it, for I had never asked it of him, and I wrote back to say, I
would never leave England till I had paid it. Here again my
hands were tied ; I felt it, after I had done it, but the promise
was made ; and, purely from love, I knew he would exact the
fulfilment of it. I now saw many years of trouble before me
again, for, from the moment it was known that I proposed
leaving, my income decreased, and I had closed my connection
with Trinity College, Dublin, as a fellow commoner : my reason
for doing this was, it saved six months, and the constant
journeys there and back increased my expenses.
" This, and many arrangements I had to make for others be
fore I left, set me almost as far as ever from the hope of leaving,
except that dear M. was on my side ; and by so much as she
had hindered me in the first years after our marriage, by so
much the more did she now encourage me, and keep up my
heart, which was almost bowed down. For months, I was in
such a state that I ate every mouthful of food with disrelish ;
but the Lord comforted her, in making her my comfort ; and it
was said of her at last, that she was worse than me ; and indeed
she was just so much the better, as she appeared to the natural
eye worse.
" I soon made up my first £100 towajds the £1000, and sent
it off, and not many months after, dear 'M.'s father died sud
denly. She was instantly sent for ; and, as I was not parti
cularly mentioned, I did not go, thinking they might still feel

SET FREE FOR MISSIONARY WORK. 25
displeased with me ; but on her arrival they sent me word to
come. I went, and when I arrived found that dear Mr. T. had
made a new will, and signed it only two or three days before
his death : with respect to property, it was all divided as before,
equally ; and as to the mortgage for £1000, it was given to me, and
the £100 I had paid given back, so that I now became ten times
freer than I had ever been ; in fact, nothing comparatively re
mained but one trial ; all our dear family gathered round us on
that day, and offered all that love could offer to induce us to stay.
The Lord gave us strength, and we overcame this last trial,
simply saying, that if there had been a human being living to
whom we could have yielded when the Lord said ' go,' it would
have been to him who was gone. They felt its force, and kindly
desisted. We then felt that the Lord had indeed not only
rolled difficulties out of our way, but had turned those very
difficulties into the means of enabling us to go more happily.
I might just add here, that the delicacy of my dear little girl's
health had at this time become a great trial ; we went to
Exmouth for change of air ; she came back not better. Some
doubted if we ought to go in the state she was. The Lord
decided this also ; He ripened her, as the first ripe fruit, and took
her to ' wait in hope of a better resurrection.' " [Appendix B.]
This event happened in 1829, at Hill's Court, in Exeter.
This was the residence of their friends the Misses Paget,
where Mr. and Mrs. Groves, having quitted their own residence,
lived above a year before their departure for Bagdad. It was a
time of much blessing ; he had, after quitting his profession,
given himself to prayer and the reading of the word. At an
early hour, at the sound of a bell, many assembled daily at his
family expositions, in which he was greatly helped in setting
forth the truth. Seven Christian families, who lived in small
cottages, then belonging to Miss Paget, were among the number ;
and all remember it as a season of especial blessing. The loss
of their only daughter was used of God, as a means by which
they became yet more separate from earth, and while it made
their path clear, it strengthened them to devote themselves to
God.

26 POWER OF MR. GROVES'S TESTIMONY.
It was at this period the Editor first became acquainted
with Mr. Groves; and the happy state of his mind was
such, that all who came in contact with him received a
blessing. Very many trace to this period the beginning
of undertakings for the Lord, which to this day are monu
ments of the blessedness still found in trusting in God,
and in unreserved surrender of our all to Him. The Editor
will not easily forget the effect of his visit to her mother's
house, near Sidmouth, or the lasting impression made through
it on many minds. It was in 1829, the year she had lost her
beloved father ; the hatchment, encircled with dark ivy, was on
the house ; and as they walked in the grounds, this outward
symbol of death added weight to what he said of the vanity of
human life, and the importance of working while it is day.
But it was his own happy testimony of the enjoyment of giving
iip all for His sake, which so impressed her with the reality of
that truth, "His service is perfect freedom ;" so that, could she
have obtained the consent of her only remaining parent, she
would gladly have formed one of their missionary party — so
precious and glorious a thing did it seem to forsake all for
Jesus. Every one bore witness to the power with which he
pleaded for devotedness to Christ. One of the young people,
who at this time' had assembled round him, to ask his counsel,
was questioning him, as to what she might safely give up of
keep. He seemed unable, at first, to realize that it was simply || '| :|
certain externals, such as dress, or anything so trifling, which
perplexed this young Christian. He replied, with his usual
energy, " 0, of all such things I should say, ' The daughter of
Zion hath despised thee.' " This answer was never forgotten,
and often helped the individual to whom it was spoken, and
others with her, to count all such things " but loss, for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ.1'
Mr. Groves's very vivid way of illustrating what he meant .
made a deep impression. One of his conversations opened the
writer's mind to the relation in which the people of God should
stand to each other. It 'was at the house of a very kind
mutual friend, the late Sir John Kennaway, of Escot. Mr.

THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH. 27
Groves had recently been baptized in Exeter, a circumstance
which naturally became the topic of conversation, it being
noticed in the newspaper, as having produced a great sensation.
He mentioned, incidentally, that it quite humbled him when,
the day after, a Baptist minister crossed the street to salute
him as a brother. The, writer said, " Of course you must be a
Baptist now you are baptized." He replied, " No ! I desire to
follow all in those things in which they follow Christ • but I
would not. by joining one party, cut myself off from others.'-
Then taking up the ring on which his keys hung, he said, " If
these keys were to hold by one another, all would go, if one
fell ; but as each of them is attached to this strong ring, so
should we each take hold of. Christ, not of any of the systems
of men, and then we shall be safe and united : we should keep
together, not because of any human system, but because Jesus
is one"
The sense Mr. Groves had of the unity of God's family, from
the beginning of his Christian course, guided him in his judg
ment of others ; and helped him to dwell in love, and seek
ever the peace and prosperity of those he felt belonged to Christ.
He thought it important, as a means of judging righteously,
to seek to look at everything as the Lord looks upon it, and not
as men speak or judge. Though not himself connected with
any society, he could not bear sweeping condemnations of
religious institutions, believing they had answered important
ends, and were, in many cases, owned of God. He looked on
the Established Church as a system containing many and
various congregations, some of which, he owned, verged to
wards popery ; while in others, he rejoiced to feel, were many
of a different character, enjoying God's blessing and presence,
both as regards the people and the minister. With such he
felt quite at liberty, under certain circumstances, to unite in
worship ; and when asked why he had, at times, heard a faithful
minister preach in the Establishment, which he himself had
left, he often said, he felt it a higher and more important duty
to own a true servant of God in the office that God had given
him, for the edifying of His people, than to witness against

28 INFLUENCE OF MR. GROVES'S EXAMPLE.
forms which, it was well known, he had personally relinquished.
He was also wont to say, " people must come to my house if
they wish to know the kind of discipline I adopt in my own
family. No one would make another responsible for the evils
in a house, in which he was only a visitor." The principles
he taught, and the devotedness he pressed on all, led one
to whom he spoke, to establish a kind of home mission at
Kingston, near Sidmouth, which continues to this day a means
of blessing to many ; although most of those who first worked
there are fallen asleep, or engaged in other spheres of labour.
Mr. Miiller, of Bristol, in his Narrative, p. 44, speaks of the
example of Mr. Groves, as making a great "impression" on
him, and " delighting him much ;" and when he himself decided
to look to the Lord alone, for the supply of his wants, he says,
after alluding to the promises of God, as the " stay" of his
soul, " in addition to this, the example of brother Groves was
a great encouragement to me." p. 52.
These are but a few instances of the results springing from
the converse and example of one truly in earnest in following
Christ. Others might be given ; and many more will, doubtless,
be known only at the coming of the Lord.

CHAPTER III.
CONTINUATION OF THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY, WITH A SKETCH OF HIS
RELIGIOUS VIEWS, AND THE ORIGIN OF THOSE CONVICTIONS
WHICH ORIGINALLY DISTINGUISHED THE CHRISTIANS CALLED
"PLYMOUTH BRETHREN" — LETTERS to MR. CALDICOTT.
" Since I have begun to write about myself, perhaps you will
forgive my finishing the chapter by telling you how it hap
pened that I fell, step by step, into my present position, after
being so high a churchman that I never went to a dissenting
place of worship, nor intimately knew a dissenter, except Bessy
and Charlotte.*
"As I was pursuing my course in Dublin, preparatory to taking
orders, I constantly went over, from time to time, as the terms
occurred ; and once, dearest B. accompanied me. From my
first going to Dublin, many of my deep-rooted prejudices gave
way. I saw those strongly marked distinctions that exist
in England little regarded; the prevalence of the common
enemy, Popery, joined all hands together."
The details of many of the interesting events, which took
place during this visit, have been supplied by Miss Paget.
It was a very remarkable period in his history, and led to many
important results. In the first place, he became acquainted
with many sincere Christians, chiefly members of the Establish
ment, who, with him, desired to see more devotedness to Christ,
and union among all the people of God. To promote these
objects, they met contiuually for prayer and reading the word.
Miss Paget remembers the occasion on which one of the party,
* These were the Misses Paget, of Exeter, two sisters, long known as
eminent and devoted Christians : one has fallen asleep ; the elder, who
still lives, had, as it will be seen, a most powerful influence over Mr.
Groves's history, and continued to the end of his life his attached friend,
and one to whom he was much indebted for spiritual counsel.

30 FIRST MEETINGS OF BRETHREN IN DUBLIN.
Mr. Bellett, a dear friend of Mr. Groves, said to her, " Groves
has just been telling me, that it appeared to him from Scripture,
that believers, meeting together as disciples of Christ, were free
to break bread together, as their Lord had admonished them ;
and that, in as far as the practice of the apostles could be a
guide, every Lord's day should be set apart for thus remem
bering the Lord's death, and obeying His parting command."
This suggestion of Mr. Groves's was immediately carried out
by himself and his friends in Dublin ; and how many, who
have since followed their example, can speak of the peace and
joy they have experienced in thus obeying the Lord's will !
This was the beginning of what has been erroneously termed,
" Plymouth Brethrenism." With one of the party, who had
met together in Dublin, originated a meeting of a similar kind
in Plymouth ; and among the Christians who took part in it
were clergymen, still officiating in the Church of England.
The original principles of this happy communion are fully de:
tailed, and largely dwelt upon, in Mr. Groves's letters and
journals ; they tended to nothing less than the enjoyment of
union and communion among all who possess the common life of
the family of God. The realization of these principles enabled
Mr. Groves, whether, in Ireland, England, Russia, or the pre
sidencies of India, to go in and out among God's people, every
where, both conveying and receiving refreshment ; and, up to
the time of his removal, his stedfast adherence to the same
blessed principles, made him know nothing among men, save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
It will be seen, by his own narrative, how he first found for
himself, and mentioned to his dear friend, Mr. B., the liberty
they had in Christ, to minister the word of God to others,
without any warrant beyond the scripture rule, " If any man
minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth."
.1 Pet. iv, 2. On this ground it was that Mr. B., as well as
.others, have spoken of Mr. Groves as the father of these princi
ples to their minds. The views that he, to his death, so
strongly held, both of the entire unity of the family of God,
and their liberty to unite together in worship, were, he often

COMMENCEMENT OF MR'. GROVES'S MINISTRY. 31
said, first opened to him, while searching the Scriptures in
Dublin. After one of their happy prayer-meetings, already
mentioned, it was asked by one of the party, " Are there no
principles in the word of God, which would unite all believers
in worship, whatever might be their various views or attain
ments in the Divine life ?" Mr. Groves rephed, " Yes, there
are : we are evidently called to know nothing among our
fellow-Christians, but this one fact — Do they belong to Christ 1
Has Christ received them ? then may we receive them, to the
glory of God." To what happy results would these simple
truths lead, among God's people. Even where they did not
overthrow any mere human systems, they would help forward
fellowship and intercourse among all Christians.
" On my return with our dearest B., she proposed to me to
take charge, on Sundays, of her little flock, at Poltimore. I
cannot, perhaps, convey to you the repugnance that I had ;
first, because I really disapproved on principle ; and, secondly,
because I saw that it would stand in the way of my procuring
ordination ; yet it worked in my mind till I could not but go ;
and I went. Dearest B. had, for some time, sunk the keen
controversialist * in the tender and kind friend. She felt how
ignorant I was, and treated me accordingly ; yet so sweetened it
by a lively and real interest, that I never could doubt she loved
me ; and the more I saw into her holy, unselfish soul, the more
I regretted I ever felt alienated from her ; and, by a natural
sort of revulsion of feeling, now drew to her so much the more.
She kept instructing me, as my obstinacy and self-will would
allow, yet always bore most gently and lovingly with me ; and
I look up to her, and love her now, as my mother in the things
of God • and to this day, when others have disappointed me,
her love has never failed  Yet I only allowed this going
to Poltimore as a particular exception, in consequence of the
notorious inadequacy of the clergyman there. I had never yet
gone near a dissenting place of worship. During this time, dear
* This refers merely to his Arminian views, from which she was at
last the means of delivering him.

32 RESIGNS THE THOUGHT OF ORDINATION.
Hake* came and consulted me about certain difficulties which in-
volvedhisleavinghis wife and children pennyless, so far asheknew,
or following a course that his conscience disapproved. I gave
my opinion clearly ; and he, with that holy simplicity which
has ever characterized him, acted out what his conscience
dictated. Shortly after this, he called on me, and asked me if
I did not hold war to be unlawful. I rephed, ' Yes.' He then
further asked, how I could subscribe that article which declares
' It is lawful for Christian men to take up arms at the com
mand of the civil magistrate.' It had, till that moment, never
occurred to me. I read it ; and replied ' I never would sign
it ;' and thus ended my connection with the Church of England,
as one about to be ordained in her communion.
" But shortly before that, my connection with Dublin was
broken off in a most remarkable way, just when it had answered
the purpose of breaking down the high church feelings which I
had carried there. Mr. T., of Calcutta, asked me, ' Why are
you wasting your time, in going through college, if you
intend going to the East V My reply was, that if I returned
disabled, I should be able to minister in England ; and here the
matter ended. As we walked home, Mary said, ' Don't you
think there is great force in Mr. T.'s question?' I said, 'I
thought there was ; but not so great as to prevent my going
that time, for I had got my examination ready ; and, moreover,
if I did not go that term, then the last three would be as
nothing ; and it would look so unsettled to break off my course
suddenly. It would, moreover, give additional pain to those
whom we had already so deeply tried ; and as I had my money
laid by for the journey, I determined to go this time, and then
I need not go again for nine months ; and I thought this would
allow me ample time to consider.' She did not concur, but
thought the reasons savouring more of this world than the next.
However, I had made up my mind, and went to take my place
on Saturday, to go on Monday morning. On Sunday morning,
about three o'clock, we were awoke by the noise of something
* Mr. Hake is known as the master of a school, near Bideford, called
Tusculum.

CLOSE OF HIS CONNECTION WITH COLLEGE. 33
falling  On proceeding into the dining-room, I
found the candles lit, as they had been left the preceding
evening, and my little drawers broken open, all my papers
scattered about the room, and my money gone.* As I was
returning up stairs, I met dearest M. in the hall, and said,
' Well, my love, the thieves have been here, and taken all the
money.' 'And now,' she said, 'you won't go to Dublin.' ' No,
I replied, ' that I won't,' — and we spent one of the happiest
Sundays I ever recollect, in thinking on the Lord's goodness, in
so caring for us as to stop our way up, when He does not wish
us to go. Some thought it right ; others thought it foolish ;
it mattered not to us, we had not a doubt it was of the Lord.
Yet, after my connection with college had been thus broken
off — for I was to have taken my degree the following Easter,
and I was unable, subsequently, to enter the church at all, from
not being able to subscribe the Articles, or rather that one
relative to war — I was still so far attached to the Church of
England, that I went to London, to arrange my going out as a
layman, for the Church Missionary Society ; but as they would
not allow me to celebrate the Lord's Supper, when no other
minister was near, it came to nothing. My mind was then in
great straits ; for I saw not yet my liberty of ministry to be
from Christ alone, and felt some ordination to be necessary, but
hated the thought of being made a sectarian. But, one day
the thought was brought to my mind, that ordination of any
kind to preach the gospel is no requirement of Scripture. To me
it was the removal of a mountain. I told dearest M. my discovery
and my joy ; she received it as a very little thing — indeed she
had received the truth in such power, that she seemed only to
desire to know the mind of God, that she might fulfil it ; and
I may add that, after the question about property was agreed
on between us, we never had a difference of judgment, that I

* It is a remarkable fact that there were two packets of money, one
containing £40 for the Irish trip, and one, £16, in another drawer, for
taxes ; the former was taken, the other left. This circumstance was often
noticed as most remarkable by Mr. Groves.
D

34 LIBERTY TO MINISTER THE WORD.
know of, even for a moment, on any important measure. She
soon fully learnt to value the liberty I had to minister in the
things of Christ, and felt its importance. From that moment,
I have myself never had a doubt of my own liberty in Christ
to minister the word ; and, in my last visit to Dublin, I men
tioned my views to dear Mr. Bellett and others.
"This is a short sketch of some eventful changes in my
views, as well as those of dear Mary, who, to the day of her
death, had not a misgiving as to their truth. I cannot doubt
the Lord's most gracious direction during the period to which
the preceding remarks refer ; nor can I doubt His guidance
since, which, I think, has been as fully marked."
In allusion to the changes here noticed, he thus writes to
his friend Mr. Caldicott : —
" What little leisure I have for reading is confined to God's
word, the book of our Father's wisdom. I have very little
confidence in man ; my great desire has been to cast myself on
the word of God, that every judgment of my soul, concerning
all things, may be right, by being, in all, the mind of God.
For exactly in proportion as this is the case, shall we be a
blessing to others. Oh, for a heart to love as He loved ! Oh,
for such meekness, gentleness, and devotion, as shone in every
thing He did, who is our Great Exemplar. I assure you, my
dear friend, the very circumstance that you are so near my
heart makes me fear to meet you ; for in those things which,
whilst they have no place in heaven, have great influence here
in separating ' chief friends,' my mind has undergone a very
great revolution. Do not think that I allude to those things
which have essentially to do with the lineaments of our dear
Lord's character ; for although I can report little advance, yet
I hope my soul has not declined in its love to Him, His ser
vices, or His servants. O, for more and more of that vital ac
quaintance with the love of Christ to a perishing world, which
enables the soul in truth to say, ' the love of Christ constraineth
me !' The Lord blesses me with intervals of sweet communion
with Himself; yet, on the whole, I wonder at my indifference

LETTERS TO MR. CALDICOTT. 35
as to spiritual and eternal things, after the many mercies we
have received, especially the mercy of knowing and believing ;
these are the only things to afford solid comfort in time and in
eternity." "January 1th, 1826.
" I delight in hearing from you, and finding the fountains of
God's blessing are not dried up. Whilst my dear wife seems
daily advancing,so that I can almost perceive her progress, I never
felt so much trembling as lately ; I feel myself to be a poor crea
ture, so faulty, so unfit for the path I have been led to choose.
How delightful it is, under such a consciousness of weak
ness, to know, it is ' not by might, nor by power, but by my
Spirit, saith the Lord,' shall all things be accomplished, that are
for His glory ; it makes the feeble knees strong, raises the hands
that hang down, and comforts the drooping heart. However,
I have had an abiding consolation, and, amidst all the varieties of
my feelings, a uniform conviction, that the path I purpose pur
suing, is according to His will ; in fact, I beheve these very
droopings of heart have been sent to try me, and to convince
me that the objects of my pursuit do not depend for their
magnitude upon the medium through which they are seen, but
are in themselves of immeasurable magnitude.
"May thegreat Shepherd of the sheep bless your ministrations,
and enable you to walk unblameably, and in all godliness. My
determination is now very generally known, and this exposes
me to many trials, and makes it, indeed, needful to walk warily;
for many are waiting for my halting. Pray, therefore, for me
that my faith fail not ; that my dear Lord's name be not
blasphemed through me." "August 8th, 1827.
" Your last letter, excepting the account of your own health,
was in every respect comforting and delightful to me, which
was more than I was prepared to expect ; but still, my dear
friend, how consolatory it is to feel, that holiness is the only
influence in the church of God worthy the ambition of a child
of God, and that that influence is as much within the reach of
a bed-ridden member of the family, as of those who are flourishing

36 HUMAN OPINIONS ONLY VALUABLE
in the zenith of their popularity ; and that the prayers of the
holy bedew the church with as many blessings as the labours of
the active, if prayers are all that the providence and fatherly dis
pensations of the most High allow them to offer. May this
privilege be richly enjoyed by you during the period of your
being laid by. Since I last wrote to you, our dear friend Miss
Paget has taken a little cottage at Poltimore, to which I go
every Sunday evening, to read and explain the scriptures to
the poor people, and have, therefore, obtained the title of the
Methodist preacher. The decision was a great struggle with my
prejudices ; but I thought the Lord preferred mercy to sacrifice,
so I decided that notwithstanding church order is a very
excellent thing, preaching Christ is a better. I fear you may
condemn me, but my heart does not : on the contrary, the
service has become sweetly soothing to me ; and promises, I
think, to continue so, provided the Spirit of truth enables me to
persevere in love and -single-heartedness  Let it be
our prayer, my very dear friend, that we may fulfil the meaning
of our solemn vow at the holy commemoration of our Saviour's
death, ' to offer and present to Him, our body, soul and spirit,
to be a reasonable, holy and lively sacrifice.' For He is, indeed,
our Lord God, and let us worship Him." "May 2Qth, 1828.
"My VEKY DEAR FRIEND,
" I hope to be with you on the second or third of June,
May the Lord give us grace to meet in the spirit of love, and
of a sound mind. I trust our expectations of profit will be
altogether fr*om the blessed guidance of His Spirit, leading us
by His word into all truth, and making us willing to glorify
Him at all hazards. As to the opinions of men, I feel they
have their place and value in the things of the world, but, in
the things of Christ, they are of no value but in proportion to
their accordance with that word, and to that they must be
brought as to the scales in which they are to be weighed. As to
difficulties connected with the canon of scripture, it is a subject
little understood, and, blessed be God's holy name, not at all

AS THEY ACCORD WITH GOD S WORD. 37
needed for those whose only objects are, to be saved by Christ
and led to glory ; for God's Holy Spirit will take of these
things, and reveal them to the thirsting soul ; and the soul that
wants an external demonstration, as well as an internal, will
assuredly go, as those did who wanted signs, empty : for our
Lord said, had they been the children of God, they would have
heard Him ; and we may say, if they are now the children of
God, they will have a spiritual discernment given them, to
separate the chaff from the wheat ; whereas, the ungodly, from
want of spiritual discernment, turn even the wheat itself into
chaff. For myself, I wish no man living to show the least
regard for my opinion for any other reason than its being the
same as the mind of God, and I wish myself, and all others to
think, that it is at our peril we reject the poorest member of
Christ's body who speaks according to that mind ; it will be
the same sin as rejecting Christ. May the Lord Jesus, my very
dear friend, be your satisfying portion, and His Spirit your
comforter and instructor in all the journey that lies before you !
With every wish for your blessing,
" Your attached friend, and unworthy brother,
"A. N. Groves."

CHAPTER IV.
PREPARATION FOR DEPARTURE FOR PERSIA  THE MISSIONARY
PARTY  UNEXPECTED PROVISION FOR THE VOYAGE  STAY
AT PETERSBURGH  JOURNEY THROUGH RUSSIA  ARRIVAL AT
BAGDAD.
Though Mr. Groves's connection with the Church Missionary
Society terminated in the way he has described, he did not
give up, as has been seen, the idea either of missions, or of
going to Bagdad, for which place his sympathies had been
enlisted by Mr. Bickersteth's telling him, they had for years
endeavoured, but without success, to obtain a missionary. Mrs.
Caldicott has kindly furnished a letter addressed to her husband
by Mrs. Groves, just before their departure, which, while it
confirms all Mr. Groves had said, both of her, and of the way
God had led them, forms an interesting link between the period
at which his autobiography terminates, and his journal as a
missionary begins. " 50, Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square.
May 15th, 1829.
''MY DEAR FRIEND,
" As you have kindly expressed a wish to hear from us,
and my dear husband is very busy, I have much pleasure in
sending you some information of our proceedings. Since we
had the happiness of seeing you, we seem to have been led
various ways ; but I feel quite persuaded, that the Lord has
led us in a straight path. He has made our hearts willing to be
guided by Him, and will, therefore, accomplish His own designs
in us. Many have offered to accompany us, and we have some
times felt we should have a large party : a few days afterwards,
we have found ourselves standing alone ; but our God has been

MRS. GROVES S LETTER. 39
very good in enabling us to feel, that, in the end, we shall have
those whom He himself had chosen for us. Our present party
consists of our own little family, (two boys of nine and ten, and
Kitto,) Mr. Groves's sister Lydia, Miss Taylor, and Mr. Bothie,
a young man who offered to go with us, when in Ireland. A
day often makes great changes in our affairs ; for instance, since
I began this, Mr. Groves has been to call on Mrs. Taylor, wife
of the British resident at Bagdad, and a native of the country,
as her brother-in-law wishes Mr. Groves to take care of her
and her party, on their return home, which, though a great
charge, he feels happy in doing, hoping that the Lord has set
up His candle in her heart. Thus we have been led, not know
ing what the Lord designs for us ; but having the comfortable
assurance, that He is leading us, although by paths we know
not of, to a city of habitation. We greatly desire to hear how
your heavenly Father is dealing with you ; whether you are
still in the furnace of affliction, or whether you have received
deliverance at His hands. I trust and pray, whatever may be
your case, that the Lord Jesus is shining on your soul with His
bright beams ; and thus, although the body may almost faint,
you will still be happy in the portion He has allotted you.
Dear Miss Paget is in town with us.
" Believe me, very sincerely, yours
" In the bonds of the gospel of peace,
"M. B. Groves."
It was on Friday, June the 12th, 1829, that Mr. Groves,
accompanied by the party mentioned in his wife's letter, sailed
in the yacht of a private gentleman for Petersburgh. This mode
of conveyance was furnished for them through one of those pro
vidential interpositions, by which things seemingly adverse are
over-ruled for the good of God's people, and the development
of the grace given to them. Whilst in London making enquiries
about a ship, Mr. Groves happened to meet, at the breakfast-
table of a friend, Mr. Parnell, now Lord Congleton. The
voyage to Petersburgh was naturally the subject of conversation,
when Mr. Parnell related, that he had engaged to go down to

40 THE MISSIONARY PARTY SET SAIL.
Portsmouth, with his friend Mr. Puget, to dispose of a yacht,
the property of that gentleman ; but mistaking the day, he was
not ready when Mr. Puget called for him. Had it not been
for this circumstance, he should not have been with them that
morning ; and it now occurred to him, that, before Mr. Puget
sold his yacht, it would be a delightful thing to let it carry the
missionary party to Petersburgh, and he was sure, if circumstances
would allow of Mr. Puget's going, he would be most happy to take
them. With this object in view, Mr. Parnell set off the same
afternoon to Portsmouth, to consult Mr. Puget, who, with great
inconvenience to himself, most kindly entered into the proposed
plan, and, after having made the necessary preparations, brought
the yacht round to Gravesend, to take in Mr. Groves and his
party. The weather being unfavourable for several days, they made
little progress, but Mr. Groves was enabled to have two services
daily on deck, at which the sailors attended.
After encountering a heavy storm in the Categat, in which
the yacht sustained some damages, they arrived, on Saturday
June 20th, at Copenhagen, where some Christian friends, Mr.
and Mrs. Browne, (the former, Mr. Puget's brother-in-law,)
entertained them for several days, while the yacht was under
going repair, and showed them much kindness.
A letter from Mr. Groves, referring to this part of the
voyage, contains some interesting particulars. It was addressed
to Mr. Caldicott. " Gulf of Finland.
"June 29th.
" MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,
"Not knowing what opportunities, or time, may be
afforded me in Petersburgh, I avail myself of the present mo
ment to write you a line or two, when within about two
hundred miles of the completion of our first voyage, and to
tell you how very gracious the Lord has been to us, since we
left England. With His good hand upon us, we reached the
Christian and most hospitable habitation of Mr. Peter Browne,
his country house midway between Elsinore and Copenhagen.

NATURE OF MR. GROVEb's EXPECTATIONS. 41
"We know not how long we may be on the water, but
our Lord does, and may His will be done, and His purposes
stand. Hitherto the voyage has been most deUghtful, as far as
the weather is concerned, but much more so as it relates to our
internal comfort. Nothing can surpass the kindness of Mr.
Puget and Mr. Parnell ; their watchfulness, their kind con
sideration, has exceeded all we could have hoped. May the
Lord stir you up to think much of us, and pray much for us,
and to send us your pledge of counsel and love. Should you
have anything to send me, the Church Missionary Society will
forward it by the first ship, if it be not larger than an octavo
volume. I take this most kindly at their hands.
"After many years of reflection about the work of a mis
sionary, I am now actually on my way. Home has been left,
friends who were as one's own soul have been parted from, and
we shall soon now have everything new to seek ; but still the
hand of the Lord is strong upon us all, enabling us to hope in His
mercy, and believe in His promises. I never had very strong
expectations of what we were to do being manifestly very great,
but that we shall answer a purpose in God's plans I have no
doubt. My source of enjoyment and happiness, therefore, for
the future I expect to arise much more out of the realization of
Christ in my own soul to be my Christ, than from anything in
my external prospects. Elijah fully fulfilled God's purpose ;
yet he does not appear to have made more than one convert
(Elisha) to the Lord his God, though there were some he knew
not who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Nor did Noah
make one convert ; yet he fulfilled the Lord's purpose in his
preaching ; so before the Lord comes again, ' as in the days of
Noah,' we shall, I expect, have to stretch forth our hands with
out many regarding ; but let it be our concern, that we do, as
individuals, and as a mission, preach Christ faithfully, and love
Him truly. May the Lord, of His great mercy, keep among
us the spirit of love and brotherly union ; this is a very earnest
prayer of mine, for it is so lovely to see brethren dwell together
in unity."
When at last they sailed from Copenhagen, the light winds

42 ARRIVAL AT PETERSBURGH.
which prevailed prevented their reaching Petersburgh as soon as
they had anticipated. During this time, however, they had the
happiness of Christian fellowship with Mr. Puget and Mr.
Parnell, of whose kind attention Mr. Groves thus writes in
his journal : —
" The kindness of Mr. Parnell and Mr. Puget can only be
of the Lord ; it is so true, so unaffected, so adequate to all our
present wants from man. Ah, what return can we make to the
Lord for this His great kindness to us ! May He bless these
friends out of His treasures, and make even this voyage a sen
sible blessing to them. We have nothing to give them ; but
thou Lord hast : therefore, to Thee we come, who art our
Father, for their recompense."
At Petersburgh also they met with help and Christian hospi
tality, from those of the Lord's children with whom they had
communion. On the evening of then* arrival, Mr. Knill, min-
nister of the Congregational Church, called ; and Mr. Groves,
remarks, " He is really a true person. His congregation love
him and each other, and there seems a sweet harmony among
them, unaffected, I think I may say, by those lesser differences
of opinion which so much try the Church of God in England."
Another person whom they met was a young officer of the
name of D  . Mr. Groves speaks of him, as " devoted to the
cause of God, and willing to help in every good work." He
would have gone with them as " interpreter and guide,'' but, the
Emperor being away, could not ask leave. They also made
the acquaintance of Dr. Wilkie, formerly in the Indian army,
and of a Mr. and Mrs. V  , connected with the Bible
Society, who were very kind to them. Of General
Papoff, on whom Mr. Groves called to obtain passports, he
says, " I found him to be a simple, affectionate Christian. He
dwelt very strongly on the importance of being indifferent to
what men think, and on the importance of what Christ thinks ;
also on the expediency of not pouring out faster than we take
in, which he expressed in these words, ' if we do much for
Christ, we must live much upon Him.' He also made some
sweet remarks on the sovereignty of the Spirit's operations."

KINDNESS OF CHRISTIAN FRIENDS. 43
July 9th, being the day appointed by Mr. Puget to sail for
England, Mr. Groves accompanied his friends to the yacht,
where they met together for prayer ; and when they were
under weigh, Mr. Groves writes : " We returned, committing
them to the shadow of Jehovah's wings." In the journal of
this day, he adds, " I cannot but rejoice in the sensation which
the coming of this little yacht on such an errand has excited
in the minds of many ! It has stirred them up to desires, and,
I trust, actions, of which they had not thought before. I bless
God the Uttle vessel came, as I think it may prove a stimulus
to many others, who hitherto have been satisfied in contributing
a yearly guinea to the cause of God among the heathen."
The time was now drawing nigh for Mr. Groves and his
missionary band to pursue their journey, and the Lord followed
them with blessing. A kind Christian ordered the landlord not
to send in any bill, when they left the town. Another brought
from some Christian friends sufficient money to meet the ex
pense of the conveyance, for which they otherwise would have
paid two hundred roubles. A bag of biscuits was sent by
Miss Kilham, a member of the Society of Friends, who came
into Russia to establish schools, and who offered to assist Mr.
Groves should he need her services ; other friends sent sugar,
coffee, cakes, and a quantity of lemons.
Their sojourn in Petersburgh was indeed a season of blessing.
They not only received consolation, but comforted their bre
thren by " the comfort wherewith they themselves were com
forted of God ;" and Mr. Groves, after many acknowledgments
of what he owed to the Lord and to His saints, observes, a
day or two before his departure : " My heart is really over
whelmed when I think of all the Lord's kindness towards us,
in supplying our need abundantly. I trust this will make us
doubly careful to spend aU for His glory, and as little as pos
sible for ourselves." And, again, " I have not only had all my
expenses at Petersburgh paid for me, but have been greatly
helped for my journey."
From Petersburgh, his sister, Miss Groves, who had hitherto
accompanied them, went back to England, by the advice of Dr.

44 JOURNEY TO MOSCOW.
Wilkie, her health having suffered materially from her voyage.
Mr. Groves then determined to say farewell to their friends at
S. Kilham's ; and, after prayer, started at four in the afternoon.
The incidents which occurred on their journey we shall give in
the words of the journal : —
" We left Petersburgh with feelings of the deepest thankful
ness that we had been there ; and with a prayer, that the love
of the dear Christians we had met with might be upon us as an
anointing oil of gladness for the rest of our journey.
" July 23. — From the Thursday that we left Petersburgh to
the Thursday following we were on our way from that city to
Moscow, resting only one day and two nights. The journey
itself was marked by little that could give pleasure to the mind
of a child of God, whose eyes had been delivered from all care
for mere external reUgion, and had I not seen one and heard
of some others in the Greek church who love the truth as it is
in Jesus, I should have thought the land covered by an im
penetrable cloud of error and superstition. At Limogeye, where
we spent the Lord's day, we gave a Russian Testament to a
Uttle girl, who read it very well ; she seemed rejoiced to receive
it. We also gave away two Armenian Testaments ; the one to
our courier who is an Armenian, and the other to Mrs. T.'s
servant who had been for a long time desirous of getting one.
The most interesting circumstances of our journey were con
nected with the Lord's merciful preservation of us through
various dangers."
Mr. Groves then mentions that their carriage wheel broke
several times, and once the axle was on fire ; but " the Lord
allowed them to undergo no other inconvenience than a few
hours' delay, the accidents always happening where help was
immediately at hand."
On July 24th, they arrived at Moscow ; there were very few
English there, and no other English place of worship than one
chapel connected with the Established Church. Mr. Groves
remarks, " After the Christian love I had met with at Peters- '
burgh, I at first felt my lonely position much. Neither to
know any individual who would care about helping us nor a

MR. GROVES'S FEELINGS AS A TRAVELLER. 45
word of the language, is rather irksome ; but, just as I was
occupied with these thoughts, I met on the stairs the clerk of
Mr. Marrilers who was very kind to us at Petersburgh. So
the Lord has again supplied us with a medium of communica
tion." He was very helpful in getting their carriages put in
order. The following remarks, as showing the pecuUar state of
abstractedness of mind from everything in the world, even the
beauties of nature, which, at this time, characterized Mr.
Groves, are worthy of notice.
" Aug. 8. — My only design in keeping a journal was to record
such circumstances of God's dealings with ourselves, or others,
as might be useful to myself, or possibly to the church of God.
The mere physical beauty, or barrenness, of any country have
little interest to my own mind, because they have ceased to be,
and perhaps never were, expressive of the degree of His favour
or displeasure, or the means of converting souls to Himself.
The Jews, however, in their dispensation, which was casual,
temporal, and typical, might derive pleasure from the con
templation ; but in the Christian dispensation we cannot ; for
none of these things are promised as our portion ; but Christ
Himself is : neither are they set up as a criterion of God's
favour and acceptance. I 'know that in these feelings many
believers will differ from me ; but I cannot but feel the truth
of this view as most perfectly corresponding with the character
of a sojourner and traveller. Why spend our thoughts and praises
on that which is the great instrument of Satan in deluding and
enslaving our fallen race, and which, being under the curse,
is to be burnt up ; instead of on the beauties of Christ, and of
His world, moral and spiritual, which shall endure for ever.
Let the natural man dweU with delight on natural objects ;
let the spiritual dwell with delight on spiritual, that his spi
ritual Ufe may be manifested, and let him use natural things
merely as illustrations to those who, being natural, can only
understand natural things. I know there is no sentimental
beauty in this ; but what is sentimental Christianity at best,
but a thing to talk about on silken sofas, with all the refine-

46 DIFFICULTIES OF THE JOURNEY.
ments of this pampered and luxurious age ? I have felt that
the monuments of human pride, vanity, and earthly minded-
ness, however grand in themselves, should be looked on by the
Christian obseiwer, not abstractedly, but in their object and
origin ; and if our moral and spiritual affections were as acute
as our natural, this would be the spring of our judgments.
Surely could Babel be exhibited to me in vision, I should only
desire the sight, that I might loathe the pride of heart which
led to its erection, and brought that curse of diversities of
tongues upon us the effects of which I now feel every
moment. Mr. Groves and his party left Moscow on Monday, August 9th.
They had then to experience the difficulties and inconveniences
attending a journey towards Eastern countries ; the roads were
often so bad that they were almost impassable. At some
places, the scantiness of their accommodation obliged them to
procure mattrasses for themselves. "At Tamboff, where we
expected," says Mr. Groves, " to find a comfortable lodging, it
being the principal city between Moscow and Astrakhan, we
could only obtain a very uncomfortable and dirty one. We
therefore had to go two stages further, understanding we should
there find a good post house ; but, as the people were asleep
when we arrived, the driver carried us on another twenty
versts, where no accommodation whatever was to be had ; so
we were obliged again to go on another stage to reach Vesa-
vaya, a neat village, eighty-eight versts from Tamboff."
Even here, though their accommodation was good, they had
everything to do for themselves. The back spring of their
carriage was broken ; and, though quite unacquainted with
such matters, they were obhged to mend it. In travelling
through Russia, Mr. Groves seems to have been much struck
with the external comfort and the courteous manners of the
peasantry : he remarks on " their kindness and civility towards
each other ; even the lowest of the people constantly taking off
their hats to one another when they met." He did not then
agree with the efforts some would have made to educate the
lower classes : his mind seemed to be absorbed in the one

VISIT TO A MORAVIAN COLONY. 47
thought of evangelization. " Education," he observes, " is one
thing, which may or may not be a blessing ; the knowledge of
God's word is another : to forward the one, separated from the
other, I would not put forth my little finger ; to the latter, all
my strength. The one leads to pride, rebellion, infideUty, and
discontent ; the other is at least a check where it operates no
further ; but where it does, you obtain a valuable subject."
After the spring of their carriage had been mended, they
continued travelling from four o'clock on Monday afternoon
till the following Saturday, when they reached Sarepta, a
colony of Moravians. "We were much fatigued," says Mr.
Groves, " but not so much as might have been expected, con
sidering we had travelled five successive nights, without taking
off our clothes."
"The Moravian pastor, Mr. Niluhmoun, was," says Mr.
Groves, "a pleasing man, and spoke French freely." Their
conversation, and Mr. Groves's reflections upon it, we extract
from his journal.
" Aug. 10. — Mr. Niluhmoun called and sat some time with
us. From him I learn that the Calmucs who were detached
from their hordes by the missionaries, and about whom they
had so much trouble, are now living at Fairtzeria, after having
been baptized into -the Russian church ; but they are decUning
from the want of that rehgious instruction which the Mora
vians are not allowed to supply. All missionary character is
now lost here ; they are a simple colony of artificers, who, for
the sake of the preservation of this character, have rehnquished
that of the missionary. I see here the great evil of having
anything mercantile connected with missionaries, unless as a
simple accident of support, and not as an essential part of the
constitution. Mr. N. said, a missionary, if prevented from
preaching the truth or exercising his ministry, might take up
his hat and say, ' Bon jour, Messieurs! and walk off. But a
colony, he added, is 'un autre chose,' your hands are tied.
However, the missionaries might go on as long as they could,
and when the alternative came of leaving, or restricting their
ministry, those who preferred gain would stay, and those who

48 REFLECTIONS ON EXTERNAL ORDER.
preferred Christ would go. The present pastor's father was the
founder of the mission, about sixty-three years since. He has
been pastor twelve years, and was born here, though educated
in Germany. He says, keeping the young people separate from
the Russians and others about them, constitutes a very difficult
part of the system of regulation. They do not live from a
common stock, but each one on the proceeds of his labour.
The unmarried live together, but each supplies his or her quota.
They occupy two large houses, and the widows another, who,
Uke their poor, are supported by joint contribution : those who
marry live where they please. It was six years yesterday that
this little settlement was burnt down, and 350 persons left
houseless. The whole population consists of about 1,200, in
cluding Russians and Calmucs. Little or nothing jn the way
of Christian instruction is doing amongst the Tartars, who, as
distinguished from the Calmucs, the MongoUans, and Mantchoos,
are a mixture of other tribes and races. They profess the
Mahometanism, but the Mongolians and Calmucs are heathens.
" In observing the external order and regularity, so manifest
in the rehgious exercises of the Moravians, my mind has
been strongly impressed with the danger of the sold being
deceived by this into an entirely false estimate of its real
state. Perhaps the absence of all regularity may be esteemed
a greater danger by many ; but the absence of that fixed
regularity might allow the soul, by leaving it free and un
shackled, an opportunity of watching its real movements, and
might lead it to detect real indifference and coldness, whereas
it now flatters itself with the sense of regular and orderly
service. Where affection really exists in a family, every child
shews its attachment, and thinks on those little personal and
individual occasions of so doing, which arise neither all at one
time nor in one way, nor for one thing, nor in the same words.
Perhaps, then, as we have in a family some regular expressions
of attachment, such as the morning and evening salutation, but
the greater part irregular, so, in every Christian society, the
points of public controul had better be few, and the great
majority of cases left free, as every man is disposed in his heart,

CATHEDRAL SERVICE EXAMINED. 49
otherwise you have only a subtle, self-deceiving hypocrisy
spreading through your community, appearing like order, but
in reality having nothing of real order at all — of that order
which consists in unity of hearts, not of bodies, in similar
forms. In contending for the importance of forms for the sake
of order in public worship, this must never be lost sight of,
that the order which attracts the eye of man and that which
meets God's approval, are very different : take, for the sake of
illustration, the case of the best ordered cathedral service,
every part of which is regulated to the nicest point of time and
order. This looks very imposing to the common observer, but
how does it appear to Him who looketh on the heart ? First,
there are the choristers who keep all in time, but are the an
noyance of all about them by their disorderly indifference ; —
then the congregation, if accustomed to the service, follow the
recitative with their voices, led by the ear, whilst their hearts
may be occupied with their various objects of interest, whether
pleasure or profit ; and, lastly, there is the spectator, unac
customed to the service, who considers only the music, but
understands not a word of what is said ; so that, in fact, if we
consider that the only order of any value is that which proceeds
from the unity of the hearts of the worshippers, from the
truth and spirit of the petitions offered up, it may, perhaps, be
affirmed with truth, that, in the sight of God, the most ex
ternally disorderly set of jumpers that ever met together, may
and often have more real unity of spirit than is really existing
under all the shew and semblance of decency. I do not wish
to advocate external disorder, but I am, if possible, more anxious
not to be deceived by the existence of external order into the
supposition of there being any essential connection between it
and unity of soul in the service of God."
Sunday, 9 th August, was a peaceful and happy day. They
were much refreshed by lying on their beds, though, from the
number of mosquitos, and other vermin, they had but little
sleep. They were also interested in observing the parties of
Calmucs, which marked their approach to Asia. Mr. Groves
remarks, "There is much less of heaviness about their ap-
E

50 MISSIONARIES AT ASTRAKHAN.
pearance than I had expected to find ; and I never saw more
vivacity of manner." On Tuesday, 12th August, they left
Sarepta, and proceeded on their way to Astrakhan. " For two
hundred miles the roads were tolerable, but for the remainder
of the way very bad, owing to deep soft sand ;" and, from the
delays in procuring horses, they did not reach the side of the
river opposite Astrakhan till late on Friday night. Here, too,
they had to recount the Lord's goodness and mercy to them,
in having brought them in safety a distance of 1,400 miles from
Petersburgh very little fatigued, and even in better health than
when they set out. Rooms had been provided for the whole
party in the missionary house, and they were most kindly re
ceived by Mr. Glen, the missionary. Thus the Lord did more
for them than they could think.
Mr. Glen was, at that time, deeply engaged in translating
the Bible into Persian, and had proceeded as far as Ezekiel,
with the help of a Moonshee. The next day, Mr. Groves and
Mr. Glen spent much time in visiting several Armenians, " who
were very easy of access and kind, but still given up to the
world, and having an external religion, in which they had no
heart." On the 23rd, they left Astrakhan, " deeply impressed," says
Mr. Groves, " with all the kindness and Christian love which
had been manifested to us by the dear Glens, and with a hope
that we may meet again, if it be Lord's will, to renew many of
those communications we had together, when experience will
have either confirmed or corrected them."
On this journey, as in the previous one, the Lord blessed
them with many facilities. They were in want of a courier at
Teflis, as the one they brought from Petersburgh had only been
engaged as far as Astrakhan ; and while they were staying with
Mr. Glen, an Armenian merchant, a relation of one of the
priests whom they visited, offered to go with them as a com
panion, and to provide for them on the way, accepting nothing
for his trouble. He had been several times that way, and knew
every place on the road. They gladly accepted his offer ; and,
at Mozdok, Mr. Groves says of him, "We have found the

ESCAPES FROM VARIOUS DANGERS. 51
Armenian merchant kind and obliging ; he managed affairs on
the road very well ; he helps us in the Armenian language, and
we help him in EngUsh." The circumstances of their journey
onwards to Mozdok were similar to those already recorded,
and once their carriages stuck in the mud for five hours ; they
had also greater difficulties than before in obtaining horses,
which obliged the party to separate, some of them going three
or four stages alone ; and though at Mozdok there was no sort
of post house or inn, their Armenian friend obtained a com
fortable house for them to rest in for three or four days, while
they waited for the post. Indeed, here they were made more
sensible of the kindness of their heavenly Father, as the account
of Dr. Henderson had led them to expect many dangers and
difficulties. On Sept. 3rd, they left Mozdok for Catherinegrad, where
they remained till the 5th, when the post arrived. Hearing
that travellers ought not to travel on this road without an
escort, they went on in company with three hundred Tartar
carts, which carried merchandize, and a carriage belonging to a
Russian Bishop. The way in which the Lord's preserving care
was shown in this most dangerous part of their journey is told
in a very interesting way by Mr. Groves.
" A fire broke out on the second night of our stay at Cathe
rinegrad, which, however, by the mercy of God, did not ex
tend far among the wooden buildings of that place, the wind
being low, and the people quickly pulling down the adjoining
buildings. Our journey through Caucasus, though slow, was
yet, by the good hand of God upon us, safe ; and, on the whole,
presented few of the formidable difficulties which I had an
ticipated. The roads, though unusually bad, were not dan
gerous, till we reached the descent of ' the Mountain of the
Cross,' where, in consequence of the tongue breaking to which
the drag chain of Mrs. T.'s carriage was attached, the carriage
and horses flew like lightning down the hill. The coach
upset, and we feared was dashed in pieces, but we found, though
broken, it was still capable of continuing the journey. The
descent, for heavy carriages like ours, on this side Mount Cau-

52 SCENERY OF THE CAUCASUS.
casus was truly formidable; but on horseback, or in light
carriages, perhaps, would hardly have been felt. In consequence
of being obliged to go in company with many others, we found
the scanty accommodations at the resting places insufficient for
us, there being generally but one room ; at last, we obtained
permission to remain one day behind at Kobi, which indeed we
were obliged to do, not only for this reason, but because Barrown
Yacub John, the Armenian merchant who accompanied us, had
taken a severe cold, and his fever running high rendered rest
necessary for him ; we were therefore ten days on our journey,
and, during this time, passed through a great variety of scenery,
all beautiful in various ways. The entrance to the Caucasus
was through a narrow defile, the rocky, woody heights, almost
overhanging us on both sides, bold and rich. As we advanced
we came to a more elevated, open and barren scenery, in the
midst of mountains, whose tops were covered with snow ; but
there was not that rocky boldness which I had expected. The
mountains are covered with a scanty pasture almost to their
summits. The exit from the Caucasus is still more beautiful :
from the descent of the Krestovaia Gori down into the valley
Aragoi, nothing can exceed the beauty and richness of the <
scene : it surpasses all description — Azalias, Rhododendrons,
with a great variety of shrubs, covering the low elevations, and
the most beautiful kind of bushes the lofty summits of the
higher range. A painter would walk many, many miles to see
such scenery. The clear and bright foreground standing out
from the rocky back ground, by the intervention of that slight
air tint which distance gives, added to a thousand other beauties,
gave it, perhaps, as much of the beautiful as could well be com
bined with majestic boldness."
At Teflis, Mr. Groves writes, " When I look back on the
mercies of the past journey from Mozdok to this place, the fol
lowing seem the most prominent ; first, on the morning of the
day on which Mrs. Taylor's carriage was overturned, our friend
Yakub John had had his bed made up in our carriage, and not
in Mrs. T.'s as before, and thus he was preserved from the
danger to which the violence of the overthrow must have ex-

PASTOR OF A GERMAN COLONY. 53
posed him : secondly, although when we reached Teflis, one of
the wheels of our carriage was found to be in such a state that
even the coach-maker could not conceive how it had been kept
on, for it actually came off in our hands, and it wa3 the fore
wheel next the river Kur, yet it never did come off on our
journey ; had it done so, we must have fallen over the preci
pice into the river : and thirdly, that though none of our party
had had their clothes off for thirteen nights, we all arrived at
Teflis in good health and spirits, and after having rested for a
day or two, we now feel ready to prosecute the journey."
Here Mr. Groves parted with the carriages, and hired German
waggons to take them on. He remarks, " The constant bustle,
fatigue, and many cares, which rested on me, as the head of a
large party, rendered it very difficult to collect the thoughts so
as to fix them with any permanency on better things ; but all
this springs from that want of realization of God as our dear
Father, one on whom we may cast all our care, which is at once
our duty and privilege, and which it should be our constant
endeavour to attain.''
Excepting for the affection of a dear Christian brother, named
Saltet, the pastor of a German colony in the neighbourhood,
who often came to see them, they found Teflis " a very disa
greeable place." Mr. Groves describes Mr. Saltet " as one whose
bodily health was weak, but his soul was near his Lord ; one of
those who are hastening unto the coming of the Lord ; and the
thought of that cheers him amidst all the darkness and gloomi
ness he sees in the church, and is the polar star of his hopes."
Though he had relinquished the missionary office, and become a
settled pastor, he had still a missionary spirit, and longed to be
away with the Nestorian, or Chaldean Christians. His situa
tion among his own people was gloomy : some objected to his
principles, and he was thus placed in the midst of a divided
Uttle body."
The waggons iri which they left Teflis shook them terribly,
and Mrs. Groves and Miss T. suffered much, until they became,
in a measure, accustomed to them.
On their arrival at Shushee, they were much refreshed by

54 KIND WELCOME AT A GERMAN COLONY.
meeting five German brethren, who had since 1821 been la
bouring in that place for the Lord most diligently. Some of
them gave their attention to the Armenian population, others
to the Mohammedans ; they had schools for children, and were
employing themselves in fixing the vulgar language, which was
unwritten, and in translating books and selections of Scripture
into it. Mr. Groves's intercourse with them, and part of the
journey onward, we give in his own words : —
" The road on the whole was very good, though in wet wea
ther it must be nearly impassable ; we have much to thank the
Lord for in giving us such constant good weather from Peters
burgh to this place (Shushee) ; during so many weeks we have
only two or three times suffered from wet. We passed two
German colonies, at one of which we spent our Lord's-day most
happily among some dear people, who did indeed receive us in
the name of disciples, and to whom, therefore, the Lord will give
disciples' rewards ; they seemed to distinguish between spiritual
and nominal religion. They brought us little gifts of grapes,
peaches, cabbages, potatoes, and pointed to heaven as the foun
tain from which their love flowed.
" On our arrival at Shushee, we received the most affectionate
and brotherly welcome from the missionaries. Five dearer
brethren I never met ; and here the Lord seems to have given
to us light as to our jouruey onwards. Almost as soon as we
arrived, we heard of a caravan in quarantine, which was going
to Tebriz in a few days ; and after tea, dear Zaremba and
Pfander walked up with me to see if we could make any agree
ment with the head of it for our journey, thinking that this
would be cheaper than hiring animals for ourselves. As we
walked along, I was telling Zaremba that I had been praying
that the Lord would not allow me to go alone, but would let
him or one of the brethren go with me. I observed this
intimation created a great emotion in both their minds, and
they then told me, that about ten days since they had both in
tended going to Baku, where Pfander was to remain a year to
study Persian and Arabic ; but that as soon as Mr. Dittrick
received a letter from Mr. Saltet, saying that we were coming,

GERMAN MISSIONARIES AT SHUSHEE. 55
it was then proposed, that dear Pfander should accompany us,
instead of going to Baku. Thus the Lord has most graciously
answered my prayer, and given me a dear brother who has the
same views and the same objects with myself, and who also
understands Turkish, one who will be a great comfort and a
medium of communication with the people around us. So won
derfully does the Lord seem to have met our wants that my
heart is overwhelmed. O may *ny confidence in Him be daily
more and more confirmed ! The brotherly love of the missionaries
has provided us with a resting place during our stay with them
selves, to our great comfort, for they are truly dear brethren,
and from communion with them I have derived the greatest joy
and satisfaction. That perfect unity of sentiment which sub
sists between us as to the importance of laying aside every
thing of this world's greatness, and descending to the level of
the people, is most grateful to me ; and this is not the senti
ment of one of these dear brethren, but of all. They have now
the best house in Shushee, and although nothing can be more
plain, simple, and frugal than the interior arrangements, still
the exterior is striking, where every thing else is so despicable
and mean as in this town. The consequence is, that the people
continually taunt them with having renounced the world, and
yet living in so grand a house, and for saying that a little room
a few feet square would do for them. All these five disciples
feel the point of this, and wish to be free from the burthen.
"Sept. 29th. — After having arranged every thing at Shushee,
we departed. All the dear brethren went one stage with us, and
Zaremba accompanied us to the Araxes. The evening before
we parted, we held a little meeting, and broke bread together.
Never had I enjoyed more brotherly affection and counsel than
with this dear missionary family, never did I feel more in the
spirit of that precept of the Apostle, to exhort one another,
than with them. May a sweet savour rest on all our hearts,
and an increased desire to serve and glorify our common Lord.
"The first few days of our journey, the female travellers of
our party suffered much fatigue from riding on horseback ; but
it gradually wore off. Dear Zaremba had his horse stolen

56 PRESERVATION IN GOING TO TABREEZ.
almost from our tent-door, and was at 'first greatly troubled,
thinking it might prevent his accompanying us ; however, this
being arranged, we all went on happily, and the weary travellers
were much refreshed by the delay the loss of the horse occa
sioned. Zaremba was soon reconciled to the loss, by thinking
it might be of the Lord to prevent the Armenian Mirza, whom
he had intended taking, and about whom he has many doubts,
from accompanying him to Baku, having now no horse for him.
Zaremba accompanied us to the other side of the Araxes, and
thus entered with us on Persian ground, and we had a little
evening service together, and offered up a hymn of praise, where
perhaps it had never been heard before. We expected to set
off by three the next morning ; but during the night some
thieves stole two horses from our caravan, and thus delayed us,
and so after our tents and all our baggage was packed up, we
had our song and prayer, at parting with dear Zaremba, in the
open air, in presence of the people of the caravan, who looked
on without molestation. We all loved dear Zaremba most
truly, and parted from him with deep emotions of heart. He
returned to Shushee, and we proceeded to Tabreez. Our route
lay partly over almost impassable roads, in some parts of which a
slip of the horse's foot would have precipitated the riders headlong
into some yawning abyss. But though we had nearly twenty
horses, the Lord so preserved us, that not one of them fell. After
seven days we all arrived at Tabreez safe, and found that the am
bassador (Colonel Macdonald) had provided rooms for Mrs. T. in
his own house ; but as he had not room for us, we obtained
lodgings in the house of Mahomed Ali Khan, a Mahometan,
married to an EngUsh lady. Nothing can exeeed their kindness
to us ; they will not allow us to provide any thing for ourselves,
but we live with them. The apartment we occupy was that of
Sadik Khan, which he kindly vacated for our use, so graciously
has the Lord provided for us, without our care or forethought."
At Tabreez, some important changes took place in the mis
sionary party. Mr. Nisbet, of the East India Company's service,
and deputy store-keeper there, married Miss Taylor. He was a
Christian man, and willing to help forward the labours of others

HAPPINESS OF HAVING NO SYSTEM TO SUPPORT. 57
among the children of Europeans and natives. He gave a
handsome donation to be applied to the cause of God in such a
manner as Mr. Groves thought most desirable.
Mr. Groves writes : —
"Nov. 11th. — I have been thinking much to-day of the Lord's
goodness to us. I have calculated that the money we brought
from England would not have carried us through our journey,
had not the Lord helped us on the road by the hands of dear
friends who never knew that such help would be desirable to us.
In fact, when I accepted the first supply, I did not myself know
that we should want it, and therefore at Petersburgh we refused
much that was most kindly offered to us."
As to his position, he adds : —
" I feel I am happy in having no system to support, in mov
ing among either professing Christians or Mahometans : to the
one, a person so situated can truly say, I do not desire to bring
you over to any church, but to the simple truth of God's Word,
and to the others, we wish you to read the New Testament that
you may learn to judge of God's truth, not by what you see in
the churches around you, but by the Word of God itself."
After a few days, the traveUers set off from Tabreez towards
Kourdistan. They were very much inconvenienced by the rain,
which continued all day, and which very sensibly reminded
them of the Lord's many mercies on their long journey, during
which time they had only been twice exposed to a few hours of
rain, and not at all since they had begun to ride on horseback.
On reaching their resting place for the night, a quarrel arose
to their no small discomfort. It proved the difference of
character between the Kourds and the Persians, the former
being ferocious and violent, while the latter were mild and
inoffensive. — It appears that their Armenian friends, who had
gone before to prepare rooms for the party, used violence which
so roused the indignation of the master of the house, a Kourd,
that he, assisted by his companions, drove them from his house,
and beat their horses out of the yard ; an old woman mounted
on the wall then set the dogs at them, and one of the Kourds
was on the point of running his dagger into a fine horse belong-

58 DETACHMENT OF PERSIAN TROOPS.
ing to Mrs. Taylor's servant. Indeed a most serious contest
might have taken place had not Mr. Pfander separated the
Armenians and the Kourds. They afterwards heard that one
of the reasons of their meeting such a bad reception was because
they were in company with some Persian Sheahs, (an opposite
sect of Mohammedans to the Kourds,) who were carrying some
dead bodies in order to inter them at some of their sacred places.
When the affray had ceased, another Kourd took the party
into his house ; and though the accommodation was wretched,
their hearts were made thankful by the Lord's kindness, in
allowing the quarrel to terminate so much better than they
expected, and " thus delivering them from their fears." The
wife of the Kourd who took them in, was also very kind ; she
dried their clothes, and did all she could for them.
Mr. Groves remarks, " Their conduct in resisting the plan
adopted to provide room for travellers, I cannot wonder at, for
in our case being so many, it was in fact to turn the whole
family out to put us in ; nor do I think it a sufficient reason for
concluding they would be ferocious towards a missionary who
came among them, trusting to their hospitality, and having
nothing to bestow upon them, unless the benefit the Lord
might grant to the exercise of a little medical knowledge."
The remainder of the journal, till they reached Bagdad, we
give in Mr. Groves's own words.
" We met on the road the detachment of Abbas Meerza's
troops, which had been stationed at Saggas to keep up a com
munication with Suleimania One of the -officers was an
Englishman in the service of Abbas Meerza, who advised us not
to proceed on the road we were then going, on account of the
unsettled state of the country. However, the Lord preserves
us, and in this country one road appears as safe as another. He
wondered at our being unarmed, and said it was a thing he
hardly ventured to be with two battalions of soldiers. We told
him our confidence was from a higher power than such weapons.
We were strongly advised by Mr. Burgess not to go by Bannah,
on account of the ruined state of the villages, the generally dis
turbed condition of the country, and the impossibility of getting

HAPPY CONFIDENCE IN GOD. 59
food for the horses. But the charvadar, or head of the caravan,
thought it best to go on, and as Pfander was of the same opi
nion, we proceeded direct, in firm reliance on our Lord, and
therefore, with perfect liappiness. The night before we reached
Bannah, we lodged at one of those villages which had been
burned by the Persians,, and from which the Kourds had fled.
We were told we were in danger of a midnight attack, and for
some time a man, who was suspected to be a Kourdish spy,
was detained, but he afterwards proved to be an Arab proceed
ing to Tabreez. To see poor people thus driven from their
dwellings to the mountains was truly distressing ; it seems to
arise from this principle, that if one of their number commits
an offence, the village will not give up the offender. From
thence we proceeded to Bannah ; our road was quite frightful ;
in fact, almost every stage till we reached Suleimania was over
such roads as, till I arrived in Kourdistan, I could hardly have
imagined, especially the mountain by which we descended to
the capital of the PashaUk. It is, at least in appearance, the
most tremendous mountain we had passed in direct height, and
seemed to be composed of white Uas. I mention this as it may
be useful for lithographic purposes. Before we descended to
Bannah, we met the head-men of the village, accompanying
some cannon belonging to Abbas Meerza, which were with in
finite difficulty conducted back to Tabreez. Here, again, we
saw a frightful scene for strangers to witness, who knew nothing
of the cause ; swords were drawn, the Kourds began beating
our Mehmander, and a sword even did graze him on the back
of his neck. On enquiring into the reason of their conduct,
we found it was about a horse which the Mehmander was to
obtain here, instead of the one he had ridden thus far, but which
they now refused to give him. However, this being settled, we
went on to Bannah, and spent a quiet night there. Our horses
were very much fatigued, and being in a bad condition besides,
not having had any care at the deserted village the night before,
and but a partial supply here, which was sent by the head-men
as a pesh-kesh, or present, for which they expect twice its value,
we were much troubled with them the rest of the way ; and in

60 STATE OF SULEIMANIA.
fact, we were unable to go on to the proposed resting-place, (at
which we were at the time much disappointed,) and were obliged
to turn aside- to a little Kourdish village out of the road ; but
we had afterwards cause to rejoice, for here the people were
very kind, and gave us such things as we wanted, and on pass
ing the next day we found the village deserted, to which we
had been desirous of going. A Persian Meerza who travelled
in company with us, and who had actually gone on to this
viUage the day before, told us he could neither get straw nor
barley there, nor any victuals but what he had brought with him.
" Before entering Suleimania, it had all day threatened rain,
the clouds looking tremendously heavy ; but the Lord allowed
us all to pass the formidable mountain before the rain set in,
which poured down in torrents immediately after we had housed
our baggage. We gave thanks for this« mercy, as we had from
experience found it very trying, to come to our resting-place
drenched with rain.
" The Lord has again graciously cleared up the weather, so
as to enable us to proceed on our journey, and a new song is
thus put into our mouths.
" After having passed one difficult range of mountains, we
were detained by the doubts of our new Mehmander and his
followers, relative to the state of the country beyond us, as the
Pasha is expecting his brother against him ; and even these
men, of whom the Pasha of Suleimania has sent not less than
six to accompany us, are fearful for their own safety. Therefore,
instead of being any help, they detain us to take care of them
selves, and expose us to danger where there would be none but
for them. The contention of these two brothers indicates the
spirit of these petty governments. The younger came and gave
Daoud Pasha of Bagdad 10,000 Tomauns, who thereupon
nominated him to the Pashalik of Suleimania ; then the other
brother came and gave 12,000, and the Pasha has now sent to
depose he former governor. ' Cursed be the man that trusteth
in man and maketh flesh his arm ; he shall be like the heath of
the desert.'
"Mr. Pfander had some conversation with one of these

FEROCITY OF THE KOURDS. 61
Kourds, on the subject of religion. He became very angry, and
showed much of his natural ferocity, though he did not appear
to be an ill-disposed man : this awakened a thought in our
hearts that should we labour among them, our lives must be
little valued in our sight, for this man, during the conversation,
laid his hand on his dagger, and Reiterating a curse, said, ' Stop,
say not another word, for I must become an infidel if I listen to
what you say.' — May the Lord give us wisdom and prudence.
The night before we left Suleimania we had a Catholic Nestorian
Priest and another Nestorian to visit us. They seemed willing
to receive books, especially the New Testament. They told us
that Mr. Rich, when he was here, interceded with the Pasha to
allow them to have a place of worship built, which was granted.
They said that in Suleimania there were about thirty-five
families of Nestorians, that the villages about the town of
Kerkook were full of them, and that at Senna, in Kourdistan,
there were sixty families. The Priest said they had a service
every day, and that the Scriptures were read in a language they
did not understand ; so far as we could make out, this language
is Syriac, though the language spoken is the vulgar Chaldean.
We hope to pass the first and worst ridge of mountains to
morrow, after which we have a fine road to Bagdad.
" Nov. 30th. — We this day crossed the last mountain pass :
it was very grand and formidable ; but the Lord's goodness
brought us over in safety. We were, however, alarmed by a
cry of ' Robbers,' about half-way up the mountain, and when
we came up to them, we found one of these depredators in the
custody of a man who told us the whole body consisted of
twenty. If this man be a specimen of the general state of
clothing among these banditti, it would be difficult for a mis
sionary to go clad, however simply, without at least in this re
spect furnishing an object of temptation. And generally
nothing can be more truly wretched than the clothing of these
poor people ; since we left Suleimania, we observed great boys
and men all but naked, and even girls and women. It is not
improbable that the Gospel might find more free access among
these poor people than among those Kourds, who, from the

62 SAFE ARRIVAL AT BAGDAD.
Pasha to his lowest servant, depend for honour and wealth on
the present system. Yet, truly, a missionary must be strong in
the Lord who would come among them to preach ' the unsearch
able riches of Christ's kingdom.' The Kourd with whom
Pfander had some conversation the other day, stated that the
Old Testament was superseded by the New, and the New by
the Koran. One of them, on seeing my belt without a dagger,
at the foot of the mountain defile, seemed pressing on me the
necessity of supplying myself with one. But I pointed to heaven
as the source of my safety, which he seemed to understand.
"After having been four days on a journey which might
with ease have been performed in two, but for the fear,? of our
Kourdish guard, we afterwards proceeded more rapidly. At
Kifri we were obliged to procure more mules, so miserably weak
were those of our Charvadar, and from this place we came in
five days to Bagdad, making our journey from Suleimania
altogether eleven days. The Meerza who travelled with us, at a
village on this side of Kifri to which he had proceeded, was
disturbed by an attempt to break open the house where he
lodged ; and the Moolah, who had likewise preceded us two or
three days, lost three horses and some of his baggage. But we
can now say, having finished our long and perilous journey,
that from St. Petersburgh to Bagdad we have not lost from a
thread to a shoe-latchet, but we have all, with all our goods,
been brought hither in safety. Major Taylor only heard of our
approach the day on which we reached the last stage, about
twenty miles from Bagdad. He came out immediately, and we
set out at midnight, and reached Bagdad by day-break on Sun
day morning, December 6th. Major T., though the notice had
been so short, had already provided a house for us attached to
his own, just large enough, and containing every thing we
could desire ; and in addition to all this he has given it to us
rent free, so graciously and so abundantly does the Lord make
our way both plain and easy. Major T. has also given us free
access to his library, and provided for us a Moolah, so that
without an effort of our own, God has put into our hands all
we could desire at this point of our mission.

CHAPTER V.
MR GROVES SEEKS ACCESS TO THE POOR OF BAGDAD THROUGH
THE EXERCISE OF HIS SURGICAL SKILL  THE LANGUAGE AND
POPULATION  RELIGIOUS CONDITION. OF THE PEOPLE  MR.
GROVES TAKES A HOUSE AND COMMENCES AN ARABIC SCHOOL
 ARMENIAN SCHOOLMASTER  SATISFACTORY PROGRESS OF
THE CHILDREN  THE JEWS AT BAGDAD  POLITICAL STATE
OF THE PASHALIC  QUARRELS OF THE NOMINAL CHRISTIANS
 DANGEROUS STATE OF THE COUNTRY  APPROACH OF PESTI
LENCE  MR. GROVES'S FEELINGS AT THE CLOSE OF HIS FIRST
YEAR'S RESIDENCE AT BAGDAD.
Soon after his arrival in Bagdad, Mr. Groves met with Dr.
Montefiore, who was about to return to Bombay, and learned
from him that he might obtain free access to the poor by giving
them the advantage of his medical skill. " Dr. M. had begun
with twelve patients, the next day he had seventy-two, on the
third day the street in which he Uved was filled, and he was
obliged to give it up." Mr. Groves therefore felt that general
gratuitous practice in so large a city would occupy all his time,
and he determined to confine himself to one branch, that of
diseases of the eye, to which natives of the East seem peculiarly
Uable. In this undertaking he was veiy successful, and, by his
operations in cases of cataract, many who had been blind for
years were restored to sight.
After some deliberation as to the language which would be
most useful to them among a mixed population, Mr. Groves de
termined that he and his sons should learn Arabic. He found
it was spoken by five sixths of the inhabitants of Bagdad, and
almost through the whole extent of country from Bussora to
Diarbekir, north and south, and from Diarbekir to the Medi
terranean, east and west.

64 POPULATION OF BAGDAD.
As nearly as could be ascertained, at the time Mr. Groves took
up his residence in Bagdad, the Christian population amounted
to two thousand, of whom seven hundred were Armenians, some
few Syrians, the rest Roman Catholics; the Mohammedans
were about 70,000 in number, and the Jews between eight and
ten thousand. A few observations in the Journal throw some
light on the state of each of these classes.
"February 14th, 1830. — We have now been in Bagdad more
than two months, and the first impression of chilling opposition
to all one's natural and spiritual feelings is beginning to wear
away ; and that which seemed an impenetrable brazen wall,
begins to afford to diligent search Uttle fissures where hope may
enter. With schools we might immediately begin with every
prospect of considerable usefulness. In our intercourse with
the Armenians, we should experience Uttle obstruction ; but
from the Catholics much. There is in every rank a sort of
sullen suspicion which seems almost an inseparable part of their
system, arising from the nature of the means they themselves
are led to employ in carrying on the interests of the Papal
see 
" We have been much interested with our Armenian servant;
he seems really interested in knowing in what real Christianity
consists. He feels that the Armenian system of fasts and
festivals, fasting from meat and butter, but getting drunk on
arrack and wine, cannot be that which the Lord delights in ;
he seems very anxious to learn to read, and I trust we shall be
able to get him taught. We have found much difficulty in
obtaining a female servant, but at last have engaged a widow, a
Syrian, who has a little boy about four years old ; we find
these two servants quite enough for us.
In reference to the state of the Mohammedans, he adds, "I
was struck by the reply of our Effendi,* to a question from Mr.
Pfander, Why he did not read the Christian books ? He said,
" That if he did so, his head would be turned, and he should
become an infidel." How like the argument of the church 'of
* Effendi is a Turkish title of respect usually applied to learned men.

RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF BAGDAD. 65
Rome ! He added, " that much knowledge turned the heads of
the people, and made them unbelievers ; and for this reason not
more than three or four of their own sciences are generally
taught." He would not translate the Koran with Pfander ;
he said, ' they were not allowed to do it, unless to those whom
they beUeved to be seriously thinking of embracing the reUgion
of the Prophet.'
" A Jew who comes frequently to see me, brought with him
another Jew of considerable wealth, who is a British subject ;
he has resided thirty-three years in India ; he said, so great is
the oppression under which his people are kept here, and so
fearful are they of appearing to have any wealth, that, had he
not been a British subject, he should not have dared to wear
the clothes he then had on, although there was nothing in his
appearance calculated to attract attention. He had some books
which Mr. Wolff left, so that we may hope that all which was
done by him here, was not labour in vain, but that the seed
sown may, if it be the Lord's will, spring up and bear fruit.
Nothing, however, can exceed the degraded state of the Jews,
who seem utterly destitute of every moral principle. It is the
constant practice of the Jews here, when they hear oar blessed
Lord's name, or mention it themselves, to curse Him ; so awful
is their present state of opposition. Mohammedans will not hear,
and the Christians do not care for any of these things, — such is the
present state here ; but, if the Lord prosper our labour, we
shall see what the end will be, when the Almighty word of
God is understood."
Aga Minas, an Armenian, who had been the East India
Company's agent at Bagdad for many years, was visited early
in March by Mr. Groves, who found him willing to give every
assistance he could in the estabhshment of a school for the
children of his countrymen. Mr. Groves presented him with
the latest edition of the New Testament in vulgar Armenian,
and when he had read it, he gave a very favourable judgment
as to the clearness of the translation, and the ease with which
it would be understood by the Armenians of Bagdad. This
same Aga Minas procured a house for Mr. Groves in the
F

66 ENGAGEMENT OF A SCHOOLMASTER.
Christian quarter of the city, in order to be near the children
he wished to place under instruction. This house was large
enough to contain the school-rooms, and to accommodate the
schoolmaster and his family, and had many conveniences for
Europeans, such as sirdaubs, or cool cellars for the hot season,
and a large open court for the children. The rent was to be
£34 a year, but a house sufficient for the missionary family by
themselves might have been procured for twelve or fourteen
pounds. On March 1 6, an Armenian wartabiet, or priest, offered him
self as schoolmaster, and as he was quite wilUng the children
should be taught the Scriptures, Mr. Groves, for want of better
aid, accepted his services, hoping that his place might afterwards
be supphed by some brother who should learn the language.
Mr. Groves remarks : —
" As he seems to be one in whom the people have confidence,
it would be very desirable to commence with him ; he does not
seem obstinate in any opinions he has as to the excellence of
the present system ; but, on the contrary, appears sensible that
much more is to be learnt than he already knows, and he said,
that had he not been so poor, he would have sent his son to
India to receive a better education than he could obtain here ;
or, to use his own expression, to sit at the door of some wise
man, to learn wisdom. He is anxious that his son should be
with us to learn English, or any thing else ; he mentioned, also,
having two little girls to teach to read Armenian ; this greatly
interested us, and with a little girl of his own, about five years
old, would form a nucleus for future exertions among them.
Thus the Lord seems, by little and little, to open ways for us.
The schoolmaster has been in the habit of receiving about ninety
piastres a month from his boys, about forty in number ; this
amounts to about £12 a year; we shall perhaps give him about
£18, as he will have more boys, and gives up being his own
master. We heard from our Moolah,* that about two years
since, the present Roman Catholic bishop had intended to open
* A Moolah is a teacher, generally connected with the Mosque.

REMOVAL TO THEIR OWN HOUSE. 67
schools, but as the Mohammedans could not clearly distinguish
between schools and churches, they would not permit the
undertaking to be carried into effect. The Pasha said, that as
for himself he should have no objection, but the people could
not or would not distinguish between the two ; we may there
fore expect that even on our simple plan obstructions will be
placed in our way ; but as ours is not a new school, but only
the removal of an old one from one place to another, it may go
on ; and if it be the Lord's pleasure, it will, and if not, we must
carry on our work in some other way which the Lord will
shew us. The Uttle insight we have obtained into the state of
feeling in these countries, convinces us that Wolff's proposal of
a coUege at Aleppo would be attended with more difficulties
than at first sight are apparent ; certainly, the bigotry of
Aleppo exceeds that of Bagdad. At any rate, whatever plans
are proposed for these countries, let them have as little of the
world and as much of Christ in them as possible ; and whatever
there be, let it be without pretension or parade.
On April 3rd, they left the hospitable roof of the Resident,
Major Taylor, for their own dwelUng, and occupied the inner
rooms, leaving the outer part of the house for the schoolmaster.
To avoid unnecessary offence, they also refrained from occupying
a room over the street under which the Mohammedans had to
walk, though the most airy one they had
The changes that had taken place previous to Mr. Groves's
arrival, smoothed the way for his settlement in Bagdad. The
fierceness of Mohammedan fanaticism had very much abated,
and though the hatred to Christians, and even to their very
name, stiU existed, he could walk the streets in his European
dress without molestation. " Sometimes," he says, " a boy may
call us ' dog,' and manifest his ill-will by similar expressions,
but this is not often, nor does it proceed further." The Pasha,
indeed, had recently adopted the European miUtary uniform
for a regiment of foot, and had permitted Major Taylor to
form some horse regiments on the same plan. The Divine
protection vouchsafed to Mr. Groves and his party in their
journey to Bagdad, was more specially felt when they heard of

68 DR. BEAKEY AND MR. SCHULTZ.
the sufferings of other travellers. A Dr. Beakey, who had
been travelling for five years in the East, was attacked and
plundered of everything on his way to Bussorah, not by the
Arabs of the desert, but by the Pasha's own officers and the
men who collected toUs ; yet he was in a British boat belonging
to the Resident, manned by twenty-five sepoys, and carrying
the English colours. And again, Mr. Schultz, a German, who
had for years been making antiquarian researches in the East,
was murdered in the very mountains into which Mr. Groves
had proposed to accompany the German brethren in order to
visit the Syrian churches.
On this melancholy event, he makes the following comment :
" This unfortunate traveller was running these risks, and ex
posing himself to these dangers, for a reputation which perhaps
will now remain only in the memory of a few who knew him ;
probably most of his papers perished with him, as in the case
of Dr. B. ; and though his reputation were to spread as widely
as the confines of the world, where is he gone who should enjoy
it ? — where honour and reproach are alike. Oh, if they do this
for a name, if they labour thus to collect that which is of Uttle
or no use when it is coUected, what ought we not to venture
in serving our Lord, who has redeemed us from eternal death
and made us co-heirs with Himself, so that death hath no more
dominion over us, but is only a passage to glory, — a mes
senger of heaven to bear our spirit to our Father's bosom ; and
besides this, the wings of the Lord are extended over all those
who are His, and who take shelter under His power, hoping in
His mercy."
At his new abode, Mr. Groves soon received some interesting
callers ; and good tidings from distant friends refreshed his
affectionate spirit.
"April 12th. — A Mohammedan who has been with us once or
twice for medicine, has been here again to-day, and has in
terested us much. He says his father was a Christian, and be
came a Mohammedan, but his own mind was never convinced,
and after the death of his father he determined to go to India,
and throw off his Moslem profession, but he reached Bussorah

OPPORTUNITIES OF PREACHING. ' 69
at the time the Arabs attacked it, and was stripped of every
thing and wounded, which induced him to return to Bagdad.
He tells us he has a brother and sister at Mosul, who are
Christians, and when they come here, he goes to their church
with them. He says, he is convinced Christianity is true, and
that he recollects some of his Christian prayers, and says them
still ; he hopes still for an opportunity of going to India, there
to reUnquish a profession which is evidently a yoke he knows
not how to bear, or, for fear of his Ufe, how to throw off. There
is this one value in medical practice which I never so fully felt
before — that it affords to Mohammedans an unsuspected ex
cuse for coming to us. This man's father was a Roman Ca
tholic ; he cannot read.
"April 13th. — Gaspar Khan has been with us this day; he
is a Roman Catholic Armenian, and conversed very freely about
religion, admitting that paying any kind of reverence to images
was idolatry, and that the word of God was the only sure rule.
There does not appear to be at aU that bigotry among the
Roman Catholics here which I had anticipated ; almost all the
Roman Catholic Armenians have called on us, and apparently
in a very friendly spirit. In fact, we daily perceive that op
portunities of preaching the gospel are most abundant in the
friendly conversational interviews which these people afford us ;
but our ignorance of the language still remains a formidable
obstacle, though, I trust, a little diminishing ; however, the
Lord's great goodness in giving us our dear brother Pfander
relieves our difficulties, and enables us to undertake much which
otherwise we could not.
" Though now but the beginning of April, the weather is
becoming very warm. To-day the thermometer stood at 80°
in the shade. The nights and days seem much more equal in
temperature than in Persia or in Kourdistan ; it may not be so
pleasant to the feelings, but adds greatly to the health of the
inhabitants, by preventing those chills so common when the
relaxing heat of the day is followed by the piercing cold night
air. In India and Persia, the range of the thermometer is
often from 40 to 50°, between 2 p.m. and 2 a.m.

70 ARRIVAL OF LETTERS.
"We have this day (April 16) received a packet of letters,
containing some from England, and others from Petersburgh,
Shushee, and Tabreez ; aU bringing good tidings of our Lord's
doings in England and elsewhere. I received a letter from my
dear sister Mary, containing very full details concerning many
whom we dearly love ; in fact, it seemed for a moment to place
us in the midst of them ; and this being the first news we have
heard, greatly rejoiced us and encouraged our hearts in the
work to which the Lord has introduced us. ' As cold waters to
a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country,' Prov. xxv,
25. When I think of all the love of the dear children of God,
with whom so many of the happiest moments of my life have
been spent, I cannot help feeling the power of the gospel
principle, which I desire more fully to proclaim, in opposition to
that slavish fear which destroys all loving relationship between
God and His own children. If ever I feel this desire more
ardently at one time than another, it is when I can thus see
my Lord's love, and feel its power in the love of His own elect
who cry unto Him continually for us ; and at the same time,
if ever I feel real humiliation of soul, it is in contrasting what
I am with what they desire me to be."
And now, just as their money was running a Uttle low, they
heard that the carriages left at Teflis were sold, and the proceeds
were enough to supply their wants for many months. Other
news from Persia, as to the success of the German missionaries
of Shushee, afforded much spiritual joy.
Mr. Groves had written to Mr. Jowett, of Malta, for such
Arabic tracts and school-books as he had printed, but before
they could arrive he began his work.
"April 19. — The school has commenced to-day, with forty-
three boys and two girls, as many as we shall well know how to
manage. The system of tuition is so entirely defective, that it
must be thoroughly changed ; the Armenians, in the first place,
learn to read only old Armenian, which neither they nor their
teachers understand. Each boy learns and says his lesson alone,
and sings it out as loud as he can shout, the louder the better;
so that the moment they see any one coming, and wish to ap-

COMMENCEMENT OF THE SCHOOL. 71
pear to advantage, they cry out so much the more loudly.
We intend immediately to begin with our Arabic class, as they
all more or less understand this, and it is the colloquial
language here ; by this means, as I get on in Arabic, I hope to
be of use to them by taking a Scripture class in Arabic. I see
so much to be reformed, and such a want of materials to work
with, that but for having such a Head as we have, I should
altogether give up in despair ; but He strengthens my heart.
We have sent to Sheerauz for a person who is said to understand
the English system, which he learnt in India, and also a little
English. " There appears no doubt at all of our having a girls' school, as
soon as sufficient female help can be procured ; and from all that
I can learn of the internal state of the families of the people, no
thing can be more important than to raise the moral feeling of
their females ; their whole domestic state would thus be easily and
entirely reformed, and by bringing them in contact with God's
word, they would have a standard they never could lay aside, or
obliterate from their memories."
Notwithstanding this fair commencement and his own san
guine hopes, Mr. Groves was not unprepared for disappointment,
and in sending off this portion of his Journal to friends in En
gland, he writes : —
"Since the conclusion of my Journal, three months have
elapsed, and I can truly say that in every respect my hopes rise
daily higher ; yet I desire never to forget that all depends on
the will and purpose of our Lord. I see about me every mo
ment the elements of destruction to any system of Christian in
struction ; and we are only not devoured, because the Lord our
King breaks their teeth, yea, the teeth of the young lions, there
fore all we can speak of is the present, and that now we have all
plain apparently before us. As for the future, we know no
thing, neither are we careful ; it is sufficient for us to know, that
all things shall work together for the glory of our Elder Bro
ther, as all things shall work together for our good ; all we have
to do is simply to go on trusting in the Lord, and then we shall be
like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but standeth for ever.

72 PROSPERITY OF THE SCHOOLS.
The progress of the school, as seen under various dates in the
Journal of the next few months, was very satisfactory, and
Mr. Groves's own industry as a learner and teacher is worthy of
observation : —
" June 2nd.— We begin to find that our school-room is not
large enough to contain the children, and we have been obUged
to add another, We have now fifty-eight boys and nine girls,
and might have many more girls had we the means for instruct
ing them ; but we have as yet no other help than the school
master's wife, who knows very Uttle of any thing.
" June 3rd. — We have received from Shushee a parcel of our
Lord's Sermon on the Mount, in vulgar Armenian. We were
very much rejoiced at this, as it enabled us to supersede, in some
Uttle degree, the old language ; but, in determining that every
boy sufficiently advanced should learn a verse a day, we met
with some opposition from two or three of the elder boys ; and
I think two will leave the school in consequence, but the Lord,
I have no doubt, will enable us to triumph over all ; at aU events
I see my way clear, come what will.
" I cannot sufficiently thank God for giving me dear brother
Pfander, for had it not been for him, I could not have attempted
any thing, so that all that has now been done, must rather be
considered his than mine, as I have only been able to look on
and approve. But if the Lord's work is advanced, I can praise
Him by whomsoever it may be promoted.
"June 12th. — Among the boys who come to me to learn Eng
lish, I have the son of a rich Roman Catholic jeweUer of this place.
So important has the commercial relation between this place and
India become, that the number who wish to learn English is
much greater than I can possibly take charge of, as this is not
with me a primary object ; but it is a most important field of
labour, and one that might have, I think, very interesting results,
for people wiU bear opposition to their own views more easily
in another language than in their own : it does not come to
them like a book written to oppose them, and thus truth may
slide gently in. My Moolah, who is teaching me Arabic, and
whose son I teach English, told me, that in two or three years

PLAN OF LEARNING THE LANGUAGE. 73
he would send his son to England to complete his knowledge of
English. Now to those who know nothing of the Turks this
may not appear remarkable, but to those who do, it will exhibit
a striking breaking down of prejudice in this individual.
" There is a famous man here, a Mohammedan by profession,
but in reaUty an infidel, — the head of a pantheistic sect who be
lieve God to be every thing and every thing to be God, so that
he readily admits, on this notion, the divinity of our blessed
Lord. InfideUty is extending on every side in these countries.
My Moolah said that now a-days, if you asked a Christian
whether he were a Christian, he would say, Yes ; but if you
asked him who Christ was, or why he was attached to Him, he
did not know. And, in the same manner, he said, if you
asked a Mohammedan about his faith he would also say, he
did not know, but that he went as others went ; but, he
added, now all the Sultans are sending out men to teach,
— the Sultan of England, the Sultan of Stamboul, &c. By
this, I imagine his impresion is, that we are sent out by the
king of England.
" Our school is on the whole going on very well. We have
introduced classes, and a general table of good and bad behaviour,
of lessons, of absence, and of attendance ; and they aU learn a
portion of Scripture every day in the vulgar dialect. This is
something. " I am beginning to feel my acquaintance with Arabic increase
under the plan which I pursue with the boys who learn En
gUsh. They bring me Arabic phrases, and, as far as my know
ledge extends, I give them the meaning in EngUsh ; and when
that fails, I write it down for inquiry from the Moolah next day,
and then by asking words in Arabic every day for the boys to give
me the EngUsh, I at last get the expressions so impressed on my
memory, that when I want them they arise almost without
thought. Another advantage from the boys bringing phrases
and words, is that they bring such as they use in the spoken
Arabic, which is very different from the written. This is a plan
I would recommend, whenever it can be adopted, to every
missionary ; for in having the questions to ask every day, and

74 GIFT FROM THE BIBLE SOCIETY.
only the English written down, there is a stimulus to the
memory which nothing else gives.
" June 26th. — From the Bible Society at Bombay (to which an
application was sent by Dr. Montefiore) I have received accounts
of their having sent me two English Bibles, fifty Testaments,
twenty Arabic Bibles, fifty Syriac Gospels, fifty Syriac Testa
ments, fifty Armenian Bibles, one hundred Persian Psalters,
seventy-five Persian Genesis, and six Hebrew Testaments. In
this are omitted those which are most important to us, the
Chaldean, the Persian, and the Arabic Testament ; but per
haps when they receive a supply from the Parent Society, they
will then forward these likewise.
"Mr. Pfander learnt from some Armenians yesterday, that they
were much pleased with the children, learning the Scriptures in
the vulgar dialect ; that they were unable to understand the
ancient language still read in their churches, and they ex
pressed a wish that they might have a complete translation in
the vulgar tongue. Those Bibles we now have from the Bible
Society are in the dialect of Constantinople, which is by no means
generally or well understood here, where the Erivan dialect pre
vails, which they use in the Karabagh, in the north of Persia,
and in all these countries. The missionaries at Shushee are
going on with the New Testament : Mr. Dittrich has finished
the translation of the four Gospels, and we hope it will be printed
for the Bible Society this year, for we greatly need Armenian
books in the vulgar dialect, by which we may, step by step, su
persede the old altogether. We also greatly want Arabic school-
books ; but these we shall hope to get from Malta, through the
labours of Mr. Jowett. We cannot be sufficiently thankful for
having these precursors in labour, who have provided to our
hands materials that would have cost much labour and time
to obtain ; I now begin to appreciate the labours of these dear
servants of the Lord, who are silently spending their strength
for the use of others.
"July 12th. — We have been interested by some inquiries made
by our schoolmaster and his father, relative to our morning and
evening prayers ; he wanted to know what they were, and Mr.

OFFICE OF A MISSIONARY. 75
Pfander had the greatest difficulty in making him understand
that we prayed from a sense of our present wants. They said,
they had heard from their books, that in the time of the
apostles men were without form of prayer, and were enabled to
pray from their hearts ; but that it was not so now. They
also asked some questions about the Lord's Supper, whether we
used wine mixed with water or unmixed, bread leavened or
unleavened. They seem anxious to know more, and may the
Lord give them an open door.
"We cannot help feeling that the difficulties among the
Mohammedans, and apostate Christian churches, are great beyond
any thing that can be imagined previous to experience. The
difficulties of absolute falsehood are as nothing to those of per
verted truth, as we see in the confounding of infant baptism
with the renewing of the Holy Ghost. In every thing it is the
same — prayer, praise, love — all is perverted, and yet the name
retained. " The office of a missionary in these countries is, to live the
Gospel before them in the power of the Holy Ghost, and to drop
Une upon line, and precept upon precept, here a little and there
a Uttle, till God gives the increase of his labours; but it must be
by patient continuance in weU doing against every discouraging
circumstance, remembering what we ourselves once were.
"We have been to-day in hopes of obtaining another
Moolah, for teaching the children in the school to read and
write Arabic. For two months we have been trying without
success to obtain one, so great is their prejudice against teaching
Christians at all, but especially themselves to read the New
Testament ; but as our Lord does every thing for us, we doubt
not He will do this also, if it be best.
" I am much led to think on those of my dear missionary
brethren who look for the kingdom of Christ to come in by a
gradual extension of the exertions now making. This view
seems to me very discouraging ; for Surely after labouring for
years and so little having been done, we may all naturally be
led to doubt if we are in our places ; but those who know it
is their place to preach Jesus and to publish the new testament

76 MR. GROVES'S EXPECTATIONS.
in His blood, whether men will hear or whether they will for
bear, have nothing to discourage them, knowing they are a sweet
savour of Christ. I daily feel more and more that, till the
Lord come, our service will be chiefly to gather out the few
grapes that belong to the Lord's vine, and publish His testimony
in all nations ; there may be here and there a fruitful field on
some pleasant hiU, but as a whole the cry wiU be, ' Who hath
believed our report 1 and to whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed ?'
"Aug. 15th. — The thermometer this day has been the highest
hitherto for the year; 117° in the shade, and 155° in the sun.
(It was afterwards 118° and 158°.) This is the time when the
dates ripen, and the most oppressive in the year ; but, by the
Lord's great mercy, we are all in health and strength, though
sometimes we feel a little disposed to think it is so hot we may
be excused from doing anything ; but my English scholars keep
me employed six hours a-day, which prevents me from thinking
much about the heat, though not from feeling it. I can truly
say, it is far more tolerable than I expected, and yet there are few
hotter places on the face of the earth. The temperature of
India is not nearly so high ; and I question if there is any place
that for the year through would average so high.
"Aug. nth. — We have this day a new Moolah, the best we
could get, but not altogether such as we could have desired.
" Aug. 1 9th. — Our new Moolah has expressed his surprise at
the contents of the New Tesf^ament, and wonders how Moham
medans can speak against it as they do. He intends coming to
our Armenian schoolmaster on Sundays to read it with him.
May the Lord most graciously send down His Spirit upon them,
that the one who undertakes to teach what he does not know,
may, by discovering his ignorance, be led to the fountain of all
wisdom; and may the other learn to love Him whose holy,
heavenly, and divine name he has blasphemed.
"Sept 29th.— When the Syrians in Mousul received an ac
count of our school here they were much interested, and all their
principal persons have written a letter to invite us to come and
establish schools among them, and to desire that we should send

OPENING IN MOUSUL. 77
them some Arabic Testaments and Psalms. All this is most
encouraging, and I plainly see, that were there twenty servants
of Christ, faithful men who would be content to work for the
Lord in every way, there might soon be found abundant work
for them. Mousul seems especially open to Christian influence.
Many of those immediately connected with the Pasha are
Christians, and many even among the Mohammedans have still
Christian recoUections. The letter from Mousul, we are told
will come in about three days ; if so, Mr. Pfander proposes sending
back a present of Arabic Testaments and Psalms, with the ex
pression of our hope that the Lord may strengthen our hands,
as He has made willing our hearts, to extend our labours unto
them. " Marteroos, the schoolmaster, who we hear is on his way from
Sheeraz, wiU, I trust, be a great comfort to us, and a help to the
school. From his understanding English we hope he may not
only be able to take the higher Armenian classes, but have time
to translate such books as we need for the use of the school, and
also Uttle tracts for circulation.
" Our Mohammedan Moolah still continues to read the New
Testament with the Armenian schoolmaster, who seems very
sanguine that he will become a Christian. At all events I bless
God that he sees the record of God with his own eyes, so that
if he now rejects the testimony, it will be God's that he rejects,
and not the solemn mockery of Christ's most simple and most
holy truth, which they have before seen.
. " We were much dehghted to find that those of the little boys
who had been exercised in translating their own language into
the vulgar, had retained such a clear knowledge of it that though
they were called upon quite unexpectedly they understood it ;
whereas the bigger boys, who come to me for English, and to
the Moolah for Arabic, and who are considered to have finished
their Armenian education, were not able to translate one word,
at which they were not a little ashamed, though the fault was
not theirs, but the plan of education. We are greatly encouraged
by this, and hope, with the Lord's blessing, we shaU see, instead
of a system of education which after immense labour terminates

78 TWO CHIEF OBJECTS OF THE CHURCH.
in nothing but sound, without sense or instruction, a system that
will at least bring God's word before them in a form intelligible
and clear ; yea, the very truth that God's Spirit has promised to
bless, and which He has declared shall not return unto Him
void. Our schoolmaster fully enters into these plans for im
provement, and reaUy desires to do whatever we wish. Our
Arabic Moolah also enters much into our wishes, and the boys
are making double the progress they did under the old system.
This is all of the Lord ; and, in fact, when I think of the
doubts expressed before we commenced of our being allowed to
work at all, and consider the quietness and peace the Lord has
permitted us to enjoy in the prosecution of our work, I desire
more entirely to cast my whole soul, with aU its purposes and
plans, on the Lord, and not to move but as He guides.
" The two great objects of the Church in the latter days;
independent of growing up herself into the stature of the fulness
of Christ, seem to me to be the publication of the testimony of
Jesus in aU lands, and the calling out the sheep of Christ who
may be imprisoned in all the Babylonish systems that are in
the world. In both these, may the Lord of His infinite mercy
grant success ! Oh, how consoling it is, under an overwhelming
sense of powerless inefficiency to one's work, to know that God
has chosen to put the most precious gift in earthen vessels, that
the exceUency of the power may be of God and not of man ; so
that we may glory in our very weakness and ignorance, and
natural insufficiency, knowing that the Lord's strength is made
perfect in this very weakness. Dear and blessed Lord, make
every one of us willing to be nothing, that thou mayest in all
things be glorified.
" Oct. 2nd. — I have just seen a sight that interests me much ;
the Mohammedan Moolah sitting at one. window of the school
room reading the Arabic New Testament, and the Armenian
wartabiet (or schoolmaster) sitting at a table explaining to the
son of the priest of this place the New Testament. This young
man is just going to Ispahan to be ordained. It is certainly
something gained, that the word of eternal truth is brought
before them.

CONVERSATION WITH A MOOLAH. 79
" Oct. 10th. — The Lord has blessed us with a little girl, and
every thing has been ordered by Him most happily, so that we
have wanted nothing that the luxury or wealth of England
could supply. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within
me bless His holy name ; for indeed He daily loadeth us with
benefits. '' Ocif. 17. — Mr. Pfauder's Persian Moolah has altogether re
fused to translate Persian with him. He says he will read and
converse with him, but not translate ; so great is their contempt
of Christians, that though it is only the Gulistan of Sadi, and
therefore no religious book, they will not teach it. In fact the
difficulty of getting teachers here is very great. The Christians
know nothing, — the Mohammedans very little, and what they
do know they will not communicate to a Christian.
" Oct. 1 8th. — Our hearts have been deeply affected by a conver
sation which Mr. Pfander has had with the Mohammedan
Moolah who teaches our boys Arabic. He was telling Mr. P.
that he was greatly struck by our Lord's precept, when you
make a feast, not to invite the rich or those who can invite you
again, but the poor who cannot ; and that from these considera
tions he had been led to invite to an entertainment he had
provided all the poor persons he knew, to the surprise of his
friends, to whom he explained his reasons. He also told Mr.
Pfander he had often wished he were an animal rather than a
man. There appears altogether a degree of uneasiness in his mind
that may lead farther. Thus God is making His holy and blessed
word a testimony to the hearts of some ; oh ! may every suc
cess here be such as bears only the mark of God's workmanship
by His word and His Spirit. That there are many souls here
which will feel the power of God's omnipotent word, when it
comes fully and clearly before them, I can never doubt.
" Our schoolmaster has come to a full understanding of the
principles on which we intend to conduct the school, to have no
thing that is contrary to God's word admitted, and I think he
very fully and heartily enters into this plan. But he informs
us that the parents of many of the children are dissatisfied with
our superseding the church prayers, called the Shanakirke, by

80 JEWISH ENQUIRERS.
the New Testament, and ask, ' Who are these people 1 Are they
wiser than our bishops and ancient fathers that we should reject
what they introduced ? ' This is what we must expect. But
we can, with a quiet heart, leave all to the Lord to order as He
will. That the schoolmaster is truly on our side I feel very
thankfid, and I hope we have the hearts of many of the
children." A few particulars concerning the state of the Jews, we may
now extract from the journal.
"July 12th. — We have heard of two Jews, who have bought
two Hebrew New Testaments, and a very respectable Jewish
banker has been to see Mr. Pfander, with the German Jew I
mentioned before, who is still desirous to leave the broad road,
though without heart to trust in Him who is the way, the
truth and the life. He is endeavouring to obtain a UveUhood
by teaching Hebrew, and comes here to read the book of Job
in German with Mr. Pfander, without Jewish explanations, one
of which respecting Job is as foUows. Every individual of the
human race, they say, actually existed in Adam, some in his
nails, some in his toes, some in his eyes, mouth, &c, and they
think, in proportion to the proximity of any person to the parts
concerned in eating and digesting the forbidden fruit, wiU be their
degree of guilt and measure of punishment here ; so they con
sider that Job had his place near the mouth. Such are the fol-
Ues which now occupy the minds of this interesting people,
instead of the Lord of life and glory.
"The Jewish Rabbi whom I formerly mentioned still
continues to come, and on the whole is increasing in interest.
He is almost come to the determination of quitting his lying
though lucrative and honourable profession, and obtaining a
living by learning some trade, he thinks that of a shoe-maker.
This gives me much hope that he has at least honest feelings.
During his stay here, he has been residing in the house of the
chief Jew, who has now offered him 1,000 piastres to leave
Bagdad; but he does not seem disposed to do so, as Mr. Pfander
is here with whom he can speak German.
" We hear of several Jews who have Arabic New Testaments,

PROPOSED JEWISH SCHOOL. 81
left here by Wolff ; and we trust there may be many more that
we have not heard of.
" The poor German Jew still holds on ; he has too much
honesty to live by writing lying amulets, and too little faith to
cast himself on the Lord ; but his constant cry is, ' What shall
I do to Uve 1 ' The insight he gives us into the state of the
Jews here is most awful, but notwithstanding, there appears to
me a most abundant field of labour among them. Yesterday
he called me suddenly, while at breakfast, to see a poor young
Jewess who had only been married two months, and had fallen
over the bridge with her Uttle brother in her arms. The scene
was awfully interesting. Not less perhaps than 300 Jews with
their wives were in the house, but tumultuous as the waves of
the sea, without hope and without God in the world. There
was no hope of recovering her. She had been in the water an
hour and a half, and had there been life, they were acting so as
to extinguish every spark. She was lying in a close room
crowded to suffocation, with the windows shut, and they were
burning under her nose charcoal and wool.
"August 14th. — A young Jew was here to day, and bought
three Arabic Bibles of Mr. Pfander, at 25 piastres each, i. e.
about 5s. sterhng. This is almost the beginning. Many per
haps might have been given away ; but as we find that those
given by Mr. Wolff were generally burnt, we wished them to
buy them, at least at such a price that they would not burn
them. He took away a Hebrew New Testament, but returned
it again. I should feel deeply interested in some one coming to
take charge of a Jewish school, in which the Old Testament,
Hebrew and Arabic, might be the basis of instruction. I make
no doubt, that a most interesting school might be established
here at once on a very large scale, for they have but one school
of about 150 poor boys at their synagogue, or rather synagogues,
for they have six, but all in one place, and forming one building ;
they have abo three rabbis, and, besides the boys which are
taught at the above school, many others are educated at home.
Nothing can be more distinct than their wish for a school, and
. their promise of supporting it, the Old Testament being used as
G

82 JEWS NORTH-EAST OF PERSIA.
a school-book, which certainly, as a primary step, is most im
portant, as it may cause them to see, by the Lord's blessing,
that the book which they now disfigure by monstrous interpret
ations, has in itself, by the iUumination of God's Spirit, a clear,
simple, and, in all essential points, an intelligible meaning,
without the aid of man's exposition. But should they finally
turn round and oppose the school, which as soon as the power
of it is felt they most assuredly would do, some might remain
in it, and if not, there is still a most abundant field of
labour in circulating the Scriptures, and in conversation with
the Jews not only in this city, but throughout Mesopotamia,
where they abound almost in every town.
"We have heard from a Jew, that Sakies, the Armenian Agent
of the East India Company, had given the Jews directions to
treat Mr. Wolff when here with attention, and to invite him
to their houses. The Jews here are closely connected with the
English, at least many of them who are under EngUsh protection.
"The Jews here cannot beUeve that Christians know any thing
of Hebrew, and are therefore surprised to see Hebrew books
with us. Should the Lord aUow us to be of any use to this
people, ' terrible from their beginning hitherto ' whether in the
favour or the indignation of Jehovah, we should esteem it a very
great blessing ; yet surely they ought to have one missionary
here, whose whole soul might be drawn out towards this
especial work.
" Sept. 14th. — We have lately heard some interesting details
of the numbers of the Jews in the places north-east of Persia.
A Jew who has traveUed in those countries states, that there
are, IN LANGUAGE SPOKEN. FAMILIES.
Samarcand  Turkish  500
Bokhaura  Turkish and Persian . . . 5,000
Mished  Turkish and Persian . . . 10,000
Heerat  Turkish and Persian . . . 8,000
Caubul  C Pashtoo, but Persian ) 300
Bulkh-(Caubul)  \ generally understood ) 300
There are also in the viUages around from twenty to a hundred
famihes of Jews. Their knowledge of Hebrew is very confined ;

SUCCESSION OF PASHAS AT BAGDAD. 83
very few understand it at all ; they have also very little know
ledge of the Talmud. We hope from time to time to coUect
more particulars, to correct, confirm, or cancel these, and aU
other accounts of a similar nature, for in these countries it is
not one account that can stand, and when confronted by fifty
more, it can stiU only be considered as an approximation to truth.
" A Jew of Yezd has been with us, and told us that there
are 300 famihes of Jews in that city, and the same number at
Ispahan." It wiU throw Ught on various notices hereafter to be selected
from the Journal, if the poUtical state of the country be here
described, and the causes of those internal commotions which
formed part of the trial of faith, appointed by the Lord for
His dear servant.
We shall quote Mr. Groves's own words : —
" The elements of disorder do not arise from the state of the
Ottoman empire alone, but from the vicinity of Persia, daily
encroaching on this side, both from rehgious and poUtical
motives ; and this spirit is encouraged by the constant
weakening of the pashaUc.
" About fifty or sixty years ago, commenced the government
of Suliman Pasha, the elder, who raised Bagdad from a place
of Uttle mercantile consideration to be one of the most im
portant places of traffic in the East ; and aUured merchants
from aU parts by the equity and firmness of his rule. He
strengthened the Georgian interest in this pashaUc prodigiously,
by purchasing an immense number of Georgian slaves whom he
manumitted at his death. He reigned twenty-three years, and
(a rare event in his situation) died in his bed. AU Pasha, a
freed Georgian slave, who had married his daughter, succeeded
him, and was murdered at prayers, after reigning about five
years. His successor was Suliman Pasha, who had also married
a daughter of Suliman the elder ; he governed about three
years, and was put to death. To him succeeded AbdaUah Pasha,
the treasurer of AU Pasha, who reigned as short a time, and
died in like manner. His successor was Said Pasha, son of
Suliman the elder, whose history was precisely the same.

84 UNSETTLED STATE OF THE COUNTRY.
Daoud, the present Pasha, to avoid the fate of his predecessors
cut off every man about him who could possibly afford him any
umbrage ; but while thus, on the one hand, he secured himself
for a time, on the other, he so weakened the Georgian interest,
that there were none to help him when he fell into difficulty."
When Mr. Groves first entered Bagdad, the country was
comparatively quiet, but, as early as April 1830, the scene
changed. The scattered tribes of Arabs were at war with one
another, and were trying to raise insurrection against the
Pasha ; the Mohammedans, on account of his oppressions, were
in a state of insubjection ; the Syrian Jacobites and Catholics
were at variance, and both cholera and plague had begun their
destructive ravages in the places around Bagdad.
From the unsettled state of the Arabs, no one could travel
safely ; and out of a party of five English gentlemen, who
were going by way of Mosul and Merdin to Constantinople, to
examine into the practicability of navigating the Euphrates,
three were murdered, besides a Maltese servant, and the others
escaped, with the loss of all their baggage and papers. And
again, Mr. Groves writes, " We have heard that a caravan from
Damascus was plundered, and also another from Kerkook;
and a traveller from Tabreez was stopped by the Arabs, but
suffered to pass on, when they found he had nothing but papers."
Through these same plundering Arabs, Mr. Groves lost a second
parcel of letters from England, a loss particularly painful in
that strange land. His observations on some of these circum
stances are worthy of notice.
"August 19th. — Things here seem most unsettled, and require
us to live in very simple faith as to what a day may bring forth.
It is stated, that between twenty and thirty thousand Arabs
are close to the gates of the city. The Pasha has an army
about twenty-four miles from hence ; but unable to move, except
all together, and there is another regiment under an EngUsh
officer, Mr. Littlejohn, about twelve miles distant. The depo
sition of this Pasha seems to be the principal object of these
Arabs, in which it is not impossible that they may be fully sup
ported by the Porte. What wiU be the result of all this we are

DISSATISFACTION WITH THE PASHA. 85
not careful to know, for the Lord will be to us a hiding-place
from the storm, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm
against the wall.
"A caravan consisting of 300 camels has just come across the
desert from Aleppo, with a guard of 500 men. Letters brought
by a Tartar from Constantinople have all been detained by the
Pasha, except a few on mercantile concerns. I have no other
hope of letters than what my, most gracious Lord's proved love
gives me. All which He really desires me to have I shall receive,
and more I would desire not to wish for.
" The Pasha has made up his differences with the Arab tribe,
and all the troops have returned, except those under Mr.
Littlejohn, which still remain out, for fear of an attack before
the harvest is thrashed and brought in.
" There are symptoms of great fear on the part of the Pasha
that a struggle is actually going on among those around him for
superseding him in his PashaUc, and in this they have much
probability of success, as the Porte has been greatly injured by
his unwilUngness to meet her necessities and afford her pecuniary
help. Our security, however, is that the Lord knoweth them
that are His, and wiU defend them amidst all turmoils, and in
the most troublous times ; in this we find peace and quietness."
The dissatisfaction arising from the Pasha's mode of govern
ment could not but affect a kind, sympathising heart. . . Mr.
Groves writes : — ^
" June 26th. — We find the general feeling here, not only among
Christians but Mohammedans, is a wish that the English power
might prevail, for although the Pasha does not directly tax them
high, yet from a bunch of grapes to a barrel of gunpowder, he
has the skimming of the cream, and leaves the milk to his sub
jects to do with as they can. And hearing, as they now univers
ally do, that our government in India is mild and equitable,
most of them would gladly exchange their present condition,
and be subject to the British government. Once a month at
least the money is changed. When the Pasha has a great deal
of a certain base money that he issues, he fixes the value of it
higher and higher by degrees, on pain of mutilation, and when he

86 THE CHRISTIAN'S PLACE OF SUBJECTION.
has paid it all away, or has any great sums to receive, he lowers
the value by as many degrees as he has before raised it. This
conduct on the part of the Pasha begets an universal system of
smugghng and fraud among aU classes, so that the state of these
people is indeed very, very bad. I never felt more powerfully
than now, the joy of having nothing to do with these things;
so that let men govern as they wiU, I feel my path is to Uve in
subjection to the powers that be, and to exhort others to the same,
even though it be such oppressive despotism as this. We have
to show them by this, that our kingdom is not of this world,
and that these are not things about which we contend. But
our life being hid where no storms can assail, " with Christ in
God " — and our wealth being where no moth or rust doth corrupt,
we leave those who are of this world to manage its concerns as they
list, and we submit to them in every thing as far as a good
conscience will admit."
At a later date, he gives another example of the Pasha's mis
conduct : —
" October 21st. — There has just been acted here a scene of
duplicity and bloodshed which appears strange to us, but is not
uncommon in this land of misrule and cruelty. A Capidji (or
Ambassador) from the Porte to the Pasha has long been expected,
and by him and those immediately about him, with evident
anxiety, which was increased to the highest pitch, when by a
messenger from Aleppo, the Pasha received inteUigence that
this Capidji's intention was to supersede, and of course to destroy
him. It then became the object of the Pasha to get him into
his hands, which was the more difficult as it is usual for the
Capidji to read his firman publicly and to proclaim the Pasha's
successor at Mousul, or some place near, who, collecting the
Arabs, marches to lay siege to this place till the head of the reign
ing Pasha is deUvered to him. To prevent this, the Pasha made
the Imrahor, or Master of the Horse, who has the whole arrange
ment of the military force, write a letter to the Capidji, begging
him to come ]jere at once, promising that he would, without a
struggle, give the head of Daoud Pasha into his hand, whereas
if he remained at Mousul, there must be open contention about it.

EXPECTATION OF A SIEGE. 87
" By this, he was allured to approach the city, and the Pasha
sent out seven or eight hundred men, under pretence of showing
him honour, to meet him, and in case any accounts of the true
state of the case should reach him, to cut off from him the possi
bility of flight. Thus he was brought into the city, and his
quarters appointed in the house of the Musruff (or treasurer) ;
when, after the Pasha had obtained from him the declaration of
his object, a Divan was caUed, and it was determined to put
him to death. This event has thrown the city into great con
sternation, and every one who can, is buying corn in expectation
of what is to follow. For the tragedy will not end here, as a
friend of the Capidji is left behind at Mousul, and another
Capidji is at Diarbekr, waiting the result of this negotiation.
So it appears that the Sultan is determined to act at once and
decidedly against this Pasha. We are now therefore to expect
a siege, and a state of anxiety and fear for some months ; but
the Lord who sitteth in the heavens is ordering all for His
own glory, and for our safety, and He will provide for us."
Mr. Groves took some interest in the quarrel between the
Roman Catholics and the Syrians, because he had it in his heart
to go among the latter to establish schools, and distribute tracts,
and was only hindered, at last, from visiting them in their own
mountains by having so large a school, and so many objects
needing his attention in Bagdad. In June he writes : —
"We have just had some conversation with a poor Jacobite,
who is come from Merdin, with a letter from his matran, or
bishop, about two churches which the Roman Catholics have
taken from the Jacobites. He says the Pasha of Merdin cares
neither for this Pasha, who is his immediate superior, nor for
the Sultan, and encourages disputes among the Christians that
he may get money from both parties, who bribe him by turns.
He spoke of the Roman CathoUcs as behaving worse to them
than the Yezidees, or even the Kourds ; yet he mentioned that
the Catholic bishop had a school of fifty girls, learning to read
Arabic and to work at their needle."
Afterwards, Mr. G. writes, "The poor men who came to
endeavour to obtain from the Pasha here, the re-institution of

88 SYRIAN JACOBITE CHRISTIANS.
the Syrian patriarch in those churches in Merdin, from which
he had been ejected by the Roman Catholic bishop, are return
ing without success, but are carrying back with them, to the
patriarch, two boxes of Arabic and Syrian New Testaments.
May the Lord water them by His most Holy Spirit, so that
they may become the ground of living churches, in the place of
those of stone, which they have lost."* The Yezidees, Mr.
Groves elsewhere observes, are declared enemies of the Moham
medans, whom they hate ; but, on the whole, unless their cupi
dity is excited, they are not unfriendly towards Christians. They
seem with the Sabeans and some others, such as the Druzes, to
be descendants of the believers in the two principles who have
blown their pestiferous breath at different times into every sys
tem of reUgion that has prevailed in these countries."
Mr. Groves afterwards procured still further information'
respecting the Syrian churches, and says,
"Aug. 7th. — There is another person come from Merdin, with
the view of settling the affair between the Syrians and the
Roman Catholics at Merdin. He is a weaver of Diarbekr ; and
from him Mr. Pfander learns, that in the last census taken by
the Pasha, the Syrians were 700 families, and the Armenians
6700 : this certainly opens a most interesting field for Christian
inquiry : he also said, that the Syrians in the mountains were
perfectly independent of the Mohammedans, and divided

* It may be well to inform the general reader, that the Jacobites here
mentioned were so called after Jacob, a monk, who, at the commence
ment of the seventh century, advocated the views of a sect called Mono-
physites, who had existed from the year 458, but were then, after much
persecution, sunk to the lowest point. The Monophysites, (i. e., believers
in one nature,) originated in the opposition of a certain bishop to the views
of Nestorius, whose distinguishing dogma was, " that the union of the
divine and human nature in Christ, was not one of nature and person,
but only of will and affection, and that Christ was to be distinguished from
God, who resided in Him as in a temple." Both Jacobites and Nestorians
were wrong, while the Roman Catholics retained the truth about the person
of Christ ; but through their early separation from the Church of Rome,
they escaped many of its corruptions, and in purity of doctrine on other
points, as well as in manners, they have usually risen above it.

PROPOSED NAVIGATION OF THE EUPHRATES. 89
into little clans under their respective bishops. He also stated
that reading and writing were much more cultivated among
the independent Syrians than by those in the plains i He
told us, there would be no difficulty in going among the
Yezidees with a Syrian guide. The language which the inde
pendent Syrians speak is Syriac, which nearly resembles the
ancient Syriac, and they fully understand the Syriac Scriptures
read in their churches. We hope, therefore, should the Lord
spare our Uves, to have an opportunity of circulating some of the
many copies of the Scriptures in Syriac, which Mr. Pfander has
brought from Shushee, and others which I expect from Bombay.
" It is impossible to consider such an immense Christian popu
lation as that in Diarbekr, without feeling a wish to pour upon
it the fountains of living waters, with which we are so abun
dantly blessed."
While Mr. Groves was busily engaged in establishing his
school, and in planning various modes of usefulness among the
natives, the subject of steam communication between India and
England, by means of the Euphrates and Tigris, was brought
before him by the arrival of Mr. James Taylor from Bombay.
This gentleman had been for some time engaged in undertak
ing to effect steam communication by way of the Red Sea, and
had nearly completed his arrangements when he heard of the
advantage of this fresh route. If possible, he saw it would be
preferable, as being at least ten days shorter to Bombay, and of
those which remained, several would be spent on two beautiful
rivers, with opportunities of obtaining from its banks vegetables
and fruits ; and instead of the Red Sea, which is rocky and
stormy, and was at that time little known, there would be the
Persian Gulf, which had been surveyed in every part, and is
peculiarly free from storms. Mr. Groves entered into the sub
ject with a Uvely interest, as he hoped the proposed plan would
facilitate the coming of missionaries and the evangelization of
the East. But difficulties arose, and the plan has never yet
been carried into effect. Mr. J. Taylor, who was engaged in
the necessary investigations, was one of the party already
mentioned as being treacherously robbed and murdered.

90 COMFORT OF LETTERS FROM HOME.
When the establishment of this new route was as yet a mat
ter of hope and expectation, Mr. Groves writes, " Mr. J. Taylor
thinks that traveUers from England would reach this place in
twenty-three days, and that we might get to Bombay in twelve :
should this ever take place, steam-boats will be passing twice a
month up and down this river with passengers from India and
England ; the effects of such a change, both moral, spiritual
and poUtical, none can teU, but everyone may see they must be
great  We are in the Lord's hands and He wiU bring
to pass what concerns His own honour."
Mr. Groves's circumstances and feeUngs at the close of his first
year's residence in this strange land will best be described in
his own words : —
" My dear brother Pfander and myself having come to the
conclusion, that it would be impossible for me to go with him
into the mountains, he determined to return to Shushee, first
spending a few months at Ispahan, to complete his knowledge
of Persian. I, of course, was not prepared to be left quite alone,
but still my heart was fully sustained with the confident hope
that the Lord would not only do what was right, but exceeding
abundantly above all I could ask ! On aU sides nothing but
silence prevailed : — three packets of letters had been lost
between Constantinople and this, one between Tabreez and this,
and aU the letters from India had been detained, by the Arabs
on the river, being at war with the Pasha for four or five
months. Therefore I knew nothing of the movements of any
of my dear friends, and all was left to conjecture ; sometimes,
when faith was in full exercise, I felt assured that the Lord
was doing all things well ; at others, I hardly knew what to
think. Things were in this state, when suddenly there came
in three Tartars bringing us three packets so full of Christian
love and sympathy, and with such good tidings, that it al
most overcame our hearts, weak from long abstinence
from similar entertainment; and even on this day, the
third from their arrival, they fiU my heart tiU it runs over.
To hear and see that those one most loves are indeed joying and
rejoicing in their holy, most holy relation to God in Christ,—

PROPER PATH OF GOD's CHILDREN. 91
the relationship of sons and daughters, to see them anxious to
walk blameless in all the ordinances their Lord has left them,
while they glory in being free from the law of condemnation, and
desire to know no freedom from the law of loving obedience : more
over, to see them becoming more and more sensible to the
great truth that inestimable as knowledge is, it is what devils
may share, but that the love of Jesus, and a tenderness of
conscience as to His wiU, is infinitely higher, and that therefore
His command to the members of His church to love one
another as He loves them, can never be slighted by them : — oh,
to see this does indeed rejoice my heart, and I pray that it may
abound more and more among us all, particularly among us who
have been so graciously and so kindly led into all the holy free
dom of the Gospel. Let us see we use it not as a cloak of
maliciousness, but as the servants of Christ, loving and serving
one another, not returning evU for evil, nor reviling for reviling,
but contrariwise blessing. The path God's children have to take
when they are determined, in the name of the Lord, not to give
the name of God's truth to any thing merely human, knowing
that it is a vain thing to teach for doctrines the commandments
of men, is so naturally offensive, that our zeal for the truth
should lead us to pray for such especial graces of the Spirit as
may prevent any unloveliness in our walk from hindering the
Lord's dear children in coming to and drinking of that weU-
spring in Christ by which we have been so refreshed and in
vigorated. Whilst we profess, my very dear friends, absolute
freedom from man's controul in the things relating to God, we
only acknowledge in a tenfold degree the absoluteness of our
subjection to the whole mind and wiU of Christ in all things.
As He is our life, which is hid with Him in God, so let Him be
our way and our truth, both in doctrine and conversation. How
many, from the neglect of this lovely union, have almost for
gotten to care about adorning the doctrine of God their Saviour
in all things. Let us, my dear brethren and sisters, pray that
we may be united in all the will of Christ. This is a basis not
for time only but for eternity, and for that glorious day
especially, when the Lord shall come to be glorified in all His

9.2 PROSPECT OF FELLOW-HELPERS.
saints, and admired in all them that beheve. Not only did my
packets bring me joyful tidings of the Lord's doings among
those whom I especially know and love, they also brought me
intelligence that He had prepared for me help from among
those who had been known and approved, and whom I
especially loved. How I felt reproved for every doubt ; and
indeed the Lord has let His goodness so folly pass before me
that I am overwhelmed, and feel I can only lay my hand upon
my mouth, and whilst overwhelmed with my own vileness, and
my unworthiness of the least of all my most gracious Lord's
loving kindness to me, glory in that dispensation of grace
which ministers to us, not according to our deserts, but the un-
bought, unbounded love of God. My letters tell me that my
very dear brethren and friends, Mr. P., Mr. C, his sister and
mother and little babe, and Mr. N, are coming to join us, with
possibly a fourth. Now this does seem altogether wonderful,
and whilst not at all more than what I ought to have expected,
it was more than I had faith to expect. Yet while I have no
thing to say for myself, I desire to say all for God : it is like
Him, all whose ways are wonderful, and, towards His church,
full of mercy, goodness, and truth. Oh, how happy shall we
be to await the Lord's coming on the banks of these rivers,
which have been the scene of all the sacred history of the old
church of God, and are destined still, I believe, to be the scene
of doings of yet deeper interest at the coming of the Lord ; and
whilst I should not hesitate to go to the farthest corner of the
habitable earth, were my dear Lord to send me, yet I feel much
pleasure in having, my post appointed here, though perhaps the
most unsettled and insecure country beneath the sun. With
out, are lawless robbers, and within, unprincipled extortioners ;
but it is in the midst of these, that the Almighty arm of our
Father delights to display His preserving mercy, and while the
flesh would shrink, the spirit desires to wing its way to the
very foremost ranks of danger in the battles of the Lord. 0,
that we may more and more press on this sluggish, timid,
earthly constitution, that is always wanting its native ease
among the delights of an earthly happiness ! 0, may my very

APPROACH OF CHOLERA. 93
loving, zealous brethren stir up my timid, languid spirit to the
mild yet Ufe-renouncing love of my dear Lord, which, whilst it
was silent, was so strong, yea, stronger than death.
" My dear friend and brother P  and his wife have been
baptized too ; to see this conformity to Christ's mind is very
deUghtful, and how wonderful, so strong a current of prejudice
is there against this simple, intelligible, and blessed ordinance.
" The Pasha has just sent to the Factory to say that the
cholera has extended its ravages to Kerkook, and to ask for
advice, and what is to be done should it reach this place. Mr.
Montefiore is going to write directions, and Major T. will get
them translated into Arabic, for the use of the people here.
Blessed be the Lord's holy name, our charter runs, that in the
pestilence, " though ten thousand fall at thy right hand, it shall
not come nigh thee ;" on this, therefore, we repose our hearts.
The Pasha seems perplexed to know, in the event of its reach
ing Bagdad, where he shall go with his family for safety. It is
certainly an awful thing to look at Tabreez, where, they say,
eight or nine thousand have died out of 60,000 ; and two years
ago at Bussorah, 1,500 out of 6,000, so that the houses were
left desolate, and the boats were floating up and down the
creek without owners, and when persons died in a house, the
rest went away, and left the bodies locked up. But in these
days we have in our dwellings a light of which they know no
thing, who know not our God either in His power or His love,
so that our hearts are enabled to cast all, even the dearest, on
the exceeding abundance of His mercy.
" Oh, who would not live a Ufe of faith in preference to one
of daily, hourly satiety — I mean as to earthly things ; how very
many instances of happiness should we have been deprived of,
had we not trusted to, and left it to His love to fill us
with good things as He pleased, and to spread our table as
He has done, year after year, and will do, even here in this
wUderness. " From Shushee we have heard that our dear brother Zaremba
and an Armenian had been travelling, and seUing Bibles and
Testaments. They went to Teflis ; from thence to Erzeroum,

94 CONVERSION OF AN ARMENIAN.
Erivan, Ech Miazin, and back again to Shushee. There are also
in the letters of our brethren most pleasing accounts of a young
Armenian, the son-in-law of the richest Armenian merchant in
Baku, supposed to be worth half a milUon. This young man
was much interested by the conversation of the missionaries
about the New Testament, and they went away, leaving him
an interesting inquirer. He, however, still pursued his way
alone, and attained a perfect understanding of the Armenian
Testament, which at first he was able to read but indifferently,
He then felt himself unable to proceed in mercantile transac
tions as before, so that his father-in-law told him, that much as
he regretted separating from him, if he became so pious, they
must part. ' Well,' he said, ' he could not give up his convic
tions, and he was sure his Lord would not aUow him to want ; ' so
he left his father-in-law, and learnt the trade of a tailor. From
the very first, he began to teach his wife, and she takes part
with him ; and he is now selhng Bibles and Testaments, and
circulating tracts among the Russian soldiers. This is a sight
indeed ! for centuries perhaps they have not seen one of their
own body rising up, and choosing to suffer affliction with the
people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a
season ; and the sight is as strange to Mohammedans as to
Christians. May the Lord sustain, comfort, and bless him out
of His heavenly treasure.
" From Tabreez our tidings are heavy, or rather would be,
but that the Lord of love directs and orders all, and sees the
end from the beginning, yet they have also good tidings too.
I have already mentioned that the cholera had been raging at
Tabreez ; but we learn, that not only this but the plague is
there also, to a most frightful extent. I wiU just copy the ac
count our dear sister, Mrs. W., has given us ; and for whose
safety we desire to bless the Lord ; she says, —
" ' Before this reaches you, you may have heard of the sorrow
and desolation that have befallen this city within these last two
months. Thousands around us have been cut off by the cholera
and the plague. The former raged so furiously for the first
month, that two or three hundred died daily. Symptoms of

PLAGUE AT TABREEZ. 95
the plague were first discovered among the Russian soldiers, which
manifested itself by large boils breaking out over the body, the
person attacked feeling himself overcome by stupor ; many died
before it was thought what it was ; precautions were taken, and
they were sent out to camp at some distance from the town. The
disorder has not raged there so much as it has in the town. I
cannot teU you how great was the fear that struck into the
minds of the people. Many were taken iU through fear and
died. Previous to the city being quite deserted, men, women
and children, of all denominations, collected "together in large
bodies, crying and beseeching God to turn away His judgments
from them : this they did bareheaded and without shoes, hum
bling themselves, they said, because they knew they were great
sinners. The air resounded with their cries day and night,
particularly during the night, and often through the whole of
it. 0, did they but know the truth as it is in Jesus ! At
length all classes fled to the mountains, leaving the town quite
deserted. Alexander told me, on his return one day from the
city, that he had not met a person. AU the shops in the bazaar
were forsaken, so that from this you may derive some idea of
the terror that has possessed this people.'
" Our Moolah is dreadfully depressed to-day, at the prospect
of the cholera and plague coming here, and he said to me, he
thought the end of the world must be near, because of these
wars and pestilences. Nothing can show the stupid carelessness
of these people more than that although they are almost fright
ened out of their reason at the prospect of the plague and cholera,
they have actually allowed a whole caravan from Tabreez to
come into the city without quarantine, or any kind of precaution.
"0, how joyful the promises in the Revelation for 'those who
are written in the Lamb's book of Ufe.' Yea, He will for His
great name's sake, hide us in the secret of His pavilUon so that
He will put a song into our mouths, yea, He wiU encompass us
with songs of deUverance. We feel that it now indeed especi
ally becomes us neither to 'fear their fear nor be afraid.'
" Nov. 1 Oth. — We are now fast approaching the termination
of our first year's residence in Bagdad, and the Lord's mercies

96 THE WORLD AT CHRIST'S COMING.
towards us have been exceedingly great. We have been
surrounded by many things that would have been dangerous,
had not the Lord checked them by bringing them to nothing,
both from disease and enemies ; but, as He promised, they have
not come nigh us. We have borne the heat without any dimi
nution of natural strength. We are altogether standing on a
more advanced position than on entering Bagdad we could have
hoped. Things are in preparation for the knowledge of God's
holy word being extended, and thus one great object of mis
sionary labour is in the way of attainment. But still, while I
feel assured of there being some choice fruit from here and
there a fruitful bough, I at the same time feel no less assured
that the great harvest will be of wickedness, and that the
pestilence of infidelity is the great spreading evil to be expected,
not the spreading of Millennial blessedness. As it was in the
days of Noah, so do I believe it will be at the coming of the
Son of Man ; and as it was in the days of Lot, the great mass
of mankind wiU be taunting the Church with, ' Where is the
promise of His coming V which shews plainly enough that this
will be a doctrine of the Church in the latter days, or how
should it be reviled t so that our Lord, in contemplating the
general apostasy said, ' When the Son of Man cometh, shall He
find faith on the earth V 0, then, how happy is it to be among
those who love His appearing, who long for the termination of
that dispensation which has witnessed the humiliation of the
Church under the world, and for the rise of that glorious king
dom which shall not be dissolved, and into which no sorrow or
sighing can enter.
"I feel the diversity of languages to be a great barrier.
Whether the Lord will pour down this among the other gifts
of the latter days, I do not know, but at present it is a great
exercise of a missionary's patience, to ask even for the
common necessaries of life ; but to speak out the fulness of a full
heart, so as to be understood and felt, is very, very difficult.
The difficulties in the way of a Uterary acquaintance with these
languages are by no means so great, as the study may be pur
sued alone, but the coUoquial language can only be learned by

FAITHFULNESS OF GOD. 97
intercourse with men, and this is far more difficult to attain, so
that an European may have a very good knowledge of the lan
guage of books, and still be little understood in speaking. But
the time spent in learning a language, among a people, every
thought, and purpose, and habit of whose lives are diverse from
your own, has this advantage, that you become in some measure
acquainted with their peculiarities before you are in a situation
to offend against them.
" Things are beginning to look unsettled in Persia. Conten
tions have already arisen between the Prince of Kermanshah
and the Prince of Hamadan, which seem to be but the precur
sors of a general state of confusion on the death of the Shah ;
and doubtless amidst all these commotions the Lord will move
on His way, and the day of His coming advance. O, may we all,
labouring abundantly in patience, wait for that day, that when
it does come we may be found watching !
" I shaU conclude this portion of our little history, by as
suring those we love, that the Lord has been better than all our
fears and all our hopes. The more we have proved Him, the
more we have found Him to be faithful and gracious, and that
not one of the good things He has promised to faith has been
wanting ; but His love has abounded far beyond our faith, yea,
and it will yet abound more and more. Let us then encourage
one another to prove Him more, that we may have deeper ex
perience of His faithfulness. We find the prospect of the
coming of our Lord a corrective of the allurements of the
world, and an encouragement to a simple surrender of all we as
His stewards possess, to Him who has redeemed us from death
with His own precious blood, making us a chosen generation, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that we might
shew forth His praises. 0, may the Holy Spirit dwell in us
more powerfully, that we may be ever fulfiUing His great and
glorious purpose !
" By letters from Tabreez, we learn that the plague has been
ravaging that devoted city, and that 23,000 of the inhabitants
.have fallen victims to it and the cholera. When this letter
came off (Oct. 28) they were still dying at the rate of eighteen
H

98 PROFITABLE HELP FROM GOD ONLY.
a day ; the villages of the surrounding country have suffered
equally ; half the inhabitants have been swept away, the corn
has never been reaped, and the cattle were wandering about
without owners. The missionaries from America had not then
arrived ; most probably they are deterred by the intelligence
of the state of Tabreez. Our dear friends the N  's had
never enjoyed better health — thus preserved of the Lord in the
midst of the general devastation : they had thought of going to
India, but are, for the present, at the request of the Prince, de
tained till an answer from the Indian government is received
respecting them. A famine seems the inevitable consequence
of the plague and pestilence at Tabreez. Surely these are
among the signs of the times ; but the Lord's command to us
is, ' Let not your hearts be troubled.'
" I may just add, that we have finally arranged with Marteeros,
our new schoolmaster from Sheerauz. He speaks EngUsh im
perfectly, but thoroughly understands Armenian, and wiU teach
the elder boys grammar aud translating. He will also superin
tend the girls' school for one or two hours in the morning, and
teach Mrs. G. Armenian. We also hope, as soon as may be, to
get some tracts and little school-books translated into vulgar
Armenian, but all this must depend on the blessing of the
Lord on our undertaking. Marteeros joined the Church of
England in Calcutta, but still remains a strict Armenian, though
I hope not bigoted. But all our past experience has led us to
look to the Lord alone for all profitable help. Those whom we
think promise everything, often occasion us nothing but anxiety,
and those from whom we expect the least, we have reason
abundantly to bless God for having sent us : — so wisely, so
graciously, and yet in so sovereign a way does the Lord bring
to pass His purposes, and bless His servants, that every thought
of confidence in any creature may be destroyed, and that the
soul, by a thousand disappointments, when it has reposed else;
where, may at last be compelled to learn only to repose on the
bosom of its Father, where love and faithfulness eternally dwell,
and may be convinced of the vanity of its past expectations
from any other source.

CHAPTER VI.
SUPPLY OF THEIR TEMPORAL WANTS — FULL PEACE IN THE
PROSPECT OF PESTILENCE — OPPORTUNITIES OP USEFULNESS
— PROMISING STATE OF THE SCHOOL — ACTUAL APPEARANCE
OF THE PLAGUE — DISSOLUTION OF THE SCHOOL — RESOLUTION
OF MR. AND MRS. GROVES TO ABIDE AT THEIR POST 
AWFUL MORTALITY  FEELINGS OF THE PEOPLE  DANGER OF
INUNDATION — MR. GROVES EXERTS HIMSELF TO SAVE THE
PROPERTY OF THE RESIDENT  DIFFICULTIES AS TO THE
BURIAL OF THE DEAD — FOUR THOUSAND DYING DAILY —
MULTITUDES OF ORPHANS — INUNDATION OF THE CITY — PRE
SERVATION OF THE MISSIONARY FAMILY TILL NEARLY THE
END OF THE PLAGUE — MORE THAN HALF THE POPULATION
SWEPT AWAY IN TWO MONTHS — DESCRIPTION OF THE DISEASE
— ILLNESS OF MRS. GROVES — HER CALMNESS AND FAITH —
HER SUFFERING AND PEACEFUL DEPARTURE — OTHERS OF
THE HOUSEHOLD ATTACKED — MR. GROVES'S ARRANGEMENTS
AND FEELINGS IN PROSPECT OF HIS OWN REMOVAL  HIS
HAPPY CONFIDENCE WHEN ATTACKED BY THE PLAGUE  HIS
SPEEDY RECOVERY — DECREASE OF THE PESTILENCE  PRE
SERVATION OF MR. GROVES'S CHILDREN  HIS REVIEW OF
THEIR WORK, AND OF HIS BELOVED WIFE'S PREPAREDNESS
FOR HER HEAVENLY REST.
The first entry Mr. Groves makes in the Journal for 1831, the
second year of his residence in Bagdad, is about the Lord's
goodness in providing for their wants, he says, " I have this day
settled all my accounts, and find, after everything is paid, inclu
ding the expenses of my baggage from Bushire, and of the
house and school for another year, that our Uttle stock wiU last
us, with the Lord's blessing, two months longer, and then we
know not whence we are to be supplied, but the Lord does not

100 FULL PEACE RESTING IN THE LORD.
allow us to be anxious ; He has so wonderfully provided for us
hitherto, that it would be most ungrateful to have an anxious
thought. Even for my baggage, Major Taylor only allowed me
to pay half the charge, and he has, moreover, told me, that should
I at any time want money, only to let him know and he will lend
it me. Now, really to find such kind and generous friends, is
more than we could have hoped, but thus the Lord deals with
us, and takes away our fears. That we may many times be in
straits I have no doubt, but the time of our necessity will be the
time for the manifestation of our Lord's providential love and
munificence." Surrounded as he was by evils, and with the prospect of
plague and famine, which were daily on the increase, his mind
was enjoying full peace resting on his Lord, and the following
striking passages belong to his Journal at this period. —
"Feb. 16th. — I was much struck by a remark of our Moolah
yesterday, when speaking of the horror he felt at the prospect
of the plague coming here. He said, 'the sword he did not
mind, but the plague he did ; for one was the work of man, the
other of God.' I replied, 'that feeling the God who directs
the plague to be my Father who loved me, I knew He would
not suffer it to come nigh me, unless He had no longer any
thing for me to do, and then it would come as a summons from
a scene of labour and many trials to one of endless joy.' He
said, ' Yes ! it is very well for you not to fear death who beheve
in Christ as having atoned for you ; but I fear to die.'
" March 4th. — I read this morning, with pecuhar pleasure,
Hawker's Evening Portion ; ' How shaU we sing the Lord's song
in a strange land V The pleasure seemed heightened by our situ
ation, but above all by the unity of our experience with the
words of the Psalm, for we have indeed found the love of our
Father, the pastoral care of our Shepherd and elder brother,
with the consolations and visits of our Comforter, that which
has enabled us to sing our Lord's song in a strange land."
Speaking of the comfort he felt at the prospect of seeing his
dear friends, Mr. Parnell and Mr. Cronin, &c, he says,
"Feb. 28th.— This day brought us news of the safe arrival of

SUPPLIES FROM A FATHER'S HAND. 101
our very dear and long expected friends and fellow-laboiirers at
Aleppo, on the 11th of January, after many delays and many
trials. We had never been aUowed to doubt our Lord's most
gracious dealings with us, but yet this overwhelmed us with
joy and praise ; and this welcome news reaches us just as our
dear brother Pfander is on the point of leaving us alone. We
received, at the same time, letters from most of our dearest
friends in England, which tell us, at the very moment when
our little all was within a month of coming to a conclusion,
that the Lord had provided us with supplies for at least four
months to come, for which we might draw. Surely the Lord
has most graciously seen fit to dry up those sources from whence
we anticipated supply, that we might know we depend on Him
alone, and see how He can supply us even here ; we were
ashamed of every little anxious feeling we had ever had, and were
much encouraged to trust him more and more. My soul is led
to abhor more and more that love of independence which still
clings to it, when I see how it would shut me out from these
manifestations of my Father's loving care. O ! how hard it is
to persuade the rebellious will and proud heart, that to depend
on our Father's love for our constant support is more for the
soul's health than to be clothed in purple and fare sumptuously
every day from what we call our own resources ; and yet how
plain it is to spiritual vision !
" We met together in the evening to bless the Lord for the
past, and supplicate His continued blessing for the future — that
He would accomplish what He had begun, that our hearts may
never cease to praise and bless him. My soul was much com
forted, especially by a text to which one of our dear correspon
dents called my attention, Zeph. Ui. 17. ' The Lord thy God in
the midst of thee is mighty, He will save, He will rejoice over
thee with joy, He will rest in His love ; He will joy over thee
with singing.' All the letters amounted to twenty-six, which,
after so long an interruption of all intelligence, was an especial
source of joy. And now we can think of our dear friends as
absolutely at Alleppo, only waiting for the termination of dis
turbances to join us."

102 CIRCULATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.
Mr. Groves appears to have had many opportunities of giving
and lending copies of the Scriptures to people around him, as also
of sending them to adjacent villages : he writes, "A Mohammedan
Effendi was with us to-day ; a very amiable young man, who
sees many evil things in the customs of his people, arising out
of the Mohammedan laws. He said he came to borrow an Arabic
Bible for a poor schoolmaster, which I gladly lent ; whether it
be really for a schoolmaster or for himself I do not know.
"March \3th. — A Jew came to borrow an Arabic Bible from
me which I let him have. Another Jew was with me yesterday
who translated the Hebrew into Arabic very tolerably ; but
generally they only learn to read, without understanding the
language. " An Armenian Priest has just come to ask for four or five
Armenian Bibles, to send to some villages between Hamadan
and Teheraun. This is a plan we Uke better than sending many
to one place, not only as spreading knowledge further, but also
from the greater probability of their being read."
Of the goodness of the Lord in appearing for them, and pro
viding beforehand for their wants, Mr. Groves writes :
" God our Father has most marvellously eased our way, and so
great has been the kindness of our friend here, that he would do
any thing he could for us. He even told me the other day
never to let our work stand still for want of funds, for should I
want any he would gladly supply me, and lend me for my per
sonal wants whatever I might need. Now when we consider
there is but one English family now resident in Bagdad besides
our own, how like the Lord's acting it is to make them willing
to supply the necessary help. Not only does the Lord give us
the necessary means, He does not even allow us, when our Uttle
fund gets low, to know the anxiety of expecting, or thinking
what we should do. And surrounded as we have been these
many months, by the alarm of war, and the fear of plague or
cholera, even our dear native islands have not been without their
anxieties ; but I have been much struck of late with the pecu-
Uar dealings of God towards His chosen ; as of old the pillar
that was all darkness to the enemy was light to the church in the

ARMENIAN CONVERTS AND SCHOLARS. 103
wilderness, so now this dark cloud, the darkness of which may
be felt, which is spreading from one end of the Christian and
Mohammedan world to the other, has towards the church in her
pilgrimage its full, steady, bright Ught surmounted by ' Behold
he cometh !' Blessed assurance ! But a little day of toil, and
then we shaU come with Him, or rise to join His assembled saints,
dressed aU anew with our house from heaven, that spiritual
clothing meet for the new creature in Christ Jesus. 0, what glo
rious Uberty we are heirs to, as children of God, one day to love
the Eternal Father, Son, and Spirit, with unalloyed affections,
when our whole nature shall be again on the side of God, and
not a place left for the enemy to put his foot to harass the heir
of glory."
Referring to a letter from Mr. Pfander, telling him of two
very interesting converts, and the persecutions they suffered
from their own people, he says :
" The two dear and most interesting deacons, of whom one is
mentioned as having died in the faith in his way to suffer for
the truth, and the other as gone to witness alone before his
enemies and persecutors at Echmiazin, were both in the school
at Shushee, and in the study and translation of the word of God
had been led step by step to see through the errors of the
system by which they were bound.
" A proof of the progress of the same spirit manifested itself in
our infant beginnings. The two Uttle Armenian boys who live
with us, eat and live as we do ; on being asked by the boys with
out, why they did not fast, as their nation did, for fifty days ;
they without my knowledge or any direction from me, set about
selecting from the New Testament, in conjunction with my own
little boys, those passages which bear on the question, and which
shew that if we eat not we are none the better, and if we do eat
none the worse. Remarks of a similar kind have many times
occurred in the course of our translations from the Testament.
At aU events, there is a growing tendency in the minds of the
children, to feel that God's word is the one rule by which all
that is imposed on them must be justified, and thence the neces
sity of understanding it ; and this principle upsets at once the

104 CONTEST BETWEEN THE ARAB TRIBES.
whole system of ignorant mummery which is now called, or
thought to be, the religion of Jesus here. If it be the Lord's
.pleasure to spare our Uves, and to grant us the abiUty and oppor
tunity to publish His truth, results will follow to rejoice our
hearts, I have no doubt : God has declared it shall not return
unto Him void, nor shall it. And to the Mohammedans also these
converts from among the fallen churches become invaluable
preachers, from their facility in the vernacular language ; and
from their being continually exposed to the question, why they
do not do so and so, they are called upon by the very necessity
of their position to defend themselves with meekness and wisdom,
whereas, in our case, they are satisfied with simply making up
their minds that their religion is the best for them, and ours
best for us."
Another striking proof of the quietness and peace in which
the minds of the little missionary band were kept, when fear was
on every side, is shown by the following entry : —
"March 20th. — Two tribes of Arabs, whom the Pasha has
brought up to help him in the approaching contest, in consequence
of some feud between them, came to blows, and aU last night and
this morning were firing at one another in that quarter of the
city, on the other side of the river, where they are stationed. —
It caused much alarm, and may be but a precursor to general
confusion and greater trials ; but the Lord Jehovah, who sitteth
on the everlasting hills, is our shield and defence. The firing
has since ceased, and one of the tribes has been driven out of
Bagdad." On March 21st, Mr. Groves received a packet of letters, sent
by way of Bombay, which had been eighteen months on the road :
he writes : —
. " How strikingly do these letters prove the truth of our Lord's
declaration, that those who leave father or mother, &c, for His
sake and the gospel's, shall find a hundredfold, fathers, mothers,
brothers, sisters, houses, lands, with persecutions. Surely we
are rich indeed, in the love of the saints, and in their prayers
for us. These letters prove, that our weak, childish faith has not
been without the Lord's blessing on His own work. Oh, then,

REMARKS ON MISSIONARY SOCIETIES. 105
what might be expected if we had been strong in the Lord and
in the power of His might ! Perhaps, however, He who has led
us hitherto, insignificant as we are, may lead us onward stiU to
magnify His grace in our weakness. Surely no missionaries,
with so few pretensions to the love and confidence of the church
of God, ever received more solid proofs of deep and hearty inter
est than we have during these ten months ; this is no small point
gained, and I think we may go further, and add, that many have
been led by this weak effort of faith in us to take steps they
might not otherwise venture upon. I do not desire for one mo
ment to set myself in opposition to those blessed institutions
whose labours roused us from our lethargy ; but this I may say,
that I do not think their plan is the best, or the only good one.
Notwithstanding, I desire to bless God for them, and co-operate
with them, whenever I can. I do rejoice with most unfeigned
joy at any honour God bestows upon them, and I should rejoice
to see them multiplied a hundredfold ; for whosoever brings a
stone to the temple of our Lord and King, whatever different
means he may have laboured with from ourselves, shall be our
father, mother, sister, brother. The only end we know of exist
ence is the manifestation of that temple, and may the King's
blessing and favour rest on the head of every one who labours
for it at home or abroad, under established institutions, or in
any other way. By all, Christ is preached, God the Father glo
rified, and the power of the Holy Ghost manifested. Unprofit
able servants as we are, weak in faith, and infirm in purpose, ex
cept as the Lord day by day Uft us up, as it were, with one hand,
and cover us with the other, and enable us to stagger on our way,
stiU we cannot but feel that the Lord's goodness and care, which
our weakness has elicited, may have moved in some small degree
the hearts of the little band who are coming to join us ; and I
hear that their simplicity and faith has yet further stirred up
the spiritual affections of others to go and do likewise.— but
these are early days ; if it be of the Lord, he will bless it ¦ if not,
we desire to be the first to lay our hands on our lips, and our
faces in the dust, saying, we were deceived ; the cause is theLord's,
not our's ; with Him we will leave its prosperity and defence."

106 VALUE OF BOOKS IN VULGAR ARMENIAN.
Up to the time of the appearance of the plague in Bagdad, the
shoool continued to be a source of great pleasure and occupa
tion to Mr. and Mrs. Groves ; the latest entry before it was
broken up describes the children's interest in some Uttle tracts
printed in the vulgar Armenian. It is as follows : —
"I beUeve I have many times mentioned the deep-rooted opposi
tion which exists among the clergy and Uterary men in the East,
to having any thing translated into the vulgar dialect : they are
worse than the literati of Europe used to be with their Latin,
many among whom but lately came to see that it was no dis
grace to communicate their ideas in a vernacular tongue : as the
common sense of mankind has triumphed over the literary pride
of the learned in Europe, so may babes one day overthrow
the Uterary pride of these orientals. I obtained the other day,
for the Uttle girls, a translation of one of Cams Wilson's little
stories into the vulgar Armenian of this place. The contrast
between the effect produced by reading this in an intelUgible
language, and their usual lessons, was most striking : in the latter
there is of necessity a perfect indifference ; but on reading this they
begged and entreated they might have it to carry home, which is
promised them for next week. Of this I had no doubt before ;
but the experiment has been most gratifying and encouraging.
" March 28th. — The plague has now, we believe, absolutely
entered this unhappy city. Major T. and all connected with
the Residency, are preparing to leave for the mountains of
Kourdistan ; he has most kindly invited us to go with them
and form part of his family ; this is most truly kind, and there
are many things to recommend it — the opportunities it would
afford M. for learning Armenian, and me Arabic, and for
observation on the country and people, besides our being de
livered from all apparent danger either from the sword which
threatens us from without, or the pestilence within ; — the absence
of all these friends, and of so many of the principal Christian
families who are going with them, which leaves us exposed to
the bigotry of the people in any tumults that may arise — all
these things presented themselves to our minds. But there are
considerations that outweigh these : in the first place, we feel

RESOLUTION NOT TO FLY FROM THE PLAGUE. 107
that while we have the Lord's work on our hands we ought not
to fly and leave it ; again, if we go, it is Ukely that for many
months we cannot return to our work, whereas the plague may
cease in a month ; opportunities of usefulness may arise during
the plague which a more unembarrassed time may not present ;
and our dear friends from Aleppo may come and find no asylum.
The Lord gives us great peace and quietness of mind in resting
under His most gracious and loving care, and as the great
object of our lives is to illustrate His love to us, we believe
that in the midst of these awful circumstances He will fiU our
tongues with praise as He now fills our hearts with peace.
" Yesterday Dr. B. and Mr. M. went and saw several patients
they thought afflicted with the plague ; but their minds were
not perfectly made up. To-day, there is no longer any doubt.
I accompanied Mr. M. in his visits, and now there are about
twenty cases, and the number is increasing. Thus, then, this
long expected scourge has visited this city, and our Father only
knows when the awful visitation may cease. We can only cast
ourselves into His holy and loving hands for safety and peace,
and there do we cast ourselves, with all that is dearest to us in
this world. We have proved our Jesus to be the Captain and
Author of our hopes, and always found that in the power of
His name we have obtained the victory. Nothing but the
Lord's loving pity can prevent the most awful extension of the
disease ; not only are the people crowded together, two or three
dying in one room, but the intercourse is perfectly unrestricted
in all parts of the city, so that I fear what is now confined to
one quarter, and might possibly by a vigilant government be
kept there, will spread in all directions. We have, therefore,
been forced to take the most painful step of breaking up our
school, for it would have been quite impossible to collect eighty
children together, from different parts of the city, without
exposing all to danger. May the Lord enable us profitably to
avail ourselves of our retirement to cultivate a more extended
communion with Him who is our life. Dear M. is much staid
on her God, and feels that as He has been, so He will be to us
a hiding-place in every storm.

108 BEGINNING OF PLAGUE AT BAGDAD.
"April Is?.— The plague is still increasing, but apparently.net
rapidly. We wait the Lord's pleasure in our own house. The
only inconvenience is want of water, which can only be had
from without ; and they say, when the plague becomes intense,
all the water-carriers cease to ply ; but the Lord hath said, in
the time of famine ye shall be satisfied ; on this promise we
rest in peace."
At a later date, (Sept. 12th,) during the famine, Mr. Groves
describes the manner in which they were provided with food
throughout the whole of this awful period : —
" The deaths at present from the plague are confined to the
Mohammedans and the Jews. To avoid it, many of the Jews
have gone to Bussorah, and the Kourds who brought it here
have fled from the city ; a large caravan of Christians are now
thinking of returning to Mosul, who were driven from thence
three or four years ago by plague and its attendant famine. . . .
" The poor Jews have been robbed of every thing by the
Arabs and sent back naked, and there seems little better
prospect for those who are going to Mosul : they have the,
Arabs on the one side the road, and the Kourds on the other.
" It is striking how fully and simply the Mohammedans admit
the expected coming of our Lord and the end of the world.
The end of our Lord's coming they conceive to be to set His
seal to Mohammed's mission, and that all Christians will become
Mohammedans. Still these fundamental errors in their views do
not prevent a clear and distinct expectation, similar to that of
the Gentiles at the time of our Lord's first coming. Certainly
no people can have a worse opinion of the state of the pro
fessors of their religion than the Mohammedans have ; still, with
the loss of zeal for their own religion, their heart seems full
of strong delusion to believe a Ue, and to hate the way of Ufe,
and above aU the Lord who is the true God and eternal life.
"How blessed is the 91st Psalm at such moments as these;
in looking round on one's little family, to know that every
arrow that flies winged with death is no random shot, but that
the Lord who is your hfe, and with whom your Ufe is hid in
God, directs them all. ' Call upon me,' says the Lord, ' in the

SUPPLICATIONS OF THE ARABS. 109
day of trouble, I will deUver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.'
Blessed Lord, when thou hast (as thou most assuredly wilt do)
delivered us, may we never forget to glorify and bless thee.
Oh ! what a blessed feeling it is to know that you are not
under the general, but the especial and particular government
of Jehovah — that He has redeemed you, and you are His —
that He has engraven you on the palms of His hands, and that
day and night He is watching to preserve you.
" April 3rd. — An immense crowd of poor Jews left the city
this morning, to escape the destruction of the plague. The
Christians also are leaving in every direction they can find open.
I fear these poor creatures in their flight can hardly fail to
carry the plague with them.
" April 4th. — We were last night alarmed by the voices of
apparently thousands of persons on the other side of the river,
and discharges of guns mingled with the cries, which gradually
extended also to this side the river. We concluded it must be
from a tribe of Arabs having broken into the city, the noise
being exactly similar to that of the two tribes of Arabs who
were contending the other day, only much more violent. But,
after an hour's suspense, we heard it was a concourse of Arabs
met to suppUcate from God the removal of the plague.
" The deaths from the plague do not seem to increase with
any rapidity these two or three days ; 150 perhaps is the highest
any day. On a former occasion, about sixty years ago, they
amounted to nearly 2000 a day. There is with us the father
of our schoolmaster who had the plague at that time, and he
says, you might have walked from one gate of the city to the
other, and hardly have met a person or heard a sound. We
trust it may be the Lord's gracious purpose to take off the
heaviness of His judgment, and spare yet a little longer this
sinful city.
" The news from Europe also — how strange — how anxious ;
surely the Lord seems sifting the nations, and showing their
rulers that, without His blessing, their confidences, plans, and
speculations, can never stand. That they should have discovered
also that the spiritual and temporal character of the Pope's

110 DANGER OF THE PASHA.
government are incompatible; — surely these are signs of the
times that may make the most sceptical enquire. O, how joy
ful a thought it is that the Lord is at hand, and our pilgrimage
nearly ending !
" April 1th. — We thought the Lord had removed the sword
from us, but we hear it is now near at hand ; and the plague
seems extending, or every one is running away. Sometimes, on
looking round on our dear little circle, the old, heavy, faithless
flesh would seek its quiet, sheltered retreat under the lofty elms
at Exeter, but the Lord never aUows the spirit for one moment
to desire otherwise than to wait and see the salvation of our
God, who wiU for His name's sake do wonderfully for us that
our hearts may rejoice in Him. We hear the enemy is within
three days of the city, and the Pasha is going out with all his
Harem, whether to contend or fly we do not know, but we
think from his character, the latter ; but where will he fly i If
he flies with gold, there are those who will plunder him ; if he
flies without, he cannot stir a step. In fact, in the moment his
affairs are actuaUy sinking, all the miserable elements of his
present comparative strength turn against him.
" April 9th. — Stillness continues to prevail over the city, like
the calm which precedes a convulsion ; our neighbours are pre
paring for defence, by getting armed men into their houses, but
we sit down under the shadow of the Almighty's wings, fully
assured that in His name we shaU boast ourselves. The Pasha,
however, has not gone out as he intended yesterday. We have
just heard that the reports of the plague have stopped for a
little the approach of his enemies ; still every thing is exceed
ingly unsettled. He is going to shut himself up in the citadel
till the answer to his overtures comes from Constantinople, but
all those about him are against him, and wishing for the arrival
of his enemies. About fifty went out the other day and seized
on HiUah,* but they were driven out.
* Hillah is a small town on the river Euphrates, a little below the ruins
of Babylon. It was built in the year 495 of the Hegira, or 1115 of the
Christian era, in a district called by the natives El Aredh Babel ; its

MR. G. DECLINES GOING WITH THE RESIDENT. Ill
" April 10th. — The Lord has in many respects this day altered
our position here. One of Major Taylor's sepoys has died of
the plague, and now four of the servants are attacked. This has
so alarmed Major T. and the family, that they are immediately
going off to a country house, built by order of the Government
.of Bombay, for the Resident, in the neighbourhood of Bussorah,
and they may or may not return to this place. They have
kindly offered us an asylum with them, and a passage in their
boat. Having no immediate occupation here at present, I feel
quite free to accept it, but there are considerations that prevent
us. Hitherto the Lord has kept us safe, and no symptom of
plague has appeared in our dwelling, though it is all around us.
We cannot move without coming in contact with numbers of
people for many days, and being shut up in a smaU boat with
the Arab sailors ;* and even the very plague we may leave this
city to avoid may have reached Bussorah before we could arrive
there, as thousands have already set off from hence for that
place ; besides which, should it be the Lord's pleasure that the
plague terminate soon, and we then wish to return, it may be
many months before we may meet with an opportunity. The
only advantage seems to be, that we should thus be apparently
further removed from those troubles which seem likely to arise
in the threatened attempt to depose this Pasha ; yet, on the
whole, we feel we may hold on with the Lord's blessing ; but if
we were once to leave our present post, it might be very diffi
cult to regain it.
" As to the numbers of those who have died of the plague, on
.this side of the river alone, in Uttle more than one fortnight, all
agree in making it about 7,000. The poor inhabitants know
population does not exceed six or seven thousand, and consists of Arabs
and Jews, there being no Christians, and only such Turks as are employed
in the Government. The inhabitants bear a very bad character. The
air is salubrious, and the soil extremely fertile, producing great quantities
of rice, dates, and grain of different kinds, though it is not cultivated to
above half the degree of which it is susceptible — See Mr. Rich's Memoirs
on the Ruins of Babylon.
* The whole of those who took down the boats died.

112 FEELINGS OF THE MOHAMMEDANS.
not what to do : if they remain in the city, they die of the
plague ; if they leave it, they fall into the hands of the Arabs,
who strip them of every thing, or they are exposed to the effects
of the inundation of the Tigris, which has now overflown the
whole country around Bagdad, and destroyed, they say, 2000
houses on the other side of the river, but I think this must be
exaggerated : the misery of this place, however, is now beyond
expression, and may yet be expected to be much greater.
Dreadful as the outward circumstances of this people are, their
moral condition is infinitely worse ; nor does there seem to be
a ray of Ught amidst it all. The Mohammedans look on those
who die of the plague as martyrs, and no wailing is made for
them, so that amidst all these desolations there is a stillness
which, when one knows the cause, is very frightful. The Lord
enables us to feel the blessedness of the 91st Psalm, at least of
the portion of those to whom that Psalm pertains ; and we have,
amidst all these very trying circumstances, a peace that passeth
understanding. We feel indeed that we owe it to our Lord's
love to be careful for nothing, neither to run or make haste as
others, but to stand stiU and see the salvation of our God.
" There was a curious conversation going on last night among
some Mohammedans outside our window relative to the plague,
which they said was an especial judgment on them and the
Jews, but from which Christ would deliver the Nazarenes ; and
in all these calamities, it is remarkable how doubly heavy they
fall on these two classes. Feelings like these, and others that
we know exist, make us clear to stay where we are, in the midst
of these judgments, trying as they are to the natural feehngs.
That which comes to the ungodly as judgment, comes to the
child of God like the chariot of fire to EUjah. From these
visitations as judgments, we have an especial promise of protec
tion, and we trust in the midst of them some good may spring
up ; at all events, we feel that we shall have quite met our dear
Lord's mind in giving this people a last opportunity of hearing,
ere their house is left unto them desolate.
" April 12th. — I have just taken leave of the kind T.'s. The
accounts of the deaths are truly terrific ; they say, the day

PERFECT PEACE OF THE MISSIONARIES. 113
before yesterday 1200 died ; and yesterday, Major T.'s man of
business obtained a statement that they amounted to 1040 on
this side of the river. If this can be relied on, the mortality
within and without the city must be truly appalhng, and
should it not please the Lord soon to stay the destroying
angel's hand, the whole country must become one wide waste.
Some very kind Armenians* have offered to provide what is
necessary for our journey to Damascus, if we will go with them.
The possibiUty of meeting our dear brethren is a great tempta
tion, but still we do not see clearly our permission to go, and
the Lord has given us all such perfect peace in staying, and such
perfect health, that we are even unwilling to go ; we remain
therefore and rest upon our Lord's love, which we feel assured
wiU be manifested towards us amidst this scene of death ; and
afterwards we shall see why we remained more clearly perhaps
than now.
"April 13th. — The plague has just entered our neighbour's
dwelling, where they have collected together nearly thirty
persons, not simply their own family. It seems as if a spirit of
infatuation had seized them, for instead of making their num
ber as small as possible, they seem to congregate as many as
they can.
" O, what a blessed portion is ours, to have the God of Israel
and His unchangeable promises for our sure and abiding place of
rest — our Uttle sanctuary unto which we may always resort !
Yea, in the secret of His pavillion He will hide us.
" April 14th. — This is a day of awful visitation. The accounts
of deaths yesterday vary from 1000 to 1500 ; and to-day, they
say, is worse than any, and the increase in the numbers of
deaths does not include the immense multitudes who are dying
without the city. One of our schoolmasters f is gone to
Damascus, and has taken with him his little nephew who was
* The caravan they went by suffered the most complicated misery both
from the flood and the plague, and never succeeded in prosecuting the
journey. t He died afterwards— he was the one mentioned in my former Journal
as having come from Shiraz.
I

114 GREAT INCREASE OF DEATHS.
boarding with us, so we are indeed now quite alone. In fact,'
nothing prevents the entire desertion of the city but the
dangers of the way, and the poverty of the inhabitants.
" April 15th. — The accounts of the mortality yesterday are
still more alarming — 1800 deaths in the city. There was great
danger of the bodies being left in the houses, and the inhabi
tants flying and leaving them unburied, but by great exertions
on the part of some young men in one quarter of the town to
bury the dead there, others have been stimulated in other quar
ters to similar exertions, and last night all were buried. Our
Moolah has just been here ; he says he has bought winding-
sheets for himself, his brother, and his mother. * He says that
yesterday he was in the Jews' quarter and only met one person,
and that was a woman who when she saw him ran in and locked
the door. Meat, for some days, or anything else from without,
we have been unable to get. Water alone we have obtained..
But, to-day, even that we cannot get at any price ; every water
man you stop answers, he is carrying it to wash the bodies of
the dead.
" April 1 6th. — The accounts of yesterday are worse than any
day, and an Armenian girl who has been here this morning
said she saw, in a distance of about 600 yards, fifty dead bodies
carrying to burial. The son of Gaspar Khan, our next neigh
bour, is dead. Two have been carried out from a little passage
opposite our house to-day, where two more are ill. AU you see
passing have a little bunch of herbs, or a rose, or an onion to
smeU to, and yet as to real measures of precaution there has not
been one step taken, not even contact avoided, and the most
unrestrained intercourse goes on in every direction, so that no
thing but the Lord's arm can prevent the entire desolation of
the whole province. The population of Bagdad cannot exceed
80,000, and of this number more than half have fledf so that
the mortality of two thousand a-day is going on among con
siderably less than 40,000 people. But the Lord tells us, when
* Both he and his brother died.
t Most of them were driven back by the increase of the waters without.

DESERTED STATE OF THE CITY. 115
we hear or see these things, not to have our hearts troubled,
for our redemption draweth nigh ; and we believe it, and accept
it as a sweet drop in the bitter cup that is now being drunk to
the very dregs by so many about us, and which, but for this ex
pectation, would bow down the stoutest heart.
" One of Major T.'s servants who has just been here says, the
city is a perfect desert, only peopled by the dead, the bearers of
the dead, and the water-carriers. Our household are all in per
fect health, thanks be to our loving Shepherd's care.
"April 11th. — To-day, as yesterday, we have heard nothing
as to numbers. The accounts are very contradictory ; some
saying, there is very little plague, others, that it is heavier than
any day ; so that probably in some parts of the city it is very
severe and in others lighter.
" An Armenian told the schoolmaster that almost every one
you meet is carrying cotton and other things for the interment
of the dead. We are left almost alone in our own neigh
bourhood, all having fled in one direction or another ; we have
been, however, all preserved in health, to the praise of the
Keeper of Israel.
" Surely every principle of dissolution is operating in the
midst of the Ottoman and Persian empires. Plagues, earth
quakes, and civil wars, all mark that the day of the Lord's
coming is at hand ; and this is our hope ; on this our eyes
and hearts rest as the time of repose, when all these trials shall
cease, and the saints shall possess the kingdom.
" April lB>th. — To- day the accounts are truly distressing. In
the family of one of our Uttle boys, consisting of six, four are
laid down with the plague, father, mother, one son, and one
daughter— only one son and a daughter remaining. Immense
numbers of families will be altogether swept away, and many
thousands of fatherless and motherless children will be left when
this heavy judgment ceases. It is now become useless to at
tempt to obtain accurate accounts about numbers.
"April 19th.— StiU heavy, heavy news. The Moolah has called
to give us an account of the city. He says it now stands sta
tionary at between 1,500 and 2,000 a-day, and has been so for a

116 MR. GROVES GOES INTO THE CITY.
fortnight. What a mass of mortality ! Among the Pasha's
soldiers, he says, they have lost in some regiments above 500 out
of 700. — And in the towns and villages without, the report is
that it is as bad or worse than within the city.
" April 20th. — The plague much the same. Among the Ar
menians nine were buried yesterday, and seven to day. There
are not left in the city more than 400, and now there is the plague
in every third or fourth house. The water also is increasing, so
that a little more will inundate the whole city on this side of the
river, as it has on the other, to the inexpressible additional misery
of the poor people. The caravan which left for Damascus can
neither advance nor return on account of the water. Yester
day four dead were carried out from the little passage opposite
our house, making in all fourteen dead from eight houses, and
there are others now lying ill.
"April 21st. — To-day the accounts of the plague are rather
more favourable, though another has been carried out from the
passage opposite us, and there are some ill in three houses adjoining
ours. The river has burst into the cellars of the Residency, and
is within a foot of inundating the whole city.
"April 22nd. — Having had occasion to-day to go to the Resi
dency, to endeavour to save some things from the water, which has
come into all the cellars, I was in every way overwhelmed with
the awful state of the city, and at the difficulty of obtaining
help of any kind at any price. The servant of Major T  ,
who is left in charge of the house, told me he had applied in
every direction, but could get no one to help him ; one had a
wife dead or dying, another a mother, another was employed
in carrying water for the dead ; and on our way, we saw the
court of the Meshid or Mosque full of graves ; and no longer
finding room there, they were burying the dead in the public
road. When in want of water, I think we shall be obliged to
go to the river and fetch it for ourselves, as a water-carrier is
hardly now to be seen, except when followed by a man forcing
him to carry water to some house where there is death.
Amidst aU, the Lord lets not His destroying angel' enter our
dwelling ; though tens of thousands are falling around us, we

HEART-RENDING SCENES. 117
are allr by His grace and holy keeping, well. The business of
death is now come to that height that people seem to take
their nearest relations, and bring them for interment, with as
much indifference as they would transact the most ordinary
business. "April 23rd. — The plague not decreasing ; two more were
brought out to-day from the passage opposite to us, maldng
seventeen from eight houses near us. The mother of the
Seyd,* who owns our house, has been buried in her house, as no-
one could be found to bury her. Another most affecting case
has just occurred. A little girl of about twelve years old was
seen carrying an infant in her arms, and being asked whose it
was, she said, she did know, but had found it in the road, hav
ing heard that both its parents were dead. Water now is not to
be had for money ; yet even in these times Israel's pillar has its
bright side to Israel ; and the Lord will be a little sanctuary for
us, whatever sore judgments He may send on the earth.
"April. 24th. — The plague still raging with most destructive
violence ; the two servants in our next neighbour's house are both
dead, and two horses are left, I fear, to starve. A poor Armenian
woman has just been here, to beg a little sugar for a little infant
she picked up in the street this morning ; and she says, a neigh
bour of her's picked up two more. They have just been digging
graves beside our house. Almost all the cotton is consumed,
so that persons are wandering all over the city to find some, for
burying their dead. Water not to be had at any price, nor a
water-carrier to be seen. O, what heart-rending scenes sin has
introduced into the world ! 0, when will the Lord come to put
an end to these scenes of disorder, pl^sical as well as moral !
In one short month, not less than 30,000 souls have passed from
time to eternity in this city, and yet, even now, no diminution
apparently of deaths. Surely, the judgment of the Lord is on
this land ! One more taken from the little passage opposite,
making nineteen from the eight houses.
"April 25th. — To-day, three more from the same passage,
* Seyd is a name given to the descendants of Mohammed.

118 DANGER OF INUNDATION.
making twenty-one from these houses. Such a disease I never
heard of or witnessed ; certainly not more than one in twenty
recovers. " This has been a heart-rending day. The accounts from the
Residency, and the falling of a wall, undermined by the water,
obliged me to go out, and I saw nothing but death and desola
tion ; hardly a soul in the streets, unless such as were carrying
the dead, or themselves affected with plague ; and at a number
of doors, and in the lanes, were bundles of clothes that had
been taken from the dead, and put out. The Court of the
Mosque was shut, having no place left for burying, and graves
were digging in every direction in the roads, and in the un
occupied stables about the city. The water also has increased
so much as to be within a few inches of inundating the city.
Should this further calamity come on this side, as it has on the
other, human misery will be near its climax, for where they
will then bury their dead I know not. There seems no diminu
tion in the plague yet that we can discern. Two of the men
we had to help to take Major T  's things from the water
are attacked : one of them is the fourth from a household, con
sisting of six. The remaining servant of Mr. T  had
intelligence brought while I was there, that his aunt was dead,
which, he says, is the eighth near relation he has lost.
" Some of the Mohammedans, our neighbours, were sitting
under our windows last evening, and were observing, that while
two or three had been taken from every house, we only had re
mained free. And this is of the Lord's marvellous love. We
consist of thirteen, including the schoolmaster's family, and the
Lord has given His destroying angel charge to pass over our
door. " The Pasha has sent to desire that he might have Major
T  ''s yacht drawn up near the Seroy or Palace to go into,
in case the water should increase ; and when the man was sent
for who had the charge of the vessel, he with another had run
away, three were dead, and only one remained. These are
surely the days of visitation for the pride of Edom. The man
who sold cotton for burying the dead, the price of which he

NUMBERS OF DESERTED CHILDREN. 119
raised from forty-five to ninety-five piastres, and who lived only
two doors from us, died yesterday. There is no more cotton
left in the city, and they now bury the dead in their clothes.
The price of soap is raised four times higher than usual. I
have been enabled, by the Lord's goodness, to get all our water-
jars filled, though at twenty times the usual price. The bodies
of persons of considerable wealth are now just put on the back
of a donkey, or a mule, and carried away to be buried, ac
companied by one servant. We have also much anxiety about
the people of the Damascus-caravan ; we can hear no tidings
as to whether they have been swallowed up by the inundation
or not. Whether they have been able to retreat to some
eminence, or what is become of them, we know not. The poor
women who have taken charge of the two poor little infants
have sent to us for food for them, as in these countries they
have no idea of bringing up children by hand. It may be,
to be instrumental in saving some of these poor little infants,
and in helping the orphans that remain, that the Lord has
allowed us to stay here. They are all Mohammedan children.
" April 26th — For many days we have been unable to obtain
any account of the number of deaths ; but the Chaoosh of
Major T  has been with the Pasha this morning, who is in
the greatest possible state of alarm, wishing to go, but not
knowing how. One of his officers, whose business it is to
inquire about the number of deaths daily, reported that it had
reached 5,000, but yesterday it was 3,000 and to-day less.
Enormous as the mortality has been, I cannot but think this
beyond the truth ; yet it must be remembered, that the in
undation kept immense masses of poor thronged together in the
city, who, but for this, would have all fled in one direction or
another. " The accounts are heartrending of little children left in the
streets ; five were left yesterday, a poor woman told us, near
the Residency, and others in different directions. If the wrath
of God is pouring out on the mystic Babylon, as it is on this
province of the literal Babylon, the two antichrists are be
ginning to draw near their end. But for the presence of the

120 JOY OF THE LORD'S PRESENCE.
Lord in our dwelling, as its light and joy, what a place would
this be to be alone in now ; but with Him, even this is better
than the garden of Eden. These are invaluable situations for
the experience of God's loving, distinguishing care, and here we
realize our pilgrim-state much better than in the quiet of
England, with all its apparent external security.
" The utmost number of daily deaths I heard of at Tabreez
was 400, and here it is said to be 4,000, and yet the population
certainly is not double. In going out to speak with a servant of
Major T  , I saw a very decently dressed female lying in a
dying state of plague at our door, quite senseless ; it is almost
more than the heart can bear. Yet that the Lord will even
from these scenes prepare ways for the establishment of His
truth, I feel fully assured, and this supports us. A north wind
has regularly blown for these four days past, so that we hope
the water will not again increase. O, may our Father of His in
finite mercy take away these heavy, heavy judgments, and make
their present measure instrumental to the advancement of His
kingdom ! The Soochee Bashee, an officer of police, has just
been here, and tells us, that the Pasha proposes removing to
near Coote, a village on the Tigris, half way between this and
Bussorah. At any other time, this would tend to most fearful
convulsions within the city ; but in the present state of things,
perhaps, all may remain quiet, without a governor. When the
plague which now desolates the city ceases, we know not what
may happen ; but this we do know, that the love of our Father,
and His gracious providence, will be magnified by all events,
and that we shall yet praise Him more and more. It seems to
me more than probable that the Pasha does not intend to
return. By the plague he has lost half his soldiers, and a great
number of his Georgian slaves, who are his personal, attached
friends ; he may now remove without obstruction, perhaps, from
any one, or the possibility of any communication being made to
his enemies to intercept him ; but time only will show ; how
ever this may be, it is certain that should the plague cease
to-morrow, the city is in such a state that no resistance could
be made for one moment to any enemy. How invaluable the

RUIN CAUSED BY THE INUNDATION. 121
past proofs of the Lord's loving kindness and tender mercies are'
at such times, the remembrance of Him from the hill Mizar and
the land of the Hermonites. In going along the streets to-day,
I saw several poor sufferers labouring under the plague ; and a
number of places where clothes had been brought out and burnt.
" Our anxieties have been greatly increased by the illness of our
dear little baby ; but our unerring Physician has restored her
to us to-day, we trust in a measure which promises amendment.
" April 27th. — To-day all thoughts are turned from the plague
to the inundation which, from the falling of a portion of the
wall on the north-west side last night, let the water in full stream
into the city. The Jews' quarter is inundated, and 200 houses
feU there last night : we are hourly expecting to hear that
every part of the city is overflowed. A part also of the wall of
the citadel is fallen. And, in fact, such is the structure of the
houses that, if the water remains near the foundations long, the
city must become a mass of ruins. The mortar they use in
building is very like plaister of Paris, which sets very hard, and
does very well when all is dry ; but as soon as ever water is
applied, it all crumbles to powder ; and in building walls of
four or five feet thick, they have only an outside casing of
brick work thus cemented, and within, it is filled up with dust
and rubbish, so that what seems strong enough in appearance
to bear any thing, soon moulders away, and by its own weight
accelerates its ruin. It must be many, many years, if ever, be
fore the city can recover. But it seems to me, that this seat of
Mohammedan glory, and of its proudest recollections, has re
ceived its death-warrant from the hand of the Lord. This
inundation has not only ruined an immense number of houses
in the city, and been the cause of tens of thousands dying of the
plague, but the whole harvest is destroyed. The barley, which
was just ready to be reaped, is utterly gone, and every other
kind of corn must likewise be ruined, so that for thirty miles
all round Bagdad, not a grain of corn can be collected this year ;
and perhaps, if all was quiet this might be of no consequence,
for from Mosul and Kourdistan it might easily come ; but this
will be prevented by the enemies of the Pasha who surround us.

122 EFFECTS OF THE INUNDATION.
The poor are beginning to feel immense difficulties, for all the
shops are shut, and there is a great scarcity of wood for firing ;
and should the water now cause a general inundation of the
whole city, the heart sickens at the contemplation of the scenes
that must follow ; for the houses of the poor are nothing but
mud, scarcely one of which will be left standing.
"For ourselves personally, the Lord has allowed us great
peace, and assured confidence in His loving care, and in the
truth of His promise, that our bread and our water shall be
sure ; but certainly nothing but the service of such a Lord as
He is would keep me in the scenes which these countries do
exhibit, and I feel assured will, till the Lord has finished His
judgments on them for the contempt of the name, nature, and
offices of the Son of God ; yet I linger in the hope that He
has a remnant even among them, for whose return these con
vulsions are preparing the way.
"April 28th. — News more and more disastrous. The in
undation has swept away 7,000 houses from one end of the city
to the other, burying the sick, the dying, and the dead, with
many of those in health, in one common grave.* Those who
have escaped, have brought their goods and the relics of their
families to the houses the plague has desolated, or desertion left
unoccupied, and houses are yet falling in every direction.
" The Lord has stopped the water just at the top of our
street by a little ledge of high ground, so that as yet we are
dry ; and all free from the sword of the destroying angel.
Scarcity of provision is beginning to be sensibly felt, so that
very respectable persons are coming to the door to beg a little
bread, or a little butter, or some other simple necessary of life.
To-day, the number dying in the road was much greater than I
have before seen, and the number unburied in the streets daily
and hourly increases. The Seroy of the Pasha is a heap of

* I have heard of eight thus buried in one house, or rather belonging to
one family, the remains of which are come to reside next us in a house,
where those who had the charge of it are dead.

DEATHS NEAR MR. GROVEs's HOUSE. 123
ruins, and though he is most anxious to go, he cannot collect
forty men to man the yacht, for all fear of him is now past, and
love for him they have none ; his distress beggars all descrip
tion, for not a single native vessel is left in Bagdad, every one
having been employed to take down the crowds to Bussorah at
the commencement of this dreadful calamity. I have from day
to day mentioned the dead taken from the eight houses oppo
site to ours ; that number has to-day reached twenty-four ; in
one of these, out of nine, one only survives ; and I mention
twenty-four, not as all, but as those which have been seen carried
out by some of the schoolmaster's family, who were however
very Uttle in that room which overlooks this passage. Of an
other family near the Meidan, out of thirteen, one only remains,
and I have no doubt there are hundreds of families similarly
swept away ; yet amidst aU these trials to the servants of God,
my heart does not despair for the work of the Lord, for no
ordinary judgments seem necessary to break the pride and
hatred of this most proud and contemptuous people. We have
taken one poor Uttle Mohammedan child, about three or four
years old, from the streets, and are supplying a poor Armenian
woman with pap for another ; but what is this among so many1?
We know not what to do. It makes passing the streets most
painful and affecting, thus to see Uttle children from a month
or six weeks to two or four years old, crying for a home ; hun
gry, and naked, and wretched, and knowing not what to do nor
where to go. Thank God, however, to-day the water is a little
abated, about a span lower. 0, may the Lord's mercy spare
yet a. little longer this wretched, wretched city ! 0, how does
the glory of the Chahfat lie in ashes ; she seems within a step
of falhng like her elder sister Babylon, the glory of the Chal
dean's excellency, and in how many things has her spirit to
wards the church of God been as bad, yea worse than hers !
Missionaries in these countries have need of a very simple faith,
which can glory in God's will being done, though all their plans
come to nothing. It was but the other day we were surrounded
by as interesting a school of boys, and a commencing one of
thirteen girls, as the heart could desire ; and now if the plague

124' PEACE AND PRAISE  FRUITS OF FAITH.
and desolation were to terminate to-morrow, and our scattered
numbers were assembled, perhaps not more than half would
remain to us. Yet dark as all the labours of the Lord's ser
vants in these countries appear, I feel assured that prophecy
points them out as specially connected with many of the great
events of the latter days. Yet it requires great confidence in
God's love, and much experience of it, for the soul to remain in
peace, stayed on Him, in a land of such changes, without even
one of our own nation near us, without means of escape in any
direction ; surrounded with the most desolating plague and de
structive flood, with scenes of misery forced upon the attention,
which harrow up the feelings, and to which you can administer
no relief. Even in this scene however the Lord has kept us of
His infinite mercy in personal quiet and peace, trusting under
the shadow of His Almighty wing, and has enabled us daily to
offer up to His holy name praise for suffering us to assemble in
undiminished numbers, when tens of thousands have been falling
around us. Neither is this all, for He has made us know why
we stayed in this place, and why we were never allowed to feel
it to be our path of duty to leave the post we were in.
"April 29th. — Our situation is becoming daily still more
extraordinary, and in many respects more trying, except that
our Lord is our hiding-place, who will preserve us from trouble,
and will compass us about with songs of deliverance. The
Pasha has fled, accompanied by his master of the horse, and his
immediate family. His palace is left open, without a soul to
take care of any thing. His stud of beautiful Arab horses are
running about the streets, and are caught by those who care to
take the trouble, and offered for sale, for from £10 to £100
each ; his stores also of corn are left open, and every one takes
what he wants, or what he can carry away, which is a great
relief to the poor, for the quantities are enormous, in expecta
tion of a siege.
" The plague is working its destructive way, apparently with
no other mitigation than that arising from the decreasing num
ber in the city ; the inundation however has prevented this
having its full weight, for it has thronged the remaining popu-

SAFETY IN SITTING STILL. 125
lation into a compass unnaturally disproportionate. The house
next us, which belongs to a Seyd, who left it at the beginning
of the plague in charge of two servants who are dead, is now
filled by twenty persons from different directions. The un
buried dead and the dying are fearfully accumulated in the
streets. So difficult is it now to find persons to bury, that even
the priest of the Armenian church who died two days since re
mains yet unburied.
" The water, thank God, is a little lower, but there seems
now every prospect that the moment the waters decrease the
surrounding Arabs will come in and plunder the city ; yet even
this is in the Lord's hands— our wisdom has ever been to sit
still, and see the salvation of our God, and until we see His
cloudy pillar arise from off our tabernacle, where we feel it has
hitherto rested, and move forward, we shall yet judge our
safety to be to sit still. We have in several instances seen that
there was reason to bless God for remaining quiet. We once
thought of removing to the Residency, as a change to the dear
children, and as being nearer to the water ; but still on the
whole we felt it best to remain here ; and had we gone, we
should have been in the midst of the plague ; or had we gone,
when the T — s went to Bussorah, what a state should we now
be in, without the possibiUty of removing, and in danger of our
lives from the inundation and falling of the walls, if we stayed.
"We had again considered, whether it would be right to leave
this with the caravan for Damascus and Aleppo, which seemed
to be the only opening there might possibly be for us, so that if
we let that pass by, we must stay whether we would or not ;
still the Lord made us feel it was our path to stay, looking to
Him. And had we gone, what a state should we have been in ;
For nearly three weeks they have been surrounded with water,
continually increasing around them, so that now we know not
what their situation may be, whether they are swept away, or
remain ; but at all events we bless God for having inclined our
minds to stay. Why we did not join our dear and kind friends
the T  s, in going to Bussorah, we do not yet so clearly see
the reason of, because we have received no accounts thence, but

126 BLESSEDNESS OF KNOWING GOD.
it would have cut up ahke our connection with our work here, and
with our dear friends at Aleppo, with whom we feel it daily of
more and more importance to have as speedy a meeting as pos
sible for advice and counsel.
"We have just heard of the caravan already mentioned, as
going to Damascus and Aleppo. The plague has taken off eight
of the Armenians, and four have been drowned. The head of
the caravan is dead of the plague also, besides many others ;
they must therefore return to Bagdad, instead of advancing on
their journey ; so in this instance at least we see great reason
to bless God for keeping us back. Yea, the Lord will instruct
us and teach us the way in which we should go, and wiU guide
us with His eye ; this is our confidence and comfort ; and in
such a time of unheard of perplexity as this, what a source of
abiding peace. We feel it well to know our God in such circum
stances as ours. Among the Armenians, thirteen died to-day,
the largest number yet in one day.
" April 30th. — The report of the flight of the Pasha, it ap
pears, is not true, and arose from the two circumstances I have
mentioned, of his horses having been seen running about the
streets, and his supplies being open to the people. He has been
for several days endeavouring to get away, and had drawn up
for that purpose some boats under the Seroy. ' All his stables
were levelled to the ground, and the place flooded with water.
When the distress of the people was mentioned to him, he or
dered one of his corn-stores to be opened to them. However,
to-day, blessed be God's holy name, the waters have sunk more
than a yard, so we trust the great danger is over.
" To-day, one more was brought out dead from the eight op
posite houses, making twenty-five, and we know there are four
more lying ill there. Our poor schoolmaster who went in the
caravan is dead, and was buried in his tent.
" May 1st. — The Lord has brought us all in safety to the
beginning of another month, through the most trying period of
my Ufe ; yet the Lord has every day filled our mouth with
praise, and enabled us to see His preserving hand.
" To-day, as I passed along the street, I saw numbers of dead

DIMINISHING OF THE PLAGUE. 127
bodies lying unburied, and the dogs eating with avidity
the "loathsome food. O, it made my very heart sink! The
numbers of the dead can now no longer be ascertained, for
most of the bodies are buried either in the houses or in the
roads. "May 2nd. — We have heard nothing to-day to vary the
general scene of our calamities ; the intensity of this most
desolating disease surpasses all thought. Numbers of families
are altogether swept away ; in numerous others, out of ten or
twelve, only one, two, or three remain ; but I hear of none,
save our own, where death has not entered. Yet, while I
bless and praise the holy name of our Lord, under whose wing
alone we came here, and under whose wing alone we have
trusted, the things my eyes have seen and my ears heard
press upon my heart and make me at times very sad ; neither
can I chase them from my mind. I can only look forward for
comfort to that day, when the Lord Himself will come to put
an end to this dispensation of desolation, and introduce His own
peace. Yea, come Lord Jesus, come quickly !
" We have just heard melancholy tidings of another caravan
which endeavoured to escape into Persia from the plague, but
has been forced back again by the Arabs, the floods, and the
scarcity of provisions, and besides numbers among them have
died daily of the plague, so we still can bless God we did not
leave our present position by this last opportunity. Let us
then again bless Him for not allowing us to make haste.
"May 3rd. — To-day we trust the Lord has a little alleviated
the virulence of the plague ; many attacked yesterday and the
day before have been rapidly recovering, and fewer deaths have
taken place to-day a great deal so far as we can ascertain. May
God's holy name be praised, who is a hiding-place from every
storm. We had our water-jars filled again to-day, when many,
even of the rich who have connections in every direction, find
the greatest difficulty. ' Your water shall be sure.' We who
are alone, and without a friend within hundreds of miles in any
direction, have been suppUed by our Lord's gracious ordering ;
thus He puts a new song into our mouths, even a song of

128 THE MULTITUDES SWEPT AWAY.
thanksgiving. To-day all are weU, even our dear little baby is
quite recovered.
" May 4th. — The weather has for these two or three days past
been beautifully fine, and clear, and hot, by which our God
seems to have mitigated the symptoms of the plague. All ac
counts to-day are encouraging ; the number of new cases few,
and the number of those recovering many. Our eyes have also
been rejoiced by the sight of three or four water-carriers passing
again, after an interval of ten days ; many more people have
also been passing and repassing than before ; so we trust the
Lord is now taking away this desolating judgment, which, in
less than two months, has carried away more than half the po
pulation of this city ; for, allowing that it had been silently
making its deadly course three weeks before it was discovered,
it does not exceed eight weeks, and by far the greatest portion
of deaths have been within the last four weeks.
" May 5th. — In my journal yesterday, I mention more than
half the population as having been swept away in the incon
ceivably short space of two months, but every account I have
received convinces me that this is within the number ; cer
tainly not less than two-thirds have been swept away, and this
seems to have arisen from a complication of causes. At the
time when the great mass of the population would have fled,
and thus have thinned the city, the waters rose so high that
they could move only with great difficulty ; they waited in the
hopes of the water subsiding, instead of which it so increased
that those who had left the town and could get back were
compelled to return ; those who could not were driven to seek
some high ground where they might remain safe from the
water, but in all cases they were crowded together without the
power of changing their position. — Again, in the city, when by
the death of immense multitudes the population became greatly
thinned, the inundation of the water laid more than half the
town level with the ground, and drove the remaining people to
congregate together wherever they could find a dry place or an
open house, so that often twenty or thirty came to reside
together in the same house, as was the case next door to us ;

DESOLATION OF THE CITY. 129
thus again the deaths became awfully great; Enquire where
you will, the answer is, ' The city is desolate :' around the
Pasha, four Georgians alone remain aUve out of more than one
hundred. The son of our Moolah, who is dead, told me to-day,
that in the quarter where he lives, not one human being is left :
— they are all dead. Out of about eighteen servants and sepoys
that Major T. left, fourteen are dead, two now have the plague,*
and two remain weU. Of the Armenians, more thm half are
dead. An Armenian, who was with us to-day, tells us, there
are not more than twenty-seven men left in one hundred and
thirty houses. I, however, think that this is exaggerated.
" At Hillah, the modern Babylon, (population 10,000,) there
is, Seyd Ibrahim told me to-day, scarcely a soul left, and the
dogs and the wild beasts alone are there, feeding on the dead
bodies. This Seyd Ibrahim is one of the surviving servants of
Major T. ; and is the only one of a family of fourteen who re
mains alive. — His four brothers, their wives, his own wife, their
children, and his own are aU dead.
" For digging a grave they ask a sum equal in England to
three pounds, in consequence of which numbers have remained
unburied about the streets, so that the Pasha has been obliged
to engage men, paying them at the same rate for each body they
wiU throw into the river.
" In all the villages the desolation seems as complete as it is
here. When day by day I rise and see our numbers complete,
and all in health, my soul is indeed made to feel, what cannot
the Lord do ? I do not yet see what effect all this is Ukely to
have on our labours here — whether it wiU break down or build
up barriers ; yet we expect it will break down, for the Lord
seems thus breaking to pieces the power, if not the pride, of this
haughty people. I have been struck two or three times lately,
in going out, with the intense hatred that lurks at the bottom
of the hearts of this people against Christians ; my dress mani
fested me to be one, and some Arabs I met, particularly the
women, cursed me with the most savage ferocity as I passed,
* Those two died.

130 MEDICAL SYMPTOMS OF PLAGUE.
two or three calling out at me as though I were the cause of all
their calamities ; and the people who are come to Uvenext door
to us are bitter against us, especially one man among them
who seems to have his heart quite corroded, because they are
dying and we are preserved by our Lord's love ; he sits and
talks under our window, saying, ' These Christians and Jews
alone remain, but in the whole of Bagdad you will hardly find
a hundred Mohammedans.' This is altogether false, for though
in proportion as many Christians may not have died, yet the
deaths among them have been enormous, as the preceding
accounts wiU have shown.
" Medicine I have found of no use. If you attack the fever,
they die of prostration of strength ; if you endeavour to sup
port the constitution, they die of oppression on the brain.
Those cases which first affected the head with delirium, have
been the most fatal ; next, those with carbuncles, which did not
appear, however, for a fortnight after the commencement of the
disease. Among those who have recovered, almost the whole
have had large glandular swelUngs, speedily separating, and
thus reUeving the constitution.
" This night, the first time for three weeks, I have heard
again the Muzzim's call to prayers, from the minarets of the
Mosques. " May 6th. — The water to-day is much decreased. I saw a
man also with fresh meat in his hand. I likewise saw many
recovering from the plague walking about, leaning on sticks,
and sitting by the way-side. The number of deaths among the
Armenians to-day amounted to eleven, which, considering that
their whole remaining numbers cannot now exceed 300, is an
enormous mortality, and has a little damped our hopes of a
speedy conclusion to this awful visitation.
"May 7th. — Of the plague nothing satisfactory to-day.
Thieves are multiplying in every direction ; and news has come
from* Mosul that a new Pasha has arrived there, who only
waited for the cessation of the plague to advance against Bag
dad. Great part of his work of destruction is already done
for him, as hardly a Georgian is left, and he will find money

COMMENCEMENT OF MRS. G.'s ILLNESS. 131
enough left without owners, to supply his own utmost rapacity,
or the demands of the Sultan. The Lord is our only secure
resting place, and we know that He who delivers us out of six
troubles, can and will deUver us out of seven.
" The water is decreasing most rapidly, so that rice is begin
ning to be brought from the other side of the river ; and as
those who monopolised the sale of wood, and not only asked
enormous prices, but cheated in the weight, are all dead, every
one now that needs wood takes it, so that the situation of the
poor seems in this respect a little improved.
" There has not been among all the circumstances of this
scene of complicated suffering, any one that has more painfully
affected my own mind than the increasing number of infants
and little children that have been left exposed in the streets,
and the absolute impossibility of meeting such a state of things.
We greatly desired to take one or two ; but our own little baby
was ill so that by night Mary had hardly any rest, and at best,
not being strong in such a climate, we came reluctantly to the
decision that we were not able to undertake such an additional
charge. "This is an anxious evening. Dear Mary is taken ill —
nothing that would at any other time alarm me, but now a very
little creates anxiety ; yet her heart is reposing on her Lord with
perfect peace, and waiting His will. A few hours, perhaps may
show us that it is but a little trial of our faith to draw us
nearer the fountain of our life. To nature it seems fearful to
think of the plague entering our dweUing ; in our present situ
ation, nothing but the Lord's especial love could sustain the
soul in the contemplation of a young family left in such a land
at such a time, and in such circumstances ; but we feel we came,
Out under the shadow of the Almighty's wing, and we know
that His pavillion will be our sanctuary, let His gracious provi
dence prescribe what it may. On His love, therefore, we cast -
ourselves with all our personal interests.
" May 8th.— The Lord has this day manifested that the attack
of my dear wife is the plague, and of a very dangerous and
maliornant lrinrl an ¦..Tmt. nnr hearts are Drostrate in the Lords

132 TRIUMPH OF FAITH.
hand. . As I think the infection can only have come through
me, I have little hope of escaping, unless by the Lord's special
intervention. It is is indeed an awful moment, — the prospect
of leaving a little family in such a country at such a time.
Yet, my dearest wife's faith triumphs over these circumstances,
as she sweetly said to me to-day, ' The difference between a
child of God and a worldling is not in death, but in the hope
the one has in Jesus, while the other is without hope and with
out God in the world.' She says, 'I marvel at the Lord's
dealings, but not more than at my own peace in such circum
stances.' She is now continually sleeping, and when roused feels
it difficult to keep her dear mind fixed on any subject for a
minute. These are indeed the floods of deep waters, but in
the midst of them the Lord is working His mysterious way,
yet, that way however bitter to nature is for the everlasting
consolation of His chosen ones. She said to me, a few minutes
since, ' What does the Lord say concerning me V I said, that
you are a dear child of His. ' Yes,' she said, ' of that I have
no doubt.' May the Lord of His infinite mercy sustain my
poor weak soul amidst these heavy visitations, that at least we
may magnify Him, whether by Ufe or by death ; what a relief
it is now to my mind to think that hers was so much set against
moving, whenever I proposed it, and she often said in reply,
' The Lord has given me no desire nor sense of the desirableness
of moving, which I feel assured He would have done had He
seen it best.
" May 9th. — My dearest, dearest wife stiU alive, and not ap
parently worse than yesterday. O, if it were the Lord's holy,
blessed will to spare her, it would indeed rejoice my poor foolish
heart, but He has enabled me to cast my wife, myself, and my
dear, dear, children on His holy love, and to await the issue !
O, what wrath there must be against these lands, if not only
the inhabitants are swept away, but the Lord transplants also
His own, who would teach them, to His own Garden of peace !
My soul has just been refreshed by these two verses of Psalm
116. ' Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath
dealt bountifully with thee.' He has taken one of thy olive-

CONFIDENCE IN GOD'S LOVE. 133
branches to glory, and is now perhaps about to take another,
for precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints,
for He only takes them from the evU to come. O, but for
Jesus, the never-setting star of our heavenly way, what would
our situation now be ! Jesus is the same yesterday, to-day and
for ever, and our heavenly Father's love we have too often
proved to doubt it now. But poor nature is bowed very, very
low ; when I look at my dear boys and little babe, and see only
poor Uttle Kitto to be left for their care for hundreds of miles
around, it needs all those consolations of God's Spirit to keep the
soul from sinking with the body ; but the Lord has said, ' Leave
your fatherless children,' and to Him we desire to leave them.
" We did feel assured that the Lord would spare our dear
Uttle united, happy family ; but His ways are not our ways, nor
His thoughts our thoughts. Dear little Kitto, I feel for his
situation also from my heart.
" All the conversation of my dear dying wife, for these twelve
months past, but especially as our difficulties and trials increased,
was on the peace she enjoyed in the Lord. Often and often she
has said to me, ' notwithstanding the disparity of every thing
external, I never in England enjoyed that sweet sense of my
Lord's loving care, that I have enjoyed in Bagdad.' And her
assurance of her Lord's love never forsook her, even after she felt
herself attacked by the plague. While contemplating the mys-
teriousnes of the providence, her mind was overwhelmed; but when
she thought on her Lord's love, she was confident in His gracious-
ness. From almost the first, her brain has been so oppressed that
with difficulty she opens her eyes, and though she can answer a
question of two or three words, ' Yes,' or 'No;' yet, if it involves
the slightest exercise of thought, sheal ways replies, 'I donot know
what you say.' When I consider all I and the dear children
lose, should we survive her, it is almost more than my heart
can contemplate. On any essential point, for some years, we
have never had divided judgment on any material point ; in
every work of faith, or labour of love, her desire was to animate
not to hinder. Such simple truth of purpose, and unaffected
love, and confidence in her Lord, as dwelt in her dear spirit, I

134 FATAL SYMPTOM OF PLAGUE.
have seldom seen, and those who knew her intimately will not
think I say too much. She has been to me in the relation of Christ
ian wife, and missionary wife, just what I felt I so much needed.
And yet the Lord sees fit to take her to Himself, and add one
more from my Uttle family to the chosen, faithful, and true
company that surround His throne. Lord, then, though it cuts
nature to the quick, makes me feel its deepest suffering, and meets
me under the most complicated forms of trial, yet if it be for thy
glory, and her glory, do, dear Lord, thine Almighty wiU, and we
know thou wilt to thy chosen make Ught spring up out of darkness.
" May 10th. — Last evening my dearest wife was more herself
than she had been tiU with a few hours of her being taken ill,
which was manifested by her asking to see her dear Uttle baby,
the first thing she had voluntarily asked for, since her illness.
She again mentioned her confidence in her Lord, and acquies
cence in His will. She asked me what I thought of her situation.
I said I had committed her to the Lord, who I knew, would deal
graciously by her. She repUed, ' Yes, that He will.' She con
tinued in this state of improvement till to-day at about nine
o'clock, when her mind again began to wander. When I quoted
to her, that to the Lord's servants light should spring up in
darkness, she said, ' Yes, that it shall.' She said, ' I feel much
better than yesterday — don't you see that I am.( In fact, my
hopes of her being really improving would have been complete,
but from that peculiar look of the eyes which authors who
have written on this subject aU denote as most fatal ; from this,
therefore, my hopes never were very high, yet though I had
yesterday been enabled, through the Lord's grace, to he in His
hands like a weaned child, to-day the disappointment of the dear
hope, slight as it was, of having her restored to us, has brought
my soul again into very deep waters. She also this morning
expressed her anxiety about the dear children, and her fear, lest,
in attending her, I should take the plague, and they be left
orphans here.
" In every respect, certainly the Lord has been most gracious
to her. She is about to be transplanted to her native soil,
where tears and sorrows shall never enter, and in the way of

OTHERS OF THE HOUSHOLD ATTACKED. 135
her removal, since the Lord's time is come, nothing can be more
compassionate to her peculiar weakness of heart than not allow
ing her anxiety to dwell on the dear children, and their probable
situation here. To have been happy in quitting them, amidst
such a scene as now surrounds us, and in such a country, perhaps no
mortal faith could have been equal to ; theLord, therefore, suffered
not her mind to possess its usual sensibilities ; but took them
from her, and left her only to return to His bosom in peace.
" I feel the Holy Ghost again sustaining my poor weak heart
in the prospect of losing such a wife, and remaining solitary
here with three dear motherless children ; but I know the Lord
in whom I have beUeved, and He will not fail His chosen in one
of aU those good things He has promised Our trials are very,
very great ; but the Lord, the Comforter, is greater even than
they. My dearest wife now (two o'clock) is quite delirious.
Dear spirit ! I have attended her night and day since the even
ing of the seventh, on which she was taken ill, and I allow no
one else to approach her. The Lord is my only stay, my only
support, and He is a support indeed.
" May 1 1th. — This night has been the most trying of my life.
How hard for the soul to see the object of its longest and best
grounded earthly affections suffering without the power of
affording relief, knowing too that a heavenly Father who has
sent it can reUeve it and yet seems to turn a deaf ear to one's
cries ; at the same time, I felt, in the depth of my soul's affec
tions, that ,notwithstanding all, He is a God of infinite love.
Satan has sorely tried me, but the Lord has shown me, in the
22nd Psalm, a more wonderful cry apparently unheeded, and
the Holy Ghost has given me the victory, and enabled me to
acquiesce in my Father's win, though I now see not the end of
His holy and blessed ways. Dear, dear spirit ! she will soon
wing her way to where her heart has long been ; and if I am
spared, I shall perhaps have reason to bless God for having
removed her thus early.
" The plague has attacked two more of our household,— the
schoolmaster's wife and our maid-servant, and how far it wiU go
now, no one knows but He who guides it with His sovereign will.

136 KIND PROVISION OF A NURSE.
My dearest Mary's sufferings, for four or five hours last night,
were very great ; she was quite delirious, and her dear voice was
so affected, that I could not make out two words connectedly.
How mysterious are God's ways ! O, my soul, learn the lesson
of patient submission to His holy will ! I have cast myself
upon Him, and He will guide me. Dear Mary, to-day, has been
quite insensible. It has indeed been a very painful day, but it
is the condition of this world. Dear spirit 1 she has been so
set on her Lord's coming of late, that it seemed quite to absorb
her thought and heart. And now she will quickly join the
holy assembly who are waiting to come with Him. Surely such
times as these, when the Lord is taking a ripe shock of corn
from your field, are seasons to rejoice that your prayer for the
speedy accomplishment of the number of God's elect has been
heard, and yet how hard it is for nature not to feel deep sorrow
that a message has come for one of yours.
" Poor dear Kitto and the little boys are now become the
sole nurses of the dear baby by night and by day. O, may the
Lord watch over them and bless them ! My last night's attend
ance on my dear wife leaves me little hope of escaping the
plague, unless it be our Father's special will to preserve me, for
in her delirium she required so many times to be lifted from
place to place, and to have all her clothes changed, that I can
now only cry to the Lord to preserve me, if it may be, a little
while, for the dear children's sake.
" The Lord has graciously provided us with a servant of Mrs.
T.'s to come and attend my dear Mary. Oh may my soul bless
Him for this timely help, just when our own servant was taken
ill. This woman has been in the midst of all the contagion, and
has never taken it ; so it may be the Lord's will to show how
He can work even in the midst of the darkest trials. She sits
down beside the dear sufferer, keeps the flies from her face, and
does everything for her the fondest heart could desire. She
came out with us from England, having gone there with Mrs.
T. ; is a native of these countries, knows aU that is required in
sickness, and how to perform the duties of a nurse, with the most ,
unwearied patience, tenderness, and watchfulness. She also

PECULIAR FITNESS FOR THE OFFICE. 137
knows something of English, and having been with dear Mrs.
T. in England, is acquainted with English customs. Surely the
Lord heard my cry in the day of my deep distress, for such a
person perhaps could not be got again within a thousand miles.
That she should have been left too when all the rest went away.
She has made dear Mary look so comfortable ; she washes her
and changes her, and though insensible, she lies so quiet, and
looks so composed. She said she knew the Lord would be very
gracious, and He has been so indeed ; He sees it right to take
His sheep home to His fold ; but He has so overwhelmed me by
this proof of His loving-kindness, this ray of light arising in
the midst of my darkness, that it seems to have led my heart
yet more and more to love Him and to confide in Him, that He
may yet stay His rough wind in the day of His east wind.
This kind friend, Mrs. T.'s servant, proposes to remain with us
until all our family are either well or dead.
"May 12th. — Up to this day I am well, thank God, but
seeing the ways of the Lord are so marvellous, I have arranged
all my Uttle concerns, and put them into the hands of dear
Kitto, for the little boys and our dear little baby, till they arrive
at some of those places where there may be some one to take
care of them, and carry them to their guardians or my trustees.
But as poor Kitto is so Uttle able to provide even for himself,
much less for the little boys, I shall now endeavour, the Lord
enabling me, to arrange with this woman, Marian by name, to
undertake every thing for them till she can give them over to
Major T., to whose family she is going, unless they return here.
She has consented to undertake this charge, and is to remain
with the dear, dear children. She knows enough of EngUsh to
make herself understood by the dear children, and she
thoroughly understands the language, manners, and habits
of this people. — Whether it may ever be the Lord's will
to call into exercise the arrangements of this plan or not,
I trust I never shall forget the Lord's unspeakable mercy in
showing me that when I saw no earthly protector for my
poor children, His holy, loving, and fatherly hand could
provide one if it were necessary. O, may my faith in Him

138 MRS. GROVES'S PREPARATION OF HEART
hi the darkest day never fail, for it is a light that springeth
up in darkness.
" Dearest Mary is gradually sinking into the bosom of the
Lord, and to join in the society her soul has so long and so truly
loved, of the lovers of the Lamb of God. Though the Lord
has taken away the desire of my eyes, as it were with a stroke,
and left me a few hours to cry unto Him in the midst of deep,
deep waters, yet these visions of His love have so revived me,
that my whole soul is brought to acquiesce in His holy and
fatherly arrangements with respect to her who was once the joy,
the help, and the companion of aU in which I was engaged. I
sit down now to wait, and see the salvation of my God, for
doubtless He wiU reveal, in His own good time, the reason why
He has acted so contrary not only to mine but especially to my
dear wife's strongest convictions, which were, that He would
preserve us all safe through this calamity.
" When I now contemplate the spiritual state of dear Mary's
mind for the last twelve months, I am not at all surprised that the
Lord has taken her as a ripe shock of corn, but my expectation
while watching her spiritual progress was so different. I saw
her daily growing in the simple assurance of her Lord's love,
and desiring under heaven neither to know nor serve any other
than Him. Her heart was panting for the Lord's coming, that
the mystery of iniquity might be finished, and the mystery of
godliness be fully established ; but I thought not of all this
being preparatory to her joining her Lord, but for the strength
ening of my poor weak hands here. It never entered my heart
that I was to be left alone, as far as earth is concerned, most
alone. Those friends for whom this journal is alone designed,
know how much she was to me, and how deservedly so : this,
however, the Lord saw had its great, great dangers too, and in
His infinite mercy to us both, may have ripened her so rapidly
for glory, and left me here to serve and praise ; for I have felt
it was very, very hard, as the Apostle says, to have a wife as
though I had none. Now, when I go and look upon her as
having reached within one short step, the habitation of aU her
hopes, I have not a spiritual affection within my soul that

GOD INFINITE IN COMPASSION. 139
would call her back ; but poor nature reluctantly bows its
head. " The dear little baby also is but poorly. Her dear little cry
of 'mamma, mamma,' cuts my poor heart like a knife;  to
think, that from to-day, or probably to-morrow, she must cease
to know that endearing name, and such a mother too ! How
ever, the Lord tells His children to leave their fatherless, and
doubtless their motherless, ones to Him. I desire so to do ¦ for
He is a dear and kind Father, though nature cannot always see
it, and indeed how could this be ? for that which is natural in
us is not only in its will opposed to God, but even in its best
affections tainted from the faU. Were it not that the Lord
whom we love and serve is as infinite in His compassions, as
He is mysterious in His ways, the days that must come, when
the excitement of present suffering will be past, and my soul
begin to look round and see the extent of its desolations, in a
country, too, where there is nothing to comfort or cheer me
would appear to me too dark to be borne ; but I know the
Lord hath said, ' I will not leave you orphans, I will come unto
you ; so if He does come and dwell more sensibly within me,
even my poor, duU, and slow-growing spirit may soon be ripened
and gathered into His kingdom, there to join my dear departing
one in the realms of Ught.
" May 1 3th. — My dearest wife has reached the light of another
day, still quietly sinking without a sigh and without a groan.
This my prayer for her in the night of my darkness the Lord
has mercifully heard. At present all the remaining ones of the
family are well. I have separated the dear little boys and
Kitto, and allow them to hold intercourse with none. The
dear baby, and myself, and the maid, and the little boy of our
sick servant, are also much separated, and this nurse whom the
Lord sent us, alone attends the sick ; but yet so contagious is
this fearful disease, that when it has once entered your dwelling,
you can know no other safety than in your Lord's preserving
care. These are indeed days of trial, but doubtless they will
have their precious fruit in all God's children ; for the eyes of
the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto

140 MRS. groves's departure.
their cry — for the Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants,
therefore none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate — no,
not even I, poor and worthless as I am, I shall yet praise Him
who is the Lord of my life, and my God.
"The dear boys also keep up their spirits much better
than the first two or three days after their dear mamma was
taken ill. The magnitude of present danger to themselves, and
to all, in some measure divides their thoughts, and prevents
them from resting alone on the deeply affecting prospect before
them, for they loved her most truly, and, 0 how much reason
had they to love her f
" I have just heard that the streets begin again to be crowded,
shops here and there to be opened, and the gardeners are bring
ing things from without into the city. To think that so near
the end we should have been thus visited, how mysterious ! Yet
my soul says, What thou seest not, thou shalt see. If it does
but lead to my Lord's glory, I am sure it will lead to my dear
sufferer's ; then why should I repine ?
"Water is also reduced to 1*. 3d. the skin, the price it was
at before. For these proofs of mercy to the people, we will bless
God in the midst of our own personal sorrows.
"May 14th. — This day dearest Mary's ransomed spirit took
its seat among those dressed in white, and her body was con
signed to the earth that gave it birth — a dark heavy day to
poor nature, but still the Lord was the light and stay of it.
" I cannot help exceedingly blessing my heavenly Father, how
ever these calamities (for to nature they are such, though not
to the heirs of glory) may end, that He has aUowed me to con
tinue in health so long as to see everything done I could have
desired and infinitely more than I could have expected for her
whom I have so much reason to love.
"May 15th, 16th. — I have heard to-day that the French Ro
man Catholic Archbishop of Babylon has been dead a long
time, and two of his priests, and the remaining two are fled.
The poor schoolmaster's wife is dying, and our servant, I trust,
recovering : the rest of our household within and without,
thank God, all continue in good health — even dear Uttle baby,

MR. GROVES IS TAKEN ILL. 141
though rather cross from want of amusement, and from her
teeth. " They say, new cases of plague have almost entirely disap
peared ; may the Lord grant its speedy disappearance altogether.
We have had no information from the Taylors since their de
parture, which makes us very anxious. As the waters are de
creasing, the relics of those families which fled are returning ;
and, in numberless cases, out of eighteen in a family who left
only one or two return. The others died in the greatest misery
and destitution of all things, distressed by the plague, the
water, and scarcity, and the air in all the roads was tainted
from the immense number of dead bodies lying by the way.
" I feel to-day many symptoms similar to those with which my
dearest Mary's illness commenced ; — pains in the head and heavi
ness, pains in the back, and shooting pains through the glands
and the arms. At another time, I should only think of them
as the result of a common cold ; but now I know not how to
discriminate, the beginnings are so similar. Should these be
my last lines in this journal, I desire to ascribe aU praise to the
sovereign grace and unspeakable love of my heavenly Father,
who from the foundation of the world set His eye of redeeming
love on me in the person of His dear and well-beloved Son. I
bless God for all the way He has led me ; and vile and wretched
sinner as I feel I am — unworthily as I have in all my life served
Him — yet I feel He has translated the affections of my inmost
soul from earth to heaven, from the creature to Himself. As
to the dear, dear helpless children, I have committed them to
His love, with the full assurance that if He transplants me
from hence to Himself, to join the partner of my earthly his
tory, He will provide for them much, yea, very much better
than I, or ten thousand fathers could do. To His love and
promises, then, in Christ Jesus, I leave them ; and strange and
wonderful as His dealings appear, He has made my soul to ac
quiesce in them. To all the family of the redeemed of the
Lord, especially those I know, I entreat you let your conversa
tion be as it becometh the gospel of Christ ; always abound in
His most holy work, for you know your labour is not in vain

142 MR. GROVES'S FEELINGS IN HIS ILLNESS.
in the Lord. Be as those who wait for their Lord with four
lamps trimmed, for shortly He who shall come will come, and
will not tarry. My soul embraces those I especially knew
with aU its powers, and desires for them that Christ may
exceedingly be glorified in them, and by them, amen, and
amen. "May 17th. — To-day the fever has almost entirely left me, so
that I feel very Uttle,' except weakness, but never can I suffi
ciently praise God for the experience of yesterday. I certainly
never expected again to have written in this journal, and few
circumstances could have apparently presented themselves more
trying to the heart than to have the prospect of soon leaving
in a city like Bagdad, at this time, three helpless children ; and
the impossibility of making those provisions for them which at
another time might have been comparatively easy seemed alto
gether more than the heart could support ; yet so abundantly
did the Lord allow His love to pass before me, so fuUy did He
assure me of His loving care, that I felt no doubt for them —
and, for myself, the prospect of soon joining Him was specially
exhilarating. He allowed me to see my free and fuU forgive
ness and acceptance, and I never felt more the preciousness of
such a salvation as the Gospel of Jesus provides for the sinner,'
than when I was, as I thought, just entering eternity, to plead
it as the ground of my hope before God. There seemed such
simplicity in having only to beheve you were redeemed by His
love, and should be eternally preserved by the same, instead of
having to do with weighing the sum of your beggarly services,
all Of which one hates now, and oh, how shaU we hate them
when we see Him face to" face. May our dear Lord make the
promise He made to His disciples, good to my poor bereaved
heart, and come Himself and fiU it with His fulness, that having
Him I may indeed feel I have all things.
"May 18th. — Our poor servant died last night, notwithstand
ing our hopes of her recovery, and has left one Uttle orphan boy
of seven years old with us. O that I could think of her
transition from hence to eternity, and contemplate her, as the
Lord to my unspeakable comfort allows me to contemplate my

REMOVAL OF THE PLAGUE. 143
dear, dear wife, dwelhng in the light of her Lord's countenance
where there is fulness of joy for ever.
" The schoolmaster has just told me, that out of forty rela
tions, he has now only four — the rest have all been swept away.
The accounts we have of the misery in which many of those
died who endeavoured to fly is truly heart-rending ; with the
water nearly half a yard high in their tents, without victuals or
the means of seeking or buying any, they suffered every priva
tion and misery that can be imagined, and one poor family
which has now returned describe the intense desire they had to
come back and die quietly in their houses. But return they
could not, for the waters had so risen that there was no road,
and no boats could be obtained, but at an immense price, which
a few only could pay, and very few obtain at any price.
" 0 ! how many alleviations to the trials of parting with
those we loved, the Lord aUowed us, in permitting us to see
them surrounded by every comfort they could want, and with
every attendance that could alleviate a moment's uneasiness.
" From the Taylors at Bussorah we have yet heard no accounts
and are therefore most anxious to know how the Lord has been
moving among them. I have just heard that orders have come
from Stamhoul,* to the Pashas marching against this Pasha, to
return, and that another messenger is on his way from Stam
houl to bring his annual dress of investiture. Should it be
reaUy thus, our dear friends may soon be here from Aleppo ;
it would indeed be a great comfort ; but the Lord regards, in
His dispensations, our real advantage more than our sensible
comfort ; we therefore desire to leave all to His holy, gracious
ordering, who, though He orders all things after the counsel of
His own free wiU, has no wUl towards us, but that we should
be fiUed with the fulness of Christ, and be conformed to His
image. "May 19th. — The water to-day has again fallen considerably
in price, and as far as we can judge, God has mercifully nearly
extinguished this desolating plague. I now feel quite satisfied
* Constantinople.

144 DISCIPLINE OF HEART.
the attack I had the other day was of the plague, though very
slight. The schoolmaster, yesterday, was attacked in the same
way with a pain in his back and head, and a pain in his glands,
one of which is decidedly enlarged, but stiU it is very shght,
and I trust to-morrow, with the Lord's blessing, to see him, with
the exception of weakness, well again. We are, thank God, all
weU ; the only thing I now suffer from is weakness and pain in
the glands and under the arm, but there is no enlargement, and
I trust in a day or two it will go entirely away. I heard, to-day,
the Pasha had been ill of the plague this week ; it is now
reported he is dead ; but we know nothing certain. One of
his sons is also dead.
" This has been a heavy day with my poor heart, so slow a
scholar am I under my dear Master's teaching. Yet I feel He
will fill me with His own most blessed presence, and then I
shall be able to bear easily ah other bereavements. How strange
it is that feeling should rule with so much more power than
principle over the happiness of the soul, even when the spirit
imparts strength to direct the conduct aright. The feelings
seize on the slightest recollection ; and oh, what fuel have they
when everything in the minutest daily occurrences, every thing
in the events passing around us, at once comes directly on the
heart and presses upon it ; and when there is not a soul near, not
only not to supply all that is lost, but not even a portion of it ;
and yet notwithstanding aU this that now weighs on me, I feel
the Lord Himself will be yet more to me than aU I have lost.
I feel I have been skimming too much on the surface of Christ
ianity instead of being clothed with Christ. O ! what a child
am I in the Ufe of faith, but I feel the Lord has my poor soul
in His training, and though the disciphne may seem severe, it
is only the severity of uncompromising love.
" May 20th. — This has been a day of mercies at the hand of
the most High. For a day or two past, I had observed a little
dust falling through a creak in the waU, and although on any
other occasion it would have excited no anxiety, yet knowing
the cellars were fuU of water, I thought it better this morning
early to take out aU our things from this room ; it was our own,

REMARKABLE ESCAPE. 145
mine and dear Mary's, and therefore contained aU we had of
clothing, &c. ; the dear little boys and the servants were help
ing me, and we had not finished taking out our last things
above ten minutes, when the whole arch on which the room was
built gave way — our Uttle stock of things and ourselves being
all safe. 0, my soul, bless the Lord who watcheth over the
ways of His children 1
" 0 how easy it is to kiss our dear and loving Father's hand
when He turns bright providences towards us ! How easy,
then, it is to praise ! but I feel my dearest Teacher is teaching
me the hardest lesson, to kiss the hand that wounds, to bless the
hand that pours out sorrow, and to submit with all my soul,
though I see not a ray of light. 0, thou holy and blessed
Spirit, come and help thy poor wayward scholar, who indeed
would not entertain a hard thought of his dear and loving
Father. Through much tribulation we must enter into the
kingdom ; therefore, blessed Lord, prepare me for thy service.
I am a poor inexperienced soldier ; clothe me with the whole
armour of God, that my soul may praise in the darkest day.
All but myself are quite well, and my indisposition seems only
at present a little weakness, which perhaps the exertion of
removing the things from our room to-day, and all the painful
associations connected with it, have this evening a little in
creased ; but the Lord is very pitiful, and says, Ask what you
will of my Father, and He will give it you. Dear Lord, fill
me with thyself, that there may be no more room for the grief
of any creature. Thou, and thy Father, and the blessed Spirit,
one eternal God alone, art eternaUy a satisfying portion.
" I am very anxious about the poor schoolmaster : should he
die, he will be the last of our teachers ; three are already dead
and he alone remains. — 0, my Lord, my soul desires to wait on
thee for light* and to remember Mizar and Hermon — days when
the sun shone upon our path ; but the frost may be as neces
sary to bring the corn to fuU perfection as the genial sun and
showers. Dear Husbandman, do thine own will, only make us
bear much fruit, that thou mayest be glorified.
"May 2\st. — Last night, thieves endeavoured three times to

146 FAITH IN THE DARK DAY.
force an outer door, but did not succeed ; — the whole city is
swarming with them.
" To-day the Pasha of Mosul is come to Bagdad ; what it
portends we know not ; but the Lord reigneth, therefore let the
saints rejoice : they can only accomplish His will who is our
Father and our God.
" I have to-day sent off a messenger to Major T. to Bussorah ;
may he quickly return with good tidings of them aU. To-day
I have also heard of a caravan proposing to go to Aleppo. Every
account we have of the plague confirms its almost entire disap
pearance. Our walking now is altogether by faith ; we see not
a ray of light for the future, but the Lord will let light spring
out of darkness, so that His servants who wait upon Him shall
not always mourn. O, how different a thing faith is in a cloudy
and dark day, and when all things smile around ! I had inten
tionally renounced the world, yet the Lord saw that I held more
of it than I knew in the dear object He has removed. In En
gland, where I had many dear Christian friends, she was my
constant companion ; but here she was on earth aU I had left — my
sorrows, my hopes, my fears, she shared and bore them all. I
feel Christ my Lord has in store for me in Himself some great
and special good in exchange for all this, but my poor weak
faithless heart does not yet see the way of His going forth.
" Hannai is most kind to my sweet little helpless babe.
" May 22nd. — Our dear Lord said to His sorrowing disciples,
You have heard how I said unto you, I go away and come again
unto you. If ye loved me ye would rejoice, because 1 said I go unto
the Father, that is, if you loved me above the enjoyment of my
society and help, ye would rejoice ; how hard this is : as it was
true of the departing Head, so it is true of every member, and
yet I feel my selfish heart constantly forgetting that true love
which under the crucifixion of aU one's own feelings can truly
rejoice at the happiness of an object beloved.
"This has again been an anxious day. Dear Henry com
plained this morning of a swelling under his ear, or rather
under the angle of the jaw, where there was, on feeling it, an
evidently enlarged gland ; however, to the praise of the Lord's

EXPERIENCE OF GOD's MERCY. 147
great grace, it is evidently passing away without any general
attack on the constitution. I really beUeve the Holy Ghost is
making these events instrumental in working a deep sense on
the minds of the dearest boys of the importance of their souls ;
there is a concern about religion, a wilUngness to talk about it,
I have not before observed. O, may the Lord's blessed Spirit
water these seeds, and make them plants of renown, to the
glory of our own Lord's great name.
" May 23rd. — O, my poor heart flutters like a bird when it
contemplates the extent of its bereavement as a husband, a
father, a missionary ! O, what have I not lost ! Dear Lord, sus
tain my poor weak faith. Thy gracious visits sometimes com
fort my soul ; yet my days move heavily on ; but the Lord
who redeemeth the souls of His servants has declared, that
none of those who trust in Him shall be desolate. Lord, I be
lieve, help thou mine unbelief. I do indeed desire with my whole
soul to cast myself into the ocean of thy love, and never to let
Satan have one advantage over me, by instilling into my heart
hard thoughts of thy ways. Surely we expect trials, and if so,
and thou sendest one other than we expected, should it surprise
us when we see but a point in the circle of thy providence, and
thou seest the end from the beginning 1
" May 24th. — To-day Kitto has been very unwell.
" May 25th. — To-day the dear baby is very unwell, but Kitto
better. Thus the Lord interchanges His merciful trials and
merciful reliefs. I feel one great want, ' To be fiUed with all
the fulness of Christ,' that there may be no room for those
fluctuations, which from short intervals of sweet peace plunge
me into depths of sorrow and astonishment ; yet I know the
Lord will heal, He will bind up what He has broken. 0 my
soul, wait patiently on Him to learn all I know He would
teach thee : let patience have her perfect work, for the trial of
our faith is much more precious than of gold that perisheth.
My eyes are daily, hourly looking unto the Lord for a little ray
of Ught, but as yet I see none : yet we know that they that
trust on the Lord shall not walk in darkness, but mercies shall
compass them about.

148 TRIAL OF THE CHILD'S ILLNESS.
"May 26th. — To-day, thank God, all our household are tolera
bly well. — All accounts from without say the plague is ended.
May the Lord grant it !
" May 27th. — My dear baby still very poorly. Dear Lord, I
commit this tender, deUcate flower to thy loving gracious keep
ing. O my God, my soul has been much cast down within me ;
but thou hast enabled me to remember thee from the land of
Jordan, and the Hermonites, from the hiU Mizar. O Lord,
only let thy love appear shining through the clouds that sur
round me, and my soul will rejoice ; it is only when the adver
sary prevails so far as to say, He loves thee not, that my soul is
overwhelmed within me ; for if I have not the Lord, whom
have I ? for vile and worthless as all my manifestations of love
have been, cold and dead as aU my worship, low and doubting
as all my confidence has been, yet Lord, all my desire is to love
thee better and serve thee more singly, who art infinitely
worthy of all love and all service. How strong our tower
seems till the Lord blow upon its foundations, and then much
that looked so fair flies like the chaff of the summer threshing
floor, and meet it is, if the immoveable parts of Christ's own
building be found to connect the poor fluttering soul with the
Rock of Ages. Oh may my soul drink daily more and more
deeply into that spirit of adoption and love, and assurance of
the Lord's favour, that gilded the last year of my dear, dear
Mary's life. — Lord, I feel I am a very child ; but Lord, lead,
lead thou me by thine own right hand. Oh my heart longs for
Christian communion — some one to whom I can talk of Jesus
and His ways, and with whom I may take counsel ; yet it now
seems as though many months must elapse before our dear
friends can come from Aleppo ; but the Lord knows what is
best, and to Him we leave all our cares, and the providing for
all our necessities. I pray the Lord to pour down His Holy
Spirit upon my poor heart, and strengthen it for trials. It
was one of my dearest Mary's greatest comforts, as it has been
mine, to know so many of those who were dear to the Lord, and
had purposed wholly to follow Him, were praying for our
guidance and welfare ; — this used to be, in our evening walks

LETTERS FROM ENGLAND. 149
on the roof of our house, a theme of thanksgiving, and used
daily to draw out our hearts to the Lord for the continual dew
of His blessing upon them. Oh when they hear of all the
Lord's deahng, may their spirits be stirred up within them to
pray that I may be filled with Him who fiUeth all in all. I
long to love my Eternal God — Father, Son, and Spirit, more
with all my undivided heart ; the coldness of my love— the
lowness of my desires is my abiding sorrow.
" May 28th. — To-day came letters from England, but O, how
strangely altered ! Those very letters which would have
animated anew all our endeavours and led us to praise God
together, had dearest Mary been here to share them, came
winged with passages that wrung my heart. But still the love
of the saints of God, of those we love, has much sweetness in it ;
and then again to hear of our dear sister's thoughtful love to
wards our tender little babe in providing her clothes, which,
while they are doing, my heart heaves with the prospect of
losing the sweet little flower — so tender — so needing more than
a mother's care. But the Lord is most compassionately gracious,
and what He does not reveal now He will hereafter.
" I have also had intelligence to-day that my dear brothers
and sisters had been two months ago on the point of setting off
from Aleppo ; but whether they received news of the plague
and returned, or are waiting at Anah, I know not, but I
greatly need them — yet stiU the Lord knows best how much I
need them, and when.
" When I think of my lowness in the attainments of the
divine hfe, my Uttle knowledge, and my less love of my dear
Lord, I wonder how He has so graciously allowed me a place
in the hearts of His chosen, and that He should allow our
"weak, tottering, and faithless walk, to encourage those who
seemed as the young and lusty eagles, to take their higher
flight is wonderful ; but it is that the glory might be His.
" In concluding this portion of my Journal, I shall just take
a little view of the last two years, as it is now within a few days
of two years since I left my dear, dear friends and native shore.

150 REVIEW OF THE LAST TWO YEARS.
"From the day my dearest Mary and myself deliberately
prepared to set out on the work in which we finally embarked,
the Lord never allowed us to doubt that it was His work, and
that the result to the church of God would be greater than our
remaining quietly at home. AU our subsequent intercourse
with His dear children in England, and in our journey, had a
confirmatory tendency, and all communications with the dear
circle to whom we were known, insignificant as we were, con
vinced us that the cause of the Lord had suffered no detriment
— that many had been led to act with more decision, and some
to pursue measures which possibly might not otherwise have
been undertaken.
" Again, the Lord's great care over us in His abundant pro
vision for all our necessities, although every one of those
sources failed that we had calculated upon naturaUy when we
left England, enabled us yet further to sing of His goodness.
" Then, as to our work ; when we left England, schools entered
not into our plan ; but when we arrived here, the Lord so com
pletely put the school of the Armenians into our hands, that
on consultation both my dearest Mary, myself, and Mr. Pfander
thought that the Lord's children and saints must take the work
the Lord gives, particularly as there appeared no immediate
prospect of other work. We entered on it, and by dear Mr.
Pfander's most efficient help, the children were soon brought to
translate God's word with understanding, and the school in
creased from thirty-five to nearly eighty. My dearest Mary
had long desired to undertake the girls' school exclusively; but
previous to her confinement she did not feel able ; but as soon as
she got about, she undertook it heartily, and the dear little
children were so attached to their employments that they used
to come on their holidays. She had got so far on in Armenian
as to be able to prepare for them in large characters some little
pieces of Cams Wilson's, which I got translated into the Arme
nian of this place, and the dear little children were so interested
by them, that they exceedingly desired to take them home, and
read them to their mothers, which in two or three days they
were to have done. For our own instruction in Arabic and

MRS. GROVE S STATE OF MIND. 151
Armenian, and for the school, we had five most competent
teachers. Thus things went on up to the end of March, when
the appearance of the plague obliged us to break up the school.
But now two months have passed, and 0 ! how changed ! Half
the children or more are dead ; many have left the place ; the
five teachers are dead, and my dear, dear Mary. When I think
on this, my heart is overwhelmed within me, and I remain in
absolute darkness as to the meaning of my Lord and Father ;
but shaU I therefore doubt Him now, after so many proofs of
love, because He acts inscrutably to me? God forbid ! That the
Lord made the coming of my dearest wife and her multiplied
trials and blessings, the instruments of her soul's rapid prepara
tion for. His presence, I have no doubt. I never heard a soul
breathe a more simple, firm, and unostentatious faith in God.
She never had a doubt but that it was for the Lord she left all
that was naturaUy dear to her to expose herself to dangers from
which with a constitutional timidity she shrank.
Her soul was most especiaUy drawn out towards her Lord's
coming, and this spread a gilded halo round every trial. She
constantly exclaimed, as we walked on the roof of our house*
of an evening, ' When will He come ? ' Often she would say to
me, 'I never enjoyed such spiritual peace as since I have been
in Bagdad — such an unvarying sense of nearness to Christ, and
assurance of His love and care ; we came out trusting only
under His wing, and He will never forsake us.' Her strong
assurance certainly was, that the Lord would not allow the
plague to enter our dwelling ; but when she saw that He let
it rest even on her, it never disturbed her peace, as I have
mentioned before. She said to me, ' I know not which is to me
most mysterious, that the Lord should have laid His hand upon
me, or having done so, that I should enjoy such peace as I do.'
And in this peace and confidence, every subsequent moment of
sensibihty was passed. Her constant exclamation was, ' I know
* It is on account of the great heat in the summer that the houses in
Bagdad are built with flat roofs, to which the inhabitants all move up at
sunset and dine and spend the night.

152 PROOFS OF A FATHER'S CARE.
He wiU do most graciously by me.' Yet notwithstanding all
the happiness I have in contemplating her among the redeemed
clothed in white ; and notwithstanding the triumphant convic
tion I have, in spite of the temptations of Satan, and the
darkness that envelops my present position, that all springs
from infinite love; yet at times the loss I have sustained, in every
possible way, as a husband, a father, a missionary, so affects me,
that but for my Lord's loving presence I should be overwhelmed.
" I now wait the arrival of my dear friends, to consult with
them as to our future plans. May the Lord, if it be His
pleasure, quickly send them hither, and direct us in all our plans
and purposes, so that we may be led to fulfil His will.
" May 30th. — A messenger has arrived from Bussorah, bring
ing intelligence of the kind Taylors ; but the letters he brought
were all taken from him, and he stripped to his shirt, a few
miles from Bagdad. However, by word of mouth, he brings, on
the whole, good accounts. AU their immediate family are well ;
some have died among those that accompanied them, and nearly
all the Arab sadors, but as the letters are lost, we know not the
particulars. " May 31st. — I have had another proof of my heavenly
Father's care. An Armenian merchant has sent his servant to
me to say, he proposes sending him every day to buy for me
what I want from the bazaar, and also to offer me any money
I may want. The latter I had no occasion to accept, for when
the Jew left the city who was to supply me, and the man died
who was to obtain it for me, and I seemed left without remedy,
an Armenian offered to supply whatever I might want, without
any appUcation on my part, and from him I have had what I
needed. " Thus I finish this melancholy portion of my journal — one
of those dark pages in the history of one's Ufe, that whenever
the thoughts stray towards it, chills to the very centre of one's
being ; and when we trace all its sources, and see they termin
ate in sin, 0, how hateful must that thing be, which is fraught
with such deadly consequences ! 0, what a blessedness it is,
amidst all these lights and shades of life, to know that the rock

IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE. 153
on which we rest is the same, and does not vary ; and that
whether He administers to us the bitter portion or the sweet,
His banner over us is love !
"June 5th. — Reports are again spreading that the Pasha of
Aleppo is within a few days of this place. But we sit down
and patiently wait the event.
"June 7th. — To-day a letter has reached me from Major
Taylor, being the first I have received since he removed his
family from this place to Bussorah.
" The more I contemplate the circumstances in which I have
of late been placed, the more I see of the trials and anxieties
of the missionary life, and of the mysteriousness of God's deal
ings, the more I feel overwhelmed with the importance of the
soul having a deep sense of the love of God in Christ, before it
ventures upon such an undertaking. Our dear Father very
often, in love, explains to us His reasons ; at other times, He
gives no account of His matters ; in the one case to excite love
and confidence, in the other to exercise faith. It does seem to
me, that no doctrines but those of the sovereign grace of God,
and His love entertained towards the soul before the foundar-
tion of the world, and the revelation by the Holy Ghost of the
love and fellowship of Christ, and through Him with the
Father, so that we have thereby our life hid with Him where no
evil can reach us, can happily sustain the soul. There is some
thing so filthy, so worthless in all our services, when events
render it probable to the soul that it will soon appear before
God, that the new creature cannot endure the deformity and
defilement, and turns away its distressed sight to the love of the
Lord, and the garment He has provided without spot or wrinkle,
or any such thing. The experience of my dear, dear Mary on
this head was most striking. She often said to me, ' They often
talked to me, and I often read of the happiness of religion, but
I can truly say I never knew what misery was tiU I was con
cerned about religion, and endeavoured to frame my life accord
ing to its rules, — the manifest, powerless inadequacy of my efforts
to attain my standard, left me always farther removed from

154 COMFORT OF GOD'S FREE LOVE.
hope and peace than when I never knew or thought of the
likeness of Christ, as a thing to be aimed after ; and it was not
till the Holy Ghost was pleased of His infinite mercy to reveal
the love of my heavenly Father in Christ as existing in Himself
before all ages, contemplating me with pity, and purposing to
save me by His grace, and to conform me to the image of Him
whom my soul loves, that I really had peace, or confidence, or
strength. And if in any measure I have been able to walk on
with joy in the ways of the Lord, it has been from the mani
festation of His love, and not from the abstract sense of what is
right, nor from the fear of punishment.' This was the theme
of her daily praise — the love and graciousness of her Lord ; and
I can set my seal, though with a comparatively feeble impres
sion, to the same truths, that the sense of the love of Christ is
the high road to walk according to the law of Christ.
"June 9th. — I have heard from a German merchant, Mr.
Swoboda, that above 15,000 persons, many sick with the plague,
and others, were buried under the ruins of the houses that fell
in the night the water burst into the city. Nothing can give
a more awful impression of the mass of misery then in the
city, than that such an event, which at another time would
have called forth every exertion to remove the sufferers, and
have been the universal conversation and lamentation of the
city, passed by without any effort to relieve them, and almost
without a word of remark, but from those immediately con
nected with the sufferers. I hear that those who have closed
their houses intend opening them on the 18th inst. I bless
God for the intelligence ; and trust the plague has quite left us.
Mr. Swoboda tells me he does not expect to open his khan
again for twelve months.

CHAPTER VII.
THE MAN OF FAITH AMIDST SCENES OF TERROR AND DESOLATION
— COMMENCEMENT OF THE SIEGE OF BAGDAD — CONFLICTING
REPORTS — MR. GROVES'S NEW TRIALS — HIS CONVERSATIONS
WITH HIS PATIENTS  HIS DANGER FROM THE BALLS AND
SHELLS OF THE BESIEGERS — OBSERVATIONS ON VARIOUS SUB
JECTS  MISERY OF THE BESIEGED  LAWLESSNESS OF THOSE
WITHIN — MR. GROVES LOSES HIS BELOVED INFANT — HIS
VISIT TO THE PASHA  PROVISION IN TIME OF FAMINE  EN
TRANCE OF THE NEW PASHA — MR. GROVES'S ILLNESS —
RESTORATION OF TRANQUILLITY IN BAGDAD — MR. GROVES'S
LETTERS.
What a contrast do the preceding pages present to us be
tween the holy, quiet confidence of the man of faith and the
dismay of the unbelieving masses around him. In the midst of
death and desolation, we find him committing himsetf and his
household to God, to the living God ; and having done so, he
was ready, as circumstances required, to help others. All in
authority flee away ; the British Resident is gone ; the Pasha
is either fled, or has secreted himself, — at all events he is unable
to act ; his attendants are dispersed, and even his horses
uncared for, going about the streets ; but the man of faith re
mains quietly at his post ; he is in the sanctuary with God,
pleading for the devoted city ; and having received help from
Him, with what holy courage does he go forth to the help of
others. We find him at one time visiting those who were
smitten with the plague ; at another time in the midst of falling
houses, rescuing the property of the Resident from destruction ;
again, caring for the poor outcast children ; and at all times
speaking of the things of the kingdom to those who visited him :
he seemed, as some one has remarked, " the only man alive, in
the midst of the awe-struck inhabitants." And when, at last,

156 COMMENCEMENT OF THE SIEGE.
the plague reached his own house, and took from him his
greatest earthly support, the wife of his bosom, we trace the
same unshaken trust in God, — in the kindness of His purposes,
in the wisdom of His ways, dark though they seemed ; and
when he himself is touched with this fearful disease, he is in no
wise moved ; he knows whom he has believed, and is persuaded
He will keep that which he has committed to Him against that
day. While we glorify God as the alone source of all this
grace, how should such an example encourage the heart of the
faithful to trust God at all times — to trust and not be afraid.
The same arm on which Mr. Groves had leaned amidst aU the
horrors of a plague-stricken city, and when the pestilence de
prived him of his precious wife, and threatened his own life,
supported him, we shall now see, when surrounded by the
awful sights and sounds of civil war, and when again touched to
the quick by domestic bereavement.
From June 10th to the 16th, the report of war without, and
robberies within, kept the inhabitants in constant alarm.
Mr. Groves says : —
" June 1 1th. — This day has made manifest that more judgments
are coming upon this city ; and instead of a Firman in favour of
Daoud Pasha bringing peace, we can already hear the sound
of the cannon of the new Pasha. The enemy is within six
miles, and the whole city is in a state of commotion that cannot
be described ; — every one armed with swords, pistols, and guns,
preparing for the expected contest. All the bazaars are closed,
and we are taking in water again at an advanced price.
Shortly after we ascended to the roof of our house, for our
evening walk, we heard the cannons and small arms begin to
fire, which informed us that the contest had begun in the city.
About eight o'clock we heard multitudes crying out and shout
ing before the palace, and the account was soon brought us,
that the inhabitants had broken in, and seized the Pasha.
After this, all was quiet, except the firing of guns from the tops
of houses to frighten off the thieves, and the cry of the watch
men; whom all who can afford it in these trying times, keep to
protect them. The Lord has hitherto extended His sheltering

ATTACK OF MR. GROVEs's HOUSE. 157
wing over us, though without sword, pistol, gun, or powder in
the house, and the only men, besides myself, are, Kitto, who is
deaf, and the schoolmaster's father, who is blind, but the Lord
is our hope and our exceeding great reward.
"June \2th. — The day dawned quietly, but our house has
just been attacked by a band of lawless depredators, asking for
powder and offensive weapons, but I told them I had none, and
seeing a carpenter whom I knew, I told him I would let him
in, if they promised that no more should come in. They
entered, were very civil, and when I forbade their passing over
the roof of my house to enter that of a rich neighbour, they did
not press it, but took the money I gave them and went away.
The Pasha of Mosul and an Arab chief are gone into the
palace. The crier has been publishing the determination of
those now acting for the new Pasha, till he enters, to punish all
who commit depredations, and desiring the bazaars may be
opened, and every one go about his own work. Should this be
the end, we cannot but bless God, that so great a storm has
passed over so Ughtly. But the fact is, the plague has de
stroyed all the powers of resistance. All Daoud Pasha's
soldiers were dead, as well as his public servants, and he, though
recovering from the plague, unable to take any active part
himself. When he passed our house this morning, he was
supported on his horse by six men.
"June \4th. — The people at the head of affairs have now
begun to quarrel among themselves; some are for kUUng Daoud
Pasha, others are for saving him ; and the opposite parties are
fighting in all directions. The Pasha of Mosul, who had come
to act for the Pasha of Aleppo, the successor of Daoud Pasha,
said to be appointed by the Porte, is made prisoner ; part of
the palace has been burnt and plundered, and the soldiers
killed. The crier has again proclaimed Daoud Pasha, and
Saleh Bes his representative, until he recovers, as they suppose
Ali Pasha to be dead of the plague. What is true, and what is
false, it is now utterly impossible to tell, but should Ali Pasha
be sufficiently powerful to attempt to dispossess this man, we

158 A MISSIONARY'S DIFFICULTIES.
may expect dreadful scenes. Our only resting place is in Him
who is the Shepherd of the fold of Israel.
"June 15th. — The account has just reached us, that the Pasha
of Mosul was put to death last night. The reason assigned is
that he attacked Bagdad without any warrant, and had detained
the Tartars who were bringing the firman for Daoud Pasha.
Oh ! what a country ! and what a government ! but I feel that
the Lord is by these trials disciplining the poor weak faith of
His servant, to lay hold on His strength. These scenes of
anxiety and trouble strongly urge the heart forward to desire
the day of the Lord ; so wretched, so comfortless, does aU
appear." Mr. Groves peculiarly felt at this time his deficiency in the
language ; he says, —
" Amidst this turmoil and interminable contention, a mission
ary with a family has much to try his faith, particularly in the
early years of his missionary course, when he has no power in
the language to take advantage of those opportunities which
accidentally present themselves ; for I am daUy more and more
convinced of the difficulty of speaking so as to be felt ; at
least in the first Eastern language one learns. The association
of ideas and the images of iUustration are almost entirely dif
ferent in many cases. The organs of pronunciation require a
perfectly new modelling, and perhaps not the least difficulty is
to prevent one's heart from sinking at the Uttle apparent
progress made in understanding and being understood out of
the common routine of daily Ufe ; the feeling wiU often arise,
' Surely I never shall learn.' The difficulty is not, however,
merely in words ; you have generally to converse in the East,
with persons who have either no ideas on subjects of the deepest
interest, or have attached some entirely different meaning to the
terms you use to express those ideas ; and which of the two oc
casions the most trouble, it is difficult to say. Notwithstanding
all difficulties, and all discouragements, and we seem now in the
very centre of all, my soul was never more assured of the value
of missionary labours among any people, it matters not whom,
than now. There is, I am sure, what our blessed Lord declares,

INCREASED ILLNESS OF THE CHILD. 159
a testimony, in whatever measure we can proclaim His truth,
or manifest His love."
July 16th was the first quiet day ; all within the city seemed
to have for a short period the prospect of respite from suffering,
but Mr. Groves was undergoing fresh trial. He writes : —
"June \7th. — For some weeks past, hope and fear have
alternated for my sweet little baby; but to-day hope finds
not a place for her foot to rest on. I see the Lord has sent
His message for her also ; this comes very, very heavy ; for
from some days previous to dear Mary's death tiU now, I have
been her constant nurse, and solicitude about her has in some
measure served to distract my attention from dweUing undi-
videdly on my heavier loss, and she has become so accus
tomed to my nursing that, as soon as ever she sees me, she
stretches out her Uttle suppUcating hands for me to take her.
All this has served to beguile my heart, and keep it in some
degree occupied. But when the Lord takes from me this
sweet little flower, I shall indeed be desolate. Why the
Lord thus strips me, I do not now see ; yet He does not allow
me to doubt His love, amidst all my sorrows, and I know that
Ught is sown for me, though it does not yet spring up. O,
may my soul never cease to feel assured of my heavenly
Father's unchangeable love ; for with a doubt on this head
now, what would my circumstances be? We know that tribula
tion worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience
hope, and hope maketh not ashamed. O, may such a result
spring from aU my suffering !"
And again, after she had seemed to be getting better, he
says, "My dear little baby has had an attack of purulent
opthalmia, which gives me much anxiety 
"In reading Mrs. Judson's Journal of the trials of the
Burman Mission, how deeply I now enter into them, how
truly I can sympathize with them ! It is wonderful how the
Lord does sustain the heart when the time of trial comes.
When I heard the struggle at the palace, then saw it on fire,
and heard the balls whizzing over our heads, and shortly after
the screams of the poor Jews, whom they were plundering a

160 TIDINGS FROM ALEPPO.
little way from the end of our street, my heart felt a repose in
God that I cannot describe, and a peace that nothing but
confidence in His loving care could give me, I feel assured."
The troubles of war which had ceased for a Uttle while,
were again begun on July 1st. — Every day brought some fresh
sorrow, and the Journal is fuU of painful scenes, and of the
alternations of hope and fear ; but our object is only to give
such extracts as personally concerned Mr. Groves, and to tell
of external troubles only so far as they affected his own
natural and spiritual Ufe, his labours, and those who were
immediately connected with him.
"July 2nd. Saturday. — Dear baby has suffered so much
from her eyes to-day, that it tried my heart to the very
bottom. And, in addition to aU this, the state of things here
is assuming an alarming aspect. Without the city walls, the
numbers of those who wish to plunder the city are increasing ;
and within, the same tendency is manifested among those who
are intended for its protection, so that my heart has been at
times very much pressed down ; yet the Lord has sustained me.
In the evening, as I was looking out, I saw the man come
into the court-yard, who brings and collects letters for Aleppo,
and in his hand a letter for me. With what eagerness did I
seize it, and anticipate its contents. Yet though good tidings,
because it told of the Lord's blessing them, and being in the
midst of them, it contained tidings peculiarly heavy for me to
receive at this moment, as it not only gave me no present
prospect of seeing my dear brethren from Aleppo, but made it
very doubtful if it would be their path to come at all ; at least
if they did, it would be purely to join me, and this surely
would not be the path of duty. I, however, receive this last
trying providence at my loving Father's hands, adoring His love
whUst I know not the modes of His going forth. It has not
weighed me down so much as I thought it would ; and the
Lord allows me to feel assured He will yet do something for me.
They seem to wish me to join them, but I do not yet see my
way clear to leave the place to which the Lord has brought me.
I feel daily more and more that my place in the church is very

GOD'S HAND IN THE DELAY. 161
low, and it matters very little where I am for any good that is
in me : yet by remaining, I keep the way open for those who
are more able, and whose establishment is more important.
I know my Lord will not cut me off from personal improve
ment by all His dark but gracious dealing, and perhaps I am
now learning another part of that hard lesson, neither to
glory in nor trust in man. But still I bless God for giving
my dear brethren a door of utterance, and prospects of use
fulness, where they are, and may my joy ever be in proportion
to the glory that is brought to His blessed name, and the
prosperity of His kingdom. Until the Lord, therefore, raises
His fiery, cloudy pillar, and bids me go forth, I shall pursue
my plan of endeavouring to converse in Arabic, till the
Lord is pleased to open my mouth by degrees to pubUsh
His whole truth. Should He send me some dear brother
to help and comfort me, may He give me grace to praise
Him ; if not, to hope in Him and find in Himself all I
need. To the dear boys it has been a great disappointment,
for it was the constant theme of their conversation, and a
cheering expectation, to see friends from England. However,
our dear Father will order all things well, and I bless Him
exceedingly for sending out to Aleppo our dear brethren
and sisters. The Lord may use this event, which now seems
so weakening and trying, for the furthering of the gospel in
these lands : in fact, I should be almost sorry for all of the
brethren to leave Aleppo."
That the expected party had not attempted to come at
this time, he had reason to bless God. He afterwards writes, —
" The Pasha of Aleppo, hearing of dear Edward Cronin as
an EngUsh doctor who proposed coming to Bagdad, wished
to engage him to accompany him as his physician, and offered
him 1500 piastres a month ; but, anxious as they were to come,
the circumstances of their party did not, on mature delibera
tion, aUow them to separate, and Ali Pasha was unwilling to
undertake the responsibility of the females with his camp.
And, 0, how my soul blesses the Lord, now I think on it, that
these obstacles were so graciously interposed ; disease, delay, and

162 SAFETY WITHOUT WEAPONS.
trouble would have accompanied them, and till now, they would
have been detained in the desert, with Uttle prospect of speedy
admission into the city, for its defenders are still firing against
the camp, and the besiegers against them. They would also
have been exposed to the full power of a sun, which no one can
tell how to estimate, but by actual exposure to it.
"July 12th. — Some of the lawless depredators came again
into our house, and wanted arrack, but they went away quietly,
and only talked about cutting off my head, but all this is mere
bravado. The Lord graciously takes care of us. They look on
me as a sort of Dervish, because I do not drink arrack, nor
use weapons of war, nor take men to guard my house. It is re
ported that the camp of those without the city is within haff an
hour's march of us. Nothing can exceed the fear and want of
confidence that prevail throughout the city ; every man's heart
failing him for fear of those things which are coming upon us.
O, what a resting-place is the Lord's experienced love, and the
assurance that all shall work together for good to those that
love Him ; yet, living thus in the midst of constant alarm,
makes my heart long sometimes for that sweet Christian
communion which I left in England ; I have now none to
commune with. When dear Mary was with me, we had an
unceasing source of happiness in conversing on our common
hopes, and rejoicing in our Lord. Our communion with our
dear friends was rendered vivid by the help of correspondence
and conversation, but letters have almost ceased to come. Our
Lord's days too are soUtary, none to tune Zion's harps ! 0,
how this makes the soul long for the courts of the Lord, where
we may go up with the crowds that keep holy-day !
"The dear little boys are very anxious to leave Bagdad,
yet they do not complain, nor appear on the whole other
wise than happy, which is indeed a great mercy. My poor
dear little nursling, the object of ceaseless care, seems rather
gaining than losing ground, yet is still so frail that a blast
of wind seems enough to extinguish the little fire that burns ;
but, if the Lord will, even this little fire shall yet burn brighter
and brighter, and defy in His name the rudest blast.

LOSS OF HELPS IN MISSIONARY WORK. 163
" Sometimes when I think on the complete stop the Lord has
in His infinite wisdom seen fit to put to my little work here, I
am astonished. Among those who are dead, is one who was
translating the New Testament into the vulgar Armenian of
this place, and had gone as far as Luke ; and another gentleman
who was educated in Bombay, and was writing an English and
Armenian dictionary for me, in which he had proceeded about
half-way (10,000 words). In this dictionary there were not
only the ancient and modern parallel words, but an explanation
in vulgar Armenian, with examples. The probability of my
again meeting with one similarly qualified and equally willing,
is very small indeed ; but with this as with all the rest, it is
the Lord, let Him do what seemeth Him good. I wait to see
His future pleasure, and though I am now under a cloud,
through sorrow, and separation from His service, may He
sanctify it, and advance His glory by whomsoever He pleases,
only giving me a heart to rejoice in their labours, and to love
my Lord fervently ; and then I hope I shall not complain. I
never felt fit for much, and I now feel fit for less than I once
thought I was, yet the Lord will not deny me a place in His
body, and oh, may He give me a heart willing to take the
lowest — that of washing the disciples' feet. O, for the spirit of
our dear humble Lord in that wonderful transaction so
calculated to stain human pride with the name of madness, but
especially the pride of those who call themselves His."
He says, " A letter has reached me from the Bible Society,
dated 27th July last year, mentioning the sending of three cases
of Arabic and Persian Scriptures to my dear brother Pfander.
When I consider how God, in His infinite and unsearchable
providence, has seen fit to bring to nought all our plans by the
disorganization of this, at all times, lawless land, I cannot but
feel it a strong call to form very few plans for the future, and
just to work by the day. Our hope was, when we came to
Bagdad, to have been able to travel pretty extensively both in
the mountains of Kourdistan and in Persia ; but the state of
the country, and other considerations, brought all these plans to
nothing, so my dear friend and kind brother left me for Shu-

164 PRUDENCE IN USING PROFFERED HELP.
shee, having been able to obtain much of the information he
desired, without the journey. And I, instead of having a
large present field of useful employment, and one prospectively
increasing, am now without employment, or the prospect of
any, and if it were not that I feel getting on a little in the
colloquial language of the country, I should be almost without
hope of remaining with advantage here : but while I feel
this, my heart does not sink. The Lord will yet let His light
shine out of the darkness, and will one day enable me to speak
of His promises. I daily feel more assured that the colloquial
use of the language is the very instrument of an evangeUst's
labour. And let such a missionary feel infinitely happier to
hear it said he speaks very low Arabic, but that everybody un
derstands him, than very pure, but which is unintelligible,
except to the Moolahs. If he speak not in a very mixed
dialect of Turkish, Persian, and Arabic, he will not be under
stood here ; there is, however, an immense preponderance of
Arabic over the others.
, " The British and Foreign School Society have also very
kindly offered to afford what assistance their Umited means
will allow to the furtherance of Scripture instruction in the
East. I shall endeavour to repay this free kindness by
obtaining the best information I can, before I call in their aid,
for nothing is so discouraging as failures from precipitate
attempts ; for so variable is the state of affairs in these
countries, that previous to your judgment being matured by
experience, you may be led, with the best intentions possible, to
undertake, on a bright day, plans which, before they can be
executed, prove as baseless as a vision, and which will leave
nothing behind, but the remembrance of useless expense and
unproductive labour."
But though shut out from public labour, he was not without
private work. He speaks often of his " patients," which shows
that he still continued to practice medicine ; and in this way
he had opportunity, even in the most trying times, and while
confined to the house, of seeing and speaking to many about
his Lord.

REMARKS ON TRANSLATIONS. 165
July 8th. — He says : —
" I had some interesting conversations with three poor
people from Karakoosh, a town about five hours from Mosul,
composed of Roman Catholic Syrians. Every information I re
ceive from that quarter convinces me, that Erzeroum, Diabekir
and Mosul would be interesting head-quarters for a missionary.
"July 10th, Sunday. — In conversation to-day with some
Armenians and a Jacobite, on the subject of invoking the
Virgin Mary, I was struck with the readiness with which they
all submit to Scripture ; and this seems universal among those
who are not ecclesiastics by profession, or Roman Catholics.
The curse of obstinate blindness seems to be left to those who
join that apostate church, for truly it may be said of them, they
come not to the light, because their deeds are evil — not their
deeds as members of society, but as professed members of the
mystical body of Christ.
"July 21st. — In some conversation I have just had with the
old father of our late schoolmaster, I have been encouraged to
feel that it is almost impossible for a missionary, even of the
humblest pretensions, and in the lowest degree qualified for his
calling, which I can, I think, with unaffected truth, say I feel
to be my own case — to live among these people, and not to lead
them to some most important principles. This old man is not
only theoretically persuaded of the sufficiency of the Scriptures,
but in his understanding fully convinced. His acquaintance
with scripture is very extensive and accurate, and on my
servant coming to ask him the explanation of words in the
translation lately sent forth by the Bible Society, it led to a
conversation on the importance of having a translation that
every woman and chUd can understand. He said, ' Yes, and it
is only the pride of the learned and of the bishops which
prevents it : if books were once published in the dialects of
the people, the old language would cease to be cultivated.'
This would doubtless be an infinite benefit to the people, not
only to the Armenians, but to the Syrians and Chaldeans, and
to every Church of the East ; a few learned men may, and most
likely wiU, be found to extract what is valuable from the old

166 VARIOUS CONVERSATIONS.
language, if they have only enlightened judgment enough to
leave the mass of rubbish behind. He mentioned the sermon
on the Mount, which we received from Shushee, and said, that
it opened the eyes of the children — yet even this dialect is very
different from the one used here. I think this aged man
understands and feels, there is but one Church in the world.
" July 22nd. — I had with me to-day, for the last time as a
patient, an officer of the Pasha's household who had the plague,
and a large wound from a carbuncle, but who is now quite well ;
he was talking of the state of the city and country, and said,
' Why do we wish to give our country into the hands of the
Ghiaours,* and not to the Persians ? It is because we know
they will neither take our wives or daughters from us, nor rob
us of our money, nor cut off our heads, but in Islaam there is
no mercy, no pity.' He added, ' Did you ever see me before I
came about my leg 1 ' I said, ' No.' ' Yet,' he said, ' you had
mercy upon me and cured me and my daughter (who also had
had the plague), and why ? It was from your heart — there was
mercy there.' I took this opportunity to explain the reason,
as emanating from the command of Christ, and not the good
ness of my heart ; and how truly could I say it ; for the Lord
knows how, but for this, it would be a weariness to me. This
dissatisfaction with their own government is not the feeling of
a few discontented men, but is, I am persuaded, very general
—how can such a kingdom stand ?
Yesterday and to-day I have had two Roman Catholic mer
chants with me, and in quoting Scripture to them, I found them
ready with the context ; but the deadly evil is the separation
of religion and its principles from the government and rule of
every day and every moment. In these countries, where reh
gious expressions are in every one's mouth, a missionary has
most valuable employment, as he is able to bring their minds

* This word Ghiaour, or infidel, is applied by Mohammedans to
Christians without the least intention of personal offence ; and what is
still more extraordinary, the Christians commonly designate themselves
by the same appellation.

the pasha's necessities. 167
back to their own expressions, and their import and power, as
we might do to those who heartlessly use that beautiful form
of dedication in the communion service of the Church of
England, 'We here present unto thee our bodies, souls, and
spirits, to be unto thee a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice.'
0, that all who use these blessed words felt their power, and
lived under it ! Christ's name would soon be magnified from
land to land."
The circumstances of the ex- Pasha, at this time, are thus
alluded to by Mr. Groves. —
"July 23rd. — The Pasha has just sent me a fish, with his
compliments, and a request that I will dress it for him. This
is the way he collects the daily provisions for his household ;
one person sends him a dish of rice, another a dish of kebaub,
another bread ; at other times all this takes place because of
custom, but now from necessity, for he has scarcely any ser
vants to attend him. This is the first time I have been so
honoured, and when the fish was cooked aud sent, he desired
the servant to come back, and bring him a few kustawee dates
to eat with it : that you may not think these any extravagant
luxury, I may add, their value is somewhat less than a penny
a pound. I note this as a little trait of manners that one
would hardly credit, had not the fact come under one's own
observation." The heat of the weather being intense, and the sirdaubs
uninhabitable from the dampness left by the inundation, Mr.
Groves and his family were obliged to sleep on the roof of
their house. This brought them into new dangers.
" July 28th. — Two shells have just passed over us. The one
fell on the roof of the house of an Arab family, at a little
distance from us, who were all asleep, and on bursting kUled
three. One cannon ball has just passed over us, besides
innumerable musket balls, only two of which I felt so near
as to endanger us. One just passed by me and struck the
waU, the other I escaped by bending my head as it passed over
me ; yet dangerous as it seems in such circumstances to sleep
on the roof, the suffocating heat of the rooms is insupportable."

168 PERVERSION OF FASTING.
A little later, he writes, " Last night, whilst lying on my bed
on the roof of the house, five balls passed over my head in
about as many seconds, so close, that I threw myself off the
bed, in expectation that the next might hit it, or me : at times
I almost determined to go down, but the danger of being shot
did not appear so dreadful as the suffocating heat down
stairs." The following extracts shew that Mr. Groves had a
wonderful capacity for abstracting his thoughts from scenes
around him, whether painful or pleasing. Thus amidst all the
troubles of siege and famine, and notwithstanding his own trials
in the continued illness of his child, he had full liberty for
reflection on aU he heard, and on the various instructive books
which he read in his solitude.
"I was struck with the quickness with which the mind
apprehends the simple truth of God when unprejudiced by
interest. Without ever speaking contemptuously to the
Christians here about their fasting, I have taken various
opportunities of expressing the liberty of a Christian to fast
in such a way, and at such times, as he beUeves most conducive
to his soul's advantage ; and have pointed out to them, that to
lay the stress on it they do, was quite perverting the very end
and design of fasting ; for that they are manifestly less afraid
of violating Christ's commands than their own regulations,
which, as they used them, were purely human. To-day, a
question arose between two of them in my presence, about
their fasts ; and the one stated, as clearly as could be wished,
the uselessness of burdening their consciences about eating a
little butter instead of oil, or such Uke, instead of seeking to
flee from their lies, and drunkenness, and robbery, and
cheating. There seems to me such a glorious moral power in
God's word, that my heart never doubts of its producing
marked effects, where it can be clearly and fully deUvered ; but
0, the language, what a mountainous barrier !
" August 4th, Thursday. — We have received accounts to-day
of another messenger from Bussorah, with letters for us, having
been stript. How trying these dispensations are — how neces
sary for our peace that our eye should rest only on God, ordering

REMARKS ON HENRY MARTYN. 169
in love every event concerning us, even to the arrival of a letter,
so that He wiU allow nothing to fail us that is for our good.
I have to-day finished reading, for the second time, Martyn's
Memoir, by Sargent. How my soul admires and loves his
zeal, self-denial and devotion ; how brilliant, how transient
his career ; what spiritual and mental power amidst bodily
weakness and disease ! O, may I be encouraged by his example
to press on to a higher mark. When I think of my own
spiritual weakness, contrasted with his spiritual power, it
brings a striking warning home to my heart to seek a fuller and
more abiding union with Jesus, from whom alone flows the
living waters that make the branches fruitful. I am not now
troubled about that intellectual difference between us, which
might seem to make it impossible for me to do what he did :
the Lord has made me, blessed be His holy name, contented
in this respect with any difference I may feel between myseU'
and His more exalted members ; but my sorrow is caused by
my want of that likeness to Him who is my Lord and King,
which is the common inheritance of all the members of His
mystical body. May I, however, henceforth make the most of
my talent, that I be not numbered among the slothful servants
at my dear Lord's most glorious and blessed appearing. The
mild seriousness that pervades dear H. M.'s soul has for my
heart a great charm. There is not a trait of eccentricity — aU
is like his Lord in its measure — he was solemn and serious as
became his work, yet full of zeal and affection, which showed
itself, however, rather in the steady power of a course of
action than in expression. It is astonishing what the world
wiU endure from a child of God, whose manner gives them
an excuse for calling him an interesting, eccentric madman ;
because all he says they feel at liberty to laugh at ; whereas,
if the very same truths were declared to them in the calm
seriousness of our Lord's manner, it would make them gnash
on him with their teeth."
Turning again to the subject of the infant, he says, —
"August 7th. Lord's-day. — This has been a day of trials and
tears. The visions of the night were filled with her I have lost,

170 REMARKS ON KEEPING A JOURNAL.
and the day has been spent in weeping over her, I am soon,
very soon, to lose; but this is only nature, my soul rests
happily in my Lord. I had given up a little for His dear
service ! but He knew where the heart's reserves were, and has
put His hand on them ; yet, blessed hope that gilds these
darkest days — the day of the Lord is at hand, when we shaU
meet to part no more. O, may my heart live with this blessed
prospect ever before it, and labour each day for the Lord, as
though it were to be the waking vision of the morning's dawn.
My heart is very sad to think how profitless a servant I have
been ; but I do purpose, the Lord enabling me, to be more
diligent, more devoted in future.
" My mind has been much exercised as to the desirableness
of keeping a journal of the soul's inmost workings ; but after
reading and thanking God for those of others, I feel I never
could write one without the fear of its publication, and this
would keep my soul in a continual struggle, either by tempting
me to say too much or too Uttle, more or less than the truth ;
for, if any but my most gracious and loving Lord knew me as
I am, 1 should hide myself for ever from the face of man.
Yet I pray the Lord, that He wiU by His Spirit write a jour
nal on my soul, that I may truly feel how very meek and
lowly it becomes me to be when I think of aU His forgiveness,
notwithstanding my trangressions against Him. I feel there
was something peculiarly gracious in my Lord's not sending me
away to my sufferings and trials, till he had given me a cordial,
in the assurance of His unchanging love. O, but for this, what
would my past trials have been ; had I not felt assured my
Lord's love did not fluctuate with my feelings, nor depend upon
my worthiness. O, what a blessed passage is that in Rom. v,
' If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the
death of His Son, much more being reconciled we shaU be saved
by His life.' Yet the more I feel of this assurance of such
unmerited love, the more hateful sin appears in all its
shapes, and the more my soul desires entire devotedness to the
whole wiU of God, and conformity to my gracious Lord."
From the 9th of August till the 15th of September, the

MISERIES OF THE SIEGE. 171
Journal contains nothing but details of misery. From the
Pasha to the meanest of his subjects, all suffered.
" Aug. 9th. — A contest has sprung up between the troops and
the inhabitants of the city. Our neighbours are also making
barricades across the street near our door. I have put such
things as I should be sorry to lose in a hole made in the wall
by the falling of a room, in the hourly expectation of being
plundered. Yet I trust, I am quite content, the Lord should
do as He sees best, even in respect to these things."
"Aug. 13th. — Another messenger from Bussorah is arrived,
but stript and plundered ; he had letters for us ; he was detained
four days a prisoner by the Arabs.
"Aug. 19th. — Every thing seems darkening in this wretched
city ; numbers of the poor are crying at the gates to be let out,
that they may not be starved. All the necessaries of Ufe have
risen to five times their usual prices ; all trade has ceased ;
the Arabs are breaking into every house where they expect
to find corn, or rice, so that it is a difficult choice, either
to be without provisions, and thus in danger of starving, or
having them, to be broken in upon, and plundered.
"We intend to bury a box, containing some dates, rice,
and flour, under ground, that in the event of their breaking
in, we may secure some food for a few days, which may
give us time to look about. The Lord, however, is very
gracious, and wUl not try us above our strength. The care
of my dear little dying baby, has much taken my mind from
dwelling on the distressing position in which we are. We
are sure the Lord rides and reigns in this whirlwind, and no
part of the mystical body of Christ, however humble, will
be forgotten.
"Aug. 23rd. — On Saturday last, those within the city
made a sally against a tribe of Arabs, friends of AU Pasha, and
after putting them to flight and killing 100, they cut off the
heads of 150, who were taken prisoners, in cold blood! . ...
A letter came from Ali Pasha's physician to Mr. Swoboda, an
Austrian merchant, in which he was desired to communicate to
all the Franks, that Ali Pasha had given strict orders to his

172 DEATH OF THE INFANT.
soldiers not to molest one of them. Though this manifests
good intentions, we have had too much experience of the
powerlessness of generals to restrain their soldiers at such times
to have much confidence in man. Our confidence is in Him
who will and does watch over us for good."
It was not till August 24th that Mr. Groves had the heavy
trial of losing his little girl. He says : —
" Three months and ten days have now passed since the Lord
took from me her, who was on earth the supreme consolation of
my Ufe ; and now, this day, He has taken from me my sweet httle
baby without a sigh, without the expression of pain during the
whole of her illness ; for this my heart can, even at this moment,
bless the Lord ; but it has left a void that has more than ever
made the world appear a waste. Her incessantly returning wants
made even these times appear to wing a rapid flight ; but now
all is still as death, except the weeping of the poor nurse
Hannai, who truly loved her, and watched over her night and
day with unremitting care. [See Appendix D.] Oh, what a
time would these three months have been for dear Mary, had
she lived, and what a day would this have been ; but the Lord
took her from the evil to come, and has now taken the dear
little object of her love to her, to join her little sainted sister
and dear Uttle brother ; four of us are gone, and three are left.
May the Lord quickly prepare us all, and hasten His coming
kingdom, that we may meet to part no more. And, 0, may
He make the remnant of the worthless life He grants me, as a
living sacrifice to His service. Notwithstanding I acquiesce, I
trust, in the Lord's will from the bottom of my heart, yet I
feel a desolation and loneliness of heart, in this last dispensa
tion, that surpasses all I have felt in my last six months of
trial. My sweet little baby remained an object for those
affections, which, however disciplined, wUl exist while life lasts,
however the power of grace may prevail ; but in one so weak
in faith, so earthly as I am, they have had much, too much
power, and therefore the Lord, in mercy to my soul, has swept
them away, that I may have nothing in this world left but His
service. If this be His holy purpose, may my whole soul

ITS EFFECT ON THE FATHER'S HEART. 173
second so gracious an intention ; and I pray the spiritual
family, which the Lord, according to His promise, has given
me, fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers, that their love and
patience towards me may abound, that my spirit may be re
freshed thereby, and my weakness encouraged to proceed —
though faint, yet pursuing.
"Aug. 25th, Friday. — This day has taught me, that if I
would not be entirely miserable, I must give up my whole
time, and soul, and thoughts to my Lord ; for if I look off
Him, I feel bordering on a gulph, the depth of which I
cannot fathom. 0, may the Holy, blessed Spirit give me such
views of the graciousness and exceeding riches of my Lord,
that I may reaUy feel, in having Him, I have all things !
He alone is the same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever. All
created things, the nearest, the dearest, the most beloved, in
the moment of greatest need and greatest feUcity, elude the
grasp, and flee away ; but He abides always. I desire,
therefore, the Lord enabling me, to give myself to prepara
tion for my future labours more diligently than I have ever
yet done ; that though desolate on earth, I may hold the
freest and sweetest communion with heaven ; for, of all
preparation, I feel the greatest, the most needful to be, that
of the heart ; in order to the constant sensible entertainment
of Christ, from whose nearness all the spiritual faculties derive
the sap, and the fruit-bearing strength.
" Aug. 28th. — To-day I feel the Lord has given me a vic
tory, by turning my thoughts from my miserable self and
temporary circumstances, to the contemplation of the happiness
of those who are gone before me, and by enabling me to feel
I am on my journey to meet them, and drawing every day
one day's journey nearer, while I endeavoured to forget I had
ever been happy in domestic life, or ever possessed those
dear objects ; but nature was often too strong for me, as I
dwelt on their felicity, and my journeying towards them daily,
whether the Lord brings them with Him, or I go before He
comes. This hope does comfort me, for it is a real abiding
truth, whether I drink the sweets of the consolation from it

174 ANOTHER ATTACK ON MR. GROVES'S HOUSE.
or not. I therefore now purpose, the Lord enabling me, after
nearly six months' interruption, to return to the studies,
preparatory to my future duties as an itinerating missionary.
To this service I ever thought the Lord had caUed me, and
for this I now see all His trials have been fitting me, for I am
without a home and without a tie in the world, but my dear
Lord's service. These trials have made me ready for entering
on my work to any extent ; as my dear Uttle boys wiU no
longer confine me to one place, but will soon be of an age to
move about with me ; or should their choice render other
arrangements necessary, the Lord will open a way for them
likewise. " The internal state of the city is daily becoming more and
more critical ; the necessaries of life are now ten times their
common prices, and are even then obtained with difficulty.
The abominations that are now committed in the face of day
make the city appear ripe for the judgments of the cities of
the plain, and the poor Christians suffer principally in the
persons of their children. In these abominable acts of violence
it is now utterly useless to seek a remedy, for all the power in
the city is in the hands of the lawless mob, who are the per
petrators of all the wickedness.
" Aug. 29th. — Last night, while we were all asleep on the roof,
some of the depredators broke into our house ; they have
taken away to the amount of £10, from Kitto and myself.
The Lord caused them to be disturbed somehow, for though
they took my clothes out of a box, they dropped them near the
window through which they entered ; and they never opened
the box which contained my money ; in fact, they went away
without accomplishing the purpose for which they came ; and
it so happened that from the constant fear of the assault
of the city, we had put away every thing of particular value.
From daylight this morning till near noon, there was a pretty
sharp contest between those within the city and those without,
in which the latter got the advantage. My feeling is that we
are very fast approaching a crisis, and in that crisis our eyes
are unto the everlasting hills, to Him who says, ' I will never

MEDICAL VISIT TO THE PASHA. 175
leave thee nor forsake thee.' 0, what a relief a little time of
peace and free communication with our dear friends would be !
The latest letters I have had are dated eleven months ago.
My dear boys have not set their feet without the door of the
house for five months ; but it is a great mercy of the Lord
that they are so happy and contented. I have never heard
during aU this time one word of complaint from them.
" September 2nd. — I was sent for to-day to see the Pasha,
who has, from the effects of a carbuncle on his toe, lost one
of the joints, and they have so treated it that he will, I
think, now certainly lose another. He was particularly kind
and civU, and is, without any comparison, the most gentle
manly person I have met with in the East. There is an
unaffected simplicity of manners, and a benevolence of coun
tenance, which makes one wonder how all the accounts of his
actions, which we may, I think, say we know to be true, could
possibly be so. He made me a present of three small
cucumbers, at this time the greatest rarity ; and this may
convey some idea to what extent the privations of the poor
have gone, when the Pasha can hardly command a cucumber,
which, with leguminous fruits of a similar kind, constitute a
great portion of the food of the poor in ordinary times. As I
returned from the Pasha, a man levelled a gun at me, not with
any intention to fire, I believe, but just to show that inde-
pendant boldness which fears no one, but dares to do what it
chooses. " September 6th. — There is nothing new ; but the uninter
rupted stream of misery is still swelling with its bitter
waters : depredation and scarcity increasing and advancing with
pretty equal steps. There seem to be signs of money beginning
to fail from the treasury of the Pasha, as his kanjaar (a dagger),
richly studded with diamonds, was offered for sale the other
day. The palace of the Pasha, which is in ruins, is filled
with Arnaouts, a mercenary band of soldiers, who employ their
time in making and drinking arrack, and knocking down the
walls of the palace, wherever they yield a hollow sound, in
search of the hidden treasures of the Pasha. In these coun-

176 STATE OF ANARCHY IN BAGDAD.
tries it is an universal custom for people to bury or build up in
the walls of houses their treasures, from the insecurity in which
they always live.
" Mr. Swoboda has received a letter from a friend of his in
the Pasha's camp, stating that there was a large pile of letters
and parcels for Europeans within the city, in the possession of
the Pasha. This is trying to us, but still it brings the hope
that we may soon receive intelligence of our friends.
" It seems as if the angel of destruction were resting on this
city, to sweep it from the earth. They are pulling down the roofs
of the bazaars to sell the wood for fuel, and filling the roads with
rubbish. The state of anarchy must be witnessed to be under
stood. Everything continues increasing in price, and even the
dates, upon which the inhabitants and cattle have fed for six
weeks, have come to an end. The Pasha has this day taken
the jewels of his wives to sell.
"Sept. 10th. — Last evening, the thieves broke into the house
of one of the sons of the Pasha, and killed three of the servants ;
the most valuable articles known to belong to the Pasha, are
openly sold in the streets, without the least notice being taken ;
and thus also the armed rabble shoot individuals when they
please, without tho least provocation. They are continually
drunk, and do whatever they choose. I think, if it did please
the Lord to put an end to these sorrows, my heart would be very
thankful ; yet perhaps in this I deceive myself, and all my
gratitude would be as a morning cloud. I know the Lord will
not suffer me to be tried above what He will enable me to bear.
"Sept. 12th. — The poor are permitted to leave the city.
Five or six hundred go out every day and suffer no molestation.
This is a great mercy, for within the city every article of food
has disappeared, except buffalpes' and camels' flesh, and this is
about twenty times the usual price. Things within the city
are come to such a pass, that I hear the Turks determine to
wait five days more ; and if some efficient aid does not arrive,
they will cut off the heads of Daoud Pasha and Saleh Beg, his
Lieutenant Governor, and send them to Ali Pasha, for they can
bear no more."

SUPPLIES IN TIME OF FAMINE. 177
During all this time of actual and anticipated misery, Mr.
Groves's heart was cheered, by the growing interest of the
father of the Armenian schoolmaster in the word of God •
Mr. Groves says, " He was speaking to me on the difficulty of
that text, ' Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have hated.' He
said he just felt as though God had said to him ' I will not
receive you.' I longed to preach to him fully, Him who
saith, 'Whosoever cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast
out ;' but I have many difficulties ; he is very deaf ; and
Armenian and Turkish, and not Arabic, are the languages
he understands."
Speaking of the way the Lord had provided for himself and
household through the great famine, Mr. Groves says, " The
Lord is very gracious, and suffers us to have quite enough for
our health and strength, and as for money a Roman Catholic
merchant was with me yesterday begging that if I wanted any
more I would take it from him, for they seem aU to have that
kind of confidence even in our national character, that they
will generally without hesitation let you have money. When
I consider all the misery in the city, and the privations not
only among the poor, but the rich, and consider how we have
been provided for, it does seem to me most marvellous,
strangers as we were, and without a friend. Before the plague,
in our ignorance of the probable time of its continuance, and
with the certain knowledge that in the midst of the greatest
want there was not a soul that could help us, we took in
enough of wheat, rice, soap, and candles, to last tiU within a very
few weeks. When dear Mr. Pfander was about to leave us, we
made him some sausages, called in this country pastourma : he
however, took but a few, and the rest remained with us, and
have served, both during the plague, and now in the famine, to
vary our food a Uttle, though somewhat dry, and as hard as
wood, and still one or two of them remain. The dear boys also
had some pigeons, which served us for many days. We then
had two goats for my poor dear little baby, and to give us
milk ; but provisions became so dear that we were obliged to
kill one ; this we divided among the poor : at last we also
N

178 COMPARATIVE PEACE IN THE CITY.
killed the second, and potted it in its fat. This, by little and
little, we are consuming. We ha^e also got four or five hens
which lay two or three eggs a-day. Thus the Lord has pro
vided for us till now ; and if we have not had abundance, we
have never suffered from want. And now, when wheat and
rice are not to be bought, and if possessed in quantities would
expose the possessors to inevitable pillage, the Lord has so
graciously supplied us, that we avoid both want, and the danger
of possessing provisions in the house ; for before the kind
Taylors left, they gave me permission to take from the
Residency whatever I might want, and this I now do by Uttle
and Uttle as I need ; and the house of the Resident is so
far respected in pubUc opinion, that, disorganized as things
are, I do not think they would commit any violence upon it.
" I am sure there are many who, in reading this, wiU bless God
for His goodness to us, so utterly unworthy as we are ; but, oh !
if they could be witnesses of the misery that others suffer, and
from which His mercies have freed us, they would indeed
praise Him. For, even when provisions were to be had, had
we been obliged to purchase at the price things then were and
are now, we must inevitably have run into debt ; but as it is
we have enough money for more that a month to come.
Therefore, bereaved as I am, and incapable as I yet feel of aU
enjoyment, I desire to bless the Lord for all His great goodness
and care over us, of the least of whose mercies I feel infi
nitely unworthy."
Brighter days were about to dawn upon the people and upon
Mr. Groves, who so largely participated in all the sorrows and
judgments with which it had pleased the Lord to visit them.
" Sept. 15 th. — After a night of anxious suspense, the day has
dawned in comparative peace ; the cry that AU Pasha's troops
were entering the city, began soon after we had retired to rest,
and continued till near morning. Now we hear that Daoud
Pasha fled from the house of Saleh Beg during the night and
endeavoured to enter the citadel, but the soldiers would not
admit him. He is now in the hands of the people of the
Meidan. The Chaoush Kiahya of Ali Pasha has entered the

SIEGE AND FAMINE TERMINATE. 179
city, and every one is in an awful state of suspense as to the
future fate of the inhabitants, at least of the higher classes.
I have just set up the English flag, that they may know the
inhabitant of the house is a stranger here, who has nothing to
do with the strife of the city. If, after this, the Lord allows
them to enter our habitation, may His holy and blessed will be
done. I think the Lord has aUowed my mind to be in perfect
peace as to the result.
"The poor wives of the Pasha are kissing the hands of
passers-by, begging that they will give them an asylum. Poor
sufferers ! aU are afraid to interfere so as to afford them that
which they want. At present, words and appearances are
peaceable. May the Lord of His mercy grant that they may
continue so.
" To-day we killed two fowls to have a little fresh meat.
Thus the Lord has kept us through all this time of trial, and
we have enough remaining for five or six days, blessed be His
holy name. This day has ended in perfect peace, no disturb
ance, not an individual molested. The principal thieves, who,
at the head of various gangs, were robbing the city in every
direction, are now doing all they can to escape, for they are
perfectly known. Thus the gracious hand of the Lord has
removod in one day the siege and famine, with the fear
and terror from the lawless within, and the undefined terrors
from those without, so that all seems joy and gladness to the
poor inhabitants. In the conclusion of this affair, AU Pasha
has conducted himself, amidst numberless provocations, with a
moderation and prudence that does him the highest honour :
bless the Lord for aU His mercies ! This wUl be the first night
for months that we shall retire to rest without the hateful
sounds of civil strife saluting our ears, or disturbing our rest.
"Sept. 16th. — Another peaceful day. AU Pasha has col
lected all the principal Georgians together in his camp. When
the late Pasha went out to his camp, he rose from his seat and
embraced him, and told him not to fear ; that the Sultan had
ordered his Ufe to be spared; to Saleh Beg also assurances
of safety were given, and in fact up to this time not one

180 GREAT CHANGES CONTEMPLATED.
individual has been put to death. It remains yet to be seen
whether this be a cloak, or real moderation. However, from
the great body of the citizens all fear is removed, and both
animals and inhabitants alike rejoice in returning abundance.
The wheat that was sold on Wednesday for 250 piastres, was
sold on Thursday for 40, and other things in proportion ;
besides which, vegetables have re-appeared, which, for five
months, were not to be procured, at any price.
" To-day I sent out the chaoush of Major Taylor to Ali Pasha,
to enquire if there were any letters or packets for the Residency
or for me ; but to my great disappointment I found there were
none. However, Ali Pasha was very civil ; enquired after the
Resident, hoped there would be perpetual and increasing
affection between them, etc., etc. We have now to wait
and see how these fair beginnings will end. I have just
seen the Hakeem Bashee or chief physician of AU Pasha,
who is an ItaUan, and to my great joy found he had locked
up in his box for me many letters and newspapers, which
he from time to time collected in the camp ; whenever any
messenger was brought in, and his packets examined, aU that
were for Europeans he took out, and put in his box ; to
morrow he promises to let me have those that are addressed
to me. He tells me that Ali Pasha has two interpreters,
natives of Cyprus, who speak Turkish, Italian, and Romaic.
It appears that a great change is contemplated in the govern
ment of this PashaUc.
" One of the two gentlemen whom Major Taylor sent to exa
mine the Euphrates from Beles to Anah, has arrived at Aleppo
on his way to Beles. From Anah to Bussorah there is no
insurmountable impediment in the way of steam navigation.
The part that now remains to be examined is from Beer to
Anah. " Sept. 1 8th. Lord's day. — To-day I have received a long
missing letter from the dear Taylors, in which Major Taylor
most kindly and generously offers, should anything happen to
me, to consider my dear boys as his own, till he has an
opportunity of sending them safely to the hands of their friends

ALI PASHA'S MODERATION. 181
in England. Thus the Lord provides, thus He orders for
us. This kind offer of Major T. was quite unsoUcited, for,
though when I felt attacked by the plague, I had written a
letter making this request, yet, on my recoveiy, I destroyed it.
" I hear that all these provinces, from Bussorah to Bagdad, are
to be under the government of Ali Pasha ; under Daoud, the
people, were oppressed by monopoUes in every article of con
sumption. Ali has determined to put an end to this system.
The crier yesterday proclaimed that meat was to be sold for no
more that two piastres an oke, i. e. about five pence a pound,
and if any man took more he should be hanged on the spot to
his own crooks. A butcher, who was afterwards detected
selling meat for three piastres, was instantly hanged.
"Sept. 21st — Nothing can exceed the attention and respect
that are paid to Daoud by Ali Pasha ; for his Ufe, he said, he
had nothing to fear ; the Sultan had pardoned him, and sent a
firman to that effect; but he wished him to go to Constantinople.
Consequently he leaves this place with his wives and his eldest
son, Kassan Bey, who has had all his property made a present
to him by Ali Pasha, and every thing they may choose to
select for the convenience of their journey, is to be provided for
them. There is something in this treatment so utterly unlike
any thing that has been ever witnessed before, that people
know not what to make of it ; the Turks cannot be brought to
believe but that there must be some treachery beneath ; for my
own part, I beUeve that so far as AU Pasha is concerned, this
is not true.
" The Turks here are also much startled at seeing their long
robes and turbans thrown away for an European military
uniform, with epaulets and other decorations ; and they say
that AU Pasha himself has quite adopted the European dress ;
so what changes we may expect I know not, but certainly
great ones are contemplated; any change approximating to
this has not been introduced from the days of the Patriarchs
till now. Drinking is no longer a covert offence which they
practise in secret ; but wine and spirits are brought in their
trays as regular articles of consumption."

182 ROMAN CATHOLIC MERCHANT.
With respect to one who afterwards gave him comfort, he

" I had yesterday a long and most interesting conversation
with a very respectable Armenian Roman CathoUc merchant of
this place, most timidly fearful of having his faith touched ; yet
the Lord opened the way to the introduction of some very
interesting topics — such as the duty of reading God's Word for
ourselves, the worship of the virgin, &c, on all of which, little
by little, he conversed freely. — He seemed well acquainted with
the Scriptures I quoted, but had never thought about these
questions. The great preparatory work in this country is to
get men to think of the soul's everlasting interests, and to feel
that religion has to do with the various relations of life. In
all countries custom has much power, but in the East it is
despotic. " Sept. 24th. — Nothing of any striking moment relative to
our situation has occurred since the last date : all is quiet.
Yet circumstances have taken place of the deepest interest,
which make my soul rejoice in God. In a packet of letters I
received the other day from India and Bussorah, was one from
a person whom I met here, a gay thoughtless officer in the
army, who seems now really seeking for Ught and Ufe. Of this
I am sure, that with that soul, it never can be again as in
times past ; the name of Christ will either be a savour of life
unto life, or of death unto death. Oh ! how strange a thing
does a consciousness of divine life in the soul appear, and how
affecting is it to receive that news fresh from the heart of one
who, in spiritual things, has seen men as trees walking. May
the Lord complete what He has begun, and make His recovered
child a burning and shining Ught in that land of darkness, where
he sojourns ! This intelligence comes, too, at a very acceptable
time, for I have had a shght attack of fever for these last ten
days, which, though it is not worth mentioning, has, Uke aU
fevers, left me weak, and with a tendency to depression. Nor
is this all the good the Lord has done me. The Roman
CathoUc merchant, whom I mentioned before, has been with me
again. He reminded me that when I came from England I

LETTER FROM MR. BRANDRAM. , 183
brought a letter for him, from a very dear friend ; in that
letter, he was requested to come every day to see me, and talk
with me, for I was neither a Roman Catholic, a Greek, an
Armenian, nor belonging to any other denomination, but a
Christian. He, however, never came. Shortly after my arrival
I met him at the house of another merchant, and as I could not
talk with him, my dear brother Pfander did ; but nothing could
exceed the timid reserve and coldness with which he answered
all questions respecting religion. But yesterday he told me,
' Now I do not fear to converse with you.' Surely here is some
thing gained. May the Lord grant me grace to pour in the
sincere milk of the Word ! At present I see nothing more than
a willingness to hear and consider ; but this is almost like find
ing a spring in the desert, when you are parched with thirst.
" I have also received from Mr. Brandram, the Secretary of
the Bible Society, a kind and generous letter, in the name of that
noble institution, Which enables me to enter on their work with
all my heart, leaving the question of money free, and only seek
ing the soul's profit of those on whom their benefits are be
stowed : if I obtain money, weU — if not, I am only to seek a
fair guarantee that the people will read and take care of the
books I have, without money, fuU liberty to give. These books
are arrived at Bussorah, and when they reach me, what with
those I already have, and those coming from Constantinople or
Smyrna, I shaU have quite a depository. All these circum
stances at present make me determine to stay here, the Lord
enabUng mej though we again hear the Persians are in Sulei
mania. " October 9th. Lord's day. — It is just one fortnight since the
Lord has laid me on the bed of sickness and suffering ; for
nearly a fortnight previous an attack of typhus fever had been
making its steady advances. I had lost aU appetite, strength, and
abihty to sleep, accompanied by that strange overwhelming
depression of mind which inclines on e to weep, one knows not why.
But this day fortnight I was completely laid by, and this is the
first day I have had my clothes on since.
"Oct. llth. — The Lord still allows me to feel convalescent

184 CHANGES IN THE CITY.
and I cannot but think of His mercies to me in my soUtary
and lonely situation, with aU those tendencies to depression
which are concomitants of the disease. He sent me from time
to time such cheering intelligence as made me hope His cause
would prosper, and that all these turmoils were only preparing
the way for it.
"Oct. 14th. — All in the city is quiet yet. There is no
apparent confidence : men seem waiting to see how things will
turn out. Every thing is very dear, as it must necessarily be
for some time. The greatest part of the inhabitants are dead,
and many of the survivors have become rich, either by the
death of relations or by robbery, and no one will do any thing
without an exorbitant remuneration. I have just had a
quantity of rice cleaned, for doing which, previous to the
plague, I gave a piastre and a half, and now I have given six
piastres. " We have an Armenian bishop coming here in the room of
the priests who are dead. I know not what his plan of opera
tion will be ; but the Lord is on our side.
" I had a visit yesterday from the Abbe' Troche, who has
the superintendence of the Catholic mission here ; he was very
pleasant ; but nothing particular passed, as many others were
present. My conversations with the Roman Catholic merchant
I have before mentioned, are still very open and free. 0, may
the Lord water and bless them.
" Oct. 17th. — Several of the elder boys, who had fled from the
plague with their parents, have been with me since their return.
My heart feels deeply interested about them ; yet I see not
plainly my way. I certainly never felt teaching in a school to
be my proper work, and now much less than ever ; yet they
need instruction and desire it, and I think they are attached
to me. May the Lord give me a wise and understanding
heart, that I may rightly see the service He requires of me.
I much wish for the counsel of my dear brethren at Aleppo ;
and perhaps the Lord may soon send some of them to me.
"Oct. 18th. — I have heard to-day we are to have no other
Roman Catholic bishop in the room of him who is dead ; nor

SOME ACCOUNT OF ALI PASHA. 185
any French Consul, but only an Agent ; this may take off many
restraints ; for the late bishop had given out we were worse
than either the Mohammedans or Jews, and this had made a
great impression on his flock ; for he was a very Uberal man,
and therefore influential among them. However, I very much
question if things will now be kept under the same restraint ;
so that should the Lord lead me to open the school again, I
should not be surprised if many Roman Catholics came ; for
they all acknowledge that our boys learned more in three
months than theirs in two years. The new Pasha is likewise
exceedingly desirous of cultivating the closest friendship with
our Resident, who has most kindly offered me any aid he can
possibly lend me ; and besides all this, the letters I have this
day received from England and Ireland, show me that my very
dear friends have been making provision for my school ; so that
altogether, it seems to me the Lord's will I should try again ;
and in due time, when I am fit for other service, He may
raise up help that will take this out of my hands. I desire
to be ready to do any work, however humble and contrary to
my nature, that I think the Lord appoints for me. I hear
also, that at Aleppo the French intend having an Agent
instead of a Consul ; whereas, our government has just sent
a Consul to Damascus, and one to Aleppo, and last year we
had a Consul estabUshed at Trebizond. I think Ali Pasha will
do aU in his power to promote the steam navigation of
these rivers; and he is evidently a man of a very different
character from the Georgians who preceded him. They cherished
most of all the pride and pomp of Turkish power, with all
its inveterate prejudices, ignorance, and narrowness of mind,
so that if you had any business of the least difficulty, you
could never get them to attend five minutes to it. But not
so Ali Pasha ; he apprehends with facihty ; and you at least
have the satisfaction of knowing you are understood. He
has been at Trieste, and in Hungary, and seems acquainted,
to a Umited extent, with several of the pubUc journals of
Europe. He dresses nearly as an European, and his brother-
in-law quite so, with the exception of the hat : this is as

186 MR. PFANDER'S PROGRESS.
yet very trying to the genuine Asiatics, who look on their
own dress as that which it would be a sin to change. The
Pasha seems perfectly indifferent to hoarding money.
"Things in the city are stiU very dear, arising from the
harvest of last year not having been reaped, and various other
causes. We have to pay three times the usual price for
most things ; but after such tremendous visitations as we
have suffered, we cannot expect that things can return to
their usual course in a day.
" Oct. 22nd. — I have had with me to-day a gentleman, who
was formerly attached to Mr. Morier's mission in Persia.
He fled from the plague at Tabreez, and arrived at Ker-
manshah, four days after it had been left by dear brother Pfan
der. He tells me, that Pfander, by his conversations in the
caravan, had left so distinct an impression that he thought
Mohammed a Uar, that when he reached Kermanshah, he found
his situation very difficult and even dangerous, and was obhged
hastUy to quit it. He then went to Hamadan, and remained
there three days in the house of a priest, from whence he
proceeded to Ispahan. AU the viUages between Hamadan and
Ispahan are Armenian. The journey takes about ten days.
When he arrived at Ispahan, he heard that Abbas Meerza was
at Yezd, and therefore went on there. He was treated with
great honour and respect, and a firman was given him to go
where he liked : he returned to Ispahan, and from thence went
to Tabreez, which place he reached before the plague broke out
the second time. This account makes me long to hear from
his own pen the Lord's dealings with him. The same gentle
man told me that the plague in Tabreez was much worse
the second time than the first. Kermanshah is absolutely
destroyed, and the governor, a grandson of the king, is re
ported to have collected from the property of the dead
five lacs of piastres. In Kourdistan also, they say it has been
dreadful. In Saggas, Banah, and Suleimania, he says the
desolation is shocking. How wonderful God's visitations
on these nations are; they make one whom the Lord has
appointed to be in the midst of them often say, 'Lord, let

INCREASED QUIET IN THE CITY. 187
thy kingdom come ; yea, speedily, that thy people may know
peace and safety.'
" I have sent to enquire the number of the poor little boys
of my school yet aUve, and I find there are twenty-five out of
the eighty, and that I may expect nearly thirty pupds, should
I get a master for them. I shall, therefore, endeavour to ac-
compUsh this, the Lord enabUng me, when I feel strong enough
to begin again.
" I am very anxious about the dear N  's at Tabreez,
from whom I have not received a line. Abbas Meerza ordered
large pits to be dug for those who died of the plague, and when
they were full to have them covered in. The Ambassador,
and the English, Russian, and other public functionaries had
fled. " Oct. 26th. — I already hear of one or two Roman Catholic
boys, who will now come to the school, who, during the life of
the bishop, were afraid. My health I also feel dady estabhsh-
ing ; ' and that I shaU soon be able to enter on real labour again,
with the Lord's blessing, I sincerely trust.
" Oct. 27th. — The affairs of the city appear daily more and
more settling again ; provisions are coming in in abundance,
and the price is gradually lowering. ' The roads also are becom
ing more open and safe : for all these signs of tranquillity we
bless the Lord and take courage, and trust we may yet serve
Him in this land of our pUgrimage. Also across the desert we
hear the road is tranquil.
" Oct. 28th. — To-day the Jew called whom I mentioned in
my journal of last year, as having come to Mr. Pfander : he is
a Jewish Rabbi, who, disbeUeving Judaism, and possibly pre
ferring Christianity, seems to be without heart or principle as
to either. He brought with him a Polish Jew, who is Ali
Pasha's tailor. He saw Mr. Wolff at Jerusalem, and speaks of
him with high admiration. The Rabbi told me he was reading
with him the German New Testament. May the Lord send
His holy fire on the altar of their hearts, that they may really,
heartily, and zealously enter into His truth. If there is any
gift my soul longs for, it is to be ablo^ to speak to every one in

188 ALI PASHA'S TREASURER.
his own tongue wherein he was born, the wonderful works of
God : for want of this, in countries like this, where you are
surrounded by many different languages, the heart gets over
whelmed with difficulties ; as, for instance, with these Jews,
they know little Arabic, and I do not know German, and thus
we are incapable of any such conversation as is likely to search
the heart.
" Nov. 4th. — We have now at the head of affairs, under the
Pasha, one of those extraordinary men who are capable of any
thing good or bad. Under Daoud Pasha he, for a long time,
cruelly oppressed the people, but more especially the Jews, tiU
at last a conspiracy was formed against him, and by the
influence of the father of the Serof Bashee of the Pasha, who is
one of the serofs, or bankers,* of the Sultan at Constantinople,
an order was procured for his being put to death. Daoud
Pasha did not execute this order, but imprisoned him, for as he
had been the instrument of extorting money for him, he
concluded he had not failed at the same time to enrich him
self. In their endeavours to extort his money from him, they
drew the bow-sting so tight that they nearly strangled him :
however he recovered : he told them he had a certain sum of
money, and where it was : Daoud Pasha had previously agreed
he should collect this for himself, but he had the meanness to
take from him. He had some friends, who exerted themselves
to save his life, but only a few days before the entrance of AU
Pasha, orders were again issued to put him to death, as he was
detected holding communication with those without the city ;
but again intercession was made for him, and he was again
spared. AU Pasha, on his entrance into the town, instantly
took him into favour, and has made him. his treasurer and
accountant-general ; (Musruff and Deftarder ;) and in fact, the
whole business of the PashaUc is in his hands. He is at work
day and night ; — till after midnight he is engaged in business,

* The bankers in Turkey are generally Jews, and possessed of great
wealth.

OPPORTUNITIES OF TEACHING THE WORD. 189
and long before dawn he is to be seen on horseback. He never
sleeps at home, but each night at a different friend's house,
though the Pasha gave him the best house (taken with all its
accompaniments) in Bagdad. When the Pasha heard that
Major Taylor's house, which is on the river, had suffered by
the flood, he instantly gave it to this man, and he now intends
occupying it. He is acquainted with all the internal affairs of
the city, and is connected with all the tribes of Arabs from
Bussorah to Merdin ; knows aU their relationships, enmities,
friendships, and divisions, external as weU as internal, and has
abihty and tact to take advantage of them. He is also
acquainted with the agriculture of the country between the two
rivers, and greatly desires to advance and improve it. What
two such men as Ali Pasha and he may effect, should the
Lord allow them to remain, it is impossible to conceive ;
certainly great changes. He has now his old enemy, the Serof
Bashee, in prison, and is bastinadoing him to get money out of
him. But his general carriage to the inhabitants is much
changed, though he has now twice the authority, which clearly,
I chink, manifests the altered temper of the government. To
the EngUsh he is a most devoted friend, and especially to the
Resident, to whom he feels he owes his Ufe, for he is at once a
firm friend, and, I fear, an implacable enemy : one of those
men from whom if you can once extort the assurance that you
are safe, you may be at ease ; whereas, in general, from the
Pasha downwards, the more they assure a man of his safety, the
more reason he felt he had to fear.
" Nov. 7th. — I have to-day been calUng on several of the most
respectable Roman CathoUc merchants of this place, who have,
some of them, repeatedly called on me ; but, partly from want
of health, and partly from want of spirits, I have not hitherto
returned their visits. They received me with the greatest
kindness, and the opportunities these visits afforded of bringing
in God's word as the only standard of truth, I feel to be very
valuable. It seems perfectly new to them to have the senti
ments or conduct of themselves or others measured by this holy
and blessed book ; they never in their Uves heard such a use

190 RECOVERY FROM TYPHUS FEVER.
made of it, so that it strikes them exceedingly ; and the Spirit
of the Lord may make something here or there rest on their
hearts. I feel that the door for my particular line of usefulness
is opening, and as I advance in the practical use of the language,
I have confidence the Lord will yet show me greater things
than these.
" I shall here then conclude my Journal for the present, and
most humbly and heartily pray, that all the trials, public and
private, recorded in it, may redound to the glory of Him who
is the Lord of lords, and King of kings ; and that my soul may
not lose its portion of profit."
The foUowing letters are added, because they contain some
interesting details of the Lord's dealings with His dear servant,
which are not contained in the Journal. And the reader will
observe the last letter is of a later date that the conclusion of
the Journal. "Bagdad, Oct. \5th, 1831.
" The Lord has just raised me up from a typhus fever, which,
for the last month, has been pressing a Uttle hard on my
strength, but more on my spirits. The loss of my dearest Mary
was so deeply felt by my poor desolate heart, that, at times, I
bore up with difficulty ; but the Lord showed me that my
sorrow was so selfish, so earthly, so unworthy of His love, and
poured in besides such hopes and prospects as to my future
work, that sustained and comforted me.
" I send with this a Journal of four months, from which you
will see what has been passing amongst us.
" I have lately received many letters from my dear brethren
at Aleppo, and I think either Mr. Cronin or Mr. and Mrs.
Parnel wiU come to me the first opportunity, which wiU be an
unspeakable relief to my mind ; for I long for some one to whom
I may unburthen my soul ; for although my Lord is always near,
yet, as I see in Paul, so I find in myself, that the society of
Christian brethren and sisters, so long as we are in the flesh,
will always afford a sweet consolation.

HAPPY STATE OF MR. GROVES'S SOUL. 191
"I feel that Jesus meant His Church to be a body, not
isolated members. We have each a little ministry essential to
the happiness and building up of the mystical body — that there
should be no schism, but that all the members might love and
care one for the other.
" This place has been governed by Georgians, Apostate
Christians, just as the Mamelukes, another race of Apostate
Christians, formerly governed Egypt. The Sultan has extirpated
the first, and now the second, and the Janissaries, who had a
somewhat similar origin, have, at Stamboul, experienced a
similar fate. Those of the Georgians Who have had their Uves
spared will be sent to StambouL It is certainly the design of
Ali Pasha and the Sultan to make many changes here, and I
wait the Lord's goings. It appears to me probable that most
important openings may be afforded by these changes to our
operations in these quarters ; but I have seen such things these
last twelve months, that my soul rests only upon God, to see
how He will move. His ways are so deep, so out of sight, that
what we think Ukely, He, in a month, brings to nothing, and
yet in His own good time, wUl bring the most wonderful and
unexpected things to pass. I have never ceased to bless God
for the sweet assurance of His unchanging love, for the sake of
Him who is our life, our dear and blessed Jesus. He has sup
plied me, I know not how, in the midst of famine, pestilence,
and war ; and though I have heard from none in England for
more than a year, especially from those that supply my wants,
the Lord has not suffered me to want, or to be in debt, and
though the necessaries of life have amounted to almost twenty
times their value during our late trials, He has not suffered me
personally to be much affected by it. His loving-kindness and
care have been wonderful.
" Of all the poUtical and religious agitations of England, I
have heard only whispers ; but I am very anxious to receive a
full account. For many months aU communication has been
entirely cut off ; not a message has come though the road has
now been open a month.
"The Lord has graciously allowed me to see the signs of

192 DIFFICULTIES OF THE LANGUAGE DISAPPEAR.
spiritual life in three souls of late, through my instrumentality ;
and as the Lord gives me utterance, I trust I shaU be able to
speak to many others. The difficulties of the language are
fading away one by one. I had occasion to translate a public
document from the new Pasha to the Resident at Bussorah,
concerning business of the utmost importance and secrecy, in
which the Resident, who is a most competent judge, teUs me I
succeeded fully.
"I often think my dear friends in England wiU be sadly
discouraged at the Lord's dealings with our mission : so difficult
is it to act faith in dark seasons. However, should their faith
and hope fail, the Lord wiU either raise up others, or find me
some little occupation by which I may live. His goodness in
the Way of provision has been so wonderfully manifested, that
my heart feels quite easy that He wiU find a way for the sup
port of His servant.
" Oct. 24th. — Since writing the above, I have received your
letter of March last, by Bombay. O, how welcome it came !
Oh, how it refreshed me ! Surely there exists not in the world
a more loving little Church than those dear believers with whom
the Lord has brought us into fellowship. I assure you, widely
as I am separated from this beloved family in body, I am truly
one of them in spirit, and greatly refreshed by the springs of
the Lord's grace that run amongst them.
" I received several letters with yours, from England and
Ireland ; and the zeal of those dear friends who had provided
for my school, made me finaUy determine, the Lord willing, and
supplying me masters, to try again. I have sent one of the
bigger boys round, and I trust, with new boys, I shaU begin
with thirty.
" The Bible Society have sent me a number of books with a
generous letter, nobly generous as to the principles of distribu
tion. And there appears a prospect of great changes which
may open a much wider door of usefulness here than I now
have : I had thoughts of leaving this place, but the Resident
entreats me not to go, and promises, should anything happen to
me, that he wUl be a father to my dear boys, till he can send

HIS PURPOSE TO REMAIN IN BAGDAD. 193
them by an unexceptional opportunity to England. All these
things make me feel that the Lord still means me to stay here,
and see His salvation. — Infidelity is making open and manifest
strides amongst the Mohammedans on the other side of the
desert, and in Persia, and we shall soon see the same spirit that
is working in Europe working here ; amidst these tempests, I
sometimes think 'tis hard to live. Yet, my dear friend, it is
sweet to live hardly for Jesus.
" After all my sufferings and all my sorrows, my heart is not
discouraged. We have first the clods of the language to break
up, then to prepare the ground, then to sow the Seed, and
through all to look for the precious showers from on high, and
lastly for the fruit. Let us, then, Uke the husbandman
patiently wait.
" The evil of the pressure of the world on the soul I feel as
fully as you can do ; not the luxurious worldliness of Europe ;
yet the pursuit of the language, and the absolute uncongeniality
of aU around, disorders the soul greatly. During Mary's Ufe, or
rather pilgrimage, I never wanted spiritual refreshment ; I
sometimes used to fear it stole away those hours that the lan
guage and other calls demanded ; but now whilst I am sensibly
proceeding in the language, my soul knows not that animated
joy of heavenly communion with the saints on earth which I
once enjoyed. Jesus still is near, still comforts and supports ;
but yet I feel He meant His Church to be a body. The misera
ble substitute of man's arrangements for the Holy Ghost's, has
destroyed the true unison and order of the Church of Christ, by
substituting that which is artificial for that which is of God ;
by appointing man to be the artificer of a work God alone can
accomplish. Now the Church presents a disunited aspect ; the
unity being marred, among other things, by the unscriptural
distinction of clergy and laity, which confines ministry to a few,
leaving the many without due office or service : this is not of
the Spirit. How blessed it is among all these disorders to
know that the Lord cares for His own, and will keep them as
the apple of His eye, watching day and night lest any hurt
them. Thus were we preserved, when we little thought it, by

194 CHRIST A SATISFYING PORTION.
our Shepherd's care. There is something, I think, in this view
of the body being composed of members of various orders,
various services, from the most minute to the most important,
all tending to the one great end, the glory of the only Head,
and the Church's glory in Him, that greatly comforts the weak.
When the Lord first led me to feel interested in His cause
abroad, I framed to myself some beau-ideal of a missionary,
which, if I now entertained it, would destroy all happiness. Since
the Lord has led me to see how truly low my place is in His
holy blessed body, amidst aU this humiliation He makes me feel
happy in the thought I am a member, though embracing little
that pride would lead one to aim at. If I am but allowed to
minister to my dear and holy brethren on the other side of the
desert I shall feel happy and thankful. Sometimes I am over
whelmed with the condescension that He should allow me to
feel part of His mystical body, though so weak, so useless.
"On the subject of baptism all the dear brethren at Aleppo
have finally agreed, and been baptized ; thus the last little
difference that I knew of between us is closed. How gracious
the Lord is.
" Mrs. Cronin is daily getting weaker and weaker, so they
are prevented joining me now from Ul health, as before from
the disturbances, and in a short time Mrs. Parnel expects to
be confined, which will stUl delay them, as well as the expecta
tion of a friend or two from England and Ireland.
" I would have you pray for me, especially that Christ may
be in me daily, my glorious loving Lord and satisfying portion,
whose presence can make even this waste howling wilderness
like the garden of Eden. Little did I think how poor I was in
the anointed Lamb of God tiU He stripped me bare, and left
me here to stand months alone with Himself, and then I saw
how much of the apparent love and zeal I felt flowed from human
fountains. I bless His name, He left me yet a little while to
cheer, support, and comfort me, but my stature, my dear friends,
I pray I may not again mistake, nor think I am approaching
towards manhood when a very child in spiritual growth.
When surrounded by all the love and kindness I experienced

PROSPECTS OF WORK IN BAGDAD. 195
amongst you, encouraged by your sympathy and prayers, those
thousand weaknesses I since have felt I hardly knew the smart
of. Amidst dangers, sorrows, and death, I have walked for
many months ; and these scenes have tried the very foundation,
yet it was most gracious of the Lord, when He let the plague
reach me, and laid me on my couch, to give me the sweetest
comfort from a full assurance of His favour and forgiveness,
when there was, as I thought, but a step between me and death.
Yet whilst He has never left me without the sense of being
His, He has shown me how much I have to aim at, how earnestly
to desire to be filled with all His fulness." " Bagdad, Dec. 15th, 1831.
"Your most kind and welcome letter arrived this day,
together with several others from my, beloved friends in England,
all by Bombay. It does, indeed, truly refresh my heart, to
hear of the Lord's love to you all. Do you not praise God for
these dear brothers and sisters he has given us 1 How rich are
we in our sweet Uttle church ; a more loving, holy, and blessed
little family cannot surely be found upon earth. Unworthy as I
am to be one of you, yet I bless God that I am one. My heart
is running over with thankfulness at the Lord's goodness to you
all, and to me through you ; and be not discouraged because I
am blasted, and my bough no longer green, as it once was ; the
Lord has yet dealt most bountifully with me. In all but my
dear Mary's place my path is opening again. I have hired one
schoolmaster, and expect another. My EngUsh boys are most
zealous and attached : my prospects of Bible circulation in
Persia much opening. To the Jews here I have sold all my
Hebrew Bibles, at about 3s. 6d. each : this is more to them
than 12*. would be in England, and though it seems Uttle, it
answers the end of getting God's word amongst them. I had
an Armenian bishop with me the other day, asking for Persian
Testaments to send to Ispahan ; and a Roman Catholic mer
chant has promised to take a parcel for me to Teheran, and
to distribute them there. Besides these, there are others

196 UNEXPECTED PROVISION OF MONEY.
whom I hope to find subservient to this end. For some
days I had been making preparations to cross the desert,
in order to consult with my dear brethren there about
our future measures : but when I came to put together aU the
items of expense, I found I had not money enough, so
I gave up the plan of going with my dear boys, and proposed
waiting tiU Major Taylor came, and leaving them in the
Residency, under his and dear Mrs. Taylor's kind care, to
go alone. Your letter, however, has relieved all my pecu
niary difficulties, and we shall now go all together or remain
together. The love of you all in thinking of and caring
for me quite overwhelms me, as I see it to be the Lord's
love in and through you all. He not only feeds us in
this wUderness, but also provides for the school, so as to
overwhelm me with a sense of His care over the most unworthy
of His servants.
"Dec. 29th. — How gracious it was of the Lord to send
me your letter, just before expense became inevitable, for
either for the journey, or for shutting up, you must expend
money, as during the time of the raging of the plague, you can
obtain nothing, not even bread, and if you could, you would be
afraid to use it. What unspeakable peace it brings to the soul
to have Jesus to look to, and to know that His eye is not
averted, though all seems dark ! Blessed doctrines of grace !
how they comfort when the soul would sink under sin : to
know that for Christ's sake we are pardoned. Yea, though we
have played the harlot with many lovers, the Lord has, restored
us, and decked us for His bride against the day of His espousals.
O, what a day the day of the marriage supper of the Lamb
will be ; may our hearts be Waiting for it, with holy expectation !
Pray for me that my faith fail not, nor my Lord's love even
appear little in my eyes ; but that I may always be enabled to
say, ' Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.' If it be that
all my hopes come to an end, may His holy blessed will be done.
I often wonder how He keeps up my hope as He does ; but
still I do hope even against hope ; and I would call upon
you, and aU my dear friends, brethren, and sisters in Christ, to

JOY IN THE LORD'S COMING. 197
rejoice with me at the prospect of that blessed day which is
dawning upon us, when we shall see our Beloved as He is,
and dwell with Him for ever, when our vile bodies will be
changed and made like unto His glorious body, when the
whole number of His elect family will be completed, and we
shall reign with Him in glory."

CHAPTER VIII.
CIRCUMSTANCES OF MR. GROVES'S DEPARTURE FROM BAGDAD. —
HIS ARRIVAL IN BOMBAY.  HIS VOYAGE ALONG THE WESTERN
COAST OF INDIA, -r- HIS VISITS TO MISSIONARY STATIONS. 
NOTES OF HIS DAILY MEDITATIONS ON THE SCRIPTURES.
Mr. Groves remained about a year with the friends whose
expected arrival in Bagdad was mentioned in the concluding
part of his journal. During this time Mr. F. Newman kindly
instructed his sons, and laboured in the compilation of an
Arabic dictionary ; the others were employed in learning the
language ; and Mr. Cronin exerted his medical skill in assisting
Mr. Groves at the hospital which had been established for the
sick. Of their manner of Ufe, Mr. Groves, when on his way to
India, writes as follows : " Besides our family prayer, morning
and evening, we had two meetings, to which all came whose
souls were attuned for prayer, and none else ; we ever found
such meetings particularly blessed to us ; they have enabled us
in so many ways, to be too hard for Satan. We also had
special prayer-meetings, arising out of sympathy with one ano
ther in particular troubles, trials, or wishes, believing the
promise, ' if two of you shaU agree on earth, as touching
anything they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father
which is in heaven.' No common intercourse enables you
to unbosom your soul's secret troubles ; therefore mine remain
intrenched, nor can I hope it will be otherwise until I return
to them."
In April, 1833, Colonel Cotton, (then a Captain in the
Madras Engineers,) arrived at Bagdad, and staid with the
missionary party a fortnight. He brought with him, Mokayel,
(i. e. Michael,) a young Syrian of the Greek Church, who acted
as his interpreter, and a converted Jew named Caiman, who

RESULT OF CAPTAIN COTTON'S VISIT. 199
remained in Bagdad nearly two years, and was zealous for the
conversion of his brethren.
Captain Cotton's visit was the means of bringing before Mr.
Groves and his companions the great facilities for preaching the
gospel all over India, and as they were feeling their way much
shut up as to Gospel testimony in Bagdad, it was agreed that
Mr. Groves should accompany Captain Cotton, who was about
to return to India, in order to decide whether the openings in
that country were such as would justify them in quitting Persia
for this new field of labour. ,
A number of passages in Mr. Groves's Journals, which it is
not necessary to publish, clearly prove that he did not hastily
quit a position which he had taken up so prayerfully, and
occupied in the face of danger and difficulties before the Lord.
It is equaUy clear that for many months he had it in his heart
to return to Bagdad, and was only prevented from doing so by
those providential leadings which an obedient child of God
must ever follow, when in unison with the revealed will of his
Father. Some of Mr. Groves's friends in England, on hearing of
his trials in Bagdad, wished him, on various grounds, to give up
missionary work and come home. His answer is worthy of the
motives and spirit by which he had thus far been guided. — " A
line of practice and experience, advancing step by step through
the conflicts of many years, cannot be laid aside through any of
the theories of the day, or without the marked hand of God ; —
but what is more than all, my soul has no inward testimony
that to turn back would please the Lord. I know what it is to
turn back from my missionary purposes, and therefore dread it;
I have felt its sadness, the constant effort to be happy under it,
and being miserable. I was fully persuaded, when we set forth,
our resolution was a wise and holy one, blessed of the Lord,
and being blessed to many ; at all events, ' my reward is
with the Lord, and my judgment with my God.'
" (If ever I knew what prayer was,) the long continued and
earnest praying of my soul, first, to glorify my most gracious
Lord, and to foUow His will ; secondly, that I may not hinder
others : and I feel assured that, weak, and wavering, and

200 REFLECTIONS ON HIS TRIALS IN BAGDAD.
irresolute, as I have become, it is only that the Lord's strength
may be more fully magnified, and that He wUl hold me up,
though alone ; I feel therefore strong in the Lord, and in the
power of His might.
" It may be said, but you have not succeeded ; I say, that is
begging the question. If we have done the Lord's will, we have
succeeded ; the angels that went to Sodom succeeded, as well as
Jonah who went to Nineveh, though the former destroyed, the
latter preserved the city. Things may have followed in our
own souls, things may have affected the souls of others, from
these steps, which those who have benefited by them might
have forgotten. I could prove to you, as far as appearances
which are so deceitful can prove anything, that my visit to
India, and I think our going to Petersburgh, has been of more
importance than I feel our lives to be if anywhere ; and I think
I could show to you, that, had I not been a sufferer for the
cause, I never should have been received among my brethren as
I have been, and still am ; and if I have lost anything at home
I am more than content. I have ten times more influence than
I deserve anywhere, yet even at home there was a time when
some felt our coming out had not damped their souls, and I
think there are a few who think so still. It, at least, served to
Ulustrate to my soul the unfailing love of the Church, which I
never, practically, felt before ; though some crude theories are,
for a time, beclouding or damping its manifestation, on one
hand, it bursts out with renewed vigour, on another. I am
sure these fluctuations of judgment aU arise from not taking a
full view of God's word, nor an equal view of all its precepts,
nor a discriminating view of the various services to be performed
in and by the Church, the enablings and appointments
of the Holy Ghost, in order thereto, which are as various as
the members in the body, ' dividing to every man severally
as He will.' By keeping a man at home who ought to be
seeking His Lord's glory abroad, you as much weaken the Church
at home, as by sending abroad one who ought to stay; the
Church of the redeemed should shine as a constellation of heavenly
principles, which need every conceivable variety of circumstance and

CAPTAIN COTTON'S ILLNESS. 201
situation to bring them into full play, and to do full honour to
the grace of Christ. So that the hand cannot say to the foot,
I have no need of thee ; nor the eye to the ear, I have no
need of thee : in their places, and discharging their own
functions, all are lovely: displace, and disarrange them, and
all is confusion."
In this extract, we are anticipating, as it was written some
months after he had enjoyed the fellowship of saints in
India. At the end of April, Captain Cotton and Mr. Groves,
accompanied by Mokayel, set out for the shores of the Persian
Gulf, on their way to Bombay, but at Bushire they were
detained by the dangerous Ulness of Captain C. Mr. Groves
nursed him day and night, as a brother beloved, and his being
with him was most providential, as his life, humanly speaking,
depended on the care taken of him ; and Mokayel, though most
faithful, was at times quite overpowered by the circumstances
of his beloved master and friend. [See Appendix C]
The travellers did not reach Bombay till July, and the next
three months were spent by Mr. Groves among dear Christian
friends whom he now met for the first time. He staid alter
nately at the houses of Mr. Young, of the Civil Service, Mr
Menzies, of Liverpool, and Major Jacobs. Of these, in connec
tion with Captain Cotton, he afterwards wrote, " Many, many
months have passed since I met friends with whom my soul had
sweeter communion than with those whom I have now left."
While in Bombay, he was also cheered by happy news from
Bagdad : " They are," he writes, " in great joy and love among
themselves, continuing, I do think, instant in prayer. Dear
Caiman has been preaching Jesus to the Jews in Bagdad, bu
they reject him, and he knows not whether to continue there
or go on farther." Of his sons, and of Serkies Davids, a young
Persian who was with them, he adds, " They are growing in
grace, to the great joy of the brethren, and all seem to wish to
serve the Lord." And again, " They give most hopeful accounts
of that dear Hannai, for whom we have aU prayed so much.
I esteem this a great favour at the Lord's hands. [See Ap
pendix D.]

202 ORIGIN OF HIS INTEREST IN TINNEVELLY.
During the time that Mr. Groves was in Bombay, his
sympathies were enlisted in the TinneveUy mission, about
which his friends were then very anxious. It was feared that
Mr. Rhenius would be constrained to desert a post in which he
had been eminently honoured of God to the conversion of souls,
and Mr. Groves needed little persuasion to go and see if any
thing could be done to encourage him to remain. In the matter
at issue — whether Mr. Rhenius and his German Lutheran com
panions should retain the privilege they had long exercised of
ordaining to the ministry such of their catechists as they
approved, or whether it should belong to the bishop of Calcutta,
he had, according to his particular views, little interest, but, in
the consequences which it involved, he, in the desire for the
welfare of the whole Church, and the blessing of the heathen,
was deeply concerned. He was therefore ready to comply with
the earnest solicitations of his friends at Bombay, all of them
members of the Church of England ; and, in the month of
October, set sail in the native boat in which he was to navigate
the whole of the western coast of India.
We can here again make extracts from a Journal of his own ;
and it wiU be instructive to observe, how, amid the innumerable
difficulties and distractions of such an expedition, he regularly
pursued the study of the Word of God, and how it talked with
him, as it were, by the way. Prov. vi, 20 — 22.
" Oct. 18th. — I am now saiUng down the western coast of
India in a native boat, (a Pattamar,) not able to do much. I
am hasting to Palamcottah, in consequence of the mission there
being thought nearly on the point of dissolution ; at least as to
its spiritual power. Mr. Rhenius and his colleague Mr. Schmidt
had been always accustomed to ordain their own catechists until
Bishop Heber's time, when the necessity of episcopal ordination
was insisted on. Since then there has been a continual discussion.
The Society are now endeavouring to get Mr. Rhenius home,
and Mr. Schmidt is away, and thus their native flocks,
amounting to nearly 11,000 persons, will be left without
their spiritual fathers. I cannot tell you how all these
circumstances excite me, and I fear lest in taking care of

TRUE POWER IN GOD'S SERVICE. 203
others' vineyards I may neglect my own : do not cease to
pray for me.
" To my great surprise and joy, I find my dear brother Start,
who was coming out with Caldecott, has arrived in the Bengal
Residency, and is gone up the country with his wife. Mr.
Nisbet, the coUector of Darwar, was much interested in him,
and wanted them to take up their quarters in his district,
where there are above 500,000 souls, to whom you may have
unlimited access to preach the Gospel : he has been for three
years looking out for some one to labour there, for whose
temporal wants he would entirely provide, but he has not been
able to find any one. I feel the deepest interest in India, not
only as to missionary operations, but as to Christians generally,
among whom there is a great disposition to make Christ aU in
all, and should the Lord allow me a field of labour here I should
greatly rejoice."
In reference to his tract on " Christian Influence," a copy of
which he sent to the friend to whom the Journal was addressed,
he says : —
" I do feel so sure that we have lost our true power by deck
ing ourselves out, and prosecuting our plans, according to the
spirit and principles of the world, whereas I am sure we ought
to stand in contrast with it at every point. Wherever I can
literally follow Scripture, I feel easy as to the act ; where I
cannot, or fancy I cannot, I feel weak in proportion to my dis
tance from it.
" Oct. 19th. — During my stay at Bombay, I ventured to
suggest to some of the missionaries privately, that certain
expensive, and apparently self-indulgent habits might be
avoided, but all resisted the idea. If even good and devoted
servants of God are deceived as to what constitutes their true
influence in the Church of Christ, namely, being like Christ, can
we be surprised that the world at large go altogether wrong t
The more I think of the principles of Christ's kingdom, as revealed
in His Word, and witnessed to, inwardly, by the Spirit ; the
more I reflect on the character of our Lord's life on earth ; the
more I feel sure we cannot, if we desire to know God's will, be

204 ACCOUNT OF HIS STAY IN BOMBAY.
deceived, as to the general course we ought to pursue, nor in
what our true power consists, which really is in being earthen
vessels. " Sunday, Oct. 20th. — At times I understand what it is to be
one in whose mouth there are ' no reproofs.' I have been led
to think much of the suitableness and tenderness of the trials
sent by our Father. It is very happy when we receive them in
the spirit of the passage to which I have alluded : when the
soul feels it has no power of reproof, but is as a weaned child.
In Bombay I generally met with kindness, but there was
evidently a fear that prevented their wishing me to minister ;
they would have had me preach about ourselves, and our work,
and I had no heart for either ; all I could say of ourselves was,
that we desired to follow Christ ; and of our work, it Was wait
ing the Lord's pleasure. They therefore only once asked me to
preach, so I used to go on board a ship and preach to some
sailors. But although they set me aside, I do not feel my Lord
did ; I exercised my little ministry without preaching pubhcly,
and if the Lord allow the truth I placed before His people in
private, to have free course, it may do more to prepare the way
of the unfettered gospel in India, than any preaching they could
allow among any sect. What is the work of a minister of
truth ? Surely we have not so much to do with attacking
false systems, as with simply publishing the truth our own
hearts feel ; and we may expect, the Lord wUl make their
Dagons do honour and obeisance to the Ark of His Covenant.
I think there is among us a strange coldness and indifference to
sin, its true nature, and its hateful character ; and does not
this mainly arise from the small degree in which our souls are
reaUy conformed to God, by which this contrariety and hatred
are manifested ?
" There is a strong tendency among Christians at Bombay to
simphfy the missionary plan, but there appeared little or no
apprehension that the conformity to the world, which they
allow lowers the missionary's spiritual power, lowers theirs
also; that the renunciation of the pleasures of the world
which they might enjoy, and the partaking for others' good of

POINT OF DEEP INTEREST TO HIM. 205
the sorrows they might have escaped, tells for the unearthly
character of the kingdom of Christ, in one as well as the other.
" Mr. D. urged me years ago, not to preach on baptism,
saying, I should thereby become a sectarian ; as well might
our dear brother H. have been told not to pubUsh his tract
against war, lest he should be identified with the Society of
Friends. Surely, if we are not free to follow all, where they
follow Christ and His will, we have only changed one kind of
bondage for another. I do not think we ought to propose to be
modelled unlike every sect, but simply to be Uke Christ ; let us
neither seek nor fear a name. I wish rather to have from
every sect what every sect may have from Christ. I think we
need to pray for each other, that we may be kept in simplicity
in handhng the Word of God.
" I have been much deUghted with some passages in ' Tyn-
dale's Life.' They seem to have lived in great power of the
Holy Ghost, in such things as they saw in that day. It made
me ashamed of the Uttle troubles which affect me ; I have
desired to hide my head in my Lord's bosom, and forget them :
they had deep trials, the very thought of which makes the
heart weep. The sun is just setting, and I am going on deck
to enjoy the freshness of the evening air. So, for to-day
farewell. " Oct. 21st. — We were not long suffered to enjoy our repose ;
Ughtning, thunder and rain drove us below ; they then lowered
sail and cast anchor, and it was well they did so, for at daylight
we saw we were close on a reef of rocks ; thus the Lord takes
care of us. This is, in some respects, a disagreeable day, as our
boat is not water-tight. We are just going into Vingola, a
Uttle above Goa.
" It has been a point of deep interest to me, during my short
stay in India, and will be till I return, to impress on the Lord's
servants, that He has not sent them here to get the poor people's
money, to return to England and spend : but that if He has
sent them, it is for the interest of His own kingdom, and to live
and die by it. You cannot think how this view alters the whole
feeling of a man towards India, and its poor inhabitants. I

206 INDIAN VILLAGE OF VINGOLA.
first saw it strikingly displayed in dear brother C, whom I
mentioned to you, and I have seen it in one or two others since ;
it snaps at once the strings of hoarding, and opens the heart
to the last rupee : they look on the interests of India as pre
eminent to them, and every advance they make in the language
of the people, they regard as something for future more direct
work. WiU you pray for me, that I may not run in vain, nor
spend my strength for nought ; that I may be wise in the
tilings I select for the thoughts of others to dwell on ? My time
is often very short with any, and unless I improve it wisely, it
is lost, and yet the devil often attempts, by some Uttle hitch, to
carry off the thoughts and the heart from deep and profitable
things. " Have you ever coUected from the Word of God, the history
of Satan and his kingdom, so as to have as it were a fuU length
portrait of him before the mind ? If the Holy Ghost brings
it home with power it is awful. The devil is little thought of,
but 0 ! how he is round about our paths !
" Oct. 22nd. ¦ — We have been anchoring in a beautiful Uttle
bay, with the small Indian viUage of Vingola, at the bottom,
buried in trees ; a few canoes are scattered about, fishing, and
the banks, as it is after the monsoon, are covered with verdure.
Amidst it aU, there is this sad, sad thought — man has not here
become the temple of God. Satan reigns over him with
uncontrolled dominion.
" In reading Rom. iv and v, my soul feels the sweetness, the
simplicity, the suitableness of faith for justification. I do so
see how it brings peace and joy in God. He is so gracious,
enabling my heart to. rest only on Christ's acts of love, and not
on its melancholy services. It is the faith which worketh by
love that justifies God's elect, but this faith is surely the fruit of
a sense of gratuitous mercy, of contemplating ' the abundance
of the grace and gift of righteousness :' ' we love Him because
He first loved us ;' as a work, I renounce my faith and works
alike, and place no confidence in them ; and if I desire to serve
Christ and His most lovely Bride, with all my powers day and
night, it is not that I may be higher here or hereafter, but that

THE YOUNG ARAB OF SYRIA. 207
the Lord may be glorified, and the Church helped on to seek
her true enjoyment, in fulfiUing all the wUl of Christ : this is
my reward, and rich indeed it is. A natural mind seeks natural
rewards, which are selfish, a spiritual mind seeks spiritual
rewards, which are unselfish, and spring from being aUowed to
contribute to the glory and blessing of others. I do not deny
the doctrine of rewards, but only wish to change the motive.
As when men say, are not all things given us richly to enjoy ?
certainly ; but a natural man enjoys, in spending on his selfish
ness ; a saint, in spending for the Lord, the Church, and the
world ; both enjoy, but according to their natures. This view
has eased my heart of many a sad thought, and enabled me to
feel reconciled, nay, encouraged, to a life of labour, and suffering,
and sacrifice, with the full expectation of the sweetest rewards.
Before the Spirit taught me this from the Word of God aU was
darkness. I always thought on rewards as something directly
personal, instead of corporate, and coming through that sweet
consideration that all my brother's glories, and blessings, and
happinesses are my own, as all his humiUations and sorrows
are ; so that we seem to live only as our brethren stand fast
in the faith. I feel that our blessings, glory, and exaltation,
were our dear and blessed Lord's reward, in union with His
Father's glory. This reward was with Him, bringing many
sons to glory, and that through suffering.
" Do not you think that Rom. vi, 3, 4 shows why the form
of immersion in baptism was chosen, being the fittest to
shadow forth our death and resurrection with Christ ? I lay
no great stress on forms, but I love the spirit of obedience.
The loveliest part of a child's character, and the most marred
by the fall, is simple, unquestioning obedience, and willing de
pendence. O, indeed, we would be as gods, even after aU our
sad experience ! May we be willing to sit at our dear Lord's
feet, and learn of Him, for He was meek and lowly inheart ;
then, and not till then, we shall find rest to our souls.
" I have with me a young Arab of Syria, named Mokayel, in
whom I am very deeply interested ; he was originally a Greek
Christian, and has been in England and France and various

208 THOUGHTS ON ROM. VL,
places. He has nearly renounced the errors of the Greek
Church, and I constantly hope has really apprehended his
interest in Jesus ; he has just been saying to me, ' my desire
of the Lord is, to be promoted to be a preacher of the Gospel
among my people, travelling from city to city.' This has been
my secret prayer for him ; how encouraging, then, that the
Lord has put it in his heart to desire it. We purpose spending
the next five or six months together at Jaffna in Ceylon,
prosecuting an Arabic work which I have in hand, and, if it
may be, at the same time help him to find the way to the
Shepherd's tents. There are, I think, at Jaffna twelve mission
aries of all kinds and their wives, and most powerful awakenings
have taken place, extending even among the children, much as
in America ; but you shall, the Lord sparing me, hear more
from thence. Will you let this dear youth, Mokayel, occupy a
place in your prayers 1 Dear Cotton brought him from Syria,
and wished him to perfect himself in English among the
brethren at Jaffna, who are, I hear, very dear devoted servants
of God.
" What an instructive chapter the vith of Rom. is ; how it
points out that there is to be a holy employment of those
members that once served sin. I could not help desiring to be
perfect, not purely because I cannot be content to be unhappy, —
and every measure of sin is a measure of unhappiness, — but because
I cannot endure the thought of cherishing what dishonours my
Father, and wounds Christ. If I seek perfection, it is only in
and by Christ, by seeing in the depths of my soul, and feeling
in all the affections of my heart, all those things to be lovely
and beautiful in Christ, which God the Father sees to be so.
It is by the Spirit's taking of the things of Jesus, and revealing
them unto us, that we are changed from glory to glory. Christ
says, ' herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit,'
and if we abide in Him, we shall. Is it not a swe"et fruit of
unconditional salvation, that it has taught the soul to esteem
God's will concerning all things to be right ? Imperfect obedience
to the divine will can only be, I conceive, the fruit of imperfect
love. Does not our dear Lord say, ' he that hath my command-

PERSONAL LOVE TO CHRIST. 209
ments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.' Not merely
that one commandment to believe in Him, the greatest and
most blessed fountain of the rest, but every one that He has
uttered ? We cannot be mistaken in the meaning, because, as
if the Lord thought it could not be too often, or too clearly ex
pressed, He says in the next chapter, ' If ye keep my command
ments ye shall abide in my love ; even as I have kept my Father's
commandments and abide in his love' How He kept His
Father's, all agree, why then should we doubt in what sense we
are to endeavour to keep His 1 Our Lord says He told them
these things that His joy might remain in them, and that
their joy might be full. And if I know anything of a con
verted sinner's soul feeling the power of love, and only desiring
to express it, and to be near the object of his love, the possi
bility of such enjoyment being revealed by Christ was indeed
a subject of joy. But in the way most people seem to look at
service and obedience, it could only be a burthen and source of
sorrow. How true it is in natural love that labour loses its
character when the object is beloved. Let any one but feel
that any plan brings an object beloved, yet distant, nearer, and
the very thing, which would have been in other circumstances a
trouble, becomes the instrument of happiness and a positive source
of joy. I feel what we want is personal attachment to our
dear Lord, and all thoughts of trouble in His service would fly
like the mists upon the mountain tops, before the rising sun.
" Oct. 23rd. — After beating about for many hours, we at last
anchored again astern of where we were the preceding day :
(how many a time has my soul known a similar experience.)
On the springing up of the land breeze we again set sail, and are
now, at 5 A. m., pursuing our course. The sun is just rising over
the Ghauts in splendid majesty, gilding the few clouds that are
visible, yet it rather offends than comforts me, because I cannot
bear its heat or brightness : how like our reception of the true
light ; we seek a shelter from its brightness.
" Do you not feel you have a precious preeminence as one of
the elect of God, and some especial reason for adoring love and
gratitude ? it is so sweet to me to think that to my Father's

210 CLEAVING TO JESUS.
love in Christ I owe my all, a wanderer without a wish to love
Him. He sought me, found me, adopted me and made me His.
By our union with the world, we have altogether lost that testi
mony of God being on our side, which Rahab speaks of to
the spies, (Josh, ii, 9—11,) the 'fear of us' being put into the
hearts of our enemies, because God is among us. (See also
Judges vu, 14, and a number of similar passages.) He has now
no faithful witness in us ; we have sown the ground with mixed
seed, and are everywhere ploughing with an ox and an ass,
which the Lord abhors, and how can we be blessed 1 Who now
fears the church because God is in the midst of her 1 she is now
just feared in proportion to her wealth and riches, numbers and
power, as the political unions are. How strong we should be
if we felt as the two spies did ; (Josh. U, 24 ;) but we have
sown to the wind, and are reaping the whirlwind.
" I spent three or four very happy days at Poonah, (near
Bombay,) with a dear sister whom I knew in Ireland ; she has
been studying Mahrhatta since her arrival, for the Lord's ser
vice ; the day I left she went with her husband, who is also a
Christian, into the jungle to visit the districts over which he is act
ing collector, and they will be moving about without hardly the
sight of a European for six months. The missionary there
also, a Mr. S — , is I trust a true man, but I have heard he is
about to accept a chaplaincy which he refused when he came
out. O let us pray that we may stand fast unto the end ; it is
easy to run a few years, but hard to continue faithful unto death.
Unceasingly pray that I may be so ; I see such things that my
heart has no peace or confidence but in cleaving to Jesus. My
heart was much knit to him, I went with him into the Bazaar
to preach, so it was a great blow to me to hear after my return
to Bombay that he had given up the heathen. I intend writing
to him. May the Lord blessa word sent in weakness with
His power.
"Does not the constant" recurrence of the words in our dear
Lord's history ' that the scripture might be fulfilled' and in refer
ence to such very minute particulars, lead you to expect an amazing
particularity of fulfilment in the final development of God's plans?

THOUGHTS ON ROM. XII. 211
" Oct 24th. — After finishing a letter to dear M., I came up on
deck, to my Uttle dormitory, to enjoy the fresh air and lovely
sunset. I do not often allow my heart to dweU on these beau
ties of nature, except when I am in the midst of them. I
mean I do not go after them, but whether after being shut up
all day in a Uttle cabin, very hot and busily occupied, the cool air
and the contemplation of God's wonderful works give a peculiar
spring and relief to the spirits, I do not know ; but I never
recoUect being more struck with the beauty of any scenes than
those on this coast. We are now passing a succession of beau
tiful bays, surrounded by mountains, of aU height and shapes,
clothed with verdure, and large masses of clouds are rolling
along the base of the highest, and over the heads of the lowest,
so that if the ground were blessed instead of cursed, and the
Lord and all His saints, glorious in beauty and perfect in love,
were together, we could be inconceivably happy in a scene
where we have now no resting place.
" Do you not think Rom. xu a sweet Uttle epitome of the
saint's service to his Father, to the church, and to the world? He
is to be a living sacrifice to God ; serving according to the
Spirit's gift in the church with brotherly love, preferring aU
the members' honour to his own, and giving to the world
blessings for their cursings, besides many little special injunc
tions so profitable to remember. That good and acceptable and
perfect wiU of God we are, I think, to prove, by abandoning
conformity to the world, being transformed by the renewing of
our minds.
" We have had a hot day, and a squaUy evening, yet magni
ficently fearful ; the gathering hurricane in the Ghauts was
terribly grand, and descended on us so suddenly that with great
difficulty we gathered in our mainsail ; but it has now passed
away, and all is calm again, and the moon bright. O how Uttle
a creature man feels in the midst of such scenes ! May the Lord
preserve us aU under the shadow of His wings.
" Oct. 25th. — I feel bodily self-denial much easier than that
which touches the heart ; one feels nothing at giving up all
that one could eat or drink, or be clothed with, for another's

212 KNOWLEDGE OF ARABIC.
happiness ; but to give up the objects of the heart's affections
to the Lord, and rejoice, is much more difficult, even where you
see the reason, and where you do not, it is very, very hard ; yet
/ am sure the Lord greatly delights in our trusting Him, and lying
at peace in His hands, where we see nothing, nay many things
against His plan, in the same spirit He would have had Thomas
with very Uttle light content."
Every day Mr. Groves wrote some meditation on the Scrip
tures, which he was in the habit of reading consecutively. At
this point he remarks, " My poor Arab companion is thoroughly
tired of our voyage. He says he thinks it would be a sin against
God to travel again in this manner if he can help it, for he can
neither pray nor read ; it is a great mercy to be able to do ever
so little, which, thank God, I every day can : our boat is smaU,
therefore he feels the least motion, yet, though I am very thank
ful, I would not choose this mode of Ufe.
" Oct. 26th. — Refreshed and invigorated by a cool night's
rest, I feel the very reverse of yesterday. I do not think I
ever knew tiU I came to India the effect of want of rest ;
wearied and exhausted by the day, if you have hot and sleepless
nights, you feel utterly useless.
" By letters from Bagdad I perceive they seem all given up
to the study of Persian ; this I think more absolutely determines
me to go on with Arabic, and should the Lord preserve my
health in Ceylon, I purpose for some months sitting down
regularly to study. For making progress I have never been so
favourably circumstanced since I came out as now ; I talk no
thing but Arabic from morning to night. At Bagdad, except
during the hour or two the Moollah is with me, I have Uttle
opportunity of hearing it spoken, unless in circumstances in
which I cannot demand an explanation, or by people who can
not give one. The young Arab, who not only reads and writes
his own language, but knows a good deal of Enghsh, and is
learning to parse it, is with me by night as well as by day, for
our dormitories are very simply managed ; the Uttle carpet I
sit on by day serves as my bed by night, and a cloak
covers me. / cannot tell you how comfortable it is to be independent

TRACT ON INFLUENCE. 213
of everything but the sunshine of the Lord's countenance. We are
now just passing Mangalore.
" The portion of God's word that first gave me a clear idea
of influence was I Cor. i and ii, and upon passages contained in
these two chapters and others simhar to them much of the ar
gument of my tract is founded. I do not think I have any
jealousy about preserving it as it stands, but am ready to modify
or change it as God's word, under the interpretation of the
Spirit, shall seem to require. If God has determined to use the
base things, none need be discouraged nor seek after great
things ; if He has determined to pass by the great things, no
Christian need desire to retain them, or fear lest his usefulness
be impaired by parting with them.
" My conviction from these passages, and from our dear humi
liated Lord's history in Ufe and in death, is that God has de
termined to put shame upon all human glory, that the Lord
alone may be exalted ; and if we will not serve the Lord on
these terms, we shall sow to the wind and reap the whirlwind.
I think this simple fact condemns all our present plans, that
God declares by His apostle that the wisdom of the spiritual
man's ways cannot be discerned by the natural man, whereas
our confidence is in proportion to the natural suitableness of the
means to the end : for instance, if two men go out to preach
the gospel, the one accomphshed, cultivated, and talented,
and bringing the whole of this to bear on his ministry ; the
other of equal spiritual power, but destitute of those outward
things, are we not almost instinctively led to expect that the
first will be much more successful than the second ; yet, if we
do so believe, it is in the face of scripture and of facts. God de
clares He has put the treasure into earthern vessels, that the ex
cellency of the power may be of Him and not of man. If those
human things were needed, what could justify Paul in determin
ing not to come with enticing words of man's wisdom ? Parti
cularly consider, with reference to this, 1 Cor. iii, from verse 1 8
to the end. Deeply as I am convinced of all this, the very
same thing that staggers your heart staggers ours : feeding op
poses principle. I see before me, if I pursue this path, nothing

214 THOUGHTS ON I COR. IV, AND VII.
but self-denial ; the imputation of false motives by the church
and of madness by the world. Among us our beloved J. P.
has realized most of that conformity which I desire. He. has
done things, simply and solely because he thought it the Lord's
pleasure, which have made my heart sink, whde I have praised
and blessed God for giving me such a brother ; indeed, weak as I
am, I do feel most honoured in seeing those the Lord has given
me. Dear Caiman is most humble ; wnling to do and be anything :
yea I do praise God from the ground of my heart as I ought.
" Oct. 27th. — Lord's day. — We are now fast approaching Can-
nanore, where I hope to see two or three Christians and be re
freshed by them.
"How Uttle the apostle, in 1 Cor. iv, seems to desire to set
himself up as a Pope ; he had apparently so many grounds ou
which he might have exalted himself at the expense of Apollos,
for, as far as appears, Apollos was ordained by no man, nor in
any way appointed to his work, save by God's Spirit ; neither
does it appear he had the power to confer gifts which Paul had,
yet Paul places himself and Apollos side by side, and says, we
are nothing but servants ; do not think of men above what is
written. " Do you not think the vith chapter of 1 Cor. is clear on the
subject of law ? As soon as ever we Uve really in the spirit of
our dispensation, and in the letter of it, there will be Uttle left
to go to law about, and stiU less the wish to do so. But we
first determine we must be rich, and then require the strong
arm of the law to protect our property. We make use of one false
principle to establish another, and both contradict God's word ;
yet this thought does not alarm us. I have found many con
sciences unduly troubled, or unwarrantably at ease, from the 20th
verse of 1 Cor. vU, ' Let every man abide in the same calUng
wherein he is called.' Now do you think the apostle has in
view anything Uke a general direction in all cases, or only to
lead Christians to remain content under relations that could not
be forcibly broken through, without offending against the gos
pel ? I think the apostle's saying " if thou mayest be made free
use it rather,' impUes that the cases he is considering are those

ARRIVAL AT CANNANORE. 215
wherein another person's authority interfered ; in such a case
the beUever is to look on his very servitude to man, to be a
freedom in Christ, whose freeman he is.
"What springs of comfort there are in Ps. xxxii, from ver. 6 to
the end of Ps. xxxiii. How plainly it is shewn that God never
intended His people to speak great things of any help but His !
"4 o'clock p.m. — We have just anchored in the bay of Can
nanore : the Lord's mercies have brought us hitherto in safety.
Mr. Street, the chaplain, has received me most kindly ; he was
one whom Mr. Simeon appointed ; he knows Exeter, and has,
comparatively lately, seen many whom I remember with much
interest. We are going together to-morrow to TUUcherry,
which he is most anxious to see filled by a missionary.
" Wolff left Cannonore a week ago for Bombay, so I just missed
him. By a letter from Capt. E. I learn there are 1,1 00,000 souls in
this district, and not one missionary, yet there is a most willing
ear. At the place we purpose visiting to-morrow, there were
three hundred converts, when there was a resident chaplain in
terested about them, but since his departure aU except forty
have gone over to the Roman Catholics, and Mr. S. can only
get permission to go there , once a month. Does it not furnish
an overpowering claim — 1,100,000 and not a soul to teach them ?
Surely the Lord wUl have pity on their destitution and move
the hearts of some to come and help.
" Oct. 28th. — I have been to TUUcherry, about fifteen miles
hence, where there is a most important field of labour wholly
unoccupied ; a church, and everything, and forty converts, with
out any shepherd. O, this country is wonderfully destitute ! I do
not feel a doubt that it would be most holy and right to come and
serve this poor people ; may the Lord give wdling hearts and true.*
" Oct. 29th. — The whole day I have been seeing one Christian

* It is an interesting fact that both Cannanore and TilUcherry have
been occupied for years by valued labourers who came out with Mr.
Groves in 1836. Dr. and Mrs. Gundert, after leaving Chittoor, first
lived some time at TilUcherry and then went to Cannanore, where they
still labour under the Basle Society.

216 SUCCESFUL EFFORTS TO RESTORE PEACE.
family or another, and, exhausted by the constant excitement, I
feel a relief I cannot express in retiring to my room. The
Lord is most gracious to me, yet I feel a constant fear for my
own vineyard. I do trust that the Lord is preparing men to
serve Him most truly. O, may I be able to serve the church
during my short pilgrimage, and in no case be a hindrance. I
am going, the Lord wining, to preach at the soldiers' chapel
every night during my stay. There is much excitement here
in consequence of Wolff's visit : many are enquiring, and they
who love the Lord here think that it would be well to drop
the word into the ear now open : may the Lord be with me.
" Mr. S. has preached a very harsh sermon against W., which
has wounded many, and done no good, and the whole of this
day I have been employed in endeavouring to restore peace and
harmony. It seems to me, with all W.'s eccentricities that he has
preached Christ and does so stUl, and is owned of the Spirit ; so I do
and wUl rejoice. I was almost in despair of any good being done,
yet I am satisfied souls have been edified, and some converted, so
I will pray that the good may remain and the evil be done away.
" Oct. 30th. — This evening I addressed a considerable num
ber of soldiers and others. I chose Col iii, which I think dis
appointed many, as they expected me to give an account of my
travels, &c, like my brother Wolff: this, however right in him,
I felt I could not do : that the Lord had given me no such
commission I was fully persuaded ; therefore I spoke to those
who loved Him, and endeavoured to lead them to death to the
world and life in God. My effort to effect reconciliation between
the dear friend with whom I am staying, and other dear brethren,
is, I fully hope, proceeding happily : the Lord grant it a pros
perous issue, for I am sure everything of strife is of Satan.
" Nov. 1 st. — After a day of incessant occupation, and rather
a long lecture, I write to give you the little news of the day.
The reconciliation has been effected, and the parties met here
to-day to dine, to our great joy.*
* An officer, speaking of Mr. G.'s visit to this place, said, " he found aU
in confusion and left all in peace."

PREACHING ON THE LORD'S COMING. 217
" It has been much my prayer, that the Lord would lead me
to those He chose ; pray that He may still guide me, so that I
may have much reason to rejoice in all the way He leads me.
My lecture this evening led me to consider the right apprehen
sion of Christ's blessing to us, as much connected with a right
apprehension of the nature of Satan's kingdom, and his works
and ways.
" Nov. 2nd. — I feel the Lord is most kind to me, giving me
access to the hearts and ears of many.
" Nov. 3rd. — I have preached twice to-day, and was for some
time engaged with a most interesting young man, who came to
me desiring to know how he might be a helper to the truth.
" I have this evening been preaching on the Lord's coming.
I trust this truth is gaining ground here, where it is quite new.
Mr. Wolff, during his visit, agitated the question. I hope to
deepen the impression, and to shew the practical bearing of the
question. I have almost determined to remain here a few days
longer, as the Lord gives me an open door to disseminate those
principles which I feel so precious to the church. There is ano
ther dear christian family here who live on as Uttle as they can,
and give the remainder to the poor. May the Lord give us
strength to finish our course ten times more devotedly than we
began it, and may our Lord's will become increasingly precious
to us.
" Nov. 4th. — With regard to the reign of the Lord, what a
wonderful chapter is Jer. xxni, 4 — 8. O, blessed, holy, happy,
day ; then we shall meet, if not before. I should be most un
happy if the Lord's love did not overwhelm me, but I cannot
think of His ways without praise.
" I have heard to-day that the effect of Mr. Wolff's preaching
here among the soldiers was wonderful ; he spared none and
especially not the Pope, yet even the Roman Catholics in
the regiment offered with the rest to give him a day's pay, should
he want it : this is nice, yet there are extraordinary things mixed
up with all this apparent power.
" Nov. 5th. — I have to-day seen a heathen who has just come
to the knowledge of the truth, and who desires baptism ; his

218 LEAVES CANNANORE FOR CALICUT.
attention was first awakened to the foUy of idolatry by a tract
given him by Mr. S.'s schoolmaster, a native. He became un
easy about his soul, and has been praying with his schoolmaster
every day. The dear brother whom I have mentioned before,
has determined to join our Uttle party, and thus he leaves the
army ; you would love and value him much. I have been much
edified to day by meditation on 1 Cor. xv, 23 — 28 : the order
of the first resurrection, the reign of Christ and subjection of
all opposition, and then the surrender of the kingdom seems so
clear. " Cannanore Bay, Nov. 6th. — I am now just leaving, and I can
not teU you how much reason I have to be thankful for this
visit, more especiaUy with respect to those views which I am so
anxious to see extending in the church of God. I do think all
those who really love the prosperity of that church would be
satisfied, that one of their members, so weak and worthless as
myself, should be employed as I have been. I cannot have a
doubt that I had better be labouring here than in England,
whether the object be the helping the church, or, under the
Lord's most gracious guidance and blessing, providing for the
pubUcation of the precious name of Jesus, to ears that never
yet have heard it.
" Do you not think it very encouraging in suffering to feel as
in the first chap. 2 Cor. ? We are thereby fitted to comfort others
in their trials, besides the happy thought, that we are not
merely to be sufferers with Christ, but also to reign with Him.
" Nov. 7th. — After a long and very tedious voyage, we ar
rived at Calicut. Instead of being twelve hours, as we expected,
we were thirty-two, and during the night we had very heavy
thunder and lightning and rain ; thus I feel a little disabled to
day. I have met with a kind reception from the judge here, a
Mr. Nelson, and his wife. They are anxious about missionary la
bours, and have now sent for a catechist to go through the dis
trict preaching and distributing tracts. I never feel more deeply
interested than when I see any hope for this wretched country.
" More than twenty years ago, when I was a school boy, at
tending Mr. Owen's preaching at Fulham, India (I know not

REMARKS ON 2 COR. II, 12. 219
how or why) occupied my wishes, for I knew not Christ. I have
often desired to go to TinneveUy, but circumstances directed my
course elsewhere ; how strange that, without any design or
thought about it when I left Bagdad, I should find myself most
deeply engaged in seeking to help on the spiritual prosperity of
this country. And as I desire to break down caste among the
Hindoos, to pave the way for the reception of truth, so do I de
sire to break down caste in the Christian church, to prepare the
way for pubUshing it.
" I am in hopes that Mr. Rhenius is not positively determined
to leave, and I write to him this day (d. v.) to let him know I
am hastening to see him.
" Nov. 8th. — Did it ever strike you that Paul, (2 Cor. u, 1 2,)
though he had a door opened to him of the Lord at Troas, had
no rest because he found not Titus, but took leave of them and
went into Macedonia ? How few would have sympathy with
any one now in stating a similar reason for quitting a position,
where he had work to do. When I read God's word I always
feel relief. I see man as he is, a poor, weak being, and have no
thought of contemplating him in another point of view. But
it seems to me often, that Christians now often endeavour to
shew their Christianity by the unearthly rules they propose for
others, considering a missionary as a mere spiritual existence,
rather than by the hoUness and devotedness of their own walk.
Do you not think we are generaUy very ignorant of Satan's de
vices 1 1 cannot but think we are, and that very few think them
a subject of study.
" How wonderful the connection between the humiliation of
the minister, as the instrument by which God's Spirit works, and
the Ufe of those ministered to. (2 Cor. iv, 7 — 12.) O, how
Uttle my soul knows of bearing about in the body the dying of
the Lord Jesus, how then should His holy, heavenly life be mani
fested ! What would I give to know more what it is to die daily !
" Nov. 9th. — The Lord has brought me to another day, happy
in having been allowed to gain so much ground on my host and
hostess that we part, I believe, with deep regret on both sides.
I should be but too happy, if the Lord had not poured sorrow

220 ISRAEL AND THE MANNA.
into my cup. Mr. Nelson said at parting, ' May the Lord pre
serve and bless you on your way ; and though I cannot yet
agree with many views you entertain, I regret we so soon part,
and trust we shaU soon meet again.' He said many other kind
things which I did not deserve ; and thus I leave a place, which
promised so little, with gratitude and thankfulness.* Pray for
all who love the Lord in India, and for me especially, that I
may be the instrument in the Lord's hands to promote the liberty
and love of the church.
" How very gracious are the terms of reconciliation : (2 Cor.
v, 18 — 2l:) the non-imputation of our sin, and the laying it on
Christ that we may have the righteousness of God as ours : it is
so perfect an act of grace, in order that we may love God.
" What a wonderful encouragement to the Lord's children, to
a holy separation to their Father's service, to think that God
wfll dwell in them and walk in them, and they shall be His sons
and daughters. (2 Cor. vi, 16 — 18; xii, 1.) How royally we
ought to walk ! The world's greatest concerns ought really to be
considered ignoble occupations, except as they are necessary to
the end we have in view.
" Nov. \0th. — After a quiet night, we have risen to a beautiful
day, and are sailing close to a shore covered with cocoa nut
trees, and thickly studded with cottages. Our next point is
Cochin, a famous place for Jews, and where a church missionary,
a Mr. R  , resides : the distance from Calicut is about a hun
dred miles.
" I think the principle laid down for the guidance of the
saints in 2 Cor. viii, 14, is most beautiful. As it was with
Israel and the manna, so it should be with us ; no man should
look on his abundance otherwise than as given that he might
have the joy of contributing to a brother's need, so that the
care of the body for all its members might be fuUy seen. And
the design of God, in the generous liberality of the saints, is so
strikingly shewn in the concluding part of chap, ix, that
thanksgiving may abound unto God ; and the apostle shews
* Mr. Nelson afterwards became of one mind with Mr. Groves.

ARRIVAL AT COCHIN. 221
that it is a vain thought that our means wUl be limited by
giving ; for in the 8th verse he says, ' God is able to make all
grace abound towards you ; that ye, always having all suffi
ciency in all things, may abound to every good work.' This
has been my experience : never had I so much in my hands to
give as at this moment, when 1 have not a shilling in the world
of my own.
" We have spent anything but a quiet afternoon. We arrived
at Chawyhaut, with the hope of going gently down the back
water, which is like a river ; but when we arrived, we found no
thing prepared, as we had expected. To avoid expense I had
taken no servant who could interpret, but by the help of the
Uttle Hindostannee I knew, I arranged for the same boat to put
to sea again, and go down the coast ; and I am now writing
this wet through from passing over the surf at the mouth of
the back water.
" To-day I have been reading the account of missionary ex
ertions in India, and am much struck by our want of power.
The independents as a body seem to reject the Millennium, and
trust to an extension of the present plans for success ; but truer
views are daUy gaining ground among those who are not banded
together against increased hght.
" 0, may the Lord this night watch over you all, and increase
in all our hearts that spirit of watchfulness and anxious ex
pectation which He loves.
"Nov. \lth. — What a strange picture the 2nd Epistle to the
Corinthians gives us of the state even of ApostoUc churches ;
surely, if in the early ages of the church, allowed by all to be the
purest, it was so defiled, what ground have we to expect greater
power and greater purity. I feel unable to write, partly from
my head, which wUl not let me sit up, and partly from the boat,
which is roUing for want of wind.
"Nov. 12th. — My arrival at Cochin last evening separated
me from my paper and pen, so I could not finish my last line to
you : we were struck on the sands, and had some difficulty in
reaching our resting place at Mr. R.'s., where we met with a
kind reception. To-day I have been much struck with the

SYRIAN CHRISTIANS OF MALABAR.
stress the apostle, in his epistle to the Galatians, lays on his
commission not being in any measure human ; and that the way
in which the apostles were led to give him and Barnabas the
right hand of feUowship was that they saw the grace that was
gis*eh to them. Perhaps you may think I am proud in not sub
mitting to human authority, but of this, indeed, my heart does
not accuse me : in all civU matters I will willingly be subject,
but the liberty of the church is not mine to yield.
" Here Mr. Wolff was received very kindly by the Jews, and
they wished he had remained longer. I trust the Lord has
owned him.
" When you come in contact with the Syrian churches of Ma
labar, and see them as they reaUy are, resisting every effort for
their spiritual good, and loving darkness rather than light, your
sympathy with the early hopes of Buchanan are much
damped. Their leaders, like those of the fallen churches I have
seen, are bUnd leaders of the bUnd.
"Nov. 13th. — I hear there are about 60,000 Syrian Christians
in these parts, but their character is said to resemble that of
aU their brethren, a mixture of ignorance and pride. There is
a nice young woman who was a Mohammedan, a Jewess, and
some six or seven others, concerning whom the missionaries
feel full assurance, and of many others they have hopes.
About forty children have been given up to them by their
parents, many of whom are Roman CathoUcs. For seven or
eight, who are the chfldren of heathens, they entirely care :
they cost about £2 each yearly. Of all kinds of schools this
most meets my desires. Mrs. R  seems, in many respects, a
very superior woman, and I think the mission owes more than
half its blessing to her, not only from the greater simpUcity and
happiness of her own views of Christ, but from her keeping up
her husband's heart ; however, both seem devoted to the work
in which they are engaged, and seem to have no wish to return.
They have every morning an exposition in Malayalam to about
200 boys and girls, heathen men and women, besides Portuguese.
They ask questions; and Mr. R.'s facility in the language
seems great. I think his great trial is the want of the spirit of

LEAVES COCHIN FOR COTYAM. 223
adoption. He has not that filial freedom in his intercourse
with God which he desires, and which he must have to be happy.
" I purpose leaving this evening for Cotyam. Travelling
by night saves my days, besides being cooler ; for the Lord
generaUy enables me to sleep any where on my little carpet, at
least enough for all useful purposes. If I do not sleep, my
thoughts keep me awake, not the hardness of my bed. From
the view I have taken of this station — the first I have seen — my
heart blesses God ; thinking what has been attained, and wUl
be, should the Lord's blessing continue, well worthy leaving
country and home for. Indeed, you cannot imagine the dark
ness, profligacy, and spiritual death that reigns, where there is
no one to minister of the things of Christ, and how many bless
ings even the feeblest ministry of the truth brings. There the
way to the city of refuge is disclosed, and every soul that
is burdened may know the way of peace ; does not this thought
comfort you 1 It comforts me greatly. There is, I consider,
much want of spiritual power, much misapprehension of the genius
and character of Christianity, in relation to the position it was
to occupy in the world, yet with aU this, aU around the
Christian testimony there is in comparison of it as the sun in
his brightness, to midnight darkness.
" A Swedish Baron, on whom I have been calUng, who has
been brought to the knowledge of the truth, says, that after
the taking of Cochin by the EngUsh, there being no Protestant
ministers, numbers, even of the more respectable inhabitants,
became Roman Catholics. Many of these show forth a very
lovely charity, taking ten or twelve orphans and rearing them
with kindness and care.
" I have just been into the Jews' Town, and seen the syna
gogue ; the white and black Jews are divided into separate
castes, and worship in separate synagogues.
"Nov. 13th. — At eleven last evening, we entered our boat,
and are now proceeding along the back water to Cotyam, the
seat of the Syrian College, and the residence of the Bishop.
The late Bishop Uved on less than a penny a day. Here you
may buy ten or twelve fowls, or eighteen ducks, for about Is. 8d.

224 ACCOUNT OF COTYAM.
" How beautiful is Eph. i, 4 ! how it shows that our Father
meant to make us happy by a loving holiness ; and surely this
is salvation, to be deUvered from a hating disobedience, into a
holy service, the fruit of love. And what a beautiful prayer
Eph. i. 15 — 21 : do not forget to present this prayer for me.
" I have been seeing all about Cotyam, the celebrated centre
of the labours of the Syrian Christians : it is in a very low'state,
but, I trust, through the exertions of Mr. Pent, who has only
been here three months, it may yet arise. Certainly, he has
much sounder views than many who have gone before him here,
and is, I think, in the main aiming right ; he seems to possess
energy and decision, and other traits of character suited to the
management of a depraved and deceitful people. There is,
however, " faithful among the faithless," one preacher of righte
ousness, who goes about proclaiming Christ to his benighted,
deluded countrymen ; and I hear he gains a most welcome
reception among them.
"Nov. 15th. — I have just arrived at AUissic, the station of
the Rev. N., whom I knew when he first left England : he is here
alone, and what with translating, schools, and a hundred other
things, his hands are so full, that though he seems most anxious
to go about preaching among the people, he is not able to do it.
I do think the plan of locating missionaries singly is most per
nicious. The American plan of sending three or four together
is far, far better. Mr. N. is very kind and very candid. We
have had much communication respecting the coming of the
Lord, and are not far from being of one mind. How wonderful
is the opposition of the independents to these glorious and
ennobhng views : to a man they conspire against them. There
is no European here except occasionally a Resident, who cares
for none of these things. Consider what it must have been to
live seventeen years in such circumstances, and with very Uttle
success. Even among the two or three hundred who have come
over from heathensm, there is such weakness, to say the least, in
spiritual things, that the utmost stretch of hope barely aUows
one to think they have any part or lot in the matter. Yet
after all, as to the weakest and worst of the works I see, I would

ON FORBEARING ONE ANOTHER. 225
infinitely rather they remained and were added tO than dis
continued. " Nov. 1 6th. — Do you think We are at all as careful as it be
comes us, seeing our own great infirmities, to preserve the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace, by forbearing one another in
love ? (Eph. iv, 23.) Those exceeding hard names which we are in
the habit of hearing apphed to men, who in their views, right
or wrong, are as much changed from themselves as others who
differ from them, warn us at least to be careful about speaking
of persons, however bold we are as to truth. Rading accusa
tions were not aUowed even against Satan ; should they be
against those who profess to be brothers, many, very many of whom
are living as holily (as far as external holiness goes) as those
who condemn them ; and as to its spring, union with the holy
God, by Christ, the great day must disclose that ?
" For my own part, I do not feel a doubt that the union of
church and state, and ecclesiastical estabUshments on carnal
principles, are the hot-bed of aU those corruptions into which
many are plunged at this day ; yet the very persons who con
demn the fruit nourish the root and water it with every care.
" WTiat a beautiful Uttle sketch of the Holy Ghost's plan for
edifying the church in love, we have in Eph. iv, 1 1 — 14. What
a beautiful exhortation to us, to forgive, as God for Christ's sake
has forgiven us; to love as Christ has loved ; to be followers of such
a God, walkers in the footsteps of such a love. Let us try, as dear
chUdren, so to walk; let us help each other on in this most blessed
way. I have just read a nice little tract, or rather sermon, by
Mr. Marsh, of Colchester, on the ' Bright and Morning Star.'
" I am just entering Quilon by the back water. I have never
seen such lovely scenery, ' yet man,' as Heber says, is ' vile.' I
have been kindly received here by Mr. T  , of the London
Missionary Society. He has a boarding school for girls ; but
since his wife's death they have wanted a mother's care, yet
many of them are very promising : they read, write, work, and
know at least the truths of the gospel. There are six native
readers who go about publishing the gospel ; about sixty or
seventy have been turned from idolatry this year.

226 INCREASE OF LIGHT.
" Even the Independents are getting much more enhghtened
views, relative to the order of events in the latter days ; my
present host, though stout in his opposition to the personal
reign and the first resurrection, considers that the gospel will
not be universally accepted by the Gentiles, till the Jews are
gathered in : this breaking down gives me hope : I recollect
the time when the literal ingathering of the Jews was looked
upon as a fable.
" This night, the Lord wiUing, I go on to Travandram, the
residence of the Rajah of Travancore, the chief seat of idolatry
in the south of India ; from thence I proceed to two mission
ary stations, Nayoor and Najercoil, and after that to Pa
lamcottah."

CHAPTER IX.
JOURNEY INLAND TO PALAMCOTTAH — THE TINNEVELLY MISSION
 THE JOURNEY WITH MR. RHENIUS  VISITS TO MISSIONARY
STATIONS UP THE COUNTRY — FIRST VISIT TO THE NILGHERRY
HILLS.
Aeter completing his voyage down the western coast, which
had occupied exactly a month, we find Mr. Groves journeying
inland to visit all the stations connected with the TinneveUy
mission. We see him, under all circumstances, pursuing his
daily study of the scriptures ; and it was doubtless because he
had the word of Christ dweUing in him richly, that he was able
to admonish others, so as, in fact, to become a missionary to
missionaries. "Nov. 19 th — What a comforting thought to the saints who
suffer in this dispensation is Phil, i, 29, to feel that it is a gift
and favour. How slow we are to learn really to suffer, and to
be abased with our dear Lord. (PhU. U, 3 — 10.) However, I
think we are generaUy much more able to take up cheerfully any
measure of bodily or mental trial than that which degrades us
before the world. To see that our abasement is our glory, and
our weakness our strength, requires extraordinary faith : where-
ever I go, I perceive the evil influence of contrary principles.
I am persuaded that not following our Lord, and going down
among the people we wish to serve, destroys aU our real power ;
by remaining above them, we have power, but it is earthly. O
that the Lord would raise up some to shew us the way !
" When the truth is impressed upon a person's mind in India,
it seems to seize it with a more powerful and tenacious grasp,
than generally in England ; people are often left with God's
word alone, the professedly religious circle being very small,
and thus the views they entertain are much more scriptural.
Never was there a time when it was more important than now,

228 HEATHEN RAJAH OF TRAVANCORE.
to make every effort that they do not rivet on this land the
evils of ecclesiastical dominion, viz. the pride and earthliness
under which the established churches in Europe have groaned.
While in civil things we obey them beyond the bounds, as it is
thought, of human sufferance, patiently and meekly, let us
stand up for the Church's liberty, and not be again brought
under the yoke of bondage.
" We are now going along a canal to Travandram, where we
hope to arrive to breakfast.
"The heathen Rajah of Travancore has freed all Christians
from attending at heathen processions, to draw the cars, &c. ;
but the English government obliges its public officers to attend,
bow to the idol, make presents of shawls, gold, <fec. Are not
these crying abominations ? When I consider that professing
Christians, and some who are, I trust, real ones, have the ap
pointing of the band and the dancing women of the pagodas,
and can dismiss them for want of due attention to the abomina
tions of their calUng, the providing decorations, repairs, and
cars for the idol, I cannot but exclaim, Will not the Lord visit
for such iniquities as these ? No Mohammedans wiU do it, nor
are they required,
" Nov. 21st. — -I am constrained to write irregularly now, for
being up all day and travelUng all night, only stopping a day in
a place, I am unfit to do much, without losing the few hours
for getting information which a tropical day allows. I spent
yesterday at Nayoor, a missionary station, where there is much
deeply to interest. Nearly 4,000 persons have cast off heathen
ism, and are most open to, and most delighted with instruction,
and if there were any who had the heart to live among them in
their villages, they might be much improved ; there is a nice
girls' school, boarding about twenty-five, but wanting a mother's
care. They have also fifteen native readers constantly at work,
and about twenty-two who assist them. Mr. M. himself goes
also frequently among them, but what can one do ? a dozen are
needed. 0, that there were wiUing helpers ! Never did I feel so
deep an interest in missions; never did I see a place where twenty
such as those I know, might labour and reap richly.

REACHES PALAMCOTTAH. 229
" The scenery is magnificently beautiful. I cannot but be
struck with its variety, richness and grandeur. I could write
on this, but must not. We are now in a district where
cholera is raging ; many have died, but it is much more among
the heathen than the Christians.
" Last night a Christian brother, by pointing out to us a
short way home, sent us by such a road, that we were obliged
to walk half way over rocks and through paddy fields. The
Lord keeps me wonderfully in health. I think that mission
aries would not only be more useful, but in much better health
if they were to move about more. Sometimes for many days
and nights I know not what it is to enjoy what I should once
have called rest, yet my heart, and, I think, my body, does not
fail : the work in which I am engaged repays me richly, and
the Lord's hand appears clearer and clearer, as I advance in my
journey. At Najercoil there is a most interesting mission ; from
three to four thousand gathered from among the heathen, and
most interesting schools, particularly a girls' school of about
sixty-five. I hope, after seeing Mr. Rhenius, to return, and see
more of Najercoil. After to-night's run, which is nearly fifty
miles, I hope to have a Uttle rest and leisure,
" Pallamcottah, Nov. 22nd. — We arrived here safely, and are
in a very different country from the one we have left ; that was
mountainous and magnificent, full of wild elephants, tigers>
leopards and hyamas ; here, in the Carnatic, all is as flat as
your hand. The passage of the Ghauts is very beautiful ; we
did not see it, as we should have done by day ; but it was a
beautiful moonlight night.
"I have great hope of succeeding in the object for which I
came ; the Lord grant us grace to do right things in a right
spirit. " Nov. 23rd. — Here I am a prisoner for want of a passport ;
this is the Lord's pleasure, and it may be at least twelve days
before I can go on my way ; however, it is all well ; I have much
to hear and see that is truly interesting. There is a deeply in
teresting work going on here, one that I would strain my last
nerve to prevent from falling to the ground.

230 HIS INTEREST ABOUT NAJERCOIL.
" We are to have a general consultation on the affairs of the
mission on Monday, the Lord willing.
" I have seen the first man who embraced Christianity under
Mr. Rhenius' teaching ; a toothless, venerable old patriarch,
and others deeply interesting.
" I received the other day an interesting letter from Hernaul,
above Delhi, from Capt. S  , who has no very strong feeUngs
about reUgion, but came to Bagdad, and feels kindly towards
us. He teUs me the change he sees in India since he left, four
years ago, is immense ; prejudices that were once thought im
pregnable are giving way to the astonishment of aU. I fuUy
think, before the Lord comes, there will be an election out of aU
these countries ; yet I know not the day of His coming, there
fore endeavour to keep my garments, that it may not overtake
me by surprise. Two of the missionaries here quite agree with
our view of the Lord's personal advent.
"Dec. 1st. — I have been travelling many days about on
horseback. I set out from this place (Palamcottah) on the 27th,
after having brought the great object of my coming to a happy
issue, that of preventing my dear brother Rhenius from going
to England, which would, I fear, occasion the separating, or, at
least as far as we can see, the scattering of this most affectingly
interesting mission. I think he will now stand by the work,
should the Lord preserve him, let the Society decide as it may,
relative to those points in which they differ. He has the most
unsectarian spirit I have met with for many days.
" I have been again at Najercoil, and was truly delighted.
It is not that there is not an immense load of chaff with the
wheat, but there are really some gathered out, an election of
grace, to await the Lord's appearing ; and here also I see the
true features of the Spirit's work, and clear evidence that the
Lord has gathered a people to Himself. I rode nearly a hundred
miles on horseback, and though sometimes with great fatigue, and
even danger from rain and the flooding of the rivers, I felt weU
repaid. " On Tuesday we are to have a meeting of all the catechists,
numbering 115, and to break bread together : they aU assemble

BLESSINGS OF CHRISTIANITY. 231
here once a month, to give an account of their work. A
heathen village, a hundred miles distant, sent for a catechist the
other day, and two were selected ; one was taken ill of cholera
on the road and the other went on with the messengers.
" O, for the day when the Lord shaU come with power and
great glory : my heart is weary and my hopes for the church at
times very low.
"Dec. 6th. — On Wednesday last I went round to several of
the congregations belonging to the mission, and my heart was
truly deUghted at the sweet simplicity which prevaUed in their
religious exercises. Daily my desire is strengthening to see the
church free in the use of God's word, and in His modes of mi
nistry, every one being free to exercise the gift the Spirit has
given. "I have seen so much of the blessing Christianity brings
with it, that my whole heart desires to spend its little remain
ing strength in publishing or promoting the publication of its
precious hopes. The heathen women fly before one like a flock
of sheep, running anywhere to hide themselves ; if you speak
they will not answer, and they give no salutation ; but, in the
Christian villages, you see cleanliness and quiet, the mother with
her little children, and the grandmother standing at the wicket
gate of their Uttle hut, to bid you welcome, and with an ex
pression of countenance that you cannot doubt they are glad to
see you. The other evening, when we had a little meeting at a
village, eight families of the Maravers or thief caste came de
siring Christian instruction ; and in the village which sent for
a teacher there were twenty-five families ready to submit to
Christian instruction ; in fact, in every direction, they are
anxious to hear.
" Though often faint, I trust we are pursuing : but I have a
deep and lasting sorrow that I make so little use of those holy
and blessed principles which I sometimes think I feel, and which
the -Lord allows, in my little ministry, to be so evidently His
word to others and therefore powerful ; yet I feel constantly
ashamed to dehver to others the message the Lord has given
me, lest they should say ' Physician, heal thyself.'

232 LOVE OF THE NATIVE CONVERTS.
" The Lord is so good to me in many, many ways that I am
ashamed and confounded. I should be afraid to tell of all His
kindness towards me, lest you should think I was boasting
myself in His goodness ; but I do so feel that He is with me,
and that I am in my proper work.
" Dec. 8th. — How encouraging is James i, 5 — 7 to those who
can realize God's love and faithfulness, and can indeed ask in
faith nothing wavering, which I often feel very difficult.
" How wonderful our disobedience to such precepts as those
relative to the poor and rich. (James U.) In these poor Chris
tian churches, all sit on the ground together, and none are greater
or less than the other : this makes my visit the happier. I have
just been spending an hour or two with a most dear native bro
ther, and the account he has given me of the simple faith and
the prayers of the poor people in these congregations is wonder
ful, and puts me to shame. I have collected a number of these
httle evidences which let you more into the real work than the
most lengthened general accounts. I am so suspicious of my own
deceitful heart ; I think I mean to serve my most gracious Lord,
but I fear lest some selfishness twine itself round the pur
pose. I take with me from hence a dear Christian youth.
[This was Aroolappen, who will often be referred to in the nar
rative.] "Dec. 11th. — We are now preparing to leave this place, and
I do it with much regret. I have the strongest conviction of
the power of religion among this poor people. When Mr.
Schmidt left the mission, owing to some difficulties he had with
the Society, and was in great straits, the poor converts, quite
unknown to Mr. Rhenius, subscribed among themselves 200
rupees. The value of this testimony can only be estimated by
one who knows the extreme poverty of these people, and their
fondness, as heathen, for money.
" I am now going to give my mind to learning Tamil, and
having with me an incomparable teacher, for a few days, I shall
have little opportunity of writing in my Journal.
"Dec. 13th. — After a short night's run to Satoor and
Verdoopathy, I sit down again to write. Is it not strange

SIMPLE FAITH AMONG NATIVE CHRISTIANS. 233
that at so early a period, as when James wrote, they should
have begun to separate the faith from the obedience of the
Gospel ; and if it required to be watched against, when they
had such living epistles around them, how much more have we
need to watch, who scarcely see a ray of that self-sacrificing
devotedness, in which the primitive Church abounded.
" There is much in this simple people that would delight you ;
their faith on the Word of God is so simple : if they are sick, or
even their cattle, to Him they go, if they have any trouble in
their famUies, to Him they go ; should their wives run away,
(which on then* becoming Christians is very common,) still they
go to the Lord ; they seem to think nothing above or beneath
His care. I often wish I had the simplicity, or the firmness,
that some of them manifest. ReaUy, I think, Mr. Rhenius
could put by the thought that was nearest his heart, to consider
it again on the morrow, as easily as I could a book ; to this I
feel perfectly unequal ; the Lord enables me with patience, and
even at times with much profit, to bear the most painful dis
appointments, yet as for getting rid of the weight, I cannot ;
and I have the impression that I should lose more than I
should gain, if I could, for I think I have deep enjoyments,
that he does not know, and communion with hearts, from which
he would feel estranged, by want of sympathy. I often think I
would not have gone through one trial less than I have, for I
feel they were all necessary to make me able to minister at all
to His Church's edification, and to say in the end, the Lord is
very pitiful. I consider the testimony of Jesus is to be published
through every land, before the Bridegroom comes ; this makes
my heart feel an interest in heathens, that we may hasten the
coming of the Lord. I feel desolate in this world, so perfectly
a houseless stranger in fact, whUst in spirit I am often as happy
as in the days that are past, when the Lord's candle shone in
my dweUing ; the Lord has won by His love my whole confi
dence, and my soul reposes in Him. I see by all the goodness
He is showing me, that all the happiness He can aUow me, even
here, He will. He gives me, wherever I go, brothers and
sisters, houses and lands, all and more than I want ; but of

234 FATHERLY CHARACTER OF GOD.
brothers and sisters I can never have enough tiU my heart is
filled with all the redeemed of the Lord. I cannot teU you how
kindly the Lord disposes aU towards me, yet the consciousness
we must part destroys the possibiUty of the heart's repose
among brethren here, even while we are together, and fixes all
our hopes on that day when the holy family shaU be complete
with their exalted Head.
"Dec. \4th. — I have just arrived at Madura, the point
towards which I think we should bend our steps, if the Lord
lead us to labour in India.
" I was almost forgetting, tiU a letter from Mr. Bellett of
Dublin reminded me, that I was the first to propose that simple
principle of union, the love of Jesus, instead of oneness of judg
ment in minor things, things that may consist with a true love
to Jesus. Little did I then think to see that dear brother, and
many others, as united in a holy, loving fellowship on these
blessed principles, and that they are extending ; here the Lord
allows me blessed encouragement. I see a most gracious open
ing in India for your unworthy brother.
" I had the other day a letter from a dear young civilian, in
which he teUs me his purpose of devoting all he has to God.
The Uttle tract on ' Christian Devotedness ' has been once
pubhshed in India, and there is to be another edition ; a dear
native minister of Christ, as black as jet, offered ten rupees
towards it, and he is a poor man.
" Much enquiry has arisen here in consequence of a sermon I
preached, on the neglect of the due consideration of the Fatherly
character of God, one of the peculiar prerogatives of which is,
that He should provide for His children as He likes ; and that
they should never seek even the shadow of independence of Him,
the deshe for which was the first great sin of Satan. One of
the sweetest proofs of our return to God, as dear chUdren, is,
that we have learnt to rest on Him with unlimited trust, and do
not care for those things on which the hearts of the Gentiles
are set. My Lord seems to assure me He will uphold His poor
servant, notwithstanding all his unimaginable weakness, because
He knows I have told Him He shaU do as he lists with me,

GOD'S OBJECT IN HIS CHILDREN. 235
and I will not rebel, though it should involve ten times
more unhappiness in this world than I have ever yet felt,
and that I am fully prepared, by His grace, to foUow
His way and not my own. I know I have been very
unsubdued to that wUl, and the Lord therefore dealt with
me as a Father, who knew where my disease was and the
remedy. "Is there not something very gracious in the constant
recurrence of the assurance that we are God's dear children,
in order to stimulate us to aim after the holy Ukeness of our
heavenly Father. See 1 Pet. i, 14; also Eph. v, 1, and we
are also incited by the preciousness of the price of our re
demption, that we might no longer Uve unto ourselves, but
unto Him who died for us, and rose again. 1 Pet. U, 9 shows
why we should be so exalted ; a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a pecuUar people, that we may be able to show forth the
wondrous virtues (see margin) of Him who was the true Light.
May the Lord abundantly anoint us with the anointing of the
Spirit, that we .may fulfil our exalted office worthily. How
often the character of strangers and pilgrims, 1 Pet. U, 2, is
pressed upon us in Scripture. To think that our Father
should so prize this character in us that He should say, there
fore He is not ashamed to be caUed their God, the pilgrims
God, but has prepared for them a city.
"Heb. xi, 13 — 16. How beautiful that expression is, 'Love
one another with a pure heart fervently '! how essential in order
to bear each other's burthens. 1 Pet. i, 22. I long to enter
into all the spiritual power of the concluding verses of chap. U,
and for the same reason our perfect Example did, ' committing
Himself to Him that judgeth righteously.'
" I am so happy to-day ; quite alone in a little bungalow near
the house of the judge of the district at which I am staying; I
seem for a moment quite to revive, and my spirit seems full of
peace ; O, that it may continue, that I may be able to speak of
Him, who doeth all things well, as I ought !
"Dec. \5th. — There was a time when I thought less of the
importance of being ' Uviug epistles ' than I do now, and yet

236 RELICS OF FORMER GREATNESS.
even then I thought much of the force of example as the means
of spreading God's word.
"Dec. 16. — After a forty mile run, we are now arrived at
Dindegal. Wherever you go in this country you see relics of
former greatness, fortifications that to these people must have
been impregnable, strongholds now sinking into ruins, and
palaces of former kings falhng to decay. 0, when wUl the
earth see violence no more, and righteousness and peace and
love dweU in the habitations that are now full of cruelty !
" I am sitting in a little native choultry for travelling, with
Mr. and Mrs. Rhenius and the little baby by me*
" My poor Arab has gone to join Captain Cotton, full of
impressions as to our true state in the world, that of houseless
strangers. " Do you not think from 2 Peter i, 16 ; that in making
known the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Apostle showed that it would be such as they had seen in the
Mount, conjoined with what was revealed by the more sure
word of prophecy : so that those two united together, were the
foundation of their confidence, as to what the humiUated
Jesus should become ? and only think, we are to be like Him !
yes, such children as we, who now, if our hearts be but rent a
little, know not where to find a resting-place, shalhfin that day,.
be acknowledged as having loved and served Him, and sought
His glory. I do very earnestly pray that I may have every
selfish feeling swaUowed up more and more, by desires for my
Lord's exaltation. And of any desires that do not agree with
it, first, that I may see their discordance, and then have grace
to present all the springs of my anxiety to Him to heal the
bitterness of their waters, that I may be able to serve Him
with more meekness and quietness of heart.
" Does not 2 Peter n, 9 — 12, show that we ought to have
much more fear of speaking against the powers that be, than
many Christians seem to imagine ?
* It seems that Mr. and Mrs. Rhenius, with their child, went some
way with Mr. Groves, when he left TinneveUy.

DETERMINATION TO LABOUR IN INDIA. 237
" Dec. 18th. — We have had a very interesting morning. Mr.
Rhenius has been preaching to the people, and distributing
tracts, which they all most anxiously care after, and some of
them said they wanted books about Christ. This is the district
from whence, about six months ago, messengers were sent to
Palamcottah for Christian teachers ; to these teachers twenty-
five families immediately joined themselves, but five of them
went back. However, many stand firm, and we trust this will
be a place where ere long we shall see a mission of peace,
beseeching men to be reconciled to God. We have now the
Tassildar on his visit of ceremony to us, and Mr. Rhenius is
preaching to him that truth which may save him ; he sent him
to-day a little packet of tracts ; there is something in this that
does revive my heart, and makes me hope I shall yet one day
be a helper, however humble, in this blessed work.
" There is something very simple in the house afforded by a
palanquin ; it is at once your library, your sitting-room, your
bed, though only six feet long, two and a half wide, and two
and a half high.
" I feel more and more determined, the Lord enabhng me,
to labour in this country, for reasons which are, I think, known
to you. I cannot remain at Bagdad, and this is an additional
inducement. I feel it was most kind of the Lord thus to deal
with me, and to prepare me a place in the wUderness, so that
my heart has not a doubt where it should be.
" I have to-day a quiet room in a quiet bungalow, in the
midst of the jungle. You do not know how sweet the rest is to
one harassed by being continually in public, or, I rather should
say, with others. For many months I have hardly known, save
in the night watches, when others were asleep, that no eye saw
me save His that never slumbers. The bustle and excitement
to which I have been continually exposed in India, have often
had power to expel thoughts that pained me, but they never
brought peace to my soul, or power to suffer meekly or
patiently. There is more strength acquired to the soul by tears
in retirement, than by any transitory joy, though it be true
from excitement, that is if Jesus be with you.

238

LABOURS OF MR. RHENIUS.

" I feel I have Uberty of the Lord to go to England long
since, but I would not use my Uberty, tiU, in His service, I could
simply and happily go, and this He has now more than given
me. "Dec. 19th. — Mr. Rhenius has been out again among the
people, and though this is but twenty-five miles from a very
important and long estabhshed mission station, nothing has
been done here. O, there is much wanting in India ! the
thought of interesting you all in this most interesting country,
greatly delights me. There is already here a goodly Uttle band
whom the Lord has made willing to seek His glory and their
graves, and that of all they possess, that they may find the
fruit of their labour in the day of the resurrection of the saints
of God.
" I do not think our Lord is looked on in Scripture, as the
second Adam in relation to His humanity simply, but as the
Spiritual Head of a Spiritual family, in contradistinction to the
natural head of a natural family. He put Himself into the
circumstances of the bond-slaves of death to lead them to the
kingdom of Ught. I enter with my whole heart into the
practical use you make of the Lord's Ufe and character : surely
it is the great book for our education in divine knowledge ; and
it is because we have been so disposed to look off this blessed
manifestation of God to wretched sinners like ourselves, that
we have sunk from generation to generation ; and we can only
rise by going back to that feeling, that the character and person
of Jesus alone are to be traced and foUowed after in the read
ing of God's word.
" Dec. 20th. — The place the prayers of saints occupy (Rev. v,
8) as the incense wherewith the golden vials of the elders are
full, is very comforting to me. I have sometimes a deep con
viction I know Uttle of what prayer is as a state ; it is not
that I never pray, but I often think I pray when I do not ; yet
how wonderful it is we are made kings and priests unto God,
and shaU reign on the earth ; yes, though our path be strewed with
thorns, this is the end : let us then encourage one another to follow
the footsteps of the great Shepherd of the sheep, that we

LIBERALITY OF A NATIVE PRINCESS. 239
may at His appearing be found of Him without spot and
blameless. " We are this morning arrived at Coimbetoor ; the thermo
meter was down to 74° during the night, which I now feel
very cool. How strangely we are constituted ! this is summer
heat in England, and here the cold of winter. Mr. Addis, the
missionary, has been six years in India, and three years at this
place ; he has about thirty converts, and is evidently making
progress ; but in this district, which contains 800,000 souls,
there is only himself. His labours extend about thirty miles
round, but how little can one man do ! O, that the Lord may
provide more, at least, to pubhsh the testimony of Jesus. Mr.
A. is very free and open as to the truth, and would, I think, be
deUghted to act with us in brotherly union, as I believe he is
beginning to see and appreciate something of the blessedness of
those principles on which we act. This is another Uttle en
couragement from the Lord.
" I have just heard that bishop Wilson has received from
some native princess 150,000 rupees; 100,000 for missionary
objects, and the remaining 50,000 for the liberation of poor
debtors, and for other benevolent objects. The Lord lets even
the heathen put the parsimony of professing Christians to
shame. "We have a long run to-night — 55 miles, to the top of the
Nilgherries. "Dec. 22nd. — Here at Ootacamund, on the top of the NU-
gherries, there is quite an English scene. O, how many things
reminded me of places, persons and things that are past !
Whilst ascending the beautiful Ghaut, we were delighted by the
wUd magnificence of nature. Had righteousness and peace
dwelt there, it would have been a lovely scene, but almost
every face we saw, bore the very stamp of idolatry. Towards
the top, I saw some common fern, wild bramble, arbutus, wdd
strawberries, raspberries, and I thought on the days when I saw
them last. On arriving at the summit, I was so cold that I
laid aside my white clothing, and I am now clothed from head
to foot as in England, and not at all too warm. The dear

240 ANOTHER EVIDENCE OF GOD'S GRACE.
brother and sister with whom I am staying, are such as my
soul truly loves and delights in, so simple, so true, so full of
faith. He, many years ago, entertained those Views of pro
perty that we do, and therefore determined never to marry till
he found one who agreed with him on this point, knowing it
was one which must affect the whole plan of Ufe ; thus he had
to wait till he was six and thirty, and now he has a very choice
partner. They are longing to see the Church of God unite on
the simple ground of the love of Jesus. As the objects of love
become more numerous, may our hearts be enlarged and the
intensity of our love towards each increase. The dear Schmidts
left the Church Missionary Society, and cast themselves simply
on the Lord, and their hearts seem now to overflow when they
recount the Lord's goodness to them in their extremities ; they
have, however, been induced to join the Society again, my
whole soul feels, with a diminution of moral power. His mind has
been in such a state of excitement, that I am afraid to say to
him all I think ; let us pray that we may not turn back even in
the smaUest matters.
" Dec. 23rd. — I have again another evidence of the Lord's
goodness. I had a letter last evening from a young officer in
the artillery, whom I mentioned having met at Quilon ; he has
made up his mind, if he can get leave, to go with me to Bag
dad ; and then to think over and pray with us on the path the
Lord would have him follow. I think he will quit that
wretched profession of learning to destroy his species, and enter
on the ministration of the word of life. Yet it requires great
faith to give„up a provision, however uncongenial the profession,
and to cast oneself in simple dependance on the Lord. How
this reveals the hidden springs of infidelity that are in the
heart. "Dec. 24th. — Is there not wonderful instruction in Rev. xn,
11 ; the saints' source of victory, the blood of the Lamb and
the word of their testimony, and their fearlessness of death !
Sometimes I think I am getting a little .Ught on the book of
the Revelation, then again all seems darkness.
" Christmas-Day. — May the remembrance, of the coming of

MELANCHOLY THOUGHTS. 241
the Lord of life to tabernacle in this land of darkness and
death, be sweet and comforting to us all, and lead our hearts
more earnestly to look out for His glorious appearing.
" Dec. 27th. — Do you not think the circumstances that sur
round the second verse of Rev. xx, and those that surround the
first verse of Isaiah xxvii, point out strikingly their common
object and time? When shall we enter the pearly gates and
walk the golden streets ? May it not be better to join the
first verse of the xxist chapter, to the last of the xxth, and then
consider the description of the New Jerusalem that follows, as
a detached prophecy ? for we can hardly conceive that after the
final judgment spoken of in chapter xx, there will be
any state into which the nations bring their glory : this
clearly seems to refer, does it not, to the millennial king
dom ? yet I confess the new heaven and the new earth
are so introduced, that they seem to refer rather to the
millennial than the final state, about which, indeed, very, very
little is said.
" Dec. 28th. — As I move among Christians, the thought often
strikes me, how exceedingly they mar their own peace. Hus
bands and wives, brothers and sisters, are continually ruining
each other's happiness about things that are not worth a second
thought ; and though you can put your finger upon the diseased
spot in the soul from whence the discord arises, those whom you
love and wish to make happy will not see it. 0, how much
must the whole Church grieve our dear, and gracious, and most
long-suffering Lord ! Yesterday was to me a very sad day ; it
might arise from unconscious rebelhon in my own heart ; but I
do not really know that I rebel, for if I feel the Lord has dealt
hardly with me as a man, I am sure He has dealt with me most
graciously, yea, most gently and compassionately, as a saint ; and
I think I have truly submitted to the Lord : my impression is
that it arose from contemplating the weakness of those I wish
to see perfect, and then all my thoughts began to be tinctured
with sadness, and I said in my heart, if we are aU always to
remain thus, how can the Church prosper 1 what is the use of
going from land to land, and from people to people, desiring to
R

242 SIMPLE FAITH AND OBEDIENCE.
promote love and joy and peace in the Holy Ghost ? and at last
I could have almost said, like EUjah, 'it is enough.'
" In reading to-day the third of Matthew, verse 15, 1 am much
struck with the humiUty of our great Exemplar. He does not
say, what can baptism do ? or what can it not do ? but, if it be
His Father's appointment, the least thing is as much an act of
' righteousness ' as the greatest. Indeed, it is these things that
very much manifest a ehild-like spirit. To obey, when you see
a plain and palpable reason, is nothing ; but to obey, because He
hath enjoined it, though we see nothing to issue from it, is true
obedience. " I often feel how blessed that simple faith is that realises all
His will as a sufficient source of joy, and accepts all His ways
with thankfulness. I feel I have only yet attained submission.
O, that my selfish soul knew that only abiding source of peace !
I am not happy to think of any will but His prevailing,
but I cannot yet bear that my heart's secret settled wishes
should be destroyed.
" The natives of the hills have no idols, and were a very
simple race when first discovered, but the coming of Europeans
has destroyed their simphcity, and introduced many vices ;
they knew nothing of money, originally, but now they are most
importunate beggars ; they knew hot the use of intoxicating
drink, now they eagerly seek it.
" Dec. 29th. — I have this morning been reading two or three
times Matt, v, and reaUy, the more I read, the more I feel
our incalculable lowness, not only of attainment, but of aim :
we do not even strive after those great and glorious things that
seem promised so clearly to faith, and which are pressed upon
us in order that we may be perfect as our Father which is in
heaven is perfect. There is in this chapter a depth of humilia
tion, a reality of seff-denial, an extent of forbearance, that the
poor weak heart stands appalled before, and how hard to mani
fest the love it commands !
" Dec. 30th. — I received yesterday a letter, at once affecting
and delightful, from dear Start, with whom Caldecott was to
have gone out had his health permitted. Start has just lost his

CONCLUSION OF THE YEAR. 243
dear wife. He says, ' Yes, the Lord has taken from me my dear
partner ; but, blessed be His holy name, He did not take her
till He had enabled her, who had been aU her Christian life a
trembling, downcast beUever, to see her interest in the blood of
Jesus. Rich, rich were the consolations which were poured into
her soul. . . I will not say more tUl we meet, then we shall
find it a topic to dwell on with thankfulness and prayer.'
" How full of instruction, how full of warning, is Matt, vii,
and how full of encouragement to those who knock and seek to
press forward on the heavenly road !
" I have just met another gentleman, a civiUan, who seemed
quite deUghted at the thought of supporting a missionary at
his own expense.
" Mr. Schmidt teUs me there are numbers of Mohammedans,
who come up to the hills for traffic, who seem wiUing to hear
and to receive books; certainly, bad as Mohammedans are here,
they are incalculably more accessible than those in Bagdad,
which is now, with respect to Mohammedanism, what Rome is
with respect to popery — the strong tower and chief fortress of
their abominations.
" I am now just concluding a year that has been to me a
very eventful one, with a deep sense of God's goodness in allow
ing me at aU to serve Him. I do not feel that I stand yet
where I ought to, or would ; yet, on reviewing my whole
spiritual life, I am not sensible that I have declined.
" To-day, Heb. xn, 10, 11 much comforted me, seeing the end
of God's chastening hand. When I think on the kindness of
some to me, it is wonderful, so infinitely undeserved. I seek
about for kindred hearts, and find a few that do so richly repay
me. May you, during the coming year, be full of joy and peace
in believing ; and may the choicest blessings the Lord bestows
be yours !"

CHAPTER X.

c0imbat0re — palanquin journey to trichinopoly — visit to
Schwartz's successor, and other missionaries — arrival
on the eastern coast — visit to jaffna — mr. groves's
great interest in that mission  return to the continent
of india — journey along the eastern coast to madras.
Without consulting the map, the reader will hardly have an
idea of the extent of country traversed by Mr. Groves in this
interesting journey. Let us first trace his course from Bombay
all along the western coast to Quilon ; thence, inland to Tinne
veUy ; then, up the country to Coimbatore, and straight across
it, by way of Trichinopoly, to Point Calamere on the south
eastern coast. We shall then follow him across the strait to
the coral islands which skirt the northern shores of Ceylon, and
see him, at the close of his interesting visit to Jaffna, return to
the continent, and pursue his journey northwards as far as
Madras. Fatigue was nothing to him in the service of the
Master whom he loved ; and the reader cannot but admire the
grace given to him to exercise that self-denial which he was
continually, on the highest motives, pressing on his feUow
servants, and not without success.
" 1834, Jan. 4th. — Since finishing my last month's Journal to
you, I have descended the hills, and am now again at Coimba
tore, from whence I hope to proceed to Trichinopoly. I wrote
to dear M. from Conoor, at the top of the Ghaut. I told
her that we 'had hoped that it was arranged that one, if not
two, simple but devoted servants of Christ should preach the
Gospel among that simple but interesting race of people, who
have inhabited these mountains from time immemorial

JOURNEY FROM COIMBATORE. 245
certainly before the Brahminical religion came into India, for
there is not a trace of it among them.*
" Jan. 5th. — I am now sitting contemplating the magnificent
scenery around this place ; one range of mountains behind
another, in a semicircular form, renders Coimbatore peculiarly
beautiful. There are about 130 villages just around here ; the
people are on the whole well off, and therefore proportionately
proud. " Mr. Addies, who was many years at Rangoon with Mr.
Judson, tells me that in Borneo, the females are not at all as
degraded as here ; the husband and wife eat off the same dish,
and this, in fact, is one part of the marriage ceremony. I have
all along had a strong desire to see that mission, yet I do not,
at present, see my way clear to do so ; as yet I have only a
clear view of going up to Benares and returning to Belgaum.
Some natives come to call on me, but they know too little
English to benefit by conversation, yet they show such wilhng-
ness to hear of the things of the kingdom, that I cannot but
feel encouraged in comparing the state of things here and in
Bagdad ; for in that seat of the Mohammedan apostacy they
stop their ears and shut their eyes, lest they should see and hear
and be saved.
" Jan. 6th. — After traveUing through the night, I am now, in
the evening of the day, resting a little, while the bearers pre
pare their supper, and I spend the time in writing you a few
lines. The scenery of the country has generally been flat and
barren, yet the blue mountains in the distance, and occasionally
hills of considerable elevation, crowned at the tops by pagodas
walled round, have a picturesque and interesting appearance ;
but it is with these, as with all the beauties of nature, they
bring no joy ; for man, the great moral agent for whom they
were designed as blessings, turns them into instruments of
destruction, by worshipping and serving the creature more than
the Creator.
" I stand now from day to day, and for the future see no rest,
* A German mission is now established there.

246 ARRIVAL AT TRICHINOPOLY.
but on His promises, who has begun and wUl finish. I feel
myself in a waste wilderness here ; for nearly seventy mUes in
any direction there is not one European, yet the Lord reigns,
and where He is, there is safety to His children.
"Jan. 7th. — After passing Caroor, I have now arrived at
Veravully, about twenty-five mUes from Trichinopoly, where I
hope to be this evening again among Christian friends.
" This is a most rich and fertile district, but the people seem
wholly given to idolatry. There are Brahmins by swarms. I
hear there is a good chaplain here, whom I hope to know.
" O, may the Lord exceedingly bless you with light and Ufe ;
they are such precious gifts ; I feel I often have Ught without
life, or life without light, but their union in power is the glory of
a saint ; how we ought to be continuaUy praising the God of
love who hath redeemed us, and from the dust exalted us to
glory and honour. O, let us help each other to crucify self, and
exalt Him who is our Ufe and in whom we have Uberty and
life. "Jan. 8th. — The more I dwell on the first chapter of Malachi,
the more I am persuaded, that in ceasing to reaUze the fatherly
character of God, we fall into all those sins of which God
accuses His people : we provide for ourselves instead of leaving
our Father to provide for us ; we will not in any wise serve
Him for nought ; we look on Him as a master who is to pay his
servants their hire, rather than as a father, all whose inheri
tance we are to share.
" I have had with me to-day, one of the Christians of this
place, the chief man among those who are standing up for
caste ; and he says plainly that he does not care what Christ
or the Apostles did, he never will eat with Pariahs, nor
receive the Lord's Supper with them, nor after them, but only
before them, neither would those of his views receive it after
their ministers. I have just been with Mr. Shortland, the
chaplain, and he says there is no hope but in beginning again.
In this I think he is quite right.
"There are many here, who, I trust, fear God. At the
chapel we had a nice httle meeting last night ; and as far as I

MR. KHOLOFF A PUPIL OF SCHWARTZ. 247
can see, in every part of India, there is, among Christians a
real desire for unity.
"Jan. 9th. — I dined yesterday with General Dalrymple,
whose wife is a sweet Christian, and I spent the evening with
some relatives and friends of my dearest Irish friends, Mr. Bel-
lett and Mr. Brookes. This quite brought me back to Ireland,
and placed me down in the midst of those I so much love, and
I have paid the price of a sleepless night. I have not a mo
ment of my own but before breakfast, as I do not feel able to
refuse to see people, because I really think it is as Christians
they come, and they very kindly allow me great freedom of
saying what I think I ought.
" This evening, about ten o'clock, I think of going to Tanjore
to visit Mr. K., who is the principal collector of Tanjore. Then
also I hope to meet my dear friend Cotton again.
"Jan. 13th. — I am now sitting down in the neighbourhood of
Tanjore, in the tent of my dear, dear brother Cotton, discuss
ing together the hopes and fears connected with our proposed
labours for India.
" Yesterday, I dined with Mr. Kholoff, an aged saint, who
was a pupil of Schwartz, and is his successor in the mission,
though only brought under the influence of the truth within
the last ten years. He is nearly seventy-two. There are three
other missionaries besides him at Tanjore, in connection with
the Society for the Propagation of the gospel. There is truth
among them, but little power of the Holy Ghost, as far as I
could see or hear. I go to-morrow to dine with them. Mr.
Kholoff's last days are gilded by the hope of the coming of
his King in glory ; he is a venerable looking man, the hair of
his yet unsUvered head hanging down to his shoulders ; he has
a sweet simplicity of manner, and most humbly loves his Lord.
I saw the house where Schwartz and many others resigned
their breath into His hands who gave it. All here are in con
fusion about the Bishop's letter concerning caste, to which they
will not submit. Dear Cotton is full of zeal and devotion to
the Lord's work. May the Lord direct all our counsels for
His work.

248 AMERICAN MISSIONARIES.
" The Rajah of Tanjore is an independent prince, within a
very limited district. He has no real power but that of life and
death over a few subjects in Tanjore ; in fact he is Uke many,
many of his compeers, a mere puppet.
" The American missionaries from Jaffna will, I hope, come
over to the continent to settle, or at least some of them. They
are anxious to come to the large cities ; but I am satisfied
that the most eligible situations by far are the large and
populous viUages, of which there are numbers, in the rich
and cultivated delta of Coleroon and its neighbourhood.
I have every reason to hope that the elements of union,
which the Lord allows to exist among us, will lead to a
missionary combination and service, that, to some extent
at least, will resemble what there was in the days of the
Apostles. "Jan. 14th. — The Lord has brought me to the beginning of
another day, when, from the arrival of my long expected packet,
my heart is filled with other thoughts than those that occupied
it during a sleepless night. One of my letters is from the
gentleman I mentioned to you from Bushire, Captain Hennel,
to whom I hoped the Lord had allowed me to be of some little
service ; he seems still pressing on, and offers me 500 rupees a
year for the Lord's work in India.*
" I have letters from England pressing, on various grounds,
our return, and one of these contains an opinion, gathered from
the ' Morning Watch,' that none should go to the heathen till
they be baptized with power from high. Such theorising on
God's Word can never satisfy a soul that has seen numbers
converted by the ministry of the Word, feeble as it is. I aUow
and mourn over this feebleness, yet still numbers are truly
converted, bowing to the commands of the gospel and
weeping under its grace : this is to my mind . a practical
refutation of all such considerations. We might as well
deny that there should be any more ministry to the Church,
* This sura was given by him for many years for this purpose.

STATE OF THE TANJORE MISSION. 249
till the various gifts for its edification, mentioned in the
New Testament, are manifest.
"The accounts from Bagdad are trying. They are now
besieged by the Arabs and threatened by the Persians : poor
devoted city ! 0, that they knew the meaning of these days of
visitation from on high !
" The Armenian boys, who once were so entirely separated
from us, begin again to come ; I mean those whose souls we
had hoped were touched with holy fire : this is comforting.
The spirit of prayer still seems to rest on the brethren.
'Jan. 15th. — My poor dear boys, in writing about the
siege and their prospects in Bagdad, express themselves more
like old soldiers than children, they have been so inured to
trials and dangers.
" I cannot convey to you any adequate idea of the death
that reigns in the Tanjore Mission. The missionaries who
have lately come, are almost determined to give it all up
and begin anew. Poor Mr. Kohloff has so much facihty of
character, that he knows not how to say ' no ;' so that
whenever the congregations want anything, they terrify him
into submission.
" West, from Palamcottah, has finally determined to join
our little party, and is going through the length and breadth
of the Tamil country, to preach the gospel and circulate
tracts. " Jan. 16th, Combaconum. — There is a missionary here, a Mr.
Crisp, a nice man, who has a congregation of about a hundred
and twelve communicants. I am, however, staying with the
judge, a Mr. John Thomas, who is a warm-hearted Christian,
and with his dear wife, much in earnest about the advance of
His kingdom who is to come.
" I found this evening, in my room, a cobra capeUa. When I
struck him, he turned round, spread abroad his hood, and
threatened to attack me ; but as it was a small one, not above
two feet long, I soon killed him : these snakes are most danger
ous creatures : it is often so difficult to see them.
" Jan. 1 8th. — I arrived before dayhght at Negapatam, after a

250. REACHES POINT CALAMERE.
pleasant day at Combaconum. I came with a hope of getting
across from this to Jaffna, but I find no one wUl venture yet,
so I must go down to point Calimere, from whence, with a fair
wind, they may reach Ceylon in a few hours ; but if they do
not reach the opposite shore before noon, they always turn back,
so that they may sometimes go out and return seven or eight
days following, before they succeed.
" This is a Wesleyan Mission, and not prospering ; Mr. L.,
however, has bad health, and is only of two years standing here ;
there are about thirty professing Christians.
" The farther I go, the more I am convinced that the mis
sionary labour of India, as carried on by Europeans, is alto
gether above the natives; nor do I see how any abiding
impression can possibly be made, till they mix with them in a
way that is not now attempted. When I think of this subject
of caste, in connection with the humiUation of the Son of
God, I see in it something most unseemly, most pecuharly
unlike Christ. If He who is one with the Father in glory
emptied Himself, and was sent in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and became the friend of publicans and sinners, that He might
raise them, it is truly hateful that one worm should refuse to
eat with, or touch another worm, lest he become polluted.
How strikingly the Lord's revelation to Peter reproves it all,
' what God hath cleansed that call thou not common.' Acts
x, 15.
" Jan. 20th, Point Calamere. — To-day we are waiting at this
desolate spot alone.
"Jan. 21st. — With regard to the objections newly raised to
missionary work, the want of ' the baptism of power,' I fully
admit the deep necessity there is for power from on high for an
effectual ministry among the heathen ; but is not the same thing
needed in the prof essing church of Christ? Is there not a manifest
want of practical power in the Christianity of the present day?
but shall we, on that account, leave each man to shift for him
self? I see not this doctrine in Scripture. The waiting of the
apostles for the baptism of the Holy Ghost was pecuUar ; it was
not merely for the Pentecostal gifts, but that the doctrine

CROSSES TO CEYLON. .251
taught them by the Lord might be brought to their remem
brance. This doctrine we have in the revealed Word ; and as it is
the power of God unto salvation to the unconverted in England,
I see not why it should not be as effectual to the unconverted
anywhere. I see in Scripture but two classes, converted and
unconverted ; and as to the means of conversion, I see no
distinction between the unconverted where Christianity is
known and where Christianity is not known.
" Jan. 22nd. — We set sail at midnight, and are now just
entering a port in Ceylon. (9 o'clock p.m.) The country is rich
a,nd covered with trees ; it brings most powerfully to my mind
Heber's lines : — ' Where every prospect pleases,
' But only man is vile.'
O, how hard it is to hope for such a people, when the
power of the divine Ufe in your own soul is like a flicker
ing taper !
" On arriving at the Custom House, we found a gentleman in
charge as judge, etc., who knew many dear friends of mine at
Plymouth. Just opposite where we landed, was a stage erected
for shipping elephants for the continent of India. Ceylon
abounds with them. The whole of Jaffna seems one extended
coral reef. I hear the collector is a Devonshire man ; you can
not think how even such a circumstance attracts one, so far
away from home. I am just writing this while the bearers rest.
I have not yet seen any of the missionaries, to one of whom,
Mr. Poor, an American, I am on my way.
"The post is brought every day from Point Calamere to
Jaffna, a distance of forty mues, in a Catamaran, which is
made of three pieces of timber, about the size of your
body, and twelve feet long, tied together. It is anything
but a smooth sea, yet they say this mode of conveyance is
most safe.
"On my arrival at the Mission House at Jaffna, I found
all the brethren assembled at their quarterly meeting. There
were nine or ten, and their wives ; but at ' present I can say

252. MISSIONARIES AT JAFFNA.
no more of them than that they are very interesting people,
and received me most affectionately.
" Jan. 2 3rd.— To-day we all meet to break bread with the
native catechists and schoolmasters. My heart has been much
affected by considering the Lord's works. He has here formed
an island, or rather a collection of islands, of considerable
extent, by the accumulated labours of insects, each one so
minute that the eye cannot behold it, and out of their labours
aU the most massive structures are constructed.
"One of the brethren has left for the continent on an
exploratory tour, and another is just about to go to the
hills for health. Mr. Poor, who is the senior missionary, is
a simple, affectionate, and good man, and has been for twenty
years labouring among this people ; he is expecting the com
ing of the Lord, and is the first American I have met with
who holds this view. We have broken bread together ; ten
missionaries and their wives, and about 200 natives. Of
their spiritual state, I have as yetno means of judging : there
is no caste among them.
" On surveying the way in which the Lord has led me, I am
often struck with the apparently trivial events on which the
most important events in our history hang. — Mr. Poor met
Captain Cotton at AUepic, and gave him a copy of the Uttle
tract I wrote on ' Devotedness ;' this led Captain Cotton to
come to Bagdad ; and his coming to Bagdad brought me to
India. We have had much conversation on the subject of
coming down to the level with the natives ; 0, it is a hard
battle with the proud heart of man ! Mr. P. says to me, ' It
is easy for you, who have only yourself to think of, to do as
you like.' The Lord grant that some at least may be blessed
with wives who shall not lay their husbands under this
necessity. "Jan. 25th. — After an interval of two days, I again write
a few remarks. From my arrival in Bombay, to the day I
reached Jaffna, I had been continually hoping to find missionary
institutions carried on with that simplicity which, I think, so
highly becomes us, but I have been deeply disappointed.

EFFORTS TOWARDS SELF-DENIAL. 253
Wherever I have been, the system of the world and its character
of influence have been adopted, instead of the moral power of
the self-denial of the gospel. I trust the Lord has aUowed my
coming here to be of some little use in eradicating this baneful
system. The missionaries have generally been wilUng to
change their style of living for a simpler, but their wives have
been more difficult to vanquish.
" I am now going to Oodaville, a station about four miles
distant, to spend to-morrow, the Lord's day. There is an
interesting boarding-school of girls there, which I am most
anxious to see.
" This country abounds in palm trees, and is on the whole
well cultivated, but the people are very, very poor and
destitute. In Jaffna they speak the same language as on
the continent of India, from above Madras to Cape Comorin,
that is Tamil, which is different from the Cingalese which is
spoken on the island of Ceylon. Dr. Scudder, with whom I
spent yesterday, is a simple-hearted devoted man. He is on the
point of leaving his present station to a newly arrived brother,
in order to go and break up new ground about twenty miles off.
" If I can possibly go as far as Burmah, I shall do so. I hear
so interesting an account of the simplicity, adaptation to the
natives, and devotion of the Baptist missionaries there. I long
to see some one Mission, carried on in unison with the princi
ples I feel to be right,
"Jan. 26th. — I have not ceased from seriously conversing
with my dear brother and sister, on the subject of personal
self-denial, and the lessening the appearance we make before the
heathen, pointing out, that all influence derived from such things
is purely worldly, and such as the Lord cannot bless. Since I
have seen them in their ordinary famUy routine, I am much
better pleased. I told them that I always estimate persons'
view of my spiritual character, by the way they receive me ; if
they put out the best things, and put one or two extra dishes
on the table, I know they look on my renunciation of the world
as a mere profession ; but if I see they treat me with the utmost
simplicity, I then feel they give me credit for what I profess.

254 HAPPY RECEPTION AMONG BRETHREN.
This has obtained for me such a reception among them, as I
desire. They are a dear interesting people, and most wilUng to
hear instruction on points that few Uke to be told of ; I am, I
hope, making a little way with them on the subject so dear to
us, the coming of our Immanuel in the glory of His Father.
At present, however, the deep subject of interest with me is the
uprooting the whole class of feelings connected with the natives,
that missionaries may do by them as the Lord did by the pub-
Ucans and harlots. However the Lord may dispose of you, let
this be your firm abiding purpose, to share in the humiUations
of the gospel.
"Jan. 26th. — I have since yesterday been rather an in vaUd,
and from the extreme excitement of the two or three preceding
days, I am Uke an unstrung instrument ; on the whole, very
happy, yet my joints a Uttle shaking. The Lord has given me
a most gracious reception among these brethren ; indeed I am
humbled to the earth by their kindness to one so very, very un
worthy. I was yesterday staying with two dear missionary
famiUes at OodaviUe, where there were about 55 native girls ;
several, they suppose, really Christians and members of the
church, the others heathen. It was a lovely sight : I preached
to the congregation by an interpreter, which is my only way.
I felt constrained to give them a word of exhortation.
"Jan. 27th. — We have been to-day much engaged with ex
amining the two lowest classes of the seminary here, which
contains a mixture of heathen and christian boys ; really they
are very well informed, and I do expect much that will deeply
interest me in the other two classes, which are much farther
advanced. There are two or three here who are much interested
about the coming of our Lord, and one or two whose minds are
just opening, with whom I have been spending all my leisure hours
to-day. "I could teU you a hundred things that would interest you, but
I am so occupied. A poor man has been brought here, who has
been very badly torn by a tiger in the jungle, yet I trust not
dangerously." " I cannot tell you how finding this ' hope ' among the bre-

INTERCOURSE WITH CHURCH MISSIONARIES. 255
thren here, endears them to me, and makes me expect much union
and love between us and them. I have also had many encour
agements to day by post, from some whom I have, and others
whom. I have not seen in the flesh. I am very, very thankful
for my visit here, and I do trust I reaUze my gracious Lord's
hand, in guiding me.
"Jan. 28th. — We are on very brotherly terms here, and even
in those things in which they differ from me in judgment, they
bear all lovingly ; and there are three or four very dear sisters
among them, who are a little more open than their husbands to
some truths, the seeds of which I am anxious to leave behind me.
" Jan. 29th. — I am now at Jaffna, with a Wesleyan missionary,
Mr. George. The whole evening, I have been bringing out all
the Lord has given me wisdom to collect on the expected advent
of our Lord, and it appears the Lord's pleasure that many here
should receive this important and comforting truth. Perhaps
the details of my intercourse with the brethren here would
little interest you, but I feel they have been among the most
important since I left home.
"Jan. 3lst. — I am now staying with two church missionaries,
with whom I have very happy intercourse on many very impor
tant subjects, and on the importance of a Uvely and a correct
view of the advent rapidly approaching. I feel wonderfully
helped of the Lord, and more and more deeply interested as I
go on. Comparing 2 Peter hi. 13., (according to his promise)
with Isa. lxv. 17 ; and lxvi., and the whole of these two chapters
with Rev. xxi, carries to my mind an overwhelming conviction
as to when the event shall take place.
"Feb. 1st. — I have been spending a day in a district where
there are schools for about 156 girls, and five or six hundred
boys, almost all heathens. They are under the charge of two
dear brothers and sisters, whom, with the whole missionary
circle here of aU denominations, with one or two exceptions, I
truly love. The whole of this country was once subject to
Roman CathoUc influence, and all the missionary stations are
suppUed at least with the outer walls of large churches, and
some of them with the walls of dwelUng houses also.

256 ADVANCEMENT IN CONFORMITY TO CHRTST.
To-morrow we have a meeting of all the missionaries of
all denominations, for prayer and general communication, which
takes place every month. I am much interested in the general
state of mind of the missionaries here ; there is a desire of ad
vancement in conformity to Christ, which I pray the Lord greatly
to bless, to prevent the wicked one from extinguishing by his
devices. I feel I am gaining an immense deal of information,
but my heart trembles lest it should remain nothing more than
knowledge. I do not at all feel sure that my soul has faith and
spiritual power adequate to act on what it sees to be right and
feels to be wanting ; but, in returning among you, I hope to be
strengthened of the Lord. I fully purpose now to go to Burmah,
in search of some features of missionary service such as I have
not yet seen.
"•Feb. 3rd. — I am on the point of leaving Jaffna, and I go
with a consciousness of mercy and goodness having accom
panied me in all my intercourse with these dear brothers and
sisters. I leave enriched also by the love and prayers of many
whom I have been enabled truly to love ; our communion has
been most sweet, and I feel we shall be in no ordinary degree
culpable if it should not lead to very important results. I
have long felt there are two kinds of self-denial that we, as
missionaries, need great grace to carry but fully. The first is,
personal, touching aU that is connected with the honour of
this poor body, whether in food, raiment, or in the appendages
of external respectabihty ; the other is the self-denial involved
in really coming down to the natives ; and this it needs
personal intercourse fully to explain to you.
" I trust the nature and the time of the Lord's Advent are
beginning to be much better here understood, and I leave with
the very fervent hope that the truth connected with it will
win its way. One missionary told me yesterday that he felt
he had acquired new eyes since a little conversation we had
together ; another has written to me to desire another interview,
expressing the deep interest these views had excited ; and
a dear sister, the wife of one of the missionaries, has advanced very
far towards a full assurance of the truth of all the great points.

RECOLLECTIONS OF JAFFNA. 257
" We had yesterday a very deUghtful meeting of ten mission
aries and their wives, four being absent. The subjects of dis
cussion were most interesting, and promised to have a hajspy
influence on aU present.
" I have just read a letter from a Mrs. Ward, of the Burmah
Mission, which deeply interests me : it is written in a fine
devoted spirit ; she says : —
" ' When we went out we were treated with a great deal of
respect by all kinds of natives, but it was the kind of respect
that the poor pay the rich, rather than the respect which is felt
for eminent piety. And when I tried to impress the minds of
the native sisters with the importance of modesty, cleanliness,
&c, they would say, that they should very much Uke to live as
we did, if they had money enough to do so. TBus I felt deeply
the necessity of trying to exert a different kind of influence, or
of trying in some way to be an example to the native
Christians. And our reformed plans have not been without a
beneficial result. The Christians now think, and what is of
more consequence we feel, we are consistent.'
" Feb. 7th. — I have now a little leisure to add another line
or two relative to' my visit to Jaffna, before I land again on the
continent of India, as I am now kept at anchor, much against
my wiU, off its shores. I have mentioned that during my stay
at Jaffna, the Lord was in many ways very graciously in the
midst of us, and gave me favour and acceptance in the sight of
my brethren. I am assured this was not an unfounded im
pression, as the members of the Church Mission, both personaUy
and by letter, desired me to stay, that we might have farther
communication on the coming of our Lord, and devotedness to
His service ; and to this the two Wesleyans also added their own
wishes. I say not this to commend myself, but to encourage
you to pray for me, should you be tempted to lose aU hope. I
do not mean I have not had abundant reason to bless God for
every visit I. have made, but none so much as this brought my
mind to a decision on the question of personal self-denial, its
importance and its character.
" There were some dear sisters at Jaffna I never can forget :

258 SEASON OF REFRESHING SOLITUDE.
their love and kindness, for a moment, brought back to my
heart the feeling of a home : I left my Syrian companion there.
I beheve we parted with very deep regret ; yet I think it
important that he should thoroughly learn English, that he
may be useful to his own people. I yet look forward to having
him for a travelling companion over many a weary mile in
Egypt, Syria, Arabia and Mesopotamia.
" You may perhaps wonder why I did not comply with the
invitation to remain at Jaffna, but I was in a hired boat which
must go back ; and I thought enough had been said for the
present, and that the working of God's word would be more
profitable than too much persuasion.
" Feb. 8th. — How good the Lord is in ordering my affairs
for me ! I lan3ed at this little place, Rajah Pumbam, belong
ing to the Rajah of Tanjore, hoping to find bearers to carry me
on, but none were to be had ; so I am quietly set down here for
two days, till they can be obtained from Tanjore. Thus I have
a httle season of refreshing soUtude, and time to look into the
secret recesses of the heart, and to see how things stand after
the excitement of the last fortnight.
" I think I very clearly see that whatever others may do,
believing as I do that self-denial, or rather the spirit of love
from which it flows, is essential to our individual and collective
prosperity, and hoping by the Lord's gracious help to get a body
of men like-minded to work with me, I must first act myself; for
I could not desire any brother to live more simply than I did.
In all these cases I feel it infinitely better to say ' let us,' than
'do you! and yet I feel assured, without inconceivable crucifixion
of self, the work that is to be done in these lands cannot be
accompUshed ; for the material you have to work on is so very
low, that close and real contact, so as to leave a lively impression,
involves an abasement so great, that none yet have had the
heart to attempt it. To be generous with a thousand pounds
a year is one thing, with a hundred another, with ten another ;
but if we expect self-denial or a generous seff-sacrifice from
these poor people, whose subsistence is of the barest and most
precarious kind, we who have clearer views and brighter hopes

OFFICE OF AN EVANGELIST. 259
must lead the way. It must be some who, Uke us, are free to
act thus ; those who act under societies are in so many ways
fettered. " Feb. 9th. — I have had to-day a season of sweet enjoyment
in my Lord. I had set it apart as a day of holy remembrance
of those I love, that by fasting and prayer I might have an
opportunity of bringing them and their circumstances all
distinctly before the Lord ; for the numbers are now so increas
ing that I feel it essential to do so ; even those the Lord writes
on my heart to be daUy remembered are very many, so that it
seems as if my prayers were almost Usts of names presented
before the Lord.
"My heart has particularly brought before it to-day the
importance of the office of an evangehst. I long to see im
mense additions to the blessed Uttle band. I shall be
very thankful to be the servant of such the remainder of my
worthless life. I have had my soul much affected by what the
Lord said after the never to be forgotten scene of washfng His
disciples' feet, ' know ye what I have done unto you ? ye call
me Master and Lord, and ye say weU, for so I am, &c. I have
given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.'
" I have been greatly exercised relative to the best way
of bringing forward the native ministers of Christ in these
countries, and I have finaUy rested on our dear Lord's plan ;
that is, to get from two to twelve, and to go about constantly
with them, eating what they eat, and sleeping where they sleep,
and labouring, whether in a Choultry at night, or by the way,
to impress on their souls a living exhibition of Jesus 
" Feb. 1 1th, Combaconum. — Sometimes my heart seems
bewUdered in the labyrinth of thoughts and difficulties that
lie before me ; it does seem so hard simply and fuUy to follow
the word of the Uving God. Most persons you meet wiU
hardly look at even the picture of it ; and if we wiU not, how
can God fully bless us ? for it must be His own ways, His own
plans, His own principles, that He will honour, and not ours.
" I leave this night for Madras, by way of Myaveram, Cudda-

260 HIS INTEREST IN THE COUNTRY.
lore, and Pondicherry. My heart is daily more and more
overwhelmed by the 25th and 26th verses of the xhth of
John, and the first seventeen verses of the xnith.
"Feb. 13th. — Yesterday 1 spent an interesting day at Mya-
veram, with a Mr. Tucker, who has lately arrived in India
to take charge of the missions of the Church Missionary
Society. He appears a sincere and holy man, though strong
in his prejudices, as I think them.
" I feel so interested in this country that instead of being
wearied by all the faUures I see of various kinds, they stir up
my heart more than ever to desire to put forth all the Uttle
latent energy it has, to help to extricate those who are entan
gled in false principles, and in the false positions resulting
from them.
"An admirable paper is come out from the Court of
Directors on the subject of pilgrimages, and on the general
interference of the British Government in the religious transac
tions of the natives, giving countenance, as they say, to a
' base and degrading superstition.' Such a document as this
greatly delights us aU here ; it so strengthens the hands of
those who wish to do well, yet feel it difficult to act against the
whole weight of Government.
" Cuddalore, Feb. 15th. — I am here staying with a Colonel F.,
a single-hearted devoted man in his attachment to his Lord,
yet one who feels that to urge voluntary self-denial and
crucifixion of the flesh is quite a strange application of the
fact of this being a state of humUiation and the time of the
Church's sorrow. I am daily more struck with the power
the flesh has in blinding the judgment ; how, in one or another
of its thousand aspects, it leads us captive. Col. F. is full of
animated hope, waiting for the manifestation of the Lord in
His glory. Yet, whilst these are the aspirations of the spirit,
the body bears no testimony for the glorious hope. . . . Col.
F. has just been telhng me of a Roman CathoUc Bishop, who
lately paid him a visit, an humble simple man, a Frenchman,
who would not leave his people, but went out under the trees,
where they were, and sat on his little mat, saying, they would

INTERVIEW WITH A JEWISH MISSIONARY. 261
be unhappy if he remained all the day away from them at Col.
F.'s house. 0, may we be wilUng to learn these lessons, even
from a Roman Catholic ! Surely they will rise up against us
in the great day, if we disregard the glorious light given to us.
What is the use of God's word to us, if it be not a lamp to our
feet and a light to our path ?
" Sunday, Feb. 16th. ¦ — I am now spending the day at Sadras,
in a small tavern, an unusual thing in India ; it is the first I
have been in, yet quite quiet, no one but myself.
" I have been thinking how delightful and encouraging it
must be to have an appointment Uke that of Jeremiah, so
distinct, so unequivocal ; and then he had Jehovah's promise to
make him, in His work, like an iron pillar, and a brazen wall.
(Jer. i, 18, 19.) I cannot tell you how I am encouraged from
day to day in my course. I am surprised at the numbers who
seem ready to pursue a course of self-denial which has long
been thought impracticable in India.
" How wonderful is the pleading of our God with Israel, in
the 3rd of Jer., 1st verse : it seems to me, if our hearts were
not harder than adamant, the love and tenderness, yea, entreaty
therein manifested, must subdue them.
" I met with a curious illustration of the prevailing feeUngs
of missionaries. Immediately after my bearers had put down
my palanquin at the end of the station, another handsome
palanquin came and was put down. I found from the bearers
that it belonged to a Padre, and I was getting out to see him,
when I met him on his way to my palanquin. During a short
conversation, I found he was a converted Jew, sent out
principally by Mr. J. E., of Edinburgh : he was on his way to
Cochin, the place where more Jews reside than in any other
part of India. During our conversation I said, that if
he would really stamp upon the minds of his brethren the
impress of a soul alive in Christ, he must go and live among
them at Jews' Town. He instantly replied, this was the
very thing he would not do ; for he was convinced by expe
rience, that nothing was to be done with the Jews, without
keeping them at a distance, and not making yourself too

262 ARRIVAL AT MADRAS.
cheap, and keeping a certain degree of external respectabiUty.
If those who teach take such views of the source of power in
Christianity, can we be surprised that the taught are led
wrong. "Feb. 18th, 1834.' — I have only just arrived at Madras, and
have only time, before I send this off, to commend it, with all
its faults, to your charity and forgiveness."

CHAPTER XI.
VOYAGE FROM MADRAS TO CALCUTTA IN A LITTLE FRENCH BRIG
 MR. GROVES'S. OBJECTS AND THOUGHTS IN CONNECTION WITH
THE LORD'S WORK IN INDIA  STRIKING APPEARANCE OF
CALCUTTA — INTERCOURSE WITH ARCHDEACON CORRIE AND
OTHER SERVANTS OF GOD IN THAT CITY  HAPPY VISIT TO
SERAMPORE  VISITS TO OTHER MISSIONARY STATIONS 
JOURNEY ALONG THE BANKS OF THE GANGES — SATISFACTORY
VISIT TO MONGHEIR.
Mr. Groves resumed his journal, addressed to the same friend,
on board a Uttle French brig, commanded by Captain M. T.,
of Bordeaux. He had chosen this mode of conveyance from
Madras to Calcutta, because it was less expensive by half than
the EngUsh vessel proposed to him by his friends, and offered
him that freedom from society which he needed, after all the
fatigue and excitement he had for so many months undergone.
His experience proved the wisdom of his selection. He found
the captain very obliging, and everything very quiet ; and
though he could not help remarking the " mixture of niceness
and filthiness to- be found among the French, when you Uve
with them," he cheerfully submitted to it as one of the many
little trials in which his self-denying course involved him ; and
after all, he says, "the Lord has blessed the voyage to the
recovery of my health and spirits, so that I arrive at Calcutta
happier than I have ever been since I reached India. May
the Lord so help me," he adds, with his usual panting after
holiness, "that I may leave it holier than I enter it ; I mean not
as to my standing in Christ, but in conformity to His blessed
will ; that the fruits, which I hoped were preparing in the yet
unopened bud in time of winter, may blossom in this time of
spring, and come to perfection in some distant summer."

264 ROMAN CATHOLIC SERVANT.
Soon after Mr. Groves began this voyage, the servant whom
he had brought with him, said, " Sir, I wished at Madras, to
speak to you about changing my religion, for who that can read
cannot see that yours is the truth?" Mr. Groves describes him
as a poor but kind Roman Catholic, and says, " 1 had never
said one word to him about changing his reUgion, but only
endeavoured to wean his heart from confidence in man, always
mixing myself with the rest, and directing him simply to Jesus.
When he first came he would not join us at prayers. I have
not bribed him, at least by money ; I have, I hope, dealt gently
with him, as I ought, but nothing more. There is something
so precious in seeing a soul in these benighted lands feeling after
Christ, that I am very happy in looking at this bursting flower."
A few days after, Mr. Groves relates that this poor servant
was learning to read. " He is rather dull, but very patient ;"
and towards the close of the voyage, he writes, " my poor
Roman Catholic servant is getting on in his reading most pro
misingly : the Lord be praised ! Indeed, I hope he loves the
Word, that precious Word, which made the psalmist wiser than
his teachers, and of more understanding than the ancients."
In the Journal of this voyage, some extracts from which are
subjoined, Mr. Groves placed before his friend his own objects,
and his thoughts in connection with the Lord's work. His
favourite idea at this time was to select a band of devoted men,
ready not only to preach Christ fully, but to follow Him in a
self-sacrificing course, and if need be to labour with their hands
for their own support ; and the sphere of service which he had
in view was an immense district on the Eastern coast, then
entirely without a missionary. He found some in India who
seemed ready to assist him ; he expected the wilUng services of
his feUow-workers at Bagdad, and he had heard of others in
Europe, whom he resolved to go in search of; therefore after a
stay of only two days in Calcutta, he went to Patna to enlist
the services, or at least the sympathies, of Mr. Start, visiting
the Serampore mission and sundry others by the way; and
shortly after his return to Calcutta, he set out on his voyage
homeward.

HIS STAY IN MADRAS. 265
" I found the dear family in which I resided for a time during
my stay at Madras, very dear people. They had certain sus
picions as to my views, which did not immediately give way ;
but step by step, the Lord gave me access to them, and allowed
me to state what appears to me to be true Christian liberty, with
regard to ministry, &c. A little tract of mine on this subject,
is about to be published.
" I saw very few persons during my stay at Madras, partly
from my engagement about my Uttle tract, partly from
disinclination for general society, but still more from a deep
sense that the Lord has appointed me to speak to the heart
alone, rather than to many. The dear Clulows, while I was
with them, began to alter their expensive style of Uving ; and
a dear Independent minister and his wife parted with their
superfluities in a very sweet spirit. Two of the missionaries at
TinneveUy have adopted the simple manner of living I approve.
I learn from Mr. Blumhardt's letters, there are many dear Ger
man missionaries waiting to come out, wiUing to do the
humblest work with their hands. I purpose to go to Basle and
Elbersfeldt, to see these men. I should Uke to send one or two
pious mechanics to Bagdad : they might get more access to the
people than we could.
" Never was there a more important moment than the pre
sent for India ; up to this time everything in the Church has
been as free as our hearts could wish. Persons have been
converted, either by reading God's word, or through one
another, and have drank the Uving waters wherever they could
find them full and clear ; but now the Church of England is
seeking to extend its power, and the Independents and Metho
dists are seeking to enclose their little flocks. My object in
India is two-fold, to try to check the operation of these exclu
sive systems, by showing the Christian Church they are not
necessary for aU that is holy and moral ; and to try and impress
upon every member of Christ's body that he has some ministry
given bim for the body's edification, and instead of depressing,
encouraging each one to come forward and serve the Lord. I
have it much at heart, should the Lord spare me, to form a

266 HAPPY INTERCOURSE WITH MISSIONARIES.
Church on these principles; and my earnest desire is to
re-model the whole plan of Missionary operations, so as to bring
them to the simple standard of God's word. The encourage
ment the Lord has given me is great, beyond all I could have
hoped ; I cannot tell you how lovingly I have been received,
not by one party only, but by all. I cannot but believe I am
caUed to service in this country. I have encouraged others to
remain faithful to the Lord in their work, and shaU I run
away ? I have wished them to live on Uttle, and shall I retire
from the scene, and not share their burden with them and show
them how ? I have desired the dear Church in India to love
each other, and to know no distinctions, and shaU I not dwell
here, and practise what I preach J My full conviction is, that
the testimony of Jesus is being published in these lands, and
will be, and that the first fruits wiU be gathered.
"I heard the other day by a letter from Tavoy, of a church of
about 150 gathered out from among the Karcus, a people of a
pecuhar race and descent, inhabiting the mountains. Major F,
who visited them with the missionary, says, they are a most inter
esting people. Mr. Boardman, one of Dr. Judson's fellow labour
ers, who first preached the gospel among them, after he became
very ill, was entreated by some Karcus higher up in the moun
tains, to visit them, but, from his Ul state of health, many thought
he should not venture. He said to the messengers, It is neces
sary for you that I go ; it is not necessary for me that I live ;
and went up, and found forty true converts. I know not how
they had become instructed, but, I suppose, by visiting the other
stations. Mr. Boardman conducted these forty to a river, being
himself conveyed in his Utter, and when they had been baptized,
the good man said, ' Now lettest thou thy servant depart in
peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation :' the next day, he
died.* "April 5th. — I got on board, expecting my usual share of
comfort, but tiU this morning have been unable to take my
* The reader will find an account of this interesting mission in connec
tion with the life of Dr. Judson, recently published.

PLAN OF MISSIONARY WORK. 267
head off my pillow ; but now I feel better than for many weeks
past ; I am so very happy and thankful for the Lord's very great
kindness to me.
" Dear  's letter, which left on my mind the impression of a
Jehu-like zeal which neither pitied nor spared, led me to write
the brief letter which will, 1 hope, accompany this : some wished
to have copies of it, and therefore I had it printed. [See Ap
pendix E.] Surely it does become us, surrounded and eaten up
with errors as we are, to touch those of our brother gently. I
have to a certain extent found the Lord leading me in the way
you so much desire, that is, to all Christians ; and this, I think,
without sacrificing the truth to any, though, of course, bearing
in a measure with their infirmities. Look to the word of the
living God and all will be well ; seek the guidance of His Spirit
and light whl spring out of darkness. In India the circum
stances and principles of our proposed mission would, I think,
be inestimably precious at this time, and would practicaUy shew
many their liberty, especiaUy in the army, who are now only
waiting to see it. I am sure it is of no use to preach, without
acting according to the gospel before men. We purpose that
our domestic arrangements should all be very simple and very
inexpensive, and our plan strictly evangehcal. One great object
wiU be to break down the odious barriers that pride has raised
between natives and Europeans ; to this end, it would be de
sirable for every evangelist to take with him wherever he went
from two to six native catechists, with whom he might eat,
drink and sleep on his journeys, and to whom he might speak
of the things of the kingdom, as he sat down and as he rose up,
that they might be in short prepared for ministry, in the way
that our dear Master prepared His diciples, by line upon line,
precept upon precept, here a Uttle, and there a Uttle, as they
could bear it. FeeUng from beginning to end, that our place is not
to set others to do what we do not do ourselves, or to act on
principles on which we do not, but that we are rather to be en-
samples of every thing we wish to see in our dear brethren.
And I do not yet despair of seeing in India a church arise that
shall be a little sanctuary in the cloudy and dark day that is

268 PERSONAL LOVE TO CHRIST.
" In the whole extent of my missionary tours, Germans and
Americans have been the most to my taste ; the most laborious,
most simple, and least sectarian by far. And I assure you, I am
sick of theoretic perfection ; I long to unite with the constraining
love of Jesus, wherever I see it lodged in a true heart, with a
a tender conscience ; for we must never forget that knowledge
puffeth up, but love buildeth up. Faith is a thing that we are to
have to ourselves before God, but love is to be poured on the
church in rivers and seas.
" April 8th. — I am to-day finishing my packet for Bagdad,
and that is a great concern, for all expect letters, down to my
servant Hannal There is something in these Eastern servants,
when they are attached to one, that greatly dehghts the heart :
that difference you see and feel in England quite ceases. The
poor man whom I have now, takes as much care of me as though
I were part of himself; he is taUor, and cook, and every thing
by turns, as circumstances require ; and my poor dear servant
H. has been all she could be to my dear little boys, and indeed
to all of us ; naturally, I never saw anything more lovely than her
character, and the dear boys tell me, since I left, she really has
embraced the truth, to the great joy and comfort of them all.
" Has your heart ever been exercised by the consideration
of our want of personal love to Christ ? mine has for many
months ; and the other day I was led to feel how manifest was
the difference between our affections for human objects and di
vine. I have often felt that there were many things unlovely,
unchristian, ungrateful to the Lord, contrary to His will, and to
that holy aUegiance that I owe Him, and therefore I did not do
them, knowing I could not be happy whilst living in any mea
sure of estrangement from Him ; but as it regards a beloved
human object, there might be many things unlovely, unchristian,
ungrateful, inconsistent with love, but my inmost soul feels that
it is not any one, nor all of these reasons put together, that
prevent my wounding him, but simply an ever present conscious
ness that to give him pain would give me deeper, merely because
I love him. Now why is it not so with the Lord 1 why in the
one case do we reason up to obedience, and in the other obey by

NATURE OF CHRISTIAN LIBERTY. 269
an intuitive impulse independently of reasoning altogether ? do you
not think the difference real ? I think my own heart teUs me
so most constantly. I do most anxiously desire to feel for my
dear Lord those quick promptings of love, whereby I might
be prevented ever wounding Him, from feeling myself the pain,
not from reasoning at aU about its unfitness. My desire is to
feel for Him with more acuteness than for the most loved earthly
treasure, even the sweetest and dearest saint. I feel there
is something in love so hallowing ; it kills that hateful selfishness
which twines round all that is human. Even in nature's love,
in all the varied relations of husband and wife, parents and
chUdren, &c, it is the sweetest relic of the fall even if it ascends
not up to God.
" April 9th. — After a stormy night the wind is all against us
again ; what a picture of human life ; a little way fine and then
foul, but, Uke the saints of God, we still make way, though
slowly and sadly.
" I am on the point of writing a little tract on Christian
Liberty, should the Lord spare me, and give me wisdom. I
would endeavour to show how much that Uberty consists, in all the
relations in which we can be placed, in giving up our own will.
The liberty of man in the mUlennial glory, or in the final dis
pensation when the risen saints are with their Lord, wiU consist in
doing what they Uke ; but in the dispensation of suffering, it ap
pears to me, he enjoys the greatest liberty who has the greatest free
dom in sacrificing the largest of his own desires to the least of his breth
ren in all things possible. ' Brethren, ye have been called unto
Uberty, only use not Uberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by
love serve one another.'
" Had I seen years ago, as the Lord has given me now to see,
I think I should, by His grace, have suffered in many cases
much more patiently than I did. I might have pursued courses
I did not, and avoided some which I chose, and I should not
have given advice in aU cases as I have done. I feel my Lord
has passsed it over, but this only makes me more than ever
desirous to enter into the true nature of His kingdom at pre
sent in the world. How much do I owe to the light imparted

270 NEED OF A SINGLE EYE.
to me in that one truth, that this is a dispensation of suffering
and sorrow, and will remain such till the Lord come ; it leads me
to look on the thousand trials incident to my path, and possibly,
yea certainly, to my future course, as no strange things, but as
fiery trials appointed to try and purify.
" We are now just running in towards Juggernaut in Orissa,
but are making to the north very Uttle way. A sea voyage
with contrary winds is a fine exercise of patience to an indiffe
rent sailor ; yet I have, by the Lord's grace, gained so much
during my voyage, that I ought not to complain. Our good-
natured captain has been compUmenting me on my improved
appearance since I came under his care ; indeed the change is
wonderful, and I shall, if the Lord preserves me so long, arrive
at Calcutta, in appearance at least, like one newly arrived from
England, instead of like a piece of tanned leather.
" April 10th. — Never did I feel more than now thatl needed
a single eye and a guileless soul before God. I see so many
rocks in my course, yet it shaU be the object of my most ear
nest prayers to have my soul so satisfied, if Christ be but glorified,
that I think not, nor care, by whom or where ; and to have my
heart so affected towards every saint, that my joy in him, or
her, shall not be in proportion to my own delight in them de
rived from personal intercourse, but in seeing each one in the
place the Lord would have him.
" The dear Arab who came with us to India is, I trust, prosper
ing in his soul. I had a letter from him the other day : he is now
gone to the Nilgherries, with a sick American missionary, who
has undertaken to improve him in EngUsh. I hope to find him
a great blessing and comfort to me on my return, for I am full
of hope that the intercourse between India and Bagdad, instead
of being three months as now, wfll soon be no more than fifteen
days, and we quite hope to take a missionary journey through
Egypt and Syria, and to return by way of Bagdad to India. I
beheve Mokayel, dear fellow, is very much attached to both
Cotton and me. He preaches the gospel very fearlessly, and aU
his remaining prejudices are fast wearing away.
" Juggernaut is at the termination of a long chain of hills, and

THOUGHTS ON THE LORD'S COMING. 271
has three kinds of minarets visible from the sea ; beyond it is
the Black Pagoda, which we have now just passed, and now we
have nothing more than low sand hills, till we reach the mouth
of the Hoogly, when we hope to take in our PUot.
" I have heard there is a most interesting Hindoo convert in
Calcutta, who has been deprived of his wife and Uttle chdd by
heathen relatives : he is the editor of the ' Enquirer ' Newspaper.
A note of his to dear Clulow has made me feel a .deep interest
in him. May the Lord help me, and give me favour with him,
for his good to edification.
" I had a great desire to return with our dear Arab, through
Egypt and Syria this time, but dear Cotton thought, and I quite
concurred in it, that his own soul yet needed much, and in such
a course one must feed much on the food one has gathered.
" I think you will agree with me that personal religion is gene-
raUy at a very low ebb among us ; that deep holiness, that fol
lowing after Christ in aU the beauty and purity of His beautiful
and perfect character. AU these things lead me to pray that
we may have such a measure of love and forbearance given us,
that we may be able to use our precious liberty so holily and un-
blameably, that the Lord may take pleasure in it and preserve
it to us. Do you think that the full measure of that out-pour
ing of the Spirit, promised in Joel, wUl be sent down to prepare
the harvest of the Lord before the sounding of the 7th trum
pet ? Is it to be as the latter rain to ripen the harvest, as the
former rain at Pentecost was to soften and prepare the soU to
receive the seed ? 0, how sweet these hopes of the church are !
indeed I think my heart is getting much more into the enjoy
ment of the thought of that bright morning, when the Lord
shall wipe away aU tears from our eyes !
''Do you feel clear that the saints wiU be in their Uttle sanc
tuary with Christ, tiU the calamities of the last awful judgments
shaU have past by 1 My heart is more and more reposing in
this happy hope, for myself and those I love. O, let us then
strive to be holy in aU manner of conversation and godliness,
that neither the cares of the world nor the deceitfulness of
riches may entangle us !

272 ON HASTENING THE COMING OF CHRIST.
" I have been thinking that the wise virgins slumbering, having
oU with their lamps, are our brethren in the Church of Christ
who wiU slumber on tiU the time of their Lord's approach, and
who, though overtaken thus slumbering, will go in, having in
their hearts the true oil of gladness that fits them for the feast,
love to their Lord. It comforts me much to think so ; for indeed
I see among many who do not as yet receive this truth, such a
tender love to Jesus, such a real desire for His honour, and some
thing so meek and lowly in their walk, that I dare not doubt
the Lord's love is set upon them ; and it may be, that those
who are awake and give the cry that awakes these true yet
slumbering saints, are the very, very few, who, in heart and soul,
receive this precious truth, and who are appointed to watch for
the Church, as the Bethlehemite shepherds their flocks, when the
Lord first came. For while thenumber of those who theoretically
believe the coming of our blessed Lord is daily increasing, the
number of those who really are hastening unto that glorious
day, with a confiding and preparing faith, is very small. We
have just seen one of those awful manifestations of God's power
which the ocean sometimes presents. The sea, from a calm, be
came in about a quarter of an hour covered with white foam ;
the heavens became as black as ink ; and we are now saUing
under bare poles, except one reefed top sail. The French sailors
managed better than I expected ; but the Lord is my confidence
and strength : we are just getting into dangerous ground at the
mouth of the Hoogly, but the Lord can deUver and make it
as safe as MUford Haven. A storm at sea is magnificently
grand, though very awful ; it makes the heart shake, as it
comes on, but then the soul seeks repose and finds it.
"Friday, April 11th. — We are brought in health and safety to
another day. The pilot is on board ; and, on Monday, should
the Lord prosper our voyage, we shaU be at Calcutta.
"I feel sure the Lord will direct me. 'Tis such a comfort to feel
that ' he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust ; '
and, therefore, he wUl not suffer us to be tempted above what
we can bear.
"We are now with fair wind and tide running up this ancient

DESCRIPTION OF CALCUTTA. 273
mighty river. May the Lord keep me in all my goings out and
comings in among this people ! — After a lovely sail, from the light
floating at the mouth of the Hoogly, we are in prospect of anchor
ing in Diamond Harbour, about thirty miles from Calcutta by wa
ter and eighteen by land. At Kugaree I sent up my letter of in
troduction to a Mr. Beatie, with whom I am going to stay. The
dear Archdeacon Corrie has most kindly invited me, but I was
afready engaged.
"Sunday, April 13th. — I have felt much comfort in Ps. cxix,
80, ' Let those that fear thee turn unto me, and those that know
thy testimonies. Let my heart be sound in thy testimonies.'
For these two things I have a great, and, I believe, a holy desire.
" We this day made a rapid and deUghtful voyage up the Hoog
ly to the city of palaces. The beautiful mansions that adorn
the banks, the verdure that reUeves the eye, with the variety of
foUage which the trees exhibit, created a feeling that I had not
been sensible of since I left my native shores. The multitude
of shipping that lies on the borders of the water, purely and
simply EngUsh, gives at once a home impression, that the
thousand minute differences which strike you, if you enter into
detail, do not destroy. The trees, in their variety of forms and
richness of blossoms, are not English ; the little boats that
glide on the river are 'not EngUsh, nor those who so dexterously
manage them ; stiU this does not destroy the continual effect of
the houses, the gardens, and the shipping. After passing up
Garden Reach, where Calcutta first breaks upon the view, it is
very, very grand ; but when the Christian mind begins to analyze
the nature of its glory, and the principles to which it owed its
birth, the gilded splendour soon vanishes, and the only feeling is,
that you are entering amighty city where God is not known, either
in her palaces, or by the myriads over which she bears sway.
" We anchored opposite the quays about half-past five in the
¦evening. Shortly after, I went on shore and heard Mr. Boswell
(the chaplain of Chinsurah,) preach a simple and true sermon,
and returned home with him. I cannot teU you the love with
which he received me, but it was great.
"April \4th. — To-day has been entirely employed in making

274 ARCHDEACON CORRIE.
up, and sending off, packages for England and Bagdad, and in
writing various other letters, preparatory to leaving for Patna.
'•April 15th.— The dear Archdeacon Corrie breakfasted here
this morning. He is a dear, dear old man, a lovely Christian ;
and his fine and interesting face, beams with the love that
yet glows in his aged heart. He much wished me and dear
Mr. BosweU to caU on the Bishop, and for reasons that appeared
to me of so much weight, that, after prayer, I went, and he re
ceived me most kindly ; afterwards we called on two chaplains,
¦ good men, and we spent the evening at the arch-deacon's, where I
saw Henry Martyn's bible, with the manuscript notes in his hand.
" One of the independent Rajahs has sent for a tutor for his
son, giving free permission to Christian teachers to labour among
his people. A letter has also been received from China, from
Mr. Gutzlaff which mentions the most extensive openings for
publishing the gospel. That the day for doing this universally
is hastening ; that it is the duty of some actively to engage in
it ; of others, nay of all, to help it on by their prayers and by
the offerings which their own immediate work for the Lord
does not demand, I feel every hour more assured.
"I have received a most kind note from Dr. Marshman; indeed
so kindly was it expressed that it quite overwhelmed me, invi
ting me to Serampore. A Mr. Mackey, who was tutor in Mr.
McVicar's school, has called, and he seems deeply in earnest.
There is also a dear young officer and his wife staying with Mr.
BosweU, whose heart the Lord had quite prepared to listen to
His blessed word concerning the Uberty the Lord has taught us ;
and I have met with a Capt. B. who is equally wilUng to hear.
Indeed there seems opening on me a sphere of most abundant
usefulness, to which I hope to return. I received to-day a very
interesting account of a young man whose soiil was affected by
a little intercourse we had in a brig of war.
" I have this evening heard Arch-deacon Corrie preach : it was
a simple statement of the truth.
"April 16th. — I am now on the river going to Serampore on
my way to Patna.
" Serampore. — Here I have met with a large party of, I trust,

SERAMPORE MISSION. 275
devoted men : I shall be very thankful to get my prejudices
against this station removed. May the Lord prepare my heart
not to expect too much from man, but to be very thankful for
all that I see is according to His wiU. I had a nice note yes
terday from dear Dr. Duff, who seems a man of a fine spirit ;
he speaks of his first glow of devotedness, as having arisen
from my little tract on " Christian Devotedness."
" The banks of the Hoogly beyond Serampore are very beauti
ful ; the houses are very handsome, the lawns beautifully ver
dant and shaded with magnificent trees.
" I have just seen poor old Dr. Carey, who is sinking into the
grave, after more than forty years' service, leaving the world as
poor, as to temporal things, as when he entered it. He leaves his
widow and children without a shUUng, to the loving care of
their brethren. May the Lord give them grace to administer
support to them, with such love, that it may be like a balm from
the Lord's hands, making the broken heart to rejoice. Never, I
think, were men more overwhelmingly belied than these : not,
perhaps, that they have done all things well, but they are cer
tainly, in every respect, as far above those who censure them, as
the blue vault of heaven is above the clouds.
" The thermometer was about 96° yesterday and to-day in the
shade ; it is nothing to be compared to the heat at Bagdad, yet
still hot.
" Every one seems to feel that we are sadly in want of a more
powerful manifestation of the Ufe of Christ ; this gives me great
hopes that the Lord has much blessing yet before me.
" April 1 6th, Chinsurah. — I arrived here last night somewhat
late, from Serampore, and have to-day been calUng on two
missionaries ; Mr. M. of the Church Missionary Society, and
Mr. Mundy of "the London Missionary Society ; the latter a
mild, amiable, and Uberal minded man, the former is not so
happy in the constitution of his mind, yet, I hope, a good man.
This station seems a most unpromising one. I know not how
many years of labour have been expended, (I think seventeen,)
and there is not so much as a blade of vegetation ! How won
derful the Lord's ways are ! 0, that my soul had faith only to

276 BURDWAN MISSION.
rest on God ; and never to think of what is Ukely, or unlikely,
but simply on Him and His promises. I purpose going on to
Burdwan, in the prospect of seeing a few dear brethren there.
Dear Capt. Bell assured me this morning, that our conversation
had greatly tended to free his mind from difficulties, which had
greatly troubled him relative to the establishment and to his
own freedom in Christ.
" 20th, Burdwan. — Yesterday, Capt. Vetch, with whom I am
staying, took me out to see some German missionaries, and I spent
the day quietly with them. Weitbreicht, who is married, is a dear
man, but the missionary estabUshment altogether is anything but
happy, I mean as to spiritual power. It makes one very sad to see
the powerlessness of the converts ; may it only stir us up to seek
to show them an example of unselfish devotion to our dear Lord,
and to them for His sake. I trust the second advent of our
Lord will become a strong hope in the hearts of His servants
here before I leave, and that some prejudices will be removed.
" Last night, to my unutterable astonishment, I met with an
old school fellow of mine, and a friend of the Thompsons. He is
a large sugar planter, on the banks of the Hoogly, and, on my
return, I hope to visit him and his wife, as I hear there is some
good thing in them, especially in her, and he was so glad to see
me, that I hope the Lord means to use me for their good.
" I have had a happy day, and one in which the Lord has, I
beheve, helped me to set forth the glories of the first resurrec
tion. I think I have found to-day some light on Phil. iii. 10, 1 5.
I think that the glory of the resurrection from among the dead
is the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, about
which, though there might be some who were otherwise minded,
he knew God would reveal even this unto them. This seems
very much to comfort me concerning those who do not yet re
joice in the glory that awaits them : the Lord, before that day,
will arouse them from that slumber.
"Capt. Vetch tells me that when he came to India, in 1806,
there was but one pious man, a Col. Bronte, between Calcutta
and Delhi ; and now, I trust, there are some hundreds.
"April 22nd, Burbhoom. — When I think of this station and

HAPPY INTERCOURSE WITH CHRISTIANS. 277
all the love, and kindness, and most unmerited regard, I have
here experienced, I feel I cannot detail to you aU that passed,
lest I should thereby remember what I ought to forget as
entirely undeserved.
" The Lord enabled me to make great way on the question of
His coming, and the notion of the Church mihtant. I left
Mrs. V with the feeling of her being a very dear sister whom
I never can and never ought to forget, and Captain Vetch is a
dear brother.
" I have just been with Mr. W., a Baptist missionary, to the
bazaar, where he preached about an hour. He and his wife are
very much to my taste as missionaries — very devoted, Uving
most simply, and returning not a little of their salary to the
Society. I find aU who are interested in religion anxious to
see me, when I arrive at a new station ; and I cannot refuse to
have intercourse with those who are so undeservedly kind. I
am beginning again to feel a little revived under the Lord's
loving mercies. For many months before I left Bagdad, I was
like a tree in winter. I then thought I should never revive ;
but I now see and feel the Lord has not forgotten to be gracious,
and having begun, I know not what He may not do. O, may
I ever know how to possess the dearest of my heart's treasures,
so that the Lord may be glorified in my enjoyment of it.
" When I think of all that must be submitted to, in order to
carry out the work of the Lord effectually in these lands, my heart
is comforted in knowing that spiritual happiness is not dimi
nished by such things.
" The more I see of the dear C.s, the more I love them.
Has not your heart deep sympathy with that character of piety
one meets with in spiritual members of the Church of England ?
I acknowledge the system to be wrong, very wrong, yet my
heart finds great repose in those fair pearls which lie within,
what seems to me, so naughty a shell.
"It is now getting a little hot in Bengal, but it is nothing
like the heat of Bagdad. The season of sorrow is like the
sowing time of winter, when the cold blasts and sharp frosts
seem to check all progress towards vegetation ; but dark and

278 INTERNAL CONFORMITY TO CHRIST.
unpromising as the soil looks, without one green blade to reUeve
the eye or comfort the heart, yet underneath there is a prepara
tion going on for the harvest.
"April 26th. — The soldiers have sent to request I would go
to their Chapel this evening, to give them any information I
thought would be useful to them : this I purpose to do with
the Lord's blessing.
"April 27th, Sunday. — We had a nice sermon from dear Mr.
C. Indeed there is in him a holy earnestness which much
delights me. I do think that both Mr. and Mrs. C. and myself
parted with the truest Christian love ; he had Uttle prejudices,
but they soon fled, and there was the sweetest harmony and
love. Seldom, indeed, have I enjoyed more delightful Christian
intercourse. It has, I trust, laid the foundation of a brotherly
relation that never will be broken.
" I often fear lest the soul should be more disquieted about
the want of external conformity to Christ than internal ; you
know I feel them to be parts of one whole, and that I would
desire the one to follow the other, as simply and naturaUy as
cause and effect : the heart dwelling in the one and the life
following, without carefulness, in the other ; for I think external
conformity, unsupported by a deep divinely wrought spiritual
conformity within, would be very Ukely to lead to pride. I
cannot at all account for the impression the Lord allows to
follow my visits. I do feel so unworthy, unless it be that they
look upon me with kindly disposed hearts, because I have been
a sufferer for Christ ; for it is not merely that they hear, but
the Lord gives me such favour in their sight, that had I been
a brother, they could not have received me with more tender
ness and love : pray for me, that I may only think of the Lord's
glory and the edification of His saints. I am almost afraid
lest my heart should be puffed up, yet I pray that the gracious-
ness of my Lord in thus comforting me, in this wandering
through the wilderness, may work more powerfully by gratitude
than before by sorrow, in keeping my heart humble and tender.
" 0, may the Lord preserve our souls from error, or self-delu
sion ! indeed I would desire to follow God's word most simply !

THE BANKS OF THE GANGES. 279
I can only add, farewell. I am now solitary in a native boat,
among a strange people, whose language I do not understand,
and who wUl go their own way. However, the Lord is here,
and His presence comforts all hearts and smooths all difficulties
to those who trust in Him.
" The Ganges looked very beautiful when we came down on
it to-day, but while it delights the eye, it brings with it a
thousand associations that chiU the heart, running, as it does,
through such an extent of country, wholly given up to a most
debasing idolatry.
" April 29th. — We are again winding along the banks of
the Ganges, amidst low jungles, which, however, are very
interesting from the variety and beauty of the foUage. I have
seen both yesterday and to-day a kind of fern and a hollyhock,
which always revive English feelings. We are skirting a low
range of hills, which a little varies the scene. You would be
surprised at the effect of a vertical sun on the head ; it is not
nearly so hot as in Bagdad, yet it has much greater effect ; but,
thank God, I am well now, and able to bear it.
" Every one owns it is needful to give up views contrary to
Christ, and yet how few are enabled to sacrifice on this altar ! I
do not mean we can or ought to give up what Ve hold to be
truth ; but we may bear, as Christ does, with many errors in
our brother : the preciousness of this liberty in Christ, I daily
feel, and I do trust, by earnest and anxious prayer, we shaU be
preserved in this way unto the end.
" April 30th. — We have been winding round the Banglipore
hills, amidst low jungles, interspersed with a number of old
decayed temples, and small forts, indicating the great changes
that have taken place in the political and religious state of the
couhtry. My eye was deUghted with the magnificent foUage of
a variety of trees quite new to me ; the woods swarm with
peacocks. I saw some miserable date trees, which made one
think of Bagdad, but the fern which reminded me of home
was the most interesting to me.
"In our intercourse with Christians, we must remember
there is often very little light where there is much grace : in

280 ARRIVES AT MONGHIER.
these cases, a little knowledge wonderfully warms and sanctifies
the heart, and this is the end of all truth.
"There is apparently much more attachment to idolatry
here, than in the south of India. When the bearers pass any
pagoda or shrine, they caU out, " Ram, Ram," the name of their
god; and in meeting their friends they use the same salu
tation. " I saw about two hundred eagles devouring a carcase. How
it iUustrates Bcripture ; when by their numbers, by the direc
tion in which they fly, and by the prey on which they aUght ;
that which would otherwise be unobserved, becomes distinctly
pointed out : 'so shall the coming of the Son of man be,' as to the
place of His manifestation, see Mat. xxiv, 23 — 28.
"I have been reading some of Pascal's thoughts, and am
struck with their originality and depth ; yet how he sacrifices
truth to antithesis ! how hard it is to be simply true !
" May 2nd, Munghier. — This is a pleasant place on the banks
of the Ganges. I find Mr. L. a very interesting missionary,
his views about preaching are simple, to my heart's content.
Between one and two hundred attend his preaching in the
bazaar, and he has about thirty converts. He is under the
Baptist Missionary Society, but they are not exclusive. Yes
terday I spent with his fellow-labourer Mr. M., who has been
about thirty years in India ; 1 found him quite open to the
truth of the Lord's Advent ; and on numberless other points
our hearts so entirely agreed, that it was a very happy day :
he is a simple humble man, and has supported himself almost
entirely the whole thirty years : from time to time the Lord
has supplied him, and once, when he was pressed for means, he
found a pot of treasure in his godown, which brought him
4000 rupees, about £400* I saw a peach tree which reminded
me of many I love in the land of my natural affection. Mr.
L,, in many respects, gains much on me ; he does not receive
* A godown is a sort of out-house ; it is no uncommon thing to find
treasure in the ground in India, it was once hidden by those who in former
years were under Mohammedan rule.

BAPTIST MISSIONARIES. 281
half the aUowance that he might have from the society ; his
expenses last year, and he has a wife, amounted to £200.
Both you and I would say this was rather more instead of less
than necessary ; but the fact is a great encouragement to me.
He has a house and a little carriage, and an abundance of
servants. Last year, during his missionaiy tour into the moun
tains, he went the whole journey on foot. There is one of the,
people now reading, whom Mr. L. thinks a true con vert,, and
whom he is preparing to send back among his own people.
" The Baptist missionaries seem to be good men, particularly
when they are not sectarian about communion.
" There is a comfort in feeling that you are one of those who
desire to hasten the coming of the day of God. (2 Pet. in, 12.),
Truly it is a very blessed work. Wherever I go, I find that
the reverence of the people for the brahmins is almost gone,
and that the way is preparing for the publication of the testi
mony of Jesus, as the witness. Last Tuesday, while Mr.
L. was in the bazaar, he saw one of the 'Holy men'
singing his disgusting songs, and undressing himself in a most
shameful way, and when Mr. L. pushed him away and made
him dress himself, all the people applauded the act ; and a mere
boy came up to Mr. L., and said, ' Sahib, this man comes here
and fills our minds with wickedness, and therefore, not only is
it no charity to give him anything, but it is good to drive him
away.' A few years ago the putting one's hand on a so-called
holy man, would not have been tolerated for a moment. I was
at the. prayer-meeting of the church here, and found it very
interesting. It is so delightful to hear how the Spirit teaches
the poor to pray, and to see the honour that God puts on them.
In seasons of retirement and prayer, the heart seems more tried
than at any time. It often appears to me as if Satan were then
especiaUy let loose to trouble, pollute, or perplex the soul ; per
haps, however, we ought rather to take these trials as encour
agements to prayer, than dissuasives from it, for did he not see
we were warring against his kingdom, he would not trouble us.
The inhabitants of the Rajmahal and BhangUpoor hills
seem most anxious for instruction. They have no caste, and

MISSION AT MONGHIER.
their language is peculiar : the hills abound with wild elephants,
tigers, and other beasts of prey ; but the jungle fever is yet
more deadly. A Mr. 0., his wife, and thirteen servants, went
up to the Rajmahal hills; and aU of them died except two of
the servants. Another devoted young man, a Mr. M., went
and died at the foot of the hills ; yet it Is only at certain times
of the year this fever prevails.
"May 6th. — We have been winding along the banks of
the Ganges, and I am now resting for a moment under the
shade of a tree. This is by far the hottest day I have felt
in India; the thermometer is now standing at 105° in the
shade, and for the first time I thought I should be unable to
endure it, but I am quite well now, the pain in my head . gone,
and I feel as though I could bear it, were it twenty degrees
hotter. On the whole, I am as pleased with the mission at
Monghier, as anywhere. There is a reality about the reUgion
both of pastor and people, that gives me great comfort : there
is such an entire breaking down of caste, so that Hindoo con
verts handle and bring their own dead ; a service that, as
heathen, they assign to the very lowest castes, or to servants.
I met yesterday, at breakfast, rather a strange person, a Captain
B., a most learned and extremely well informed man. He has
been a great sceptic, and a great j)rofessor, and now I know not
what he is ; but we had a most interesting conversation ; may
the Lord bless it ! With regard to the second coming of the
Lord, I fully believe the Lord is making way for His truth.
All feel that their former vague interpretations wiU never
stand. Some concede one point, some another, but all, I feel,
are shaking ; and finally, I believe, they will concede so many
points, that they will see the remainder untenable."

CHAPTER XII.
VISIT TO PATNA — INTERCOURSE WITH MR. START — VISITS TO
BENARES, CHUNA AND JAUNPORE  SECOND VISIT TO BURDWAN
AND ITS RESULTS  SECOND VISIT TO CALCUTTA  LETTER
TO MRS. C, ON THE ONLY WAY OF LEADING A HOLY LIFE
 INTERCOURSE WITH CHRISTIANS IN CALCUTTA — MRS. WIL
SON'S SCHOOL — DR. DUFF'S INSTITUTION — MOTIVES OF MR.
GROVES'S RETURN TO ENGLAND  DR. DUFF'S ILLNESS.
Mr. Groves left Calcutta on the 1 6th of April, and his rapid
journey was only broken by his visits to missionary stations by
'the way. One of his objects in going to Patna was to invite
Mr. Start to accompany him to Burmah, as he thought it might
be of great advantage to them to see how that very successful
mission was conducted. But it appears from the JournaLthat he
found Mr, S. so fully and so usefuUy occupied, that he could neither
ask him to undertake this journey, nor leave his own sphere
of labour for any other. Refreshed and encouraged by com
munion with this dear brother, he proceeded to visit other
missionaries as far north as Jaunpore and Benares, and from
that city returned by a shorter route to Burdwan.
" Patna, May 9th. — I arrived her^ on the night of the 7th,
a Uttle tired, and yet much less so than could have been
imagined, considering the heat : the thermometer stood in my
palanquin at 110 or 109 J for nearly four hours. When I
arrived, all were asleep at my friend's house, but the noisy
native population of this immense city seems never to sleep.
All night you hear their contentions and strifes. As we passed
through the streets we saw before their doors their simple
little bedsteads ; on these some were sleeping, whilst others
were lying on the ground. How very, very little the body

284 OBJECTS FOR PRAYER.
seems to need ; but it is the soul's desolation that distresses you.
There are here, perhaps, about 250,000 souls, and all mad upon
their idols. Dear Start is very different from what I had
expected. He has a keen, clear, active mind, and a deep
acquaintance with heart religion ; he is very argumentative,
and disposed to ^roi>e things before he receives them. We are
quite of one heart and one mind, in all things connected with
the kingdom, and he has wonderfully advanced in his prepara
tion for labour.
" At this place numbers are dying of cholera. Within a
few days, about five or six hundred. How happy are we in
having such a refuge ; so sufficient, so present. May we be
taught to place all our confidence in the Lord whom we love ;
He never disappoints, but gives more than we can ask or think.
O, may He bless you, and increase your spiritual treasures.
Press on towards the prize set before you in Jesus, that you
may attain to the resurrection from among the dead. My soul
now returns to her rest : I am full of praise and thanksgiving
for all the Lord's goodness to me.
" S. searches a little into the corners of my heart, and I find
that many weeds which I thought dead, still have living roots ;
this it is very profitable to know. He is a most sterling cha
racter ; and after the pain I have known of late, in finding that
the moment one leans on any, even of the dear children of God,
they too often prove a moving quicksand, it is a great comfort
to find one man fixed in the Lord, and resolved to stand by
the plough to which he has put his hand. He has made great
progress in the languages, and preaches in the bazaar. He has
also several schools ; five, I think, in the province of Bahar.
There are two objects for which I desire the prayers of the
saints ; first, the peace and prosperity ef the Church of Christ,
— that all her divisions may be healed, and the love of all the
members to one another be fervent and pure ; secondly, that
we, especially, who feel our liberty, and love it, may so use it,
as to honour the Lord, that we may live in Christ, and do all
things as in His presence.
" The openings in the upper provinces of India, among the

INTERCOURSE WITH MB. START. 285
independent sheiks, in the neighbourhood of Agra and Dellhi,
are wonderful.
" I cannot describe to you the comfort I feel in having such
a brother as dear S  in India ; one in whose integrity, and
simpUcity, and devotedness, I can so entirely confide. Yet
while I am learning from him, he treats me as though he were
learning from me ; and while my heart is comforted and my
hands strengthened by him, it seems as though I were ministering
to him ; indeed I feel the hand of the Lord is on us, and with
us, and He means us, though far asunder, to be fellow-helpers
in the truth. My heart is touched with the Lord's goodness in
bringing us together.
" I cannot help feeling I occupy a higher place than I deserve
in the regard of those around me : there is something in my
circumstances, giving me a publicity from which I shrink. Pray
that my soul may be so full of the love of Christ, that all my
joy may be His glory.
" I spoke this evening at the coUector's on those words, ' if
the Lord be God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him.'
All in this station, poor and rich, were there : my heart was
sad from a sense of its own nn worthiness. How wonderful
that the Lord should use such poor creatures as we are.
" Last night, at the commissioner's, the chaplain requested me
to lecture on the prophets of the Church of God. I did so,
and the Lord helped me, as He usually does, in these public
ministrations, which are so real a trial to me. Sometimes, how
ever, He seems to let me feel my weakness, doubtless to crucify
that hateful flesh, which, without these humiliations, might be
led to look complacently on its own performances.
" The Lord is in so many ways giving me acceptance with
many, and in a degree so entirely above my deserts, that I feel I
must be humbled before the world some day, I sometimes fear
lest I should be like Absalom kissing the people, and stealing
away their hearts from the King to myself; not that I desire
this in my conscience before God ; for I hate the thought, and
wish that the Lord albne should be glorified. I think I was
never more conscious of a desire to be in all things conformed

286 HE LEAVES PATNA.
to the death of Christ, that His Ufe might be manifested in me,
in its power ; yet I feel nothing can give this but letting the
roots of the divine life within me run deep into the love of
Christ ; then, I know, trials, sufferings, or death, would be easy.
" This is in many respects an interesting station. There are
numbers of inquirers who really seem anxious to know about
the things of the kingdom.
" Sunday 10th. — I am now just on the point of leaving Patna
for Ghausipoor, after preaching. I have very much to thank
God for since my arrival — I do indeed trust it has been for
good. I have this day had a dear young civiUan with me, who
has heard much which he cannot, and which I do not think he
would wish, to forget.
" Relative to this journey, I have only one abiding anxiety,
but that is a vital one. Is it for the Lord ? and do I Uve to Him
alone ? or is self idolized under these fair appearances ? but
for this anxiety, which never leaves me, I should often be only too
happy ; for I cannot describe the difference I feel in my health since
I left Madras ; and the exposure I undergo does not at all seem to
affect it. At Buxar, there was nothing doing in a missionary point
of view, and there I passed over to the east branch of the Ganges.
" I met in Lord Bacon's works the other day some thoughts
that interested me much. They are in his Essay on Friendship.
' Whoever hath his mind fraught with many thoughts, his wits
and understanding do clarify and break up in the communica
ting and discoursing with another ; he tosseth his thoughts more
easUy, he marshelleth them more orderly, he seeth how they
look when they are turned into words, finally he waxeth wiser
than himself, and that more by an hour's discourse, than a day s
meditation. " May 22nd. — I hope this evening to reach Benares, the far
thest point north of my present journey. During my visit into
these provinces, I have realized one hope, which, on entering In
dia, I only indulged as a possibility, viz. that there is no insur
mountable barrier to a most extensive union among all who love
the Lord Jesus in sincerity.- The tendency to sectarianism,
however, is in these provinces much more marked than either

THE RELIGION OF JESUS. 287
in Bombay or Madras, and this is why I feel so thankful the
Lord has given me such favour with so many, in endeavouring to
show them the beauty and glory of being contented with Christ
as a Head and his word as a guide.
" I am told I shall have many trials on my return to Calcutta,
yet the Lord can enable me, though weak and alone, to walk so
unblamably and unreprovably, that they shall not have any evil
thing to say justly against me ; my heart is daily more and more
convinced there is no cure for the innumerable temptations that
throng my path, but such a realizing love of Jesus, as shall in
deed and in very truth enable my soul to feel His wUl and honour
more precious than life. How wonderful the religion of Jesus
is ! when you are sad, there is a spring of hope arises now and
then in your path, that you may not be utterly cast down ; and
when things prosper, and hopes are high, a thousand little fears
rise up to check the heart's buoyancy, lest haply one might be
overthrown in stony places.
" How strange that exposure to heat, which others seem un
able to bear, has no effect on me, and yet, a few thoughts
strongly impressed on my mind quite unsettle both body and
mind. 0, what a blessed day will that be when all who sleep
in Jesus shall rise, and no thoughts of sorrow or fear shall dim the
brightness of their enjoyment. Be it our work to hasten that day!
" I have just received four letters one from Madras, another
from Calcutta, a third comes from fifty miles above Delhi, a
fourth from Patna. All in different ways deeply interesting,
speaking of the glorious liberty of being whoUy the Lord's, and
that in a way that comforts me beyond expression ; they are the
fruits of the realization of His preciousness and completeness, as
Prophet, Priest and King ; many cannot yet bear the Ught of
this glorious Uberty. 0, I pray we may be kept from hindering
by any untowardness of temper, or want of patience, the recep
tion of these blessed truths.
" I have just heard that the plague has been again in Bagdad.
The thought, that those so dear to me should be exposed to this
desolating scourge, makes my heart sick ; yet it is the Lord !
what can we say ? may my soul find repose in Him !

288 HE REACHES BENARES. ,
"Benares, May 24th. — I have been here one day, but I
hope to leave next week, as I am most anxious for tidings
from my dear boys, which I cannot receive tUl I reach
Calcutta. "Benares is a most populous city ; at all times a congregation
may be collected in the bazaar, and generally a very attentive
one. Some of the houses in Benares are very handsome ; but
the streets are very narrow and dirty. This I feel : the natives
must be more lived amongst, if any good is to be done. There
are two Germans here of the Church Missionary Society ,¦ also
two of the London Society's Missionaries.
" May 26th. — I went on Saturday night to Chuna, a distance
of about seventeen miles, and returned last night. Chuna has
been the scene of missionary labours, for twenty or thirty years, '
and a more unfavourable situation could hardly be conceived.
It is a station of invalid soldiers, whose Ufe and conduct gener
ally are a disgrace to any people ; and well may the natives
say, ' why do you not first improve your own people ? ' they
go drunk to the Bazaar, and then commit every kind of outrage,
and there are instances continuaUy occurring of their dying
from drunkenness. There is one Church Missionary, who is em
ployed as chaplain, a Mr. B., a very valuable active man, he has
eighteen orphans, whom he supports out of his own resources,
with occasional help from others. He has also an interesting con
gregation of native women, the wives of the invalids, who seem to
have more of the real spirit of Christianity about them, than
any I have seen in India. There are sixty who subscribe about
eighteen rupees a month to various objects ; and one of them
gave 1,000 rupees to buy a viUage for the employment of native
Christians. The native converts, numbering between twenty or
thirty, all work for their Uving, and every trace of caste is de
stroyed among them. B. quite agrees with me in two or three
points ; one is the necessity of bringing every translation down to
the clear comprehension of the common people ; the other, that
missionaries ought to go from place to place, preaching the gospel,
and only become stationary, when they have gathered a church ;
and rather than remain so, if called to the office of an evan-

VISIT TO JAUNPORE. 289
gelist, they should do as the apostle did, set some over the
church and go on. I value his judgment, for he has been en
gaged nineteen years in the work, and is a native of India. I
have just returned from spending a day with the two missionaries
of the London Society. They told me that whilst they were
preaching the other day in the bazaar, a Brahmin exclaimed,
' Blessing, blessing on those who bring us this word,' and about
thirty more cried out the same words ; but an old Brahmin cried
out in opposition ' Cursed, cursed.' There does seem, indeed, in
India an extraordinary preparation for some great change,
whatever it may be.
" There are at this place several small temples, which have
been built by Europeans Solomon-like, for Mohammedan and
Hindoo women. I give but little description of aU I see,
whether of native wonders, or the various modifications that
society assumes in the regions which I visit, having determined,
as a general principle, that I would confine my attention to the
great objects I have in view, the benefit of the Church of God,
and preparing means for publishing the testimony of Jesus, as
the witness, before He comes. This principle sometimes leads
me two hundred miles to see an individual, when I should not
go two hundred yards to see the greatest curiosity in the world.
Perhaps I carry this too far, but I feel it the safer side : the
taste for these things, when it once possesses the mind, is so in
sidious. "May 30th. — My visit to Jaunpore was in many ways
interesting. There I met a daughter of Mr. James Haldane,
and two or three others, about whom I shall continue to feel an
interest. On my return, I spent the morning with Captain A.,
and heard much more of many whom I cannot cease to love
and remember. I have been three days and five nights in my
palanquin, and the weather is intensely hot ; yet I am not the
worse, nor have I had occasion to take advantage of the three
hours' rest that I had allotted myself daily.
" How much aU our divisions and disputes arise out of our
unfaithfulness to Christ ! Each one seems anxious to justify
his own little selfish reserve from the Lord, rather than to seek

290 RETURN TO BURDWAN.
to be helped to employ his whole body, soul, and spirit in His
most worthy and loving service. Be it our object to suffer no
sin in each other, nor any reserve, but strive to help each other
to lay a whole burnt-sacrifice, on the altar of His self-sacrificing
love. "Here I am, about 10 o'clock at night, driven by a tremen
dous storm, such as I never saw in our land — such Ughtning,
such thunder, such rains ! I pitied my poor bearers, and
thought we should aU be carried down one of the torrents
which I heard rushing by. We are in the midst of mountains,
or rather pretty considerable hills, which increase the reverbera
tion of the thunder.
" My heart sometimes rises with the hope that these poor
vicious, yet, in many respects, attractive people, will one day
know Messiah's name, and a remnant, however smaU, enter
with us into that glorious state belonging to the dead in Christ,
who rise first.
" Burdwan, June 3rd. — I arrived here quite safe and well,
after travelling seven nights and four days successively, in the
hottest time of the year. 1 find all things here in a most in
teresting state. The chaplain, Mr. D., has been up here, very
naturally and, with his views, rightly endeavouring to get things
back again. He is a good man : he says, I have turned every
thing here upside down ; but it was not I that did it, for I am
as much surprised at the effect as he is. May the Lord give me
great meekness and gentleness, to act in all things as becomes
the gospel, that I may not hinder the glorious and blessed
truths the Lord has taught. There are three or four quite
unmoved by Mr. D.'s visit. I never felt so much the need of
prayer, not only that I may not lead any wrong, seeing how
kindly they receive me, and how wiUingly they listen, but that
I may not even clothe truth in any other : garment than ' the
meekness and gentleness of Christ.
" Thursday, June 5th. — I now steal away from those dear
Christian brothers and sisters who surround me, to write a few
lines relative to what is passing. In going up, I mentioned the
deep interest I took in this station, and now, on my return, it is

FRUITS OF TRUE LOVE TO CHRIST. 291
greatly increased. I see among them such a real desire to be
the Lord's wholly, that it quite overwhelms me. One dear
brother offers me 1000 rupees a year, and I have just received
from another an offer of 500 more annually and yet I never
hinted that I wanted ; on the contrary, I assured them we had
more than enough * and I do indeed hope that their UberaUty
arises from their discerning how truly, how entirely, our
adorable Lord is worthy of every dedication the heart can make
of all it has. I continually tell them the feeUng of a true and
tender affection towards the object of its choice, is not, ' am I
obUged to give up everything, may I not keep to myself some
little thing, and call it mine ? ' but, rather, it searches through
the whole extent of its possibilities, to know what is the
sweetest, the fairest, the most acceptable offering ; and love
lays it at the feet of its object, with a delight in proportion to
the value set upon it. The dear brother and sister with whom
I am spending the day have just told me, that they know not
yet how far they can carry out all the principles " of self-sacri
ficing devotion to God; but this they can say, that wherever the
work of the Lord or His saints are in need, they have been led
to see it would be their privilege to part with that which they
most value. I preach here to-night : dear D. has sent me a
very kind message ; indeed, I feel in some respects in such
strange circumstances, that I fervently beseech your prayers
that I may be kept truly, truly humble.
" Last night we had at chapel all the station, with the excep
tion of two individuals. What important principles are these ;
first, to have Christ as your only Head ; secondly, His word as
your only guide.
We shall here break the thread of Mr. Groves's Journal
in order to insert an extract from the memoir of Mr. Weit-
breicht, missionary at Burdwan. It refers to Mr. Groves,
although his name is omitted, and it proves the value of his
services. "A zealous friend arrived in the station in July, who
took a deep interest in missionary work, and conversed much
with the residents on the duty of self-devotedness. Under the

HE HELPS THE BURDWAN MISSION.
impressions made on their minds by this friend's conversation,
Dr. Cheek and Mr. Lang, Christian men, alike Uberal in spirit,
engaged to support two missionaries in India, and to pay their
passage out. Labourers were sent for from Germany, who
were to be stationed at Sunamooky, a very populous place,
midway between Burdwan and Bancoorah, where Mr. Weit-
breicht had one of his large schools. This plan was actually
carried into effect, and at a subsequent period, two devoted
individuals, (Messrs. De Rodt and Gros,) arrived and were
duly located there, to the great joy and delight of Mr. Weit-
breicht, who had taken the most active interest in the matter,
and very essentially aided the arrangements." (P. 1 1 2.)
The missionaries referred to in this passage, were engaged for
this work by Mr. Groves, during his visit to Switzerland, and
he accompanied them to Liverpool, where they embarked for
India. For Mrs. Weitbrecht's school, Mr. Groves obtained
forty orphans at Calcutta, children who were rescued from
famine. Their arrival at Burdwan is mentioned in Memoir,
(p. 120,) but again Mr. Groves's name is omitted.* It is inter
esting to observe that Mr. Groves accepted the offers of help
made to him, not for himself, but to aid those on the spot,
whom he felt were faithfully serving God.
"June 7th. — I am fulfilling my promise of a visit to a kind
old school-fellow, who has a large sugar manufactory near Burd
wan. He seems prospering in the things of this world, and, I
trust, not dead to those which are eternal. I have tried to show
him of how Uttle importance are the former in comparison with
the latter. On leaving Burdwan, I have reason most deeply
to thank God, and yet, I know not why, my heart feels cold :
* In 1855, Mrs. Groves met Mrs. Weitbreicht in England, and in
answer to her enquiries about these orphans, Mrs. W. said, that many of
them turned out very satisfactorily ; some had become wives of catechists,
others were now helpful in the school. She also remarked, "that she
had always considered Mr. Groves as the father of her school." This
school was " one of the most pleasing and encouraging branches of the
mission, and often helped to sustain the spirit of the missionaries, when
all besides was dead and trying to their flesh." Memoir, p. 150.

REFLECTIONS ON DAYS GONE BY. 293
whether it has been interested beyond the power it has to bear,
I know not. 0, when will that day come when no measure,
either of happiness or interest, will wear down the glorious
tabernacle of heavenly mould with which we shall be clothed.
" June 8th. — Yesterday I was led to retrace my boyish days ;
and I cannot help being struck with the fact, how few out of
the many whose history I know, have to all appearance gone
other than the broad way ! What a stupendous act of grace
that I am alive this day, to record the goodness of the Lord,
who kept me from running headlong into iniquity.
" June 10th. — On Sunday night I came down the river to
Chinsura, and spent the day with Captain B. Now I am near
Burahpore on the banks of the Ganges, with a Major P. The
rains having set in, everything is green and flourishing, and
this, accompanied by the increasing activity of the boatmen,
who are impelling their motley vessels on the bosom of this
fine river, gives an air of great pleasantness to the scene ; yet
to me, perhaps less than it should, so completely does man, in
his dark moral character, absorb all my mind.
" When I think how deeply the Lord has tried me, not only
by every variety of affliction, personal and domestic, but by
alienating the hearts of those most precious to me from our
work, I stand amazed at what God means. Sometimes it
seems it can only be to stretch the heart's strings to the
utmost, to show what the most weak and foolish can bear,
without fainting, when He sustains by the dew of His blessings,
hy the manifestation of His favour, by whispering, ' Fear nOt,
thou worm Jacob.' 0, how soothing it is to the soul, to have
Jesus as our refuge, and to be able to commit our way to Him
in faith !
" Great ignorance prevails as to the true nature and charac
ter of that love which flows from God. It is Uke the light of
the sun, which is inexhaustible, and fills heights and depths
without emptying the fountain from which it flows. And the
same love is shed abroad in the hearts of His children.
" Many minds are still exercised about the miraculous gifts
being the necessary warrant to go and preach to the heathen or

294 GOD'S ORDER IN CONTRAST WITH MAN S.
Mohammedan nations. I cannot but feel the help they
might be ; but that they are not needed is plain ; for all who have
been converted during the last 1500 years, at least, have been
converted without them. I have had a kind note from an
Irvingite friend, condemning us for disorderly walking ; and
yet, surely, those of his views are examples of the same ; they
should have found out this by experience, as we found before
them, that whatever beauty there may be in natural order
for natural purposes, the very moment you apply that kind
of order to spiritual purposes, you supercede the order of
the Spirit, setting up the external for the internal, con
founding that which is natural, and the creation of man, with
that which is spiritual, and blows like the wind, 'where it
listeth.' I am not opposed to order, but I submit to man's
order in man's affairs, and to God's order in God's affairs,
according to our Lord's command.
" Calcutta, June 11th. — Here I am safe, after the completion
of my journey. My heart is made very sad by a dispatch just
arrived from Bagdad, stating that the plague had actually
broken out. This determines me not to journey farther, but to
return to Madras, and from thence I purpose to proceed through
Bangalore, Derwar, and Poonah, to Bombay, that I may be
ready the first moment to set sail for the gulph."
After describing a day of much controversy and excitement,
he remarks, —
" I feel assured that all attempts to increase the exclusive
spirit of the Church of England will do injury. My heart
has this repose, that the truth shall prevad ; and my determi
nation is more than ever fixed, to stand and try what, in the
name of the God of truth alone, one poor wretched ransomed
sinner can do, to mitigate the evil which I fear will arise. I
was told I was the greatest enemy the Church of England
ever had in India, because no one could help loving my spirit,
and thus the evil sank ten-fold deeper ; but, indeed, I do not
wish to injure, but to help her, by taking from her all her
false confidences.
" After all the controversy of yesterday, in which, according

LETTER ON A HOLY LIFE. 295
to my prayer, the Lord, upheld me in love and meekness, I
was wonderfully cast down : not unhappy, but like water spilt
on the ground ; yet my soul has not a doubt, the truth is with
me ; and while I weep, my soul rests on Jesus. I feel that
His arm encircles me ; and that His Spirit comforts me ; and,
instead of being discouraged by what I met with, the very fear
which is expressed about me, convinces me, that there is a
power in truth ; for otherwise, how could I gain access to the
hearts of so many ? If I feel able, I go to-morrow to dine with
the chaplain, with whom this controversy occurred. I believe
he loves me. Whether I am weak or strong, alone or supported,
I cannot give up the truth : it is that which has made me free,
and by that I must and, the Lord helping me, will stand.
"I have had to-night another little testimony to God's
goodness. Mrs. S., who, when I first came here, was quite
afraid to leave her husband with me, came to-night, and said,
that whilst they had a farthing, I should be free to share it,
and that she felt able to rest on me as on her brother. On all
things of moment, we are now of one mind ; so there is sun
shine on one side, there is a cloud on the other.
"June 15th. — I have received an interesting note from a
lady, requesting from me some directions how to lead a holy
life. I will copy what I have written to her :
'"My dear Mrs. C,
" ' You know the old adage relative to natural
affections, that love is the best casuist ; when you really love,
you soon find out what wiU please ; and thus it is with Christ ;
if your love glows towards Him, you wUl have almost an
instinctive sense of what will please Him, and that will prove to
be a holy life, when followed on from day to day. Yet when
you think to please one whom you truly love, till death, you do
not plan a life of service, but the fruits of love, in sweet and
anxious service, rewarding as they flow, spring from the heart
fresh and fresh, as from an exhaustless spring ; and so it is with
Christ ; think not on a holy life, but on a holy moment as it
flies ; the first overwhelms the heart by its immensity, the
other sweetens and refreshes by its lightness and present

THE SERVICE OF LOVE.
stimulus ; and yet a succession of holy moments constitutes a
holy life. I know your anxious heart will say, how is the love
to be obtained, that makes the yoke so easy and the burden so
Ught 1 I wiU endeavour to explain to you. During my first
visit among you, neither to yourself nor to your dear daughter
did I feel particularly drawn. I did not feel assured of your
interest in the truth, nor of your kind feelings towards me ;
but at the conclusion of my second visit, all was changed, and I
feel now that to do you a service would not be merely a duty, but'
a pleasure, bringing its own reward, as done to a sister and a
daughter. Why 1 Because I have felt your kindness and its
power. Thus it is with Christ : beUeve His love, and all service
is sweet : and that you may know Him, and how much He
deserves all your love, pay Him not hasty visits, but dwell with
Him. The more we were together, the more we loved each other ;
and thus it wUl be in heaven, and should be always with the
saints even here ; but it may so happen, (for so abounding is
our natural weakness,) that we fail to find love in one another ;
but thus it cannot be with Him ; for whosoever finds Him finds
love ; for it is His very nature towards us, as all His holy dedi
cation of Himself to our service proves. And I . am sure you
will see, if you reflect, how much more blessed such a principle
is, than any scheme we could draw out ; it takes into considera
tion every situation and circumstance, and allows for the ever
varying relative duties, in every family. For it must never be
forgotten, that we have often, (especially as wives or children,)
to serve Christ through our duties to others ; and we must look
through all that is pleasant or sad to Him, to take away our
selfishness in those we dehght in, as well as our sorrow in those
who oppress us. As a principle to guide the heart, I would say,
such a deep acquaintance with Christ's mind, as revealed
in His holy Ufe, and Ufe-giving word, in order that when
any little circumstance arises that requires instant deci
sion, you may have Himself, as it were, present to the
memory of your heart, to give you counsel ; and that you may
fidly understand this mind, seek above aU things the guidance
of that Spirit that alone can guide you into all truth, &c, &c.'

LOVE KNOWS NO RESERVES. 297
" I have no language to express the new views and feehngs
that have opened to my soul of late, in considering these two
points, to forgive, 'even as God for Christ's sake ' forgives us ;
and to be ' followers of God as dear children,' and to walk in
love, as ' Christ also loved us, and hath given Himself for us.'
In considering this view of forgiving even as God, and loving
even as Christ, in contemplating, I say, all the repulsive circum
stances under which God forgives, and the extent to which
Christ's love went, my heart is overwhelmed, and I cry out,
' who is sufficient for these things % ' surely we were meant to
be like angels, even here, by looking unto Jesus, and following
our God as dear children. O, I long to know more of the power
of the resurrection of Jesus, and the fellowship of His suffer
ings ! May the Lord guide me to know these deep things
more, being made ' conformable to His death.'
" Last night I was at a party at Mr. D.'s, and he asked me
to expound, which I did ; yet when he prayed, he prayed
directly against what I had been declaring to be the beauty of
the oneness between us and Christ, and of our union one with
another ; because I said that love knows no reserves, but hates
them, and feels degraded by the thought ; for if this be true
in natural love, how much more in that love which flows from
God, and returns again to Him. If they do not like my words,
why do they press me to speak ? If I speak, it must be truth.
I had the happiness of seeing that more than one felt the
power of it ; for I think God was with me to help me to speak
the word boldly and without fear : I was glad of this, not
because I wish people to agree with me, but to be happy in
Christ : for I am sure love is law, and, therefore, the happiness
clouded, when there are reserves in the heart. To desire to
keep for self one point within the circle of the heart's affections,
would be as a fly in the sweetest ointment ; it would spoil the
whole of the sweet intercommunion imphed in these words, ' ye
are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.'
O ! that we may know this more and more, and be no longer
children but men, in the communion of Christ's mystical body.
"I received a letter from Bagdad yesterday, saying, that

298 THE LOVE OF JESUS.
everything is in the last stage of political disorganization, and
that the Persians are preparing to come down against the city;
yet I know ' the Lord reigneth.'
"To-day I received two nice encouraging- letters from Burd
wan, convincing me that whatever troubles I get into for
ministering among them, some souls are seeking Jesus with a
diligence and devotedness they knew nothing of before.
"June 18th. — 0, how blessed is that knowledge of Jesus,
which, having won the heart by its manifestations of incon
ceivable tenderness and love, lays the soul prostrate before the
least, as weU as the greatest, act of obedience, to receive the
precious charge from Him, whose very charges are only renewed
opportunities, given by Himself, to endear Himself to the soul
by breathing into our Uttle services the breath of His own life
and love, till the very labour itself becomes a pleasure, because
it is for Him whom the soul loves. I cannot tell you how
precious and gracious God has been to me, in enabling me to
understand the operations of divine love in the soul ; I have
been much, very much, exercised of late, in finding out how
true love ought to act ; this led me to Jesus, and in Him,
indeed, I found a feast of fat things. At this moment, I can
not describe the intense feehngs I have of His holy character ;
and at times I feel a little more, and this body could not bear
the intensity of its joy ; and I find myself obhged to cast
away for a time even these most endeared thoughts. The view
of His unselfish, self-sacrificing love, does so encourage me to
beseech every heart on which love rests, to love as He did who
spared not Himself, but gave Himself up only for the objects
of His love ; repaid enough if He won the confiding love of
those He sought to win. I do so feel what David means when
he says, ' when I speak of peace, they make ready for war ;'
everyday I have something or other to try me : I feel, that if
the Lord were not on my side, they would swallow me up
quickly. I have so few like-minded ; yet, wherever I go, by
God's great grace, there have been some one or two, who stand.
At Burdwan all is strife, yet it is the strife of unholy and
unsanctified tempers, resisting the idea of being the Lord's, 'body,

YIELDING UP ALL TO CHRIST. 299
soul, and spirit ;' and can I claim less for Him if I claim anything ?
is He not worthy of all? if He gave us His all, shall we reserve
from Him, that which at best is not ours, but only the droppings of
His love ? in this I am sure I am right ; and though the anx
ieties of my mind sink my body to the grave, I am content
to die with this word ; as we have received all from Christ, so
should we yield all to Christ, and never suffer in our hearts
thoughts of the short measure, which is abominable.
" I have seen the editor of the Inquirer, a converted Hindoo,
a most interesting young man in appearance. The numbers,
he says, who are passing from idolatry to deism, are immense.
" Do you not recoUect my writing to you from Madras, that
my heart had been instructed as by a voice from heaven, that the
reason my love to Christ was so much less sensible and happy
than towards the brethren, was owing to my not having prayed
for it ? My present experience leads me to feel assured that
this was the case ; and, that if I faint not nor grow weary, I
shall love Him yet much more. 0, how joyful it is to hope,
that the heart will bound towards Him, and towards the least
intimation of His wUl, with the feeling of a won heart towards
the object of its tenderest and truest attachment.
"June 19th. — I have been seeking to get forty little orphan
girls, and hope I shall succeed. The poor natives between this
and Cuttah, and in Bundlecund, are in a most miserable state
of famine, and are selUng their children for a rupee or two
each. There is indeed very deep misery in this country.
" June 21st. — My view of God's condescension in sending
Christ the whole way down to meet our misery, and not re
quiring us to take a step, as it were, but consequent upon the
manifestation of His grace, instructs me how we are to act
towards one another : the more my soul dwells on Christ as all
in all, the more I see how perfectly He answers to the character
of the ' wisdom of God, and the power of God.'
"June 22nd. — Did you ever look at Acts ii, 24 to 34, as clearly
proving that the notion most people have, that the departed
are glorified immediately after death, is not correct? In
verse 29, it is declared, that David is not ascended into the

300 CHRIST WORTHY OF ALL OUR LOVE.
heavens ; therefore being a prophet he could not have been
speaking of himself but of Christ, whose body had not seen
corruption, whose soul was not left in Hades, and who was
ascended into heaven.
"June 24th. — This morning I have met with Mr. and Mrs.
ElUs and Mr. and Mrs. Pearce, who seem worthy of all love. I
am much pleased with them. Pearce has an enormous printing
establishment, the whole profits of which he bestows on the
promotion of God's cause. His wife has also a school, and they
seem very devoted and very happy. They seem to know more
of the hidden life of Christ than most ; that alone will bear
much superstructure, and when the length and breadth of it is
felt in the soul, it is equal to anything.
" The chaplain is most kind in many respects : he says, ' they
cannot have too much of my spirit, or too little of my judg
ment.' I beUeve the Holy Spirit has given me the gift of
exhortation in the Church, and to this I principally confine my
ministrations ; first, showing what Christ is in all His love, mani
fested in all He has done and suffered for us, and in what He is
now towards us, and, therefore, how worthy He is of all love
from undivided hearts. I feel it a blessed office to tell forth
His praises among the saints ; and I can often do it with joyful
lips, from the bottom of my heart.
" I wish to know on what authority baptism is called the
seal of the Christian covenant, as circumcision was of the
Jewish. I see not a word about covenant in connection with
baptism. It seems to me, from Scripture, nothing more than a
profession of faith in that triune Jehovah, by whose acts of
grace and truth the soul has been brought from death unto life.
And if baptism be a sign of the covenant ; of what covenant
was John's baptism a sign 1 Of this I am quite certain, the
weakest reasoner, by the same principle on which the inde
pendents establish infant baptism, could justify national com
munion, without reference to believers or unbelievers : for if
they argue that our infants should be baptized because the
Jewish infants were to be circumcised, why should not our
infants partake of the Lord's Supper as theirs did of the Pass-

mrs. wilson's school. 301
over ? Again I would say, if baptism be the sign of a covenant,
of what nature is the covenant 1 Between whom is it made 1
and what is its ultimate object ? I see not in the New Testa
ment the slightest allusion to a covenant in connection with
baptism. No, believers' baptism and believers' communion
hang together ; and if you allow baptism to the unbelieving,
then follows communion with the same, worldly Christianity,
and every other evil. But, in this, the independents are
happily inconsistent.'
"June 25th. — Last night I was with Mrs. Wilson ; she has
an orphan school of about sixty girls, and is going to increase it
to a hundred. There is something to my heart so sweet in all
these fruits of Christian affection. She has engaged to obtain
for me forty little orphan girls, of whom a dear brother and
sister in Burdwan (Mr. and Mrs. Weitbreicht) proposed to take
care. " My first great object is to promote the pubhcation of the
testimony of Jesus, far and near : and that which I feel to be of
the next importance, is contending against sectarianism in the
East. For the attainment of these ends, I could not be better
situated than at Calcutta. I do not object to any one's enjoy
ing the forms he holds to be most scriptural, but I do absolutely
object to his imposing his yoke on the neck of his fellows.
" I am so sure of the truth of those blessed principles the
Lord has taught us, that I glory in their propagation. Simple
obedience to Christ alone ; recognition of Christ alone in my
brother, as the Alpha and Omega of terms of communion ;
lastly, unreserved devotion to Christ alone. On the whole, I
think the Christians here feel the truth of these and other
principles that I hold, but they dread them and their conse
quences ; however, they are aU discussing them ; some holding
with, some opposing ; this discussion is at all events good. I
have never before seen so much opposition, except when these
principles first became the deliberate convictions of my own
mind in Exeter. I have not a misgiving thought about the
issue. I can truly say, if it be not of God, let it come to
nought ; but if it be, it shall stand. When I ask them what is

302 discussion of principles.
the difference between their principles and those of the merest
worldling, they cannot tell. Pray for me much. I do think
many begin to feel ashamed to keep back anything from 'Christ,
who kept back nothing from them. I want to prove to them
how little reaUy they have as yet found a portion in Christ, at
least a satisfying one. I would rather have these principles,
with nothing but sorrow and trouble, because there is in true
affection for Christ a power of distUUng precious sweets out of
them all.
" June 26th. — Yesterday, I received a letter from a very dear
sister, whom I have before mentioned, the wife of a missionary
in Jaffna. Her heart seems sadly cast down, because she has
not all the love of Jesus, which she desires. How I pity all
who are thus distressed ; for indeed I have known the sorrows
of this cup ; and hope I shall never cease to praise God, for
raising me out of the horrible pit and the miry clay, by showing
me that the way to love Him with all my heart, was not by
contemplating my want of love, but by looking at His un
speakable fulness, till aU my heart was won ; and though I feel
an immeasurable deficiency of the love and service my soul
desires, yet I do love, and am happy, and find aU service
delightful, compared with any thing I ever knew before. I
feel indeed He is worthy of our whole hearts, and sometimes
He enables me to state this so clearly, that those who call me
the greatest enthusiast are obliged to acknowledge that the
words I speak are the words of truth and soberness.
" The captain of a ship said yesterday, that when I was sick
or wished to go to Singapore or Mouhnein, he would be glad to
take me for nothing. Another person, a determined infidel,
told a friend of mine, that, true or false, those were the prin
ciples of Christianity. And surely if I can get those who are
most devoted to God, and those who are most disinterested,
from indifference, to declare that the views we hold are true,
we must not be surprised if those who have received a bribe in
any shape to blind their eyes do not see.
"June 27th. — I saw yesterday an interesting native, Row
Kistna Row ; he is the son of the first famUy in a province

VISIT TO DR. DUFF'S SCHOOL. 303
called Sanyen near Bundlecund. Lord WUliam Bentick found
him engaged in schools at his own expense, and invited him
down to the Presidency, where he is now acquiring English and
general information. There is an extraordinary state of things
in India, however it may issue. An uncle of the present king
of Oudesent me, the other day, a book in Persian and English,
a fulsome panegyric on the English government here.
" O ! ,how happy a thing it is to think that the soul's
prosperity depends on nothing external, that its own proper
life is hid with Christ in God.
"June 28th. — -I spent last evening with some who desire the
truth, yet dread the price. 0! that they knew the preciousness
of Him whose service, to those who love Him, is perfect freedom.
" How many look at the Church as something to Uve by, a
sort of private property, instead of the mystical body of Christ,
and all ' members one of another,' having a common interest in
one another. Never did I feel I needed more of the wisdom of
the serpent and the harmlessness of the dove than now. I
believe the Lord will raise up some to stand by me ; yet my
whole soul shrinks from the combat.
"I could bear with any form which substantially made
Christ everything ; but when the form disfigures and hides the
Ught of Ufe, how can I, how dare I, be silent ?
"June 28th. — I have just returned from Dr. Duff 's school,
containing about 300 boys ; certainly, I have not been so deeply
interested with any school in India. In speaking to the first
class on the internal evidence of the truths of Christianity, from
its adaptation to the promotion of God's glory and man's highest
happiness, they allowed it ; and, with countenances beaming
with inteUigence, and some with deep feeUng, pointed out the
absence of all these marks in their own systems. Of these, some
are just ready to! take their leave, yet are detained by the fear
of irremediable temporal ruin."
Dr. Duff writes, " It was my delight to know that Mr.
Groves was struck with the work in which I happened to be
engaged, when he visited Calcutta. It afforded me not a Uttle
consolation and comfort at the time.''

304 dr. duff's letter.
" Singular enough, it was on the forenoon of the very day on
which I was siezed with that terrible attack of Bengal dysentery,
¦which brought me soon to the very edge of the grave and ne
cessitated my return to Europe, that Mr. Groves paid his first
visit, along with me, to our institution.
" Never can I forget his earnest, beaming countenance and
suffused eyes, when pouring out his soul into the responding
souls of a class of native youths, on the great theme of salva
tion ! The image of it is as vividly before my mind's eye now,
as if it were an occurrence of yesterday.
" In a Uttle work of mine, ' Missions, the chief end of the
Church,' I have specially noted this visit of Mr. Groves."
Mr. Groves says, in reference to Dr. Duff 's seminary, " This
institution was originally set on foot in the hope of obstructing,
or rather of counteracting, the pernicious tendency of the
Hindoo CoUege, where Christianity is systematically and vigi
lantly excluded. It has created a great opposition amongst
many of our semi-Hindoo countrymen; but they are fast being
put to silence by the demonstration of more boys coming than
can be admitted. Forty were of necessity declined last month.
A very large number of the pupils are Brahmins, and many of
them are coming now at the perU of losing caste, after suffering
every kind of persecution short of this. The Calcutta news
paper, edited by natives, says, that yellow flags ought to be
hung up before Mr. Duff's school, as before a house infected by
the plague, to deter men from entering."
About this time, Mr. Groves, who, as his Journal shows, had
purposed going back to Bagdad, by way of Bombay, had ascer
tained that his friends there determined on joining him in India.
It was suggested to him, that it would save much time, if, while
they were on their way, he should visit Europe, in order to
procure in England and in Germany the missionary help
which was needed both for himself and others : he therefore
decided on doing so ; and, in the prospect of returning to his
friends, he thus continues his Journal.
" July 1st.— 0, may I arrive among you, with a sweeter savour
of Jesus, and with a heart and all its will and affections more

GOD'S WILL OUR LIBERTY AND JOY. 305
simply identified with, and consecrated to the will of Him, whose
will is at once the rule, liberty, joy, and glory of all unfallen
creation. " Dear Duff is, I fear, very ill.
" My heart is thankful and happy in the Lord, and in aU His
precious gifts to one so utterly unworthy."

CHAPTER XIII.
MR. GROVES SAILS FROM CALCUTTA IN COMPANY WITH DR. DUFF
AND OTHER INTERESTING FELLOW-PASSENGERS — CIRCUMSTANCES
OP THE VOYAGE TO MADRAS  HIS VISIT THERE, AND HAPPY
PARTING PRAYER WITH MR. TUCKER  BIBLE STUDIES  SER
VICES ON BOARD  LOSS OP HIS BIBLE  DISCOMFORTS OF THE
VOYAGE  REFRESHING VISIT TO THE CAPE  VOYAGE HOME 
OCCASIONAL SERVICES AND OBSERVATIONS ON SCRIPTURE 
THOUGHTS ON COMMENDING OURSELVES TO EVERY MAN'S CON
SCIENCE  A GALE OF WIND OFF THE CAPE  DESCRIPTION OF
SCENERY AND OF CAPE TOWN  INTERVIEW WITH MR. AND MRS.
DECK  MEDITATIONS ON MANY SUBJECTS  HE SPEAKS TO
PASSENGERS ON DECISION IN GOD'S THINGS, ALSO ON THE LOVE
OF GOD • — FINDS NO RESTING-PLACE BUT THE ARK  DILIGENCE
TO THE END IN THE STUDY OF THE WORD  THOUGHTS WHEN
NEAR ENGLAND.
For more than three weeks Mr. Groves could not resume the
Journal so suddenly broken off. He had many arrangements
to make preparatory to his departure from India, and was
closely occupied in attending on Dr. Duff through a very
dangerous Ulness. He was ever ready to minister to the sick,
and it is even now a comfort to reflect that he was at this
season permitted to . be of essential service to one whose pro
longed Ufe has been dedicated to the service of a people in whom
he was himself so deeply interested.
The Journal of Mr. Groves's homeward voyage affords us the
instructive example of a Christian "redeeming the time."
Amidst all the discomforts of the voyage, to which he was ,
the more exposed from resigning his cabin to his sick friend, we
shall see how he gave himself continually to prayer and to the
study and ministry of the Word ; and, while we admire the

SAILS FROM CALCUTTA. 307
grace of God towards His dear servant, may we, by the same
grace, overcome the difficulties in our own way.
" July 26th. On board the John Mac Lellan. — For twenty-five
days, I have been unable to write ; I have been watching by
the almost dying bed of my poor friend Duff, who is now my
fellow-passenger. When I had determined to leave India and
go home, I sought the earliest and the cheapest opportunity ;
and as Duff Was ordered instantly to England, we are aU com
ing together. [See Appendix F.] In addition to the Duffs, a
dear Christian brother and sister, Captain and Mrs. Sandeman,
and another lady who is well disposed, constitute, with the
Captain, our company at the cuddy table : the latter, though
not converted, is a kind and pleasant man : thus the Lord has
happily arranged our little party, and I do hope we shaU ter
minate our voyage holier and happier, and better acquainted
with the mind of God, than we commenced it.
" July 28th. — For a fortnight after Duff was taken iU, I put
off all my intended visits ; and, afterwards, T was only enabled
to renew my intentions to a very limited extent. I went how
ever to ChUpore, where Mrs. Ellis, from Exeter, resided, and
felt great delight in their spirit. They have two native board
ing schools, one of boys, and the other of girls ; and really they
are most interesting. Four of the boys have been baptized, and
are walking most unblamably, and one of the eldest of the girls ;
they have the fullest conviction of her conversion. The Scrip
ture knowledge and spiritual feeling of the boys, gave me great
delight. They have also day schools, but these I did not see.
" My interest in boarding schools is very much increasing ;
not because I think it was the way in which the apostles pro
pagated Christianity, but because I see the Lord now blessing
it. I think direct preaching to the natives a much higher
and more noble work ; and one the aim after which my whole
heart feels the overwhelming importance of; but if the aim,
in truth, be Christ's honour, persons are often blessed of the
Lord, to effect, though with labour, what, in the days of the
Spirit's energy, was done by a single sentence brought home

308 GOD ALONE THE GLORY OF HIS PEOPLE.
"I have been much struck with the deep knowledge
John in the fourth chapter of his first epistle, manifests of
the internal working of the divine life in the soul of the
beUever ; of its source, its nature, and its operations.
" July 30th.— We have been about ten days from Calcutta.
The Duffs were both brought on board in palanquins. She.
had only been confined that morning ; and he was as unable
to move as an infant : however, they have all done wonder
fully well, and he is daily gaining strengh. One of our poor
saUors has died, as also the lady who occupied the cabin next
to mine. The poor little orphan boy of the latter is left with us :
he has lost both father and mother in less than two months.
O, that the heart would learn wisdom from these things ! Some
of the sailors seemed affected when I spoke to them on the
burial of our poor companion and fellow-passenger, yet it all
seems like a summer cloud, or as the early dew, so quickly do
impressions pass away.
" The Lord is most gracious in showing me that the mani
festations of Himself, seen in the choicest of His saints, are
dimmed and obscured by the medium through which they
shine, in order that the Lord alone may stand revealed the true
light of life, and love of His people. I have been greatly
blessed through the trials of the last many months. My whole
happiness now consists in not looking for a moment aside from
the Lord, as the giver of every good : and this knowledge,
coupled with a clear abiding sense of His love, as desirous and
waiting, to give all that, if I knew my true happiness, I could
desire, enables me to look a little faithfully into the inner man,
where I have much to contend against, in the strength of
motives and affections.
" Sunday, August 3rd. — The morning after I wrote the above,
we put to sea in so heavy a gale, that we brought our pilot
straight away to sea with us. Since this I have been quite
unable to do much ; indeed the wind has scarcely at all abated,
and we have been so driven out of our course that we are
farther from England than when we left Calcutta : yet I feel
most happy in the thought, that the Lord knows all His holy

' GOD OUR STRENGTH IN WEAKNESS. 309
reasons, for our delays and troubles, so that I can happily com
mit all my earthly and heavenly interests to Him. The
Captain is thinking of casting 500 bags of rice overboard to
lighten the ship, should the sea continue so boisterous. May
the Lord give him wisdom to do what is right, for, I feel, He
is the only real guide, let man think as he may. I have, thank
God, got over my sea sickness, and am therefore able to help
others a little. This is a great comfort, for there is something
so hopeless, so helpless, in sea sickness ; you feel so careless
about yourself, and so selfish and indifferent to others. I miss
very much the retirement of a closet, which I enjoyed on shore.
To avoid expense, I allowed a Christian brother to have a third
of my cabin, and I have, up to this time, slept on the floor of
the cuddy. Sometimes I have felt the spiritual loss to be
greater than the value of a few hundred rupees ; yet I think
again, it is right, and am content to hope the Lord will allow
me to find all I seek in my return home, even nearness of access
to Himself. My soul finds a refuge from its own weakness and
ignorance in His invincible strength and infinite wisdom.
'May the Lord, to whom it is as easy to preserve in a storm as
in a calm, preserve us all by His care, that our hearts may be
abundantly thankful for all the goodness and mercy that He
manifests towards us in the midst of our respective trials.
" August 6th. — This night, it is calm, and yesterday it was
moderately so. I have been much comforted by that view of
God, as the God of all we need. Do we need consolation ?
' He is the God of all consolation.' Do we need patience ?
then ' He is the God of patience.' Is our heart bowed down
with sad thoughts, so that we need hope ? then, He is the ' God
of hope,' in order that He may 'fill us with all joy and peace
in believing, that we may abound in hope, by the power of the
Holy Ghost.' I do indeed much pray that you may most richly
enjoy this from the Lord. I earnestly hope I may come unto you
with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.
" I will not trust my own heart, having so often proved its
treachery, and the word of the Lord declares, that ' he who
trusts in his own heart is a fool ;' but I intend (the Lord en-

310 A FORTNIGHT'S DELAY IN THE BAY.
abling me) to spend my time during my voyage, chiefly in
studying the word of Ufe ; with the view of applying the fruit
of my labour, first in the analysis of my own heart's affections ;
and secondly, in obtaining guidance how to conduct myself to
wards the poor distracted church of God ; on my return, as to
the latter point, I do most fervently pray for light and a holy
courage. "August 7th. — Still slowly pursuing our way, in a stormy
sea. How like the Christian course ! I sometimes feel ready to
say, with Moses, ' I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor
since thou hast spoken unto thy servant.' How can I, then, do
the service of the Lord ? How clearly this shows the pride of
man, who thinks, if we cannot be something, nothing can be
done ; whereas the Lord has declared that this very nothingness
of the creature shall be the basis on which He, the Creator, will
estabUsh the greatness of His mighty power. It is thus the
Lord calls the caterpillar, palmer worm, <fec, ' my great army,' to
bring to nought man's glory, and to raze to the foundation the
mightiest empires. Yes ! so small, so contemptible a reptile, if
the Lord bid, can do such mighty deeds : and ought we then to
fear 1 Surely at our lowest the Lord has raised us above the
caterpillars ; so that the very weakest might rather question if
he be not yet too strong, at least in his heart, for the use of that
God whose ' strength is made perfect in weakness.' My heart
knows not how not to anticipate, till at last, I sink back on the
promise 'as thy day is, so shaU thy strength be ;' for the Lord wiU
not lay upon us more than He will enable us to bear ; but will,
with the trial of heart, either give strength, or a way of escape.
In reference to a native youth, Mr. Groves took with him to
England, he writes : — "I am deeply interested in my Hindoo
friend : I do hope his soul is truly bound to Jesus. He speaks
EngUsh very well. My great desire is to lead him down into
the valley of humiUation, if the Lord give me grace, by going
hand in hand with him, to ease his path ; or, if the Lord would
yet give me more grace, by going before Him as I ought."
In allusion to a fortnight's delay in the bay, without progress,
he writes : — "I feel inconceivable repose in the thought that they

IN CHRIST ALL WE CAN NEED. 311
are my Fathers wings that are bearing us, and that we are His
sons and daughters : so I desire to check every rising murmur.
"August 13th. — We are still beating about in the bay, borne
by unseen currents so out of our course, that often, after having
run 100 miles, we find we are Uttle more than ten mUes in ad
vance ; how like often the souls progress ! We seem to be
making way, yet really are not ; some secret currents unobserved
run us back. It often seems to me that I have journeyed a
long, long way in the divine life, and yet how little I have at
tained ! My strength, however, revives under the sunshine of
the grace of Christ ; and, I feel the fruitful showers of God's
grace wUl yet make the barren bough to bear. I do not think
that I have been stagnant in knowledge ; I have clearer views
of God's truth than I had, at least they appear to me such.
I am devoting my leisure hours to the study of the word, as
I am satisfied that here, and here only, is to be found the true
wisdom. I feel the want of retirement and quiet, as a sick
brother has the use of my cabin, but I usually get up now very
early in the morning, before others are stirring, and present my
morning offerings to Him who hears and answers prayer. I
have been much employed of late, in examining, arranging, and
comparing the preceptive codes of Moses and of the Lord. I
have derived much comfort and instruction from seeing how
entirely Christ is Lord, Master and Teacher ; Prophet, Priest,
King, Mediator, Intercessor and Advocate ; all we can love,
all we can need, and aU we could desire : indeed all and in all ;
yea, 'God over all, blessed for evermore.' That He may be our
'wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption;' and im
part to us the righteousness of God, that all who glory may
glory in Him, and Him alone, is my fervent prayer.
"The more I trace the existing evils of the Church of Christ,
the more I believe, in my inmost heart, they have originated
in the natural worldliness of man, seizing on that in the Jewish
dispensation which suited his carnal nature, and grafting it into
the spiritual dispensation of the Lord of glory.
" August 20th. — We are drawing very slowly towards Madras,
and from that point, I trust, our voyage will be more favourable

312 GOES ON SHORE AT MADRAS.
as, after running down to the Une, we expect to fall in with the
South East Trades, to carry us to the Cape. I feel on the whole,
I trust, quite a repose of heart, and when I would sometimes
urge and direct the winds, the thought sweeps across my heart,
perhaps it may be only to hasten to sorrow, and my heart com
mits all to God.
" In thanking and praising my Father for His tender mercies
and loving-kindnesses, this morning, a text refreshed me which
I send for your comfort. ' Thy words were found, and I did
eat them ; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing
of my heart ; for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of Hosts.'
Jer. xv. 16. I think of speaking to the people to-day on Jer. x.
23, ' O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it
is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.'
" As we were looking out to sea this morning, we saw a water
spout. It seemed to make a strange commotion. Excepting
this, a few sharks, turtle, dolphin, and flying fish, have been the
only things which have varied our voyage.
"August 26th. — Yesterday we went on shore at Madras. I
found there had been some changes since I went away, from
death and departure. I felt comforted that the little book I had
pubUshed had not been able to alienate those I very truly loved
in the Lord, for the truth in them ; they received me truly as a
brother. Rhenius of TinneveUy has published two pamphlets,
which I think are calculated to do much good. They are writ
ten in a nice spirit, exposing many objectionable things in
the Church of England. I sometimes fear it may involve him in
some difficulties, but the Lord will guide him ; for I feel he is
appointed of the Lord for the propagation and upholding the
truth and Uberty of the Church of Christ. The Bishop is ex
pected in a few weeks, and when he comes, I know not how
they will be able to arrange these matters ; yet, I trust, he may
be able to forbear, rather than to interfere. I do feel great
thankfulness for having been the instrument of keeping Rhenius
in his work, and may the Lord give him grace to glorify Him
in all he does !
" I do hope the Lord will allow us to gather a holy little band,

INTERVIEW WITH MR. TUCKER. 313
who will unite in defending the Uberty of the Church of God,
from the supremacy, pride, and control of man ; and as we are
advancing, I think, most happily, may the Lord so convince us
of our nothingness, that we may never move but with Him.
" I felt on leaving Madras, that we were fairly launched for
England, and a thousand thoughts came crowding on my mind,
melancholy on the whole, yet tinged with the hope that the
Lord will yet give me favour among those I love. Freely He has
given me the glory the Father gave Him, when I was cast out
to the loathing of my person, unswaddled and uncared for. Why
should I fear that my worthlessness should prevent His giving
me the most precious treasure that He has ?
"Amidst many trials, I trust I can say, it is all from the
Lord ; and I will praise Him for all ; only -praying, that I may
receive every impression, whether of joy or sorrow, as from
a Father's hand, that it may promote my transformation into
His image, and the sanctification of my affections and tempers,
till I have learned obedience like my Head. Dear Mr. Tucker,
who has the charge of the church missions, asked me, before we
parted, to join him in prayer ; and we spent a holy parting mo
ment near our uniting Lord, the savour of which so remains
on my heart, that I feel how impossible it is for anything to
divide when love reigns and rules."
In allusion to his habit of setting apart every Friday for
prayer and fasting, Mr. Groves says — " I feel it impossible to
enjoy my Fridays as I used to do. I divide all my little services
of that day, for my brethren and the Church at large, into por
tions, and allow myself an hour or two of retirement every day,
which tends to compose my spirits into a patient waiting on
the mind and ordering of Christ. Just at the end of this time,
before I leave my cabin, Anundoo, the Hindoo, comes in and
we have a little prayer together : besides this, I do little but
write, and read God's word : thus my days pass on. My Hin -
doo friend occupies and interests me, and I think I daily see
that he apprehends more and more of the preciousness of Christ.*
* Very much is said of this yov.ng Hindoo, called Anundoo, in the

314 MONOTONY OF A SEA VOYAGE.
" There is in a sea voyage a pecuUar monotony : the different
size of the waves, and the direction or violence of the storms,
are almost the only outward changes. Sometimes my heart
overflows with the thought of visiting the Uttle churches. 0
may I come among you with a sweet savour of Christ ! I hope
and pray that I may find you all such as I would, even though
I be as a reprobate piece of silver among you. I think I can
call God to witness, that I desire to know the whole of his holy
will. I quite agree with Scott as to his having no more autho
rity, apart from his ability to teach, than his brethren, nor do I
yet see who has.
" I feel dady in looking at the stupendous grace of the gospel
how it is calculated to give peace to the veriest wretch that
crawls ; by its exhibition of God's character in Christ, pardon
ing the rebellious, cleansing the defiled, justifying the guilty,
enriching the disinherited, comforting the afflicted, and bringing
home the outcasts of every clime and every colour to the feUow-
citizenship of the saints in Ught ; and aU for His name-sake,
that He might be glorified, and fill, through eternity, the
hearts and lips of His redeemed, by the revelation of Himself,
as the God of love. O, I daily feel the necessity of such a
salvation ! the unspeakable comfort of being heir to its promises
of mercy, peace, and pardon. Do you not feel that the grace
and graciousness of the gospel, the Ulimitable love and tender
ness of God our Father, in blotting out- our sins, and clothing
us with the righteousness of Christ ; and giving us the inherit
ance of sons among the holy ones, overwhelms the heart with
desire to serve and love, even as it has been served and loved
by our great Emmanuel, the Prince and Saviour ? Sometimes,
the glory of the gospel of grace bears me up in holy desires, to
be practically that which I am actually in Christ, in God's

journal. He is described as one who had made great sacrifices for Christ ;
but as he turned out very unsatisfactorily, it is thought best to omit the
passages which refer to him. They show the deep interest that Mr.
Groves took in his salvation, and proportionably great was the grief his
subsequent departure from the Lord occasioned.

VARIATIONS IN SPIRITUAL LIFE. 315
most gracious judgment. ; even ' without spot, or wrinkle, or
any such thing.' 0, the wonders of that grace which sees ' no
iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel.' I do so desire
to deal with my Father with that love and loyalty, that hate
rebelUon against the least intimation of His wUl.
" Sunday. — I am again drawn to rejoice in contemplating
the Lord's bridal day ; the day of the Church's espousals.
Endeavouring to prove the right that Christ alone has to the
allegiance of the Church, is, I quite feel, to be my future ser
vice ; and, by the grace of God, I will willingly labour till I
lay my worn-out frame in the dust in accomplishing it ; so sure
am I of the awful rebellion of men, in making the Lord's laws
of none effect, by their own traditions. If they would only
claim their alleged prerogatives, on the ground of human ex-
p ediency, it would be something ; but they endeavour to fix
upon God plans and principles which would sap the very
foundations of His gospel.
" Sept. 1st. — We have now come within one degree of the
line, and are proceeding more prosperously than we could have
hoped. I have begun my arrangement of Scripture from the New
Testament, and I believe I shall find it a most profitable task.
Indeed, I feel that there is no time more usefully employed,
than in searching God's word, unless it be by living it.
" Sept. 3rd. — On taking an observation to-day of the sun at
noon, we find we have gone back ten miles since yesterday at
noon ; thus varies the divine life within us, — how blessed then
becomes our position in belonging to a God who pardons
'iniquity, transgression, and sin ;' this comforts my heart,
leads it to burst forth and say, 'Lord, we will praise thee
from the ground of our hearts, and magnify thy glorious name,
and serve thee, even if with tears, with joyful hearts, and
willing feet.'
"It is in this that Satan's power consists, that he casts
into my mind the most strange unimaginable possibilities,
and I am so foolish, that whilst I feel they have not a
shadow of truth, they trouble and perplex my mind, and
destroy its tranquillity, and take up that spiritual power in

316 ANALYSIS OF GOSPEL PRECEPTS.
subduing their inroads, which I would spend in peaceful
devotion to God.
" I cannot tell you the interest I feel in my analysis of the
New Testament ; this is something that steadily occupies my
mind many hours a day. I find in investigating many subjects
you get the whole mass of Scripture to bear on them ; there is
a force and clearness that delights and- satisfies the mind.
" Sandeman is an unspeakable comfort to me ; his mind has
been deeply tried about the truth, and therefore my heart has
so much interest in him. I cannot be sufficiently thankful to
the Lord for this comfort ; I might have been alone, and then
having only my own thoughts to converse with, I should have
been tried far far more than now.
" Sept. 5th. — I am just going to begin my daily occupations;
may it be with the Lord's presence and comfort ; yet it is after
a sleepless, weary night. Were it not that I have slept on
harder pillows more happily, I should think it was the rolling
of the ship rendering the hard bed uneasy ;* yet I find not my
body uneasy, but my mind ; for I am doubly unhappy. I am un
happy that I am unhappy, that I am cast down when I have the
Lord's love, and so many dear brothers, and sisters, and mothers,
and fathers. I feel it so ungrateful, so unthankful, not peace
fully to pursue my happy way. Yet Paul was also so distressed in
not having Titus's presence, to comfort him, that he had no rest in
his spirit ; and surely, the. doubt about Titus's love would have
been ten times more unbearable. However, I think I am pre
pared to stand by the work of the Lord, though my spirit may
be weighed down by the thought of personal solitude. How
comforting to know when the body may languish, the spirit
can speed its way to Christ ; and it often finds its sweetest
portion in His field of spices, when all is parched on earth. I
cannot tell you how glorious the gospel appears to me, when I
contemplate it as the means God has appointed to write His
love on the fleshly tables of the heart. How suited it is by its
grace, through faith, to give peace, hope, and access to, and,
finally, joy in God, — the very thing that makes all burdens,
all yokes, easy ; and how blessed to know we are made ' free

HAPPY EXPERIENCE OF CHRIST'S CLORY. 317
indeed,' from the dominion and the very love of all that wounds
and offends Him. It often appears to me, as an unexpected
result of my last fourteen months in India, (when the danger
that I most apprehended was that the constant contact with
external things would have a tendency to draw me out of that
simple living in Jesus, which is the life of all our fruit-bearing
boughs,) that I know no period during my acquaintance with
the truth of God that my soul has at all been so led to appre
hend how entirely all life but in Him is death. My life in
India has been, in many respects, one of bodily and mental
excitement and bustle, and yet I have had deeper views of the
heavenly glory in Christ, and felt such a power in His salvation
and beauty and fitness, that it seems like a revelation to my
soul. I know not that I have seen anything new, but many a
truth, from being differently apprehended, seems to have a
perfectly new character, and a living efficacy. I do so enter
into some of the expressions that before I had only a shadowy
view of, such as the law being written in the heart ; how truly
faith establishes the law ; and yet, at the same time, ' where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty ;' but still, all these little
glimpses of truth only lead me to feel and see how immea
surable are the oceans of wisdom that lie yet unexplored, in
the fulness of Christ, which none but the Spirit can lead us
into. " I cannot express how strongly I feel assured this blessed
book is the sum of our wisdom, and how I long to get
acquainted with its treasures ; the more I examine, the more I
find in it.
" Sunday, Sept. 7th. — I have just been speaking to the people
on the grace of the Gospel from the words spoken to Naaman
the Syrian. How my soul, at times, glows at the remembrance
of the grace of the Gospel ; how tender, how overwhelming.
How happy it is to feel the Lord is with me, ever comforting
my own soul in ministering to others. Dr. Duff cannot yet
minister, so I leave him free, and take what otherwise I might
not. " I feel to-night such a deUghtful sense of my heart being

318 GLORIOUS VISION OF A SAVIOUR'S LOVE.
melted under the glorious vision of a Saviour's love. It makes
the least sin of the heart bitter, and my soul pants after an un
restrained union with Him, in all its affections, and in aU His
work. "Do you sometimes think as I do, that it needs great'
spirituaUty of mind, and very true apprehensions of the ground
of the salvation there is in Christ, to bear the superstructure of
a devoted service ? I cannot teU you how insignificant all
service appears to me that partakes of the mere bustle of man.
I would not have a faculty unconsecrated or unemployed for
my dear dear Lord, but I would have it only shown forth as
the breathings of a secret love, not thought upon, yet experienced
and shining forth in every faculty the Lord hath bestowed.
I mean, all activity of body and plans of service are secondary
to a deep acquaintance with, and living in Jesus. As perhaps
you may not understand me, I would say again, that I would
not cease to serve ; (nay, not a hoof should be left unconse
crated ;) but that this service should arise from my loving and
delighting in the will of Him, (whose will was His Father's,)
and panting after, as my proper glory and happiness, an entire
conformity to Him in all things, who was the brightness of His
Father's glory and the express image of His person.
" Sept. 10th. — How comforting the second of Proverbs is ;
particularly to the 1 1th verse, in leading the soul simply to
seek aU its wisdom in Christ. The promises are so clear, so
express, to those who seek for the knowledge of God, that they
shall find it ; for, indeed, it is the Lord that giveth wisdom,
even to the simple, for 'out of his mouth cometh knowledge
and understanding*' The strange woman referred to seems
the mystical harlot of Babylon, who forsook the guide of her
youth, and the covenant of her God; and this includes aU
those principles that lead away from Christ to self-righteous
ness, self-confidence, and sin.
" Sept. 13th. — I have now risen to the natural and, in many
respects, spiritual light of another day. O, may all the joy I
have in the precious things of the kingdom, be yours, in rich
abundance, this day !

REFLECTIONS AT NIGHT ON DECK. 319
" I was much struck, in reading Micah this morning, with
that passage, 'The priests thereof teach for hire, and the
Prophets thereof divine for money : yet will they lean upon
the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us 1 none evil can
come upon us.' How strongly this shows, that we may have
a false confidence even in God ; challenging His peculiar pre
sence and blessing, when we are pursuing our own selfishness.
O, may we even cherish 'the true light that lighteth every
man that cometh into the world,' that these dark places may
not remain in our hearts.
" When I Ue at night on deck, watching the stars in their
bright and noiseless courses, I cannot express to you how
many strange thoughts crowd upon my mind. Associated
with the rising of many of the planets, I have remembrances
of seasons of the deepest sorrow and trial, though the objects
themselves are only calculated to give joy and peace to the
heart. How exactly is it thus with the intellectual world ;
how entirely is the mind the seat of joy and sorrow ; the
heart gilded by the blessed hope that bringeth salvation
with it, can rejoice in circumstances that make him who
knows not the secret spring wonder ; and, on the other hand,
without this satisfying joy, the child of ambition, standing
on his own false principles of greatness and glory, though
exciting the envy of all around him, feels that the possession
of his newly grasped desire, is but a sad, disappointing sha
dow. Ah ! how happy we are in having such a hope, that
maketh not ashamed him that dweUs upon it. Let all
things else fail, and «very other cistern of joy be broken, the
' desire of all nations shall come,' Him to whom the kingdom
belongeth. " I am now thinking of arranging my extracts from the
Word of God and entitling them, 'The Rule of Life for the
Gentile Church.' I cannot teU you the pleasure I have in this
work ; it is so delightful to draw out the beauties of Jesus from
their hiding places in the garden of God's Word, and to bring
them together as nosegays ; I feel it requires much greater
oVill '..Tha.n T nnaspss riorhtlv to rlisnose of them. Most interest-

320 A BRILLIANT MOONLIGHT.
ing also it is to contemplate every precept as descriptive of the
hidden beauties of our Immanuel, after whose similitude love
leads us to aim, that w*e may truly be one.
"Sunday, Sept. 14th. — There is unspeakable comfort connected
with the declarations contained in Isaiah xlv, 22 — 25, con
nected as they are by the Spirit, and by our Lord, in Phil, ii,
10, and John xvi, 10, with Himself. Have we not found in
Him righteousness and strength ? And, being justified by Him,
shall not we glory 1 and, if it may be, let us seek to glorify
Him, and so to abide in Him, that we may bear much fruit to
His praise. Let our hearts very meekly bend before Him, and
let our ears be attentive to His least wish ,• for He is indeed our
Lord, and Him we will worship. Ah ! is it not wonderful that
the King should delight in our beauty ; that He should call us
' comely ' and ' fair ' ; that He should have clothed us with the
righteousness of God, and adorned us with His own comeUness,
that we might be a people to His praise, and the witnesses for
Him in the world 1 May we not forget our high vocation ; but
' exhort one another, and so much the more, as we see the day
approaching.' May this day be to you a day of very sweet
repose and joy in His grace !
" Last night we had a very brilliant moonlight ; this seems
a connecting link between us ; our eyes dweU on the same
brightness, and are cheered by the same rays of light, and thus
it is with our souls, that centre in Jesus. How we are united,
however distant ! cheered and soothed, however sad ; for He
always seems gently to reply to the heart that knows not peace,
and asks him, wherefore ? ' What thou knowest not now, thou
shalt know hereafter.'
"Sept. 15th. — My heart has been to-day overwhelmed with
the fulness of meaning that is attached to the name of Jesus.
Peter says, 'there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved. Paul says, ' it is a
name at which ' every knee shall bow, of things in heaven and
things in earth, and things under the earth.' My thoughts
were led to contemplate the difference between what the Spirit
in the Apostle saw in this name, and what is discerned in it

THE PRECIOUS NAME OF CHRIST. 321
even by the highest saint ; how much more then by the rejecting
sinner, who sees no beauty in Him, that he should desire Him.
But when the soul is awoke, how precious is that name, which
to the dead brings life, to the condemned pardon, to the unholy
purity, to the stranger a son's place and portion, to the soul
bowed down under the dominion and condemnation of sin, free
dom from its punishment and slavery, even the liberty of dear
children, to be free in doing the Lord's will. Surely we may
bless God for the unspeakable gift of this precious name, which
gives peace to the sad soul, and feedeth the hungry with good
things. "Sept. 17th. — We are now running about 160 or 180 mUes
a day towards the Cape. This is very cheering ; the weather is
also very lovely, and at times, I feel quite cold ; yet the ther
mometer is seldom lower than eighty. It would seem strange to
an English ear, to hear of a person shivering with cold, when
the air is so heated, yet , truly one often does so : so much de
pends on contrast. In sleeping in the open air at nights, it is most
beautiful to watch a splendid moonlight, and often a clear sky,
ov only such clouds as add to its beauty, by passing quickly over
its face, and thus changing the monotony of simple brightness.
I cannot tell you how it has invigorated me.
" Sept. 20th. — I have been thinking to whom it was said, when
they asked ' shall we pluck up the tares ? ' ' Let them grow
together till the harvest, lest, while ye pluck up the tares, ye
root up also the wheat with them.' Surely the least this means
is 'judge nothing before the time,' or, that we should be Veiy
wary in the exercise of this dangerous power in which there
is so much room for self-righteousness, and pride, under the
garb of zeal for what really may be the truth ; but there may
be a spirit of error, with much truth ; and a spirit of truth,
with much error. Besides, the Lord has said, ' Vengeance be-
longeth unto me ;' every kind and every degree of it. Some
think this is sacrificing truth ; but surely if you proclaim the
truth, and condemn error by words of truth and by a life of
truth, this would meet the precept, ' ye should earnestly contend
for the faith.' Consider the Church at Jerusalem ; consider the

322 UNION WITH ALL WHO ARE CHRIST'S.
Church at Corinth, how much to be questioned, how much
to be condemned, yet the Apostles bore with and reproved, but
separated not. Indeed, the more my soul searches into this
matter, the more I feel I cannot formally separate from any or
openly denounce those whom I do not feel are separated from
Christ, and denounced by Him as His enemies. If I were to
give up this principle, I know of none to guide me, but those
which I have always seen fail, whilst they engender a spirit
more hurtful than could arise from a readiness to endure contra
diction to your own views : this looks more like crucifixion of
self than casting out, as evil, those who, with whatever faults,
we cannot but beheve are children of the kingdom.
" My dear brother Sandeman is coming much more to my
views, from being very exclusive Uke his progenitor Robert
Sandeman, the founder of the sect which now generally goes
by the name of Sandemanians or Glassites : they resemble the
Walkerites in DubUn. Sometimes we hope to be at home in
December, yet the Lord may have very different thoughts ; we
are with Him and in His hands, who will ' do all things after the
counsel of His own wdl ; ' yet gracious is that wdl, in aU its mani
festations towards us, full of love, full of compassion ; and I
do pray that on this will I may with my whole soul rely in
quietness and peace. We are now concluding another week :
may the morrow's dawn be indeed ushered in with that rest
upon the spirit that shaU prove an earnest of the glorious rest
that remaineth.
" I have to-day felt great delight in the Epistle to the He
brews. I think I understand it better, and the precious efficacy
of the blood of Jesus to cleanse from all sin, and to leave the
soul spotless before God.
" I have had much to try me, yet I know it is to strengthen
and bless me. Why then should I regret it ? There is something
particularly hateful in selfishness ; yet, I feel, pride alone makes
us resent it. A due sense of our own unutterable unworthiness,
and Christ's bearing with us through it all, stir up the heart to
lay the axe to the root of its pride. Perhaps we do not see it in
ourselves as in others, but, sure I am, if my selfishness affects
o

THE SOUL ALONE WITH GOD.
others, as theirs does me, it must be worth every exertion to
extirpate it root and branch ; and this, I feel, can only be by
living in Jesus, as the branch abides in the vine. I do pray I
may so live in Him, that the bright light of His most perfect
example may put to flight and everlasting confusion every
thought that belongs to the kingdom of darkness. In a voyage
of some length you see much of human nature, not always in
its most pleasing forms, yet always instructive ; and how hard
a thing it is not to seek or care for your own glory, but His
that sent you 1
" I beUeve when I left England I had little tendency to trust
man in the things of God, nor have I more now. There are a
few with whom the soul has communion in the secret things of
the kingdom, those hidden enjoyments that flow directly from
Jesus. I do wonder at the conversation of professing Christians
when they meet together. With the world it may be different ;
but among themselves, you would expect that out of the abun
dance of the heart the mouth would speak.
" Sept. 26th. — We are now almost becalmed ; yet it is most
happy to feel, that all things are of God, and designed to draw
the heart into holy dependance on Himself ; therefore I would
not have it otherwise ; and indeed I am very happily employed,
in marking the precepts of the New Testament. In the evening,
after dinner, I go up into the mizen top and there enjoy the sun's
descending glory, the cool evening breeze, and that quiet which
is to be enjoyed no where below. Even alone in your cabin,
you have so many talking in the cuddy, that your thoughts get
perplexed, and your ears fuU of strange sounds which harmonize
not with the soul that would be alone with God. I am so tried
in acting towards those who are, I beUeve, really Christians, yet
with whom every word becomes, or is in danger of becoming, a
subject of controversy. With the world you know how to act,
and with those you feel you can rely on, as on brothers beloved ;
but it is most difficult to be kind without being more intimate
than many minds can bear, and it is difficult to be in a measure
distant, without being unchristianly cold. I am reading some
letters, published by Sandeman, the founder of the Sandema-

324 LOSS OF HIS BIBLE.
nians; they are full of the most striking thoughts, though
mixed with errors.
" Sept. 27th.— I have to-day met with one of those losses
which it is most difficult to bear. I dropped my bible into the
sea, or rather it was knocked out of my hand.* Now whether
I think on my attachment to it, the years of labour I have be
stowed on it, in arranging and working all the subjects that
particularly interested me, I know not which most tries me ; I
feel it will take me months now, with all the help I have, to
get another ready again. I had just finished all the precepts of
the New Testament ; yet I know the Lord is good, even in this,
and would have me dig and dig again, for more, and still richer
treasures than I have yet found ; and I have begun in faith
again to-day, and dear Sandeman has offered his help ; so before
we arrive in England, I hope to have a great deal ready again.
I had all the prophecies marked and divided. I had also all my
Greek Testament marked. It was indeed almost the only trea
sure I desired to call my own, and it had been my companion
and comfort, in many dark and dreary days. It is so strange, I
dreamed about a, fortnight ago that I dropped my Bible from
the very place where I had lost it to-day,; and, since then, I
have taken it up less than before, but every morning my Hindoo
friend comes to read with me two or three chapters, and we had
just brought it up for that purpose. Well, it is gone, and I
think I never shall forget the feeUng I had when it feU. I saw
it floating away rapidly behind us.
"Sunday, Sept. 28th. — To-day I have had a Uttle service on
deck as usual. I believe all who could come were present, but
I know not if the Lord is making it effectual for the conversion
of sinners. Some of our little company comfort me, by appre
hending, I think, the grace wherein we stand. I took Rom. xii.,
always a favourite chapter with me, and in which, if I ever have
any power, I seem sometimes to have a Uttle vouchsafed me.
* This accident occurred in a sudden lurch of the ship, in saving from
danger the little orphan boy, whose mother had died on board, and who,
being entirely without any friend in the ship, was kindly cared for by
Mr. Groves.

ANOTHER GALE OF WIND. 325
" Sept. 80th. — We have been in a gale of wind these two days
and it does not seem likely to abate, so I sit down again, amidst
mountains of magnificent waves. How little a creature man
seems, when the waves toss their troubled heads on high ! I
cannot do all I would wish, yet I am not idle ; and, if the Lord
does but allow me to acquire that passive repose in Himself,
which my restive will so much requires, I shall be a great gainer.
I cannot help feeling how much better a sea voyage is for the
soul than a land journey ; at least than those journeys to which
i have been accustomed : the constant struggles with a faithless
and lying people, the bodily fatigue, the personal danger, the an
ticipations of renewed difficulties or delays at every stage, all
tend to keep the mind unsettled, if not ruffled.
" Oct. 1st. — The weather to-day is a little more settled, and
we are beginning to put out more sail, and are pressing on our
way. I think I got a little light on the expression ' commend
ing ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God,' as
distinguished from commending ourselves to every man's under
standing. The apostle appealed to that consciousness in the
inner man, which has no relation to the strength of the under
standing, but may often be strongest in those who are unin-
structed, and weakest in those whose power of reasoning may
be the most cultivated and the strongest. How suited this to
a dispensation that preeminently had to do with the poor, by
appealing to a principle that was common to all, without respect
to rank, or circumstances, or natural power, rather than to one
in which the learned would have had so great an advantage. And
the apostle seems to keep close to the same idea, when he says,
concerning some, 'their conscience also bearing witness, and
their thoughts, the mean while, accusing, or else excusing, one
another.' — A moral sense that may be corrupted, by the educa
tion of the spirit of darkness, but which man cannot plant in
himself, or others, and Satan would not ; and which becomes,
under the enlightening teaching of the Spirit of truth, the seal
of a man's instruction about the things of God ; a principle, or
rather power of discriminating between things that differ.
" Cint c?.ntl  Thp mnpp mr nrml roaliaoa -"-.Tie fnlnpsia a.tirl

326 EFFECTS OF A PURIFYING HOPE.
completeness of the salvation there is In Christ, so that we may
stand faultless and holy before the Father ; and the more 1
enter into the peace that flows from this purifying hope, and
am enabled to joy in God through the blood of Jesus, and to
find access, even with boldness, into God's presence thereby, the
more my soul feels free to hunger and thirst after righteousness,
and my heart seems stirred by love to desire to have every
thought brought into captivity to the love of Christ. It makes
disobedience, or wounding Christ or our heavenly Father,
doubly oppressive, in addition to the essential hatefulness of
sin, as contrary to the mind and will of God. I do not know,
yet I doubt not, that others besides myself, often feel that
bearing down of soul when contemplating Jesus, to think how
little we are like our elder brother. Indeed, I do long for
entire conformity to Christ, as that which alone can satisfy
God ; for in Him alone is the Father ' well-pleased ;' He is the
manifestation of what God is, and what God loves. That ex
pression 'the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be,' I sometimes feel with an intensity that
almost overwhelms me ; it is so hard to feel, see, and judge of all
things as God does, with real truth a spirituaUty of judgment ;
to unravel the threads of pride, and the Proteus-like forms of
selfishness ; and, when discovered, to bring them out, and lay
them before the King, is also very hard. It seems to me that
none can use the glorious privilege of being altogether Christ's
aright, but those who live in the enjoyment of Christ, as the
full and free gift of God ; who, having tasted and seen that the
Lord is gracious, feel that they have found the precious pearl ;
for, to others, it would be but the service of servants, not the
homage of sons, brothers, and sisters ; and the thought is daily
becoming more painful to me, that Christ, who deserves to be so
lovingly served for the exceeding great love wherewith He loved
us, should ever have pressed into His service any who engage
in it grudgingly or of necessity.
" Sunday, Oct. 3rd. — We have been making little progress,
and have seen nothing to interest us besides a whale and a few
albatrosses. Yet the spring within is never dry ; it may not

REMARKABLE ESCAPE. 327
always flow freely, yet the fountain opened to the house of
David cleanses, and thereby consoles. Within our little circle
we have not all the elements we could desire for joy, hut much
more than we could have hoped; and an extensive ground for
thankfulness. " Oct. 4th. — As we pass through Ufe how many little things
there are that try us 1 Our stock of provisions has run short ;
and we have had more than once fowls and sheep that have
died, dressed for our dinner. Yet the dear Sandemans have
agreed that we shall take patiently whatever may come ; and
receive it all at the Lord's hands quietly, feeling that He wUl
take care of us ; and, however the body may fare, the mind has
quiet and peace : this is better than any supply of the body's
necessities. Surely we should bear contrasting with the world
in these little matters as well as in greater. I do not care so
much for those who are strong, but I feel for those who are
not ; yet I know they are doubly dear to the Lord, in whose
hand are all these matters. Last night, while I was asleep on
the deck, a r>iece of wood was spUt off from the mizen top
sail yard, with a long nail in it, and the nail stuck through all
the clothes I had over me, and into my hip. How near we
often are to death ; had it fallen on my head, it might have
been the last blow I could receive. How it shows that the
Lord alone can make us to sleep in safety ! As to our provi
sions, there is every prospect of their being worse ; but if the
trial of our faith worketh patience, I trust the Lord will allow
patience to have her perfect work. Are you not much struck
with the doctrine of our sanctification in Jesus, as stated in
Heb. x ? It Is from that the Apostle urges us to ' consider one
anotner, to provoke unto love and good works,' ver. ] 0.
" Oct. 8th. — We have been in a gale of wind off the Cape,
since Monday, surrounded by all the wild magnificence of
the most stupendous ocean scene ; the waves, Uke mountains
piled on mountains, sweeping before the gale with irresistible
fury, curUng their white heads and threatening to over
whelm us in destruction. One large wave broke over us,
and set everything floating in our cabins. At twelve o'clock,

328 EDWARDS ON THE AFFECTIONS.
just after we had arranged our wet clothes, and were all quietly
laid down, another tremendous wave broke into the cuddy.
Our cooking-place was washed through ; pots, pans, pigs, all
floating about the deck together. Man seems, indeed, nothing
in all this tremendous war of elements. I think I can never
forget the scene, though it surpasses all description. I have
seen many paintings of storms, but they are all tame and
utterly insignificant to the grand, awful reality.
" We are within nine degrees of the Cape of storms. I do so
long to turn round this stormy head-land.
" Did you ever read with attention, Jonathan Edwards ' On
the Rehgious Affections '? I think it, with all books of its class,
most truly calculated to deceive and distress the heart. Surely
it is better to dwell continually on Christ, and if anybody, by
contemplating Jesus in all His beauty and perfection of charac
ter, does not know whether he loves Him or not, no examina
tion of his affections wiU show him. Surely, the love of Jesus
is as simple an affection as the love of an earthly object, and is
manifested in the same way, by seeking to please Him in the
fulfilment of His wUl. It has always appeared to me that
laboured dissertations on those matters, tend rather to perplex
the mind, than clear up its difficulties ; unhinging and harass
ing the sincere, but weak in faith, and leaving the self-confident
in error. The books that are most congenial to my mind, are
those which lead the soul to the word of Jesus, as the founda
tion of all stable peace, and the revealed will of Jesus, in all 'its
ilUmitable purity and love, as the rule of life.
"Sunday, Oct. 12th. — We have just had a sight of Africa.
It was cheering to see land after two months' tossing on the
deep. My heart has been greatly tried to-day by the thought
of how small things are allowed to divide the saints of God, and
at last I was so hopeless and distressed, that I was only able to
weep for my own sins and the sins of my people ; praying that
the day may quickly come, when these things shall be no longer ;
but that which is in part being done away, we shall see as we
are seen, and know as we are known. Yet the love the Apostle
was delineating, in the previous verses of the same chapter, is

THOUGHTS ON MATT. XIII. 329
a love that our sins and weakness make necessary now ; and
then these exercises will be needed no longer ; for we shall see
' eye to eye' then, beholding ' Him that is true,' and 'the Light'
in whom is ' no darkness at all.'
"Oct. \3th. — In the 13th of Matthew, it appears to me, the
parable of the tares was given especially to guide us in our con
duct in the Church. You see the mixture of tares and wheat are
evidently together in one common field : the enemy sowed them
among the wheat, and it was relative to these tares thus spring
ing UP> that the Lord replies to those who said, shaU we pluck
them up ? nay ; in the end of the world or dispensation, I will
separate them. Again in the 47th verse he introduces the
Church till He comes, by the similitude of a net catching fish of
every kind, but the separating act is the Lord's, and the time
is the end of the world or dispensation. What then is our
place and path amidst these bitter waters, and roots of bitterness?
To act in grace, ' forbearing and forgiving, as God has forgiven
us,' The Scriptures contemplate the faithful being cast out by
ignorant or wicked brethren, not their casting others off, see
Isaiah lxvi. 5. It seems more dignified and independent to cast .
others off, but more like Christ to bear, to endure and suffer long,
looking for. the day when He shall appear to our joy. Some try to
misinterpret the parable as if it was about what was to be done
with the world till Christ come : whereas our Lord describes it
as a spot in the field or world, where He has sown good seed ;
the children of the kingdom ; after which Satan comes and
sows Ms children, and the question is confined evidently to those
spots, where the servants find good seed. If we wanted an ex
hibition of the evil our Lord declares would result from mans
assuming the power of tare pulling, we should find it in the at
tempts made by many to separate from real saints, simply
because they refuse to be answerable to their self-constituted
judicature. The husbandman in the parable speaks only of the
children of the wicked one as tares.
" Oct. 17th.— During the latter part of yesterday, we were
borne by a fair and strong breeze, till we came in sight of Cape
Town. As you proceed towards Table Bay, the land is strikingly

330 INTERVIEW' WITH MR. DECK,
bold, and the sense of having past one at least of the most
dangerous parts of your voyage, and of having arrived at the
half way station, as it were, between England and India, tends
to refresh the spirits and cheer the heart. It is a lovely day,
the sun shining brightly and pleasantly. As we were passing
to the shore, my mind was much impressed with the repose and
calmness of the bay, contrasted with the frowning boldness of
the precipitous mountain that overhangs it ; and the pretty
town, partly composed of streets, partly of detached cottages.
There was also a refreshing coolness in the breeze, so that aU
seemed naturally calculated, if not to exhilarate, at least to calm
the spirit. My heart felt abiding thankfulness to my heavenly
Father, and sorrow for the sins of my people. The Lord
strewed the world with sources of human happiness, but sin has
poisoned all, so that those very things which should have drawn
our hearts in grateful adoration to the hand that formed them,
draw the multitude away from our Father's worship and praise.
" Oct. 18th. — Dear Lieut. Deck called on me about noon, and
in a moment I felt my heart at ease. He was just packed up
for a return to India, and spending his time with a lady at
Wineberg, about eight mUes out. I passed a day with them,
and found them truly devoted and simple. Dear Mrs. Deck is
a meek, devoted, gentle Christian. Their eyes are quite turned
away from the army and the world, but decided to devote
themselves to the Lord's work. In riding out to Wineberg, and
in a Uttle walk in the evening, I felt irresistibly impressed with
the beauty of the scenery. The distant mountains rose preci
pitously in the background, and all the country beneath was
studded with cottages, and beautiful avenues of oaks, and the
commons seemed covered with the richest variety of wild
flowers, geraniums of various kinds, and heaths ; the houses
so completely English. In the gardens too I saw flowers I had
not seen since I left England ; and, indeed, every thing about
the Cape was English, though many things remind you it is not
England. For instance, you may meet a man, driving twelve
horses in hand, as our stage coachmen drive four : or a team of
twenty bullocks, driven in the same way ; then, you meet at

SAILS AGAIN FROM THE CAPE. 331
every turn a motley population of Dutch, EngUsh, Malay, Negro,
Hottentot, and mixtures of them all.
" There is a very handsome and extensive Library here ; and
a Museum, containing a large collection of beautiful stuffed birds,
and a few beasts, which we went to look at while we waited for
the sailing of the ship. They have here a great variety of minis
ters ; Church of England, Church of Scotland, Independents,
and Methodists, &c.
" Oct. 22nd. — At sea again, we are now fast losing sight of
land ; and nothing lies before us but our arrival at Greenwich, so
that we now really seem on our way home. We saw yesterday
an albatros, whose extended wings measured ten feet ; and reaUy
his body was the size of a sheep. I never saw such a bird be
fore, and this was not a large one. As we were saiUng out of
the Bay, we saw a large whale, and during the two or three
glimpses we had of him as he rose above the water, he looked
like a ship turned bottom upwards, and he spouted the water
from his nostrils close to us.
"Oct. 24th. — We were yesterday surrounded by whales, rising,
spouting water, and sinking again ; they looked like floating
islands. To-day we are all but becalmed. How strange are the
inroads of sin ! haw subtle, how strong, how before the approach
Satan seems to harden and deceive the heart ! My soul feels it
to be, in every shape, the enemy of its peace ; yet often appears
to cherish the bitter weed. I fear it is that God has my judg
ment fully, but my affections only partially. Yet the moment
I have wounded my Lord, I am incapable of any enjoyment ;
it dries up the fountain of all my joys, and all creation assumes
one dark covering of sadness. I feel I have no treasures apart
from His favour and blessing ; and, bereaved of the capacity to
enjoy these, I feel myseff bereaved indeed.
" Oct. 30th. — Our hopes of getting home early are daily di
minishing : thus the anticipated happiness mocks him that
hangs upon it. How blessed are we who have a hope that
maketh not ashamed, and disappoints not him that rests upon
it ; a hope which shaU be reaUzed, and more than realized !
Have we. do vou think, been accustomed to make that practical

332 PEACE ONLY THROUGH THE PRINCE OF PEACE.
use of Scripture, for which it was designed ? I have been much
struck with the first epistle to the Corinthians, observing, that
the reproofs of the apostle for the evils that were in the Church,
are many, if not all of them, needed now ; now, as then, there is
the mistaking the elements of this world's greatness for the ele
ments of Christ's kingdom ; the dividing about Paul and Apollos ;
some walking more shamelessly still ; others abusing the very
gifts of the Spirit for purposes of ostentation and pride, &c.
" Sunday, Nov. 3rd. — Though I do not feel quite well, and am
without appetite, I have the repose of this blessed day resting
on my heart, and I feel able, of the Lord's goodness, to hold
happy and holy converse with Him. How strikingly these fluc
tuations show that the saints of God can only have peace by
living under the full dominion of the Prince of Peace ! 1 have
not a reason why I should be more at ease than I have been,
and yet how changed from the stormy turmoil of a disquieted
heart ! how hard it is, and yet how precious, to be ' careful for
nothing ; ' no, not even for those things for which you make
prayer and supplication, and give thanks to God ; just because
you feel assured His love transcends in height, and out-strips
in quickness, all your desires. I do now feel, in my inmost
heart, reproved. I feel that much of the depth of my sorrow
springs from disappointed self-righteousness. I am continually
bowed down by the consciousness of individual unworthiness
of what my heart desires ; as if the Lord would ever give us
blessings for our worthiness, and not for His own name sake.
Yet how difficult this is practically to reaUze ; for in my judg
ment I have not a doubt, that either for time or eternity, every
precious gift of God is through Christ, and for His sake, that
our tongues may dwell on His praise, and our hearts delight in
meditating upon Him, as God's unspeakable gift.
" I have been reading in the prophets the promises to Israel
and Judah concerning the land, and the denunciations to the
rebels ; and I do feel so confirmed in the general views the Lord
has led us to entertain of the spiritual prospects of the Church
and of the temporal prospects to Israel. How striking the con
cluding part of Zephaniah is, from verse 8th to the end.

MR. PRINGLE'S ACCOUNT OF THE CAPE. 333
" May the Lord be in the midst of your assemblies to-day,
pouring forth the joy of His countenance upon you : yea, may
He rest in His love, and rejoice over you with joy and singing.
" Nov. 5th. — Really when I see how many weaknesses and
prejudices the apostles had to bear with, in their early converts,
I am quite reconciled to bear the same in the converts of India.
It would be too happy a state to have all enlightened, sim
ple, zealous, and loving. Happy indeed must we be, in this
disjointed world, if we find a few with whose thoughts we
can find fellowship in the spirit : I believe I have, and ever shall
have, some, and 1 expect not many. How few the apostles
seemed to have had like-minded, and can we hope for more,
in these degenerate days ? Indeed I look for fewer, but, with
these, a compensating extent and intensity of holy, happy,
fellowship. -' Nov. 6th. — I have been reading Mr. Pringle's account of a
few years' residence at the Cape, and it has much interested me.
O, what national sins have we to answer for, if God regard the
cry of the poor and destitute ! As I was riding out with a
dear friend of mine, at the Cape, he said every inch of the
ground is soaked with the blood of its aborigines ; but till I
read Pringle's work, I could not have conceived that such deep
cruelty dwelt in the heart of man. These poor defenceless
wanderers have had their Krauls burned, their men murdered,
their wives and children taken captives, and their flocks and
herds driven away, to enrich their merciless oppressors. O,
when will the time come that our Prince shall unfurl His ban
ner, and introduce the reign of righteousness ?
" Nov. 8th. — We are now about 200 miles beyond St. Helena,
and are repassing the Une. I believe all are feeling more and
more impatient to reach the haven where we would be : for
myself, nothing but constant employment and great quiet keep
my heart at all in repose. I much enjoy, however, my little re
tirements, where, three times a day, I always meet my Lord,
.bearing before Him those who are engraved on my heart.
" I cannot help thinking at times of the exceeding precious
ness of such expressions as 'God is faithful, who will not suffer

334 A WORD OF EXHORTATION.
you to be tempted above that ye are able'. Often, when my
present or prospective trials seem to threaten to engulph me
altogether, I rest on the promise of Him who cannot lie, ' as
thy days, so shall thy strength be.' I do so feel I am His ser
vant, and, with all my weakness, I hope in His mercy.
"Sunday, Nov. 9th. — I took our little service to-day, or rather
I spoke a word of exhortation on decision in the matters of eter
nity. I believe some one or two were benefitted, but I cannot
expect to please many. Our first mate said, ' It is a hard saying.'
O, how little can they know of the loveliness and excellence of
Christ who can feel anything hard ! The heart may sometimes
feel it is difficult to drag such a heavy load of clay as freely
as the flying affections would desire ; but this begets indigna
tion at its own slowness, not regret at God's demand upon it. It
is deUghtful to think Christ demands our whole hearts, our every
affection. It so proves His love that He will not be content
that we should have any affection He does not sanctify.
" Nov. 10th. — I have only a passing word to-day. My head
has for some days been uncomfortable with what I caU a tropi
cal headache. Do you think that any become really richer in
the world by following the Gospel 1 It appears to me, if they do,
it must be by listening to precepts by halves : for instance, when
the Apostle says ' Let him that stole, steal no more : but labour
working with his hands the thing which is good,' here they
would stop, or say, that he may become a respectable member of
society, instead of adding, 'that he may have to give to him that
needeth.' And they would be ready to say, ' not slothful in
business;' but forget, 'fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.'
Indeed, the Gospel impoverishes you in the things of earth ;
but overwhelms you, in return, with the things of heaven ; it
empties, that it may fill you with the fulness of Him who con
tains the treasures of God.
"Nov. 11th. — Is there not something touching in Luke xxii.
24—27, beginning with the strife among the apostles which
of them should be accounted greatest, &c.,and ending with that
expression, ' but I am among you as he that serveth.'
" Nov. 12th.— Early this morning we passed Ascension Island.

NO RESTING-FLACE BUT IN THE ARK. 335
All indicates our approach to our native land : I cannot teU
you how my heart wanders through the mazes of hopes and
fears that hang over my prospects : I have been much edified
by God's word to-day, but have no power to dwell on it.
"Nov! 13th — Truly my whole soul has fellowship with the
following passage in a friend's letter. ' A heart which has ever
been taught to feel union with the body of Christ as His body, ',
irrespective of the worthiness of the members individually,
union merely with those who agree with you will never satisfy :
it wiU not suffice ; for it cannot rest in any thing short of
where the spirit of Christ rests : that is, with the whole, not/
a part of the body.' If you knew how my soul has been tried
by a dear, dear brother, who has been led, by the dissevered and
disorganized state of the Church, to take most exclusive views
of communion, you would feel how such a passage has tended to
soothe my mind, when almost overcome by the pressure of
sorrow. " I have no resting place for the sole of my foot, but by going
into the ark again : and I always find the door open, and the
hand stretched out to take me in. You must not think that
 and I are divided ; indeed my difficulty is not to conciliate
his love and forbearance towards myself : for I fear he loves me
but too weU, but I would win it for the Church of God ; yes, in
the midst of its Babylonish appendages, for. aU these I once
bore : and the Lord most gently brought me out. I often feel
deeply thankful for aU I have passed through : it has so taught
me to pity and bear, from the remembrance of my own deep
transgressions in the same way.
"Nov. 17 th — We have in the last twenty-four hours run
three degrees towards home. How truly the soul, at times,
realizes that Christ is its life : indeed, that all is death, but in
those moments of exquisite enjoyment, when love and Uberty
in His blessed will rule in the soul ; so that one's real life seems
like a short or long line, studded with bright spots, and the in
tervals more or less shaded with the dusky elements of this
world. "Nov. 19th. — We are now becalmed between the two trade

336 BEG ON THE SECOND ADVENT.
winds : it feels very oppressive. We perhaps all feel a Uttle
impatient of our detention, yet it is well. I have been these
two days comparing Beg on the Second Advent with my Bible ;
and I find that we quite agree ; and that I have nearly marked
every passage to which he refers. I should so like to converse
with some over this deeply interesting subject.
"Nov. 20th. — We have just faUen in with the North East
Trade, and we hope now to have no hindrance till we reach
home. "Nov. 2\st — I have a passing remark to make, relative to
the state of my mind on the subject of the Prophecies, and
their bearing on the course the Lord has led me : indeed, I am
doubly resolved to spend my days in spreading abroad the glory
of God's testimony of love and reconciliation. I am so sure it
is His holy, heavenly will. I feel it is so good of the Lord to
strengthen me when I might have suffered so much from inde
cision of heart or purpose.
" I enjoy that peace which the undoubting conviction of the
truth can alone give, but not the sweet joy and strength which
extended brotherly and sisterly communion would impart : and
thus my situation has become so foreign to my natural desires :
yet it may be the Lord's way to show me my natural emptiness,
and exceeding great weakness, and His strength in enabling one
so very weak to stand. We are now in 11° North, only 40°
from home : how short a distance compared with what we have
passed over of the watery waste.
" How very hard the four last chapters of Ezekiel are to un
derstand ! The attempts quite made my head ache to-day ; and
at last, I could only say, the Lord's ways are not our ways, nor
His thoughts our thoughts : He sees glory where we see degra
dation, and I cast all my soul into His hands, to be stamped with
His truth as He pleases.
"Sunday, Nov. 23rd. — To-day I addressed the little company
.here on God's love ; and I do not know that I ever before felt
so thankful for God's great indignation against disobedience to
His blessed will ; seeing that, in it is wrapped up the essence of
mercy. I see so much love in it ; and having been able to see

THE CRUMBS OF TIME. 337
how ineffably hateful sin is to God, my soul desires to loathe ,
it in its least goings forth. <
" Nov. 25th. — May we so Uve with Jesus that in aught but
Him we may see no loveliness. May it be the very end of all
other loves to reveal the immeasurable depth and tenderness of
the love of Christ, which saves, preserves, sanctifies, and eter
nally blesses the ransomed family of God ; may it be the model
after which all other love is bunt, — pure, unselfish, untiring, in
exhaustible, and tender.
"Nov. 26th.' — We have to-day passed the Cape de Verd Is
lands, and are on our way towards the Azores. There is some
thing so strange in the feelings that steal over my heart as the
busy recollections of the past come before me. 0, how many
bitter hours I have passed since I last saw my native shore :
hours gUded but by one hope, the glorious appearing of our God
and Saviour; in other hours, lesser joys and lower hopes have
dispelled the heart's sadness : but in the great waterfloods, when
billows roll over the soul, that hope alone remains firm and
sure, and unchangeably the same.
" What would I give really to feel ' sufficient unto the day
is the evU thereof.' It is hard to be settled, yet I hope I am
diligent ; though for such a Lord, I would pick up the crumbs
of time, for the work of studying His word. Indeed I feel so
ignorant of its matchless treasures, that I study it morning,
noon, and night ; and truly the Lord is most gracious to me, in
giving me Ught, and preparing me for all that lies before me. I
also feel to-day all the difference- of having the weather a Uttle
cooler. "N . 27th. — Sometimes I am ready to be cast down, when
I think how I long to see all at home. It is so much the habit
now with some to say what unearthly agents the banished mes
sengers of Christ should be, that I feel almost degraded by the
very bounding of my heart ; in its earthly hopes and coming pros
pects, however, I am comforted when I think of Paul, who,
when his heart was tried, praised God who comforteth those
who are cast down, comforting him by the coming of Titus, and

338 WE MUST LAY OUR MINDS DOWN.
by the account he brought of the fervent love of the Corinthians
toward him. And may I not rejoice in any measure of the love
of the saints, and mourn over any measure of their aUenation of
heart 1 Even our Lord was grieved for the hardness of heart
of His enemies. But how does the prophetic Psalmist point
out His heart's sorrow, at finding unkindness in the very camp
and among those that did on the whole love him ; so much of
self, that they could think of their own exaltation, when their
most gracious Lord's heart was breaking at the scene before Him.
Indeed, when I look back upon seasons of heart-broken deso-
lateness, sick in body, distressed in mind, and no brother or
sister near, to speak a word of comfort, or administer even
the most ordinary help, I always feel the season of positive
danger, and bodUy pain, abstracted from these, is as a cloud to
the Egyptian darkness, that might he felt: yet, knowing as I
do what it is, I wUUngly, cheerfully, pursue the path that in
volves it, for His precious name's sake, who led me to love
Himself, as the unspeakable gift of God. I am ready to suffer
even from the judgment of the Church ; but the arrow has a
deep barb, and a sharp point, which the Lord only can extract,
or heal, or it would drink up my spirits : but, I know, having
made me willing to obey Him, the Lord wiU comfort me, though
I know not how.
" Nov. 30th. — We now only expect to be two Sundays more
on board ; and on the third week, to reach home, should the
Lord prosper us. The opposition of my dear, dear brother- 
has led me to search the scriptures to an extent, and with an
assiduity, I never did before ; the result is the unmoveable es
tablishment of my heart on aU those great points that so. much
interest us ; and he is, I do beUeve, shaken to the very founda
tion in all his opposition.
"Dec. 15th. — We are now in a gale which blows directly
against us, so we are sailing in the direction of the Cape again.
I have just been struck by an expression of the second mate's,
• We must lay our minds down, and be thankful it did not occur 10°
farther north, when the cold would have been so difficult to

JOYFUL CRY OF LAND. 339
bear. I felt laying the mind down was so needful for perfect
patience .
"Dec 16th. — Wind stiU contrary, so that we are making
little or no progress, and with a tossing tempestuous sea ; yet it
is all weU. It is a strange scene, on board ship, in a gale of
wind : the difficulty of moving about ; the upsetting and over
turning of everything, not absolutely fixed ; the difficulty of
eating, drinking, or sleeping, the spilling your own things, or
receiving your neighbour's ; all render it a scene of no small
confusion, and make me wish, in addition to the many, many,
other reasons I have, to be free from my imprisonment. Yet I
am more anxious for the dear Duffs than for myself; he is very
unweU, and she is not strong ; so they need quiet : both are
dear to me, but my heart commends them to Him whose tender
mercies are over all His works, how much more over those who
know and love Him.
" Dec. 19th. — We have now a calm, and know not how our
next wind is to blow. If it were fair, we should be thankful ;
yet how many unknown reasons there may be,- why we should
be detained a day longer. It may lead to events, even though
we know them not, that would modify aU our future history.
I dare not therefore wish other than that the Lord may be glo
rified, whether by Ufe or death, whether by a quicker or slower
voyage. " Dec. 20th. — We have now a fair wind, and hope to be in
Greenwich by next Wednesday.
" Dec. 23rd. — We hope to be in sight of land to-morrow
O, how wonderful are the ways of Him with whom we have to
do ! My heart often looks forward, and endeavours to realize
what Ues before me, tiU it is brought back again to repose, by
that one precept of the word of truth, ' Cast thy burden on
the Lord, and He wiU sustain thee.' Indeed, worthless as I am,
I know He careth for me, and thinketh upon me. O, that I
may therefore only seek His glory.
"Dec. 24th. — This morning, whUe we were at break
fast, we heard the joyful cry of 'land.' Thus we may now

340 WHAT AWAITS THEE ?
hope, on Friday, at farthest, to quit our long imprisonment.
Who can tell but those who long to see again those dear to
them, after a long separation, the thrilling deUght ? indeed,
it is such delight that it needs some cloud of doubt
perhaps, to keep the heart from being borne away. A
thousand times my heart has said, 'what awaits thee?' and
the answer is, 'cast the burden of the future on the Lord.'"

CHAPTER XIV.
MR. GROVES REACHES ENGLAND — VISITS GERMANY AND SWIT
ZERLAND IN QUEST OT LABOURERS  MEETS WITH GREAT
SUCCESS  RETURNS TO ENGLAND  HIS MARRIAGE  HE SAILS
FOR INDIA WITH HIS MISSIONARY PARTY — RESIDENCE IN
MADRAS  ARRIVAL OF THE BAGDAD BRETHREN  TRIALS IN
CONNECTION WITH THE TINNEVELLY MISSION — VISIT OF MR.
G. BAYNES, WHO JOINS THE MISSION — DEPARTURE OF BRE
THREN FROM BAGDAD.
It is'much to be regretted that, from the time of Mr. Groves's
arrival in England, when the journal terminates, very little,
comparatively, of his own can be inserted. He landed in
Scotland, in company with Dr. Duff the missionary and his
wife, who had come with him from Calcutta, and with whom he
enjoyed much christian intercourse, as appears both from his
own journal, and from Dr. Duff's letter. He had also with him
a native called Anundo, whose brief history has been already
given. On his arrival, Mr. Groves first sought to accomphsh the
chief object of his return, and went to Germany and Switzer
land in quest of missionaries for his own work and that of
others. He was accompanied in this journey by his brother-in-
law, Mr. Miiller.* Among the first whom he sent out were
Messrs. Gros and De Rhot, whose names occur in Mr. Weit-
breicht's Memoir, p. 114. Both these devoted servants of God
are now faUen asleep. Mr. G. also obtained two mission
aries, — Brice, from Devonshire, and Kalberer, a German, for Mr.
* Mary, Mr. G.'s eldest surviving sister, was married, Oct. 7th, 1830, to
Mr. Mailer, well known in connection with the Orphan houses, on Ashly
Down, Bristol.

342 HIS MARRIAGE.
Start, of Patna, who, hke himself, had laboured for many years
unconnected with any Society. Other missionaries were raised
up to help him in the Lord's work in India, both from Swit
zerland and from the North of Devonshire.
On his return from the continent, Mr. Groves was married
to Harriet, the third daughter of Gen. Baynes, late of Wool-
brook, Sidmouth. She had been greatly indebted to him, both
for Christian instruction and help in the things of God, before
he went out to Bagdad. The event took place at Malvern, on
the 25th of April, 1835. The hand of the Lord was very appa
rent in overcoming, in answer to his prayer, many obstacles and
ordering circumstances so as to bring about this union in a very
remarkable manner.
The year he spent at home was a checquered one. He had
great sympathy and communion with the people of God in Bris
tol, and in the North of Devon, and thankfully ministered among
them ^nd he visited, for a short time, the brethren at Ply
mouth. Here he found less comfort, feeUng that their original
bond of union in the truth as it is in Jesus, had been changed
for a united testimony against aU who differed from them.
What this change amounted to in his mind may be gathered
from a letter he wrote on leaving England to a brother whom
he highly esteemed and loved, and who had formed one of their
original number in Dublin, and had been mainly instrumental
in organizing a meeting of a similar kind in Plymouth.* This
letter was written at Milford Haven, where Mr. Groves and his
wife were detained a whole month by contrary winds, when
waiting to embark in "the Perfect " for India.
The Missionary party, who accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Groves,
consisted of Dr. Gundert, two Swiss ladies, Miss Groves, a
cousin of Mr. G.'s whom he brought up from chUdhood,
* It seems but justice to the departed to give his views as they were.
Those who read this letter [See appendix 6.] must judge for themselves
whether he or his friend knew best in what the true unity of believers
consists. To many who have lived to see the result of the evils he speaks
of, the letter in question seems almost prophetic.

ARRIVAL AT MADRAS. 343
Messrs. Bowden and Beer, with their wives, and the two bre
thren who were going out to Mr. Start. The period of detention
at Milford Haven was enlivened by the love and fellowship of
dear friends who accompanied them thither ; and the time on
board was profitably spent in Christian intercourse. The two
Swiss ladies learned EngUsh with Mrs. Groves, during the voy
age ; and all were landed safely July 1836. In the foUowing
month, Aug. 11, Mr. Groves's third son, Edward Kennaway,
was born.
Soon after his arrival in Madras, Mr. Groves was joined by
his elder sons, and the brethren he had left at Bagdad. Mr.
Parnell (now Lord Congleton) went with Messrs. Bowden and
Beer to the scene of their future labours, and left them at Me-
sulUpatam, where they remained a year.*
The year Mr. Groves spent in Madras was a very trying
one, in many respects. It was decided that he should take the
general superintendence of the mission, and minister in EngUsh,
while his brethren learned the native languages.
He the more readUy fell into this plan, as he had made up
his mind that the best way to meet the tendency he had noticed
all over India to complain of any thing Uke ease or indulgence
enjoyed by a missionary, was at once to follow the Apostle's ex
ample, and work for his own support, and to encourage those
with him to do the same. This led him to practise in Madras,
as a dentist, which he did with great success ; and one of the
Swiss ladies, by employing a few hours a day in teaching French,
was able to contribute to the Boarding School Department ; but
he had very great trials from those who had before received him
with much affection. The independent position into which Mr.
Rhenius seemed to be forced, for the sake of the converts God
had given him in TinneveUy, was much attributed to Mr.
Groves's visit, and the counsel he gave him to remain by his work,
and serve God, according to his conscience, though the Church
Mission were unable, by their rules, to maintain him in his.
* The narrative of their work in India may be seen in the " Missionary
Reporter " of last July, p. 158.

344 DEPARTURE OF BAGDAD BRETHREN.
former position.* The unkind and often untrue reflections cast
on him in reference to this matter — for he greatly valued the
labours of the Church Missionary Society in India — deeply
wounded him ; and so trying did things become in India, that
his fellow labourers, Messrs. Parnell and Cronin, left him and
returned to England at the end of the foUowing year, taking
with them a valuable young christian, called Serkies, a convert
from the Armenian Church in Bagdad, f He was induced to
accompany them for the purpose of perfecting himself in the
study of medicine. Thus Mr. Groves was bereft, on the one
hand, of those who had proved so great a comfort to him in
Bagdad ; whUe, on the other hand, he lost the sympathy he so
enjoyed from other Christians, and, as he felt, without any just
ground. It is interesting, however, to notice that God, who comfort-
eth those who are cast down, greatly refreshed him, at this
time, by the arrival of one of Mrs. Groves's brothers, Mr. G.
Baynes, a young artillery officer, lately awakened to the truth.
He came from Bombay to visit them, and soon after made up
his mind to retire from the army and join them in missionary
work. He is often mentioned, in the following pages, by his
christian name, ' George.'
We shaU fill up this outUne of Mr. Groves's life at Madras,
with extracts from his journal and letters.

* In Mr. Groves's journal we have already seen the difficulty (after
Bishops were sent to India) of maintaining Lutheran Missionaries, whc
appointed their own catechists ; and Rhenius's position was rendered more
trying to the committee by the publication by him of a reply to a bigot-
ted pamphlet, entitled ' The church and her handmaids,' written by Arch
deacon Harper. The latter had invited a reply, and promised to print it
in a periodical of which he was the Editor : this he never did.
t Serkies was afterwards well known as Dr. Davids, in Manchester,
where he practised successfully as a physician. He was a Christian of
no ordinary stamp, and died rejoicing in the faith of Christ. This young
Persian is remembered as among the most interesting fruits of their
Bagdad Mission ; his activity while in Madras will be found noticed in
Mr. G.'s Journal.

JOURNAL OF MR. GROVES. 345
" July 7th. 1836. — In the evening of this day, we anchored
at Madras, after a quick and pleasant voyage of three months.
Soon after our landing we had letters from Mysore, stating that
with all speed the dear brethren from Bagdad would come
down and join us.
" My first fortnight was much occupied in making arrangements
for carrying on my profession, for which the house we are now in
is most convenient ; as well as for receiving the dear brethren.
On hearing of all the strife and contention going on in Tin
neveUy, he writes : —
" July 24th. — My own impression, relative to the affair of
Rhenius, is far less comfortable than when I first undertook to
care for it.
" Every day my soul feels more and more that the way of
strife and contention is the way of moral weakness, even as the
way of returning blessing for cursing is one of power.
" My boys joined us in good health and greatly grown. May
the Lord establish their goings, and bless them in their service.
"July 25th. — This morning we had a most pleasant meeting
with our dear boys, Gundert and the rest. I expounded Numb.
xviii. showing the nature of the true priesthood in God's family ;
and dwelling particularly on v. 20, also on 26 to 29 ; pointing
out how the best of the best (comp. v. 18, 19) was appointed
as the offering to be rendered to God, who had given Himself
(v. 20.) for their portion. I heard from Capt. Cotton a nice ac
count of Mokhayel, who had gone to Mocha, and was returning
to Syria to preach the Gospel in his own country. We also
think that Aratoon, who was the companion and relative of
Serkies, will return to Persia to preach the Gospel there to his
own people, as his wife and famdy are left at Ispahan. The
account of this convert is very pleasing ; and he does truly
seem to have given himself to the Lord.
" July 30th. — We have just heard that dear Serkies, during
his stay here, went to every Armenian house, and ceased not to
visit them till he was actuaUy turned out. May the Lord
abundantly bless the lad ! This one fruit of the Bagdad mis-

346 DR. GUNDERT VISITS RHENIUS.
sion, at aU events, is most comforting. He is now living by
selling medicines and preaching.
"Aug. 1st. — I went to-day to Poonamalee to see Capt.  ,
a young convert, but truly anxious to devote himself to God's
work, as far as he knows, and he is most diUgent in the various
ways his situation affords. On returning, I went into Madras
to arrange about the brethren, Bowden and Beer, going to
Madepollum, and we hope they may be able to depart in about
a week. Their stay here has been quite as long as I think is
for their good. They have met with great encouragement and
brotherly help among the Christians here, and at the Mount,
seven miles distant. At the latter place, the converted soldiers
and their wives are formed into a Uttle church, all baptized, and,
including two native converts, there are nearly forty members.
They have contributed about 300 rupees towards the expenses
of these brethren. I cannot but rejoice in this expression
of love, but its permanence and benefit must depend on the way
they use this bounty, which I feel they are disposed to do very
holily. " I received a letter from Calcutta which greatly comforted
me. The Langs are much delighted with De Rhot and Gros,
They have arranged for their expenses. I rejoice in the Lord's
gracious ordering of all these matters ; the more so, because I
know from experience, how difficult they are to arrange ; it is
a proof also of the Lord's standing up for me, against aU the
evU surmisings made and circulated in Germany and Switzer
land, both as to the truth of my undertaking and my capability
of accompUshing it. But, above all, I am thankful that they
themselves are happy, and rejoicing in their work. The two
new brethren, our dear companions, Brice and Keelberer, are
most happy, and their employers are greatly pleased with them
The foUowing extract wiU show the pains he took to ascer
tain the exact state of things in TinneveUy, and hisdesire to
promote peace there while carrying on the work of God.
" Aug. 6th. — Dr. Gundert went down yesterday to Palemcot-
tah to converse with Rhenius and his brethren on their affairs,
reports about them being very contradictory. May the Lord

NEWS FROM MASULLIPATAM. 347
bless this journey to the peace of the mission, and the prospe
rity of His kingdom. I consider Gundert particularly suited to
make enquiry, because of his patience and impartiaUty.
"Aug. 11th. — To-night, in the very joy of my heart, I must
write that my beloved wife has been safely confined of a dear
Uttle boy. I seem quite overwhelmed at the Lord's goodness
in thus bringing her so happUy through her time of trial, and
to feel that what I have looked forward to with anxiety these
many months, has hardly been other than a season of joy.
" Aug. 13th. — The Barnstaple party (brethren Bowden and
Beer and their wives) left this for Masullipatam, and dear Mr.
ParneU took charge of them.
" I think it probable that I may go in two or three months to
Bangalore ; I can have aU my expenses paid, and am promised
that the visit shall be made valuable in a professional way. I
have also an opening there for carrying on the work of God
among dear Christian friends, who have invited us to stay with
them. " Aug. 22nd. — Since I last wrote, our Barnstaple brethren
and sisters have reached Masulhpatam, and are preparing for
their future labour. Our brother ParneU goes on to Bengal
from Coringa, and hopes to be back in three months.
" Aug. 24th. — I have received a most interesting letter to-day,
from MasuUipatam. Dear Mr. ParneU writes that Mr. P  ,
the judge, sent him 200 rupees for the use of his brethren ;
others were increasing their stock of household furniture ; and
Dr. Morton, of the 47th, offered them his medical assistance.
" Aug. 29th. — My profession has every promise of success,
and I have determined, the Lord willing, to remain here about
three months and then proceed to Bangalore.
" We have, by God's grace, begun the Native Female Board
ing School, with some prospect of success. I find every one
weary of the contention between Rhenius and the Church Mis
sionary Society, wishing to have quietness and peace restored.
That the Lord may make G.'s visit, and my strong letters, sub
servient to this end is my earnest prayer.
" Sept. 3rd. — I hope everything connected with TinneveUy

348 STATE OF TINNEVELLY.
wiU be soon arranged ; but it will not be without much difficulty.
Gundert is still there, and wdl help forward every arrangement
for peace and love, which is all I desire.
" Sept. 5th. — We have innumerable trials here of one sort or
another, but I do so feel they are to sanctify and prove us, and
to keep us looking only unto Jesus. The independence that my
profession gives me, and the access that I have had to many
souls by means of it, is very valuable.
" Oct 7th. — The affairs of Rhenius deeply interest and
much occupy me. Things in TinneveUy may have been very
defective, but there is freedom for the truth there, and the
more I examine it, the more I am persuaded it is a field of use
fulness no where to be equalled in India. For myself, so long
as the brethren act in hohness and devotedness, I purpose devo
ting my undivided energies to them and their many wants, in
men and means ; it encourages the working of my hands, to
think that the Lord has accepted it for their help. All the ac
counts I receive from TinneveUy are most happy, and all the
trials have only been God's way of purifying them, and bring
ing them down to that simplicity which is so very desirable.
O, may the Lord give us grace to strive after His will as our
meat and drink ! We are much blest in our own Uttle company,
who are truly seeking to serve the Lord.
" Oct. 24ih. — Much that passes around tries me. Our love
seems to give a sharpness to the sword that some, of whom we
had hoped better things, wield against us ; but its tendency, in
the end, is to harden ; stUl the process which the heart passes
in attaining this insensibility is often its being steeped in sor
row. Yet it is not healthy to feel indifferent to those acts
which displease God. If they merely charged you with what
was true, you would bear it, though they made a crime of what
you felt honourable ; but there is an eagerness to circulate the
most unfounded calumnies, and no willingness to contradict them
in those who know them to be false. They seem to think, at al
events, if it does nothing else, it wUl tend to sink me ; but i
is far otherwise : for by stopping up my path in many ways
they leave my time unmolested for that very object they wouh

VISIT TO BANGALORE.
most desire to obstruct. It is not agreement of opinion that my
heart so much seeks, sweet as that is ; but it is tha,t fellowship of
love which delights not to make a brother an offender for a word.
Truly unsanctified light is as Ukely to become the destruction
of the body of Christ as uninstructed darkness. The affairs of
Rhenius and his three coUeagues are now come to a close, as
far as any hope of reconciling matters is concerned. They are
wiUing to submit to any arbitration of Christian men, but
the Committee wUl enter into no consideration of any ques
tion that has not for its basis the departure of the bre
thren from TinneveUy, and to this my whole soul daUy feels
more and more opposed. They are, with all their faults,
dear brethren ; open to truth and capable of improvement ;
and, I trust, they wUl show that Societies are not needed to
carry on very extensive missionary work, any more than
to begin it. They are receiving money from Germany,
and God has, hitherto, wonderfully supported them. And
now the Lord wiU decide where and with whom His blessing
shaU abide.
"Nov. 12th. Visit to Bangalore. — When I arrived on the
high land of Mysore, covered with lofty rocky hills on every
side, there was an elasticity in the air which made me feel so
capable of enjoying all around me, that I regretted I had not
brought my wife with me. Here it is so cold at five o'clock in
the morning, that I am writing wrapped up in my cloak with a
fur collar.
" Nov. 15th. — At Bangalore the barriers to intercourse with
the saints, as su^h, are not so strong as at Madras. StiU the
effects of centuries of traditionary thought are visible every
where ; and hardly any one seems able, on certain subjects, to
trust himself simply with God's Word. Yet the thing that
damps my heart, as to myself, is, that I beUeve that many of
these, surrounded as they are by the principles of error, love
Jesus more fervently, and more simply, than I do ; and this I
consider the end of aU knowledge, and all other things only the
means to it ; so I have no heart to condemn.
" May we all endeavour to feed together on the dainty things

350 PLANS FOR SERVICE.
of the King's table, and together have our conversation in
heaven ! The world is very low, both in its glory and in its
aims ; let us press forward, so as to Uve in the anticipated
glories of the kingdom ; and, when clouds gather, let us remem
ber, we are the King's chUdren, and it is but for a moment that
any dishonour can reach us, and that only for the sake of our
true glory ; for it is appointed unto us to be ' as He is, ' who is
our Husband and Head."
Relative to his plans for serving God in India, he writes : —
" I find such doubt infused into almost all minds, that nothing
but God's grace, in quietly walking in holiness before them, can
allow one to hope to eradicate it : yet, ' when a man's ways
please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace
with him.' My sold at times feels that if we were lodged in
some vast wdderness, only seeking nearness to God, we could
be so happy :" it seems so hard to be conscious of desiring only
the blessing of others, and their liberty in Christ, and yet to be
esteemed a disturber of their peace. But I find daily, that men
would rather suffer any measure of bondage in the things of
rehgion, than dwell in individual responsibdity before God for
every action, thought and affection. Sectarian exclusiveness,
and the fondness of man to make his own knowledge the
measure of another man's Uberty, are deeply rooted, bitter
weeds. " My profession helps me here as in Madras, not only supply
ing me with means, but giving me an ostensible calling wherever
I go ; so that no man can set up a cry against me, as having no
object but to unsettle the minds of others. Indeed my whole
design is to enlarge the narrow ceUs of the hearts of the saints
of God, to receive aU whom Christ has received, to the glory of
God the Father. And if they wUl stay in their own Uttle
enclosures, I desire they may arrive at a stature which may
enable them to look with complacency and love over the waUs
they have budt around themselves, into the gardens of others.
There is evidently an enlargement of thought about the things
of God growing up among Christians here, which I feel will
have a mighty result. The number of those who are looking

DEATH OF BISHOP CORRIE. 351
to the glorious appearing of the Lord of glory increases
continually. I have written home for 300 copies of the Oxford
Bible, as the soldiers are so anxious to possess copies with
references. " 1837, Jan. 1st. Madras. — May the Lord make this a happy
year ! I know not what Ues before me, but I feel rest wiU not
be found here. I should feel at times most desolate but for the
fellowship of those in my own house. The sense of a happy
home always cheers me. Our Swiss sisters give us uninterrupted
comfort ; Julie is quite an example to us all, most firm in prin
ciple and constant in practice. Hannai is a greater comfort to
us than we could have anticipated, and a watchful guardian to
the dear Uttle boy. We have now in Madras twelve who were
with us in Bagdad. What an assemblage in such a distant
spot !
"Feb. 3rd. — We have to-day come to the determination to
seek a settlement out of Madras. Mr. ParneU and Henry are
gone out in search of one. I could in many ways content
myself with being away from this presidency. There is much
to wound the heart in it. With our principles we cannot hope
to escape hard thoughts. May the Lord Himsetf be ever our
satisfying portion ; and, if we twine round one another, may it
be to strengthen each other in the simple purpose of Uving and
dying the Lord's. The earth has such a tendency to drag
down the soul, that nothing but living in Jesus can bear us
above the sphere of its evil influences.
" The dear old bishop (Corrie) is dead, and was buried yester
day. A man with a kinder, sweeter spirit we could not have,
and he was untarnished by his elevation. We went to his
funeral. I loved him much, and wish I could feel the system
with which he was connected right, but I cannot. Every day
my heart is more and more convinced we must stand by the
truth the Lord has revealed to us, and for which the Lord has
made us responsible to Himself and to the Church. We shall
aU go out among the heathen in two or three weeks.
" Feb. 21st. — I am going to-day to preach to the soldiers at
Poonamalee, and hope to return in the evening.

352 LETTER TO HIS SISTER IN LAW.
" Feb. 26th. — To-day we had a happy little meeting, and
dedicated our Uttle boy to God, on the warrant of Mark x,
13 — 16. For, if it be true that where two or three are met
together in the name of Christ, there He is, and that His arm
is not shortened that it cannot save, nor His ear heavy that it
cannot hear ; we have as full a warrant to bring our little ones
to Him, to take them in His arms and lay His hands upon
them and bless them, as though He were visible to our eye of
sense, and I feel assured He would rebuke with displeasure
those who forbad them, and would again say, 'Suffer little
children to come unto me'."
At this time, Mr. Groves wrote to his wife's sister : —
" George is daily more valuable to us, and his presence with
us makes our life here much happier. He, like others, has
been cautioned against us, but his fears are fast passing away.
We were, in many ways, anxious about his coming to us, think
ing, that having had his views of Christianity formed on models
so different from ours, he would feel something like a revulsion
against the simphcity that marked our external worship. But,
from the day he came among us, he acknowledged what he saw
to be scriptural, and submitted to it. Thus he was introduced
into a new world of thought, and he, evidently, was very happy.
Henry and Frank were very fond of him, and he of them, and
they pursued their studies together. Before he came, Harriet
begged I would say nothing to him about the army ; and, for
many reasons, I did not ; nor did his conversation show the
least thought passing in his mind about it. He went with me
and Captain Walker, the aide-de-camp of the Commander in
Chief, to Poonamalee, to preach. I chose the Laodicean church
as my subject ; his mind became impressed, and he lingered be
hind us all the way home ; and the next day he told Harriet
he had made up his mind to quit the army. So strong was his
impression, that it was not the place of the Christian's greatest
usefulness, that he would have applied for leave to retire at
once, not thinking it right to receive pay, after he had deter
mined to quit ; but I persuaded him to let all remain quiet for
five or six months, and during that time, to write to all who

INTERESTING CONVERSION. 353
were interested in his welfare, in order to give them at least an
opportunity of saying all they had to say. He could also, if
he liked, till the expiration of his leave, study the language ;
and then, before he took any irrevocable step, and after he had
become acquainted with the work, on which he has proposed
entering, go to Bombay and settle all his affairs ; for I feel it
would take away much from the real moral power of his testi
mony, if he were either to act precipitately, or under the
influence of exclusive association, with us.
"March 14th. — Mr. Day, a missionary from America, who
has been staying at Chichacole near Yizagapatam, was teUing me
last evening of an interesting conversion. A man residing
between that place and Ganjam had received a tract from some
one wearing a hat, who came into his village. He carried the
tract home, and put it into a chest. Four or five years after,
he saw in the village Mr. Russel, who was engaged in the
Goonsoor war ; and the circumstance of his wearing a hat
brought to his remembrance the tract he had received. He
went home, took it out of his chest, perused it, and was so
deeply interested in it, that he wrote to Mr. Russel enquiring
about Christianity. Mr. R. rephed, that he would see him on
the subject of bis enquiry ; but he went away without doing so.
The man was then directed to go to Chickacole, where a
lady gave him some instruction ; and from thence he proceeded to
Ganjam, where he was baptized ; and he is now faithfully
preaching the truth. At Chickacole, he was shown into a
Roman CathoUc chapel ; but when he saw the images and the
paraphernaUa of Romish Christianity, he rejected them, as
being of the things he had left behind in quitting heathenism.
"April. — We have much to be thankful for, amidst the
many trials which have not ceased to press upon us since we
reached this place. On our arrival in India, I looked forward
to a severe struggle with the opponents of Mr. Rhenius, but my
anticipations were nothing in comparison with my experience,
either as to its spirit or its extent. I thought, too, in fighting
this battle, I should have had my companions in labour fully
with me, and indeed we are of one mind in the matter. Dear

354 SECOND VISIT TO BANGALORE.
Mr. ParneU, after having opposed Mr. Cronin's intended return
to England, determined to begin learning TamU, though,
evidently, he did not feel sure he was called to missionary
work. It is not therefore surprising that he gave up the study
after his Monshee had been with him a few days, intending to
return to Western Asia, Syria, or Palestine, by way of
England.* His departure greatly alters my circumstances ;
but I must thankfully receive it at the Lord's hands, as
obhging me to act simply to Him, and I do feel my soul so
much more happy in this state of dependence upon God. The
Lord, I know, wdl be with me in it, and, through it, make me
triumph. " With aU who came out with us, we are most happy. The
Swiss sisters are most steady ; Gundert is devoted to missionary
work; Henry and George are studying together most dili
gently. The latter is most humble and self-denying, and
thirsting for the truth. My whole heart blesses God for what
Gundert teUs me is going on in TinneveUy."
In April Mr. Groves visited Bangalore a second time : from
thence he writes : —
" I have abundance of work for the Lord here, and I look to
Him to accept and bless me in my service. My profession gives
me access to many I should not otherwise see ; and the Lord
blesses me by allowing me to bring very many of the people of
God, to contemplate subjection to Jesus, as a very different
thing to attachment to a system. I have just heard the Com
mandant has been to the Commissioner to know what he could
do with me, and was told he had nothing to do with me at all ;
I was answerable to the civil, not to the military authorities.
I cannot but think this is at the instigation of one of the chap
lains ; a man who knows not the truth, a great part of whose
congregation came to me on a Sunday morning. Once before
he got me into trouble, but here the Lord has stopped him.
* Family circumstances hindered the carrying out of these intentions.
The reason assigned by Mr. Cronin for going home was the care of his
little girl, then between nine and ten years of age.

DEATH OF LADY POWERSCOURT. 355
" April 15th. — I find dear Lady Powerscourt has gone to
her sweet rest. The thought greatly refreshes me ; for it is an
evU world, and now the Lord is sure to keep her tUl the day of
glory. — Ah ! how blessed a day ! May we be faithful tiU
death, that the crown of Ufe may be ours. I preach here
Sundays and Fridays, and sometimes to a goodly company.
The Lord has been very good to me : but a ' little while,' and
what a scene Ues before us ! when the happy Ust of sanctified
ones, who have ' washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb,'
and whom we knew and loved, wiU be with us. What a set
off against the toil and strife of this selfish world is the day of
manifestation yet to come ! As I came out to Bagdad alone, so
I am Ukely to remain in India alone. Of Mr. Cronin's leaving
you have already heard, and also of Mr. Parnell's plans for
Syria and England.
"April 18th. — Dearest John Parnell is come down from
Pulicot to minister to the Uttle Church in our house, while I
am away. Thirteen of us generally break bread together.
There has not been an unkind word between us, and we part
perfectly happy.
"Again, as at the commencement, eight years ago, I am
become, with all my dear party, dependent on the Lord, and I
do feel it so sweet to look only to Him, and to have my daily
wants suppUed by His dear hand. May the Lord Himself
bless us, and lift up the light of His countenance upon us, and
give us peace ! I have long felt the spiritual joy found in
communion with Him — the only true and abiding source of
happiness. What I pray for is the mind of Christ, and the
faith which enables me to commit to Him that which is too
hard for us. I feel the Lord is leading us, and if He only
sanctifies all will be well, though the flesh may shrink from the
ordeal of present trials : however rough other things may seem,
if I may but glorify God in aU I have to pass through, and find
my happiness more in Him alone, I shaU be content, and my
peace will, I know, flow as a river when I can say ' all my
springs are in thee.'

CHAPTER XV.
REMOVAL TO CHITTOOR  HAPPY RESULT OF HIS ENGLISH MI
NISTRY  PLANS FOR A SELF-SUPPORTING MISSION AMONG
NATIVES  MISSIONARY TOURS  ACCESSION OF VALUABLE
MISSIONARY HELP  ACCOUNT OF MACARTHY AND MACFAR-
LAINE, ALSO MR. WALHOUSE  DEPARTURE OF DR. AND MRS.
GUNDERT  DEATH OF MR WALHOUSE.
Finding his work greatly hindered by secret influences in
Madras, and hearing that Chittoor, a civil station, ninety-six
mUes from the Presidency, had no missionary, Mr. Groves pur
chased a house there, on reasonable terms, and in July 1837
removed thither with his missionary family, which now con
tained only three of those who had left England with himself and
his wife. One of the Swiss ladies had been obliged to return
to Europe, from ill health, but the other, MUe* Dubois, remained,
and assisted Miss Groves in the native girls' school. Her ser
vices were greatly prized by Mrs. Groves ; Dr. Gundert and
Mr. Baynes superintended the work among the natives, and
continued for some years Mr. Groves's helpers. This was an
interesting period in his missionary life. They frequently visited
Arcot, which then contained two cavalry regiments, also Vel-
lore ; and they made monthly mission tours, so that tidings
from the villages often refreshed the hearts of those at home.
They had also two native helpers named Andrew and Aroolappen,
and during these years, a hundred children were fed, clothed,
and instructed, in the boys' and girls' schools. Several of the
European residents at Chittoor were also awakened and turned
to the Lord, through Mr. Groves's ministry.
"The subject of a self-supporting mission was at this time
occupying many minds, and Mr. Groves had much correspond
ence on the subject : indeed, one of his objects in moving to

DEPARTURE OF DR. AND MRS. GUNDERT. 357
Chittoor was to seek a way of carrying out his plans for the
benefit of the natives ; for though at Madras he was able to
support aU the missionary party, employment was greatly needed
for the native converts, who, by embracing Christianity, lost
their means of support. Besides the direct example of the
Apostle, hi combining manual labour with work among the
heathen, Mr. Groves often alluded to an observation of a
Mohammedan ' Moollah,' at Bagdad, which had evidently con
firmed his judgment on this question. This man had said, ' I
know you are devoted men, and give much away, but I know
not what your motives are, or what the extent of your riches. If
I saw persons labouring from day to day, and giving the fruit
of their labour to the poor, or to missions, I should then see
they were making sacrifices for God.' "
In July 1839, Mr. and Mrs. Groves had the trial of parting
with their fellow-labourers, Dr. Gundert and Miss Dubois,
who married before their departure. They had, however, the
comfort of knowing that they only changed their place of ser
vice. They are actively employed to this day, in the Western
Coast of India, in connection with the Basle Missionary Society.
It was a peculiar feature in Mr. Groves's character, that he
cheerfully gave up his most valued fellow-labourers, if they felt
the Lord had led them to another sphere of service. So that
the work of God was done, he was content ; and, in this case,
he felt it very reasonable that the ties of college friendship and
national claims should be acknowledged : and he was of opin
ion that people worked best in the atmosphere most congenial
and pleasant to themselves. He Uked all with him to feel
themselves the Lords servants, and was careful not to obstruct
their way in carrying out any new plan of labour.
The loss of Dr. Gundert seemed for a while supplied by the
arrival of a dear and devoted christian man, Mr. Walhouse,
who had been an officer of the Madras European Regiment.
He joined the Chittoor mission in Jan. 1840, and while he re
mained was a great comfort ; but it pleased God, the following
. August, to take him to Himself. He caught fever on the hills
near Salem, where he had gone with Mr. Groves's second son,

358 ARRIVAL AT CHITTOOR.
whose Ufe was also despaired of, but the Lord, who in the midst
of judgment remembers mercy, graciously spared his father this
greater loss : so that he had yet occasion to give thanks and
speak well of His name, whose compassions fail not. It was
also towards the close of this year that his fourth and youngest
son, George Norris, was born at Chittoor.
The following extract from Mr. Groves's letters and journals
from 1837 to 1840, are interesting in connection with the period
we have been describing.
"We arrived at Chittoor on the 8th of July, after a pleasant
journey of five days from Madras, and found there George Gun
dert and Henry, prepared to receive us with open arms. Our
party consisted of Mrs. Groves, Julie, (MUe' Dubois,) Emma,
(Miss Groves,) Hannai, seven Uttle native chUdren, and myself.
We had also two native readers, and these, with a catechist and
his wife, now constitute the body collected here.
" We have enclosed all the back of the Bungalow, occupied
by the sisters and their Uttle charge, with a nice high verandah,
covered with tiles ; it is about 35 yards square. We are also
building a Uttle school-room which is to be used in the morning
for day scholars, and at other times as a chapel. It is beauti
fully situated, under the shade of some tall mangoe trees.
" Since our arrival here, we have had many proofs of love ;
not less than a thousand rupees have been sent in about a month
towards the expenses of our mission.
" Gundert has a school at a village called Sandepett (about two
miles off,) and George and Henry are thinking of having one
for the Telegoo children in or near our compound.
"July 10th. — When I consider how long we have been with
out a home, I cannot sufficiently bless God for bringing us here
and giving us a resting-place, which, had we thought only of
natural things, might have much attracted us, surrounded as it
is by hills, both near and in the distance, whilst immediately
before us Ues a rich and beautiful valley. The climate here is
very healthy ; the nights are much colder than in Madras, but
for an hour or two in the middle of the day, I think it is hotter ;
we are, however, close in the neighbourhood of the higher

HIS PORTION AT CHITTOOR. 359
Ghauts, so that should we need change we could get it without
forsaking our work. As to George, he is quite a treasure to us ;
and I do believe him to be truly happy in the work he has un
dertaken. I have to-day obtained a Uttle preaching place
opposite the ZUlah Court. I find it does not do to meet at
your own house. Many of the half-castes would not come, and
many of the residents whom you do not visit would stay away.
May the Lord be with us, and bless us."1
After some months' residence in Chittoor, he writes : —
" Though we have been rejected, trampled on, and avoided as
a plague, the Lord has given us His seal and testimony, and there
is a work going on silently, which they cannot stop."
Speaking of the Chaldean servant, he says : —
" She is an inconceivable help, and does so watch over both
baby and his dear mamma, that it is a great comfort while I am
away." Of the love we owe to all the Lord's people, he says : —
" I feel so deeply the load of evU our most gracious Lord must
see every day in all of us, and how much, even the truest heart
moves in masquerade attire, that it is most happy to be able to
forgive and love all. Love to aU saints is an eternal treasure,
which will never find wings or fly away ; but, having its root in
God, will eternally bear fruit to God. I sometimes wonder that
we have been separated from many that we love, yet the Lord
may see that too many natural sources of happiness might clog the
wheels of our sluggish chariots ; and it is but a little moment,
and the clouds of time will disperse, and the revelation of the
glory will succeed them."
Of his position in Chittoor, he says, " I feel in every way
most grateful for our prospects here. There is a quiet peace,
which encourages diligence and imparts rest to the spirit : all
are diligently studying the language ; George and Henry make
progress in Telegoo. You ask me to give you my opinion
about separating from evil. I as fully admit as you can desire,
that in my own person, it is my bounden duty to depart from
every evil thing ; but the judgment of others, and consequent
separation from them, I am daily more satisfied is not of God.

360 MAC CARTHY AND MAC FARLANE.
The blessing of God rests on those who are separated by others
from their company, and it is a mark of apostacy to be of
those who 'separate themselves' from God's own redeemed
ones ; moreover, if ever there was a witness for God on earth,
that witness was Jesus, and He never separated Himself from
the synagogues ; and this, if it proves nothing more, proves
that separation is not the only way of witness, and yet He was
emphatically, ' separate from sinners,' not from their persons, nor
assemblies, but separate from their sins.
"Aug. 18th. — We seem now settling down to our work in
the midst of these lands of darkness, feeUng so thankful to the
Lord for having afforded us such a place of shelter, tiU He
come, who is the glory of the saint's life.
" Sunday. — We had to-day all the people of the station to
hear the word, and my hope is, that some will hear to the sav
ing of their souls. I have a strong impression the Lord wiU
bless us here, and make us a help both to Europeans and
natives. Our circumstances, in many ways, are very favourable ;
we are cast upon God, and have to seek from Him only the
true light, and the guidance He has promised for every step of the
way. We rejoice to hear that others are feasting on the hope
that maketh not ashamed ; how the remembrance that all sorrow
shaU cease, and all tears shall , be dried, heals, even now, the
bitter waters of this parched world. We shall then feel how
wise have been aU our Father's dealings with us. How will
the darkest scenes of time burst into brightness, when seen
through the unincumbered medium of the soul's divine
vision. " Aug. 19th. — Two little girls came to the native school as
boarders to-day ; I trust the first-fruits of a harvest. Also two
brethren, whose names are Mac Carthy and Mac Farlane, who
have obtained their discharge from the army, came to join our
missionary party. One speaks Tamil better than English, the
other has been studying Telegoo. We think of estabUshing
them in some field of labour near us.
" Aug. 21st. — This morning, about half-past three o'clock, I
went over to Arcot, a distance of thirty miles, in order to lee-

OPEN DOOR FOR THE GOSPEL. 361
ture in the evening at the house of an officer. Many were
present, but I found afterwards that most of them knew not
their right hand from their left in the things of God.
" Aug. 25th. — I have had an invitation from the circuit
judges to preach in the .provincial court-house, instead of the
ZUlah court. I feel the Lord is opening for me here a much
wider field than I had at Madras.
" Aug. 28th — Our catechist Andrew,. sent to us from Tinne
veUy, is a great comfort to us ; so humble and diligent, and I
do think fervent for the Lord, far above an ordinary native.
This evening I walked over to Sandepett to see the school, and
whilst Gundert was examining the boys, and afterwards speak
ing to the people assembled without, who listened, apparently,
with great attention, I could not help feeUng that there is at
least an open door here for the pubUcation of the gospel.
Whether they wdl hear, or whether they wUl forbear, stUl
depends on the power with which the Spirit bears witness to
the things of Jesus.
" Sep. 3rd. — At our Uttle weekly missionary conference
last evening, it was determined that dearest George should pro
ceed to Bombay, during this week ; and that Gundert should
go out with the catechist to some heathen villages on the west,
to find a settlement for Mac Carthy and Mac Farlane.
" Sept. 5th. — We have planted several coffee trees and
abundance of cotton ; a little rain is wanted to make them
flourish. O, what a world this would be, if the Lord's
spiritual garden did but flourish as His natural one does ; both,
if neglected, are soon overrun with weeds, and it is no little
trouble to keep them under. By constantly stopping the
seeding of the natural weeds, you can overcome them ; but
who can clear the heart of its weeds ? They both blossom and
seed in an hour.
" Sept. 23rd. — We have had many more here at the Lord's
Supper than at Madras, and I cannot but feel the Lord is with
us. But I long for nearer access to God, and for a more abid
ing realization of the nothingness of all here, and the eternal
reality of all that is beyond, so that my soul may ever mount,

362 DISCRIMINATING WITNESSES.
as with eagles' wings, in an unfailing hope of that day which is
to reveal fuUy the King in His beauty, and the land that is
very far off. I also daily more and more desire to see raised up
for God, discriminating witnesses, discerning between things
that differ ; enduring the evU for the sake of the good, rather
than fleeing from the good for fear of the evd. I am so fixed
in this principle, that I could never give it up, even were those
I most love to oppose me in it. It is, to my conscience,
the breath of God; the image of God's actings, and God's
mind. " Oct. 10th. — The dissensions among many dear children of
God in England make one long for the Lord's coming ; for if
those who are confessedly walking in so much grace and single
ness of eye cannot walk in ' unity and love, and by bearing one
another's burthens, fulfil the law of Christ,' who can be expected
to do it ? More especiaUy as both sides allow the very widest
principles of communion, compatible with what each thinks to
be for the safety of the Ark.
" Oct. 11th. — I have had all manner of evil said against me,
but the Lord does not allow my testimony to faU unheeded to
the ground ; and though I have many other trials, and such as
make me feel our position requires much wisdom ; stUl in all
this variety of circumstances, I find it is so very blessed to have
the Lord as the bearer of our burdens ; the one to care for us.
Notwithstanding all efforts against us, we are still prospering,
according to the measure of a dispensation that declares, ' strait
is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth to life, and few
there be that find it.' Those especial principles that take glory
from the creature and put it upon Christ will never find ac
ceptance with men ; and even in the Church, they wiU meet, I
fear, but a cold reception.
" My heart has perfect repose in the thought of being rejected.
I only trust I shall always be able to bear it in meekness ;
neither in proud disdain turning from and scorning those who
thus act, nor in self vindication retaliating ; but accepting all
simply as that path in which we are to have fellowship with
Jesus, who was so misunderstood, and whose principles were so

HELP FROM LOOKING AT JESUS. 363
little appreciated even by His apOstles and brethren. It is so
valuable a school to learn in ; the one in which the more you
love, the less you are loved, and stUl not to faint or be weary.
At times my heart is very sick at the aspect of things, such
division, such jealousies, such evil surmisings ! but then I
think, thus it was with Jesus ; if I am caUed a teacher of
blasphemy, so was He ; if I am called a sabbath breaker, so
was He ; if my authority to teach is questioned, so was His ;
though it was the wisdom of His Father ; if He was rejected
by His own people, so are we ; if I am accused of betraying
the city of Zion into the hands of her enemies, because I would
turn out those who occupy the temple as thieves, to buy and
seU in it, so was Jesus : He was accused of betraying His na
tion to the Romans, or of so acting that they would come and
take it away if he were allowed to continue : should we then
be surprised, that if He was called Beelzebub His household
should share the same fate ?
"I feel it so important to strengthen those foundations,
which rest on Jesus, though I weaken those which rest on man.
It is not a popular ministry, but God has given me lessons both
to learn and to teach, whether wilhngly or not, that destroy all
thoughts of personal ambition, and in my inmost soul I accept it
of the Lord's hand, as most right and necessary for me.
" Nov. 1 1th. — We have much of Joseph's portion here ; (Gen.
xlix. 22 — 26 ;) the archer's shoot, but the Lord defends ; our bre
thren hate, but the Lord shows love ; and the vine that runs
over the wall will, I trust, extend His branches, even here,
that we may rejoice in His shade, and eat of His fruit.
" The Tuesday evening meetings bring us together around
God's word, and may, perhaps, yet be more useful than they have
been. Most marvellous are the efforts that are made to keep
up the alarm about the tendency of our doctrines."
Writing to dear relatives, he says : —
" I shall unceasingly give myself unto prayer, that you may
all know experimentally the power of that faith, which, through
Jesus, gives access to God, and joy in tribulation. We have all
much dross and tin to be purged away, before we can really joy

364 THE LORD WORKING.
in the God of our salvation, in all the aspects His providence
bears towards us. Let us think that it is but a little while and
the kingdom and glory wdl come, and aU this wdl be at an end,
and we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known.
It is my joy to believe, that there is a holy pleasant company,
walking even now as risen saints, whom the Lord will own as
His peculiar treasure in the day of His manifestation. The
Lord is very much working for us here, and, I think, clearing
our way. Our desire is to walk worthy of the redeemed saints
in glory, the companions and friends of Jesus."
In his journal we find the following entry. — " Gundert is
gone out again on a missionary tour ; he left on Monday, and
we do not expect him till Saturday. I have a Brahmin coming
to me every day who has a masterly knowledge of English, and
the details of history, Geography, &c, &c. Yet his heart is
untouched by one spark of the grace of the gospel, though he
seems much struck by the subUmity of those Christian princi
ples which I daily put before him, in contrast with those which
govern the world.
"Sunday, Nov. 10th. — At Arcot, Gundert found every effort
had been made to cast doubts into the minds of men, relative
to my soundness in the faith ; especially, because I consider
Christ's life and words our only rule of life ; but this evU speak
ing has less and less effect ; so many have heard me now here,
that they practically reject the accusation, though they may un
derstand too little to disprove it verbally ; but I feel such peace
in leaving my cause with the Lord.
"I have received 300 rupees from dear H. H. for Rhenius.
I would there were many like him, but the Lord stiU supplies him,
and for His own glory, I doubt not that He wiU. What a blessing
it is that the Lord's heart is so large, that He can help whenever
He sees some good thing ; whereas man withdraws, because he
sees some evil thing, which is generally found to mean something
that wounds his own self-love in the little scheme he has set up
as perfection.
"Nov. 14th. — The Lord's work seems prospering in those
who are really affected by the preaching of Christ. We heard

GREAT SEARCHING OF THE WORD. 365
from the nurse, who has been attending the wife of the Regis
trar of the Zillah Court, that since she last attended that lady,
under similar circumstances, a mighty change has taken place
in the family : then nothing was thought of but balls and par
ties ; now her only thought is, how soon she may be able to go
out again to attend the ministry of the word. We have also
very nice accounts of those who are awakened to the truth at
Arcot, to which place Henry and I proceed this evening.
" The second circuit judge told me to-day that I had given
them at least something to think on. I spoke from Ezekiel
xxxiii. 30—33.
" Nov. 17th. — I have just returned from Arcot, where I found
that the spirit of opposition to me had been in active operation
to deter every one from coming near me ; however there are a
few whom these very circumstances tend to establish, and to
oblige, like the Bereans of old, to search the scriptures, whether
these things are so. Here I find also many minds in deep exer
cise. One person I trust is truly converted to God ; but among
all, I hear, there is great searching of the scriptures, and this
truly comforts me ; but the insinuations against me, and gene
ral charges that specify nothing, try me much at times ; but I
feel it so blessed to have the Lord to cast all care upon, for
there is no one who bears burdens Uke Him. The cholera has
made sad havoc here, and in various places, but we have all been
mercifully preserved.
" I have it in my heart to go over once a month to Arcot, on
the Lord's day, in order to have a Uttle gathering there. May
the Lord grant that, like the Israelites in Egypt, the more we
are persecuted, the more we may grow. I find on every side
many are inquiring about that way, and we heard from one, who
is acquainted with aU the private circles of this place, that there
is a deep and general enquiry here. Do not cease to pray for us,
that the Lord may make His arm bare in our behalf; for we
are greatly spoken against, for His name's sake. Much as I am
tried, I do not feel discouraged, but am more than ever deter
mined to abide by my ministry. To that end I give up a por
tion of my time to preparation, which I am sure the Lord owns

366 MARKS OF SATAN'S WORK.
" Nov. 23rd. — The strife is still going on here, some saying
he is a good man, others, nay, but he deceiveth the people ; but
the Lord's work I trust is prospering, and religious subjects are
now the common topics even in worldly society ; some are very
angry, others deeply interested.
"Nov. 26th. — Loyalty to Christ is what I seek in every
Christian, not zeal for his own particular views, or the views of
any sect, however designated. It therefore greatly comforts
me that they do not even assert, much less prove against us,
any rebellion towards His headship and glory, who is ' God
over all, blessed for ever.'
" It has long been my opinion that the characteristic marks
of Satan's active working are the traducing God's children by
general charges and unsupported allusions, whereas truth is
specific and clear, and rests simply on God's Word. Passively
Satan's works are known by withdrawing men from the light,
' neither wiU they come to the light, lest their deeds should be
reproved,' whereas truth is bold as a lion, and comes to the
Ught, knowing that its words and works are wrought in God.
I wish you to understand distinctly, that whilst for myself I
feel every ray of Ught given me of God, to be a talent I dare
not hide, yet I entirely disallow the right of judging and reject
ing others, seeing the Lord has said, 'judge nothing before the
time,' the Lord is at hand, showing by whom, and at what time,
judgment shall be administered : and again, ' who art thou that
condemnest another man's servant 1 to his own master he
standeth or falleth, yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able
to make him stand.' This clearly evinces to my mind God's
abhorrence of our judging one another : whilst He as strongly
teUs us by the apostles to judge ourselves, that we may not be
judged of the Lord. I see on every side, nothing but a ten
dency to reverse this order. Men unmercifully and unspar
ingly judge others, and neglect to judge themselves ; they are
keen-sighted as eagles to see motes in others' eyes, but perceive
not the beams in their own.
" 1838, Feb. 27th.— We have a little heathen girl, an orphan,
brought to-day, from a distance of about 200 miles. It

EXAMPLE OF EZRA. 367
seems a long weary way as travelling is in this country. May
it be to fulfil the Lord's purpose of grace towards her, in bring
ing her into the fellowship of Christ's -kingdom ! When I saw
the heathen mark on her Uttle forehead, I could not but desire
she might receive the Lord's seal instead of it.
" March 2nd. — We hear that a Mr. W. is appointed judge
here : he seems very well disposed towards the labours in which
we are engaged, and will, I trust, work happily with us. This
circumstance is the more pleasing because we anticipated some
thing very different ; indeed, the Lord does truly make things
work for our peace."
In reference to the many who were now under his care, and
the responsibilities they involved, Mr. Groves writes : —
" How sweet an example Ezra is, in passing through the wil
derness to the promised land, with all his encumbrances of gold,
silver, children, and women. (Ezra viU, 22, 23.) Surely we
might learn much from his example. I would that our faith
in God were more lively as respects His fatherly character, as a
God whose hand is upon all those for good who seek Him, and
against those who forsake Him. It was so wise, Ezra's not
seeking the shortest or the easiest way, but the right way for
the Uttle ones, and for all their substance. Unbelief might
have pleaded David's appUcation to Hiram, as an excuse for
asking help of the king, and also that there was no express
prohibition against it ; but Ezra's eye was single, and he saw
how to find the right way, even by committing all to God, who
then directed his path."
Relative to Rhenius, and those with him, Mr. Groves
writes : —
" The dear brethren at TinneveUy seem getting on nicely ;
their work appears extending, and the Lord's blessing rests on
their labours, exactly in the proportion that man discounte
nances them.
'' We fear the devd is at work very actively in this place,
and I do not at all expect we shaU go on without his doing
his best to disturb the Lord's work ; but this is my comfort,
that the things which are of God will stand, let man do what

368 FOUNDATION OF CHAPEL LAID.
he may to hinder, and I.«desire not to wish for the establish
ment of anything that is not His.
" I have to-day been laying the foundation of our future Ut
tle chapel, and I pray the Lord may be with us in all connected
with it. To-night we heard of the death of a young half-caste,
who appears to have died in the faith and hope of the gospel,
and attributes his conversion to some books Mrs. A  gave
him, and some conversations of beloved George's. These things
greatly deUght us, and more than compensate for a thousand
little trials. When my soul sees the storm again rising among
us, I for a moment tremble, but my heart returns and rests on
its Lord, who alone abides faithful amidst faithlessness ; but
truly it is as great an honour to be the cause of enmity to
those who reject Jesus, as of happiness to those who love Him :
but surely here our portion is one of fluctuations and tribula
tions, sharing present sorrow, and living in the hope of future
glory. "Did you ever consider Numb, xviu, comparing verses 12,
and 26, 29 1 God's demanding from the people their 'best,' for
the service of the sancturary, and from those who serve in the
sanctuary their tenth from the best of this best ; the expecta
tion of God from the Levite was then the ' best of the best ;'
and if you contrast this with the spirit manifested in the time of
Malachi, when the people offered the worst of the bad, and said
to God, what have we done amiss 1 we see the true spirit of
apostacy in all dispensations ; how different from David's spirit,
'neither wdl I offer burnt-offerings unto the Lord my God
of that which doth cost me nothing.'
" This evening we received a parcel of tracts from home.
There was one new tract on ' Open Communion and liberty of
Ministry ' very nice, but wanting in Scripture order, to make
its design complete in that way. It is not enough to show the
disorder of the things in the flesh, without showing the order
of things in the Spirit. Do you not think that God designed
Moses to be a much more perfect type of Christ than he ulti
mately became 1 I think his faithlessness about his power of
speech lost him the priesthood and gave it to Aaron ; by his

FLOCK IN THE WILDERNESS. 369
complaining of his inadequacy to thj government of the people,
he lost the fuU glory of the kingly character, and had associated
with him seventy rulers, who were suppUed by the spirit taken
from him ; and again, he lost the glory of leading the people
into the promised land, by his hastiness at Meribah. Now
surely this is a warning to the Church of God — to the highest
and hoUest — how much may be lost of God's designed goodness
and love, either by impatience, or faithlessness, or murmuring.
Had Moses united the priestly and kingly office, and had he
led the people into the land of promise, how perfect a resem
blance he would have been ! His breaking down makes us
reaUze the preciousness of having to do with one who never
fails. "Feb. 26th. — The Bowdens and Beers seem, by their letters,
to be going on nicely, and are quite happy in their work. Each
family lives on thirty rupees a month. They have just been at
an idol festival, preaching the gospel and distributing tracts,
which shows, at least, they have made much progress in the
language. They tell me they have received from Mr. James
Thomas some bread and cakes, from Mr. Jellicoe bread
and wine, and from some unknown person thirty rupees : they
still have enough for the present, and, I doubt not, wdl not
have finished the old store before the new comes in.
" I went to Arcot the other day to see the little flock in the
wilderness there. A mingled feeling of thankfulness and re
gret always accompanies these visits. There are those whom I
am anxious about, not advancing at all as I could wish in the
cleaving of the heart to God ; they will drink in knowledge,
but they love not obedience. Yet this is the lovely principle
which puts everything in its proper place in God's family : an
obedient ear and heart are such treasures.
"Do not you feel much instructed by Haggai i, 4 — ll 1
How truly the prophet shows the way to blessing is to mind
God's things. This thought makes it very pleasant to be em
ployed in preparing the stones and sweet-smelhng cedar beams
for the Lord's temple.
" We have all a most happy consciousness that our present
2 A

370 " POOR, YET MAKING MANY RICH."
position is incomparably njpre happy, and better suited to all
the ends we have ever hoped to accompUsh, than any we could
have attained in Madras."
After speaking of some large sums which had come for the
relief of Mr. Rhenius, Mr. Groves says : —
" We feel ourselves so enriched of the Lord by that which
comes to us for others : we feel more like princes than beggars ;
' as poor, yet making many rich ; as having nothing, yet pos
sessing all things.' I do trust the Lord is taking up Rhenius's
cause, and will show what He can do for them. Man's natural
covetousness often finds excuses for doing nothing, in the evil
he sees every where ; others are tempted to live within the
narrow bounds of their own selfishness, by an idea that there
is no perfection save in their own little circle. My aim for
mysetf, and all in whom I am interested, is to cease more
and more from man, and to live on the Lord's unrebuking
bounty. " Feb. 28th. — I am going to lecture at Vellore, and at
Arcot. I never felt so humbled as now under the sense of
God's undeserved goodness to us. It does so melt the heart, to
feel the immeasurable overflowing of God's love subduing our
coldness and indifference. I do purpose to be more and more
close in my communion with God, as the only secret of real
power, either in ministry or worship ; realization is every
THING IN THE THINGS OF GOD."
After speaking of the encouragement he had in seeing
the Lord's work among; the Europeans at Chittoor, he says : —
" Some expected us to turn back when our brethren left us,
but I felt if I knew anything of the Lord's mind, this was not
the way to honour Him. Now my sore trial is past ; when my
beloved brethren left me in search of some other service, this
was my time of trouble ; now the Lord has spoken comfortably to
me, and has given me souls for my consolation, and the duty of
watching over them."
In allusion to a letter from Christians at home, who professed
they were ' seeking for more zeal and practical union,' while
the course they took gave rise to many divisions, he says : —

SCRIPTURAL ORDER AND RULE. 371
" They want to understand more, of poor Job's feelings,
(chap, xix, 28,) when he advised his friends to let him alone,
seeing the ' root of the matter ' was in him ; also the meaning
of Romans xv, 1 — 7 ;" and in allusion to the brethren
generally, he says : " The Lord will own their Scriptural
ministry ; but if they have not suitable elders to rule, such as
Timothy is instructed to select, let them, in earnest, cry to the
Lord, that He would do that thing for them. Real subjection
to God's will and Word, where there is neither rank, talent, nor
any external distinction to uphold the principle of rule, is a
grace rarely, very rarely, found. To those who have learnt to
answer to all these remarks, 'we are now in the apostacy,' and
must submit to these disorders, I answer, the apostacy has
nothing to do with our duty in maintaining and exhibiting
every ray of light that the Holy Ghost gives ; just as to the
Jews, even to the fourth verse of the last chapter of Malachi,
it is said, 'Remember ye the law of Moses which I commanded
unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judg
ments.' And if this be really the Laodicean period of the new
dispensation, as I beUeve it is, I think if the Lord were to
speak by another Malachi, befoi'e ' the great and terrible day of
the Lord,' He would say to us who have ' ears to hear,' not
only return in ministry, but return in rule, and give ear to
every word that having proceeded out of the mouth of God,
stands recorded as His. Dear Caldecott well says, that the
struggle now is between the Word and tradition. It ever has
been, it ever was among the Jews, and is among the GentUes.
We take our stand on the Word ; and in proportion to our practical
inconsistency with it wiU our testimony be weakened ; because
people all see when we are partial in the law, magnifying the
importance of that part of truth by which we are distinguished,
and passing by that which is expressed with equal clearness,
though not adopted into our system. You will forgive these
remarks : indeed I do honour and love those brethren ; yet I
am jealous over them with a godly jealousy ; and as I bear
their reproach by sending many friends from India to receive
from them the good they may so abundantly get ; yet I would

372 SEVERAL CONVERSIONS TO GOD.
say to them, especially in connection with sectarian tendencies,
' Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do
the first works.' Remember, I only use the word confusion
above, as expressive of any order that is not God's in spiritual
things. Much that may appear order in the flesh, supplants
the order of the Spirit, whether in rule or in ministry. The
Spirit's order is connected ever with His own gifts, and these
are the credentials to which those led by the Spirit look, and
by which they are guided."
Alluding to one of the residents to whom God had blessed
his ministry, he says : " B  has a fixed purpose to renounce
the world, and we have two now staying here, to whom the
Lord allowed me to be useful at Bangalore. They are come
here to enjoy the ministry of the Word. They were once the
wUdest of the wild, and were engaged to go to a ball on the
very evening they decided on coming to hear me preach. They
are now flourishing in the ways of the Lord.
" We aU feel very happy here, in our free interchange of
thought on the things of God. The friends I have spoken of
above were formerly well acquainted with others whom the
Lord has given me in this place. They had known each other
in the days of their ungodly dissipation, and now look at each
other, wondering at the marvellous work of God in redeeming
them from a common destruction, and making them fellow-
heirs of the same glory.
" How truly do I feel, in my own case, the power of that
word, ' Who art thou that judgest another man's servant t to
his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden
up.' I see that because some long to triumph over me, regard
less by what means, the Lord has, in so many ways, dealt
gently with me. The discussion I have occasioned is great, and
will, at all events, I trust, do some good ; doubtless many will
be more than ever confirmed in the old paths ; but many wiU
be led to enquire."
It was the habit of Mr. Groves's mind to pass from the
consideration of things without to the Word of God : his next
entry is : —

THE WORD OF GOD. 373
"What deep instruction the first thirteen verses of the 11th
of Luke afford to those who desire communion with God !
Christ's description of God's character of a Father shows the
apprehension that a suppliant must have, that ' he is, and that
he is a re warder of those who diligently seek him ;' the parable
shows the perseverance with which He is to be sought, even
when He seems as though He heard not ; and, lastly, the
prayer shows the subject matter of what a saint should desire,
and the spirit in which he should live, forgiving much under a
consciousness of having had much forgiven. How wonderful
God's Word is made by the teaching of His Spirit ! Things
one has often read before rise up as new : it is like the Ught
shed on the stones of Urim and Thummim, giving an answer
to the seeking soul.
" March 2nd. — We find our home and situation daily more
and more suited to our wishes ; we have Uttle visits from so
many, and, I trust, the Lord allows us, after a godly sort, to
help on those who come. I feel sure that if the Lord give us
grace to bear patiently all that man can do, committing our
way unto the Lord, we shall finally triumph over the preju
dices of those who really love the Lord ; and the opposition of
others, we cannot desire to overcome, so long as they continue
opposed to Jesus. We must suffer with as well as reign with
Him. '
" I should so like you to know dear Hannai : she is a noble
servant, and has a spirit of service that it is most instructive to
contemplate. When Harriet asked her if she should go into
mourning, on account of a funeral she was thinking of attend
ing. ' Go into mourning V she- exclaimed, ' certainly not ; so
long as my master lives I shall never wear mourning.' How
many lessons of loyalty and love to our true Master may we
learn from this.''
Writing to one who had been in deep affliction, he says : —
" If we pray to be made like Jesus, we must not choose the
way. It is a sad, sad hour, and yet a happy one, if we, though
in deep trial, feel the soul has hold on Jesus. May it become
a sanctifying medium, bringing you nearer and closer to Him.

374 ENCOURAGING TESTIMONY.
The world may think our fortunes wretched, but God sees
not so.
" It does so dry up the fountain of this world's sorrows and
cares to see God's loving hand ordering every circumstance under
which nature writhes ; giving us strength to bear, so that we
seek not to get out of our trials in a way of nature rather than
of grace. Nothing but a true complacency in the ways of God,
and true aUegiance to Jesus wiU sustain the spirit when passing
through trial. Daily does my soul meet humiliation here ; and
it is this which leads it to long for the clothing upon with the
house from heaven.
" February, 1 838. — Truly, in looking at those who are given
to us both here and at Arcot, we may say, What hath the Lord
wrought ! They are indeed so united and happy that I cannot
tell you how much I feel the Lord's kindness and love. The
change is so great in some, that all are struck by it. It pre
vents many from opening their mouths against me, though
nothing wiU correct the misapprehension of some. The first
judge and his wife always come now to the preaching ; and I
hear that he replied to those who were speaking against me at
Madras, ' I do not know what errors Mr. Groves may hold,
but this I know, that those who never looked into their Bibles
before he came have learnt by his coming to study them.'
The second judge comes both on Sundays and Thursdays. The
Captain, who commands the troops here, is also a constant
attendant, and I do hope is thinking about his soul. Besides
those who are residents, we have others who pass through, and
tarry a Sunday, and worship with us. I was this morning
speaking on the Laodicean Church, in connection with the
book of the Prophet Malachi. Exactly the same spirit of self-
satisfaction, which we see so conspicuous in the Church of
Laodicea, leads to the impudent replies of the Jews to Malachi's
charges ; they are descriptive of the last ages of their respective
dispensations. In the evening we had the eighth of Joshua and
the first and second of Judges ; I was led to think much of the
tendency to judge according to appearances, instead of taking
counsel of the Lord. How conclusive did the old shoes and

SOME TRIALS DIFFICULT TO BEAR. 375
mouldy bread appear to Joshua and the princes, so that they
did not the least think of consulting God ; taking counsel, but
not of God's Spirit. It is just the same now, when we bring
the elements of the world into league with the spirituaUties of
God's kingdom. We think to make them 'hewers of wood and
drawers of water ' to the sanctuary ; but it is only the first
step to the state of things described in the latter part of the
first chapter of Judges and the beginning of the second. Yet
there is this comfort to those who Uve in the worst period of
apostacy, that the faithful, who are worthy, ' shall walk in
white.' The Lord regards us not according to the iniquity that
abounds, but according to our separation of ourselves from it ;
so that the lower the state of the visible Church, and the
deeper its apostacy from God, the greater the opportunity for
purification and establishment in true loyalty to Christ. To
be ' faithful among the faithless ' is indeed Christ-like and our
true glory."
In May 5th, 1838, Mr. Groves writes to a friend : —
"We heard from dear Rhenius last night ; he is reduced to a
fortnight's provision of bread ; but has in hand a good stock of
faith and trust. I am daily more and more resolved to share
my last crust with the brethren at TinneveUy."*
In reference to trials of the same character as those before
alluded to, from some who spoke against him, he writes : —
" July 23rd. — The heart is so tempted to reply, where it should
bear ; and to defend itself, where it should wait on the Lord, I
am very nearly quiet with my God. We are so false to ourselves,
when we refuse to be at rest in Jesus. It is impossible not to desire

* This is the last entry respecting Mr. Rhenius ; shortly after, this
honoured servant of God fell asleep in Jesus. He died in the presence of
his brethren, in the midst of his work. Mr. Groves had the honour of
sharing with him those trials which were the means of hastening his en
trance into rest. After this Mr. Groves writes : " We know little now of
the state of things in TinneveUy, but there is a subscription set on foot
for Mrs. Rhenius and her children, and I trust an interest about them is
kindled among many."

376 FEATURES OF THE LAST DAYS.
for those we love the enjoyment of the truth of God ; it is such
an antidote to the ills of Ufe, and such a strengthener of all that
deserves the name of good."
With regard to some of the features of the last days, Mr.
Groves thus writes : —
" The reception of the second coming of the Lord, as a hope,
will be much extended in the professing Church of God, as
things wax worse and worse : but among the multitude who
profess this hope, there will be no more a preparation for receiv
ing the Bridegroom, than there was among the multitude of
Jews who expected His first advent. It will be looked upon
rather as a deliverance from trouble, than as the birthday of
the saints' true joy ; and this will be shown by want of sym
pathy with the present design of Christ, who would have
His bride as a mourning wanderer in the wilderness."
In reference to one who was going to England, and
would be Ukely to see his dear relatives, he writes : —
" I hope she wdl give you a pleasant account of our happy
valley. Indeed no language can tell the Lord's goodness to us,
or speak His praises according to the multitude of His mercies.
I was led to-day to speak on Num. xi, 4 — 9. How, in the lust
ing of the mixed multitude, we see the character of the Chris
tianity of the present day. This multitude had been, evidently,
induced to join the company of God, partly by the terrors of
Egypt's desolation, and partly by the allurements of the land
' flowing with mUk and honey ;' but they had never calculated
upon the wilderness, so that when they had nothing to eat, day
by day, but the sweet bread of heaven, and nothing to drink
of but that spiritual rock that followed them, they rebelled
against God. They would have tolerated the manna as a sort
of side dish, if they might have had Egypt's portion too ; but
their gross appetites could find nothing satisfying in the angel's
food. They said it dried up their souls, whilst to the true
Israelites, it was sweet to the taste, like honey and fresh oil.
It is just the same now, when the true, unmixed, simple
manna is presented to the soul that has not the life of God, if
it has joined itself to the professed camp of God, and cannot

JESUS CONTRASTED WITH MOSES. 877
reject it altogether. Each soul endeavours to cook his Christian
ity after his own fashion ; some add the garhck, some the
onion, some the fish, some the cucumbers, some a little of all,
to satisfy the senses. How few find they can feed on the sweet
simple manna of God's word, and live upon Jesus unmixed with
the spicery of man's thoughts and imaginations. And yet,
Jesus is the true bread, and His words are spirit and life. I
was much struck also by contrasting the rejection of the typi
cal bread of God, and that of ' the true bread from heaven,' the
spirit of the servant and that of the Son. Moses was very
angry, thinking God had dealt very hardly by him. (See Num.
xi, 11.)
" Now when we see Jesus, in the midst of a scene of
which this was a type, how sweet His composure and trust, lie
complains not of the burthen to Himself, but simply says,
' murmur not among yourselves, no man can come to me except
the Father which hath sent me draw him.' Ah ! if we could
but see, in every hand raised up to wound us, God's permissive
sanction, what peace we should enjoy ! Evidently, the anger of
Moses, and the peace of Jesus sprung from different realizations
of God's character as a Father. Surely we ought to feel, that
if our teaching be despised, or our doctrines rejected, so were
those of Jesus. If we more rejoiced in our unspeakable gain,
and felt the loss of those who reject the truth, these things
would call forth pity and not anger.
" Our little farm is getting on very nicely, and the Lord's
dew and rain help us to feed in that part the ninety little
strangers, as well as ourselves. Indeed we all feel that it was
most necessary for me to give myself to the occupation most
consistent with my missionary pursuits. I feel sure the posi
tion we are in, notwithstanding all its trials and discourage
ments, is the one in which the Lord would have us, so that I
quite look for His blessing."
We shall close these extracts with a letter written by Mr.
Groves to brethren at home, in 1840, which explains the
principles then occupying his mind, in connection with work
among the heathen, and gives a general outline of the mission.

378 LETTER TO BRETHREN AT HOME.
The native, caUed Aroolappen, is the same who to this day
occupies the location here described, having laboured there with
much success ever since. The European MacCarthy was spared
for some years to labour in the way Mr. Groves speaks
of. Andrew, the catechist, is stUl aUve, and is working
very diligently with those who now occupy the station at Chit
toor. "Beloved Brethren,
" That which renders your bounty doubly pre
cious is, that it proves the continuance of your love to us
individually, but, above aU, to the work of the Lord in these
desolate and neglected lands. I think we all feel an increasing
interest in that plan of missions which we are now pursuing ;
either labouring ourselves or being associated with those who
profess some 'honest trade,' that we may have. 'lack of no
man ;' (Tit. iii, 14 ;) and also set an example to others, that, by so
doing, they may support the weak. We have lately heard from
several missionaries, who express the deepest interest in the
prospect of our success. That clear young native, by name
Aroolappen, who went from us some months since, has, amidst
many discouragements and many allurements, remained faith
ful to his purpose. He has determined to commence his labours
in a populous neighbourhood, near the PUney HUls, in the
Madura district, a Uttle south of Trichinopoly ; and he has
the prospect of being joined by a native brother, who is pre
pared to go forth to budd, with the spade in one hand and the
sword in the other — the way in which the wall wiU, I believe,
be built in these troublous times. Dear Aroolappen has
declined any form of salary, because the people, he says, would
not cease to tell him that he preached because he was hired.
When he left me, I wished to settle something upon him
monthly, as a remuneration for his labour in translating for us;
but, unlike a native, he refused any stipulated sum.
" The two others of whom I wrote, are an EngUshman called
MacCarthy, and a native bookbinder, who are determined to
pursue the same course. MacCarthy has marvellous strength ;

ACCOUNT OF MAC CARTHY. 879
he is inured to the climate, and can walk forty miles a day
without fatigue. He reads and writes Tamil and Telegoo
freely, and gives up thirty-five rupees a month, a horse, and a
house, that he may do the work of God. He goes through the
Tamil and Telegoo country, in a little cart filled with books,
tracts, and things for sale, preaching the gospel to the natives
in their own tongues, as he passes on, and in English to all the
soldiers in the miUtary stations. He has afready been blessed
to the conversion of two natives ; one is James, the bookbinder,
the other, a servant of ours. I assure you we all feel that, had
we seen no other fruit of our labour than these two or three
brethren, acting on these principles of service, we should have
said, truly our labour has not been in vain in the Lord. I think,
therefore, we may consider that, under God, our residence in
India has been the means of setting up this mode of ministry
among the native Christians and the heathen, and our continu
ance will be, I trust, by the grace of God, the means of establish
ing and extending it.
"Those who know the natives will, I am sure, feel with me,
that this plan of missions, whereby the native himself is thrown
on God, is calculated to develope that individuality of character,
the absence of which has been so deeply deplored, and the
remedy for which has so seldom been sought. The native
naturaUy loves a provision and ease, and thereby he is kept in
dependance on the creature : the European, on the other hand,
loves to keep the native in subjection, and himself in the place
of rule. But, it must be obvious to all, if the native Churches
be not strengthened by learning to lean on the Lord instead of
man, the political changes of an hour may sweep away the
present form of things, so far as it depends on Europeans, and
leave not a trace behind. The late visit of Aroolappen to his
family in TinneveUy has led to the discussion of these principles
among the immense body of labourers there ; and though he
has not taken up his residence among them, he is sufficiently
near for them to observe both himself and the principles on
which he is acting. Indeed we would commend these early
buddings of the Spirit's power — for we trust they are such — to

380 PASTORAL WORK AMONG NATIVES.
your very fervent prayers, that our brethren may be carried
on in the spirit of real hunnlity and dependance upon God.
"The fact that our position here puts pastoral work and
fellowship on a simple Christian footing among the natives, is
by no means the least important feature of our work. Until
we came, no one but an ordained native was allowed to cele
brate the Lord's Supper or to baptize ; and when our Christian
brethren, Aroolappen and Andrew, partook of the Lord's Sup
per with the native Christians, it caused more stir and enquiry
than you can imagine. The constant reference to God's Word
has brought, and is bringing, the questions connected with
ministry and Church government into a perfectly new position
in the minds of many.
" It would be difficult for me to say much of my late journey.
Having passed, in about three months, over eight or nine hun
dred mUes, and so seldom being able to remain sufficiently long
in any place to know much of results ; yet, in two or three
places which I visited, there has since been a regular assembly
of two or three for worship and the Lord's Supper ; and I have
heard also of one or two who were brought to the knowledge
of the truth, by the ministry of the word. On the Nilgherry
HUls, we met every Lord's day from twenty to twenty-five.
" Nothing could exceed the expressions of gratitude I met
with from many to whom the Lord allowed me to minister, not
only with acceptance, but I think with profit.*
" Now, farewell, beloved in the Lord. May His arm ever en
circle you, and may, a present Jesus in the midst of you ever
infuse a spirit of life into all your assemblies. Our beloved
Walhouse and Frank, we commend to your especial love and

* To those who have been in India, where the spiritual wants of the
English, scattered in various parts, are so inadequately provided for, it
proved no small boon to discover from the Word of God the liberty given
to all Christians to edify one another, in public and private : and, in
obedience to the command of Christ, to remember his death. (Luke xxii,
19.) There are parts of India, where, excepting at a christening or a
funeral, a chaplain is not seen.

NEW STATION NEAR SALEM. 381
care, as bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh. From them
you may perhaps hear so much as to render this letter appa
rently out of place, but I felt we could not but acknowledge
your love, and send you these few remarks.
" I remain, beloved in the Lord,
" In the joint names of my dear brethren,
" Baynes and Walhouse, Henry and myself,
" Your affectionate brother,
"A. N. GROVES."
In a part of this letter, not given above, Mr. Groves men
tions a new station near Salem, commenced by Mr. Walhouse,
and his second son, Frank. All the circumstances connected
with this event, and with Mr. Walhouse's early removal, are
very interesting and wUl be found in the Appendix. Mr. Wal
house continued to the end to consider himself as labouring in
connection with the Chittoor mission.*
* See Appendix II.

CHAPTER XVI.
SKETCH OP EVENTS FROM 1841 TO 1845 — MR. GROVES'S PLAN
FOR A SELF-SUPPORTING MISSION  FAVOURABLE COMMENCEMENT
OF THE ATTEMPTS TO CULTIVATE SILK  HAPPY STATE OF THE
MISSION  SOURCE OF SUBSEQUENT TRIALS  FAILURE OF THE
SILK WORMS  DEATH OF MRS. H. GROVES  RUNGANOTHAM,
THE BRAHMIN  MR. GROVES'S ADOPTED DAUGHTER  HIS
EXPOSITIONS OF SCRIPTURE IN TIME OF TRIAL  PRO
GRESS OF MISSIONARY WORK AT CHITTOOR — HAPPY DEATH
OF MRS. T. HULL  EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS — VISIT FROM
MR. AND MRS. LECHLER — THE CHURCH NOT A WIDOW.
It was not till after the departure of Dr. and Mrs. Gundert
that Mr. Groves's plans for a self-supporting mission were ma
tured. Up to this period, and for some time after, the usual
occupations of reading, sewing, knitting, &c, were pursued in
the girls' school, and the education of the boys was carried on
by efficient schoolmasters. Amid many trials of faith, Mr.
Groves pursued his way ; trusting to the Lord, and being helped,
step by step, according to his need.
Observing that the Mulberry tree grew at Chittoor, Mr.
Groves, after various experiments, was induced to fix on the
cultivation of silk, as the most likely mode of giving enploy-
ment to all. He accordingly rented land from government,
and procured various kinds of mulberry trees, the very rapid
growth of which seemed Ukely to repay the cultivator. The
girls were taught to spin the silk, and the boys to pick the
leaves, and feed the worms.
It was interesting to see the long row of spinning-wheels
and the little native girls all employed, and successfuUy too ; for
their silk gained the prize in Madras, in 1842, a year after the
commencement of our present period. During the time this

INTERESTING PERIOD AT CHITTOOR.

883

undertaking was being carried forward, many interesting persons
were gathered at Chittoor. Mr. Groves hoped to find a happy
retreat for many pious pensioners, who came as overseers of the
work, and thus had the privilege of Christian communion and
instruction, joining with him in worship on Sundays and in
the week.
It is much to be regretted there is no journal of this very
interesting period. Some of the overseers were experienced
Christians ; and from time to time there were in the mission-
house refreshing meetings for prayer and edification.
The happy state of things at this time may be judged of by
a letter which Mr. Groves addressed to his eldest son, then in
England. It is dated June, 1841. In reference to native la
bourers, he says : —
" Andrew is going on nicely, and Aroolappen is a great com
fort : it requires the exercise of much grace to keep down the
risings of self; it is so difficult in seeing the prosperity around
not to have something of that spirit, ' Is not this great Baby
lon that I have built ? ' even though we change the name, and
call it the City of Zion. I do so feel Ufe is a vapour, precious
only as spent in and for God."
Referring to some who attended his ministry, he says : —
" O, that the Lord would open my heart to feel for them,
and so to reaUze the riches of His grace, that I may speak as
one who tastes and knows how precious the truth is.
" Sept. 1st. — My mind in many ways is much more at ease,
than for some years past : the Lord grant that it may be accom
panied by a real growth in spiritual life and power. Now, at
all events, I feel that whatever hindrance there is, it must be in
myself, and not in circumstances ; perhaps indeed it has always
been so, for I am sure a vigorous faith triumphs over circum
stances, and drags them behind its triumphant chariot wheels."
While referring to the many interesting circumstances
which seemed to promise such happy results, gladly would we
omit touching on the trials which, in the providence of God, so
rapidly succeeded them. Indeed, were it not for the super-
abounding kindness and love of God, which made every fresh

384 PLAN FOR SELF-SUPPORTING MISSION.
sorrow and difficulty an occasion for manifesting His delivering
hand, and perfecting his dear servants in those deeper lessons
the school of affliction alone can teach, it would be more than
the heart could bear to trace the heavy trials which embittered,
Mr. Groves's later years.
Things were in the position described above ; the object he
had so near his heart appeared in a fair way of being accom-
pUshed, and nothing but funds seemed wanting to carry out his
project, when there came from an unexpected quarter the unsoli
cited offer of a loan of thirty thousand rupees. This was regarded
by himself, his wife, and brother-in-law, as an indication of the
mind of God in this matter ; and, on the strength of present
appearances, as of old with regard to the Gibeonites, an agree
ment was entered upon, and neither party had a misgiving as
to its being the very step needed to put the whole undertaking
at Chittoor on a remunerative footing, for carrying out the
work of God. This first departure from the way of faith was,
in the providence of God, followed by most bitter consequences.
It is true that he and his brother-in-law, having reversionary
property, were able to give such security as prevented injury to
any but themselves, but, as will be seen in the sequel, they not
only lost the money, but Mr. Groves, on whom the heavy inter
est, usual on capital advanced for such undertakings, exclusively
fell, had, during the years which intervened, before it was re
funded, considerably more to pay than the original outlay, and
this, happening at a time when the farm cost much and yielded
little, placed him in circumstances out of which none but God
could have deUvered him.
From the time the loan was taken up the farm was greatly
enlarged ; and, to secure the supply of water, a large tank, which
had been useless for many years, was obtained from government,
eventually on a lease of thirty years, and was for a time the
occasion of great expense.
Having ascertained that the frequent faUure of cultivation
in Chittoor arose from dependance on rain water, Mr. Groves
constructed a channel, two miles long, connecting his tank with
the river. In doing this, he acted as his own engineer, ascer-

MR. AND MRS. H. GROVES. 385
tained all the levels, and spent months under the burning sun,
taking his meals in the open air. His motive in this arduous
labour may be gathered from the following extract from a letter
to his eldest son : " I cannot tell you what encouragement I feel
it to be to labour in the hope we shall have to give to further
the Lord's work. The Bowdens have lost nearly all those who
used to contribute to their support, but the Lord still provides :
my desire is to pay all their expenses, should the Lord prosper
me I have written to ask Bowden to meet you here."
All his arduous labour would indeed have been as nothing
had his plans succeeded : but, soon after, disease of every kind
began among the worms : sometimes, in the second or third stage,
they refused to eat, and crawled about until they died. Some
turned yellow, some black. Everything was tried to reduce the
temperature of the nice capacious buildings that had been con
structed for them, but without effect.
Before these trials began, the mission sustained a great loss,
in the departure of Mr. Baynes. He merely intended to visit
England, and then to return to his work, but, to their great dis
appointment, he was prevented from doing so. Mr. Groves,
however, had the comfort and help of his own dear sons, who
shared all his burdens, and, being truly converted to God, assisted
him not only in mission work, but in other undertakings. His
eldest son, Henry, who had learned Telegoo, returned to India
at the close of 1841, before Mr. Baynes left. He had married
a lady, in every way suited to be a helper in the work, and they
resided for some time in Chittoor ; but it pleased God to take
her to himself as early as August 1 843, only two years after
their marriage. She died on the hills, of fever, and here we
must recount the loving-kindness of God, who again, as before
on a similar occasion, spared Mr. Groves the greater affliction
of losing his beloved son, though he appeared to be hopelessly ill
of the same fever, when his wife died. It is remarkable, how,
in every case, the hand of the Lord was manifest in deliverance
as well as in chastening ; so that in the time of the deepest
trial the heart could not but set its seal to the truth of that
word ' God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
2b

386 MISSIONARY OCCUPATIONS.
above that ye are able ; but will also with the temptation make
a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Cor. x, 13. In
writing to his bereaved son, on the loss of his dear wife, Mr.
Groves says : —
" The Lord often fills the spiritual, as He empties the natural
horn of abundance and blessing. May He enable you to realize
this ; and then the loss of the sweetest earthly gift will be
only as a passing cloud resting on the hill of time which, to the
youngest wUl soon have disappeared, as we pass by it, into the
boundless eternity that lies before. . . . She was one of those
who could stand in no relation, without her loss being long and
deeply felt, yet the Lord has withdrawn her from us all, and
she is gone : our task now is to pass on in the discharge of our
daily appointed tasks towards the grand reunion."
Besides the ministry in English, Mr. Groves was much
occupied and interested in the education of intelligent natives.
He and his second son spent much time and labour in teaching a
Brahmin caUed Runganatham, now the interpreter of the
Supreme Court of Madras, who seemed at one time very
anxious about his soul. He was a very talented young man.
Mr. F. Groves taught him EucUd, and he read many books of
history with Mr. Groves, who had a pecuhar way of impressing
on him the true nature of Christianity in contrast with the
maxims which govern the world, so that the young man said,
in a few minutes, a subject was opened to him, in a way which
hours with others could not accompUsh.* Indeed, he was so
powerfully impressed with the truths of Christianity as to de
sire baptism, but the influence of his mother, who threatened to
drown herself, prevailed ; and he was sent to Madras, where he
has, it is feared, imbibed infidel principles, which are ever the
alternative of not confessing Christ, when the follies of Hin-
dooism are discovered. It was ever a deep grief to Mr. Groves,
when he visited him in Madras, to find the labour he had be
stowed upon him used in the enemy's service. These are
* This remark was made by him to the Editor, in a visit which he paid
her at Chittoor.

CULTURE OF SILK GIVEN UP. 387
wounds which none but a missionary's heart can fully under
stand ; and in this case, as weU as in that of Anundoo, alluded
to before, Mr. Groves seemed to have spent his strength in
vain ; yet stiU, with his divine Master, he had the comfort
of knowing the labour bestowed for His sake was not really
lost. Is. xUx, 4.
Many interesting events took place at this period. In
1841, Mr. Groves and his wife had the privUege of ministering
to a dear Christian sister, Mrs. Leslie, who visited them shortly
before she fell asleep in Jesus. This took place at Yellore,
1841 ; and she left her infant daughter in the care of Mrs.
Groves, who attended her in her last Ulness. The many oppor
tunities of ministering to the sick enjoyed by Mr. and Mrs.
Groves whde in India gave them much comfort. In 1842,
they were led to adopt a Uttle girl of eight years old, an orphan,
who was commended to their care by her father on his death bed.
This charge was a source of great comfort to them : they under
took it as unto the Lord, who truly gave them their hire. The
child, being early converted to God, grew up to be a very
efficient help in their mission work, when other labourers were
withdrawn ; and she became to them, in every way, as a
beloved daughter.
It was not until the close of the year 1845 that the silk
experiment was finally relinquished. It was asked by one who
knew Mr. Groves well, and doubtless the same question will
suggest itself to others, ' How is it that the Lord has allowed so
many losses to be the portion of one who desires to lay the
fruit of his labours at the feet of Jesus V No doubt this was
his aim in all he did, as those nearest to him best know : —
whatever mistakes he may have made, — hi3 object was to
serve the Lord. It was those nearest to him and who
knew him best, to whom he could with the most confidence say
"Thou hast fully known my purpose." But like those who
went on the Niger expedition, or the more recent sufferers in
Patagonia, Mr. Groves was, for the trial of his faith, not
aUowed to reap on earth the fruit of his labours at Chittoor ;
but his desires to benefit both the natives of India and the

388 LIGHT SOWN FOR THE RIGHTEOUS.
European residents are doubtless recorded -on high. A few
extracts from notes of his family expositions, at this period, will
show how the Lord was dealing with him, for his own blessing
and that of those around him. When these trials were at their
height, he said : —
" God can unravel the most intricate paths ; can make the
crooked straight. O, there is a, softness in God's touch, which
gives a help no man can minister ! God sees where the sore is,
and lays His hand on the very place, whereas man only
aggravates the wound. You can do, in connection with God,
what you cannot do, or pass through, with men ; and what pains
does God take to encourage our trust in Him, constraining us
to pour out our hearts before Him, and to find Him a refuge —
Yes ! ' unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness,'
be the cloud never so dense, the way never so perplexed, there
will always be something in the midst of it, which will reveal
a Father's love, a Father's care ; there wiU be ever a bow in the
cloud. In the midst of midnight darkness, the beUever knows
that 'Ught is sown for the righteous;' therefore he occupies
himself, not with forbodings as to how things will turn out,
but rests on the promise of God, and, above all, on His
purpose in afflicting us, even to make us 'partakers of His
hohness ;' and he stays himself on his God. Again, all our
eare should be so to walk that we may know, in times of
trial, the controversy is not one of judgment, but of love,
and seek to extract out of trial the spiritual blessing for
which it is sent, namely, conformity to Jesus and partaking
of His hohness. Be it perplexity of circumstances, or other
trials, God has in all but one intent, — deliverance, not death,
is His aim. If He made Israel hunger, it was not to starve,
but to feed them. It is the characteristic of our walking in
Christ, not to be moved by evil tidings. The soul casts its,
burdens on God ; and, if any say, the upright only are pro
mised light, then the Gospel comes in, the blood which cleanses,
and we feel our ground of hope is in his righteousness put
on us. Satan often strives to take from us this confidence,
and thereby separates us from God. Let our desires after

HIS PATH HEDGED UP. 389
holiness be as the wood which the fire from the sacrifice
kindles into a flame. When the Lord asked the blind man
' what wUt thou V he knew what to answer ; so, in trial, let
the real object of the desire be the removal of that which
makes trial needful. The Lord has no pleasure in the low
standing of His saints ; He wishes them to shine in His
brightness, and when the desire of the wicked perishes, ours
will be fully realized, and the wicked shall see it ; but it will
be as Dives saw Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham : how
complete is the contrast, 'the wicked melt away,' while the
righteous endure for ever."
On another occasion, when his path seemed hedged up, and
to the outward eye the way of escape was wanting, he com
forted those around him by reading Ps. xvin, and speaking as
foUows : —
" We learn in this Psalm one important truth ; the way of
man is not in himself: man is not sufficient for his own
happiness, or peace, or dehverance. In time of trial, we find
the creature fail us at every turn ; some who would help,
cannot ; others, who can help, are not wUling ; but it matters
not what the trouble is, all help is found in God. All have
their various burdens : with some, it is sin , with others, care
for the future, or some present trial and perplexity ; but to all
there is one remedy : ' Cast thy burden on the Lord.' God does
not wish us not to care for our earthly concerns, so far as shall
enable us to provide things honest in the sight of all ; but we
are to watch against that anxious care, which seems to rob God
of His character as a Father, and does rob us of peace. . We
have in this Psalm many ways of deliverance, but all are conse
quent on prayer. Verse 6. ' In my distress I called upon the
Lord, and cried unto my God ; he heard my voice,' <fec. Is the
heart troubled ? God can say, ' Peace, be still.' Are circum
stances perplexed % He will undertake for us, and His own
words are, ' Commit thy way unto the Lord,' and in the end we
shaU know the power of verse 16 and 19. 'He drew me out of
many waters.' 'He brought me forth also into a large place ;
he delivered me because he delighted in me.'"

390 GOD'S BEST GIFT IS HIMSELF.
At another time he thus commented on the probable object
of the trials which pressed on himself and those associated
with him : —
"Whatever stands in the way of holiness is as a plague-
spot, as a cancer preying on the vitals of spiritual life. Are
we unwiUing it should be burnt out ? We must remember it is
a question of Ufe and death with us. Affliction is the disciphne
for heaven's school. In it we are prepared for the inheritance,
and no where else. In God we find that which aU men seek
out of Him, — the maximum of present peace and happiness, with
the certainty of future blessing.
" The Lord gave us the best gift, which was Himself ; hence, in
the offerings, the best is always offered. The widow who gave
her all, in her measure followed Jesus, who emptied Himself. No
thing is more blessed than the connection between God's glory
and the creature's true happiness, which is found in partaking
of Christ's image : this is the glory of His inheritance in the
saints. It is consciousness of our emptiness which makes us
receive much. Pride and self-sufficiency are satisfied with little,
and get Uttle : empty hearts receive much. In our lowest
moments, we have this to go back upon : ' Christ loved the
Church.' Jesus gives not to us, as a great king, out of His
inexhaustible treasures ; but He is emptied, and suffers and dies
that we might Uve and be filled with all the fulness of God.
That which distinguishes God is His way of showing undeserved
mercy : this is His peculiar prerogative, because it peculiarly
shows forth His glory. What is it which makes us triumph ?
The knowledge and belief, that ' greater is he that is in you,
than he that is in the world.' "
The following exposition, given at this time, has evident
reference to his own circumstances, which he was disposed
always to attribute to having been too much engrossed with the
external affairs of the mission, which had hindered his enjoying
his usual hours of retirement and communion with God : 
" Hosea xu, 6. The reason the Scriptures so abound with
declarations of God's love and pity for His people, and His
desire they should return to Him, is, that the heart once gone

THE SNARES OF THE ENEMY. 391
astray has much difficulty in getting back again. We have all
need to be on our guard, that we do not, like Judah, go astray ;
and, if we do, we must hear Him say, 'Turn thou to thy God.'
We generally find the principles of return are exactly opposite
to those which caused our turning away from God ; thus the
prophet says, ' Wait on thy God continually,' and the beginning
ot departure is found in only waiting on God occasionally.
There is something in the heart which tells us if we are really
in fellowship with God ; the soul that has tasted it cannot be
mocked by an apparent return. One cause of going astray is
the preferring something to God's worship, even as Israel
followed BaaUm. Often are we beguiled into worldly things
with an idea that we can make them subservient to God's glory ;
but the things we have thought wouhi bend, as a bow, to shoot
arrows against the enemies of God, become the means of piercing
us through with many sorrows, and leadjng us away from God.
Nothing requires more spiritual disernment than to detect the
snares of the enemy ; they are often so covered over as to
appear the leadings of God."
Though his tendency ever was thus to reflect and throw
blame on himseff, he understood how to show consolation from
God's way of bringing good out of evil : we see this in some
remarks on Ruth i, 20, 21, which also belong to this period.
" In the history of God's dealings with man, there is nothing
more striking than His way of overruling the most ruinous events
for the blessing and prosperity of His children. We see it in
Job, and in Naomi ; but, above aU, in looking at Jesus, cast out
and suffering on the cross, we see the darkest of Satan's deeds
made to accomplish his own overthrow, the triumph of Jesus,
and the salvation of His elect. In the case of Moses, how
were the ways of God the very opposite of all that man could
expect ! How much more likely it would seem that, by re
maining at Pharoah's court, he could work out the dehverance
of his people ; and to look at him, east out for forty years, feed
ing a stranger's sheep, aU would think him lost to his people ;
yet, in aU this, God was working in him that discipline of heart
which fitted him for another forty years' probation in the wU-

393 EXPERIENCE IN TIME OF TRIAL.
derness. When God took David from the sheepfold, we are ex
pressly told, it was to feed His people Israel ; to teach him that
discipline of spirit which would keep him humble when exalted in
due time ; but what misinterpreters are we of God's gracious
dealings ! How many, like Naomi, misjudge God and say, 'He
hath dealt very bitterly with me.' How many think the God
of love is dealing with' them in judgment, when His object is
only to bring Ught out of darkness, and prosperity out of ruin.
We might learn from Naomi's history, not to complain as she
did, but to beUeve the Lord is ' very pitiful,' and to feel satis
fied with His ways/not judging by present appearances, but
waiting to see the end, and resting ourselves on His word, and
the revelation of Himself therein."
How much do these remarks, made during this time of trial,
remind us of the words of the Psalmist, " I remembered thy
judgments of old, O Lord : and have comforted myself." (Ps.
cxix, 52.) Truly Mr. Groves was able to say, "this is my
comfort in my affliction, for thy word hath quickened me."
— Ps. cxix, 50.
During all the trials of this period, the mission work went
on as usual. Mr. Groves, besides superintending aU the affairs
connected with it, was engaged in ministry in EngUsh, and in
the English boys' school. He had the comfort of true Chris
tian helpers in every department of the mission, and they
showed much sympathy in his trials. The EngUsh master,
though a married man, refused to receive more than fifteen
rupees a month, which was less than half his salary, and barely
enough to support his family. Mr. Groves remarked, " it was
worth while to sustain losses, when we gained through them
such pleasing evidence of the grace which taught others to
deny themselves."
From the beginning of their residence in Chittoor, the mis
sionaries had always, besides their boarding-schools, two
vernacular schools, taught by native school-masters, and super
intended by the catechist. The pupils in each of these schools
were examined every week in aU they had learnt, and in the
Scriptures they had read. Mrs. Groves had also under instruc-

ACCOUNT OF NATIVE WOMEN. 393
tion an interesting company of native women, many of whom
were able to read the Bible with her. Yery pleasant seasons
were passed in this way, and there was evidence of blessing
among them.
One who was brought to the Lord in deep affliction, has
proved, for years, a valuable nurse to the children and grand
children of Mr. Groves. Another of these poor heathen
women, when her eyes were opened to see Jesus, said, "I tried
before in my spirit to come near to God, but there seemed a
dead wall between me and Him, now all is open : I go to Him
and He comes to 'me." What an Ulustration of the promise to
those who hear His voice and open the door. (See Rev. iii, 20.)
Early in the year 1845, Mr. and Mrs. Groves had the privi
lege of receiving into their house a beloved friend, Capt. T.
HuU, and his wife, lately arrived from England. She had
caught cold on the voyage, and was very ill, with every symp
tom of rapid decline. But as her outward man decayed, those
around her had the joy of seeing her grow in the knowledge of
Christ, and in the fuU consciousness of a finished salvation.
She fell asleep in Jesus under Mr. Groves's roof, March 20th.
It was very cheering, in the midst of personal trial, to have
such instances of the Lord's work brought so nigh unto them.
The Lord knows, as no other friend does, how to comfort His
people. In writing to his son of the bereaved husband who had
visited Mr. Groves in Bagdad, and ever remained his attached
friend, Mr. Groves says : —
"I cannot tell you the joy that his turning to God so
heartily gives me. I had great fear lest he should have been
led by sorrow into the world, rather than into the bosom of
Jesus ; but how graciously has the Lord been better than my
fears. Ever since I saw him in Bagdad, my heart has wandered
after him, for I did think, even then, he was approaching the
mercy-seat, where the blood sprinkles the conscience and speaks
peace." We shall conclude this chapter with a few extracts from let
ters, addressed by Mr. Groves to his eldest son, while in

394 EARTHLIES AND HEAVENLIES.
England. They refer to various subjects, then occupying the
minds of many : —
" How rare a thing it is to see the mind rightly balanced.
On the one hand, we see the Irvingites looking on natural rela
tions with a species of idolatry, because they see in them the types
of spiritual bonds : on the other hand, we see persons whose
aim seems to be to trample them all in the dust, because by
their misuse and misdirection they are found to pamper the
flesh ; and yet to be ' without natural affection,' is as much a
mark of unholiness, as to be without the Spirit. The one
party has gone astray by endeavouring to place the earthlies
where God never placed them, and the other party seems just
in the same danger, with respect to the heavenlies; both fabrica
ting a rehgion not of God, and utterly unsuited to man. Both
these systems may serve to found a name of distinction among
men ; both will have their day and then sink into oblivion, or
Uve only to perpetuate the names of distinction, when all the
grace, life, and energy associated with them in the beginning,
and which drew many who were ornaments to the Church of
God into their circle, have departed from them.
"I bless God, I dady feel more and more able to rejoice in
all I see of Christ in any of those systems which my heart
grieves over, and which my own sense of duty keeps me in a
measure separated from ; but it wiU be the anxious endeavour
of my future life, that this separation shaU be limited by the
urgent necessities of conscience. O, for a meek, lowly, and con
trite spirit, that trembles at God's Word, whilst fearless of all
besides ; that, leaning on the Lord, I may be enabled to perceive
and embrace the truth and grace I see in all, while I am free
from the mistakes of any. God has framed the government and
constitution of His kingdom, under a full knowledge of aU man
actually is, and regardless of all abstract theories ; then let Him
support His own ark, and let us not, TJzzah-like, put forth our
hands to prevent it, as we think, from falling."
Of a literary friend, he says : —
" I feel much more anxious to see the Lord's power enabling
him to realize those well-springs that are in our living fountain.

VISIT OF MR. AND MRS. LECHLER. 395
I always fear he is in great danger from fondness for the
indolence of literary luxury, especially when, from needing the
pecuniary help it may bring, he can say, ' Is there not a cause V
I know it is easier to see these things, than to rectify them in
ourselves or others, but the higher and deeper our principles
are, and the theories which we teach, the more it becomes us to
call on Him who has laid help on one that is mighty to grant
us deliverance."
Of his valued friends, Mr. and Mrs. Lechler from Salem, he
says : —
" They have been with us a week and left this morning : he
seemed much, interested about us here, and felt how much we
needed efficient missionary help, to look after, and minister to,
the people ; however, I feel this is with the Lord, and that He
wiU order it in His own good time, and in His own good way.
I like them much : there is an honest, hearty desire to do their
work whUe it is day, and ' redeeming the time,' which gives
one's sluggish heart a spur. I feel whafrwe really need, both to
enable us to carry out, and to suffer, all God's will, is a reaUza-
tion of the things we know. How searching is our Lord's
word, ' If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.' "
Whfle no one was more alive than Mr. Groves to the com
fort of friendship, he was very jealous of any attachment to
himself, which did not spring from love to Christ. He writes
of some who were expected to reside in Chittoor : —
" They are anxious to come back ; it would be a strange turn
in the wheel of events if they did ; they are most kind, and
would, I am sure, attach themselves to me, and to us all ; but I
have no joy at present in the thought, because 1 cannot feel
that their love to us is accompanied with an enhghtened, loving
attachment to the truth as it is in Jesus."
In reference to some who spoke of the Church of Christ as a
widow, he writes : —
" I look on the Church as the expecting bride of a living and
victorious, yet contending Lord, and not, as some think, a widow,
nor can she be reduced to the feeling of widowhood, but through
the dominancy of unbelief. It is our privilege to rejoice in a

396 RECEIVE ALL CHRIST RECEIVES.
loving, risen Lord of glory, and while mourning His absence, to
be expecting Him as a loving bride assured of final union, and
external happiness and glory with her Lord.
" I trust M'Cheyne's life will refresh you : it is so deeply
spiritual and true, free from aU those questions of doubtful dis
putations, which wither the soul's sweetest affections, and
make every man the curser of his brother, and in reaUty, if not
in word, say, ' stand by, for I am holier than thou.' I have
also been reading a rather interesting paper on the general
stagnation of Methodism in all its divisions, or rather going
back from its original design. It seems as though love of re
finement, love of power, and consequent love of. money, were
sapping its spiritual strength. How plainly we can see every
where that the absence of spiritual enjoyment of God, and
finding all-sufficiency in Him, is the real source of all declen
sion : spiritual affections must be cultivated, for they grow not,
so as to render their fruits to the careless husbandman ; warm
and true affections toward God, are indeed a spring of unmixed
joy, yet how seldom with most are they in Uvely exercise. The
surest way of attaining all we need is in pouring forth prayer
in God's ear, under the sweet and firm assurance that Jesus
helps our infirmities and directs our petitions ; this is so won
derful a grace that nothing but grievous unbelief prevents our
enjoying it — and oh ! how Uttle do I enjoy ! how Uttle do I
pray with undistracted thoughts and undisturbed feelings!
and yet the conviction that the Lord is with us, if truly felt,
would drive away every misgiving. I believe we know little of
Satan's power to hinder communion with God."
Writing to his friend, Mr. G. Walker of Teignmouth, he
says : —
" One point only is fixed on my mind ; to receive all as
Christ receives them, to the glory of God the Father. More
than twenty years this point has been deepening in my mind ;
and all I hear and see makes it more precious : indeed, amongst
so much weakness and infirmity, with such partial and imper
fect views of truth, I see no other way but committing all
judgment to the Son, to whom the Father hath committed it.

THE DEVIL'S MAIN SPRING OF CONFUSION. 897
May the Lord give us truly humbled hearts, under our great
and grievous sins. How have we abused His gifts. How seldom
owned Him in those we have received at His hands ! How
often made them the instruments of our own selfish, and often
sinful, gratification ! I feel sure the Lord is waiting to be
gracious, and will hear when we seek Him with the whole
heart. I much need your prayers that my soul may be kept
stayed on Jesus ; that I may abound in faith, knowledge, bro
therly kindness, love, and that I may be a vessel meet for my
Master's use. I am so glad to hear so pleasant an account
of your brother's ministry ; may he ever hate strifes, divi
sions, separations, and all those tendencies of the heart which
make a brother an offender for a word. Instead of this being
a day in which love 'thinketh no evil,' it seems to me a day in
which man glpries in paradoxes ; shows how love, not only ex
ists, but that it is an eminent proof of it, to think nothing
good, but everything evU of a brother ; to diminish nought but
exaggerate everything ; to gall nothing by a gentle name, but to
designate the most ordinary acts by the most vituperative appella
tions ; and that ' separation ' is God's principle of unity. I am
sure, as man now uses it, it is the devil's main spring of confusion.
We have five little churches here, and at Poonamalee, among
which I am trying to establish a principle of mutual visiting in
love ; everything here that once was trying is gone, and at pre
sent all is harmony and love between us all. Some at home
say we are common dissenters. For myself I feel there is no
thing I design so little, as to be modelled after any human pat
tern ; but I am very happy when in any matter we think like
our brethren, and only wish we could do so more fully.
" Chittoor, Jan. 9th," — he writes to the same friend : —
" Perhaps you may hardly know (if we meet again) the old
grey headed friend of eight or nine years ago ; however, if the
inner man has ripened for glory, as the outer has ripened for
the tomb, this will be of no consequence; nothing but the
Lord's overwhelming compassions, which fail not, will enable
me to return in any measure of spiritual strength ; and all I
have only flows from a realization of a Father's love, which

398 union in a common life. *
shames my coldness, deadness, and indifference into momentary
enjoyment of God ; and out of this comes the ability to speak
to His praise."
In another letter to the same friend, he says : —
" What I feel daily more and more is, that it is the substance
of the truth of God, even the revelation of the Father and Son
by the Spirit, that the soul needs to live by. There is nothing
I dread more than the systematic imputation of motives which
can only be, in ordinary circumstances, known to God. The
power of an union in a common life is so strong, that evils,
endless in variety, and often intense in character, are not suffi
cient to divide, when this life is felt to exist. This, surely, is
the nature of the unity of God's love with all the members of
the one body ; nothing should divide when Christ unites. I
shaU return to my native land with the very feelings I left it,
eleven years ago, only strengthened tenfold by experience."

CHAPTER XVII.

success of various plans for carrying on the chittoor
mission  mrs. groves's return to england  sudden re
verse in circumstances  mr. groves's experience under
trials detailed in letters to his son and to mrs. groves
 visit to madras — ministry there among christians —
arrival of mr. and mrs. f. groves — return to chittoor
— visit to bangalore.
1846 — 1847. — It was ever a leading desire of Mr. Groves's
heart, and one in which his sons fully participated, not to pre
sent to God that which cost him nothing ; and by every means
to make "the gospel of Christ without charge." (1 Cor. ix, 18.)
This was the chief source of that energy in labour which was
now displayed ; and earnest were the efforts to retrieve the
losses which had been sustained, so as to pay all their due and
to carry on the work of God independently of help from
others. Rice fields and extensive cocoa-nut plantations succeeded the
mulberry trees, which were no longer needed ; but Mr. Groves
ceased to cultivate the land himself, letting it out on favourable
terms both to Christian and heathen cultivators, called ryots
in India, who thus earned an honest maintenance, and were
brought under Christian instruction. Mr. Groves's faithful ser
vant, Hannai, superintended the planting of the cocoa-nut trees
and other work on the farm : she also, under Mr. Groves's
direction, let out the land ; and when, at the close of 1845, and
in 1846, the purchase and shipment of raw sugar, produced in
the vicinity, seemed to offer her master an opportunity of
speedily recovering his losses, it was she who acted as buyer.
For a time all appeared to prosper, and in February 1847, Mrs.

400 SERIOUS LOSSES IN 1847.
Groves went home, by way of the Cape, with her youngest son
then seven years old, expecting that her husband, after finishing
certain business, would set out by the overland route, and
arrive in England nearly as soon as herself.
Shortly after her departure the largest shipment was made ;
it was a year well known for sudden and unexpected depression
in the sugar market, and Mr. Groves, instead of gaining as
before, sustained very serious losses. Thus the Lord's hand
seemed again stretched out to afflict His servant ; but it is evi
dent from his letters and journals, that God, as in former trials,
was dealing with him, not . in anger but in love, so that the
time of difficulty became literally the time not only of blessing
to his own soul, but of natural deliverance. It was in this
very year that Mr. Groves's second son, Frank, who had ascer
tained in England the best way of refining sugar, arrived with
his wife in India. Their losses had shown them that it would
be far more profitable to refine the sugar themselves than to
export it raw : and from this period may be dated the
establishment of Mr. Groves's sons in an undertaking of that
nature at Mysore, which has not only proved a means of help
to themselves, but of benefit to others.
Yet before aU was arranged, many were the trials that Mr.
Groves had to endure, and the circumstance of his being
detained in India a year, in separation from his wife, greatly
added to -his afflictions.
The trials enumerated above are but a part of those he had
to bear ; over the others it is weU to draw a veil, as they have
to do with some who are still alive, and who " helped forward
his afflictions." It is enough to remember this one fact, that
all were appointed him of God for his blessing ; all were sancti
fied to him by prayer ; all turned into the very dew and rain
which caused the life of Christ to flourish ; but the enemy, who.
ever takes advantage of these times of sorrow, tempted him to
look on the past ten years, more in connection with the
much trial and little fruit they had brought him, than in the
aspect in which doubtless they stood before God, who looks
ever at the purpose toward Himself in all ; and he judged him-

DAY OF TROUBLE AND REBUKE. 401
self severely for any mistakes made by him in relation to
the past. It was truly a "day of trouble and of rebuke"
to him, but withal a time of love ; a time of chasten
ing, but also of consolation ; of bringing down, and yet rais
ing up.
His feeUngs at this time may be gathered from letters to his
eldest son. He writes : —
" May 3rd, 1847. — I look on the past with the deepest and
almost unmitigated sorrow, yet I bless God yesterday and to
day I feel happier and more able to cast my care on God, and
find hope and peace in Him. I feel I need the whole armour
of God, and may the Lord put it on that the fastenings may be
secure. If the Lord chooses this way of discipUne, why should
I repine who have never deserved either to be loved by Him,
or to hope in His mercy ? And He has told us if we submit
to His mighty hand, He will in due time take off the pressure
and exalt us so far as He sees we can bear it. I am thankful
your mother is away, and knows nothing of all that bows me
down, or rather has done so, for it would be ungrateful to the
Lord not to thank Him for my present ability to hope in Him.
I often fear my letters must make you sad, but I have no power
to see things as I once did ; but I know if the Lord lifts up
the light of His countenance upon me, all will be well, and
the brightness of eternity will extinguish the darkness of time.
I sometimes think God is leading me by the golden thread of
His chastening grace, out of where I am, to where I ought to
be. Indeed, I trust He is teaching me more to love His wiU,
though it crosses mine. I do truly desire to bend before His
gracious hand, however heavy, for I feel I have deserved it
all ; I have made too much of those things, and the Lord is
breaking my bowl at the fountain, and destroying all my plea
sant pictures, only, I know, to redeem my soul and to renew it
more after His image. I feel if it were not for what God is
and ever has been to me, I should be far less happy than I am,
but my soul would not desire its peace on any of those things,
(in outward circumstances,) but on what God is in HimseU.
May He guide and keep you in all your ways, and be to you
2 c

402 MYSTERY IN GOD'S DEALINGS.
a piUar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night in all things,
temporal and spiritual."
The following extract from his eldest son's letter, when for
warding the extracts contributed by him to this memoir, will
be read with interest. He says : —
" I see great difficulties in explaining to others the last few
years of my dear father's life ; the uprightness of the intention,
the complete failure of the object pursued, and the holy vindica
tion of our gracious God in the failure, have to be brought
together; above aU, ever remembering this, 'let God be true
though every man be a liar.' We see in the case of the Pata-
gonian mission how Uttle a holy intention and purpose can do
away with the consequences of mistakes committed. — The indi
vidual soul finds infinite peace; grows wonderfully in grace;
the Lord in love accepting the service which the heart offered ;
and still the work itself is brought to nought. It is an impor
tant principle ever to bear in mind, ' that the day wdl declare
it ;' and this it is not the less important for us to remember,
when we think we understand, as when we feel all is clothed in
mystery. There is a mystery in God's dealings with each
individual which eternity alone wiU unravel, and then the pur
pose of the heart and not the success of the undertaking, will
be taken into account. There is a natural shrinking from dis
appointed expectations ; we Uke to see the garden flourish, but
the beloved Jonathan, the faithful self-renouncing friend of
David's sorrows, must fall on Mount Gilboa : we do not Uke
to think of it, it seems so mysterious, but GOD ordered it, and
Jonathan who falls on GUboa, and David who is crowned in
Bethlehem, both stand before us equally men of faith, and we
must be content to judge of them, not by the accidents of their
career, but by the light of that day which shall bring to light
the hidden things of darkness."
He thus writes to his wife two months after her departure,
hoping the letter, which, as usual, assumes a journaUzing form,
might find her among Christian friends and relatives.
"Chittoor, April 1847, Sunday. — I expect this will reach
you at Woolbrook, with your beloved mother and sister, &c.

A RAY FROM HEAVEN. 403
You will indeed be happy, but only if Jesus be there ; it is His
bright face that gilds even the dark places of despair with a
ray of hope, how much more the dwellings of His happy saints.
I felt to-day what it was to have a ray pass across my withered
affections, and then how easily the swelUngs of Jordan dried up,
and the foot pressed on boldly into the promised land. When
I think on the spiritual sorrows of many past months, nay,
years, I feel for a moment as one awakened from a dream, to
see Jesus, as I have been wont to do, walking in His own tem
ple, and the heart's doors thrown open to Him. It seems like a
miracle of grace and condescension, at the very moment my
soul was almost prepared to doubt the reahty of personal joy
and communion with my God. It is like a ray from heaven,
illuminating and reviving me again. O, that it might not be
as the visit of a wayfaring man ! I had been long bordering on
the depths of despair, and hardly felt able to answer for my
mind's stabUity ; yet I know, though it be but a moment's joy,
that there is peace in believing, and that there is a preciousness
in Jesus that satisfies when all else fails. This very ray of light
is to show what Jesus can be in aU the emptiness of earth. He
and He only can fill a desolate heart, and satisfy a craving soul.
How good of the Lord to allow me to feel that there is such
sweetness in Him, when I was almost ceasing to feel after Him ;
I prayed, but I seemed to hear the Lord say, ' I will not hear,
though you may make many prayers,' and ' what have you to
do to take my name in your mouth 1 ' But why do I tell you
of this ray of hope, this moment's peace, to be followed, perhaps,
by all the darkness and sorrow that I have so long known, and
only increased by the brightness of these few happy hours 1 my
only excuse is, that I am solitary in my present happiness, and
as you have had to bear the burthen of my days of dreariness,
I should let you drink with me this cup of refreshment from
the Lord's good hand. How wonderful are the Lord's ways.
Hours before dawn I lay in an agony of mind that knew no
aUeviation ; and when I called on the Lord, He seemed as one
deaf; yet, from very misery, I called again from the very
depths, (see Ps. cxxx,) and the Lord heard me, and, for the-

404 LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS.
moment at least, in pity has restored my soul to a sense that
even my heart can love Him, in whom is my life. I had almost
thought that my obdurate heart, scourged by the clearness of
my sense of what the Lord desired at my hands, would unseat
my mind ; but even this moment of comfort shows me that I
can feel that wonderful and mysterious drawing, which binds
the soul to Jesus ; and while this lasts, with all the fear of
losing it with which it is accompanied, it is truly being raised
from the spirit of despair.
" Words would fail to convey what I mean, but still it is
pleasant to bear testimony to the truth that Jesus realized is
the same Prince of Peace He ever was. How sweet that pas
sage in Isaiah sounded when Fewkes read it, ' let him that
walketh in darkness and hath no Ught, trust in the name of
the Lord and stay upon his God.' I felt I so needed this ; for
I have so long had more darkness than light ; and I have yet
to stand still and see the salvation of God : if He wiU yet
deUver, by a great deUverance, into the joy of His house. How
blessed it is to experience the truth of these words, ' in the day
when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with
strength in my soul.' (Ps. cxxxviii, 3.) You know I have long
told you that no speculative views of truth satisfied me ; not
that I loved my Lord more than those do who have been much
occupied therein ; but my judgment and former experience
were against it ; and I am sure what we want to know is
Jesus personally; and this knowledge sanctifies, because it
humbles. To be by the Spirit really brought into communion
with the heart and thoughts of Jesus ; how it makes the
soul loathe itself, and wonder at His matchless grace, and
cry to the Lord that this odious disparity may, by His
grace, be removed, and all our thoughts and wishes made
to harmonize. I often wish you were here to-day, but
I beUeve it is well you are away, and that I am left alone
with God.
" The steamer is in, but I suppose you will all think that I
am near home, and will not have sent me letters : however, ' I
will trust and not be afraid,' seeing the Lord upholdeth ' all

POWER OF REAL LOVE. 405
things by the word of His power,' and to Him I desire to com
mit all my dearest interests.
" I had a few lines from dear Mrs. O  , the night before
last ; she is anxious that I should go up to the Hills ; what they
can wish me for I know not ; for I cannot endure myself except as
I for a moment feel the Lord's light on my path, and His come
liness reflecting a ray of its beauty on that which otherwise is
only a mass of deformity. I have been reading ' Gurnall's Chris
tian Armour' with much interest, and I hope with some profit. I
have not opened it for years, so that all seems new to me ; it
is so unlike all modern writers ; Jesus and His power, His love
and efficacy in accomplishing in us and for us that which con
cerns our safety and glory is so strongly, though often quaintly,
put forth.
" How sad the public news from home ; poor Ireland ! truly
it is a sad scene : what has sin not done to render this world a
charnel house."
It appears that, besides his eldest son Henry in Mysore, and
the Chaldean servant so often alluded to by him, Mr. Groves
had some about him who were a comfort to him in his wife's
absence. He thus writes of his English schoolmaster : —
" G. is a nice young man, and there is something in the
freshness of his feelings towards Jesus, and in the tenderness of
his conscience, that makes even my heart joy for him. He
reads and prays so feelingly that it touches my heart greatly."
Of a dear old Christian, who occupied the office of over
seer, and took part in the Sunday services, he writes : —
" Dear old Fewkes ! there is in him the power of real love :
Jesus is the Alpha and Omega of his thoughts upon religion :
he has nothing to gratify the phantasies of the intellect, but if
he does but feed and freshen the poor withered heart, truly it
is a happy ministry. I do rejoice in their simpUcity and love.
O, that it may ever burn brightly, for surely it is a sad thing
that such a Lord should have a dull flame of devotion ascending
to Him ; and yet how sad that seldom anything but this does
ascend from hearts that should glow with love.
" I have all the boys from the schools, as well as your girls,

406 FAMINE IN IRELAND.
to come and clean the arrowroot, and we are getting on nicely.
It looks like old times. Hannai allows them to choose the
reward they like for work.
" The more I see of an English school among natives, the
more sure am I it is the way of real access to their minds.
Only think, eight Uttle girls in Anderson's school have pro
fessed their determination to be baptized, and have left father,
mother, caste, and everything, and are now living with Mrs.
Anderson." In reference to the marriage of a near relative of his wife's,
he writes : —
" The description was interesting but affecting ; the world is
so sad a scene, that nothing but the glorious hope gives real
brightness to any event."
Relative to the divisions among Christians, he writes : —
" What we all want is the Spirit's indwelling as a Spirit of
grace and supplication, in each individual member ; leading him
' not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think,
nor of others less highly ; then we shall get rid of such back-
bitings and evil surmisings.
" I have been much struck with the book of Joel as a pro
phecy for a time of famine, such as this is in Ireland. God so
explains the cause and the way of averting the judgment. We
see in the first chapter the gradual increase of 'judgment, from
the palmer worm to the locust ; then follow the canker worm
and the caterpillar, which God calls His ' great army :' this
having been disregarded, in the second chapter, as far as verse
1 1, we have the sword ; then God, as a Father, gives His advice
and instruction, and from the 18th verse to the 27th, He shows
the blessing that follows real humbling and rending of the heart
among the people, and weeping between the porch and the altar
among the priests. And from verse 27 of chapter ii, to the end
of chapter iii, the Lord opens up the great vision of the future :
I think Arnold's view of God's dealings with the ancients, con
sidering them as selected patterns of the way of His dealings in
all ages, under similar circumstances, is deeply instructive. The
history of Nineveh and of Ahab teach us how He dealt with

LETTERS FROM HIS SON. 407
a heathen nation, and with an apostate Israelite, even under the
repentance of fear. The book of Joel shows how He wUl deal
with a professing people, by afflicting and warning them ; and,
if they submit themselves to the mighty hand of God, finally
exalting them by His dwelhng in the midst of them, and
restoring all and more than all that the palmer worm, locust,
canker-worm, and caterpUlar took away.
'•' I have just received a nice note from Henry ; he seems to
feel as I do, humbled and grieved that his soul is so little like
a watered garden which the Lord has blessed. 0, when wiU
that time come that we shall see beauty nowhere but in
Jesus. " I have so many things to be grateful for, and yet I feel as
if I know nothing of gratitude to the Lord, whose love has so
blessed me in natural things, but much, much more in spiritual ;
and yet how little have I returned unto Him according to His
benefits ! May the Lord bless you with a full realization of a ful
ness without deficiency in Himself, so that for all I am wanting,
He may give you a double, yea, a seven-fold portion.
" How discouraging it is to the soul that has light to see its
sins and short-comings, to feel continually that instead of being
more dead to self and alive to Him, self is still unsanctified,
unsacrificed ; nay, still, in one form or another, the object of
supreme regard. The sense of this at times almost drives me
to despair ; truly nothing but grace, and grace abounding, keeps
the mind balanced. When quite overcome with the oppression
of useless nothingness, I have, for a moment, joy in this thought
that I yet hold the hem of the garment, and that there is a
power in that to give peace. I have been reading Hosea and
Joel, and am struck with God's tenderness, in teaching us how
to come back to Him, that He may heal all our backslidings,
and love us freely. 0, how wonderful is God's love ! it even
exceeds man's abominable ingratitude.
" 29th. — I had a nice letter from dear Henry last night ; he
seems very much to walk with God, and this is my great com
fort : I do feel I ought so to praise God for making him and
Frank so happy in the Lord and in one another. I often feel,

408 GOD'S HAND IN SORROWS.
in moments of despondency, when nothing for myself can give
me pleasure, that those dearest to me are united by living union
with the true vine. Yes ! the' Lord's unbounded love comforts
me ; and I desire to cast all my hopes, and anxieties, and wishes
just there, and rest.
" Sometimes I think on Ireland and its deep destitution. 0,
that when the Lord's judgments are in the earth, the inhabi
tants thereof would learn righteousness ! How strange the
national unwdlingness to acknowledge God's hand in the natural
sorrows of life, whether general or particular ; and in contrast
with this, I am struck with the whole current of prophetic
Scripture, which asserts the great truth, that there is no evil af
fecting the nation, the city, the family, or the individual, that
God does not challenge Himself as the author of, either in dis
cipline or in judgment. So true is it, that whilst God's object
is to draw us nigh, our object is to put Him off.
" I have been occupied with the history of the periods con
nected with the Reformation and the time of Constantine, or
rather with the events which transpired within one century of
both ; and in this study I hope I may learn some lessons in
Church matters : the formation of new ideas and the modifica
tion of old ones, distinguished both these remarkable periods.
My reading has led me to form a higher opinion of Cranmer than
I had before, as also to see the sorrowful result of the mainte
nance of one favourite idea; as, for instance, the doctrine of consub-
stantiation, held by the Lutherans. They at last went so far as
to feel the upholding of that absurdity the point without which
there was no fellowship. No measure of grace, no measure of light,
nor of general agreement, could compensate for this one diversity.
How consistent human nature is with itself in all ages, how
much of the same spirit do we now see around us."
The following remarks show the use Mr. Groves was enabled,
by God's teaching, to make of the many trials which encom
passed him ; and will afford useful instruction to those who may
be called to go through a similar path.
" May 6th. — I do so deeply realize the importance, to those
whom God calls to pass through trials, of setting their hearts

SANCTIFIED USE OF TRIAL. 409
with all diligence to make a sanctified use of all the little events
that 'happen ; for if this be neglected, the heart, by impercepti
ble yet sure degrees, departs farther and farther from God. It
is the setting the heart to crucify self in every form, that makes
aU events subservient to blessing instead of grief ; and I feel
sure, where this is really undertaken in the fear of God, and
simply to please Him, and because He would have us so live, we
shall find a peace of soul, in nearness to Him, which flows out
of this purpose, and abundantly compensates for every sorrow
and self-denial. To feel ourselves the Lord's free-born chddren
in the way of holiness, is a most privUeged place, amidst all
the bondage of earth's cares.
" I feel all that earth can give (if the Lord dweU not simply
in the heart) is an empty name. I have more peace and quiet
ness than I have long known, and I seem to see an open door
before me for the enjoyment of a yet greater measure. I feel
I have to learn more and more what it is to possess my soul in
patience and to walk closely and humbly with God.
" May 7th. — I have this morning received a few Unes from
dear Start. He thinks I am going home this month, and his
little word of warning, 'keep thy heart with all diligence,' and
' say nothing you may wish afterwards unsaid,' I send to you,
as it will be never out of place or out of season. If the Lord
enables us to Uve in Him, and wait on Him, all will be easy ; but
without this, it will be in vain to try to keep the city. I have
been struck to-day with a remark of Gurnall's, that Satan has
three straits into which he brings God's saints and entangles
them : 1st, by nice questions ; 2ndly, by obscure Scriptures ;
3rdly, by dark providences. I think the two first have much to
say to the troubles at home.
" Naturally I have no disinchnation to India ; but spiritually
it is a land of drought ; yet, I know, if the soul walks closely
with God, and is fully occupied about the fulfilment of His
will, all places are sanctified.
" Dearest Henry is very considerate and kind ; he writes to
me every second or third day, and so nicely, that it quite tends
to cheer me to feel that I have those so very near and dear to

410 NO TRUE PEACE BUT IN HIM.
me, so anxious to be and to do all they can in my present try
ing circumstances. It is very conducive to peace to commit all
to the Lord, who has all hearts in His hands, and will give just
what is best. I very much desire to commend all the details of
my Uttle concerns to His loving and disposing care.
" Sunday, May 9th. — Dear Hannai leaves this to-morrow for
two or three weeks. I shall miss her kind care, though I want
little ; but there is such a generous reality in her interest about
all that concerns us, that there is none who can take her
place. " I am at present reading through the Memoir of Mi*. Howell,
by Pitcairn, styled ' Perfect Peace.' It is very interesting to
see the real power of God at work in any soul ; it serves to en
courage the wayward to return, and the discouraged to hope ;
the difficulty I feel every hour is to harmonize my feelings
with my judgment ; my soul so often feels that it might enjoy
peace, either if it knew less or felt more ; but it is so hard to
feel one has any part in that about which the affections seem so
little engaged, and with which the heart feels so little filled :
what I pant for is realization, and I know in this matter no one
can h<?lp me but the Lord, yet they may pray that the power so
to realize the surpassing loveliness of Jesus, that hope and joy
may fill the heart, may for a moment become mine, for without
this the heart must ever remain most desolate.
" I am sometimes anxious about the Bowdens, and Beers, and
Aroolappen ; still I trust in the Lord for them ; but the
departure of Hull has been a great loss, for when I leave I
can commit them to so few who have the means and incUnation
to help : however, we must wait patiently, and see what the
Lord does for us in these matters.
" 12th. — We have a return of the hot weather here, but I
trust you are basking in the sunshine of a more genial chme ;
it is three months and seven days since we separated, and it
will be more before we meet ; but 0, if it may be in the fulness
of the blessing of the gospel of peace, aU will be well-timed
and happy. Truly, there is no true peace or rest, but in Him.
I shall hope to find that you are flourishing in all these graces,

CONSCIOUS INDWELLING OF CHRIST. 411
that I may come and be refreshed with you, among God's dear
people at home. Pray that my heart may abound in the love
and grace of Christ. With this, I feel we shall be rich in
poverty, without it, poor, even in affluence.
" May 13th. — How very sad the opening of the xith of the
1st of Kings is, after all the wisdom, riches, and honour of
Solomon ! How it teaches us that there is no safety in any cir
cumstances, but only in Uving and walking with God. Such
extreme departure from God forms a striking contrast with
that beautiful prayer in the viiith chapter of the same book.
Truly it is important to hear the exhortation, ' keep thy heart
with all dUigence, for out of it are the issues of life.' ''
The following quotation shows the deep depression under
which he laboured, even when his ministry was blessed to
others. " Fewkes and Gordon seem really to value my poor wretched
ministry, which humbles me to the dust ; if God would only
command me to hold my peace, I should seem to be where I
ought to be ; and yet I do feel, that Gordon especially is ad
vancing, so that I cannot be silent to them. They come to me
twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays. If they knew what
was the overwhelming heaviness of my heart, often when I
minister to them of the sweet tidings of salvation, how truly
might they say, ' physician heal thyself.'
" Sunday 16th. — Nothing can compensate for the absence of
the conscious indwelling of Christ. Do not cease to pray that
I may be ' strong in the Lord and in the power of His might,'
for all our sakes. Pray that the Lord may give me His peace !
I have great need of a Hur and Aaron at all times, that my
hands grow not faint. I leave all external circumstances with
the Lord ; as He decides, so I shall arrange my affairs, and I
know it shall be well. I am content with bread and water, if
only we are flourishing in grace ; without that, all the world
would be to me as nothing. O, that all His will may be more
and more the aim and the end of Ufe ! I sometimes think it is
for this end He is ordering His ways towards me. I often
hear His Voice within me, saying, ' what doest thou here 1 ' 0,

412 VISIT TO MADRAS.
that I could give Elijah's answer ! But here it is that the
grace of the gospel comes in, and enables me, notwithstanding
aU unworthiness and all unfaithfulness, to hope in the Lord,
that the exceUency of all power may be manifestly in Him
and not in us ; that whilst we loathe ourselves, we may glory
in Him, who alone is our righteousness and strength. Pray
daily for me, that I may know more of Christ, and the power
of His resurrection, and be girded up, if it may be to take my
place in the fellowship of His sufferings, that our Father may
dwell in us and walk in us, and that we may be as His sons
and daughters, so that if we meet again, we may be helpers of
each other's joy in Him."
Early in June, Mr. Groves went down to Madras, to receive
his son Frank and his wife, on their arrival from England, and
while waiting there he visited some of the people of God ; in
the journal which he sent Mrs. Groves, he says : —
" June 4th. ¦ — I went to breakfast with Winslow, (an Ameri
can missionary,) and when I think of his solitary position, I am
ashamed of feeling my own so much. There seems little pros
pect of his wife's returning to him. After breakfast I called
on Drew ; (of the London Missionary Society.) He is truly re
joicing in the Lord, and spoke most sweetly of the Lord's ways,
in taking away his precious wife : he says, till then, he never
knew what it was to Uve with Jesus, but now he could rejoice
in all His ways ; he said, also, he never felt how much he had
received of the Lord, till He took it away.
" June 5th. — This day four months you left me. O, how
long, how very long, it has been ; and still I feel what lies be
fore me is shrouded in darkness. How happy for us that the
Lord knows all our ways, and that none of our perplexities are
hidden from Him."
The following quotations, in reference to religious contro
versies in England, are given for the benefit of many still
engaged in them, and as a warning to others.
" In the carriage going into the Fort, Bell was reading some
of W.'s papers, the language of which we both consider dis
graceful to the writer alone. It is easy to accuse others of

REMARKS ON CHURCH ORDER. 413
being guided by Satan, but how difficult to see that he is urg
ing on our own spirits.
" Whenever it is the Lord's pleasure that I should return, I
do most fervently pray that my soul may be filled with Him
self, and not with those angry questions : what seems really
wanted is that true humiliation of soul before God, which makes
the beam in our own eyes visible, and the mote in the eye of
another comparatively disregarded. 'Who art thou that judgest
another man's servant V often recurs to me, when I read those
exaggerated statements ; and I often fear that if such a state of
things continue, some signal mark of God's disrdeasure will
rest upon it all. For myself I would join no Church perma
nently that had not some constituted rule. I have seen enough
of that plan, of every one doing what is right in his own eyes,
and then calling it the Spirit's order, to feel assured it is a
delusion ; and I consider it far more dishonouring to God, than
where no pretension is made, beyond that of governing accord
ing to the best of the spiritual wisdom given us, guided by the
Word and Spirit of God, which is always promised to us for asking.
" June 6th, Sunday. — In connection with the writings I re
ferred to above, I have been thinking much on that striking
passage, Rom. xii, 1, 'I beseech you, by the mercies of God,'
&c, and I do pray that my soul may look for its judgment only
from the Lord. Where is the love that 'thinketh no evil,'
that ' suffereth long and is kind V It is surely the concision,
not the circumcision, that is now at work. May the Lord give
you grace to take no part in those unhallowed strifes, but to let
your testimony be for Jesus, and the Spirit of Christ, as that
which manifests our connection with Him, not occupying your
self in those comparatively unimportant questions about the
external orderings of the assemblies of God's people. It is
much my desire, if the Lord clears away difficulties, to give up
the rest of my short space to an uninterrupted ministry, some
where, or in some form ; but if I were in England, I should, as
far as I now see, give any little strength I had to our friends in
Bristol or Barnstaple, but especially the former. I have no
question but that those whom God has called to minister should

414 RECOGNIZED PASTORS AND TEACHERS.
wait on their ministry, and give themselves wholly to it, if their
profiting is to appear in all things. I have also no doubt that
this is the way appointed of the Lord for waiting on the Spirit,
and in which waiting they are to expect to be taught to choose
for the flock the proper pasture, and how to divide it. I can
not discern the sUghtest difference in the word between what
is necessary to help the brethren in one form of ministry in the
evening, or at the breaking of bread, although I quite feel that
it would be desirable that those brethren who speak to the
Church's edification should have opportunity to speak. But
of this I think I can now feel practically convinced (as I ever
have in theory) that recognized pastors and teachers are essen
tial to the good order of all assemblies ; and as such required
and commanded of God ; and though I should not object to
unite with those who had them not, if it were the result of
the Lord's providence in not giving them any, I should feel
quite unable to join personally those who rejected them as un
necessary or unscriptural. If the question were put to me (as
it often has been) do you consider the Spirit unequal to the
task of keeping order in the way we desire to foUow ? my
reply is simply this, show me that the Lord has promised His
Spirit to this end, and I at once admit its obligation in the face
of all practical and experienced difficulties : but if I see pas
torship, eldership, and ministry recognized as a settled fixed
service to the Church to this end, I cannot reject God's
evidently ordained plan, and set up one of my own, because I
think it more spiritual.
"D  seems justified in rejecting aU such helps as the way
of obtaining proper subordination in the assembly of God's
saints, by saying the ' Church is in ruins ;' this is his theory ;
but neither in the word, nor in my own experience or judgment,
do I realize that this state of the Church, even though it existed
to the full extent he declares, was to be met by the overthrow of
God's order, and the substitution of one so exceedingly spiritual,
(if I may so use the term,) as it seemed not good to the Holy Spirit
to institute, when all things were comparatively in order. I did
not intend writing to you a dissertation, but my pen ran on.

MINISTRY IN MADRAS. 415
" I had a nice letter from Henry, who mentions in it a ser
mon of mine many years ago, which he has never forgotten, on
the Laodicean Church. Do you remember it 1 It would be
very pleasant if, in this my hour of deep depression, the Lord
in grace gave me to know that my stay in Chittoor had not been
altogether in vain ; and now, in another way, and from another
quarter, He has sent me encouragement, which I tell you only,
not as excusing my departure from my true line of service in
ministry, but as showing His willingness to lift me up when I
am down, and encourage me to go on in the path of ministry. I
called on Macarthy yesterday, and he was saying that Fewkes
and he had been talking about my giving myself up to the minis
try, and he said he did not say what he did to flatter me, but
that he had never known any one who had sat under my ministry
in the word, without being benefited by it. He little thought
what an arrow it was, or how it showed me what the Lord
might have done by me, had I been subject to Paul's advice to
Timothy, either to give myself wholly to my work, or wait
upon it. I often seem waking out of a dream of years, and
know not how to fall in with anything I see around me. I know
not my proper place, or proper service, yet I feel the Lord wdl,
step by step, show me His will and way : and O, may He give
me strength to walk in it."*
On the 11th, he writes : —
" I went last evening to the meeting in Black Town, and
dbund all the poor brethren most happy ; they much wished
me to visit them again, which I hope to do next Thursday.
I have happily arranged among friends, an allowance of a few
rupees a month, for poor Macarthy who is now quite laid aside."
He mentions here several others whom he provided for in

* Although Mr. Groves thus writes of himself, those about him can
bear witness to the delight he had in ministering the word ; truly he
availed himself of every open door, whether in Madras, Chittoor, Arcot,
or Bangalore *, but the fact is, his way was much shut up through the
ecclesiastical or worldly opposition of all around him.

416 ON THE STUDY OF GOD'S WORD.
different ways. It was his delight thus to seek the comfort of
all. As " poor, yet making many rich," are words which truly
applied to him.
"13th. — I had this morning a long visit from a nice young
man, Secretary to one of the societies here, who had been led to
the truth by Michael, (the native formerly mentioned in con
nection with Macarthy.) The thirst he has for the truth is
really wonderful. He has undertaken to provide for Michael
by collecting what is necessary for his support while preaching
the gospel. I was much interested in the account of his
success, and was glad to help him."
In reference to some who were insisting on an "impulsive
ministry,"* as that which could alone honour the Spirit, Mr.
Groves thus writes in his Journal : —
" I tell them it is of the same class of errors as those which
characterize popery, see 1 Tim. iv, 3 ; being an attempt to set
up a higher standard of holiness than God's, and must end, like
theirs, in deeper sin. We as little deny the truth of God's
promise, that our bread and water shall be sure, by going to
our daily labour to earn it, as we do that of the Spirit's help, by
studying God's Word in dependence on His guidance in order to
minister to others. We have no more reason to expect the
bread of life to be miraculously supplied to us for feeding
others, than we have the natural bread ; natural understanding
is given us to obtain the one, and spiritual understanding to
attain the other ; thus Paul's exhortation to Timothy, that,
in order that his profiting should appear in all things, he should
give himself to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine, he should
meditate upon those things and give himself wholly to them."
To others, who sought to sympathize with his detention in
India, he says : —
" Though it has, at times, cast a deep gloom over my mind,
I know I shall see why the Lord has done it. I feel thankful
•for my increased quietness of mind. The poor brethren in
* We know not a better term whereby to designate that kind of preaching
or teaching, which, it is said, ought to be without previous preparation.

SUCCESS OF TELAGOO MISSIONARIES. 417
Black Town have enjoyed my ministry, and are much more
subdued and happy. May the Lord increase their peace !
" It is a real enjoyment and taste of heavenly things, that I
would indeed greatly delight to realize ; still how precious it
is to know that if we are every day wandering from our true
joy, we are every day brought back to the assurance that aU
else is vanity.
" I am going this evening to the meeting of the poor brethren
in ' Black Town.' My desire is to give them a clear view of
what Scripture teaches, as to the workings of the Holy Spirit
in the Church, in order to unity ; taking John xiv as my
text, in connection with the doctrine of Rom. vin, and
the history and doctrine of the Corinthian Church, as
Ulustrating the fact that external gifts, even when miraculous,
lead to division where love, the fruit of the indwelling Spirit,
does not keep all in order ; and how much less likely to pre
serve order are they who have only delusions, unsupported
by any miraculous gifts. In conclusion, I purpose leaving
with them 1 Cor. xni, as the unerring guide as to what
they are to cultivate, if they would reaUy build up, and not
pull down, the Church.
" I have had two nice letters from Bowden and Beer. The
former baptized four persons last Sunday ; three heathen and
one Roman CathoUc. I sometimes lament my poverty, but
the Lord knows what is best. If He make our souls flourish,
why we may well rejoice ; and nothing can hinder that but
our unbehef, because our Lord has pledged His own word
that if we hunger and thirst after righteousness, we shaU be
filled." Referring to the non-arrival of his son whom he had been
daily expecting from England, Mr. G. says : —
" 19th. — No sign of Frank : and thus I am kept waiting on
the Lord for all my blessings. The Lord so supports me
through dear Henry's letters, that I know not how I should
feel, in my present destitution, if he were either away or other
wise than he is.
" I had a long visit from Mr. W. this evening. Adherence
2d

418 THE INDWELLING SPIRIT.
to God's Word in simplicity has freed him from aU the errors
into which others would have led him. He brought his wife
with him. My conviction is, that the effort of Satan to divide
brethren here has been over-ruled for their blessing, by direct
ing their attention to enquire what is really the nature and
manner of the Spirit's present working in the Church : sounder
and healthier views have been the result, and they are likely to
be reaUzed by each and all. They seem to feel that, instead of
waiting for particular impulses from without, the great duty is
to stir up the gift within ; and to labour, by prayer and supplica
tion, that the Holy Ghost, which dwells in them, should be
neither grieved nor checked ; but that He should have unhin
dered dominion in all things. The riches generally imparted
by the Spirit flow from within, as our Lord said of every scribe
instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, who ' bringeth forth
out of his treasure, things new and old,' clearly implying, that
every saint of God, as the temple of the indwelling Holy Ghost,
carries about this treasure in him, and the spiritual mind,
which the Spirit gives him, teaches him how and where to use
it ; and that, if we would admonish one another with wisdom,
we must have the Word ' dweUing 141 us richly,' that we may
be enabled so to do. In the whole of the New Testament
there is not an allusion to waiting for an impulse from without,
in connection with teaching, ministry, or any other service.
Impromtu instruction, as I have said before, was promised on
one occasion only, as a general promise to the Church, namely,
when they were carried before kings and governors for Christ's
sake, and truly it was the ' Spirit of their Father which spoke
in them ' — the same indwelling Spirit ; but that was a case in
which no previous preparation would be of any use to them, as
they could not know beforehand to what they would be called
to answer.
"21st. — We had, last night, a happy meeting. I dwelt on
those three words ; ' elect, holy, beloved,' in aU that they in
cluded of blessing to us, and all that God expected in return
from us, or in grace towards one another.
" I have just been visiting aU the poor brethren, and am very

god's purpose in detaining. 419
glad to say, they are in a most subdued and happy frame of
mind, extremely anxious that I should remain among them and
minister to them. I have no doubt the Lord has a purpose in
detaining me here. We have an entire and undivided confi
dence and love among ourselves, which is a true comfort."
Of Macarthy and others whom he called to see, he says : —
" They are drinking in the grace of Jesus ; this is always
happy. I cannot tell you how I have been refreshed by my
visit among them. There is a large field of usefulness here.
" 24th. — I go this evening into Black Town to meet the
brethren there. I went yesterday to the house occupied by P.
C. I had not visited it before, and many thoughts of what had
passed over us, since we were there, rushed upon me ; yet I
thought if we could but say that Jesus was more all in all to
us, all must be well ; yet, somehow, I felt not happy, and rose
this morning with that sad oppression, as though the whole
world rested on my shoulders : now, however, I feel happier ;
and realize, for a moment, how precious a thing it is to know
that ' there is forgiveness ' with God, for all short comings,
that He might be loved and feared.
" We have not had a drop of rain at Chittoor ; the tanks are
aU empty, and the cultivation at a stand ; yet it is the Lord ;
for I never knew it so before during these ten years. These
things I am able, more than formerly, to leave to Him in whose
hands the whole matter is, and if I felt an abiding love of aU
the Lord loves, and an innate abhorrence of all that I know
displeases Him, I could be happy in Him ; but that description
of Ephraim is so applicable to me — all ' his goodness is as a
morning cloud ;' and yet my judgment is with God. I see
such beauty in His wUl, such a suitableness to make me happy,
if I altogether loved it, that, at times, for a moment, I glow at
the sight of the beauty and tenderness I feel to be in it, and
with a sense of God's great personal kindness to me in so many
ways. " Dear B.'s view of our going totally unprepared to the meet
ings has led me into a very profitable train of thought ; and I
feel assured, that so far from our Father's desiring we should go

420 THOUGHTS ON WORSHIP.
thus unprepared, or with unpremeditated petitions, He would
delight in our meeting previously, and agreeing on any common
desires for the Church or for ourselves. I think our great sin
is want of premeditation, and deliberation on those petitions we
desire to present to our Father who is in heaven. It often
happens, as the petitions arose at the moment, they are forgotten
in a moment, and then fulfilment is seldom waited for ; whereas,
if two or three were before to agree, seriously and devoutly,
as to their requests, we have the Lord's assurance they would
be heard. If the Lord were to lead my footsteps home, I
trust I might find at Bristol a Uttle shelter from questions
that gender strife, and be able, according to my measure,
to serve God quietly, and to minister profitably to His
Church. " 25th. — I have been reading Mr. H.'s tracts on worship ;
there are some very nice thoughts in them, especially in the
fifth. I perceived, however, this defect ; the eye is always
directed to the public services of some churches, and thus the
argument is made too general. My full conviction is, that the
Epistle to the Hebrews deals with man, not to the exclusion of
public worship certainly, but on the ground of individual
standing before God, as belonging to a covenant in which man
has no more to say to his brother ' know the Lord,' for all
know Him, from the least to the greatest ; it is also intended
to assure us of our individual access, through our great High
Priest, to the throne of God ; and I have no doubt that all true
believers, either in the Establishment or out of it, really feel
their liberty of access to the Father, their filial prerogative to
' draw near ' at all times ; and this is the main matter for them
as children ; they draw nigh, in the full assurance of faith,
through their living Head. The passage, ' not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is,'
shows plainly, that the circumstance of assembhng together is
only looked on as one of the many ways in which the sons of
God draw near through the living way. Everything, however,
that makes Jesus clearly seen to be the actor before God the
Father, for all and every saint, and the only Priest over the

ARRIVAL OF HIS SON. 421
house of God, is a blessed ministry to the Church ; these
tracts, therefore, cannot but be valuable.
"26th. — I have had a letter from George Beer to-day, wish
ing me to go up and work with them. He tells me that Major
Cotton and Mr. Stokes, with Mr. Fox and Mr. Noble, are going
to do all they can for them.* I do love to see these brethren
of the Church of England contributing to the support of poor,
unordained Baptist missionaries. Truly I should hate myself,
if I allowed any formal differences to rob me of their love, or
them of mine.
"Dear  accuses me of want of sincerity in my principles;
but it is because he does not understand them. To make my
self one in heart with all God's children, is one of the principles
I have ever held. I love them ten times more, because they
belong to Christ than I feel separated from them on any com
paratively lesser ground, f My fervent desire is to be enabled to
love and fear the Lord my God, to wait upon Him with a
humble, lowly, and contrite heart, under the sense of my own
unnumbered transgressions ; yet with an unshaken sense of
the love that has not only covered them, but washed them
out, never to appear again. And in all my ministry here,
my great wish is to produce in the brethren, especially the
poor, a distaste for questions that 'gender strife rather than
godly edifying,' which is in Christ Jesus.
" June 27th. — I was summoned to look at the flagstaff to
day ; and was convinced it was the Windsor, so I went down
with Lazar in the carriage, and there I found the ship just
anchored. We sent off a boat to fetch Frank and his wife,
and to my great joy found them both very well; thus far
the Lord hath holpen us.
" We meet this evening for reading and prayer, and shall
leave for Mysore in a few days. I feel truly refreshed by their
* Mr. Fox and Noble were missionaries of the Church Missionary
Society : the former has long since entered his rest, the latter is still
labouring faithfully at Masulipatam.
f See Appendix I.

422 SEPARATION FROM SECULAR UNDERTAKINGS.
arrival, and pray the Lord may make it an abundant source of
blessing to us all. It seems to have been a great mercy that
they had a nice cabin, for they were never able to stay in the
cuddy after meals, for gambling, and all sorts of disagreeables
were rampant.
" 28th. — We had a nice Uttle meeting for prayer last night ;
it was very refreshing to see dear Frank, and hear him pray
again." Relative to his son's undertaking in Mysore, he writes : —
" I have fully decided on having nothing more to do with
any secular undertakings. The arrangements wUl be entirely
between Henry and Frank and their employers. I have the
fullest confidence in them both. Past events have been made
most useful to them. All their desire is to provide things
honest before all, that their communion with God be not
hindered." On Sunday he writes : —
" How blessed it is to feel that the Lord's ascension has
secured us the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit for ever, to teach
us to pray, and to assist us in our necessities. I think there is
far too Uttle realization of the truth ' it is God which worketh
in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure,' and 'with
out me ye can do nothing.' I should often be in despair but for
the faith and feeling I have, that the Spirit's internal workings
are effectual to make me long for and love what naturally I
could not desire. To one who knows the natural hardness and
insensibiUty of the human heart, how blessed it is to feel the
Spirit abiding within, to breathe life into all their palsied
affections, and to concentrate them in God."
After providing for a poor friend, he says : —
" If you are burthened with anxieties of your own, it is very
pleasant to be the instrument of relieving those of others."
Thinking it likely that those in England, who heard of his
difficulties, might attribute them to imprudence, and judge him
hardly, he wrote to his wife : —
" Do not attempt to undertake my defence ; it will only
sadden your hours ; and be sure the Lord will do for me

ON ADDING UP GOD'S MERCIES. 423
infinitely more than justice could claim, even more than
thought can anticipate, if I humble myself under His mighty
hand. The undecided state of all matters just now casts, at
times, such a dark shade over the future, that I hardly know
how or where to rest ; and I cannot shake off that oppressed
feeUng, when I awake of a morning, tiU I get up and cast my
self upon God, and weigh the littleness of aU earthly things.
In our own children we are truly blessed, and when I look
around me, and see how few there are so blessed, I cannot
endure my own want of unbounded thankfulness, and when
my heart is cast down within me, I add these mercies together,
and say with David, ' How great is the sum of them I' And,
up to this moment, the Lord has not allowed really a feather to
press on me, more than I could bear. Anxious thoughts are all
I have to contend against, and yet how much grace and faith it
requires to free ourselves from these by laying them on Him
who alone is able to bear them !
" July 5th. — We have just had a meeting for Scripture
reading, and read Deut. i. When and where God bids, they
wont go ; and where and.when He forbids, they will go ! What
a picture of man's rebellious history !
" By the Lord's blessing there has been no schism among us :
all seem more and more satisfied that the theory of unity by
separation — for what has been put forward amounts to nothing
less — is false ; and so far from its being God's plan, all we see
of it in operation convinces us, that the unity of God is found
in the union of all who possess the common life from Jesus.
" I have been reading an interesting publication by an old
friend of mine, Mourant Brock, Chaplain at the Penitentiary,
Bath. It breathes a love to Christ's body, apart from all sects ;
this is true catholicity, an infinitely better test of the unity of
the Spirit, than hatred of other people's systems, or 'cleri
calism.' — Socinian quakers may have the latter as intensely as
need be ; but only Christ's chosen ones can have the former."
A few days after making this entry, Mr. Groves left Madras
with Mr. and Mrs. F. Groves. Speaking of the hindrances to
his return to England, he says : —

424 PRAYERS ALL ANSWERED
" I wait on the Lord for the removal of present perplexities,
as my sign for returning. Ah ! may we never leave the Lord's
side, or close communion with Him. I feel the Lord has
done so much that I have earnestly prayed for, that I do
not allow my heart to dwell on anything of disappointment
that remains in my cup ; but I expect that when His love
says ' Go,' He wiU make it an unmingled cup of blessing, so
far as He gives us grace to carry it with a steady hand. I
do see so much in the Word of God to claim our confiding
love. All that I feel jealous over my own heart about is
that Tsraelitish feeling of forgetting His unmerited goodness.
Truly we must stir each other up to hold fast by Him, and
to let our praise ascend continuaUy."
Having spoken of the comfortable settlement of his affairs,
and of the part his son had taken in bringing things to a
happy conclusion, he thus continues : —
" I do not say that it is more than they ought to do, but
still, none but those who have seen and known sons who
act on entirely different principles, can appreciate my happi
ness in their acting so nicely in all -these matters.
"Arcot, July 12th. — We arrived here safely this morning.
There has been no rain in Chittoor, and the tank is empty.
How blessed it is to have a Rock that is higher than ourselves
to go to, when anything oppresses, and indeed the Lord has
so relieved me in greater matters than this, that, compared
with my state when I was last at this place, I am a bird
set free. I now realize the hope of having nothing but the
Lord's work on hand, for the rest of my days.
" How very rich the Proverbs are in principles of Gospel
truth ! No character in the Old Testament is more affecting
than that of Solomon. How insignificant are external advan
tages, even in matters of divine knowledge ! He stands
as a warning to walk humbly and closely with God con
tinually. " Chittoor, 13th. — I am happier than when I left this
place : as far as I can see, God has answered all our prayers
for dear Henry and Frank and ourselves, and has, at last,

JOURNEY TO MYSORE. 425
opened a way for my complete emancipation from secular things.
Everything in Mysore seems as prosperous as we could wish. —
The setting up a sugar press and a water mill is sanctioned
by government ; and dearest Frank seems so happy in seeing all
hi3 labour crowned with success."
After coming in contact with some worldly persons, he
writes : —
" O, how blessed it is to have a heart feeling after Jesus, and
thoughts directed in the narrow way ! We never appreciate
these blessings so well as when we come into immediate contact
with those who know not God."
On his journey to Mysore, his soul seemed full of praise to
the Lord for all His goodness. He writes : —
" What I long for is a heart to realize all the relief and all
the positive sources of enjoyment open to me, as truly coming
to me from God, — it is God : I feel an unspeakable and un
merited proof of His love, to have not only the hope of joining
you clearly before me ; but also that when the Lord does allow
me to do so, it will be, I trust, ' without carefulness ;' but do
not cease to pray that the Lord's will may be faithfully and
diligently accomplished by us.
" How important in these times is the opening verse of Rom.
xiv, with the marginal rendering of verse 1. Him that is weak
in the faith, receive ye, but not to 'judge his doubtful thoughts.'
Also Rom. xv, 5, being 'like-minded one toward another,
according to, or after the example of, Christ Jesus.' How full
this little clause is of meaning to those who feel the inconceiv
able forbearance and patience of Jesus towards themselves. Of
all the wonders connected with the Lord's character personally,
I should say nothing so exceeds all conception as His patience
with His people. Thus in Israel, notwithstanding 'the pro
voking of His sons and of His daughters,' (Deut. xxxii, 19,) He
promises, after all, to ' repent himself for his severity.' Yer. 36.
Truly we may say, ' their rock is not as our Rock, even our
enemies themselves being judges.'
"Colar, Sunday, 18th July. — We did not go as far as we
intended last night, and purpose spending a quiet day here."

426 JESUS IN US, WITH US, AMONG US.
Then, in reference to a tract on the Spirit's operations, he
continues : —
" Does it seem to you that the operations of the Holy Ghost
as ' in ' us, and ' among ' us, are capable of very definite and
certain distinctions i It is said of Christians, ' Know ye not your
own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be repro
bates.' (2 Cor. xni, 5.) And, again, in Gal. ii, 20, ' Yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me,' whde He Himself says, ' where two or
three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the
midst of them.' And again, ' I in them and thou in me,' John
xvh, 23, compared with xiv, 23, ' My Father wUl love him, and
we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.' I con
fess I should feel it unsafe to draw any important doctrines
from the use of these words ' in! ' among! and ' with! as if very
distinct and important differences of relation were meant to be
taught by them. I do not mean to say that distinctions may
not be drawn by very acute minds, but I do not think the poor
would discern or feel them, from reading the simple statements
of Scripture. I think that unity and intimacy of relationship
are conveyed by all these words, so that we may feel He is with
us when we want external help ; in us when we want internal
help ; and among us when we want collective help : in fact, that
our own Jesus is all and in all. And as I consider this to be
the moral use of the different expressions with regard to Christ,
so do I understand them when referring to the Spirit. The
point of importance to believers is, that nothing can be rightly
or acceptably done, that He does not work in and among us ;
but no external regulations that we adopt in our different
meetings can prove that our souls are in this state. The Spirit,
emphatically, ' bloweth where it listeth,' breatheth out of whom
it listeth, and for what duration it Usteth. He may send Paul
and Barnabas for a continued service of months, or Ananias for
a particular service, or Philip to an individual.
" Bangalore, July 19th. — I arrived here safe this morning,
and am staying with the dear R.'s in the fort.
"Should the Lord sanctify any little earthly cisterns, to
minister to our joy, let us thankfully accept, and gratefully use

ON BEARING EVIL PATIENTLY. 427
them, but not depend on them : a single burst of pride or pas
sion may rob us of all joy in them ; it is so good, yet so hard, to
bear evil with spiritual profit. I feel Uttle difficulty in despising
wrongs, and those who do them ; but, really, to grieve for their
sin, as it regards God, is very difficult. I find no real remedy
but ' looking unto Jesus,' ' holy, harmless, undefiled ' as He was,
and going about ' doing good,' and stUl ' despised and rejected of
men.' When I reflect on this, every selfish feeling dies for the
time, for I naturaUy say, ' Why should we think it hard, who
are always thought but too well of by so many, that some
think more evil of us than we deserve in some things V
" July 20th. — How much God's Word makes of hope : 'we
are saved by hope.' Truly it is a help in times of trial.
David's remembrances of Hermon and Mizar led him to hope
for the future, and be quiet in the present ; and I am sure we
may say, have we ever trusted in the Lord and been confounded 1
How often has our way seemed hedged up till the Lord's time
for the appointed deliverance came !
" I hope you will spare no pains in making a really good
collection of books and tracts, suited for India : tracts full of
the real manna of God's Word, and free from anything contro
versial. Let all here feel it is Jesus — the precious, unspeakable
gift of God — we are come here to preach. Should the Lord
prosper us in our resources, this may very much be our future
ministry in India ; helping all who love Jesus in sincerity ;
bearing witness, in word and deed, to all that Jesus is made to
us of God, and to all that the living members of His body are
made to us by Christ ; and that, irrespective of aU their sect
arianism, weakness, and error, of which the Lord is the Judge
appointed of the Father, not we, who are, from the beams in
our eyes, and the blunders in our heads, and often from the
hardness in our hearts, quite incompetent to execute judgment
graciously, so as not to wound but to heal.
"July 24th, Biddedy. — Before I left Bangalore, last evening,
I went to caU on some friends. The 1 5th Regiment has a
oreat number of dear devoted Christians in it, and such as are
thoroughly alive to the importance of the things of God. Do

428 SYMBOLICAL CHARACTERS OF CHRIST.
you know Baxter's work, entitled, ' The mischief of self-igno
rance, and the benefits of self-aquaintance '? it is a very valu
able Uttle work, and one from which much may be learnt
by careful reading ; yet, you know, I only refer to these books
as helps to self-detection ; Jesus, and Jesus only, gives peace,
and truly teaches the soul to be humble ; looking unto Him
brings down high thoughts, and teaches the soul really to
commit its way unto Him. I trust the Lord has dehvered
me, in some measure, from the trials of the past days, and
enabled me to say, Do thou only bless, and all shall be well.
Nothing comes amiss that we receive not amiss ; for, if He
allow it, though it come even from Shimei's mouth, He can
turn all into blessing. I delight to dwell on the Lord's
great grace and goodness to me ; His unspeakable gentleness ;
and when He says, 'Am I not better to thee than ten of
the nearest on earth V my heart says ' Yea, Lord.' I feel
He has so gently ordered everything for us, even our separa
tion at this time ; and to Him, and to His love, we will look
for all that lies before us.
" In our morning reading we were thinking over the various
symbolical characters of our Lord in the Gospel of John, such
as the ' Word.' ' Way! ' Truth,' ' Life,' ' Shepherd,' ' Yine,' &c.
He is indeed our all and in all.
" Do you not think there is great beauty and power in
2 Sam. xxiii, 1 — 5, not only prophetically, but as showing
what the Lord delights that His saints should aim after now,
i.e. to rule in the fear of God, to be as the light of the morning,
when the sun riseth, ' a morning without clouds ;' as the tender
grass after rain ; the idea the same as ' ye are the light of the
world ;' and the grass seems descriptive of the soft refreshing
aspect, the even course of a saint exhibits, yet as studded with
the clear shining dew drops in the morning sun, by the con
tinually reviving brilliant acts of grace, which sparkle in the
Church ; and yet, after all, while this is the aim of the saint,
because it is his Father's will and his own choice and blessed
feeling, as in verse 5, our house being not so, peace with God

RESOURCE IN TIMES OF TRIAL. 529
rests only on the covenant, ordered in all things and sure, and
on the blood that cleanseth from all sin.
"July 27th..,, — How beautifully the exhortation in Isa. 1, 10,
to trust in the name of the Lord in times of darkness, comes
from the Ups of Jesus, who is the speaker in the preceding
verses : truly it is a name into which the righteous run and are
safe. Do you not consider that running of the saints into the
name of Jehovah to be the reliance of the soul on the character
of God, in those innumerable difficulties not solved in the
written Word 1 I often feel this is my resource in times of
complicated trial.
" I have felt more strongly than ever, that our true place is
that of forbearance and intercession, when we see evil in God's
people. God's dislike to have His anger helped on by man is
so striking a feature in His character. He even charges Baby
lon with her cruelty towards His punished people : how much
more would He feel the same spirit in His children one towards
another !
"July 30th. — Yesterday we went out to Palhully, [this was
the name of the place at which the sugar works were com
menced in Mysore] to examine the depth of the water, and we
find it will answer well for our works, so that every anxiety has
ceased on this head.
"I daily feel that where Jesus is enjoyed the soul finds
peace; but to be enabled to do this we must be actively
employed about Him and His service ; and it is. in this, I think,
we so often fail from one cause or another."

CHAPTER XVIII.
CONTINUATION OF JOURNAL, 1849 — MR. GROVES VISITS OOTACA
MUND  KIND RECEPTION BY HIS FRIENDS — UNION WITH
ALL SAINTS  KORAH'S REBELLION  MRS. GUNDERT  HAPPY
RESULT OF HIS VISIT TO AMOY  CATHOLICITY OF MESSRS.
FOX AND NOBLE  SERVICES ON THE LORD'S DAY  FLUCTU
ATING EXPERIENCE  PILGRIM CHARACTER OF GOD'S PEOPLE
 RETURN TO CHITTOOR THROUGH MYSORE AND BANGALORE
 HONEY IN THE LION'S CARCASE — ENGLISH SCHOOL AT
CHITTOOR  CHURCH ORDER AND DISCIPLINE  VISITS TO
MANY IN MADRAS  MINISTRY IN BLACK TOWN AND OTHER
PLACES  ACCOUNT OF DR. CLIGHORN  MACARTHY  NOTES
OF POONAMALEE  AROOLAPPAN  UNION WITH ALL  RE
FLECTIONS ON GOD'S WAYS AND MANY PARTS OF SCRIPTURE
 FAITH IN A DARK DAY  MADRAS CITY MISSION  VARI
OUS SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS.
In the beginning of August, Mr. Groves accepted an invitation
to visit the Nilgherries, and at Ootacamund he found many
Christian friends, some to whom his ministry at Chittoor, in
years past, had been blessed : he also met Mrs. Groves's former
associate in work, Mrs. Gundert, often mentioned by the name
of " Julie." She had been sent to the Hills for her health :
she was one who had laboured very faithfully, but was suffering
from nervous depression.
The next extract is dated from Ootacamund.
" Just before going to rest I add one line, to tell you I have
arrived here safely, though such a journey for rain, rivers, and
mud, I have never made in India. My friends kindly sent a
palanquin to the bottom of the pass, but being wet through
and covered with mud, I thought it safer to ride on into Ooty,

FRIENDS AT OOTACAMUND. 431
and just saw dear Mrs. B  and O  , but was too wet
to go in. The Millars received me most kindly, and dear Col.
Tomkyns also came and gave me a warm reception : still, though
all this is pleasant, nothing can heal the sadness of my heart, in
not having found letters from England; however, seeing the
Lord's love has allowed it, I kiss the rod, and believe I shall
yet praise Him for every disappointment and trial."
A few days after, he writes : —
" On Sunday, we had two meetings here ; one at the Briga
dier's and one at the MUlars', where about twelve of us took
the Lord's Supper. Nothing can exceed the kindness of all
whom I meet here, and unless I am compeUed by circumstances
to leave, I shall remain some time, as the kind of employment
I have here takes the mind from its own selfishness, and directs
it for others in a different channel.
" Cassamajor came in from Katy to see me, and I shall hope
soon to go to the FaUs to visit dear Julie and the Weigles,
and on my return lunch and sleep at Katy, and the next
morning proceed to Conoor.
" I could not give you an adequate idea of all that might be
done here, by a devoted spiritual servant of God. I realize
what is wanted, but cannot feel myself equal to it ; for I feel,
as George Herbert would say, my powers are clean ' gone under
ground ' : a sectarian of any school would be worse than use
less ; the carrying out of the earliest conceptions of that Uttle
knot of Christians, out of which the brethren grew, would
alone meet the views of this place ; it requires a heart that
feels it an infinitely higher thing to witness for the work of God
in the redeemed family, than against the work of Satan ; if one
bears testimony for all God's work and ways, those of Satan
are and must be condemned, though indirectly ; while testimony
against every form of evil in others, may leave the Lord's work
un manifested by ourselves. I see in the EstabUshment a multi
tude of men, who, notwithstanding sectarian institutions, have
cathoUc hearts, ready and wUling actively to help those from
whom their systems separate them in the Lord's work : in others
I see the absence of systematic sectarianism ; they have a

432 SUPREMACY OF GOD's HIGH PRIEST.
catholic system, but a most sectarian spirit, feeUng unable to
help any but those who hold then* own views : for myself I
have infinitely closer communion with the former than with
the latter.
" What an instructive portion to the professing saints of God,
is Isaiah lvin : what a holiness in form, what an alienation of
heart in reality : and then the nature of the return the Lord
really seeks, and the blessings He has in store.
" The position I have ever maintained, of union with the
whole circle of God's redeemed family, without exclusive attach
ment to any section of it, is daily more precious in my eyes ;
it certainly gives one something to bear everywhere ; but then,
by becoming habituated to forego one's own will, it becomes at
last easy ; and we can rejoice, and praise, and love, and inti
mately associate with the Lord's handy-work in His saints,
though they may be associated with much that the heart longs
to see away.
" Aug. 15th. — It has occurred to me that the view generally
taken of Korah's rebelUon, of which the memorial was kept in
the budding rod, is very incorrect ; it is usually represented as
though it were the people of Israel against the priesthood ; but
it is evidently the priestly tribe of Levi against the supremacy
of the high priest Aaron, as we see Num. xvi, 8 — 11 ; the very
sin of the present day ; men who have been called out to
minister before the congregation, not being contented to stand
within the Umits assigned them of God, but entrenching on
the high priest's pecuhar and distinct offices and ministries.
It is very delightful to think that the true Aaron's rod is the
only one that blossoms and bears fruit, and both together ; and
that by abiding in Him, we may all blossom and bear fruit, to
our Father's glory.
"Aug. 18th. — I have at last received all your letters, and
can truly say my heart overflows with thankfulness, in the
remembrance of all the Lord's great goodness to you, and in
your happiness.
" The aspect of things at home described by you, makes me
feel happy. I am here as to that point, for certainly in India,

INTERCOURSE WITH CHRISTIANS.

433

there is no closed door to the testimony of Jesus, though I
trust there ever wiU be to the prominence given to any fanciful
or exclusive views of man, or abstract points of doctrine, whe
ther relating to prophecy, or the constitution of the Church.
On both these subjects, I believe many havevtoissed the Lord's
mind, and lost their way. I trust we shall never differ on
these broad cathoUc grounds, with which our happiness and
usefulness for so many years have been connected.
" You cannot conceive the kindness and brotherly confidence
I experience from all the Lord's own family here, of whatever
natural or acquired predehctions. The Chaplain begs I will
always come and stay with them if he goes to Arcot.
" I am glad you went to hear Gadsby, and were able to relish
that sweet savour of the hidden manna.
" I have been to visit ' Julie ' at the FaUs, where she is stay
ing, and truly glad was she to see me. She looks a little older,
otherwise quite well, but suffering at times from the deepest
depression, though better in that respect than she has been. I
could truly sympathize with her, for though I am not free
from the fear of the return of those depressing feeUngs, I am
now so much better ; seldom awaking in the morning till
five o'clock, and then feeling refreshed. 0, for a humble, lowly,
contrite heart, that the Shepherd of Israel may guide us and
let the h'ght of His countenance shine upon us, and then all
will be well. In Psalm lxxx, how often that 'turn us again,'
is repeated ! I feel the need of this."
After describing his visits to many on the HUls, he says : —
" When I was at Conoor I saw Dr. R. Do you not recollect
when in Arcot his mind was turned from infidelity to the
truth ; how kindly he used to write to me ? When he heard I
was on the Hills, he very much wished to see me. I found
him very low, but on the Rock : when I spoke to him of the
peace it gives in sorrow, sickness, and disappointment, to feel it
is a Father's hand preparing His children to be partakers of His
holiness, that He may ultimately fill them with His happiness,
He said, O yes ! but there is so much to be washed and purged
away. We had some prayer together, and I left, him happier
2 E

434 PENITENT SINNER'S RETURN.
than I found him. It was a great comfort to me that Julie
also had been happier since my visit, for I do so value her.
"Sunday, Aug. 22nd. — I was out the whole of yesterday,
paying a round of visits ; the first was to a dear Christian man,
who seems to live on the manna of the kingdom. He occupies
himself in writing hymns or sacred poetry. I will send you
one stanza from ' the Penitent Sinner's Return.'

Oh ! then return, admittance now is sure,
Through Christ who died thy pardon to procure.
Knock at His Father's gate, He gave the will ;
Knock loud and long, knock loud and longer still.
If still denied, still stay and knock the more,
Pray on and faint not, 'tis thy father's door ;
His ear of mercy is not slow to hear,
But waits and waits for thee to persevere ;
'Tis hinged on mercy, opened at my cry,
' A sin-convicted sinner, doomed to die,
Who in arrest of judgment had no plea,
But that He loved and gave Himself for me.' "

" Though attached to the Establishment, he says he beheves
that a grand crisis is coming, when the true Church of all classes
will be without state protection, and have to fight the Lord's
battle alone, as far as earthly powers are concerned.
" I sometimes dread going back again to Chittoor ; I have
been so much better here ; yet I feel I ought to go and close
my affairs there, so as to be free for whatever the Lord may
have for me to do. I stiU feel daUy that total want of corres
pondence between my head and my heart, though I sometimes
get over the thought that I may never be used again of the
Lord ; for I have of late felt He has helped me through, as in
past years, when I have gone to minister, bowed down with a
weight I knew He only could lighten.
" I go on Tuesday, (D.Y.,) to pay my parting visit to dear
Julie, and to try and comfort her. I derive comfort from seeing

LETTER FROM MESSRS. FOX AND NOBLE. 435
her, just by thinking, if the Lord allows one who has been so
much more faithful than I to walk in darkness and have no
Ught, and I can see it to be a holy discipUne in her case, it may
be so in my own.
" 22nd. — I have such a nice letter from Messrs. Fox and
Noble, a circular in behatf of Bowden and Beer, so sweetly
cathoUc. Their system may be sectarian, but they are not so ;
and it is ten times better to have to do with those who are
cathoUc in a sectarian system, than those who are sectarian
with no system. Dear good men ! I do so love them, and hope
to write to-day to Mr. Fox, and tell them how their grace and
kindness refresh me. If the time should ever come that we
have more than our own immediate work required, how happy
we should be to help them, even as they have helped our
brethren. "23rd. — We had yesterday a very happy meeting, both in
the morning and evening. It is such a reUef^ especially when
the soul is bowed down within, to feel that when we meet it is
only to worship God in truth, and that your fellow-worshippers
are with you, that you may lead their hearts to the blessed
Jesus. We feel we meet to worship and to speak good things of
our King, and all other things seem forgotten. I only wonder
at the kindness of those I meet with here ; they* do so urge me
to the undivided devotion of my remaining years to the minis
try of God's word. If I remained here I think they would do
anything in their power to get a pubUc meeting-place.
" I feel the Lord is very good ; yet often my heart sinks
within me, and I seem like a willow bent by the wind ; and yet
whilst thinking on the 11th of Hebrews to-day, I was, for a
moment, as one ' strong in faith, giving glory to God,' remem
bering all His loving-kindness and goodness towards us.
" 28^. — I have just heard from Hannai : she has received
her second letters from you, and seems deUghted with them.
O, that our hearts reaUzed more the preciousness of Jesus, who
is ever the same, then the fluctuations that so harass the spirit
would cease.
"Sunday, 29th. — I have had a sad, yet not an unblessed

436 FLUCTUATING EXPERIENCES.
day. I feel as though God had been with me ; yet I have been
greatly tried with my constantly besetting burthen, the inabil
ity to feel the things of God have that power of giving peace
to the soul, which they could not but do, if I loved Him as L
ought. I have been clinging to the stronghold of the 14th of
Hosea, like a drowning man, and I feel I have so much to be
thankful for, temporally, so many, many blessings ; yet I cannot
desire to be happy, except as my heart realizes the constraining
power of my Lord and Master's will, to put every unhallowed
thought and word to flight. I have to-day felt overwhelmed
with the thought of God's tender, gracious love, which I know
so well, but cannot be subject to : one moment I desire to be
His only, in another I seem as insensible as marble : to others
the Lord aUows me to be of some use, but to myself I am a
walking sepulchre. There is something in Jesus so unspeak
ably forbearing and kind, that when faith fairly reveals Him,
I can say with Job, ' I abhor myself in dust and ashes.'
" Every one meets me with a kindness that surprises me ;
when I leave, they let me go with reluctance, and look
forward to my return; yet under all this my heart only withers
the more, for I do not deserve it, and cannot deserve it. God
makes me do them some good, I hope ; and just whilst I am
ministering the word, 1 often feel unusual power, but no
sooner do I reach my room, than my heart returns to its
impenetrable hardness. Still I ought not to say this without
allowing, that for two weeks past, the Lord has made all
these burthens much lighter ; but now again the pressure has
returned. I would ask you to pray that I may but once
fully realize in my heart the power and constraining sweet
ness of that love, which for years my head has told me I
ought to feel, and then I could desire to quit this scene of
endless strife."
The following letter, from one to whom his ministry was .
blessed when he first went to Chittoor, gives an interesting
account of this visit to the Hills ; and shows, though he had
such low thoughts of himself, how highly those around him
esteemed both him and his ministry. The letter is addressed to
his wife.

ACCOUNT OF HIS MINISTRY.

437

" I think you will like to hear what we all think of your
beloved husband. The first day he came up, he was so wretch
edly out of spirits at not having received your letters, &c, and
doubtless many other things pressed on him. It was Sunday,
and his speaking was with such power ! quite that of former
years, when I first heard him at Chittoor ; quite strengthening
and refreshing ; it spoke to the hearts of all, and all were edi
fied. Since he has come up, he is in better spirits, and great
grace is upon him. He has had many trials, and is a bruised
reed. I never saw such humUity in any one. Really, to hear
him speak, you would think he was quite useless in the Church,
whereas no one is so beloved by all. Even the world can
bring no reproach against him ; so kind, tender, and consider
ate to all, except when the truth of his Master is concerned,
and then he is bold and earnest in commending it. You know
he came on Saturday late ; and on Monday, who should ride up
to meet him, but Mr. Cassamajor, who was really happy to see
him, and would be glad to take him with him.*
" I dare say you hear of his state from himself — the blank, as
he calls it, of his ten years at Chittoor ; indeed, I do not like to
hear him speak of it, he feels it so acutely ; and I do not think it
right, because he was the means of bringing many to Jesus, and
a witness for the Lord in his consistent walk ; so that , should he
be led to settle on these HUls, he would be fully known.
" On Fridays, the Tonkyns's have a large meeting for Scrip
ture reading, consisting of twenty-five ladies and gentlemen :
most attentive are they.
"Mr. Groves's last lecture on the 10th of Hebrews was
beautiful, and with such power ; the Uberty of entrance at any
time into the Holiest, even to a Father, by the blood, with a full
sense of remission of sin ; the holiness of life that should fol
low this confidence ; the recompense this confidence gives, even

* Mr. Cassamajor was formerly the first provincial judge in Chittoor,
and was for years a very devoted Christian : he founded a mission among
the natives on the Hills, which is now supported by funds left by him,
and conducted by tha German missionaries.

438 COMFORTING LETTERS FROM MYSORE.
joy and peace, amidst all the turmoil around ; the need of
patience, amidst all the contrariety of events that happen to us
in the day, knowing and feeling, that dwelling in the presence
of God, all were of a Father's appointment, to try us as gold,
perhaps, in the furnace, maldng us desire to wait, and long for
the day of the Lord's appearing, when all things would be in
their proper course. What I feel in his teaching is, that it
establishes the heart in grace ; and there is something in it that
touches the tender feelings of our nature, which he always seeks
to have brought to His service.
" On the Sunday evenings, in the breaking of bread, we do
feel the Lord is very near to us. It is indeed a happy time ;
Mr. Groves is leaving soon ; his visit has stirred up the saints
to more diUgence, and to seeking the enjoyment of the truth
for themselves."
The Lord graciously allowed him, at this time, much comfort
from the prosperity of his sons. He writes : —
" I have most comforting letters from Mysore : they seem to
be looking happily on everything ; yet, what is all to one look
of recognizing love from His face, who breathes peace into the
soul ? I tell you this that you may not think things are more
trying here than they really are. As far as I yet see, all is as
promising as we could wish. No 1 all my difficulties are within,
and had I but faith as a grain of mustard-seed, I know every
trial would, in a moment, be put to flight. I feel far less able
than I once did fully to participate in their worldly prospect ;
the hope of having everything clear is very pleasant, but I
have long ceased to trust in present appearances, and only
desire to look to the Lord for deUverance or peace. I feel I
deserve nothing, and whatever befell me, I could with my
whole heart honestly acknowledge the Lord is righteous, and I
am wicked, and never can receive the half I deserve, of correc
tion and chastisement, at His hands.
" Aug. 30th. — I have been much struck of late with the
pdgrim character stamped on all those who have left Egypt,
and on whom the blood of the Paschal Lamb has been sprin
kled ; staff in hand, loins girt, shoes on the feet, and all in

HE LEAVES OOTACAMUND. 339
haste for the promised land. Surely, if we were always thus
equipped, we should think little of the trials by the way ; the
land of promise beaming brightly before us, we should think
much of the end, and little of the road. However unwise or
thoughtless I may have been, or any of us, I feel never unable
to look to the Lord to blot out the sin of our foolishness, and
to grant fuU and perfect deliverance ; indeed, if I give myself up
heartily and entirely, to His service, I feel fuU confidence as
to His love in taking care of aU our concerns, Uttle or great
as they may be."
This is the last entry in his journal while on the HUls ; the next
is written on his way back to Chittoor, by Pallhully, where his
sons resided, and where he had the comfort of finding aU his
hopes concerning their undertaking fully reaUzed, and they
themselves going on very happily. i
Nothing of peculiar interest occurred on this journey ; it was
marked by incidents common to travelhng in India, for instance,
such as the following : —
" Sept. 1st, Goondlepett. — We slept last night at the Kul-
hutty Bungalow, and this morning came down to Tippookar-
doo, where we had a Yery primitive breakfast, as to manner,
without table or chairs. I have ridden on before to this place,
to prepare dinner, and, to my dismay, instead of finding my
' bandy ' here, I hear the wheel is broken. They say it is being
mended five miles behind, but when it will be ready I know
not." He had the comfort of being accompanied by Christian
friends. Of one to whom he had been made a blessing when at
Chittoor, he writes : —
" If I am none the better, but rather the worse, for my
sojourn in these lands, dear E. O. is the better. We have
been very happy in our journey : her cheerful, happy enjoy
ment of her Father's love makes me often feel as if water had
reached my own withered roots, till something arises to dispel
the charm : however, the journey down with them both has
been very pleasant, and I do desire to remember it as an un
deserved mercy."

440 THE EXALTATION OF JESUS.
On leaving Mysore, he went to Bangalore, where he enjoyed
seeing many Christian friends. In reference to four native
girls, brought up in Mrs. Groves's school, he writes : —
" Mr. Rice's catechist has married Yengetty, one of
those we sent to Bangalore, when you left. He fixed upon
her, because he thinks her really influenced by Christian
principles." On the whole Mr. Groves's mind seemed at this time, more
occupied with things at a distance, than with those around him.
He writes to his wife : —
" I do pray the Lord will keep you from entering into curious
questions at home. I beUeve all those subjects which cause
such contention, are really as the smaU dust of the balance, in
comparison with the preservation of love and harmony in the
body. May you be able to seek to establish all in grace ; for
God has given you a heart to feel the preciousness of His saving
power and His forgiving love : and this is the class of truth
that draws all hearts personally to Jesus and one another ; be
content to appear ignorant about many things which others
think they know a great deal about, if you may but be per
mitted to exhibit Jesus, precious to all — His meekness, His ten
derness, His forbearing pity in the midst of all our weakness
and perverseness, dwell upon ; and be assured God's Spirit wdl
be with you : the exaltation of Jesus is the saints' proper work
and true glory ; and be always assured, the tree that is most
loaded with God's fruit, will bend its head most lowlily towards
the ground. In spiritual things humUity and faithfulness
always accompany each other. May you be rich in the love of
the Church of God, for their profit as well as your own peace :
but know nothing of Paul or Apollos.
" I often think of dear Hake's remark, ' the larger the Uon,
the more room for the honey;' and I am sure it is so, had I
only faith to reaUze it ; but it was not till the hand of faith
had slain the lion, that the Lord caused honey to lodge in the
carcase. If I find not honey in the many carcases of lions that
often surround me, it is because I fail in faith to rend their
jaws asunder ; for I know it is not in the lion, living and ram-

RETURN TO CHITTOOR.

441

pant, that honey is deposited, but in the carcase of the lion that
faith has overcome."
In relation to plans for future service, he says : —
" I feel it hard to believe I can be of use anywhere, but I
know it all hangs on the Spirit's enabling my soul to live in
God. I should not say the Lord shuts me up in anything like
despair of being again used by Him ; if I will let Him dwell
in me, and walk in me, as He, I know, desires that I should do.
There are moments when I feel His power slumbering and
ready to be awakened, so that I could preach the truth with
comfort to myself and blessing to others ; then, again, I feel
like a withered stick, like a man in a famine, who is appointed
to carry the bread he is never destined to taste.
" I also saw the dear G. R.'s in Bangalore ; they always
seem so glad to see me. Really, there is something in the
open-hearted freedom of Indian hospitality that is very at
tractive." On his return to Chittoor, he writes : —
"Sunday, Sept. 12th. — There is something peculiar in the
depression I feel in this place ; it is Uke a leaden atmosphere
pressing on my heart ; and I sometimes think it is the Lord's
rebuke, for having enjoyed so many mercies here for so many
years, so thoughtlessly ; but should the Lord enable me to draw
water freely out of the wells, to rejoice in the Lord, and to joy
in the God of my salvation, all other things would be light,
because at the longest they will soon pass away.
" In reading the third of Isaiah to-day, I was so struck with
the tendency of prosperity to ahenate from God, that I could
be quite content if trial brought me close to God, really and
abidingly ; but my heart seems to walk a little whUe Enoch
like, and then I seem again altogether away from His side. I
do so long to reaUze the one thing needful, even as containing
all the soul desires, or needs, for its happiness. I feel the Lord
has made Chittoor less a source of anxiety than formerly ; but
unless the soul is laid at rest in the peace of Jesus, trouble will
arise, if there be nothing more substantial, from the imagina
tion itself. However, I do desire to cast off all burthen of

442 REMARKS ON CHURCH ORDER.
care from my poor weak head and heart, and to lay them where
they can be borne.
" You will be glad to hear the English school is going on very
nicely ; there are to-day twenty-seven boys in attendance.
Two of them are quite clever, others very intelUgent. I could
be very happy in labouring among them."
The following remarks on Church order were elicited, ap
parently, by discussions of which he heard through letters
from home.
" It is before the Church at large that the minister of God
stands to be judged ; and there is no featnre more truly charac
teristic of the early steps of decline into Popery, in the second
and third centuries, than removing the Church from the exer
cise of this their bounden duty. The flock of Christ in whom
the Spirit dwells, is as competent now to know whom the Holy
Spirit has qualified to be a minister of the word as in the
days of the apostles, both by comparing the word ministered
with the word written, and by the edification they experience
in their own souls : nay, if they are spiritual, they are bound to
recognize such ; yea, their recognition is essential, not to the
ministry of the word at all, for that every member holds from
the Spirit only, but to any individual's exercise of it in any
congregation of saints. I feel that a stated, recognized minis
try is essential to Church propriety and spiritual order.
"In theory nothing can be more simple and apparently
true, than, that if you are all ' baptized into one body,' by
one Spirit, you ought to speak the same thing, and be of the
same judgment ; but in fact, nothing is more certain than
that, notwithstanding the unity of the body and the unity of
the baptism, this is not, and never has been the case : we must
therefore, in a multitude of cases, leave every man to be ' fully
persuaded in his own mind.' In smaller matters, this will be
easy ; in graver, it will be better to form smaU separate house
holds of faith in love, each preserving their conscience invio
late, than that either party should coerce others into their views
and opinions. Uprightness of conscience is essential to all
spiritual prosperity, but coercion into some judgment is not.

443
Infinitely better is it for each household of faith to seek to walk
in all things well-pleasing to the Lord, than to undertake the
management and direction of other households. The unity of
the national family is not destroyed by each household acting
for itself, as long as all act for the welfare of the nation, and
within its appointed laws ; and even if these are transgressed,
every individual cannot take the place of judge, but those to
whom it is appointed by the king. If those who judge can show
the king's commission for pronouncing sentence upon another
man's servant, and calling him to the bar, well; they all toe the
right of passive judgment, namely, by withdrawing from him,
or from any household of faith, if they think he or it is walking
against the wiU of their Lord, but here I consider their author
ity ends ; and certainly, for myself, I could not exercise more ;
nor should I feel caUed upon to submit to more, except from
the household of faith to which I more immediately belonged ;
to them I would concede much, and from them be subject to
much more. What I mean is this, if all the households of
faith in England were to unite in bidding me cease teaching,
I should consider their authority nothing, if my conscience
stood clear in the matter ; but if the household to which I felt
myself called to minister were to desire me to cease, I should
at once feel it right to do so, notwithstanding any clearness in my
own conscience as to their being in error in their judgment.
I think this mode of pressing unity adopted by some, is most
absurd. " I have just finished dear G. Muller's ' Brief Narrative of
Facts,' relative to the orphan-houses, and can truly bless God for
the graee and faith that is manifested. It is altogether a won
derful work, and God's favour seems abundantly to rest on it.
I should greatly like to see it, but it will be yet more
blessed to be present, and share in the joy, when they are crowned
hereafter ; if so poor and wretched a cumberer of the ground
as I have been, may yet share the glories of that happy day."
That a change had taken place in his views as to labouring
with his own hands, while engaging in the work of God, is ob
vious from the following extracts.

444 VISIT TO MADRAS.
" I am sure that in the present state of the dispensation,
those who are called to the ministry of God's word, if their
profiting is to appear to all, must give themselves not only to
the study of the word, but to the collective and individual
state of those among whom they minister ; and they must also
watch over the grace of their own souls, that they stumble
none, not even the weakest.
" The writer of the pamphlet, printed at Neufchatel, takes
the same view that I do of the designed ceasing of the gifts in
the Church, but does not support his argument from Eph. iv,
12 — 16, which, I think, shows that the foundation work of
apostles and prophets was intended to be carried on by evange
lists, pastors, and teachers, tUl aU ceased to be ehddren, and
grew up into perfect men in Christ, so that instead of any being
of childish stature* the unity of the whole body should be
accomphshed, by every one aiming at a manly stature and com
pleteness." In September he left Chittoor for Madras, and on his way
he writes : —
" Cleghorn and I arrived about 10 o'clock at Poonamake,
and left at five. There were some who wished to detain me to
minister in the evening, but we could not arrange it. A pen
sioned apothecary, lately baptized there, seems a dear Christian
brother. His wife and sister are still Roman Catholics. He
told me that two more Roman Catholics had joined them, and
that several meetings are held in and near Madras.
" Madras, Sept. 26th. — We had a very nice meeting last
evening. In reading the 30th of Exodus, I think, we see so
clearly that that which made all the wood, stones, gold, skins,
vessels, of every sort and every size, most holy, was not through
any change in them, but from their anointing ; so that I be
lieve, all that the Lord seeks for His service now, is, anointed
hearts, understandings, wills, affections, eyes, ears, tongues,
hands, and feet : it is the anointing we have received which
prevents our needing other teaching. In that Neufchatel tract
I have been very much struck with the statement, that the sea
son of supernatural gifts was that of the infancy of the Church,

ACCOUNT OF THINGS IN MADRAS. 445
and that their withdrawal took place when the Testament was
complete, and the Church left under the guardianship of the
indwelling Spirit, in the period, in short, of her manhood ; that
this is the doctrine of Scripture, I have no doubt, and so far
from the absence of those things, which, at best, were but, in
Comparison of what abides, sounding brass and tinkling cym
bals, being a sign of decay, they mark the period of the
Church's progress from infancy to manhood."
As to the future, he writes : —
" I desire to leave with the Lord all that concerns me, and
to wait His good pleasure ; for it is so necessary to realize that
what the Lord orders is truly well, and will ultimately be
proved so to all His children. May He give us power to plead
with Him for paths of righteousness and the holiness of truth,
that circumcising of the heart to love the Lord our God with a
constraining love."
" Sept. 30th. — I went this morning and saw poor Mr.  ,
whose wife died about three weeks ago ; he was in a very happy
and holy state of mind ; he feels this affliction has drawn him
nearer to Jesus, as the staff of his life.
" I am going to the meeting at Black Town this evening.
Things are, I think, in a happier state now than when you
were here. They give the nicest account of the meeting at
Poonamalee, to which I hope to go, as they are so anxious I
should do so.
" Oct. 1st. — I had a nice little season last evening at Black
Town. I endeavour to press upon them the effect of God's
teaching, namely, ' great shall be the peace of thy children.'
When we learn about the truth of God, if He be not the
teacher, it leads to strife and debate, but when He teaches, that
very same truth brings peace with God and peace with one
another. The dividing about Paul, and Apollos, and Cephas,
kept the Corinthians, with all their gifts, 'carnal' and 'babes,'
needing milk rather than strong meat ; and the same evU has
the same effect now.
" I cannot tell you how nice the spirit of the brethren has
become. Besides the original meeting, there is a little

446 HIS MINISTRY IN MADRAS.
party of the 94th Queens, who assemble every Sunday at dear
B  's office to break bread, and as there is no jealousy about
one table or two, aU is going on in love and harmony ; they
meet constantly, two, three, or four of the one party go to
worship, and break bread with the other Uttle Church, showing
that one table in a place is no more necessary to real spiritual
unity, or love, as some persons absurdly insist, than one table in
a kingdom. " The only thing really of importance is, ' what has the Lord
said V and to find out this, we must, I am sure' wait on God's
teaching by His Spirit.
" Oct. 3rd. — I am just now returned from the Fort, where I
met some of the Queen's 94th ; seven of us broke bread toge
ther. There is much to interest one here."
Of a friend who seemed nigh unto death, he writes : —
" I find it is now decided that dear Cleghorn returns to
England. He is supposed to be in consumption. I feel for his
poor father, whOse only son he is ; however, it is the Lord's
way of bringing him near to Himself. Truly, whatever makes
Jesus precious, and eternity a reaUty, is most blessed, though it
cuts up aU earthly things by the roots. 0, that I knew fully
what it is to love the Lord and hate all evil ! how blessed, how
happy it would be ! how Uttle would things then trouble me,
which now seem hard to be borne. Dear C is in a
sweet subdued state, and delights in prayer and communion
with God.
" Oct. 4th. — We had alarge company last night at our meeting ;
four came in from Black Town, three from Vepery, besides a
Captain and Mrs. Hayne, who says, she heard me preach at a
shoe-maker's in Barnstaple.
" After I had been to read and pray with dear C  , this
morning, he told me he never expected to reach England. I
much enjoy being with him ; he seems to receive his summons
so set his house in order so quietly. My heart so realized the
blessedness of such a message, such a prospect of relief from
unnumbered trials connected with spiritual life. The Lord is
so worthy to be loved, and yet the heart so Uttle responds to

EVIL f)F DIVISION. 447
His claims, I often have before my mind the man who knew
his Lord's will and did it not. If it were not for the holy
anointing oil that makes most holy, I could not think of even a
snuffer-stand's place in the Lord's house."
Of two clergymen whom he met at a friend's house, he
writes : —
"They are both truly Catholic inspirit; and see that the
great evil of the Establishment has been the limitation of
ministry to the clergy. They quite admitted the beauty of
that work going on in the City Mission, about which I felt so
much interest.
" I have a little reading and prayer once or twice a day with
dear C  . I feel it very profitable to be with him; he
seems to see everything in connection with eternity, and desires
the sincere milk of the word, that he may grow thereby.
" There is such an infinite littleness in all those thoughts
about which men divide from, and judge one another : no
aspect of them seems powerful enough to bring them distinctly
before one as objects of spiritual vision, much less to make
them of magnitude and importance sufficient to separate the
heart from those it loves. I often bless God for enabling me to
feel I belong to all that belong to Him, and that I have no
Call that makes it imperative on me to separate from any house
hold of faith, because of evUs that may exist among those in
whom the Lord dweUs and walks ; neither have I any prohibi
tion against forming part of any such household, where my own
soul is edified ; so that I never feel I separate from one because
I unite with another. If I am hindered from intimacy with
many, it is because they have, of their own wiU, annexed terms
that I cannot comply with. I believe they do it conscientiously,
though, I think, wrongly; but I feel no heart-division from
them on this account. I rejoice in all the Lord's goodness has
vouchsafed to them, and show my love and oneness with them,
as fuUy and as often as I can, publicly and privately owning all
the congregations of the faithful in the land, ' but none of their
system.' "
" Oct. 1th. — Some things try me in connection with my

448 GOES TO POONAMALEE.
affairs at Chittoor, but I know that these are to teach us the
Lord's wiU, that we may do it, even when all is dark : all little
disappointments are sign-posts in the way, to make known the
Father." Speaking of some little publications which had interested
him, he says : —
" I never read that little book called ' Precious Truth,' and
the tract on ' Worship,' by dear Harris, but I wish he were
always so employed. How the sense of the once being purged,
and the 'boldness of access,' and the 'new and living way,' re
vives the soul when dwelling on its own intrinsic hatefulness :
truly all this brings in what Jesus calls ' His Peace.' "
Of Macarthy, the soldier, spoken of in 1847, he writes : —
" Oct. 9th, Poonamalee. — I have come over here to see Ma
carthy, and the others who meet here. Poor Macarthy is
still bedridden, but on the whole better than I expected to find
him. Michael seems going on very nicely, and he tells me there
are some vUlagers here, Telegoo people, who receive him most
willingly, and he wants more tracts and copies of the Bible.
He also mentions two heathen who wish to be baptized, but
the brethren thought it better they should wait a little, and
quite feel with them, as the external act is nothing unless un
dertaken in faith. I hope to have a meeting here this evening
in the house of the pensioned apothecary, who was formerly a
Roman Catholic, and then I return to meet with the men in
the Fort to-morrow morning ; and. in the evening at the dear
Bells. But my heart longs for that fervency of spirit which
is the strength of service. O, for that spiritual power, which
led Paul to say ' to me to live is Christ, to die is gain.'
" I saw one of my old overseers, Cooper, to-day ; he is a bro
ken down man, very much altered and sinking ; but I trust
holding by the hem of the garment out of which virtue always
comes to heal those who touch it in faith.
" My present position is one of waiting in every way ; and I
may be kept here, I know not how long, before my business is
settled ; and then there is Mysore : however, the Lord will
order all after the counsel of His own will, and I will try to

MAN -AN IDOLATER. 449
love His will, and feel it ' acceptable and perfect,' however it
may mar my hope or my desires. I do so rejoice He has
allowed you to feel the sunshine of the kindness of those you
love. " Again and again I cast myself on the Lord's compassion
and love.
"Do not cease to pray that all things may be ordered for our
spiritual blessing, however accompanied by crosses and trials.
The latter we shall never regret, if the former be attained.
Give my tender love to our darling boys, Edward and Norris, and
tell them how glad I am to hear they so love one another; I pray
that they may both so love the Lord, that His everlasting arms
may be underneath them for time and eternity 1
" Oct. 14th. — The steamer has just left, and is now on its
way to you. There is something very sad in these messengers,
always going and leaving me behind ; yet the Lord has it all
in His hands, and orders it in love. I can take no step in
my present circumstances ; but I wait for the Lord's pillar to
move. " Mrs. B. has had such a nice letter from Aroolappen. I
think dear G. Midler would be comforted in hearing an Indian
speak that language of faith to which his own heart would so
fully respond."
In reference to some others of a different spirit, he says : —
" How completely man is an idolater of substances or ideas ;
what is all this intense excitement about system or no system,
but fleshly excitement? Neither the mind, or temper, or
grace of Jesus seem to me to have anything to do with the
controversy, and, for the time being, all who are mixed up in
it, are, to that extent, sunk in spiritual power, and become
stumbling-blocks rather than lights.
"Why should those Christians who love and honour
Jesus, and own Him as their only hope, their only stay, and
beUeve that His blood has cleansed them, His Spirit sanctified
them, and that He has ascended ever to live and make inter
cession for them, allow other and infinitely less things to
create such discord and heart-burnings, such strifes and mis-
2 F

450 LIBERTY OF LOVE.
representations 1 I look on a bad system to be a bad thing,
and a good system to be a good thing ; but that any human
beings, acting together, are without some system, I do not
beUeve. I have ever blessed God for our liberty to love and
unite, as our consciences may permit, with any of the assembhes
of the Lord's numerous family ; and though I feel tied down to
none, I feel free to mingle with all, occasionally, if they do not
require of me what I cannot yield, or deny me what I must do ;
and when either of these cases arise, I can only regret the
barrier they raise."
Speaking of some who wrote on the non-eternity of punish
ment, and the final restoration of aU creatures (Satan not
excepted) to God, he says : —
" Really men seem mad in prying into what is not revealed ;
and, being wise above what is written, no wonder if the Lord
aUows them to quarrel and fight one with another.
" Oct. 16th. — I shrink from writing about myself, for I feel
it would be so often hypocritical or painful. There was a time,
not many weeks back, when my heart seemed a Uttle to have
recovered ; the Lord appeared breathing gently on His garden,
and saying to the withered plants, ' Uve,' but, for two or three
weeks, the darkest insensibiUty has generally covered my mind,
with only momentary gleams of spiritual enjoyment. I would
not say I consent to this state, or that I do not hate it, 'or
myself for it ; but still I lay prostrate under its power. While
others are condemning one another for mere formal differences,
I see the anathema, not to he against system or no system,
but against those who love not the Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity. " We have been visiting the Andersons and their schools :
I very much Uke them. Truly they are labouring in the heat
of the day, and the Lord is blessing them ; much as I regret
some of their plans, I feel they are so substantially true to God
that I rejoice greatly in all the grace they manifest.
" Oct. 17th. — I went this morning to the Fort. They told
me that at Trichinopoly, they were going on very happily and,
that twelve had been baptized at one time.

HISTORY OF JEHOSHAPHAT. 451
" I have had to-day much on my thoughts the history of
Jehoshaphat. After walking with God, and being blessed and
enriched by Him, he joined himself three times with the house
of Ahab, once with Ahab himself, once with Jehoram, and once
with Ahaziah, to go to Tarshish. When I think of God's
manifold dehverances in this case, truly we may say He is the
God of all grace. Throughout, mercy rejoices against judgment.
When God's grace does not stay us, how prone we all are
to depart from Him 1 how it humbles the heart to feel
that this is our common nature, and how it exalts the love of
Jesus that He should leave His glory to redeem such as we are !
O, how blessed it must be to have the perfect love of God
enthroned in the heart, and breathing there unhindered by any
motion of sin. O, what a day that will be ! "
AUuding to the uncertainty of his movements in reference to
his return to England, he says : —
" May the Lord show us His hand in all our ways. I feel
often that God is so gracious even when we make mistakes, we
have only to go and confess, and aU is peace and love again ;
there is no stirring up of resentments with Him ; He forgives,
and forgives fully and freely.
" You must not think I have been in any real difficulty of
any kind : the Lord has dealt most gently by me hitherto ;
and if ever I feel weighed down, it is in thoughts for the future;
and this only when faith is not in exercise. I have no doubt
that the Lord will fully take me up, if He leads me into that
place of the soul's rest — simple reliance upon Him. He has
done it in times past, and wUl do it in time to come ; many a
time have I tried Him, and never found Him wanting.
" There is nothing of which I have a deeper conviction than
that all those manifestations of spiritual power, with which
the dispensation was ushered in, were designed to witness to
us, even when they were withdrawn, and also to teach every
one that ministers that all ministrations must owe their vitality
and spiritual energy to His direct operation and power ; and
that our faith is to be exercised in believing and relying upon

452 THE SOUL'S REAL WANT.
this ; knowing that, in the exercise of diligent service, in this
simple dependance, the Lord will own and bless the confidence,
and direct the steps and thoughts of His waiting children, by
His Spirit which dwells in them. If He be owned He will
answer our confidence; if we proceed in the strength of the
flesh, He will disappoint our hopes.
" What we really want is to have our souls brought in con
tact with the spiritual meaning of the truth. The great point
is to get each man to stand in his individual conscience before
God, under the full assurance that aggregate religion is no
religion at all ; there must be a tasting and handUng and knowr
ing the truth for one's self ; and this the mere formal unity,
which binds multitudes, never can give."
The following reflections, and others like them, are worthy
of remark, in connection with the exceeding joy of Mr. Groves's
latter days. They show the deeply humbling work of the
Spirit of God in the soul of His dear servant, while a natural
tendency to depression of spirits ought to be taken into ac
count. But what spirituaUy exercised conscience will not
understand the lamentable difference there often exists be
tween the knowledge of the truth and the realization of its
power 1
"Oct. 23rd. — I sometimes feel sadly depressed:; and truly
I have reason to be so, looking back on a worse than useless
life ; and though I know that grace abounds, my heart is
often quite devoid of all joy. I sometimes think I am too
sedentary ; and after the active life I have led, my present
one of almost entire solitude operates unfavourably ; at other
times, I think the Lord hides Himself that I cannot see Him.
How wonderful a being is man ! how blessed to be able, as
a little child, to carry on all one's concerns with God ! I
do so long to feel that constraining love, which makes all God's
will as meat and drink. O ! if I did know practically all that
I know theoretically of God, how happy I should be ! What
I long for is what I have always felt my soul so deficient in,
the realization of the power of the truth I hold. As I have
often told you, I feel a perfect spiritual paralytic, with a mind

god's BLESSING OUR JOY. 453
to desire, but with members disobedient, or insensible to, the
mind's directing thoughts. Dear C. is often very low, and I
try to keep him up ; but God only knows how much I myself
want what I try to give to him. I know how to point him to
the well-springs, and he can often drink and be refreshed, when
I seem to live merely to benefit others.
" Our Sunday meetings are very pleasant ; we have only
thirteen, but I regret that no one speaks but myself — in many
respects the least qualified, in the present state of my mind.
"Oct. 28th. — J am at times very very low, when I think what
I am, after all the Lord's loving culture; I feel I ought to have
rendered to Him such different fruit.
" What a hard lesson it is to learn to be ' poor in spirit ' as
well as pure in heart ; yet these are lessons that must be learnt,
if we would enjoy spiritual peace.
" May the Lord make me willing to part with all that stands
in the way of His entire blessing, and consequently of my
entire joy ; for there can be no full happiness without a real
hungering and thirsting after it, in close and holy communion
with God.
" I look to the Lord to fill your cup with His blessings, and
O, if it may be, without any share of my sorrows ! The account
of things from the agents is mOst distressing, yet the bow of
the Lord's promise i3 above all; and I do pray that His gracious >
Spirit may so enrich your heart that you may ever sing, ' The
Lord has done all things well.' Faith truly is blessed ; and to
hang on God, in hope, when all is dark, is most enriching ; but
then it is often hard to do this. The love of the dear ones in
Bristol I must acknowledge, for truly at such a time it is most
consoling. As to the sympathy of saints generally, there
is not a sorrow connected with earth that those around me
can exactly enter into ; therefore none can minister those
peculiar sources of consolation and strength which my soul
needs, neither can I open my heart to any. Fellowship in
suffering is needful for spiritual consolation and fellowship in
the joys which sorrows bring.
" In reading H. Yenn's life, I was struck with the sweet

454 DIGNITY IN COMMON THINGS.
savour of Christ, which seemed -to rest on his heart, and his
dependance on the Spirit of God in ministry, mixed though it .
was with sectarian feeling about the system to which he be
longed. Our place is to imitate His grace, and avoid his nar
rowness. " I daily feel the overwhelming importance of being settled
in this truth, that nothing can be done holdy to God, unless
He be the doer of it. It is so blessed to feel that He will
humble Himself to enable us to exercise all ministries accept
ably through Christ ; and not only so, He wiU even enable us
to think, speak, and act graciously, eat and drink graciously.
Seeing the Lord thus leads His beloved ones, drawing forth, in
every act, praise to the Father, from the loving fountain of the
heart ; it does so dignify common things, to think they are
capable of being consecrated things to God, and sanctifying
things to ourselves. I do pray the Lord may bless you with
that faith that triumphs over every earthly care, for these so
sadly hinder our peaceful communion with God. It is blessed
to know that the Lord has all power in His hands, and all love
in His heart, to supply our wants, and knows all we have need
of. " I do desire to feel the continual out-goings of my soul to be
hungerings and thirstings after righteousness, and then we know
every good thing shall be added. I could not convey to you
the intense cloud that at times seems to rest over my heart,
especially between three o'clock and six in the morning ;
blessed be the Lord's name, it then often leaves me for hours,
but it returns Uke an armed man ; and all to teach me that my
peace, to be an abiding peace, must be all in Him. That truth,
that in His presence there is fulness of joy for evermore, is
sometimes like a ray of sunshine through the clouds of a rainy
day. All my days of sorrow are infinitely less than I have
deserved. After all, nothing can exceed His kindness, nothing
surpass His tenderness.
"Nov. 5th. — I have come to the J. G.'s for a little change.
Dear Mrs. B. has just been here ; I love her much, and feel her
sisterly love and kindness to me. My heart seems to cling to

MADRA8 CITY MISSION. 455
the thought of returning ; but when and how distracts me ; and
I am obUged to stop, by simply committing aU to the Lord,
and saying, ' Thy wiU, not mine, be done.' Then I count over
my many alleviations, my many causes of thankfulness. O,
may the Spirit's voice be allowed to speak in every dealing of
the Lord toward us.
"Nov. 6th. — I went last evening to a meeting for the
establishment of a Madras City Mission, got up by several
clergymen and other dear Christians. I assure you the catholic
love expressed by these servants of God, in the Establishment,
was very touching, and I pray God they may be blessed. There
was such a full recognition that they were all one, and ought,
in every possible way, to exhibit this oneness with aU their
brethren ; such a full recognition, too, that Christ was all in all ;
and that to win souls to Him, was the one object on which,
primarily, all the heart should be set. Mr. T. was in the
chair. Mr. W. E., and about fifty of the persons most inter
ested, were present.
" Nov. 7th. — The Lord has to-day, in His unspeakable
abounding mercy, enabled me to look on all His love and grace
more happily, and the clouds of the many past days seemed
lighter. What I want is the fullest} steadiest rest in Jesus ;
loving Him, delighting only in Him, and Uving only to Him ;
then I know I shall be happy.
" I have sent you a little printed account of the conversion of
a Brahmin at Salem, by which God has comforted the dear
Lechlers. O, what a precious service is theirs, if the heart be
in it. O, that every ray of hope I have may rest on Jesus, and
bind my heart close to Him in aU singleness of holy service.
How precious is the Spirit's work, described in John xvi : how
we need to have Christ's things revealed by Him, that we may
really see them. How, without Him, all is darkness, or cold
intellectual clearness, without fire, without love. I pray you
may be overflowing with all ; for there is no fulness of joy
without Jesus, no real joy but with a heart thawed by God's
Spirit to praise and prayer.
" I am sure there is no value in anything but that which is

456 REAL SPIRITUAL WISDOM.
consecrated to Jesus * nor is there any real joy, but in seeking
to serve Him with undivided heart, where holiness to the Lord
is on everything. Why, then, is it that we so rarely enjoy the
precious privilege of having our wills lost in His, and His ser
vice made our pleasure 1 Why should we feel it trying to be
despised 1 There is so much real spiritual wisdom, in being wil
ling really to be trampled on, and made the offscouring of all
things ; and in this path truly, I would cry unto the Lord,
' what I know not, teach thou me. ' We ought to seek complete
conformity to Him, if we would be happy.
" I have been thinking over 1 John, U,.and in, and especiaUy
of this verse, 'he that hath this hope, purifieth himself even as
He is pure.' What a measure for the heart's desire 1
" I sometimes for a moment feel, as though I might one day
experience the Spirit's power in bringing every thought into
obedience to Christ. I know now it is the only pathway of
service. " If we meet again, I pray it may be in the full enjoyment of
Hjs unclouded love ; and with hearts able to feast on His fat
things, and on none else. Yet, I think our only safe desire is,
that we may be sanctified ; and that, however things may turn
out, we may always glorify God. How striking is that spirit of
contrariety to the World, and victory over it by faith, that
breathes in John's epistle : not merely, that we wUl not pursue
it, but that we will trample it under our feet. 0, may we
be enabled more and more to do this, and be found faithful
unto death.
"Nov. 12th. — I received to-day a nice letter from Gordan,
the EngUsh schoolmaster at Chittoor ; and it makes me quite
ashamed of the Uttle trouble I have taken to stir up, and really
cultivate, their spiritual affections. The duty of writing words
of comfort to the poor saints, especially those who are afflioted,
such as Macarthy and others, has been for some days on my
mind. I think the Lord would own it ; I have written two or
three such letters, and have really been surprised at the res
ponse they have drawn forth. In this country, it is almost all
one can do. I often plead with God His promise that He wiU

GOD KNOWS THE END FROM THE BEGINNING. 457
circumcise my heart to love Him ; then all wiU be easy.
I have so many mercies to recount, both temporal and spiritual.
" Nov. 16th. — The prospect of seeing Henry here greatly
comforts me, as I hope, by the Lord's mercy, some final arrange
ments may be made, that may determine my course. 0, that
it may be towards you ; yet it will be as He orders, who orders
all things well. I am sure He has, in this delay, acted in love,
and that I may have reason to bless Him, more than I yet
know, for having kept me and made me walk in faith day by
day. The sweet fellowship of my dear sons, Henry and Frank,
is very precious, as also their real sympathy."
Lamenting the few who came forward to speak of Christ,
while he was in Madras, he says : —
" 0, if we loved Jesus passionately and truly, and felt His
visits of love clearly, we should find a tongue to tell of His
praise. In addition to all my troubles, I often feel so unable to
speak, that I would give anything to have the theme of praise>
or the subject of teaching, taken up by another.
" 1 8th. — Again a sad day, for with it my hopes of a speedy
return to you have vanished ; but I know all will be as the
Lord sees good ; He knows the end from the beginning, whereas
we see so short a space before us, that the fondest desires of to
day may become the sorrows of to-morrow. I will not write
more ; my heart is too full of thoughts that oppress it ; I will
wait on the Lord for brighter days.
" Nov. 19th. — Dark and dreary as my days often are, as it
respects myself, I have much reason to rejoice about others.
Dear Henry writes from Chittoor, 'I desire more and more to
leave all our arrangements in the hands of God. I hope He
wdl allow us to enter into no connection that He cannot bless
us in.' We ought to rejoice in any measure of trouble that
brings the souls of those so dear to us, into such nearness to
God, and waiting upon Him. I have always felt that all that
most grieves and wounds us is sin, and, therefore, full of sor
row : if our hearts were really troubled under the sense of our
awful worthlessness, none of these things would try us. I often
think I have had so much more of honour and love than I ever

458 FULL ENJOYMENT OF GOD LONGED FOR.
deserved. I abhor the thought that feels wounded about any
thing of self.
" I am glad you have had so much to interest you in England,
and one day we shall understand better than we now do the
end the Lord has had in this most painful separation, so un-
thought of when we parted.
" 19th. — I had a long letter from T. H. I was grieved to
hear so bad an account of his dear sister's health, and that
there was so little prospect of her recovery ; but truly if the
heart realizes the preciousness of Jesus, and our union with
Him for eternity, how the daily sadnesses of life make the
heart long to be with Him. I am so comforted in your
ability to rejoice in the Holy Ghost's work in all saints ; for I
feel this is the Lord's mind and true cathoUcity.
" It is very kind of the Lord to put it into the hearts of His
children to pray for me . 0, that all the wdl of God may be
accompUshed in me, and that I may Uve to His glory. What
I long for is, that full enjoyment of God which satisfies the soul
that it has, in His love, the fuU and overflowing compensation
for every earthly loss.
" The Lord only can put all hearts where, and as, they ought
to be ; to Him, therefore, I look, and on Him I rest, for I see
nowhere else hearts large enough to think no evU, and beUeve
and hope all things, with a love that never faUeth.
"20th. — You may say this is a selfish letter, because my
thoughts wander but a little way from our own concerns ; and
this is my grief and shame, to think all the affairs and sorrows
of the Church, seem to be less than my own httle cares, which
with my small measure of faith, are so, at times, overwhelming;
but may the Lord, with His comfort, greatly rejoice your heart.
However sad the circumstances may be, His banner over us is
love, and He will prove it is so softening and soothing in every
sorrow, bringing good out of every apparent evd.
"The dear Midlers ! I do so deUght in their love and grace.
May the Lord, on whose basket and store they depend, more
and more bless them.
" There is something in our deepest trials so precious, in

GOD TO DEAL WITH, NOT MAN. 459
knowing we have God to deal with, and not man. He,
who can by His angels roll every stone from the cave's
mouth, that shuts us in. I do so pray the Lord may
guide me, and indeed, both of us, into paths where we
may glorify Him."

CHAPTER XIX.
ME. GE0VES VISITS ENGLAND IN 1848 — HIS FEELINGS ON THIS
OCCASION  ACCOUNT OP OVEELAND ROUTE  AREIVAL IN
BEISTOL  VISITS IN DEVONSHIEE, LONDON, AND SCOTLAND 
EETUEN TO BEISTOL  EVENTS WHICH TOOK PLACE THEEE —
SAILS TO INDIA  BEACHES CHITTOOR  ACCOUNT OP HIS
WOER THEEE — CHANGES IN SOCIETY — FAILURE OF HIS OWN
HEALTH.
Having happdy concluded the business which had detained him
in India, Mr. Groves was able to make arrangements for his
departure to England early in 1848. He writes : —
" Jan. 26th. — How wonderful it seems that 1 shall have to
put this myself into the post-office at Malta, to go by Marseilles,
to tell you I am coming in about a week. May the Lord so grant
it ! I am on my way back from Mysore, where I had a very
happy visit, and was delighted to be able to leave them all with
out a care ; they seem so very happy ; and everything, as far as
we can see, is so promising, that not a cloud appears to hang
over their prospects."
Other extracts from his journals, showing the state of his
mind on leaving India, will be read with interest : — -
" When I look back on all the Lord's goodness to me since I
came here, and all my unfaithfulness to Him, the small measure
in which 1 had practically realized those holy principles which
my heart so fuUy owns, how amazing does His love appear,
which has, notwithstanding this, borne with me, and delivered
me from the multitude of my troubles !
" I sometimes think I may find some place for service at home ;
but this wiU depend much more on the measure of communion
I may be able to maintain with God in my own soul, than on
anything else. When the Spirit witnesses powerfully of the

MR. GROVES LEAVES CHITTOOR. 461
love and grace of God, and the preciousness of Christ, then
He makes a place for the soul to speak out what it has found
and felt ; anything besides may bring some little attention to
the creature, but not peace or rejoicing in Him, to whom all
praise is due. What I earnestly pray for is, to be kept in God
with my eye and heart single, and that every measure of earthly
reUef may be only the means of binding my heart more to
Him. " Sunday, Jan. 30th. Vellore. — Here I am, fairly set out on
my journey and voyage to you. I left Chittoor yesterday, at
eleven o'clock, with a multitude of thoughts of all that had
befallen us since we first entered it together, and as to what the
Lord might yet have in store for us. How truly has the Lord
fulfiUed your last words to me ; ' we shall yet praise Him, who
is the health of our countenance and our God !' I do indeed
desire to feel most deeply grateful and humbled, at the remem
brance of the Lord's most undeserved grace, in allowing me to
send the letters which must already have announced to you my
intended return, and the many mercies He has bestowed on all
of us ; it seems even now like a dream, and thus it always is
when the Lord turns our captivity. I do trust I shall find all
those whom we loved, and, above all, who" loved the Lord,
wUling to allow us intercourse with them. There is only one
way of union, that of brethren and sisters with their Lord and
Father, holding communion together by the one Spirit. These
grand principles being admitted, all other things, such as forms
of church order, are, I believe, quite subordinate ; and whilst
not obligatory on any, open to all to be accepted or modified ;
so that this relationship of the body with one another and their
common Head and Father be not denied ; nor the power of the
Spirit hindered. I greatly approve and value a fixed ministry ;
but wiU ever protest against an exclusive one, and especially that
hypocritical freedom, which in words grants liberty, but in fact
denies it.
" I cannot say I concur in dear C.'s judgment as to this omis
sion. Doubtless, he wrote as he felt ; and whilst there may be
to some minds the semblance of an extravagance in his self-

462 REFLECTIONS ON HIS BIRTHDAY.
condemnation, would it not be to many, and most who have his
life before them, and the abiUty to judge for themselves as to
his upright and devoted service, convey rather the same impres
sion as those which the mind receives, on hearing the devoted
apostle of the Gentiles calling himself the 'chief of sinners,'
' wretched man that I am,' ' in my flesh dwelleth no good thing,'
' not worthy to be called an apostle ;' and with B. Beveridge,
again, ' My very prayers need to be prayed over, and my tears to
be washed in the blood that cleanseth from aU sin.' I proceed
to Madras to make final arrangements for leaving ; and to be
enabled to accompUsh this as I desire, I look to the same gra
cious help that has hitherto been granted me ; for only when
the Lord works can it be said, ' who shall let it V
"Feb. 1st, (his birthday,) Poonamalee. — The commencement of
another year of a most unprofitable life. The past year has
been fuU of events, the consequences of which we cannot yet ap
preciate : however, if we have only learnt more to commit our
way to God, and trust in Him, it wiU truly be a profitable les
son for the rest of our lives. How little we thought, when we
parted on the 5th of February last year, that such a space
would now divide us I but I quite as little expected that I
should be on my way to you now with so many of the burthens
that have pressed on me so heavily removed. No language can
do justice to the Lord's exceeding grace ! I have often been
led earnestly to desire that the freedom' from earthly care, the
Lord has given me, may only be used for His glory, so that my
disengaged affections might be set more entirely on heavenly
realities. As it regards things at home, I can see much grace
in the Lord's delaying my return, and it has been important as
it respects things temporal here : yet to be of any use in the
midst of the most blessed opportunities of service, the soul's
living in holy, happy communion with God is essential : I feel,
through life, opportunities are not the things needed by us, but grace
to USE them GBACIOUSLY when presented."
After dwelling further on the many deliverances he had ex
perienced, he continues : —
"When I look around me, I see no hand in bringing all this

ARRIVAL AT MADRAS. 463
to pass, but the Lord's. I am amazed to see my own affairs so
well settled : I feel the Lord has done all things for me, to leave
my mind free to think only of Him, and His love ; but some
times it seems hard to sit and really hold communion with God
alone ; for when I pray the thought of home comes in ; and when
I read His word, something or other to be done, or that I fear
I may leave undone, presents itself to disturb my thoughts :
thus life passes ! how little truly given to God, and yet how
good He still continues to us ! How ought we to follow Him in
our tenderness one to another, seeing He has borne so much from
us." On his arrival at Madras, he writes : —
" I cannot tell you how that pernicious teaching about the
non-eternity of punishment is spreading here. I teU them it is
the gospel of Satan, to give the unconverted comfort in con
tinuing in a damned state ; soothing them by the hope of getting
out of it in the end."
Of the death of Macarthy, which occurred about this time,
he says : —
" The last hours of Macarthy seem to have been fuU of peace.
The last words he was heard to utter were ' grace, grace, grace.'
He was too weak to have much communication with any around
him." In reference to his beloved friends, Major BeU, Stafford, and
others, he says : —
" I cannot teU you the feeling of thankfulness I have in part
ing with them, that we have never had a jar among us for so
many years ; truly this is the Lord's grace, and a mercy for which
we cannot be too thankful.
" Feb. 13th. — The Lord allows me to cast myself on Him ;
and I have every prospect of meeting you with a measure of
freedom from anxiety, that I have not known for years.
"Feb. \6th. — I am now off Ceylon, and hitherto have had a
very pleasant passage. Dear Mr. Fox, who is my feUow pas
senger, is a great comfort, but I fear he is very id. I was much
struck this morning with the Lord's declaration that He would
put wisdom into the hearts of all who were employed about

464 A DAY IN CEYLON.
the tabernacle : though there was only one Bezaleel, yet each
had especial wisdom given for his own work ; how much more,
in the spiritual building, do we need the Lord's guidance and
Spirit, for the right ordering of everything. If we are to do all
to the glory of God, we must do all by the Spirit of God.
" Feb. 1 9th. — We spent yesterday at Galle, in the house of
a dear Christian old man of the name of Mooyaart. Our visit
was very interesting, and we thought the country beautiful
We put out ten passengers, and have taken in twenty-five,
chiefly from China. Really it is wonderful to find this mode of
travelling, now almost as regular as the meeting of stage-coaches ;
the steamer from China meets the steamer from Calcutta, and
they expect soon to meet the steamer from Australia, so that a
voyage round the world will be thought Uttle more of than a
journey, a hundred years ago, from London to Aberdeen.
" Feb. 20th. — I feel so thankful for all the experience through
which the Lord has led us, and do trust we may really be the
wiser and happier for it. It is such a blessing to have sons who
can fully appreciate God's principles of acting, so that nothing
appears to them in vain. Now we have really turned round
Ceylon, we do indeed seem speeding home, and a flood of possi
bilities and probabilities, as to what may meet me there, comes,
at times, across my mind ; but I try to cast all the future on the
Lord. I was reading Bonar on Leviticus yesterday, and was
much pleased with it. I do not say that he, any more than his
predecessors, in interpreting types, commands one's entire confi
dence, — yet, the ideas he puts before the mind are such as one
feels to be profitable.
" Feb. 22nd. — How striking are the cleansing sacrifices for
leprosy and for all uncleanUness ; the slain bird, and the running
water ! How instructive the conditions of the whole burnt-
offering and the free-will offering ! uniting the inexorable justice
and the wonderful grace of God ; and that when our persons are
justified by the one sacrifice, our acts of service, in all their
weakness, are accepted.
"25th. — I think the heart is often impatient when it should
be abounding in praise.

SAILING UP THE RED SEA. 465
, " I conversed last night with Mrs. S., on the preciousness and
deep importance of seeing the place, and feeUng the power, that
the blood of Christ occupies in God's plan of pardon ; for I feel
very much that here lies our great deficiency in ministry. In
reading Leviticus, which, with all its grace, abounds in the
mention of substitutions and of blood, this is deeply impressed
on the heart.
"March 1st. — We are now sailing fast up the Red Sea,
having left Aden the day before yesterday ; it is a most curious
place, having a harbour, though not a deep one, with hills on
the sea side, high and rugged, without a blade of grass. We
stayed there twenty-four hours to take in coal. I had not
heard Arabic for a long time before ; it so put me in mind of
years passed away. Our steamer is a complete Noah's ark,
crowded with living creatures, and not only is every berth full,
but numbers are obhged to sleep in different parts of the ship,
wherever they can. But still, the expedition and comparative
certainty of this route make up for every other defect. Fox
gave us a nice sermon last Sunday, as to its real truth. We
passed Mocha yesterday ; it is a pretty looking town from the
sea, with two minarets, but of no great height.
" March 2nd. — We are now saihng pleasantly up the Red
Sea; the weather is cool and delightful, and indeed every
thing we could desire, and more than we could have hoped ;
should the same sensible mercies continue to follow us, we may
truly say the Lord has prospered our voyage, as to natural
things ; yet, when we look around, and see so very few who
discern His loving-kindness and tender mercies in all these
proofs of watchful care, truly the heart sinks at our common
ingratitude, and can only remember His marvellous love.
" Amidst all man's littleness, how blessed it is to feel that
God's greatness covers all, and that in , Him we have peace,
pardon, and Ught, so that, if we desire it, He wiU Himself
become to us all we need.
"March 25th. — After having sailed along the beautiful
coast of Spain, with the snowy mountains of Granada in view,
we entered, yesterday morning, the harbour of Gibraltar, but
2 G

466 MR. GROVES REACHES ENGLAND.
were not permitted to go on shore. How fuU this whole
voyage is of sacred and classical recollections ! hot a place, from
the entrance of the Red Sea, that does not recall the history of
long passed generations. The sea has been so quiet that I have
been able to write nearly as weU as on shore. This is Saturday;
on Thursday or Friday we land at Southampton, and shall
then look to the Lord for a happy meeting and happy news."
It was on the 20th of March, 1848, that Mr." Groves landed
in England, and joined his wife in Bristol, where he had ever
experienced more sympathy and feUowship than elsewhere. In
the course of the year he visited both the north and south of
Devonshire, and had much Christian communion with the
people of God. The foUowing extract shows that he had
happy communion with brethren in London. He writes to his
son: —
" I have been to Orchard Street to-day, both morning and
evening, and spoke both times. I have some confidence that
there is a growing desire to be free from dependence on man in
many ways ; and if it only terminates in wUUng dependence on
the Lord, aU will be well. We are Uving in wonderful times,
and it is difficult to see where things wdl terminate ; civilly,
socially, or rehgiously, everything seems fermenting into some
new form of things, and we need much prayer that we may
stand fast, and, having done aU, to stand.
"Last evening, I went to hear Abrahams preach ; it was an
excellent sermon. During the deUvery of it, he was led to
express himself concerning his state in Exeter, little thinking 1
was there to hear him. After he had done, I went and spoke
to him, and he came this morning to breakfast. Truly he is a
man taught of God, and they say that his chapel is thronged on
Sundays." Of others, he writes : —
"They have need to Watch lest the theory of the rule of the
Spirit turn into a state of things that dishonours the Spirit.
I feel we want a more practical, searching ministry, leaving in a
subordinate place dispensational teaching and the antecedent
and succeeding circumstances of our Lord's return, especiaUy if

LETTER FROM GLASGOW. 467
mixed with theories, that, as they are taught, may be true or
false. What we want, is spirituality of mind, subduedness of
spirit, an ability to look on another's things, rather than our
own, and power to manifest our spiritual strength by our abiUty
to bear with weakness in others, rather than by our skdl in
finding out faults and failings alike in persons as in systems."
From Weymouth, he writes : —
"I preached for dear Deck last Sunday, whUe he was engaged
in the viUage, and had a large congregation."
Before returning to Bristol, he went to Scotland alone, and
he writes from Glasgow, in October, to his wife, alluding to
probable causes of detention : —
" How happy shaU I be when all our business is completed,
and we on our way to India ! yet the Lord has holy purposes
in all these trials, and the heaviest are not the half of that I
have deserved, so that I can only kiss the rod when trials come.
As to the future, aU I ask is, that it may be ordered of Him,
so that we be sanctified and He glorified. Do let us pray that
these two objects may be more and more present before us, as
permanent, abiding principles of action ; may we be less anxious
for the removal of trials, than for the manifestation of God's
glory in them. Pray that I may come to you in peace and in
joy of the Holy Ghost — this I have sadly needed of late ; but I
do trust all has not been in vain. Truly, the Lord has so made
me feel how trying and fuU of bitter carefulness the things of
this world are, that had I not purposed long since to quit them,
I should have now longed to be free from all."
In allusion to the Persian youth from Bagdad, who studied
in Glasgow for his degree, he says : —
" Dear Serkies is weU remembered here, and has left a sweet
savour of Christ behind him. O, that we may all of us live
as the truly circumcised worshippers, who ' worship God in the
Spirit ; rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flesh.' May God's grace abound towards ns to this end."
He also visited his Madras friend, Dr. Cleghorn, who had
much recovered. He describes his communion with him, as
" deep -and happy," and says, nothing can be kinder than

468 WINTER IN BRISTOL.
my reception by his father and aunts. He writes to his
wife : —
" I long to read the book our heavenly Father has given us,
with eyes anointed with His eye-salve. I have so prayed,
during my journey here, that we may be only His, the few
years we have to dwell here. I feel there is no happiness
but in the measure of our consecration to Him, and receiving
"everything from Him."
The winter Mr. Groves spent in Bristol, he writes from
thence to his eldest son : —
"Dec. \4th. — There is a great deal of most interesting
spiritual work here, and all that is needed is spiritual power
to carry it on effectually and happily. I think the allusion
to true Church unity, in Acts vii, 42, is most important. They
continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship,
and in breaking of bread and prayers. Where these unities
are, there is real fellowship and power, and in the measure
in which any one is wanting or defective, the true principles
of essential unity are wanting. Much of this true unity may
be found here ; but what we want is, the power of individual
communion brought to bear on the collective communion of the
Church. For myself, I daily feel the Lord has laid claim on
what I once so desired to give Him — my time, my thoughts, my
all. May He give me grace to give it, and enable me in the
end so to see your labours so prosper, that this retirement from
all earthly care may be possible to me. I greatly desire to be
patient under the hand of God. I have given the Lord just
cause for all His controversy with me, and I would not com
plain at any of His holy ways.'"
Bristol, Jan. 17th, He writes to his son : "I could not enter
very fully into the contents of your last letter : all that I can
say is, that our present place of power is waiting upon God.
When I look on aU His ways, I am surprised at no acts of
grace ; He has so abounded in grace toward us, and most
especially in our unity of thought in spiritual matters. I feel
the Lord will bless all that largeness that is Uke His own heart,
but the sectarian narrowness, that is the glory of many, He

LETTER TO HIS SON. 469
abhors. I have a deep conviction of the soul's undivided conse
cration to God for its happiness and power. I quite feel that
if the Lord has caUed and fitted us for His work, He will soon
make the crooked things straight and the rough places smooth.
May the Lord guide you in all your ways !
" I feel thankful I have been away a little ; my sleep is
better, and my mind more tranquil ; and I can often hope in
God that I shall be soon quite free to serve Him without dis
traction. Let us pray that we may now Uve more by faith
upon the Son of man  Being free from the sound of
division is a relief that goes to my inmost soul. Let us deeply
enter into the preciousness of constant communion with God
about everything ; I feel this is the secret of safety and true
holiness ; here I have been deeply wanting ; through this a
thousand sorrows have entered my heart ; and though the
Lord's love, I know, wiU not let aU the consequences of this
evil fall on me, the scars will remain as signs and warnings.
Pray that our hope, joy, and every other spring of happiness,
may be more and more in God alone. We have much to pray
for, but a gracious God to pray to, and our Father loves us,
and will only deal with us after the counsel of His own love.
My soul finds need of living much with God. At times I feel
I have so much to be thankful for I know not from what my
trial springs ; but so it is with all my blessings ; my heart is
very sad, yet it would be ungrateful not to say I have been
happier and more at rest in God these last few days than for
many days past ; all I need and long for is, close and real com
munion with God."
Mr. G. experienced much joy and refreshment, while in
Bristol, among the believers who meet for communion at
Bethesda and Salem chapels ; he ministered among them, and,
in watering others, was himself watered. The blessed Lord,
however, whose wiU it was to bring him into the conflicts,
which seem to be the accompaniments of our present imperfec
tion in knowledge and in grace, made him share with these
beloved brethren the sorrow caused by the introduction among
them of certain questions, relating to the experience of Christ

470 MR. GROVES LEAVES ENGLAND.
while on earth, which, at this time, caused division in Plymouth.
Mr. Groves shrunk greatly from the controversy, and his feel
ings with regard to it may be gathered from the following
observations, made by him when the matter was first put
before him : —
" I always feel the very attempt to subject the one adorable
Christ of God to a process of mental analysis, is, in its very
operation, desecrating. It has engendered the worst of divisions
in the Church, and will, I beUeve, ever do so; however care
fully, however cautiously pursued. When I look at Jesus as the
Word represents Him, I see one whole of aggregate loveUness,
suited to my every necessity, able and willing to love, succour,
comfort, bless, redeem, sanctify, and make accepted the vilest
and most unworthy : this is all my joy and glory ; Jesus,
descending, dying, ascending, and returning to bless and take
His own, is my aU and in all."
In these sentiments, his friends and brethren in Bristol fully
participated. Mr. Groves deeply sympathized with them in
the trials which came upon them on this occasion ; and he was
thankful for the opportunity given him of strengthening their
hands ; though, as on a former occasion in India, he had to
suffer, on behalf of others, the unkind words of many ; his soul
reposed in the truth as it is in Jesus, and he had the comfort of
seeing many blessings spring out of these very circumstances
which seemed to threaten the godly quietness and peace of his
beloved friends. When writing, in allusion to these events, to
Mr. Butler, a deacon of the Church at Bethesda, Mr. Groves

"May the Lord make the assurance of His favour that
which compensates for all other trials. The more I contem
plate and dwell on the whole of the past in connection with
the course pursued by the people of God in Bethesda, the
more I feel I have reason to praise God that they were
allowed to act with the wisdom they did, in so difficult and
trying a matter."
He only remained a year in England, and left for India,
with his wife and adopted daughter, June 20th, 1849, in the

ARRIVAL IN INDIA. 471
Wellesley. Lord Oongleton and other friends accompanied him
to the ship.
On his arrival at Chittoor, he thus writes to a beloved
friend, Mr. J. E. Howard of Tottenham ; —
" We had on the whole a very happy voyage out. Ten
or eleven persons attended our daily Scripture reading, which
was not for one day interrupted. One of' the Church mis
sionaries and his wife always attended, also a dear Christian
brother of the Establishment, Mr. Arbuthnot.
" We had a school among the soldiers every day, at which he
and the missionaries attended, though it originated with us ;
and two soldiers, we trust, were brought to the saving know
ledge of Jesus, during the voyage. This was a bright spot : our
companions, dear F. Lawford and his wife, and his sister Mrs.
H. Lawford, were a great comfort to us.
" On my arrival, I found everything immediately Relating to
myself and my affairs nearly arranged and that most hap-
pdy. The government had at last granted me the lease of my
farm ; and I heard nice accounts of my sons, to whom I intend
to proceed in a few days.
" The changes that have taken place here during our absence,
have been greatly for our comfort. I had my pubUc meeting
last evening, and the Judge, Collector, and Doctor were pre
sent, and seem very anxious to join in everything, except our
morning meeting."
Feb. 10th, 1800. — After announcing the birth of his Uttle
girl, which took place on that day, and which was a source of
great joy to him, he writes to his sister-in-law : —
" You know the intense rehef of having all your anxieties
removed, and all your wishes and prayers answered. 0,
that the Lord might but make this Uttle one, and our sense
of His grace in giving it, the chain that binds our hearts more
to Him who has given her to us."
June 4th, 1850. — To Mr. Butler :—
" DaUy I feel my sympathies drawn out more and more for
Bristol and her fields of labour, and I bless God that I am
caUed to feel one with the saints there in their sorrows and in

472 A SHAKING IN HINDOO SOCIETY.
their joys. I mean, especially, of course, those dear brethren
with whom I was associated, and with whom I long to be asso
ciated again. The Lord also seems setting me free to return ;
indeed, when I contemplate the mountains of difficulty that, on
leaving England, seemed to beset my path, and how, one by one,
so many of them have passed away as a mist from the moun
tain, I can only wait and expect that aU which remain will,
in His good time, take their flight also.
" How wonderful the Lord's dealings with G. Midler, that
amidst all his trials and opposition, he should have been so up
held and carried as on eagles' wings. That these orphans
shoidd have been fed, and clothed, and instructed, and cared
for, how it shows the Lord's marveUous deaUngs. I was
deUghted to hear dear Mr. Craik was returned, and minister
ing so happUy.
" May the Lord grant to us a spirit of simple dependence
upon Him, and determination to call no man our master upon
earth ; for man changes and the Lord remains the same, and aU
who seek him ddigently shall find Him. The Lord seems,
here and there, to be manifesting His power in this country,
and I should never be surprised to hear of great results, numer
ically, if not spiritually ; there is a shaking and heaving in
Hindoo society in some parts that portend yet greater results
in due time.
"I was delighted to hear you stiU continued visiting the
flock ; it is a point I should pray the Lord to give me a due
sense of the importance of, if I were to return. I feel that
ultimately the trials that have been brought upon God's people
in Bethesda wdl redound to their peace and blessing ; she wiU
be left more simply with God and His truth, and from these
Uving waters and inexhaustible fountains have to draw, and
not from the shallow and rocky streams of man's fancies, which
so many in these days have mistaken for deep wisdom. I am
sure we have to keep a conscience clear with God, and leave
man to act as he wiU and pray for the violent and unreason
able. " Chittoor, July 24th, 1851. — Bristol is ever near our hearts,

ASPECT OF THINGS IN INDIA.

473

and all its circumstances — its wants, cares, and blessings — those
in which we sympathize and rejoice. The result of the meet
ings has been just what I anticipated ; and a calm, quiet, and
decided course wdl, with the Lord's blessing, preserve peace in
your own borders.
" All that any are doing now is to gather out stones, which
the great Master Builder will one day arrange and put in
order. " Dear G. Mliller wrote us by the last Bombay mail of his
new contemplated orphan house. I feel he has taken counsel
of God in aU his present course, and so beUeve we have a right
to be assured, that God, in whom he has trusted, wdl order for
him, and direct him.
" The general aspect of things in India is never strikingly pro
gressive, yet I think there is a deepening effect produced. The
other day a Brahmin and his wife were baptized, who had
come to the knowledge and behef of the truth through his
own readings of the word, without any human instrumentality
in the way of teaching. There was another Brahmin and his
wife also baptized at Madras, and Bowden and Beer have con
tinual accessions to their number ; so has Aroolappen ; and in
TinneveUy 12,000 come over professionally. I should think, in
that district, there are now more than thirty thousand alto
gether. There is evidently here a more decided impression
making, and consequently more decided hostihty. We had one
Uttle boy, about thirteen, who had expressed his strong desire
to become a Christian, and has been locked up by his parents
nearly three months, and only returned to school two days ago.
You would be much interested in observing their inteUigence in
the things of God ; their improved moral judgment, and their
deep sense of the shamelessness of their own idolatry and its
attendant circumstances. The heart, however, is often bowed
down to see how little effect is produced ; but when, on the
other hand, the culture bestowed is regarded, how little it is
how few there are to work at all, and when the inconceivable
hindrances that their social state, besides their language, presents
to anything Uke intimate access to them, the surprise lessens."

474 ENGLISH SCHOOL AT CHITTOOR.
On his return to Chittoor, Mr. Groves suoceeded in re-estab
lishing the English school, to which he thus aUudes in a
letter to Mr. J. Howard : —
" Dec. 8th. — You would be astonished, in spending an hour
or two at my school, to see the number of intelUgent natives,
who seem inteUectually as sensible of any mistake in the inter
pretation of our Scriptures as they are of the baseless character
of their own systems.
)' The other day, three of the most interesting Brahmins, who
sometimes come to my service of an evening, having read in a
firact the prospect the writer thought there was of eventually
overturning aU the, existing system of evU, and of setting up
the MiUennial one of glory and blessing, went to Mr.
Lovell, the first judge here, and asked if he thought it Scrip
tural ; for the Bible seemed clearly to say that, at the Lord's
Second Advent, things would be of the same character as in the
days of Noah, &c. The judge, though not very conversant
about these matters, answered them by saying he thought the
tract was wrong : this he told me himself, and I merely men
tion it, as showing, that whatever measure of present effect
there may be, there is certainly, in their inteUigence of that
truth, a preparation for some great change going on. Our exa
mination will take place about the 28th ; for one year I consider
they have made great progress, and the most satisfactory part
of their school history is, the constancy with which they
attend. Out of one hundred, there are seldom ten absent, and
the schoolmaster I have is such a dear brother in the Lord, so
conscientious, and so clear in putting the truth before them,
and in drawing their attention to the contrasts their system
presents to the word of God ; and there is something in the line
upon line system, that is peculiarly suited to this people.
"Dear Aroolappen, as also the Bowdens and Beers, seem
going on very nicely, and the Lord is owning their labours.
" My own heart has often turned towards home, and I wait
the Lord's leisure to show me the way and the when. The last
twelve months, things have been darker, rather than clearing
up : now things are apparently somewhat opening, but stiU by

GERM OF THE HEAVENLY CALLING. 475
no means clear, yet when God's time is come, it is wonderful
how difficulties remove : the high places sink and the low
places rise, and the way becomes as a plain. Those to whom it is
given to know this is not their rest, and that, having food and rai
ment, they must be content, are made to feel the reason why
so many of the family of God are in trial is, that, as a state, it
most leads to dependence on God. The moment a man feels
adequate to his own wants, his tendency is always to self-reU-
ance, and in order to destroy this, the Lord comes in and breaks
His pleasant vessels."
In reference to subjects which occupied so many whom he
knew in England, he writes to the same friend : —
"Jan. 10th, 1851. — It seems aU but absolute folly for any
who hold the oneness of the Church and the oneness of the
Spirit, which in aU ages has been in that Church, to find fault
with N.'s expression, that the 'germ of the heavenly calling'
was known to Christians in former days. Had not Palearius
the 'germ of this knowledge, when he wrote the following pas
sage : ' verily, a man may say, that the Christian hath been
naUed to the cross, buried, raised again, and is gone up into
heaven, become the child of God, and made partaker of the
Godhead V The phraseology at preseint connected with this
doctrine, may have been unknown, but, I beUeve, the heavenly
calUng of the church, its death to present things, and its living
in the risen glory, have been, in aU ages, the general doctrine :
some of the worst corruptions of the Church of Rome, had
their rise in a false profession of these very truths. The order
of mendicant friars, who renounced all property on the earth,
was founded on the idea of their being civilly dead, and already
associated with the heavenUes. All these theories and profes
sions of theoretic states, have proved, in their issue, what a very
different thing it is, to live in the power of heavenly principles,
and to profess and contend about being the only right possessors
of them. My earnest prayer is, .that we may have grace to let
go contention, and quietly follow our Master, seeking to adorn
the doctrine of our God and Saviour in all things. I am sure
what we all need is, to be humbled for the absence of that

476 MINISTRY IN CHITTOOR.
close Walking with God, in our souls, which is the power of the
inner man ; and I feel all these contentions tend to occupy us
with things without ourselves, and beget a judging and cen-.
sorious spirit."
Speaking of one he had greatly valued, but who, he thought,
had left the true guidance of the Spirit, through the word, he
says : —
"D., acting with God, is one person ; acting against God in
self-wiU, he is another; as different as Samson shorn and
unshorn.'' In March 23rd, 1851, he writes to the same friend : —
" I feel now a little out of the whirlpool of Church trials,
and only hear of the distant rumours of unsubdued distractions ;
but these the Lord wiU, in His own time, bring to a close, when
we have learnt, that judgment of others, and determining ac
curately on their condition, is not the business of a saint's Ufe,
but himself walking humbly with God ; still, wherever we are,
there are trials ; the doctrine of the non-eternity of punish
ment is giving us great trouble.
"I have just written a long letter on the subject, but really
I have lost all confidence in anything but God's Spirit enlight
ening and humbling the heart to become child-like ; this
state alone is safety in the present day of intellectual self-suffi
ciency." His ministry was at this time much prized by the residents
at Chittoor. A weekly lecture was estabUshed, and many
intelligent natives, who had learnt English so as to profit by it,
heard him expound, in a course of lectures, the book of Acts,
where the principles involved in the first formation of a Chris
tian Church among Gentiles, are so clearly set forth.
He was able to give much personal labour to the EngUsh
school, and was greatly encouraged with the progress of the
boys. During the year 1851, he frequently visited his sons in My
sore, in whose prospects he took the deepest interest, and was
able to assist them very considerably by information connected
with their business he had acquired for them at home. The

DEATH OF MR. LOVELL. 477
confidence and unity which subsisted between the father and
his sons, both in natural and spiritual things, and the mutual
help and comfort they derived from their unity of purpose in
aU, was, as his own testimony shows, a great source of happi
ness and consolation to Mr. Groves.
On Monday, Sept. 1st, he had a great loss in the death of a
kind friend, Mr. Lovell, the first judge at Chittoor. His usual
seat at their Sunday meeting was vacant : this was so unusual
an event that Mr. Groves went early on Monday to see if he
was ill, and found him near death, but able to express his joy
at seeing him. He returned in the afternoon, to say he meant
to spend the night with him ; but before seven o'clock he was
gone ! Mr. Groves spoke most powerfully the following Wed
nesday, from Ps. xc, 12, endeavouring to impress the unexpected
event on the minds of others. The loss much affected him ;
not merely from the personal regard he had for him, but that
his friend's mind had become for a long time very accessible on
the subject of religion, in which he, for some time past, took
deep interest. He had lost the reserve he formerly showed on
these subjects, and the change in him was observed even by
the natives. His death, and other removals which took place
about this time, greatly altered Mr. Groves's position in Chit
toor : those who succeeded them did not value his ministry,
either on the Sunday or week day ; and substituted for it, on
Sunday, the reading prayers and a sermon. He was absent for
a time, both with his sons in PalhuUy, and with friends in
Madras, and wrote to his wife : " I have been long feeUng as if
my work in Chittoor were ended." And (alluding to the rejec
tion of his ministry) he says : " I take this as another indication
of the same thing." The truth of this was made, alas ! more
visible before the close of this year, when he visited Madras,
by the entire failure of his health, which, amidst all other trials,
had hitherto remained unaffected, either by chmate or bodily
fatigue. He had the most distressing pains after any exertion,
or frequently after taking food : these pains were thought
neuragic at first, but they quite unfitted him for public speak
ing, as in former days. A severe domestic affliction at this

478 POEM FOR THE NEW YEAR.
time greatly aggravated his illness, and he became very thin.
His feelings, as gathered from his letters, (for he Was detained
in Madras till Jan. 2nd, 1 852,) are more accurately expressed in
a little poem, written for him on the 1st of January, 1852, by
his adopted daughter, who entered deeply into aU his trials, and
desired to comfort him. It is entitled : —
"Lines written for beloved Mr. Groves, on the close of 1851
and beginning of 1852, to comfort him in the new year, by
M. J. L. See Is. xliu, 2.
" 'Tis o'er, with all its many hours of griefs,
And all its anxious cares and kind reliefs ;
And though I know not what this year may bring,
Father ! I plead thy promises and cling
To thee alone ; I know in thee I'll find
Sufficient for my body, soul, and mind.
Yes ! still, though fearful waves of trouble roll,
And cares on every hand oppress my soul,
Oh thou ! — whose never failing Word declares
Thy power and will to help us in our cares,
When passing through the rivers — be my guide,
And strengthen me with strength on every side.
I bring ho pleasant pictures in my hand ;
But, stript of earthly hopes, before thee stand.
I know the sunshine thou canst turn to cloud,
Or make the cloud a favour'd good enshroud ;
And m ore; I know that thou canst give a power,
To see a light arise in the dark hour.
I would not the dark wave remov'd should be,
If on its crest it bears me on to thee.
If trials bring me nearer to thy breast,
Anifix me there, I surely shall be blest.
I only pray that thy sweet presence be
With me in every fire, in every sea.
My wants I tell thee not ; for thou dost know
My every secret thought, and wilt bestow

YET ONE PRAYER MORE.
Whate'er for every passing year I need.
Yes ! on thy choicest blessings I shall feed.
Make but thyself the centre and the scope,
The object upon which I build my hope.
Oh ! make my will like the unfashioned clay,
That leaves to thee the moulding in the way,
That thou shalt choose ; and, like the pliant reed,
Unmurmuring follow thee where thou shalt lead ;
Beady to give to thee, if thou dost claim,
My greatest boon ; and triumph in thy name.
Yet one prayer more ; when this proud will shall be
As subject as a weaned child to thee,
Give me that faith, that child-like confidence,
Which looks to thine own hand alone, and thence
Expects the good sufficient for each hour —
Which trusts thy grace, as well as knows thy power.
A will subdued to thee, a faith which is at ease
Amidst the deepest woes, because it sees
Thine own delivering hand is hov'ring near ;
That perfect love, which casteth out each fear.
Thy helping, guiding presence through each day,
Is all I wish this year, and all I pray."

479

CHAPTER XX.
PAILUEE OF ME. GEOVES'S HEALTH — HIS EETUEN TO ENGLAND
WITH MES. F. GE0VES DETEEMINED ON  HE PARTS WITH HIS
FAMILY AT CHITTOOE  LEAVES MADEAS, WITH CHEISTIAN
FEIENDS, BY STEAMEE, AUGUST 1 4TH  SOME ACCOUNT OF
OVEELAND EOUTE — EXPEEIENCE OF GOD'S HELP IN SICKNESS
AND VARIOUS TRIALS BY THE WAY  HE LANDS AT SOUTH
AMPTON AND GOES TO BEISTOL — SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS MINIS-
TEY THERE  HAPPY VISITS AT BARNSTAPLE, BEISTOL, AND
TOTTENHAM  VAEIABLE ACCOUNTS OF HIS HEALTH — HE
VISITS SIDMOUTH, EXMOUTH, AND TORQUAY  INTEEEST EX
CITED BY HIM ABOUT MISSIONS AT TOTTENHAM AND HACKNEY
 HE VISITS MALVEEN  RAPID DECLINE IN HIS HEALTH AND
HAPPY EXPEEIENCE OF GOD'S HELP IN SICKNESS  HE EE-
TURNS TO BEISTOL  LETTEES AND JOUENALS OF VARIOUS
FEIENDS DESCEIBING THE PEACE AND TRIUMPH GEANTED HIM
AT THE LAST — SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS DEATH AND FUNEEAL.
DuEiNGthe whole of January 1852, Mr. Groves had very severe
attacks of pain, and from this time his health rapidly declined.
At first the most acute pains were in the night ; afterwards they
varied as to time and severity, and he became very thin. Still
his wonderful powers of rallying, when the pain went off, made
his friends hope that there was no cause for alarm.
On the 26th of February he quitted Chittoor with his wife
for Mysore. He suffered much on the journey, and, soon after
this, it being decided that his daughter-in-law, who went first
with Mrs. Groves to the HUls, needed a further change and was
not well enough to go home alone, his friends urged his accom
panying her ; a return to England being recommended for him
also ; and his wife, with all who loved him, desired to see what
the effect of his native air would do, as he was making no pro
gress towards amendment, but daily losing strength in India.

MR. GROVES LEAVES INDIA. 481
The few months which elapsed were spent, as he had strength,
in arranging his affairs, and after much prayer he parted with
his famdy in Chittoor August the 4th, little thinking he saw
them for the last time. All were deeply affected, and many
tears were shed by the natives, who assembled to bid him fare
well. He remained till his embarkation with his dear and kind
friends, at Madras, Major and Mrs. Bell.
He left Madras August 14th, reached Southampton Sep
tember 25th, and went to Bristol, where he had a happy meeting
with his famUy and friends, some of whom were at Clevedon.
He speaks, as usual, of the joy he had as before at Bethesda and
Salem Chapels, wherehe was strengthened to minister on several
occasions, with much profit to others, and blessing to himself.
Early in October, he went to Bideford to see his younger sons,
and took Edward, the eldest of them, then 1 6, with him to
London, to finish his education previous to joining his brothers
in India. His health continued variable ; still he went through
much business, and, at the close of the year, visited his wife's
family, and other friends in the south of Devonshire.
The following extracts from his letters to Mrs. Groves de
scribe his voyage home, and other events of interest till the
conclusion of the year : —
"Madras, Aug. 14th. — The steamer came in last evening,
while the Braces, Buckles, Cottons, and ourselves were met for
prayer ; and now I have only a moment to say, farewell ! May the
Lord watch over you and bless you all. Hitherto hath He holpen
me, and made crooked things straight, and rough places plain.
" Off Ceylon, Monday. — Through the Lord's tender mercies,
we are aU here safe and well, having had a nice run down from
Madras. We got on board about seven o'clock.
" I look back with unfeigned thankfulness for all the mercies
that met me at Chittoor and Madras ; so many things were
arranged and set at rest, that, but for His goodness, never could
have been accomplished.
" Galle, Aug. 1 8th — Here we are, after a beautiful run of fifty-
eight hours ; and we leave it again to-morrow morning at ten.
As we may not remain more than a few hours at Aden, I cannot
2 H

482 DISCOMFORT OF THE STEAMER.
but write a little, to say that the Lord's goodness has accom
panied us hitherto ; and truly we have mercies everywhere to
remember. My heart wanders back to India continuaUy from
all the noise, confusion and discomfort of the steamer, which is
far too small ; still the inconveniences are but trifling, and only
for a Uttle while.
" Our party to cross the desert has been made up of passen
gers from Madras. There is a Dr. Smith on board, whom I
have consulted, and he seems to think that my complaint is
chronic inflammation of the stomach. Till within two days, I
have suffered very little positive pain for any long continuance ;
but yesterday and the day before were days of much suffering.
To-day I am much better, and this I attribute to eating very
Uttle, and that only biscuits.
" When I think of all that passed at Madras, I look to the
Lord to bring quietness and peace out of those troubled waters.
May He order all that Ues before me ! The Buckles and Braces
are very kind, and it is a great comfort to have any that I have
truly communion with, still the whole atmosphere is so trying
that the heart longs to be free from it. There are so many
children, and this adds to the noise.
" Monday, 23rd. — I do not know that the dull monotony of
steamer life presents anything new to relate ; still there are
many mercies daily to recount. I was thinking this morning
how our Lord's position in the earth should reconcile us to all
the Uttle ' contre temps ' we are called upon to bear : ' they
went every one to their own house,' but He ' to the Mount of
OUves.' All we want is to see earth as it wdl be, and heaven as
it is and ever will be ; and then how easily we should be recon
ciled to much that now afflicts us. We had hoped to have made
more way these last two days ; however, we shall surely arrive
in His time, who rules the winds and waves.
" There is a striking instance on board of the inestimable
value of a knowledge of Jesu3. There is a Capt. B., who, I
fear, is dying of a complication of diseases, but so coldly opposed
to the Uving fountains of waters that the gospel opens up !
What spiritual hydrophobia there is in man naturally to the

HE REACHES ALEXANDRIA. 483
waters of life! how he dreads their being brought near him; yet
nothing is too hard for the Lord."
Speaking of the uncertainty of his prospects on his arrival in
England, he says : —
" 1 do not know what may await me at home, but the Lord,
who has hitherto taken care of me and deUvered me, will yet
do so, if He sees it good. I have you all often before me, and
pray we may speedily meet again in the Lord's fulness of blessing.
" Sept. 2nd. — We have this day had a melancholy proof of
the uncertainty of all hopes ; poor Capt. B. died last night, and
his remains were committed to the deep this morning, and since
that, a French colonel has had a coup de soUel. I have felt
Uttle inconvenience from the heat myself, and less pain every
way these last two days. We have just drawn for our cabins,
and we have No. 3, the Braces No. 4, so that we are in the
same party; this is pleasant. Indeed, hitherto we have had
nothing to complain of, but many things to thank God for. I
do not expect we shall reach Suez before next week, but it
matters little ; I feel patient ; quiet waiting is the thing in all
such journeys ; — you cannot hasten matters by impatience, and
it adds much to the discomfort not seeing the Father at the
helm of all one's affairs. O ! for an adoring, reverential, loving
heart, that draws its deepest abiding happiness from the one
overflowing fountain !
"Sept. 4th. — We are now approaching Aden, and I can only say,
hitherto all is weU. I think I feel better than I was ; and I pray
the Lord to restore me, and then what I have to do wiU be easy.
"Alexandria. — We arrived here safe, and passed the desert
without difficulty. I suffered very much from the journey
through the desert ; the pain in my chest was excessive for two
days, but I am better again to-day. At times my heart wonders
at aU that may be before me, and what the Lord's dealings with
us may be. O 1 that all may tend to our estabUshment in holi
ness and truth !
" Sept. 11th. — We are still, hastening on towards Malta ;
the weather is fine."
In allusion to the marriage of his eldest son, (who had been

484 DISCIPLINE OF LIFE, ITS END.
ten years a widower,) which took place about this time, he says:—
" My thoughts often turn towards Henry, and his marriage.
It has in it so much to be thankful for. May the Lord watch over
him, and order everything for him according to the counsel of His
own wdl ! He is our only refuge for happiness ; we can so Uttle
command those circumstances that are essential toourown blessing.
" 12th. — I desire to silence all anxieties by the thought 'the
Lord will provide,' and that each day has its sufficient burthens.
The more I see of natural life, the more I see that there is no
refuge but in God for personal peace, or quiet resting. 0 ! that
the Lord's Spirit may sanctify my return to the fuller establish
ment of my heart in Himself. Pray for me.
"Sept. 13th, Malta.— "We are all safe here, and after about six
hours we proceed on our way to Gibraltar. I feel able in one
direction always to look with hope, and that is toward God,
in whom alone is my hope and trust, when the dark clouds
seem to threaten a hopeless issue ; when the number and com
plexity of wants seem to defy disentanglement, then it is that
God, as the God of hope and all consolation, becomes the abiding
source, and spring, and river of all joy ; for faith can always say
' Is anything too hard for the Lord V He has lifted me out of
so many deep pits, that it would be unpardonable in me to
doubt or be afraid. Surely He can give me a full deliverance
out of all that Ues before me, and enable me to arrange matters'
in England, as He has done in Chittoor and Madras.
" Sept. 1 oth. — We are fast drawing near to the coasts of
Spain, and the sea is as smooth as we could wish ; the thermo
meter high, but still the breeze cool, and we hope to be at
Gibraltar to-morrow night or Saturday morning.
"How slow we are to learn that all the discipline of life is to
prepare us for eternity; that nothing that has not God in it, is
either worth caring for or desiring. I feel it is so great a com
fort in this ship to have a cabin ; a place that I can retire to,
and in the morning, can quietly read for an hour before any
one is moving around me : so different from the last ship."
Speaking of some who had brought him and his family much
sorrow in India, he says: —

ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND. 485
" I pray the Lord that He may forgive, and that we may both
forgive and forget all the past in connection with them. What
a refuge we have in God from the strife of tongues, and evd
designs of men !
" Sept. 20th., off Spain. — I am not much in a writing mood.
I caught cold about eight days ago, and have had a most distres
sing diarrhoea, that night and day gives me no rest without
laudanum. I have, however, suffered much less pain in my
chest, but have no appetite, and shall be very glad when I reach
home, though my bed is much more comfortable than on the
other side of the desert, which is a great relief. Thus the
Lord stayeth His rough wind in the day of His east wind.
" Sometimes, in hours of depression, the future has seemed
dark indeed, but generally I have been Uttle concerned about it,
and have with difficulty taken hold on any subject. I feel I
know not what lies before me ; the Lord's goodness has been
great ; but I have no comfort in anything human.
" Sept. 23rd. — Yesterday I was much comforted by that
sweet portion in Phil, iv, ' be careful for nothing.' O ! for that
prayerful thanksgiving spirit, that commits all to and receives
all from God ! I do pray the Lord to keep me in this anxious
visit, and enable me to do what I have to do in His faith and
fear. I am feeling a little better to-day, and we hope to be in
Southampton time enough to leave this evening for Bristol,
which, if we succeed in doing, I shall be glad, as we shall then
have time to post this for you ; and truly may I lift up my heart
with thanksgiving for all His mercies hitherto.
" Bristol, Sunday, Sept. 26th. — When I arrived at Paul Street,
my dear sister Lydia was there, and had just made tea. We
had, as you may imagine, a cozy evening, talking over a hundred
matters, and finaUy arranged to go down to Clevedon the next
morning ; so yesterday we spent with George, Mary, and Lydia,
and had a very pleasant day. In the evening the Finzels
called to see us, and were most affectionate and kind.
" 27th. — I have just returned from Bethesda, and so often
thought I should have so rejoiced to have had you there, as in
days past. It was a most happy meeting. I did not feel strong,

486 VISIT TO BARNSTAPLE.
but could not let the occasion. slip without a word, and therefore
read Col. iii, and said that, in reviewing our union and feUow-
ship, after more than three years, I could not do less than pray
that the joy of the reaUzation of the past, and the pleasure in
looking forward to the future, might rest on the unchanging basis
of God's truth, and that we might from this chapter learn the two
points on which all immutable church fellowship and unity
rest : 1st, in cultivating the largeness and cathoUcity of God's
thoughts in our external contemplation of the Church, in
which we see neither Jew or Greek ; and cultivating personally
within the bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind ;
experiencing them in their power as the only elements of per
manent unity and peace in the family of God. We had also,
on Monday evening, a most happy prayer meeting at Salem. It
so reminded me of past days ; such a phalanx of ministering
brethren ; six or seven teaching and praying in the power of
the Spirit."
Speaking of his visit to Barnstaple, and of his friend, Miss
Paget, he says : —
" Oct. 4th. — I found dearest Bessie expecting me ; she is bet
ter than I anticipated. There was a meeting at Bear Street, and
I accompanied her, though tired and shaken with my journey
from Hfracombe. I slept at dear R. C.'s, and they were all most
affectionately kind. This morning we had a nice meeting.
After breakfast we went over to Tusculum, and found our dear
boys quite weU, and rejoiced to see me ; they are dear affection
ate creatures. I think, on the whole, I am better ; yet stiU my
chest troubles me, but I am able to do more, and seldom
unfitted for anything for more than a very short time.
" Barnstaple, Oct. 5th. — All here have been most affectionate
and kind to me ; they would rejoice if I could come and be
with them for some time : at present there seems to be no
opening, but it wonld greatly rejoice me if, through the Lord's
abounding grace, I could be instrumental in promoting a cordial,
true and happy fellowship among His saints ; this is my great aim.
I am not able to do much, still a Uttle often enlivens, and they
seem very happy to have me among them."

HAPPY INTERCOURSE WITH CHRISTIANS.

487

After having enjoyed a happy meeting with a dear friend, he
adds : —
" I was obliged to leave immediately after dinner, from one
of my attacks on the chest, and the pain lasted so long that I
could not go back to tea as I hoped.
" Oct. 7th. — I went out to breakfast with the Soltaus, and
there I met with T. Hull, full of affection and kindness, and
we had a most happy morning. I do trust the Lord was with
us in leading us to desire a fuller measure of Christian com
munion, and a temper to bear with one another in our individu
ality of judgment. We had a most happy prayer meeting
before we parted. In the afternoon, dear H. brought a Mr. and
Mrs. L. to see me. I had met them in Bengal, and I beUeve
they were brought to the knowledge of the truth by me, at that
time. We had a long and most interesting conversation, and
before we parted, he asked that we might have some prayer.
There was something very refreshing in finding that seed sown
so many years ago had still continued germinating."
He describes also other refreshing meetings with Christian
friends, especiaUy on Sundays, when he was able to minister a
Uttle, though he stiU suffered very much from attacks of severe
pain after any exertion. He returned to Bristol with his son
Edward, and writes : —
" Oct. 10th. — I went to Salem this morning, and spoke to
them on walking worthy of the vocation wherewith we are caUed,
and on the grace and peace which flow through Jesus to us. Dear
Butler also prayed, and spoke very nicely from 1 Chron. xxi,
on the Lord allowing a failing of faith in His own servant to be
the immediate cause of bringing judgment on Israel."
In the evening he writes : —
" I have just returned from Bethesda, helped of God through
all ; though I have suffered in my chest since, felt nothing at the.
time, and I think it will soon go away. It is so pleasant to be
loved. I feel here all that family affection can give. It imparts
so much natural comfort ; as I said to my sister in walking
home, if I had but you aU here, I should need nothing else of
earthly things.''

488 HIS VISIT TO TOTTENHAM.
" London, Oct. \8th. — My fervent prayer is that the Lord will,
in His own time and way, make -me free for His service. I feel
1 have quite a place here, and desire to concentrate my thoughts
on Jesus only, and to have nothing to do but unfold the won
ders which are treasured up in Him : thus I might even now be
a blessing to others. Our lodgings are most comfortable ; and
Edward goes on with his studies. On Sunday I dined with
Lord Congleton, and attended the meeting in Orchard Street,
which was a very pleasant one. Two persons came up and
expressed comfort in what I had said.
" Nov. 1st. — I went to Tottenham, and stayed with dear
Miss S., who, with the Howards, were most kind to me. I
endeavoured to interest them about missions ; spoke of Bowden,
Beer, and Aroolappan ; and, in the evening, brought the subject
before the church, and they hope, in union with beUevers in
Hackney, Orchard Street and other places, to form an effectual
committee to care for these things. This has been a great com
fort to me. I Uve in hope that the Lord will yet let His good
ness shine upon us, and round about us, and deliver us from
every trial. Unbelief is ready to say ' If He should open
the windows of heaven, could these things be ?' but faith
says ' yea ; and far greater things than this can be accompUshed
by the breath of His mouth.' I feel thankful I came home ;
many things have been accomplished by it. We had a vety
happy time at Tottenham, one much to be remembered. I seem
to see so little of the future before me, but the privilege we
have of casting all our care upon Him who cares for us, ought
to make us without carefulness. I am not weU ; but I have
none of that violent pain I had for months in India ; it hardly
now amounts to more than being very uncomfortable. Yester
day I was at Orchard Street in the morning. Count Guicchiar-
dini was there. We have interesting news from Florence of his
fellow-sufferers there. I spoke on the opening part of the
1st Epistle of Peter ; all seemed to feel it was a happy meeting."
In London he consulted more than one medical man, and
adopted a milk diet. On his return to Bristol, he says : —
" Nov. 23rd. — I think I am improving in health, and expect,

EVENTS IN TUSCANY.

489

by the next mail, to send you yet better accounts. The Lord
will so order everything, that sorrows will work out our best
joys. " In writing to dear Aroolappen, I tell him not to lay too
much stress on the mere question of baptism, or the Lord's
return, or unpaid ministry : they all have their place ; but the
important thing is Jesus Christ and Him crucified ; the grace,
the fulness and freeness of the gospel. I was glad to hear of
the help given to Bowden by dear Mr. Stokes. Truly it is very
pleasant to see the Lord's most gracious work in any brother,
showing itself in unsectarian love to His dear children who
attempt to serve Him among the heathen. I have just been
reading the life of Savonarola, of Florence. There seems to
be a great stir in Tuscany. They say there are 25,000 who are
deeply interested about the truth. May the Lord let His Ught
burst forth there, and gather out a people to His praise ! I
think I never knew the people connected with Bethesda in so
happy a state, or more amply suppUed with spiritual help and
ministry. You wdl never forget to pray that we may be alto
gether free in circumstances, as well as in body, soul, and spirit,
to serve the Lord. I have had a comfortable day, but cannot
take the smallest portion of animal food : I take only milk, but
hope I am gaining grounds My spasms have become less severe ;
they generally come at stated times, at one, five, and eleven
o'clock ; once or twice they have missed at one, and at eleven.
You would be greatly delighted with the orphan house, and the
untiring devotion to it of dear George, and Mary, and Lydia,
walking there and back every day, and working there all day
long. They seem so to love the children.
" Dec. 23rd. — Truly I praise God He gives you abiUty to
cast your care upon Him, for we do indeed need thiB faith. I
see not at present how our affairs are to brighten ; but still,
though I say this, I cannot but remember how mercifully I have
been dealt with, since I came home, and what I have been ena
bled to do."
To his eldest son, he writes : —
" I feel our only hope is, and has been in God, who ordereth all

490 VISIT TO EXMOUTH AND SIDMOUTH.
things well, both in heaven and on the earth. What we have
to do is to look less at man, and more at God ; and this I desire
to do, the Lord enabling me. The heart often feels that if it
could accomplish such and such a point, it would be happy ; but
this I am sure of, that the soul being at rest in God is the only
sure abiding happiness. I still think I am improving in
health." He visited London on business, about the middle of Decem
ber, and returned to Bristol on the 17th. His letters breathe
only thankfulness to the Lord, for the wonderful ^vay in which,
amidst much suffering, he accomplished all he had to do. He
writes : —
" I feel my return to England has been most opportune in
many ways. It has been important both for Edward and for
those in India. How good is the Lord, who delivers out of
every difficulty ; truly the Lord has helped me thus far. I do
so desire that rest of soul, in all the future, which springs from
resting on God, letting Him do what seemeth Him good, and
yet beUeving and trusting in His love. I have had five nights
of very fair sleep. The thing which retards my recovery is
my inability to take sufficient nourishment ; my heart is much
less affected in walking, and my pulse is fuller and stronger. I
can look to the Lord to accomplish all that remains. I am
thankful to be able to send you these good tidings.
"Sidmouth, Dec. 18th. — I have arrived here, and many are
the recollections of the past that crowd upon me."
Alluding to Mrs. Groves's mother, who had been long con
fined by sickness to her room, he says : —
" AU are very kind, but I miss the charm of her sweet har
monizing manner ; and this being wanting, everything seems
changed. "Dec. 24th. — I came into Exeter, and went on to Exmouth,
and spent three most happy days with the dear Hulls. I spoke
there on the Christmas Eve, and on the Sunday following : I felt
fellowship with them all, and they showed me much kindness."
At this time he evidently did not think himself so iU. One
who was present writes : —

CONVERSATION AT TEA MEETING. 491
" It was comforting to hear from his Ups he was decidedly
better ; he spoke to the refreshment and delight of all. One
told me she felt it was as the voice of God to her soul, and all
spoke of his visit with much thankfulness, because of the pre
cious truth that he ministered. I felt so thankful that on the
evening of the tea meeting he was led to trace a little the
history of Brethrenism, and the downfall of collective blessing,
from the moment that ' separation from evd, God's principle of
unity,' became their standard of communion. I went along
with every Vord he said, and the language of my heart was,
' let me live and die with such as occupy themselves with behold
ing the beauty of the Lord, rather than with detecting and
judging evil in their brethren. There is such an unmistakeable
savour about those who make Christ their centre, who own His
pre-eminence, by receiving all who are owned and accepted by
Him." He then describes a happy visit he paid Sir J. Kennaway at
Escot.* " Dec. 30th. — I returned to Bristol two days ago, and preached
at Salem last night, and am beginning to feel better. I sleep
now very well, and have left off the morphine. I have lost all
the spasms in my chest ; the whole derangement seems now
confined to the stomach. I cannot eat anything, and if I do, I
suffer hours of uneasiness after it."
* In allusion to this visit, Lady K. writes : —
" He was as interesting as ever in conversation, and revived, when
speaking of heavenly things. But it grieved us to see how ill he looked."
And another member of the family says : —
" It was a great comfort to us to have him once more here, and to
listen to his voice in family prayer. He seemed very frail ; but cheerfully
assured us he was getting better, and hoped again to go abroad. But he
has taken a different journey : he has gone to a city of habitation, to the
presence of Him who was the joy and delight of his heart on earth ; whose
blessed name was to him as ointment poured forth, and in whose service
he had lived out a long life in a short space of years. That verse often
comes to my mind in thinking of him, ' they that be wise shall shine as
the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for
ever and ever.' — Dan xii. 3."

492 THE PASCHAL LAMB.
He speaks of visiting many of the sick with comfort ; and,
alluding to his youngest son, who went to pay a visit to his
aunt and brother in London, he writes : —
" The dear little man is just packing up for his journey to
London, where his aunt and brother will meet him at the Pad-
dington station. He is full of deUght, and expects no end of
amusement, which is so natural to his years ; and, though I
feel so little able to enter into it for myself, it cheers me to see
others happy. I know not yet what lies before me, for, though
better, still I have much lost ground to recover. *
" I feel the true secret of happiness is, committing aU to God,
and waiting His time for deliverance ; truly the Lord has dealt
very graciously with me. There is nothing in our circumstances
that the Lord cannot, by one touch of His finger, cast bright
ness over."
The close of the year found him, as his journal shows, in
Bristol, and he had the privilege of joining his beloved friends in
the service which they had at the conclusion of the year. He was
not strong enough to remain with them in the chapel tdl after
twelve o'clock, but, before leaving, spoke very impressively on
the subject of the Paschal Lamb, saying he would leave with
them four subjects connected with it, to remember through the
year they were just going to enter on : the first was the blood
that put away sin : the second, the Lamb they were to feed on
throughout the year as the nourishment of their new life : the
third, the putting away all leaven, and being holy as He is holy :
the fourth was the need of having the loins girded, as those who
were on a pilgrimage. The subject of the passover was one he
loved to dwell upon : he was wont to caU this " the passover
period," during which we were to keep that feast which has its
fulfilment in Christ crucified for us ; a feast, the keeping of
which extended through the whole gospel dispensation, tiU
the coming of the Lord in glory. His words on this occasion
are still vividly remembered by all who heard him. He evidently
was preparing in spirit for his departure from this scene of con
flict ; and yet all hoped he might be spared to be a blessing to
many ; and his recovery was still expected even by himself. He

VISIT TO S1DMOUTH AND TORQUAY. 493
writes with his usual cheerfulness : —
" Jan. 4th, 1853. — My spiritual labours have been few, yet
the Lord has allowed me to do a little, and all seem wilUng
I should speak, and are glad to hear me. This is encouraging.
Since the spasms in my heart and left lung have left me, I have
been much more able to speak and walk, and I now sleep very
comfortably. I. have not for near a month taken any morphine.
All these are gracious tokens of a prospective restoration ;
spiritually there is much to be thankful for. The people of God
seem so united in Bristol, and aU appear to work happUy toge
ther. I went, on Sunday, to Wellington, to minister the
word of Ufe. I am but a poor creature, but the room was fuU
of people, who seemed very happy, and pressed me to come
again, which I hope to do.
"Feb. 1st. — Here I am, having reached another birth-day —
fifty-eight of which I have seen ; and oh, how little progress !
yet this has dawned with a sense of that rich and unspeakable
grace of God towards me, that makes my heart desire to be alto
gether His."
Having been called to attend the funeral of his mother-in-law
Mrs. Baynes, who fell asleep in Jesus, February 8th, he went
to Sidmouth, and writes : —
"Feb. 15th. — I went in last night to see her dear face, before
she was closed up in her narrow resting-place. She looked so
placid, so sweet, and there was an expression of such resigna
tion as you seldom see : all spoke peace ; perfect everlasting
peace. I do so rejoice that her dear spirit is at rest tiU the
morning of the resurrection : I do feel so happy that she is now
in the region of Ught ; seeing things as they are, and Jesus as
He is, without a cloud between. "
He went from thence to Torquay, and says : —
" Sunday, 20th. — I went this morning to the meeting, and
spoke at some length. I was not well enough to speak again in
the evening ; but heard a nice gospel sermon from dear Mr.
Strong, with whom I have a most extended unity of judgment.
" 21st. — We had a very pleasant scripture reading this
morning. There were about twenty-five persons of all denomi-

494 DELIVERANCE FROM TRIALS.
nations present. We had Genesis xxn, and had a very happy and
profitable meeting."
It is interesting to dwell here on the fuU answer given to his
prayers, in obtaining' what his faith looked for ; — even the entire
relief from all temporal anxieties, which was brought about at
this period. Mrs. Baynes's death made a great alteration in his
circumstances, and things connected with his affairs in India
were about this time happdy settled. In aUusion to these
events, he writes : —
"Feb. 19th. — It fills me with thanksgiving that the Lord
has brought this dark night to a close. The Lord has given
me a perfect dehverance from those heavy burthens which were
so overwhelming ; there is no longer anything on this head to
prevent my recovery, if the Lord wiU."
God was evidently giving him an interval of rest ere his de
parture ; but the idea of ease and recovery was always associated,
in his mind, with service. He writes : —
" March 1 3th. — Should the Lord give me a Uttle strength
again, which I quite hope He may, I think I could do a good
deal towards the support of our missionary helpers, by laying
their case before His people. There is an increasing interest
about missions, especially at Tottenham and Hackney, and I
expect something effectual wdl be done for the dear Bowdens,
Beer, and Aroolappen."
Speaking of one of his brothers-in-law, he says : —
" He loves the name and leans on the power of Jesus. There
is a sweet savour of Christ about him.
" I sometimes wonder if I shaU have power again given me
to serve my Lord. I cannot help blessing Him for the many
and great alleviations He has given me. We have abundant
grounds for trusting Him for the future. I have not, for years,
been so free from all cause for anxiety."
As late as March 23rd there does not seem to have been any
apprehensions of immediate danger ; both his medical men in
London thought he would recover, and he writes to his wife : —
" I know you, have been anxious about me, but really there
is nothing to be anxious about. I quite think I am better : I

HE VISITS MALVERN.

495

sleep well, have no violent pains of any kind, and my power of
eating wdl aU come in the Lord's time. I am, at all events,
not thinner than I was."
In April he speaks of not being quite so well, though, as his
habit was, he makes very little of what would seem to others
sources of great discomfort. He says : —
" It is a great relief to me to find I can sleep sitting up, so
that last night I had a very good night, in this way."
In this month he went to Malvern, to stay with his dear and
kind friends, Mr. and Mrs. Onslow, whom he had known in
India. On the anniversary of his wedding, which took place
at Malvern, in 1835, he writes to his wife : —
"April 25th, 1853. — The remembrance of this day eighteen
years past has brought a thousand teeming recollections to my
heart : how changed everything is ! then in the full vigour of
Ufe, now a poor broken down invaUd ; yet we have the same
Lord watching over us now as then. It is very gracious of the
Lord to have brought me here, among those who are so truly
kind. Nothing has ever allayed that irritation of the stomach,
and tiU that is stopped I feel aU other things are secondary.
But, oh ! the blessing of ease from violent pain, and being sur
rounded by those who are so kind and watchful over me."
In allusion to Mrs. 0., to whom he had been the means of
blessing, when at Chittoor, he says : —
" I feel for her as a child of my own ; and, unworthy as I am
of any blessing, it is so gracious of the Lord to revive me by
the freshness of the faith He has given her. The Lord fiUs my
heart with holy joy and confidence ; I do not feel an anxiety
about the future ; all seems bright and fuU of promise. It is
so good of the Lord not to allow any pain of body to hinder
my thoughts of Him and His goodness to us amidst all our
trials." Previous to going to Malvern, finding from his medical men
that there was no hope of his being strong enough to join his
wife in India ; he at once, with the help of kind friends, made
arrangements for her return to him ; and in aUusion to this he
writes : —

496 GREAT INCREASE OF ILLNESS.
" How good, how very good it was of the Lord, allowing me,
as soon as I felt really doubtful of the issue of my Ulness, to send
you out immediately the means for coming home ! so that the
intervening time is gilded by the bright hope of seeing you."*
The following account of his stay at Malvern is given by
Mrs. 0. to Mrs. Groves. She says : —
" He came to us on the 21st of April. It gave me quite a
shock to see him so dreadfully emaciated, but still having his
own pleasant smile and manner ; and when Dr. Gully gave
some hope he might recover, I was buoyed up : he complained
of dreadful stiffness, unable to he down at night, and such con
stant sickness ! It made my heart ache to see him eating so
little, and so patient ; always rejoicing in the Lord ; some httle
song of praise for ever on his lips, that so much had been
smoothed for him. I used to love to hear him speak of the
Lord's dealings with him since his marriage and residence in
India. " On Monday, 25th, he commenced the water treatment, and
found it very soothing and comfortable ; but it never touched
the disease ; indeed he was too far gone ; but he felt it would
be a consolation to you to think he had tried everything, though
his only confidence was in God. The day after his arrival he
said to me, ' If this disease progresses as it does now, I cannot
have many weeks to live ;' and, referring to you, he said, 'Pre
cious Harriet ! if it were His will I should like to meet her
again ; but He knows what is right.' The shock of seeing him
so altered, and not being strong, made me quite ill, and I was in
bed three days. I wrote and begged his sister Lydia to come,
and she did so immediately. In her he had all the tenderness
and love possible, and such a nurse ! Dear Edward also, who
accompanied her, felt extremely seeing his dear father so altered :
it made him quite ilL They thought it better that lodgings
should be taken for him, to continue some weeks under the
water cure ; so on the 5th he left us. I did not see him for

* This hope was not realized ; the news of his death reached India a
few days after his wife quitted it.

EXTRACTS FROM HIS JOURNAL. 497
three days : the change that had taken place was astonishing :
so dreadfully thin and weak that his baths, &c, had to be dis
continued, and his desire was to go to Bristol and die among
his own people. I called again the next day, but he was too
weak to see me, and on the Wednesday I saw him for the
last time. Most sweet were his words, and his countenance
was full of such peace and joy ! The Lord's gracious deal
ings with him are so like Himself — they say his room
is like a little heaven. What happiness it will be to you,
in the midst of so much anguish, to know he has all he can
have in the nursing and attendance of his dear sisters."
The following extracts from his own Journals describe his
state of mind before leaving Malvern. They are addressed
to his wife : —
"May 10th. — To-morrow I leave this house, Gully considering
my case beyond the reach of his art, and I go to beloved Bristol,
there to dwell, for a little, among mine own people. I am over
whelmed with mercies. Dearest Eliza is to come down to
help me on this rather long journey ; so between these two
dear sisters, and Major Butcher and Edward, I feel the Lord
has cared for me like a king. I do not think the treatment
disagreed with me, but I am sure they have never laid that stress
on the disease of my stomach it deserved. I think now it can
be no longer concealed, that there is the real disease. How pre
cious it is to feel that all these human ills are, to the redeemed
of the Lord, what the chariots of fire were to Elijah — alarming
to look at, but the Father's way of bringing His own home.
" The Lord be praised, I can truly say He lets me see bright
ness on every side from His love. I look through the cracks
in my clay tabernacle up towards the everlasting hills, and have
now just concluded all those little earthly cares that must be
attended to ; I only think on my precious ones and glory."
By a remarkable coincidence the lodgings taken for him were
in 'the j very house from whence he was married in 1835 : in
reference to this he writes to his wife : —
"When I look at the Bible you gave me here the 25th of
2 i

498 MR. GROVES LEAVES MALVERN.
Aprd, 1835, in this very house, how precious a remembrance :
is of the ground and foundation of all our hopes, then and now
How precious the thought that the Lamb that leads His peop
by living fountains of water, loved them, and washed them i
His own blood, and made them kings and priests to God, eve
His Father and our Father. Let your prayer continually I
for me, dearest, that the nearer I approach the ' morning wit!
out clouds,' the clearer, the brighter, and the more real it ma
appear. The Lord lays His hand most gently on me, thoug
this unceasing throwing up of all I eat the heart would n<
choose ; not that I now take any solid food, only liquids, yet r
tain nothing five minutes scarcely. My nights are tolerable
in fact I have continually to praise God, that, in my presei
great weakness, I have been delivered from the severe pain ths
for so long rested on me. How it comforts me to thin
that all these sad, trying news will find you in the Lord's arm
wrapt up in His love, whom, truly, you have faithfully an
diligently served, that He wdl smooth your rugged path, an
show you His salvation in every trying hour.
" Malvern, dearest, I leave to-morrow morning. Gully giv<
me no hope either of water or any remedy being of any permanei
service to me, so I go to my own dear Bristol."
Mr. Midler and his daughter having, for the information <
his wife and adopted daughter, then in India, kept journals <
the period connected with his last few days in Bristol, we gh
the following extracts from their interesting communication
Miss Miiller writes to his adopted daughter : —
" On Monday, May 2nd, 1853, my dear Aunt Lydia an
Edward went to Malvern, to be with my beloved uncle Norri
From day to day we received tidings of his increased weal
ness of body, and, at the same time, of his peace and repos
his joy in God, and his abdity to cast every care upon Hit
In reference to the prospect before him, he wrote to my des
mother : —
a
" ' Sometimes I seem to see the beautiful hill of Sion, with a
its blessed associations of peace and unchecked happiness.'"
" It was his strong desire, and earnest prayer, that, if it we

HE REACHES BRISTOL. 499
the Lord's will, he might be permitted to reach Bristol, and be
once more in the midst of those dear children of God with
whom he had had such happy communion, and who loved him
so well ; and also to be with his three dear sisters. This wish
of his heart was graciously granted. The physicians having
given their decided opinion that his disease was beyond the power
of human skUl, fully concurred in his proposed removal here.
Perfect was the arrangement which our gracious Father in His
love had planned for the travelling necessities of the dear
invalid ; for on Thursday, May 10th, my dear aunt from Lon
don, and Major Butcher from Bristol, arrived at Malvern, and
were there in readiness to render every assistance to my dear
aunt Lydia. Thursday was the day fixed on for their coming
to us, and many were our prayers that strength might be given
for that day ; and these prayers were abundantly answered.
An easy carriage was procured for the eight miles between
Malvern and Worcester, and thence to Bristol they travelled in
a reserved carriage by express train."
Thus, as Mr. Midler writes to Mrs. Groves, " he was able to
go through the journey without any difficulty, and felt com
fortable when I met the party at the station to take him in a
carriage to our house. I saw, however, an immense change in
him from what he had been when he left us six weeks before.
He now came full of delight that he was no more in lodgings,
but at home, as he always called 2 1 Paul Street. We had done
what we could to make him comfortable ; but all this is no
thing to his three devoted sisters, who day and night wait on
him, and do everything for him that he could wish. His sick
ness returned after his arrival here on the same afternoon. It
seems that God had mercy on him, and strengthened him that
day for the journey. Before, he was unable to bear it ; since
then, he could not have borne it. On Friday he was somewhat
better than on Thursday afternoon, and passed a very good night."
Mr. Midler, who had kindly undertaken to be his executor,
continues : —
" I stayed with him all day to help him to arrange his affairs,
for his time appeared to me short, and he had many things to
settle. No food stayed on his stomach, no liquid or anything

500 INTERCOURSE WITH CHRISTIANS.
solid. It was soon brought up again, mixed with clott
bloody matter.
" On Saturday, May 14th, he continued making arrangemer
for his end, and (my helping him still and dear Mary) Saturd
afternoon his last business, which was really needful to be doi
was accomplished, when his strength seemed fast sinking. A
this time he was full of thanksgiving to the Lord ; and m(
grateful that the Lord had been pleased to bring him here. (
Saturday evening he was taken with the most distressing pah
All Saturday evening and the night following his agonies wt
indescribable. His sisters were with him all night. I stay
as long as I had strength, and was up with him at foi
Towards day, the pain went off : he now fell into a state
drowsiness like a person who has had the agonies of inflammati
in the bowels upon him, who is relieved at last from them 1
cause mortification has taken place  Thus it appear
to be with him on the Lord's-day, May 15th .; we all four, he
after hour, stood round his bed watching for his last brea
However, he passed a comfortable night comparatively, i
Monday he felt himself free from pain, and in a most peace
and happy state of soul. There was nothing of drowsin
whatever. He was now particularly desirous of seeing as ma
saints as he could. He said, ' I must have a little intercou
with so and so, and with so and so ;' accordingly, he saw
Monday and Tuesday (16th and 17th) about twelve perse
All, of course, took only a few minutes at a time, and th
were intervals for a little sleep and washing out his mouth w
a little water or tea — for by this time he took nothing whate*
He was, during those ten days, in a most blessed state of mi
It was truly refreshing to be with him. He was in a a
heavenly frame. Notwithstanding his deep affection for ;
and his children, he was able to cast every burden on C
But before Tuesday evening was come his strength seemed qi
spent : we felt we must keep him as quiet as possible. '
night from Tuesday to Wednesday was not so good as the
nights before, and on Wednesday the 1 8th he was quite s{
and drowsy, and we looked for his end hourly. This night
very distressing again ; much pain, but not so much as tl

INCREASED 1LLKESS AND SINKING. 501
had been from Saturday to Lord's-day ; and the greatest rest"
lessness. All Thursday, the 1 9th, great weariness, the greatest
languor and sinking more and more, and we looked hourly for
his end, but stdl he lived. Much the same during the whole
night, still conscious, clear in mind. Friday, the 20th, we
have been hourly looking for his end, but he is still alive.
During the whole week, three, four, have been waiting upon
him to give him some ease. He has never been left without
at least two in his room for the last four days.
" Friday afternoon, beloved Norris grew much worse about
five o'clock. About six, whilst his three dear sisters and I
were standing around his bed, he all at once cried out, ' Lift
me up.' But before I had taken two or three steps round
his bed to do it, the fear of suffocation had brought his last
remaining muscular strength into exercise, and he was on his
knees in his bed ; and while I held him in my arms a large
quantity of coagulated blood, or bloody matter, came out of
his mouth. Afterwards, when he laid down again, he seemed
so exhausted that we expected he would open his eyes no
more. However, after some time he had another of these dis
tressing attacks, which were repeated five or six times in the
course of the evening. All this time beloved Norris suffered
indescribably, he groaned repeatedly  He now begged
of the Lord most earnestly, as well as his faltering tongue
would allow, that the Lord would be pleased to release him.
Nor could we help doing this. I prayed with him for a few
moments each time, perhaps twelve times this day, that God
would be pleased to sustain him to the end, and speeddy release
him. Also I sought repeatedly, as he was able to hear it, with a
few words of the Word of God and a few Unes of appropriate
hymns, to encourage him in God ; but my soul was up to the
Lord aU day long that the Lord would deliver him. About
half an hour before he feU asleep I once more prayed aloud with
him, that the Lord would be pleased to sustain him to the end
and speeddy release him. I also spoke a few words of encou
ragement to him. He so realized the truth, which I was
praying and speaking to him, that he was quite quiet, and, at
the end said, ' Precious Jesus.' Being now greatly worn, and

502 JOURNAL IN BRISTOL.
having before me a heavy day's work, and not thinking his ei
near even now, I left him with a brother who was come to sti
with him and his three sisters, to go to rest a Uttle. At ha
past eleven I had been only half an hour in bed, when I w
called up. His happy spirit had taken its flight out of t
body. He fell asleep a few minutes before twelve on Frids
night. He said once more after I had left the room, ' Precia
Jesus.' These were his last words. So far as he is concern)
our joy is unmixed, we have only joy. So far as you are co
cerned, my dear sister, we sorrow, greatly sorrow ; and mai
prayers go up for you. So far as your dear children are co
cerned we also sorrow.
" His deep affection for you and his children continued to tl
last, but the strength of grace, and especiaUy of faith, we
strikingly seen in his being able so fully to cast you and 1
dear children upon the Lord."
For frdler details of this period we shall go back to his ovi
journal and that of his niece, Miss Midler.
On the day of his arrival he writes : —
"Paul Street, May 11th. — Well, here I am, safe by the Lore
tender mercies, having had an easier day than for two yea
past. The moment Gully told me there was no hope, and n
thing could stop my sickness, and as I was feeling the irritabilii
of stomach preventing my drinking more than a tea-spoonful
a time, I determined, with the Lord's blessing, to try what n
morphine would do to allay the irritation. I tried it, and sui
a night I have not had, for I know not when. I was not si<
the whole night, and all my journey here so nicely borr
through my loving Father's tender care. AU our hearts ove
flow with gratitude that here I am, surrounded by my thr
sisters, George, my dear niece Lydia, and Edward. Is not tl
good of the Lord 1 and the severe spasm of the stomach, whii
seemed to threaten to suffocate me, is so relieved that I have i
pain, and can quite enjoy those being with me that I lo\
When I look on the loving-kindness of the Lord, my heart
overwhelmed with thankfulness, so tender and so kind has I
been to me.

HIS OWN ACCOUNT OF GOD'S DEALINGS. 503
" I think now it was a great mistake my leaving off my mor
phine, for I always felt that whatever improvement I made in
any of these respects, my stomach was getting worse and worse,
and had I not returned to it, I do not think I would have
Uved another week. Yet all the Lord's ways are so precious,
that I would not be complaining even as to this ; for I did it
for the best when I lost my severe pain in the chest.
" 1 6th. — My own most precious Harriet, — I am again able
to write a Une, to say how good the Lord is. I have been,
since the last, only expecting and preparing for my speedy exit,
and now the Lord has let me have the ability to tell you how
gently He is leading me through the valley, how He is letting
aU His loving-kindness pass before me. Gentle Jesus I To-day
I have been able, with the help of my little anodyne, to see
the dear Merediths and Mrs. Smith, and to enjoy many sweet
little words of prayer and praise.
" I have so prayed the Lord to grant me that measure of
ease at the last that I may be able to hold sweet converse with
His faithful ones, and above all with you my dear, my especi
ally faithful one. I cannot tell you the thousandth part of all
the Lord's grace and goodness has done for your poor dear hus
band, exoept the granting his desire to see and embrace you again.
There He seems to say, (as to Moses's request to see the land and
enter it,) this was not to be. I do hope the Lord will make
this scene one of especial blessing.
" Dear, dear George is such a faithful and true brother, and
will be such to you.
" I have not eaten or drunk anything these four days ; I
merely wash out my mouth with a Uttle iced water, or tea, or
any little thing, and then spit it out. My poor heated stomach
so craves all that comes near it cold. My dear ones here never
leave me night or day, for a moment, and I am to-day free
from pain, which I have not been since the day I came here.
My arms embrace you, my own dear, dearly beloved one."
We return to Miss Midler's journal, which thus continues : —
" On the arrival of my beloved uncle, and the other dear
ones, and our all meeting together, thoughts and feeUngs filled
our hearts, which all words fad to express.

504 INTERVIEW WITH MR. ORAIK.
" He put a song of thanksgiving into our hearts, and *,
desired to trust more and more in Him, who had so tender
helped in this time of need. My uncle bore the journey wo
derfully and told us he had had ' such a beautiful day.' He sai
' My father not only sent His carriage, but cushioned it for m
He loved to have us aU around him, and many, many times, e
pressed his thanks to God for giving him such precious sisters, a*
spoke with much love and gratitude to, and of, my dear fath<
whose presence, and little words of prayer and comfort, '.
found very refreshing.
" During the afternoon and evening of Thursday, two
three, or more of us staid in his room. He sat up in a cha
till nearly nine, and then went to bed. Dear Mr. Craik ju
then called, and hearing his voice, my uncle wished him
come in. They then spoke a few minutes to each other, bo'
their countenances beaming with heavenly peace. My une
then said, ' let us have a few minutes' prayer,' and all gatheri
in that room ; my father offered a short prayer of earnest supp
cation, and heartfelt thankfulness that we had been permitt
to meet once more.
" On the whole he passed a comfortable night. From sev
to eight in the morning my father was with him, and w
most refreshed by witnessing the happy and calm repose of 1
soul. "He expressed such continued gratitude for having be
brought here, and much wished, if he had strength, to s
many of the dear people ; for he had so desired to speak to t
praise of God before them.
" We had family prayer in his room on Friday morning, 1
his desire. My father read the sixty-third Psalm, and my de
uncle showed, by the lifting up of his eyes and hands, how p
cious its contents were felt by him to be. Between nine a
ten he rose, and came for a short time into the sitting-roou
it was a blessed day. We saw the outward man failing, but •
felt that the inward man was renewed, indeed, hour by hour. T
shock of corn was, indeed, fully ripe, and we had the solei
conviction that his life was quickly passing away. He i

THANKFULNESS FOR EVERY SERVICE. 505
that nothing but Jesus could be his security, his hope, or his
joy; and as he neared the gates, 'discovered new glories in
Christ and the resurrection,' and felt that now was the season to
prove the power and sufficiency of God's sure foundation.
" In the evening of that day, as some of us were standing
round his bed, he said, ' Can't you sing ?' O, / could sing if I
had strength.
" My father read to him in the morning, ' Rock of Ages,'
and he wished us to sing it. When we had finished, he said,
'thank you, dears, it is very sweet.' His praise was in his eyes,
and his beautiful smile.
" That night again we had prayer in his room.
" On Saturday morning he said to me, ' my precious child,
what a blessing that we are all gathered in, that we aU belong
to the redeemed family.'
"Of every little service rendered to him, he spoke with so
much gratitude. Often there were two or three, or more en
gaged in seeking as far as possible to give him every alleviation,
one fanning, another bathing his temples with iced water, and
another preparing or administering to him some refreshment,
which was taken to cool the mouth, or relieve the chest, but
not swaUowed. Referring to these loving little services, he
used to say, ' I am Uke a king, I have so many dear kind ser
vants.' " About the middle of the day he appeared very, very weak,
and scarcely spoke at all, and then he revived a Uttle, and gave
to Edward a most touching parting blessing, then spoke of his
beloved wife and absent chddren ; he said, ' my precious wife,
she has been truly a gift of God to me. I do so honour and
value her, as a servant of God. Her heart is the Lord's ; oh !
that I had served Him as she has done.'
" He many times expressed a wish to be able to write to the,
beloved brethren at Bethesda, but now he said, ' the Lord has
been so speedy, that I have no strength ; when I could have
done it, I did not, and when I wish it, He does not let me. O,
I have served Him so wretchedly, so miserably. I know He

506 " NOTHING BUT JESUS."
has blotted if out, but I can never forget it ; there is nothing
but Jesus, nothing, nothing.'
" Then there was a short sdence ; then my father read the two
lines, — ' Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling.'
" My uncle then said, ' let dear George pray,' which he did.
We again were silent, when my uncle, evidently referring
to the verse ' I delivered thee when bound,' said, ' I delivered.'
" My father read the whole verse, and also the one following.
" The latter part of the afternoon, he just got up to have his
bed made, and while we were sitting with him my father
read, ' We give thee thanks unfeigned,'
and he added a few words of prayer. He then returned to bed,
and during the evening and greater part of the night, he had
much severe pain.
" On Sunday morning he became a little easier, and the pain
gradually subsided. About one o'clock he sent for Edward and
me : I then thought it was the last time I should look upon
him. There was a sweet smile on his dear face, and a beaming,
heavenly expression ; he kissed us, and we sat down for a few
minutes, but he soon felt there were too many in the room, and
he wished to kiss us again before we went, and said to me,
1 never forget your poor dear uncle, he loved you, precious one ;'
and, after a long, tender embrace, I left him. The remainder of
the day was tolerably free from suffering.
" At different intervals, during the night, a few sentences
were exchanged between my uncle and aunt Eliza. ' 0, my
darling Eliza, I hoped you might have been spared this.' 'Are
you suffering much 1 ' ' No, darling, the Lord most graciously
removed that, and now I ask Him that I may be able to lie
down.' ' You are weak and weary.' ' Yes, that's it, but the
Lord knoweth our frame ; He knoweth that we are but dust.
He doth not afflict willingly.' ' No ; O, my gracious Lord. I

"O, HOLY SAVIOUR, FRIEND UNSEEN." 507
am dozing much more to-night.' ' I hope you get some sleep.'
' Yes, I have been to bed.' * Where is dearest Lydia 1 ' ' Lying
on the sofa, and George and Mary are gone to bed.' ' The Lord
be praised.' ' How gracious of the Lord to remove that severe
suffering of last night. I know not how I coidd have borne it
with this great weakness ; so the Lord stayeth His rough wind
in the day of His east wind. You wdl think of me when I
am gone.' ' Yes, dear, with fond remembrance.' ' Thank you,
you are all such sweet nurses.' ' It is such a pleasure and com
fort to us ; we could not have borne to have given you up to
other nurses.' ' 0, that's the sweetness of it, that's the sweet
ness of it ; and dear George and Craik too ; I could not have
desired anything better, it will be such an unspeakable comfort
to precious Harriet. Could we have met before I became so dl
I should have enjoyed her dear society and fellowship ; but now
I am so thankful to my kind heavenly Father, that she is
spared this. Dear Ebenezer too, give him my tender love ; he
wdl shine as a bright star among the humble.'
" On Monday morning he asked for me ; when I went in, he
said : —
" I love to see you, precious child ; bring a little bit of work,
and sit down.'
" I went to get some, and sat down and watched him,
which I loved to do, for there was so much of heavenly
sweetness in his look and smile, and they spoke so many words
of love and peace. He made signs for me to fan him, and
whilst I was doing so, he said : —
'"You shall minister a little to your dear uncle.'
" I saw him several times during the day, and he received the
visits of a few whom he was most desirous of seeing.
" Whfle Mrs. Thomson was with him, he wished us all to
pome in, and asked my dear mother to read that supporting
hymn, ' O, holy Saviour, friend unseen.'
" After she had finished, he said ' a Uttle soothing balm for
the evening.'

508 " SO SWEET, SO CALM, SO SATISFIED ! "
" The last thing at night, he wished aU of us, and Sarah, to
come in, and have a hymn ; he said,
' Jesus, lover of my soul ;'
which we accordingly sang, and my father prayed, and it was
indeed, a sweet litttle season.
" On Tuesday he again saw a few friends, who were all much
refreshed, as well as those who had seen him the week before
and on Monday, by witnessing the calmness of mind and hea
venly joy granted to my dear uncle in his last hours.
" In the evening he became evidently much weaker, and from
that time, he sank rapidly till his death, on Friday night.
" About seven o'clock he said, ' with my inexpressible weak
ness I have such indescribable repose ; I never could have con
ceived such feelings.
" When sitting in a chair, while his bed was being made, he
looked out of the window up into the sky : aunt E  said,
' There is a land of pure delight,' he added ' Where saints im
mortal reign.'
" After returning to bed and getting a little doze, he said;
' What a sweet sleep I have had, — so calm, so sweet, so satis
fied.' "Late in the evening he repeated the same words, only
transposing so sweet, so calm, so satisfied, clasping his hands
between each expression.
" On Wedneday morning, feeling great languor, he said, ' how
sweet in this time of weakness to feel the everlasting arms,
Christ's arms.' Looking round on his sisters, ' I look at you
and love you, and love you and look at you ; what a comfort
your ministry has been to me.' At another time, ' you must
take my little moaning like the cooing of a dove. I do not think
it any merit that I am patient, but my gentle Jesus deals so
mildly with me.'
" About one o'clock, as I sat by his side, he said, ' My pre
cious child I do so love you; be very kind to my darhng Mary,
for my sake ; give her my tender love and tell her I did not
write what 1 wished to say, I could have written volumes; but

MESSAGE TO HIS ADOPTED DAUGHTER. 509
I had so little strength ; teU her that I do thank the Lord He
has taken her heart, and that I hope she wdl be a precious sis
ter to my darling pet, and lead her on in the ways of holiness
and righteousness, all that's lovely in Christ's sight. Tell my
precious Mary that my heart yearns over her ; this is the only
message I give you, but it is a special one, a most special one.'
" In the evening, when sitting up in his chair for a few
minutes, and Sarah was fanning him, he disengaged his hand,
which was covered up, and reached it out to shake hands with
her : he said, ' I long to be with Jesus, sweet Jesus.' My mother
said, ' you will tell His praise with your last look.' He wished
to say 'yes.'
" After returning to bed, he said, ' dear Sarah ; ' then think
ing she would not be able to hear, he said to aunt Lydia, who
was standing near him, ' tell Sarah to be kind to my precious
wife, and baby, and Mary, and Hannai if she comes.' Soon
after he said, 'I long to rest, I long to sink into Jesu's arms.
.1 long to rest in the arms of my beloved.
' Oh ! precious Saviour, friend unseen,
Sinoe on thine arm thou bidst us lean,
I cling to thee.'
Yes, I do.'
" He said to dear aunt L  , ' You will sing for joy of
heart when I am gone.' She said ' spiritually, but our natural
affection will not do so.'
" That night he was so weak that he said he feared his dear
sisters had not strength enough to move him ; accordingly, a
kind Christian brother, who had previously offered, came on
that and the following evening to pass the night, and it was a
.great relief to my dear uncle in raising the pillows, and other
wise assisting him.
" When my father came into the room in the morning, my
uncle sweetly said, ' The Lord has put a new song in my mouth
in sending that dear brother.'
" Some time after, my uncle said, ' Where is precious
George 1 '

510 EXTRACTS FROM MR. MULLER S LETTERS.
" On his being called and coming into the room, he wa
greeted with a sweet smile ; they clasped each other's hands, an
my father said, 'The Lord be praised, now is our salvatioi
nearer than when we believed.'
' Though painful at present,
'Twill cease before long,
And then, O, how pleasant
The conqueror's song.'
To all of which my dear uncle responded by the same swee
smile and uplifting of the hand and eye.
" During Thursday and Friday he had not strength to sai
much, but still set his amen to all words of comfort an<
prayer, and was frequent in his earnest desire to be wit]
Jesus. "From six o'clock on Friday evening till midnight hi
sufferings were very great.
" Shortly before he breathed his last, he said ' Precious Jesus,
" Leaning his head on his hand, he sweetly fell asleep ii
Jesus, at twelve on Friday, May 20th, 1853. " Bristol, June 3rd."
The following interesting particulars are supplied from ex
tracts of letters from Mrs. Midler to Mrs. Groves ; as alsi
from others who saw him at the last.
Mrs. Midler writes : — •
" Let us endeavour to think of the dear departed one a
present with the Lord ; with Jesus, whose name became mor
and more precious as he moved on to his heavenly rest
Now he is beyond all pain and sorrow.
" Several times, during the last days of severe suffering an<
weariness, he exclaimed ' 0, for that falling asleep.' Desiroii
as he had been that you, and precious baby, and darling Mary
and Hannai, should come and be with him, when he thought hi
might have enjoyed your society, he several times, in season
of suffering, expressed how thankful he was that you wen
spared all this.

SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS LAST DAYS. 511
" On the sixteenth, the last day on which he wrote anything,
when he had made an addition in his journal ; to you, dearest
Harriet, he directed an envelope, and put it in ; he then asked
for two half sheets, to write to Mary and Hannai, the latter he
accomplished, but was too much exhausted to do more. After
some time he said to me, ' Tell my darling little Mary that I
intended to write to her, but the Lord has cut me down so
quickly, that I have no strength ; but don't let any one feel they
have been forgotten by me ; and as to my precious Harriet, tell
her over and over again, how much I love her ; how highly
I value her faithful love to me, what a precious gift of God I
consider her to have been to me ; how I think of her devoted
ness to her Lord, and wish I had been as faithful to Him as she
has.' " He was very fond of having that hymn read to him, be
ginning ' 0, holy Saviour, friend unseen,' <fec, and very often
he said, with his dear hands clasped, and his eyes raised, and
his countenance full of joy,
' So sweet, so calm, so satisfied,
The soul that clings to thee.'
"He was so grateful that the Lord brought him to us. I
shall ever remember the satisfied smile which passed over his
countenance, when he found himself seated in an easy chair, in
the room which he had so frequently occupied before. And
indeed, we, his three sisters, consider it a great privilege to have
been allowed to nurse him day and night, until the last. This
was one of his great desires, and the Lord granted it.
"He was able to see several of the dear saints at intervals,
though he could only speak to them in a whisper.
" ' 0, how precious,' he said, ' in this unspeakable weakness,
consciously to feel an everlasting arm underneath you, Christ's
arm.' So his mouth was constantly filled with praise. — Low
thoughts of himself, exalted thoughts of Jesus.
'¦ We have the pleasure of enclosing letters from those who,
as weU as ourselves, witnessed the peace and joy of our beloved

51& HIS LAST WORDS, " PRECIOUS JESUS."
Norris, during some of his last days. He desired to speak we
of the Lord, which he was enabled to do. His last words wer
' Precious Jesus.'
" As I know all his little sentences will be precious to yoi
my dearest Harriet, I wdl copy out a few which I myself hear
from his own dear lips. I may have mentioned them to other
and you may thus hear them more than once, but what I wrii
now was written down at the time and correct.
" This morning when he was reading that verse,
' Lord, I believe thou hast prepared,
Unworthy though I be,
For me a blood-bought free reward, &c.'
He said, on the reading of the second Une, ' unworthy, unworth
unworthy ;' and in the reading of the third line, 'yes, that's i
blood-bought and free, blood-bought and free.'
" At another time he said, ' it is a wonderful thing to con:
nigh to God — a wonderful thing. When we are about and we]
outward things so interrupt our vision ; but to be as I am nov
and find God so near, it is wonderful.'
" At another time, ' I am sure I am not deceiving myself
who could give me such peace and joy ? I could not give myse
joy.' " Evening of the l7th. — ' How I have enjoyed this timi
(sitting in an easy chair, while his bed was being made
though perhaps you may not have thought so. Such incoi
ceivable repose in the midst of such indescribable weakness ;
could not have supported it.'
" When he still grew weaker, yet felt the tenacity of Ufe, 1
several times said, ' Oh ! for that falling asleep.'
" On Thursday, when I went back into the room, after
short absence, he said, ' his chariot wheels are long in comin
but He hath sped, He hath sped, He hath taken the spirit, ar
He will surely come, He will not tarry.'
" At another time he said, ' I see much farther than I cs
express.' His love to all saints seemed to increase as he dre

INCREASED LOVE TO SAINTS. 513
nearer home. He said, ' the nearer I come to the gates the
larger my heart becomes ; I could not cut off one of Christ's.
The precious ointment poured upon Aaron ran down to the
skirts of his garments, the skirts of his garments. Pray that
the face of my precious Jesus may shine brightly on me at the
closing scene ; that when my eyes no longer see your dear faces,
they may see that bright face which is dearer still, and hear
Him say, 'Well done,' wonderful ! 'well done,' and to me who
never did anything well.'
" One day, looking at his tongue, which was exceedingly
parched with fever, he said, 'Naughty tongue! but Jesus has
forgiven all ; I shaU have a new tongue, which wdl never
dishonour Him.'
" He had not been able to shave himseff for many days ; not
after he left Malvern ; therefore was thankful to have it done
by a nice kind man, who Uves near us, 'but always wished to
look at himself afterwards. One day, after doing so, he said,
' Yery nice, very clean.' I rephed, ' and the soul is clean too.'
He said ' yes, without spot, < wonderful !'
"He was so full of thanksgiving to the Lord, especially
grateful that he was enabled to come to Bristol ; he broke out
with ' What can I render to the Lord for all His benefits ? '
then answered to himself, ' I wdl take the cup of salvation, and
call upon the name of the Lord.'
" At another time, when entering the room, it was remarked
how bright the sun was, and how cheerfully the birds sang ; he-
replied, ' yes ; the birds inside can sing
'How safe, how calm, how satisfied,
The soul that clings to thee.'
" He was very fond of a hymn written by his dear friend, Mr.
Whitlock Gandy, on the Paschal Lamb ; and after speaking of
his own unworthiness, said often,

' He hears the posts and lintel cry,
Forgive, forgive, forgive;'

2 K

514 NOT ONE CLOUD ON HIS MIND.
and referring to the time of Christ's coming, he said, ' we sh
all meet then, and dear Whitlock too, in spite of his 1
thoughts of himself.' "
His sister, Miss Groves, writes : —
" Our souls rejoice in the remembrance of the bright a
glorious testimony he gave, without an interruption, during t
last three weeks of his sojourn here below ; abounding grs
was his theme, his mouth was full of praise, and he magnifi
the Lord all the while, and spoke good of His name to all
saw ; not one cloud passed across his mind ; peace and j
flowed Uke a river, so calm and happy was his spirit in the pr
pect of being with Jesus. His last words were ' Precic
Jesus.' He was full of gentleness and tenderness to all.
His youngest sister writes : —
"His bright hopes of the future cheered his every momei
and Satan does not appear to have been once allowed to mol
him. All who came out of his room exclaimed ' Blessec
' May my last end be like his.'
" We were always, one or all, in hip room 
He said to us when watching him, ' my sweet sisters, you i
watching and waiting to see me depart. I shall be watchi
and waiting, not to see you depart, but to welcome you into i
presence of Jesus.' His joy and peace were unbroken, and ]
mind was clear to the last  He said, wh
very weak and suffering, ' what should I now do, if the arms
Jesus were not underneath ; but they support me.'
" His sick room was indeed a Bethel."
It is mentioned in the narrative of his last days on ear
that he was able to see, on the 16th and 17th, three d-
before his dsath, several friends. The following extra
are given from their account of their short interviews.
Mrs. Reeve writes to her son-in-law, Mr. F. Groves : —
" May 14th. — I had the privilege of seeing him yesterd
and, 1 believe, for the last time on earth. His face was radii
with peace and joy, and his heart full of love to Jesus, in wh
righteousness, he said, he was completely clothed. ' Oh ! :
dear sister,' he said, ' what joy is before me, soon, soon shaU

INTERVIEW WITH MRS. REEVE. 515
see that precious Saviour, who (wonderful love !) has forgiven
me all my sins. My Lord's chariot will be here soon, to take
me home. Many whom I loved are gone before ; and it is but
a little whde, and many others wUl follow me ; but Jesus is the
attraction of my soul.' I repeated that verse to him, ' Eye
hath not seen, &c, when, clasping his hands together, he said,
' Oh ! yes, joys prepared for me.' I then asked him if there was
anything he would wish me particularly to attend to ; he replied,
'No, nothing ; there are many things I would have suggested,
but I have got so rapidly worse, that I have been obliged to say
in reference to much business, ' God, I cannot do it, but I leave
it to Thee, who will bring all to pass in more wisdom than I
could.' I said, ' I am so glad you have been brought from Mal
vern to Bristol.' ' Yes,' he replied, ' and so easily, as if my Lord
had sent His chariot to fetch me ; and here I am surrounded
with mercies, in dear G. M.'s house. It might have been other
wise ; I might have died on board ship, far from all friends.
How good is the Lord !'
"On the 17th, I was privileged to see your beloved father
again. He could only speak in a whisper : his countenance
beamed with love and peace. He again spoke of the precious
ness of Jesus, of his own unworthiness ; of the glorious com
pany he was so soon to join.
"Taking her hand, he said to Mrs. F. Groves, in so low a
whisper that she could hardly hear, ' I have sent for you that I
might see you once more  I had no idea I should have
been taken away so quickly. The Lord has sent His chariot for
me so soon, that I have hardly had time to pack up my things
and get into it ; but He has enabled me to feel ready. It is a
sore trial not to see my precious wife and baby again, but so
the Lord has ordered it, and I desire to submit. Oh ! dearest
H, it is a solemn thing to die — remember, in such an hour as
this nothing but an interest in Christ will give power to meet
death. In a very few hours I feel I shall sit down in my
Father's house. Now, good bye — God bless you — may we
meet again in the great day of His appearing."
Mr. Rickards writes to Mrs Groves : —

516 TESTIMONY OF ALL WHO SAW HIM.
" I knew your beloved husband — to know him was to lov,
him — all who knew him must have loved him.
" It was my privilege, my happy privilege, to witness hi
dying bed. Oh ! that I might never forget it ! He kindly sen
for me the Tuesday previous to his departure. I went to spea!
to him, but I staid to listen to him — I went to give, but I stai
to receive. I went to cheer him, but I staid to gather comfor
and encouragement, and, I trust, lasting instruction. He spok
not of himself, save with peculiar feelings of lowUness, and ths
only once. His whole soul and heart seemed absorbed with th
preciousness of Christ. The exceUency, the glory of the perso
and work of Christ, seemed truly to fiU his heart with joy, h
mouth with praise ; it was blessed indeed, to hear him speak i
Jesus. His emaciated frame, his bodily weakness, his consciou
ness of the nearness of eternity, made more real the power i
redemption, and his personal experience of that power in h
own soul."
Extract of a letter from Mrs. Smith, to Mrs. Groves : —
" Stoke Hill, May 5th. — When I learnt at the meeting th
he had actually been brought to Bristol, my first impulse w
to go and see him once more, but I was withheld by the fear
seeking a personal gratification, at the expense of others, and
refrained ; but the next day our kind brother M. came over
Stoke to tell me that your dear husband would like to see m
then I felt at liberty to follow my desire ; and, without any avo:
able delay, I reached Paul Street ; and I trust, I shall ne\
lose the impression of that hour. The perfect peace, the wh
pering voice uttering only praise, the joy irradiating the marl
features, the love and sympathy so overflowing amidst t
utter physical exhaustion, the entire resignation of his own -w
to his Father's appointment, were so touching, so entirely
one could have desired, that I took sweet encouragement fr<
beholding the support vouchsafed at such a season to my broth
and Balaam's prayer arose in my heart for myself : and fee
as he was, the beloved sufferer desired we might not part wi
out addressing our God ; so we sent for dear Mr. MiiUer,
he was gone out ; and when this was known, he actually hi

NOTHING BUT MERCY. 517
up a clearly heard, though whispered, prayer and thanksgiving,
which came from his heart, and went to the hearts of the loving
ones around this couch of death. And he spoke of you, dear
Harriet — of his earlier wish to see you ; and of his acquiescence
in the impracticability of your return in time, for he said, ' she
wiU retain a happier impression of me, than if she had witnes
sed my present emaciation.' ' And ' he said, ' my sweet baby !
it is weU that I should have taken leave of her, when I was
less weak.' In short — in everything, in the event itself, and in
its circumstances, he could trace nothing but mercy. The pre
sence of his devoted sisters he considered a special blessing.
Truly blessed are the dead that die in the Lord ! He rests
from his labours ; his heart no more mourns over discord among
brethren — where he is, all are of one mind, and Jesus their
centre. Yes, for him, how unspeakably happy the transition :
and for us, we ought, if we loved him, to rejoice in his blessed
ness." "Believe me, in truth and love,
" Your affectionate sister,
" A. E. Smith."
Extract of a letter from Mrs. Meredith, to Mrs. Groves : —
" Your beloved husband has been amongst us for a Uttle
while, and the sweet savour he has left behind will long be re
membered by us. The last time he ministered at Bethesda,
there was a holy unction about every word he said, and a deep
desire for more reaUty among the saints. He sent for my dear
husband and me, on the Monday previous to his removal from
us : your dear son Edward came for us, and in a short time we
were at the bedside of your beloved one. My dear husband
says, he shaU never forget the sweet glow of his calm happy
countenance. To him, he said, it would have been enough if
he had never opened his mouth ; that sweet face told that all
was peace within. He begged us to put our ears close to his
mouth, and said to me, ' I have not sent for you to make you
sad, dear sister, but in order to make you happy ; for I am
going to be with Jesus — I who am utterly vde, from the crown
of my head to the sole of my foot — I am going to be with

518 GOD ANSWERS HIS PRAYER.
Jesus, and soon I shall enter the gates, and remain as it were
just inside, until all are gathered together, and then we shall see
Him as He is ; for we shall be like Him.' He had been suffering
very extreme pain for two days before, and in alluding to this,
he said, ' Is it not good of the Lord, to give me this quiet and
freedom from pain 1 I asked Him, if it were good for me, to
give me a little holiday, that I might see a few of His precious
saints, and teU them how happy I am.' He then spoke to me
about you. He said, ' remember her, dear sister — she is a loyal
foUower of Jesus ; she loves His people much. Seek to comfort
her.' I then told him that dear Matilda Hull was much inter
ested about him ; and that I was going to write to her. He
then gave me a sweet message of love to her and dear Emma
— and to Ellery, he said, ' Tell her, my love is unchanged, un
changing, and unchangeable ; and that what she knows not
now, God will teach her hereafter.' He then turned to my dear
husband, and exhorted him to stand firm for God's truth. Oh
I do desire never to forget those few moments of happy feUow-
ship with one so evidently in the presence-chamber of the
King." Mr. Butler, who was one of those privileged to see him at
the last, gives the same report of the "joy and peace which
irradiated his death-Uke features." In allusion to the division
which took place five years ago, and the course pursued by the
brethren at Bethesda, Jbe said : —
" I feel perfectly satisfied about the past ; and as one in His
presence, my heart has full repose in all the steps taken by the
beloved brethren, and I pray God they may be kept in the unity
of the faith, and standfast in the liberty with which God has
made them free ; may they ever act as servants, not of man,
but of God."
Extract of a letter from Mr. Withy, to Mrs. Groves : —
" Clifton, June 15th, 1853. — He had a sweet savour of Christ
continually in his words and spirit — indeed, so precious were his
words, and so bright his example, that I think many of us,
almost to the end, clung to the hope that the Lord would

INTERVIEW WITH HIS SON. 519
restore him to us, for the Church's sake. But His ways are
not ours."
The following extracts from letters written by his son
Edward, then sixteen years of age, give further particulars of
his last fllness, death and funeral. The day before his father
died, he writes : —
" I went to Counterslip this morning, and came back immedi
ately after dinner. Beloved papa was very anxious to see me to
wish me farewell. He said, ' Now, my precious boy, I am dying ;
be a comfort to your beloved mother, as your dear brothers
Henry and Frank have been to me. And may the Lord Him
self bless you, and make you His own. May the Lord give you
the peace and joy in Himself that He has given me, for these
are true riches. What would thousands of gold and silver be
to me now 1 Now I give you a father's blessing.' He fondly
kissed me, and lay back on the bed. My heart is almost break
ing when I write this ! Oh, the pang it wdl cause your heart !
God only can heal. We doubt whether he can live through the
night. He has such heavenly happiness and peace, that uncle
said, ' Let my last end be like his.' It was very remarkable,
that the house aunt Lydia selected at Malvern, was the one
you were in at the time of your marriage. Dearest papa
immediately recognised it.
"May 19th. — Papa — :dearest, dearest papa — yet lives, but has
been sinking daily. He enjoys the peace of God to an extent
that passeth aU understanding. That Saturday night we aU
thought he was going ; but the Lord has preserved him yet a
few days." " BeUeve me to be your ever loving son.
" Edward R. Groves."
" P.S. I have frequently enjoyed a few minutes with beloved
papa. His face always smiles, his arms are always open, except
when he is too weak."
"May 21st, Friday evening. — Just before midnight, my pre
cious father breathed bis last."

5£0 LINES BY HIS SON.

Lines by the same writer, just before his father's death : —
My father ! art thou going to leave
Those to thy heart most dear!
My father, oh, this busy world,
Will be a desert drear !

My father ! shall thy smile of love,
No longer shine on me ?
And must I henceforth live to prove,
That there is none like thee ?
My father ! shall I always want
Thy never-failing love ?
To cheer my heart, and to supplant,
What springs not from above.
My father ! must I enter soon
This rude, unfeeling world ?
Without thy counsel, oh, that boon !
I'm like a sail unfurl'd.
My father ! I must trust in Him,
That loves the fatherless,
To whom my prayers shall never seem,
An offering out of place.
My father ! hast thou never felt,
The life we now live sweet ?
That at the thought of losing it,
Thy joy should be complete ?
Is it because thou hast in view
A seat before His face';
To see the Holy, Just, and True,
And sing His boundless grace ?
Is it that thou wilt always see
Thine own Redeemer there,
To sing His praise, to whom 'tis due,
A golden harp to bear?

ACCOUNT OF HIS FUNERAL. 521
Yes ! this is it that gilds the day,
That ends thy blest career ;
That makes it easy now to say
Lord, send thy messenger.
Oh, may my death resemble this —
My latter end be thine !
That I may, at thy call, my heart
Unto thine hand resign.
"The following extracts from another letter describes the
funeral — it is addressed, as the former one, to Mrs. Groves, by
her son Edward : —
"We arrived at the cemetery in Arno's vale at half-past
eleven. The day was oppressively warm, the sun shining
brightly, as this lovely vale burst upon our view. The coaches
halted at the Hdl chapel, and the coffin, covered with the pall,
was borne by six of the brethren meeting at Bethesda. Mr.
Craik ascended the pulpit, but Mr. Ball conducted the first
part of the service.
"Mr. Craik then read the account of Stephen's triumphant
death, and then proceeded to give a sketch of dear papa's life and
labours, in which the assembly were most deeply interested. The
number of those assembled was so great, that nearly one third
had to stand. The respect and decorum were perfect, the love and
sympathy were universally apparent. Many were the tears
that feU from those who felt that they had lost a true friend ;
and many were the tears of sympathy for you, my precious
mother. Mr. Craik ended with a prayer, peculiarly appropriate
for the occasion. The service lasted an hour and a half, but no
one seqmed wearied, though they suffered more or less from the
heat. Mr. Craik set forth his repose and joy on his death-bed ;
and compared the agonies which he went through before bis
departure, to those that Stephen endured ; at the same time con
trasting the manner of suffering : saying, that while Stephen was
put to death by the cruel hands of his countrymen, all that affec
tion and tender love could have done, was done to soothe my pre-

522

UNIVERSAL SYMPATHY.

cious father in his dying hour ; but that it was the same grace that
upheld both ; it was the same fuU assurance of Jesus' love that
caused them both triumphantly to enter upon their rest. We
then, after service, went out as we had walked in ; and thus
arrived at the spot where the pall was taken off, and his dear
body lowered into its resting place. Dear uncle Midler then
prayed ; and when he asked God to prepare your heart for the
intelUgence of his death, and to comfort you with his consola
tion, his voice faltered, and the tears and sobs of sympathy
burst out afresh. Mr. C. F. wept very much ; and his father
looked as if his heart was almost bursting. Oh, Bristol has
rarely seen a funeral where love and sympathy were so universal !
Uncle ended his prayer with a petition for God's blessing on
what we had just witnessed. We then looked into his grave:
that silent coffin spoke volumes ! It was black with nails all
round the edges, and a brass plate in the centre, bearing the
following words :" —

Anthony N.

Groves

Died

May 20th,

1853,

Aged 58 Years.

As might be expected, the remembrance of this day has not
passed away ; many look back upon it as a season of especial
blessing to their souls. May the good Lord so sanctify the
details given of this His dear servant, that being dead, he may
yet speak to the hearts of many !

CHAPTER XXI.

CONCLUSION.

It was a sad day to the bereaved widow and family of the
subject of this memoir, when, on the 27th of August, 1853, they
landed in England, three months after the dear subject of this
memoir had fallen asleep. They had left India, in the hope of
seeing him, directly the intimation of his wish reached them.
No letter awaited them at Plymouth, where the steamer stop
ped six hours ; but at Southampton the communications
respecting his end, which had gone to and returned from India,
were brought them. Mr. G. Baynes, Mrs. Groves's brother,
mentioned in this memoir as their companion in India, and her
¦ sister, Mrs. Jarratt, awaited their arrival ; and they then learnt,
for the first time, they were to see his face no more ! but the
God of the widow, and the Father of the fatherless, proved
Himself on that day the hearer and answerer of prayer, and
not one thing failed of all those promises given to the afflicted
and bereaved in the time of trial. Truly they sorrowed ; but
not as those without hope, for the letters, from which extracts
have been given in the last chapter, all told that death had lost
its sting. His eldest son expresses the feeUng, not of his widow
only, but of many, when he writes : —
"July 15th, 1853. — When the tidiugs first reached me, I
felt painfully disappointed. I had looked forward to the Lord's
using my beloved father eminently in the Church, but since I
have seen all the accounts of his last days ; his blessed pre
paredness of soul ; his longing to be with Christ ; the Lord's
abundant manifestation of Himself; and the brightness of the
heavenly visions vouchsafed, I have felt unable but to be satis
fied with the Lord's ways towards His servant ; and, as Mr.

524 LETTER FROM MR. H. GROVES.
Craik says in his letter to me, to ' give God thanks for his godly
example ; for the benefit of his ardent love and earnest prayers ;
for his having been kept in the truth ; for his having finished
his course with joy ; for his devoted life, and blessed, and most
memorable departure ; for never,' he concludes, ' has the death of
any one, during the twenty-one years that Mr. Midler and my
self laboured together^ produced such an effect, or created such
an interest amongst us.' The tried servant was ready; he had
fought the good fight, and h^ had entered into rest ; the Lord
sweetly giving His gracious testimony to His dying saint,
saying, 'Well done, enter into the joy of thy Lord.' In the
whole character of the closing scene, I see God bearing him
witness ; and this speaks unspeakable comfort ; and now that
the first anguish of the thought that I shall see him no
more has past, I can look with composure on the sad, sad blank
that has been made amongst us, knowing that to depart and be
with Christ is very much better, and rejoice in the knowledge
that our loss is his infinite gain."
In reference to the memoir, Mr. H. Groves says : —
" May 2nd, 1854. — I feel the pubUcation may be a blessing
to many, it is a very sacred duty ; sacred to the departed, but
infinitely more so to God ; for biography is the history of what
God has done, and its faithfulness is its profitableness. I trust
the book may prove a full exponent of the views he held so
firmly ; of that catholicity of spirit, which aU his correspondence
so breathes, and of that devotedness to God, which his life so
dlustrated. Those are, I think, the main features of his event
ful life ; and whatever course he pursued, whatever errors in
judgment he may have made, these two leading objects of his
spiritual Ufe were never lost sight of. His Christian life com
menced with this conviction, that he was God's, and that aU he
had belonged to God ; and that he could not be His disciple,
unless he hated father, mother, wife and children, yea, his own
life also ; exempUfying the injunction to the priest, ' Thou shalt
not defile thyself for, &c, for the anointing of God is upon
thee.' Out of this flowed entire cathoUcity ; entire devotedness
to his God, and entire cathoUcity to His church ; not conven-

TESTIMONY OF MR. WALKER. 525
tionaUy to any section, but really and practically to the whole :
to all who loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. What is
all this but the fulfilment of these commands, ' Love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart,' and, ' love thy neighbour as thy
self?' All ask, who is my neighbour ? Christ says, in the world
every man, and in the Church every redeemed soul. Thus,
whilst many Christians were contending, what is a Church? and
who is my brother 1 — his Ufe gave the practical answer to both.
He hated aU unrighteous domination in the Church of God,
and therefore sympathized with, and would help as he could
aU who, in any section of the church, were oppressed by it.
" You ask me to give you my estimate of my dear father's
labours in this country. I do not feel able to do so now, I must
wait; but I believe the day wdl declare it."
A dear friend of his, Mr. George Walker, of Teignmouth,
who knew him well in India, has made the following interesting
remarks on his work and character : —
" As to the fruit of his residence and work in India, it would
be difficult to present a defined summary of it. Many Euro
peans owe much to their intercourse with him. Much, I believe,
was sometimes effected in a desultory way without any system
atic object at the time. For myself, I shaU always feel I owe
much to your departed husband. Not only were the seasons
we passed in the happy vaUey,* and in Madras, very pleasant,
but very profitable. I got a good Uft in truth ; and also could
, not fad to appreciate the freshness and reality of his devoted
ness to, and love of God ; for his love of God, and trust in
Him, were very evident ; and there was a geniality in his religion,
as weU as a cathoUcity, that warmed those that were in his
company, and commended much to them the love of God in
the gift of his dear Son. I think the tone of many of us was,
in some respects, very austere ; we were exercised rather too
exclusively, in a Levitical way, about clean and unclean things ;
separation from the world, <fec. &c, and hence the value of one,
who, by his life, and conversation, and ministry, showed us
* This alludes to Chittoor.

526 HIS CONVERSATIONAL POWERS.
more fully our happy liberty to tread the holy courts, and
realize the privileges of priests, and the adoption of children in
our Father's house.
" If any united a deep realization of the vital points of Christi
anity with a smiling and sunny exterior, and a happy mode of
presenting them to others, it was he ; his self-denial and eminent
devotedness were truly commended to others by the anointed
head. People might see in him a Uving illustration of the
precept of the royal preacher, Eccles. ix, 7, 8. His example,
and assuredly he set a bright one, under many trying and
chequered circumstances, have, doubtless, been more fruitful in
blessing to many than can be shewn in his memoir, or known
to any at present.
"He certainly did realize his filial relationship with peculiar
freshness and constancy ; besides those to whom he was made
the means of conversion. Many owe to him a large accession
of joy and peace in believing ; and those whom he has
planted, and those whom he has watered, will hold his name
in cherished and dear remembrance. Many a friend will long
feel the blank his departure has made. I found it difficult to
believe for a time, that so much life, and energy, and affection,
were really gone from us, and that we should no more look upon
his happy face.
• ' His conversational powers were of a high order ; and his
ministry, in the line it usually took, very telling. Gospel truths,
liberty in Christ, exhortation, practical devotedness, were themes .
enunciated with the energy and the earnestness of one, who
knew something by experience of the burden and heat of the
day, and sharp trials of faith, conveyed in a flow of words that
sometimes, Uke Jordan, overflowed their banks ; and at times
adorned with illustrations of " curious felicity," and have often
left with his hearers the conviction that on any of his favourite
topics, the eloquence of Norris Groves, and his persuasiveness,
were not easy to be surpassed. His words, at times, were poured
forth like the waters of an Indian torrent in the rainy season.
Alas ! the dry bed alone remains to us now ; but he has done
his work; and we praise the Lord who has given him, a

LETTER FROM AROOLAPPEN. 527
Uttle before us, the foretaste of a heavenly and eternal home.
" Against all forms of Church assumption, he was keenly and
unsparingly severe. No Diotrophes got off easily, whoever he
might be, and wherever. I feel more now than I used
years ago, as he did, about the manifestations of cathoUc
union with all Christians ; and I feel very happy in being able
to attend occasionally their meetings, and speak from their
platforms. I could not go to the Establishment, as I used in
India, but, with this exception, I believe the ground we stood on
in India is the right one."
The following letter from Aroolappen, the native labourer,
who owed so much to his instructions, mentioned by him page
378, wiU be interesting to the reader : it is addressed to Mr.
G. Baynes, who knew Aroolappen, not only in Chittoor, but
who visited him in his own station, on the borders of Tinne
veUy. He writes : —
"My deae and beloved sir,
" I am thankful to the Lord, who helped me to receive
your kind note, after our dear Mrs. Groves arrived there safely,
who embarked to England without knowing the sad news of
our dear and beloved Mr. Groves, who departed from us to his
eternal home. I feel very sorry about his death, because he
loved me sincerely as his dear chdd in Christ Jesus. I never
knew any one who loved me so for the sake of the Lord Jesus ;
and I am obliged to cry out, as Elisha did, ' My father, my
father, the chariots of Israel, (of Christ,) and the horsemen
thereof.' But the word of God itself comforts me in my sor
row and distress : however, we know that the Lord never does
anything contrary to our good. He is the Lord ; His will be
done as is pleasing in His sight. When I heard about his last
words, ' precious Jesus,' from Mr. Henry Groves, I thanked the
Lord that He gave him His grace, to serve Him freely and
faithfully until his death. I remembered him to the congrega
tion, as St. Paul did in Heb. xiii, 7.
Truly all who knew him can say, in the language of one
whose words, in their last interview on earth, have been already
quoted. — The remembrance of him, is at aU times sweet to us ;

528 A SAVOUR OF CHRIST.
he had so much of his Master's spirit, that he was truly a savour
of Christ in every place, and his " absence from the body" is a
great loss to the Church ; it leaves a void which no one fiUs,— as
in the natural body, a member lost is never suppUed ; so in
the spiritual body. But we shall see him again ; the dismem
bered body will be perfected, and every part will show the
handiwork of Him, who is perfect in wisdom : and in that bles
sed day, the heart's desire will be accomplished, " that they all
may be one," and the glorious Church, without spot, or wrinkle,
or any such thing, will be presented to Christ, to be His, and
with Him for ever. May the Lord keep us in the hope of
that day, unto the end.
And now to turn to the work he left behind him, which
formed the subject of his constant prayers on earth ; as also to
those with whom he was especially associated. All have had .
experience of the faithfulness of God, since his removal from
them ; all have reaped the benefit of those prayers, which, in
life and death, he ceased not to offer. In the narrative of the
early part of his residence at Chittoor, it will be seen that
Yellore and Arcot were looked on by him as part of the field
he desired especially to cultivate. Both in English ministry'
and native evangelizing, they had, for some years, a share of
his attention and labour. It was a source of great comfort to
him, when he returned to India for the last time, to find that •
Arcot had been effectually taken up by Dr. Henry Scudder, the
eldest son of his much esteemed friend, the late Dr. Scudder,
whose devotedness to God, as a missionary, has been long known
in India. Since Mr. Groves's removal, Dr. Scudder's two
brothers, Messrs. William and Joseph Scudder have been loca
ted in Chittoor and Veliore ; and the three brothers together
help each other in these important stations and the neighbour
hood, illustrating what Mr. Groves alludes to, (page 224,) as
" the American plan of sending three or four together," which
he justly says, is "far far better " than "locating missionaries
singly," when, with the work of translations and schools, the
hands are often so full no time is left " to go about preaching
among the people." It was in December 1854, Mr. II. Groves

THE LORD'S WORK IN INDIA. 529
had the pleasure of making over the mission premises at Chit
toor to Dr. Henry Scudder, for. the American Mission. The
two native teachers, Andrew and Yasadian, left in charge of the
work by Mrs. Groves, are now labouring with them ; of
Andrew, so often mentioned in this journal, who has diUgently
served the mission above eighteen years, Mr. W. Scudder
writes : —
" Andrew is a great help to us in preaching, and his whole
heart seems to be engaged in it. He seems earnestly desirous of
going forth with us, and making known Christ and Him cruci
fied ; and he has a very happy faculty of communicating the
truth." Dr. Henry Scudder writes : —
" We all Uke Andrew very much. Not long ago, we took
him on a tour ; WdUam and I went as far as Pondicherry, and
Andrew accompanied us ; he preached to many precious souls."
They also give a very happy account of the second labourer,
Yasadian. Dr. Scudder says : —
"William has made him a Catechist; he has a nice school.
He is gifted in preaching the gospel, and was brought to the
Lord by Aroolappen."
The EngUsh school, which, after the loss of the master, who
went to Australia, was carried on, for a year and half, by
Mrs. Groves and her adopted daughter, with the help of the
elder boys as monitors, was broken up on their going to Eng
land ; but the Lord raised up friends in Madras, (Major and
Mrs. BeU, <fcc.,) to take the oversight of these youths, who
went there to finish their education, and the happy conversion
and baptism of Kistnama, a Brahmin, given in the Missionary
Reporter for June 1 854, shows the seed sown in Chittoor was
not in vain. It will be seen in the notice of Mr. G.'s last visit
to Tottenham, how anxious he was to stir up Christians in
England to care for the missionary work he left behind him in
India ; and for those especially who were depending on the
Lord. These efforts God has graciously owned : Aroolappen in
the south, and Messrs. Bowden and Beer in the Telogoo country
to the north, have had the benefit of that sympathy and care

580 THE LORD'S GOODNESS AND CARE.
he enlisted in their favour. It pleased God, as early as October,
1853, to remove Mr. Beer, who had diligently served Him in
the midst of his work ;* but his wife is still caring for the
schools, and lately an efficient labourer has been graciously sup
plied to assist Mr. Bowden. Lastly, his own beloved sons in
Palhully have organized, in connection with friends in Madras,
a little company, who take the oversight of the work in India.
They have a monthly missionary prayer meeting, when Christian
friends from the French Rocks join them. Thus has the Lord
cared for all that was committed to Him, by His departed ser
vant. Time would fail to tell of all His loving-kindness to
those nearest his heart ; his son Edward, who has been above a
year truly brought to the Lord, through the ministry of Mr.
Hebech, a German missionary, is able to join his brothers in
seeking to make, as his dear father so desired, their employment
at Palhully subservient to the work of God. (See Appendix J.)
The Court of Directors and government at Madras have,
since his death, recognized his disinterested efforts to improve
the land and serve the people among whom he laboured, by re
ducing the: rent of the farm, so as to make it more profitable to
his family ; and his widow and younger children enjoy the
Christian love and fellowship of those at Bristol, to whom he so
speciaUy commended them, ere he fell asleep.
May these records of God's faithfulness and love, in providing
for the temporal and spiritual concerns of one, who had spent
his Ufe and property in seeking the things of His kingdom,
encourage all to commit their way unto God, and trust in Him ;
and seeking first His kingdom and righteousness, be assured
that aU other things will be added to them.
The following little poem, being designed to form a comment
on the life of the departed, is thought worthy of insertion
here : — * See Missionary Reporter .

A Tribute to the Memory of a beloved Father, by his
adopted Child — M. J. L.
O, sainted one ! we miss thee ; nature feels ;
A woeful void now reigns within our hearts.
Our smiling hopes are crushed ; a thousand links
Seem broken evermore, by thy sad loss ;
And we, thy sorrowing children, wondering stand
Upon life's precipice ; of counsellor
And guide bereft — while each surrounding scene
Tells us our comfort is entombed with thee :
In pain we want thy tender heart to share
The heavy burden, — and to lead our souls
To seek for consolation at its source.
When pleasure flings its mantle for awhile
Upon our minds, and joy pervades our feelings ;
We want the sunshine of thy smile to gild
The happy hour, and make the pleasure perfect.
But rest thee on !' no selfish tears, or groans,
Or murmuring thoughts, shall reach thee where thou art,
To make thy ransom'd spirit look again
Towards this weary world, and mourn for us.
Thou wast a weary exile, passing by
The beauties foreign to thy fatherland ;
Thy faithful eye, and longing heart were kept
Fixed on the goal, and thou pursuedst on,
Listless of all, until the prize was won.
To thee, earth had no beauty ; her fair spots
Seemed only shadows, that would pass away.
Rest, child of God ! thy Father's house on high
Was all prepared. His waiting servants stood
To ope the gates ; and thy Redeemer, too,
Watched to receive thy sou] from death's dread hands ;
And clothe thee in the spotless garments, wash'd
In His life blood — thus was thy feeble voice
Heard in the agonizing hour of death,
Triumphantly to cry, " My body's pain !*
• Page 497.

532 TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY
" Tis like Elijah's chariot to take
" Me to my long lov'd heavenly home."
Rest, man of God ! thy childhood days were past ;
The tasks thy Father had to teach, were learnt :
And the frail clay no longer could contain
The ripened spirit, grown up into Christ
A perfect man : so thou wast called
To claim the unfading rich inheritance,
The treasure undefiled ; the glorious crown
Laid up for thee by Him who deign'd to make
An heir of wrath a king and heir with Christ.
Rest, man of faith ! for thou canst now behold
With unveil'd eyes, in the clear light of God,
The " needs be " for the every flower and thorn
That scatter'd lay upon thy path below.
Yes ! thou, with reason purified, see'st now
The purpose wide and deep, running through all
Thy ups and downs ; — the true unerring love,
Mix'd in the bitter cups thou hadst to drink : —
Canst say, in manhood's clear discerning mind,
And understanding heart, " Father, in all
My lot on earth, thou hast done all things well."
Soldier of Christ, rest on ! we, too, will join
In faith, the Conq'ror band, who joyous hail
Another brother, winging up his way
Into their midst, with Victor's palm in hand,
To cast it at their mighty Captain's feet,
And hear the Father's welcome voice exclaim,
"Well done." The conflict was severe;
The powers of darkness gathered in the field
To seize their prey ; but He who stood with thee,
Who nerved thine arm, was stronger than the host,
And put their many myriads to flight.
Yes ! thou art gone to meet Him, and be led
Thro' dazzling halls, whose light and life is God.
See'st thou what mortal eye hath never seen,
The face and glory of the great I AM ?
Yes! for thou hast washed thy every stain away

OF A BELOVED FATHER. 538
In that blest fount, His Son's atoning blood.
Thou hearest, too, unutterable sounds
Of praise and blessing, ringing through the courts
Like clouds of incense, pour forth melody
To Him, who purchased heaven and life for thee.
Thou realizest what thou lovedst on earth,
The bliss that springs from knowing nought but Christ ;
For hearts are there absorbed in Jesus' love,
And thought but rises to be lost in Him.
Rest, messenger of God ! thy work was o'er ;
Thy Master's words of mercy and of love
Had been proclaimed in lands far off and near.
Thou didst forsake thy all ; kindred and friends,
Life, riches, fame, were trodden under foot,
And thou went'st forth amid a people wild,
Whose law is the first impulse of their hearts ;
Thy sweet example ope 'd thy brethren's eyes
To see the pilgrim fife their Master led ;
To lay aside all earthly vanities,
As things too mean for high born souls to seek.
Thus thou didst lead many to righteousness ;
And thy blest works, though all not known to men,
Are yet recorded in life's blessed book ;
The seed thou sow'dst with tears, when pestilence,
Famine and sword, were hovering o'er thy head,
And snatched from thee the treasure of thy soul,
Shall yet spring up, and thou shalt reap in joy.
Yes ! when thou shinest as a brilliant star,
The souls thou 'st won shall to thy lustre add.
Rest, man of feeling ! for this chilling world,
With its sharp blasts of cold unfeeling hearts,
Gave scarce to thee a kindred spot, wherein
Thy tender spirit could desire to stay.
Thou wert a plant exotic, that didst strive
To spread its branches of unselfish love
In an ungenial soil ; and oh ! how oft,
As canker gnaws into the vital part,
Thy faithful soul was rent by faithless friends.
Oft, too, when looking on the world around,
Oppression met thine eye, man over man

. 534 TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY, ETC.
Ruling in tyranny ; and mingled prayers and tears
Ascended for the slave, to realms above.
And when thou turnedst to the chosen ones,
Thy fellow-trav'llers, brethren in the faith,
'Twas only here and there a few displayed
The holy oil of union in their midst,
Only a few nourish 'd the root of love,
And recognized as brother every soul
Born of the cleansing and uniting blood.
Ah ! these were woes that stung thy inmost soul ;
All else but those, like vapours fled away.
But all is o'er ; where thou art resting now
Is genial soil. No faithless friend dries up
The gentle sap of love — no sighing slave
Shakes to the roots thy merciful free mind ;
No discord 'midst thy brethren withers there
The spreading branch of joy. But friendship's beams,
Love's righteous rule, and streams of unity,
Make thee to bloom, and yield abundant fruit.
Rest thou in peace ! although our way will seem,
Without thy aid, dark as a starless night,
We would not call thee back : thou wast not ours,
But lent awhile to light us ; then to set
To worlds below, and shine in worlds above.
Ah, no ! we would not call thee back, but praise
Thy God Almighty, for thy peaceful rest,
And gathering thee before the evil days.
We'd praise Him for His overflowing grace,
That dropp'd like dew upon thy closing days,
And prov'd to us that our most blessed faith
Is God's invention ; and that he who trusts
In that " despised, rejected " Son of man,
Shall, like thee, with triumphant smiles meet death.
Oh ! we would pray that all in which thou wast
Conform'd unto His image ; — in thy love
So true, unselfish to thy fellow men ;
In thy devotedness, and zeal for God ;
In thy undoubting faith in times of woe,
May, like a mantle, drop from heaven on us.

APPENDIX.

A, PAGE 6.
Although Mr. Groves had no doubt of the reality of Messrs. Abrahams
and Belsom's conversion to God, he thought it well that they should each
learn a trade. Belsom became a saddler, and Abrahams a tailor. The latter
found it difficult to learn the construction of the English language ; and for
some time, while earning a guinea a week, supported his friend, Belsom,
who soon became a missionary among the Jews. Mr. Groves delighted, in
after life, to dwell on this unselfish labour, as illustrating the nature of the
principles which he desired to see fully carried out in the Church of God, by
each member taking his own place in the body ; and having rejoiced in Mr.
Abrahams' care for his brother, it was not a less joy to him to find that the
Lord had, by His Spirit, endowed Mr. A. with gifts for bringing out the
sheep of Christ, and feeding them in richer pastures than mere knowledge of
language could have enabled him to do. He who had delighted to take the
lowest place, in helping another to minister, has now been himself bleBSed
for many years as a teacher of the Gospel in London, where Mr. G. had the
comfort of seeing and hearing him preach, on his return to England in 1836.
Mr. Abrahams thus writes to Mrs. Groves : " It is difficult to write of the
past, after a lapse of twenty-eight years ; but this I can say, that your dear
departed husband was a dear brother and friend to me, and always mani
fested to me much of that Christian love which was so predominant in his
character. I was baptized in Exeter, on Christmas Day, 1825, after which
dear Groves gave us a dinner at his house. It was Mr. Alexander who was
baptized by Mr. Hatchard, of Plymouth, but Belsom and I were baptized by
Mr. Vicars, at his little church."
Mr. Hatchard writes, " On Wednesday, June 22, 1825, 1 baptized Michael
Solomon Alexander, at St. Andrew's Church, Plymouth, in the presence of
at least 1,000 persons. The Alexanders stayed at Exeter for about twelve
months, at the end of which time Mrs. Hatchard and I went to Exeter,
¦ remained at Mr. Groves's for a few days ; and in the course of that visit, I
baptized Mrs. Alexander, at Mr. Vicar's church."
N.B. — In Mr. Hatchard's visit to Exeter originated a mistake, made i-i
some of the first impressions of this work, when the editor was given to
understand that Mr. Hatchard had visited Exeter, for the purpose of bap
tizing Mr. Alexander, instead of his wife.

b22 APPENDIX.

B, PAGE 52.
Little Mary gave, from a very early ago, strong evidences of the grace of
God, as working in her heart. One night, when left alone with her mother
and the young relative brought up with them, she became very angry, on
some trifling occasion, and her cousin said, " Mary, what would your mamma
say ?" She looked thoughtful, and turning to her cousin, said, " What
would Jesus say? Let us all kneel down, and ask Jesus to forgive me."
The four children knelt, and she became, after prayer, quite good and happy.
At another time, she said to her mamma, " I wish you would take the frills off
my trowsers." Mrs. Groves replied, " No, it is not worth while, as they
are there ; I should not put them on any more ;" the child said, " Do take
them off, because I love them so, I cannot help thinking of them.'' This
showed how early she gained acquaintance with the vanity of the natural
mind. She was a very lively child, and though the youngest in the family,
quite took a lead with her brothers, but was wonderfully subject to her
parents, and seemed ripening for her heavenly home ; loving to talk and
hear about Jesus, Shortly before her death, she said, " I am so thirsty !"
the servant took her toast and water ; she refused it, saying, " Call mamma ;"
and thenshe said, " Mamma, they don't know what I mean ; I want to drink
the blood of Christ, and eat his flesh." She was hardly five years old, and
was, as her dear father remarks, early ripened for glory. She asked, on
the last day of her life, to hear the Twenty -third Psalm ; and said she knew
Jesus was her Shepherd, and would guide her through the Valley of
Death. C, PAGE 201.
Extracts of Letters from Colonel Cotton and Lord Cokoletox.
" In April 1833, I arrived with the Damascus caravan at Bagdad, and
immediately called upon the missionaries, who were Messrs. Groves, Cronin,
and Parnell. There were with me Mr. Culman, now a valuable and faithful
missionary iu Syria, and a native of Mount Lebanon, named Mokayel or
Michael Trad, a youth of about eighteen, and born a member of the Greek
Church, and of an old family, chiefly employed in mercantile affairs. I had
met with him at Beyrout, and he had accompanied me through Syria,
understanding English enough to be a good interpreter. He had been a good
deal with the American missionaries there, and was a remarkably engaging
youth, but had not separated himself from the Greek Church at that time.
From what I saw and heard of him, I had a strong impression in my mind
that if he were separated from his old companions, he would become estab-
lishU in the truth ; and then, not that I was capable of teaching him much

APPENDIX. 523
myself, I might afford him the necessary shelter, while he gained strength
through the word and the teaching of the Holy Spirit ; and this, by God's
mercy, was the result of his connection with me. Just before I crossed
the Jordan river, near Jupet, on my way to Damascus, after a mouth or two's
travel throngh Palestine, I asked him if he would accompany me to India ;
and his answer was by pointing out to me Ruth's reply to Naomi. As we
proceeded on our journey he made good progress in English, read the Word
of God more and more ; every now and then said something which indicated
a further release from Greek superstitions, and at length spoke freely of
the abominable imposition of the Greek fire at Jerusalem, the last thing he
clung to of all the delusions among which he had been brought up. After
this he read little but his Bible, and steadily grew in grace, and in the
knowledge of his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ ; and his conduct was most
becoming. We remained at Bagdad about a fortnight, when Mr. Groves himself
determined to visit India, and we accordingly proceeded by boat down the
Tigris and Euphrates to Bussorah ; there we found a Bombay man-of-war,
waiting for us ; for having heard that there were Englishmen coming down,
the commander had most kindly waited, to carry us to Bushire, where he
was going. I had experienced a loss of strength and appetite at Bagdad,
for which I could not account, and on my way down the river I had occa
sional attacks of fever, which, soon after I reached Bushire, became more
continuous and severe. A man-of-war left this place for Bombay, a few
days after we arrived ; but though the medical officer said that the only
thing for me was to go to sea, as the dreadful heat of Bushire would be most
dangerous for me ; yet, for some reason which I never knew, the captain of
the vessel refused to 1 ake me as a passenger, though he offered a passage to
Mr. Groves. He, however, refused to leave me iu my illness, though I was
well taken care of at the Residency, and in the hands of an attentive and
skilful, though young medical man. This was a remarkable interposition of
God in my behalf; for a day or two 'after, I was taken dangerously ill with
some internal complaint, the exact nature of which I could never ascertain ;
and the fever having been merely symptomatic. During this long illness
dear Mr. Groves and Mokayel watched me night and day. Twice or three
times I passed through a crisis, when I was not expected to live from hour
to hour ; and one afternoon, so imminent was the danger that my coffin was
made, and every arrangement for my funeral, at daylight the next morning.
During a part of the time I was so ill, the heat, as usual at Bushire, was
excessive, the thermometer, I believe, about 120°, and I was only kept alive
by continual sprinkling with water, and fanning, night and day ; at times my
mind wandered ; but I remember particularly one day, when I was sensible,
the captain of a merchantman coming into my tent, and seeing Mr. Groves
fanning me continually, offered to send up two or three of his crew, to
relieve each other in doing this for me; and his going away, astonished at

524 APPENDIX.
both Mr. Groves and Mokayel declining his kind offer, saying they liked to
do it themselves ; so graciously had God been pleased to provide for me in
this wearing illness. After five or six weeks I gradually gained strength,
and at the end of two months I was able to walk down to the beach, to
embark in a merchant vessel which was sailing for Muscat and Bombay.
Wc had a remarkable escape from shipwreck, at the mouth of the harbour,
in the strength of the S. W. monsoon, but landed there in safety in July.
There I left my kind friend and Mokayel, and proceeded down the western
coast to my destination, in the Madras Presidency.
There can be no doubt that, under God, I owed my life to the incessant
loving care and attention of my two companions, for which I have never
been sufficiently grateful either to the sender or the messengers.
I should not like to conclude this without some further notice of Mokayel
Trad. He continued to study his Bible ; and I have now in my possession
his Testament, with tho Arabic meaning of many of the English words,
written in the margin, after asking me to explain to him any word that was
new to him. He had very little opportunity of learning from men ; for it
was only occasionally that we went into cantonments where he could hear
a preacher, or converse with Christian brethren. He was, however, out of
the way of many temptations, and nothing could be more evident or satis-
factory than his progress in the life of God.
After being with me two or three years, his health failing, he determined
to return to his native land. By this time he was fully established in the
truth, and never failed to commend it to any person, black or white, with
whom he could converse. He had a singularly winning address, which
made him acceptable to every person he met ; this had often been of the
greatest service to us, when we were travelling in Syria and Arabia ; and it
was now a most important gift, greatly promoting his usefulness as a mes
senger of the Gospel. After his arrival in Syria, I am informed that he
continued to speak for the Lord wherever he went ; and I accidentally heard
of his being spoken of in India, by a gentleman who had been greatly struck
with his manner of preaching to all sorts of people, in a steamer in which
they were both passengers in the Mediterranean.
He had, some time before I met him, been wrecked, at the entrance of the
Presidency of Alexandria, on which occasion he was thrown upon the
rocks, and received a blow on the hip, which he never entirely recovered.
While with me he was a little lame, but did not feel any serious inconveni
ence from it ; but after his return to Syria it produced a disease of the joint,
which, after long and severe suffering, as I was informed, terminated in
depriving him entirely of the use of his limb, and so exhausted his strength'
that it finally caused his death.
I had occasional accounts of him and from him ; but have never received
so full a history of him after his return as I wish. Mr. Nicolayson would
>give all tho information about him that could be required. Mr. Nicolayson,

APPENDIX. 525
now a missionary at Jerusalem, accompanied us through Syria ; and he was
well acquainted with Michael during the latter years of his life."
Lord Congleton, in reply to some questions about this period, writes to
Mrs. Groves : " These historical matters require an effort of mind to meet,
although I know no part of my history pleasanter than that I spent with
your dear husband. He left Bagdad the day of my marriage, May 21st,
1833. But for your kind husband, Colonel Cotton would not, humanly
speaking, have got through his illness at Bushire, so ill was he, and so near
death ; I doubt if he can remember anything about the matter. Calmon
was converted when he came to us, under the auspices of Mr. Scott and
Mrs. Kich ; I think he was with us perhaps two years. He went to Jeru
salem, refusing to take any money with him beyond what was necessary for
the journey, saying, that when he arrived at Jerusalem, the Lord would
provide. Ever, affectionately yours, — Congleton."

D, PAGE 172.
Hannai.
The individual here noticed deserves an especial mention, being, next to
his own immediate family, the one most intimately connected with his
history, from the time of his residence in Bagdad to the day of his death.
She was a native of Mosul, the ancient Nineveh, of a respectable family,
and had come to Bagdad, with her brother, owing to a famine in their native
place. The brother, through much family affliction, became very ill, and
Mr. Groves visited him. He had intended to place his sister under the care
of an American merchant, but on losing him, she preferred going to Mr.
Groves. To him she became much attached, and served him and his family
more than twenty-five years most efficiently, refusing all remuneration.
She not only cared for his children, but was able to render him assistance in
matters of much importance ; and being a very clever woman, and under
standing matters of business, she made herself acquainted with those
languages of India which were necessary to manage all the concerns of the
family. Her devotedness to her master made her an object of general
interest ; in fact, all his concerns were hers, and his children like her own.
"You must not be anxious," she wrote, when he left Bagdad, " about your
sons : Henry is my right eye, and Frank is my left ; and as a man cares for
his eyes, so I care' for them." The truth of this she proved, in times of
sickness, nursing them, and the little girl, who died in Bagdad, in a way
which it always affected Mr. G. to speak of. (She is the nurse whose
lamentations are mentioned, page 172.) Her greatest proof of attachment
was leaving her country, to which she was much attached, and following
him to India. She only became more invaluable to her master as circum-

526 APPENDIX.
stances developed her energies, and made her services more needful. Arabic
was her native language, and in this she and her master always spake
together on business. She belonged to the Chaldean Church, but was
united with her master in the things of Christ, and joined the church fa
his house in their simple worship. 'She accompanied Mrs. Groves to
England, when she found there was no hope of her master returning to
India. Her lamentations at Southampton, when the news of his death
reached her ears, were most affecting. " My master is gone ! my master
is gone !" are words those about her cannot forget ; but she has learnt to
submit to the will of God, and is now caring for his widow and children in
Bristol. E, page 267.
On the Principles of Union and Communion in the
Church op Christ.
My Dear Friend,
The days in which we are arrived appear to me, and I believe to us all,
so fraught with danger to the Church of God, opinions are so varying, and
principles so fluctuating, that any sentiments which tend to give precision,
or stability and fixedness to our principles of action, to guide us through the
rocks and quicksands of the unnumbered sects and systems that surround us,
must be valuable if they are sound, to preserve the Christian alike from
being chargeable with countenancing error on the one hand, or breaking the
holy, heavenly bond of brotherly love on the other. It is with the humble
hope of setting up some one or two little landmarks, to preserve the heart
from illimitable disorder and confusion, the following brief remarks are sub
mitted to you, on the principles of union and communion in the Church of
God. Let us then for a moment dwell on the principles that apparently
ought to regulate our intercourse as Christians, with individuals and con
gregations of Christians, of whatever sect or name, and examine to what
extent we are free, or to what extent bound ; or rather, what are the limits
within which our communion with an individual as a Christian, or a body
of individuals in public worship, is to be confined. Does it not tb en appear
clear that the nearer the principles of the communion of the Church on
earth assimilate to those which must finally prevail in the kingdom of
heaven, the more perfect they must be f and the more perfectly should we
meet the all but dyiDg request of our Lord to manifest our love one toward
another, so that all men might know we were His disciples, and prove we
are the children of a Father whose nature essentially is love. Then what
are these principles of heavenly communion ? Loving all whom Christ loves
because they bear His impress ; let this same rule then decide the question as
to the subjects of our communion here on earth ; all whom Christ loves.

APPENDIX.

527

who bear His impress, or whom we ourselves acknowledge as Christians.
Should we be asked how are these to be distinguished ? we might hope the
Holy Ghost will help us here ; but at all events, not so much by agreement
in those points which are the subjects of intellectual perception, as those
which are embraced by a hearty and' generous affection towards the Father
for His love ; towards the Son, for His unspeakable self-sacrificing humili
ation ; and to the Holy Spirit, for His aid and helps along our arduous, tot
tering course, till we are presented faultless before the Son of Man, at His
appearing. Should it be asked what are to be done with errors ? are they
not to bar communion ? No ; unless they bar Christ from the temple of the
erring brother's heart. While we hope Christ lingers, let us linger ; and
rather be behind than before to quit, in pitiful remembrance of our own
iniquities and unnumbered errors. So long as we judge Christ to be
dwelling with a man, that is our warrant for receiving him ; and for the
charity of that judgment that declares him not there, we are responsible.
But when we are fully persuaded Christ is there, we must say with Peter,
on his visit to Cornelius,, in the face of the strongest prejudices, seeing God
has given him the like gift He has unto us, — who are we that we should
withstand God. And as to his errors ; though we bear them weeping, still
we must bear' them, binding them up into as small a compass as we well
may; and when we feel them heaviest, seeing they cannot be removed from
as, till, as the sorrow of our brother, they are removed from him, we must
make this very burthen (as it is designed of Christ) an incentive to prayer
to the Lord, for His own sake, for our brother's sake, and, finally, for our
own, that they may be lightened or removed, that we may at last also joy
and rejoice with him whose burden we have borne, as we have also wept
with him. And as something still to cheer us, we may remamber that
perhaps while we were bearing his burthens, he also was bearing ours, and
thus we were mutually fulfilling the law of Christ in bearing them for each
other. But, at all events, whatever complexity the case may assume, if we
are persuaded any one is a brother, and the Lord's, we must simply resolve,
in the name of the Lord, to love, and bear with him, because Christ does, be
other things as they may.
Second. With respect to our communion with congregations, where the
chaff and the wheat are mixed in all conceivable proportions between the
extremes of the almost unmixed abominations of the apostate churches,.
where no souls are converted under the publie ministrations, to the most
pure and spiritual ministry, where sinners are converted and saints edified in
love, till they grow up to the stature of perfect men in Christ, it is evident
that we must consider ourselves in the double position of individuals who
have duties they owe themselves, and, secondly, as members of an immense
brotherhood, embracing the universal Catholic Church throughout the world,
in all the congregations of the saints, where Christ still walks amidst the-

528 APPENDIX.
golden candlesticks, notwithstanding unnumbered weaknesses and errors.
The first duty to ouselves is in selecting the congregation with whom we
should statedly worship ; it should be where the form is most scriptural in
our persuasion, and the ministrations most spiritual; where there is the
sweetest savour of Christ ; where our own souls are most edified ; where the
Lord is most manifestly present with those who minister and those who
hear. This is what we owe the Lord, the Church of God, and our own
souls. Considering, however, agreement in what we think best as to form
of worship altogether secondary to heart agreement in the mystery of Christ
and of godliness. These, then, appear the principles that ought-to govern
our selection, as individuals, of the place where we statedly worship, since
personally we cannot be with all. Yet as to our liberty in Christ to worship
with any congregation under heaven where He manifests himself to bless and
to save, can there be in any Christian mind a doubt ? If my Lord should
say to me, in any congregation of the almost unnumbered sections of the
Church, " What dost thou here ?" I would reply, " Seeing Thou wert here
to save and sanctify, I felt it safe to he with Thee." If He again said, as
perhaps he may among most of us, " Didst thou not see abominations here,
an admixture of that which was unscriptural, and the absence of that which
was scriptural, and in some points error, at least in your judgment ?" my
answer would be, " Yea, Lord, but I dared not call that place unholy where
Thou wert present to bless, nor by refusing commuuion in worship reject
those as unholy whom Thou hadst by Thy saving power evidently sanctified
and set apart for Thine own. Our reason for rejecting the congregations of
apostate bodies is, that Christ does not manifest himself among them in their
public character, though He may save some individuals as brands plucked
from the burning. To these churches we cry, standing on the outside,
" Come out of her, my people ; come out of her." Among the others we
stand, as the Son of Man, or rather with Him, in the midst of the seven
golden candlesticks (Rev. i. 13), telling them to remember their first love,
first purity, and first work in all holy doctrine and discipline, lest the Lord
take away their candlesticks ; but we would rather linger, in hope the im
pending judgment may be stayed, or some yet repent, than say, like Edom,
in the day of Judah's sorrows, " Down with her, down with her, even to the
ground." (See also Obadiah, a. 14.)
To the question, Are we not countenancing error by this plan ? our
answer is, that if we must appear to countenance error, or discountenance
brotherly love, and the visible union of the Church of God, we prefer the
former, hoping that our lives and our tongues may be allowed by the Lord
so intelligibly to speak that at last our righteousness shall be allowed to
appear ; but if not, still we may feel we have chosen the better part, since
we tarried only for our Lord's departure ; and as the candlestick retired, and
its light vanished, we pronounce our sad farewell ; but so long as Christ

APPENDIX. 529
dwells in an individual, or walks in the midst of a congregation, blessing the:
ministrations to the conversion and edification of souls, we dare not denounce
and formally withdraw from either, for' fear of the awful sin of schism,
of sin against Christ and his mystical body;1
Believe me, most truly yours, A. N. Groves.
F, PAGE 307.
Extract prom Dr. Dufp's Letter to Mrs. Groves.
Before Mr. Gloves reached Calcutta, about the middle of 1834, I had
heard much of him and his uncommon devotedness to the oause of Christ,
No sooner did I meet with him than I felt drawn towards him with the .
cords of love. He was so warm, so earnest, so wrapt up in his Master's .
oause, so inflamed . with zeal for the salvation of perishing souls, I regarded
it as ho. ordinary privilege that he agreed to take up his abode in my house
during his sojourn in Calcutta. I looked for incalculable benefit to my own
Soul, from near, and intimate, and familiar contact with so fervent and
glowing a spirit.
Well did I know beforehand that there were different points connected.
with the principles of establishments, church government, and such-like,
respecting which his opinions differed somewhat widely from mine ; but I .
knew that he was a proved man of God, who had jeoparded his worldly
interest, and even his life, in seeking to promote the cause of the Redeemer
in the world. I also knew that in all. the grand fundamentals of the
Christian faith, he was essentially sound. My belief therefore was that we
should be found at one with reference to the transcendent beauties that con
stitute the grand plan of redeeming love, and that the points of difference
between us would be found as the light dust of the balance compared with
the. immeasurably grander points of essential agreement ; while his devoted
ness of character and spirit of self-sacrifice, could not fail to fill me with
admiration : and such was the result of our first interview. His warmth,
his, love, his zeal, his amazing energy, at once. ri vetted and gained my heart.;
Speedily was it felt that we could afford to pretermit the points about which ,
We differed, for the sake of enjoying undistracted converse respecting those
vastly more momentous points about which we were thoroughly agreed.
Mr. Groves had not been above a day or two in our house when I was
seized with that severe illness which soon necessitated my return from India,
and here it was that the genuine kindness and nobility of my friend's
character shone out in all their brightness.
He had many friends to sec, many inquiries to institute, many prepara-

530- APPENDIX;
tions to make for his own homeward voyage ; and yet, though- wearied and,
worn out in his incessant labours during the day, he insisted on having his
cpuch laid, beside mine during the night, that, like a true brother, he might
have it in his power to minister alike to my spiritual and physical necessity.
Thus, with untiring kindness, for about three weeks, did he render unto me
services which were beyond all price, services which have left indelible
impressions on my heart.
When my medical attendant decided that a voyage to Europe was abso
lutely indispensable, it was then determined that I should proceed in the
same ship along with Mr. Groves. ¦ It was the Lord's holy pleasure to heat
the furnace of our domestic affliction two-fold. On the morning previous to
our embarkation, Mrs. Duff was delivered of a son, while I lay all shattered
and helpless, and all but insensible. Ah ! it was in the midst of these sore
trials that the warm sympathy and ever- ready aid of our beloved friend were
contributed, in a way transcending all ordinary kindness. What, humanly
speaking, could we have done without the promptly, cheerfully, spontane
ously rendered services of such a loving, able, and skilful brother in the
Lord ? Truly his visit to us was like an angel's visit, a visit of surpassing,
kindness and brotherly love ! Nor did his seasonable attention ever know
abatement. On board the vessel he continued the same indefatigable friend
he was before, sweetly interblending with all his attentions to the outward
bodily wants of the invalids, the sweetest and most savoury portions for the
wants of their immortal souls.
At the Cape of Good Hope our infant boy was baptized ; and in order to
commemorate the priceless services of our esteemed friend and brother, the
child was named Alexander Groves Duff. He is still spared to us, and,
with unfeigned gratitude to God, I have to add that, through grace, he is
walking in the way toward Zion, with his face thitherward, being, as we
have every reason to believe, a really regenerate and adopted child of God.
How it would rejoice the soul of our departed friend to meet with him now,
and, in the Christian young man, hail, in a fatherly smile, the one whose life
as a baby he was able to do so much to cherish ; but they shall meet yet in
a nobler clime, in a more genial atmosphere, and unite with all the company
of the Redeemed in singing praises to the Lamb for ever and ever.
When, through the goodness of God, my health was sufficiently recovered,
Mr. Groves and myself were wont daily to hold much converse, not merely
respecting those principles of evangelical doctrine and practical piety, on
which we were thoroughly of one heart and one mind ; but also respecting
those other matters connected with Christian economics and such-like, as to
which we conscientiously differed in judgment ; but here I must say, and
say it too with emphasis, that all such discussions were carried on, not in the
belligerent spirit of ordinary controversialists, but in the pacific spirit of ear
nest truth-seekers, not, therefore, in the spirit of wrath, bitterness, and
invective, but in the. spirit of brotherly kindness and charity. The bible

APPENDIX. 531
was our sole standard of reference, and the grand object was to discover the
mind of the Lord in fervent prayer, for the guidance of His holy Spirit, who
alone is able to lead into all spiritual truth. For the reason already assigned,
I am unable to enter on any details on these varied and important subjects ;
would, that I had felt myself competent to write something more worthy of
the memory of one whom I revered when living, and lamented when dead.
But the hand of affliction hath been laid heavily upon me, and I must for
bear the attempt.
One remark only I may take the liberty to make. — It is this ; — that if in
our past friendly and brotherly discussions, Mr. Groves was naturally apt to
consider me, at times, as unconsciously warped in judgment, through the
prejudices of education, and the influence of ecclesiastical habits ; so, on tb e
other hand, I was apt to consider him, in his honest zeal, as a reformer of
glaring and confessed abuses, as, at times, unconsciously carried away to the
opposite extreme, in the suggestion of appropriate remedies ; but in looking
back I can recall nothing that was in any way calculated to raise the shadow
of a doubt, as to each other's perfect candour and sincerity. The conse
quence was, that as we first met so we ultimately parted, with mutual feelings
of genuine kindliness and goodwill. At all events, speaking for myself, I
tan simply say, that my feelings of esteem, and reverence, and love, were
greatly enhanced, by increased converse and more familiar fellowship.
Apart altogether from his peculiar , views, or even in spite of some of them,
I could not help regarding him as one of the most loving and loveable of
Christian men, while the singular fervency of his spirit made it quite con
tagious ; diffusing all around the savour of an unearthly sanctity and self-
consuming devotedness. 0, that a double portion of his spirit would de
scend upon all our drowsy and sleeping churches throughout Christendom !
The Lord giant that the publication of the memoir of such a man, notwifh-
itanding that which might be thought peculiar in some of his views, or
-,eccentric in some of his movements, may be blessed to the awakening of
many a soul steeped in the drench of carnality aad worldliness, even in the
bosom of our evangelical communions ! The Lord grant that professing dis
ciples in this luxurious age of self-pleasing and self-indulgence, may at least
learn from his example the lesson which they pre-eminently need, and which
he was honoured of God pre-eminently to teach, and that is, the lesson of
real scriptural self-denial, the divine lesson of taking up the cross, forsaking
all, and following the Lord!
I remain, my dear Mrs. Groves,
Yours sincerely in the Lord,
(Signed) Alexander, Dutp,

532 APPENDIX.

My Dear D-

G, page 342.
Milford Haven, March 10M, 1836.

As the stormy weather threatens a little delay, I am not willing to leave
England without a few words in reply to your notes, and a short explana
tion of some other points that interest me. I have ever regretted having
had so few opportunities of seeing and conversing with you since my return
to England, and thereby explaining many things that might have allowed us
to depart on the whole more happily than now, yet I wish you to feel
assured that nothing has estranged my heart from you, or lowered my
confidence in your being still animated by the same enlarged and generous
purposes that once so won and rivetted me ; and though I feel you have
departed from those principles by which you once hoped to have effected
them, and are in principle returning to the city from whence you departed,
still my soul so reposes in the truth of your heart to God that I feel it needs
but a step or two more to advance and you will see all the evils of the
systems from which you profess to be separated to spring up among your
selves. You will not discover this so much from the workings of your own
soul as by the spirit of those who have been nurtured up from the beginning
in the system they are taught to feel the only tolerable one ; that not having
been led like you, and some of those earliest connected with you, through
deep experimental suffering and sorrow, they are little acquainted with the
real truth that may exist amidst inconceivable darkness : there will be little
pity and little sympathy with such, and your union daily becoming one of
doctrine and opinion more than life and love, your government will become
— unseen, perhaps, and unexpressed — yet, one wherein, overwhelmingly, is felt
.the authority of men; you will be known more by what you witness against.
than what you witness for, and practically this will prove that you witness
against all but yourselves as certainly as the Walkerites or Glassites : your
Shibboleth may be different, but it will be as real. It has been asserted, as
I found from your dear brother W  and others, that I have changed my
principles ; all I can say is, that as far as I know what those principles were
in which I gloried on first discovering them in the word of God, I now
glory in them ten times more since I have experienced their applicability to all
the various and perplexing circumstances of the present state of the church ;
allowing you to give every individual, and collection of individuals, the
standing God gives them, without identifying yourselves with any of their
evils. I ever understood our principle of communion to be the possession of
the common life or common blood of the family of God (for the life is in
the blood) ; these were our early thoughts, and are my most matured ones.
The transition your little bodies have undergone, in no longer standing forth
the witnesses for the glorious and simple truth, so much as standing forth
witnesses against all that they judge error, have lowered them in my appro-

APPENDIX. 533
hension from heaven to earth in their position of witnesses. What I mean
is, that then all our thoughts were conversant about how we might ourselves
most effectually manifest forth that life we had received by Jesus, knowing
that that alone could he as the Shepherd's voice to the living children, and
tyhere we might find that life in others ; and when we were persuaded we
had found it, bidding them, on the Divine claim of this common life, (whether
their thoughts on other matters were narrow or enlarged,) to come and share
with us, in the fellowship of the common Spirit, in the worship of our com
mon head ; and as Christ had received them, so would we to the glory of God
the Father ; and farther, that we were free, within the limits of the truth,
to share with them in part, though we could not in all, their services. In
fact, as we received them for the life, we would not reject them for their
systems, or refuse to recognise any part of their systems, because we dis
allowed much. Trusting that if this inter-communion could be established
to effect all we desire by being upheld by God, in walking in the light, as
the Christ-like means of witnessing against any darkness that might be in
them, according to the rule of the Lord ; John iii. 19 : " This is the con
demnation, that Ught is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather
than light because their deeds were evil, neither will they come to the light
. lest their deeds should be reproved." A more difficult ministry of witness,
though preaching one of words, or separating one of persons, yet possessing
a much more mighty power over the hearts of others and a much more
influential one in blessing ; and which, dear brother, I know no heart more
ready to acknowledge than your own. The moment the witnessing for the
common life as our bond gives place to a witnessing against errors by sepa
ration of persons and preaching, (errors allowably compatible with the
common life,) every individual, or society of individuals, first comes before
the mind as those who might need witnessing against, and all their conduct
and principles have first to be examined and approved before they can be
received ; and the position which this occupying the seat of judgment will
place you in will be this : the most narrow-minded and bigoted will rule
because his conscience cannot and will not give way, and therefore the more
enlarged heart must yield. It is into this position, dear D  , I feel some
little flocks are fast tending, if they have not already attained it. Making
light not life the measure of communion. But I am told by our beloved
brethren, C. and H., that if I give up this position of witnessing against evil
in this peculiar way op separation from the systems in which any
measure of it is mixed up, I make our position one of simple, unpardonable
schism, because we might join some of the many other systems. I cannot
be supposed, of course, to know fully their grounds of acting, but I thought
I knew yours, at least your original ones. Was not the principle we laid
down as to separation from all existing bodies at the outset, this : that we
felt ourselves bound to separate from all individuals and systems, so far as
they required us to do what our consciences would not allow, or restrained

534 APPENDIX.
us from doing what our consciences required, and no further ? and were vre
not as free to join and act with any individual, or body of individuals, as
they were free not to require us to do what our consciences did not allow,
or prevent our doing what they did ? and in this freedom did we not feel
brethren should not force liberty on those who were bound, nor withhold
freedom from those who were free ?
Did we not feel constrained to follow the apostolic rule of not judging other
men's consciences, as to liberty, by our own ; remembering it is written, "Let
not him that eateth despise him that eateth not ; and let not him which eat-
eth not, judge him that eateth ; seeing that God hath received ' ' both the one
and the other ? Now it is one of these two grounds ; their preventing' me
from, or demanding from me, other than the Lord demands, that divides me
in a measure from every system ; as my own proper duty to God, rather than-
as witnessing against their evils. As any system is in its provision narrower
or wider than the truth, I either stop short, or go beyond its provisions, but I
would infinitely rather have, with a II their evils, those separable from
their good. These were the then principles of our separation and inter
communion ; we had resolved never to try to get men to act in uniformity,
further^than they felt in Uniformity ; neither by frowns, or loves, or
preaching ; for this simple reason, that we saw no authority given us from
God thus to act ; nor did our experience lead us to feel it the best means at
all of promoting their blessing or our common aim of a perfect spiritual uni
formity of judgment; whilst to ourselves it afforded a ready outlet to the
propensities of the flesh, under the appearance of spiritual authority and
zeal for the truth. But in all these matters, we would ask that our way
might be bright as the light, and our words drop noiselessly as the dew, and
if, at the last, they remained " otherwise minded," we would seek of God,,
that even He should reveal it unto them. There is something so like build
ing what you destroyed, and appearing that when weak you can be liberal
and large, but when holpen with a little strength, the irue spirit of sectari
anism begins to bud ; so that being " one of us," is felt to be a stronger band
than oneness in the power of the life of God in the soul. I know it is said,
(dear Lady Powerscourt told me so,) that so long as any terms were kept
with the Church of England, by mixing up in any measure with their minis
trations, even when there was nothing to offend your conscience, they have
your testimony most practically, but after your entire rejection of them, they
pursued you with uudeviating resentment, and this was brought to prove that
the then position was wrong, arid the present right. But all I see in this is,
that whilst you occupied the place of only witnessing against those things
which the divine life within themselves recognized as evil, and separating
from them only so far as they separated from Christ, you established them
as judges of themselves, and of themselves they were condemned ; and at
the same time you conciliated their heavenly affections, by allowing all that
really was of the Lordj and sharing in it, though the system itself in whiok

APPENDIX. 535
you found these golden grains, you could not away with. But the moment
your position and your language implied a perfect separation, alike from the
evil and the good, and a rejection of them, in consequence of their system,
without discrimination, you no longer had their consciences with you, but
thev felt that though only a brother in a Father's house, you exercised more
than a Father's power, without a Father's heart of mercy, and they, there
fore, appealed from you to your common head, both in behalf of themselves
and their systems. There is no truth more established in my own mind than
this, that to occupy the position of the maximum of power, in witnessing to
the consciences of others, you must stand before their unbiassed judgment as
evidently wishing to allow in them more than their own consciences allow,
rather than less, proving that your heart of love is more alive to find a
covering for faults, than your eagle eye of light to discover them. I send
you this letter as we were the first to act on these principles, rather than to
H  and C  , whose faith and love I do so truly desire to follow. They
have written to me two very long and kind letters, which I purpose more
effectually and fully to answer, by meeting the positions contained in them,
in a little tract, which I hope to prepare on the voyage, and finally, to
publish. I particularly regret not meeting you at Bristol, as I had much to say to
you relative to Rhenius, and other things connected with India, for my heart
would naturally seek sympathy and fellowship with you and those dear
brethren with whom I have no dividing thoughts relative to the great bear
ings of truth, or the truths themselves, in which lie the power and peace of
the Gospel, — neither in the objects or principles of ministry do I differ ; —
my difference with you is only as to the manner in which you maintain
your position of witnessing for the good against the evil I feel no one
ever expects me, when an acknowledged visitor in the house of another, to
be answerable for the ordering of that house, or as thereby approving it —
they would naturally come to the house in which I had control, and where
the acts were looked upon as mine, to form such a judgment ; and even in
such a case, if I was but one among many in the government, no honest
mind would make me responsible for faults, against which, in my place and
accsrding to my power, I protested ; because I submitted to those acts of
others, rather than forego a greater good, or inGur a greater evil. If it is
said man cannot discriminate, nor feel the force of my witness, unless I se
parate, not by heart and life, but by contiguity of person, altogether from all
kinds of false systems, my answer is, that He, whose place it is to judge,
and to whom we are called to approve our hearts, can, and to Him, in this
matter, I am content to stand or fall.
Some will not have me hold communion with the Scotts, because their
views are not satisfactory about the Lord's Supper ; others with you, be
cause of your views about baptism ; others with the Church of England,
because of her thoughts about ministry, I receive them all, and join with

536 APPENDIX.
them. On the principle of witnessing against evil, I should reject them all.
I feel them all, in their several particulars, sinning against the mind and
heart of Christ, and letting in, in principle, the most tremendous disorders,
and it is not for me to measure the comparative sin of one kind of disobedi
ence against another. I make use of my fellowship in the Spirit, to enjoy
the common life together, and witness for that, as an opportunity to set be
fore them those little particulars into which, notwithstanding all their grace
and faithfulness, their godliness and honesty — they have fallen. Nor shall I
¦ever feel separation from the good for the sake of the evil, to be my way of
witnessing against it, till I see infinitely clearer than I now do, that it is
God's. I naturally unite fixedly with those in whom I see and feel most of
the life and power of God. But I am as free to visit other churches, where
I see much of disorder, as to visit the houses of my friends, though they
govern them not as I could wish ; and, as I have said, I should feel it equally.
unreasonable and unkind, for any brother to judge me for it, though I leave
him in perfect liberty to judge himself; You inust not, however, dear bro
ther, think, from anything I have said, that I shall not write freely and
fully to you, relative to things in India, feeling assured in my own heart,
that your enlarged and generous spirit, so richly taught of the Lord, will
one day 'burst again those bands which narrower minds than yours have
encircled you with, and come forth- again, rather anxious to advance all the
living members of the living Head into the stature of men, than to be en
circled by any little bodies, however numerous, that - own you for fheir
founder. I honour, love, and respect your position in the Church of God ;
but the deep 'conviction I have that your spiritual power was incalculably
greater when you walked in the midst of the various congregations Of the
Lord's people, manifesting forth the life and the power of the gospel, than
now, is such that I cannot but write the above as a proof of my love and con
fidence that your mind is above considering who these remarks came from,
rather than what truth there may be in them.
Yours very affectionately in the gospel,
(Signed) A. N. Groves.
March Wth, 1836.

H.
SOME ACCOUNT OP MR. WALHOUSE. SEE PAGE 381.
It was in July, 1840, that Mr. Walhouse, accompanied by the Catechist,
Aroolappen, so often referred to in this memoir, went with Mr. F. Groves to
the Coily Hills, near Salem ; being anxious to ascertain what openings for
missionary work might be found in a location fixed on by Mr. F. Groves

APPENDIX. 537
for a coffee plantation. While there he thought of remaining, for reasons
given in' his letters, little thinking that his visit to these Hills was to prove
so speedily the means of translating him to his heavenly home. The ap
parent strength of his constitution, the energy of his character, and above
all his true devotion to the Lord, and affection to all the members of the
mission family at Chittoor, seemed to promise them a long and permanent
enjoyment of his fellowship in the work of God, and made his sudden and
most unexpected removal from, them among the most bitter trials they were
called to endure in India.
EXTRACTS PROM MR. WALHOUSE's LETTERS, FROM THE COLLY MULLY
HILLS, NEAR SALEM, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OP HIS DEATH.
" Since my arrival at this place, my mind has been greatly directed to a
union with dear Frank in cultivation ; and my more immediate purpose in
writing to you now is, to express my feelings, and consult with you on the
subject, From my first arrival on the Hills, I was greatly attached to the
people, as those among whom I would greatly prefer to labour as a mission
ary, and this before I entertained any thought of cultivation ; but since our
arrival in this valley (the most beautiful and luxuriant spot I have hitherto
seen) and personal observation convincing me that land to any extent was
procurable here, I have greatly desired, should you not object, to unite with
F. in work here, and would consider myself labouring, as regards cultivation,
for the support of the Chittoor mission, and any other of the Lord's work
in which we might be personally engaged, or otherwise interested.
" I just add, that if my proposed plan does not meet your full approval, I
shall immediately relinquish it ; but as my object fully embraces the active
preaching of the gospel, as well as other work of the Lord, I trust you will
be- inclined to bid it God speed, and approve it rather than otherwise.
By the blessing of God, not one of our servants has been ill, but all appear
to like the place, and my first impression of the healthiness of the place
is more and more confirmed ; indeed, we cannot say too much either of the
luxuriance of the land, or the beauty of the scenery ; while the balmy
and invigorating air makes one feel like school-boys just broke loose, ready
to run and jump, and fills us with new life and spirit ; truly it is another
gracious proof of the Lord's loving-kindness, wherewith He has so abund
antly followed and blessed me.
" On Wednesday we went to the Mapilly Pagoda, and took Aroolappen (the
Catechist) with us : after looking at the fish they keep almost tame in the
river, we ascended to the Pagoda, and went in. At first the Brahmins were
very civil ; but when Aroolappen began to preach the word, they got angry :
when I :spoke to them, (Aroolappen interpreting) and told them I was sorry
(hey were angry at the word spoken to them ; for if they were worshipping
the true God, they would not object either to enquiry or examination ; that
fcr my part, so far from being annoyed with them, if they were to come to

538 APPENDIX.
me to enquire about my god, I should be delighted, and would (if they
were able and willing to read) give them a book, to tell them of the one
true God and Saviour : this apparently pacified them, and after saying a few
more words, and Aroolappan speaking for himself, we came away. Aroo
lappen is very useful to us. I must now conclude with my kindest love in;
the Lord to all of you, and praying that His blessing may be with you and
us in. all we undertake, enabling us to- begin and end all our work to the
praise and glory of His holy name,
" Believe me, yours affectionately,
"J. M. W."
" Ask George to give an account of all school-boys."
August Jth. — After reeeivingafavourable reply from Mr. Groves, he writes : —
" I feel it only necessary to add my full concurrence in everything you
have stated regarding my proposed union with Frank, and to repeat my
heartfelt conviction that I would engage in nothing of the kind that has not
your sanction, and that both inclination and every feeling of gratitude
entirely forbid, on my part, the contemplation of any condition, which
would in any way involve a disconnection with the Chittoor Mission.
They succeeded in obtaining about 100 acres of terraced land from the
natives, which they found on enquiry (afterwards confirmed by the state
ment of government) had been the private property of different inhabitants
of the Hills from time immemorial, When cultivated by them they paid
rent, otherwise it remained unoccupied, as no one could settle on it without
their consent, or without agreement with them ; for unless sold to them,
none could (by law) obtain the proprietorship of it. Of their first thirty
acres, which they obtained for sixty rupees, and of which they became
absolute proprietors, they remark, it was very favourably situated, with no
jungle to cut away, in an open place ; so they were able to commence im
mediately ; and as to their purpose,, he writes : —
" August 1th. — As it regards time, you will be able to make some calcu
lation how we have been occupied, when I state that almost all the difficulties
of a first undertaking, with people utterly unused to work, save according
to. their own inclination, seem overcome. We have, I should think, nearly
five acres ploughed up, two partly weeded and almost fit for the reception of
seed and trees, I, however, desire to repeat, that it is my earnest prayer the
Lord will enable me to work hard in Tamil, in His strength, not my own."
Some account of his last illness, (Malaria fever, by Mr. F. Groves,) with
extracts from Mr.. Walhouse's two last letters, written at this period :—
" On Saturday morning, August 18th,. dear Walhouse complained of a
head-ache, and did not come out of his tent, the whole day ; the next
morning he had the same feelings of severe head-ache, with very consider-

APPENDIX. 589
able nausea. He took medicine, which seemed very considerably to relieve
him, and next day he was so far better, that he walked down to the garden
in the evening, but was obliged to go back almost immediately to the tent.
He had by this time entirely lost his appetite, and was greatly afraid of
touching anything, for fear of bringing on his head-ache again, and had
become very weak, though able to walk about a little.
" On Wednesday, the 1 2th, he was very unwell; he however felt very
comfortable all the afternoon, and sat outside the tent during the evening.
He was at this time quite free from any symptoms of delirium, and we
were speaking together on the trial, which he felt was designed entirely for
our good, and to make us look less to the creature."
The following extract from a letter to Mrs. Groves, written on this day,
will show what his state of mind was at this time ; and also the deceitful
character of the complaint, which made him so little conscious of his dan
ger. He says : —
" I have been suffering the last four days from indigestion, insomuch that
I have been confined to our tent ; and from not eating anything since dinner
time on Saturday, have been much pulled down, and feel rather weak. I
am, however, to-day much better, and feel quite the sensation of returning
health ; and truly, while the Lord teaches us what poor weak creatures we
are, He still is very gracious, and watches over us with exceeding care. I do
not think my attack in any way attributable to the climate ; but it has, I
think, been growing upon me more or less ever since I left Chittoor, but has
been prevented making head by change of scene and circumstances. Though
I have suffered a good deal, particularly the last two days, I am quite assured
Hie Lord's purpose is only love in it all ; and I pray He may graciously work
in me that which He Himself would desire to accomplish. Dear Frank
still continues as well as ever, and very industriously employed. We have
succeeded in taking in as much land as we want, and are waiting anxiously
for the mulberry and coffee plants from Chittoor, hoping they may get the
benefit of the wet season. I hope the Lord will vouchsafe you an abundant
blessing when you come to see us. I think you will find the Hill women
the most repulsive in appearance of any you have ever seen, affording a
striking Contrast to the men, who are a fine race of fellows, and grow con
tinually in interest, though difficult to manage, or rather to teach, for they
have everything to learn of our ways. 1 trust that my proposed union
With Frank will meet your approbation, especially as, by the Lord's grace,
I will never give up the active preaching of the gospel to the people, as my
great end and aim,— cultivation,— &c, being quite subsidiary to that."
Mr. F. Groves writes : —
" On Saturday, the 15th, from my being very unwell, he took our short
morning service, but it rather exhausted him. I had, however, every hope
that the disease had left him, and the only thing left Was weakness. I was
sorry, however, on Sunday afternoon, the 16th, to observe symptoms of deli-

540 APPENDIX.
rium, which increased towards the evening; but they, left him about eight
o'clock. By that time I had succeeded in getting beds made to carry us down,
which, with pillows, &c, I was enabled to make very comfortable ; and,
accompanied by forty Hill people and others, with one of our own servants,
we left this scene of mutual happiness, as well as severe trial, and proceeded.
on our journey to Salem. He appeared not to suffer from the journey.
When we had got over the worst part of the pass, half-way down, he said, he
felt very comfortable. When we arrived at the bottom, I made him a cup
of tea, of which, however, he took but little, and would not touch any solid
food. He said he felt very thankful for our being brought thus safely and
easily down. We spent the hot part of the day, (i. e. the Ithj at Chainda*
mungalum, five miles from the foot of the Hill ; he was very thirsty, but
otherwise seemed to have borne the journey very well. He went in a native
palanquin to Rasipoor in the evening, and I went in a bullock bandy, both
lent us by the head man of Chaindamungalum : he seemed weak in the
evening, and rather exhausted, and suffering from great thirst ; he however
slept till nearly one in the morning, when the bearers came and took him
into Salem, where he arrived half an hour before me."
On this morning Mr. F. Groves wrote as follows : — ¦
August \Sth, 1840.
My Dear Father,
"You will, I am sure, be sorry to hear the cause of my writing, and of
our being at Salem. Dear Walhouse is very very ill, unable to sit up in his
cot without assistance ; he is extremely weak, drinks a great deal of water
but can ear nothing at all, and has not been able to do so for more than
twelve days. I hope the Lord will be pleased to spare him to us. It has
been a season of great great anxiety to me : all our servants, except Abram
who is now here, having been ill, we managed to be carried down by the
Hill people in beds hung on a pole ; and it was trying to dear Walhouse,
-who was quite delirious before we left the Hills. The doctor here has seen
him, but will give no opinion of his case.* I have been attacked in some
what the same way as Walhouse ; but I think it might have arisen in some
measure, from the constant excitement of mind, the like of which I have.
never before experienced. I do trust the Lord will bless it to us both ; we
have had a bitter cup to drink. I will write again to-morrow, if able ; at
present I am so exhausted from want of sleep for five or six nights, that I
cannot write."
Afterwards, in speaking of this sad day, he writes : —
" I had no idea his end was so near. He spoke at times of the hope of

» The result proved this to be quite true, though the worst symptoms did not appear till
he reached Chittoor, when he became delirious, but was mercifully restored. See page J51>.

APPENDIX. 541
being able soon to ascend the Hills again. He took a warm bath, which
seemed to refresh him much. The doctor eame, and said he had fever, but
that he hoped nothing serious. A little after twelve, however, he became
delirious, and talked without hardly an idea of what he was saying :
throughout it all, however, he seemed to remember me, and constantly asked
me to give bim something to drink ; and about four the delirium had greatly
increased, when we sent immediately for the doctor again, and found to our
deep sorrow that his fever was much higher ; leeches were ordered, but his
frame seemed too much weakened to bear them ; and we perceived that he
was' gradually sinking, until at eight o'clock he was getting quite cold ; he
lay quite still, and sunk without a struggle, so that we hardly knew when
the Lord had taken him. During the whole of this trying illness, he deeply
felt and enjoyed the love of his heavenly Father, and was fully convinced
the chastening was sent him for his good : even during his delirium, the day
he died, he spoke in the sweetest way of prayer, asked Mr. Walton and
myself to join in it ; said, though unable to fix his mind in it, he felt the
great refreshment it was to his soul ; he said he wished us particularly to
pray for those dear to him at Chittoor, and all those who were dear to us
everywhere. Though his mind became completely clouded before his death;
yet the Lord seemed graciously to have allowed his Spirit to throw a cheering
ray into the midst of the gloom ; and, no doubt, he was fully prepared to
depart and be with Christ. The next evening he was buried, and Mr.
Walton read the funeral service, so fuljy applicable to his state, whose body
is to be raised incorruptible at the appearing of Jesus Christ."
The following extract from a letter, written by the gentleman at whose
house he died, (Mr. Walton, of the London Missionary Society,) is interesting,
as confirming the above statement, and as written by an eyewitness : —
Salem, \Sth August, 1840.
My Dear Brother,
It is with deep regret that I undertake the painful task of in
forming you of the death of our dear separated brother Walhouse, who
exchanged this life for that which is eternal last night, at a quarter after
nine o'clock. His end was peace ! His disembodied spirit took its flight to
the regions of the blessed. Yesterday morning, he, with Mr. Groves,
arrived at the mission house from the Cooly Mooly Hills. Poor Mr. Wal
house appeared to be very ill indeed, from the effects of the fever, with
which he was attacked two weeks ago. The doctor was immediately sent
for, who tried many remedies ; but towards the afternoon, the paroxysms
of the disease began to assume an alarming appearance : he began to be
delirious. The doctor was again sent for, who very kindly came without
any delay; ordered the hair of his head to be shaved, and twenty-four
leeches to be applied to his temples. After the doctor went away, he
requested that I should engage in prayer, saying, " 0, what a delightful en-

542 APPENDIX.
gagement is prayer ! I would wish to be engaged in it always. 0, for the
Holy Spirit's influences to teach us to pray. 0, let us remember our
Chittoor brethren in prayer." About an hour afterwards he made the same
request, which was attended to. In this holy exercise, he appeared to enjoy
much of the divine presence. We then little thought that he would, within
a very few short hours, have to exchange prayer for never-ceasing praise to
God and to the Lamb. At six p. M. he began to sink gradually and calmly,
during which time he manifested symptoms of delirium and spoke in a loud
tone of voice, rather incoherently. Commenced to breathe very hard at
eight p.m. The doctor very kindly called again to see him, but our dear,
much lamented brother, was unconscious of any person or thing connected?
with this our perishable earth. When we perceived the mortal life fast
ebbing away, and giving place to that which is eternal, we knelt down and
commended the departing spirit unto the hands of Him " who is the resurrec
tion and the life." A few minutes after, without a Struggle or a groan, he'
gently breathed his spirit into the hands of Jesus, there to enjoy that rest
prepared for the people of God.
From my short acquaintance with him, I esteemed him highly for that
spiritual mindedness, which seemed to pervade the whole tenor of his conver
sation. He really seemod to possess a missionary spirit, his whole soul was
absorbed with a grand and noble object, and he ardently longed, tharotigh the
blessing of the great Head of the Church, to become the honoured instru
ment of hastening, as it were, the latter-day glory. The following extract
from one of his letters to me, in reference to missionary work and the motive
which had actuated him to attempt a settlement on the Hills, will speak for
itself. " You will, I am sure, rejoice with us, that the Lord has thus graciously
opened the door to us for the prosecution of our plans, and has also kept us
both in health. We shall carry on our missionary work among the heathen,
according to the apostolic plan ; labouring with our own hands that the
Lord Jesus may be glorified in us and by us. We have much, indeed, to be
thankful for. Truly the Lord has abounded towards us, and may He. give,
us grace to abound towards Him, devoting ourselves and energies, both 'of
mind and body, a living sacrifice to Him, as our reasonable service."

It is an interesting fact that the individual here alluded to has, since Mr.
Groves's death, seen his mistake, and writes to Mrs. Groves. —
" June 26/ft, 1855.
"You will recollect how severely I blamed your husband for his love to
and fellowship with Christians of all denominations. I cannot tell you how
I was filled with grief, when I discovered how I had been acting against the
will and mind of the Lord. I am not going to explain what led me into suchc

APPENDIX. 543
wild1 notions, as it does not justify such a narrowness of spirit and mind. I
plead guilty unconditionally, for I have sinned. It was not the love of
Jesus that led me. I long for a heart that loves every one because they love
Jesus, and not because they have certain notions. I wish I could see now
your husband, but he is sf e with the Lord beyond the reach of strife."
J.
Mr. Groves's sons combine with their active duties as superintendents of
the sugar factory, near Seringapatam, a spiritual care and oversight of the
people among whom they labour in secular things, as also a deep interest for
the,Jjeathen and Eoman Catholics between whom the village of Palhully is
divided. , With the consent of other shareholders, who are mostly pious per
sons, a building for worship has been appropriated near the factory : this is
used also for a school-room.
Mr. H. Groves, who has been for many years a follower of Christ, who
understands more than one native language, and, like his father, is gifted in
ministering the word of God, is well able to instruct those around him ; and
they support a native catechist to help them. A missionary who sometimes
visits $hem, writes : —
"Palhully is quite a little colony now. It has a chapel, regular services,
native teacher, schools, and missionary meetings."
Of Mr. H. Groves his young brother Edward writes : —
" Our dear minister, for such he truly has become, is first in the chapel
every morning in the week, and we have a service to which all are invited
whose hearts are made willing. He visits from house to house among the
people, and encourages all to open their hearts to him, and preaches such
plain beautiful gospel sermons, that all can understand."
,He has had the joy of witnessing the fruit of his ministry in some inter
esting eases. One of the principal overseers, a Eoman Catholic, and his
wife, have been brought to the Lord : also a young man, who, from childhood,
was.-, educated in one of our mission schools at Chittoor, of all of whom
happy accounts are given. They have also frequent visits from Mr. Hebeck,
the German missionary, who helps them much in the work of God, and, as
they say, "stirs them up."
Thus, in the providence of God, they illustrate the principle their father
so desired to see carried out in India, of uniting spiritual and manual labour,
and while availing themselves of the facilities the country affords for
their support, they not only seek the blessing of the people among whom
they dwell, but strengthen the hands of other missionaries.
FINIS.
N. B, Any who want further information about the past and present hi*-

544 APPENDIX.
. . M
tory of those missionaries mentioned in this memoir in connection with Mr.
Groves, are referred to the. " Missionary Eeporter," edited by Mr. J. Van
Sommer, Tottenham, Middlesex.
It is published monthly. Application to be made direct to the Editor.

ERRATA.

For "Caldicott," read "Caldecott." For "MacCarthy," read "Macarthy." For
"MacFarlane," read " Macfarlane." For "Residency" (203), read "Presidency."
In the heading of the 18th Chapter, for "amoy," read "many.'1 For "praying,"
p. 199, read "prayer has been." For " Chictracole," read " Chicacole." For p. " 522,"
in the Appendix, read p. " 536," carrying on the correction* to the end.

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