2, 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 RIGHT REV. DANIEL CORRIE, LL.D. 
 
Woodman. 
 
 Fleet Street JanT 1847. 
 
MEMOIRS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 RIGHT REV. DANIEL CORRIE, LLD. 
 
 il 
 
 FIRST BISHOP OF HABEAS. 
 
 COMPILED CHIEFLY FROM HIS OWN LETTERS AND JOURNALS, 
 
 BY HIS BROTHERS. 
 
 SEELEY, BURNSIDE, AND SEELEY, 
 
 FLEET STREET, LONDON 
 
 MDCCCXLVII. 
 
At 
 
 MORSE STEPHENS 
 
 LEONARD SHELBY, PRINTER, 
 THAMES DITTON. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 As the greater portion of these Memoirs of a loved 
 and honoured brother, have heen derived from his 
 own papers, it is hoped that the risk of representing 
 him other than he really was has, in a great mea- 
 sure, been avoided. In making use, however, of 
 such materials as were in the possession of the Edi- 
 tors, they judged it to be desirable to give somewhat 
 copious details of their brother's earlier ministerial 
 labours, because they conceived that it was then 
 that the principles and motives by which through- 
 out life he desired to be actuated were most se- 
 verely tested. The Editors were of opinion, too, 
 that whilst many of the particulars connected with 
 their brother's earlier labours in Northern India, 
 would be new to the great proportion of the present 
 generation, these records of " the day of small 
 things " could not be without interest and use to 
 all who may be engaged in the work of Missions. 
 
 To account for the delay attending the appear- 
 ance of this Volume, it may be proper to state, that, 
 independently of the time consumed in the trans- 
 
 511660 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 mission of some papers from India, many unfore- 
 seen circumstances prevented the brother who had 
 undertaken the task, from preparing any portion of 
 these Memoirs for the press until August, 1845. 
 At that time it pleased God to visit him with a 
 serious illness, which ultimately brought him to 
 the grave ; and thus the responsibility of complete- 
 ing what an abler hand had commenced, devolv- 
 ed on the only surviving brother, who, in his turn, 
 has not been altogether free from those interrup- 
 tions which arise out of the duties and afflictions 
 of ordinary life. 
 
 It remains to acknowledge, with thanks, the 
 obligation of the Editors to the Lord Bishop of 
 Oxford, for the Letters which the subject of these 
 Memoirs addressed to the Rev. D. Brown, the Rev. 
 H. Martyn, and the Rev. J. Sargent ; to the Lord 
 Bishop of Calcutta, for the account of the Visitation 
 of the Upper Provinces, which appears in pp. 529 
 and seq ; to the widow of the late Rev. J. Buckworth, 
 for letters addressed to her husband ; and to the 
 Archdeacon Harper for letters and information con- 
 nected with the Diocese of Madras. It will be seen 
 also, that the Editors of these Memoirs have been 
 much indebted to the correspondence of their brother 
 with Mr. Sherer, of the Bengal Civil Service, him- 
 self recently numbered with the dead who are 
 waiting for the resurrection to eternal life. 
 
 January 28, 1847. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HIS EARLY LIFE AND MINISTRATIONS. . . page \ 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 DEPARTURE FOR INDIA VOYAGE ARRIVAL AT CALCUTTA . page 23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 AT ALDEEN APPOINTED TO CHUNAR. . . page 47 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SETTLEMENT AT CHUNAR. .... page 66 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 RESIDENCE AT CHUNAR. .... page 88 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 VISIT TO CALCUTTA ARRIVAL OF HIS SISTER. . page 118 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 REMOVES FROM CHUNAR ARRIVES AT CAWNPORE ILLNESS OF 
 
 MRS. MARTYN. ..... page 140 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 RESIDENCE AT CAWNPORE. .... page 178 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CAWNPORE COEL RETURN TO CALCUTTA. . . page 201 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CALCUTTA. ..... page 227 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 IX 
 
 page 245 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 VOYAGE TO ENGLAND. ..... page 280 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 RETURN TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 page 295 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 REMOVAL TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 page 320 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 CAWNPORE CALCUTTA RETURN OF MR. THOMASON DEATH OF 
 BISHOP HEBER. ..... 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ARRIVAL OF BISHOP JAMES CONSECRATION OF THE BISHOP'S 
 COLLEGE DEATH OF BISHOP JAMES VISIT TO THE UPPER 
 
 PROVINCES. . . . . . . page 415 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 GOVERNMENT RETRENCHMENTS PLAN FOR A COLLEGE DEATH OF 
 MR. THOMASON ABOLITION OF SUTTEE ARRIVAL OF BISHOP 
 
 TURNER. . . . . . page 440 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 DISQUIETUDE CONCERNING THE ANGLO-HINDOO COLLEGE DEATH 
 
 OF BISHOP TURNER. .... page 481 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ARRIVAL OF BISHOP WILSON BAPTISM OF NATIVES ORDINATIONS 
 VISITATION OF THE UPPER PROVINCES. . page 519 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 DELAY IN HIS NOMINATION TO THE BISHOPRIC NARROW ESCAPE 
 FROM DEATH SUMMONED TO ENGLAND VISITS THE CAPE AND 
 
 ST. HELENA HIS CONSECRATION INTERVIEW WITH THE KING 
 
 ARRIVAL IN MADRAS VISIT TO TANJORE AND TINNE- 
 
 VELLY. ...... page 563 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 CHURCH-BUILDING FUND SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR THE IRISH CLERGY 
 THE MADRAS GRAMMAR SCHOOL MEMORIAL TO GOVERNMENT 
 
 PRIMARY VISITATION DEATH OF MRS. CORRIE ORDINATION 
 
 DEATH OF BISHOP CORRTE. . . page 603 
 
MEMOIRS, 
 
 ETC. 
 
MEMOIRS, 
 
 ETC. ETC. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HIS EARLY LIFE AND MINISTRATIONS. 
 
 DANIEL CORRIE, the subject of this Memoir, was 
 born on the 10th of April 1777, and was the eldest 
 surviving son of the late Rev. John Corrie, for 
 many years Curate of Colsterworth, in the county 
 of Lincoln, and Vicar of Osbournby in the same 
 county, and afterwards Rector of Morcott, in the 
 county of Rutland. The history of the early part 
 of Mr. Corrie's life will be best told by the following 
 extract from his private Journal, dated on his 
 twenty-seventh birthday : 
 
 " Alas, when I look back, what a dreary waste appears ! 
 Seventeen years spent at home without a thought of God or 
 salvation, though I had the benefit of family worship, and 
 abundance of good advice. The succeeding four years I spent 
 
 B 
 
'2 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 with Mr. E,* principally in London, and its neighbourhood, 
 exposed to every temptation. The first serious resolution I 
 made of reformation was on the night of February 10, 1798, 
 on which I heard of my mother's death, which, occurring 
 suddenly, was a great shock to me. I loved her most dearly, 
 and had much reason to do so. Being totally ignorant, 
 however, of my own depravity, and in darkness as it regarded 
 the work of the Redeemer, I soon broke all my resolutions. 
 In May 1798, I returned to my father : and, being removed 
 from my temptations, I was in hope of effectually reforming 
 myself; but, alas ! on every convenient occasion, I became 
 the prey of my former temptations. In the October of that 
 year, we removed from Colsterworth to Grantham, where I 
 became still more strict, attending every month at the Lord's 
 Table ; but I was still ignorant of the way of salvation. In 
 the summer of 1799, 1 was entered of Clare Hall, Cambridge ; 
 and before going into residence, I met frequently with Mr. 
 G. N., who took much pains to direct my views aright ; but 
 I obstinately withstood him, and succeeded too fatally, I fear, 
 in hardening C. against his admonitions. Still, I was desti- 
 tute of true peace, and determined on greater strictness, such 
 as fasting and penance, &c. &c. I went into residence at 
 Cambridge, October 1799; but instead of further reforma- 
 tion, I spent my first year in a round of dissipation. Still, 
 however, I maintained appearances, being seldom out of 
 gates after ten o'clock, or being absent from chapel. I went 
 occasionally to Trinity Church, f though I was much dis- 
 gusted with what I heard there. During the summer of 
 1800, I had time for reflection, and returned to college in 
 the autumn, with some faint desires of doing better. At 
 Christmas of that year, I was appointed to an exhibition at 
 Trinity Hall, and removed thither in the January of 1801. 
 
 * A friend who had expressed an intention of providing in life 
 for Mr. C. 
 
 t The church of which the late Rev. Charles Simeon was then 
 Incumbent. 
 
HIS EARLY LIFE. O 
 
 I now began to feel a growing attachment to Mr. Simeon's 
 ministry, although I seldom ventured to take a seat. Re- 
 turning home in June 1801, reformed in a great degree in 
 my outward conduct, and with desires the world could not 
 satisfy, it was my happiness to find John Buckworth,* at his 
 father's ; who, taking me to visit some religious people, I 
 insensibly began to love their society, and to perceive that it 
 was the way of life I desired to follow. I reflect with much 
 gratitude on the kindness and forbearance of my friend 
 Buckworth, who led me on by degrees, till I ventured to 
 speak to him of my state ; and from that time I have ex- 
 perienced a pleasure in the ways of God before unknown. 
 Yet, alas ! I began to be proud ; and returned to college in 
 October 1801 full of self-conceit. I now attended Trinity 
 Church regularly ; but my walk was very uneven. About 
 Christmas I fell grievously, and continued for about a fort- 
 night full of terror, and without resolution to proceed. It 
 pleased the Lord, however, to raise me up again ; and since 
 that period I have had no distressing apprehensions respect- 
 ing God's willingness, and the Saviour's sufficiency, to save 
 to the uttermost/' 
 
 With reference to what Mr. Corrie terms in the 
 foregoing extract, a grievous fall, he expressed 
 himself to his friend Buckworth, in a letter dated 
 Dec. 25, 1801, as follows: 
 
 " I was too forward and presumptuous in my notions of 
 acceptance with God, and of an interest in the Saviour ; and 
 God has thus left me to myself, to prove to me the pride and 
 deceit of my heart. I have been ashamed of my Saviour, 
 and he has withdrawn from me the sense of His presence ; 
 and dismay and a fearful looking for of judgment has taken 
 
 * The late Rev. John Buckworth, Vicar of Dewsbury, whose 
 father was an inhabitant of Colsterworth . 
 
 B 2 
 
MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 possession'of my soul. Yet the anxiety and longing after 
 His presence, which I feel, leads me to hope that He will 
 not cast me off for ever. God, Thou knowest my heart : 
 Thou knowest that I trust not in my own self for strength 
 to serve Thee. O shut not Thy merciful ears to my prayers ! " 
 
 After keeping the usual number of Terms in 
 Cambridge, Mr. Corrie was ordained Deacon on 
 Trinity Sunday, June 13, 1802, by Dr. Tomline, 
 Bishop of Lincoln, to the curacy of Buckminster, 
 in the county of Leicester. His views and feelings 
 with respect to the Christian ministry, are expressed 
 in the following extract from a letter written about 
 the time of ordination to Mr. Buckworth : 
 
 " The ministry appears to be indeed an awful undertaking : 
 the nearer the time approaches, the more difficult do the 
 duties of it appear. At C. the obstacles seem to be greater 
 than elsewhere. for a firm reliance on that grace that 
 can overcome all obstacles, and make even a bed of thorns 
 easy ! " 
 
 Shortly after Mr. Corrie had been ordained to the 
 curacy of Buckminster, he received an appointment 
 to that of Stoke Eochford also. On this latter 
 curacy he resided, until in 1806 he accepted a 
 chaplaincy to the East India Company ; and his 
 correspondence with Mr. Buckworth, affords us 
 some notices of his early ministerial life. In a 
 letter dated November 10, 1802, he writes, 
 
 " I yesterday met a large party from Skillington at N.'s. 
 You know I never was among them before. I felt little 
 edification : their manner of expression, and many passages 
 
HIS EARLY MINISTRATIONS. O 
 
 in their hymns, were not in unison with my frame. I felt 
 not that ' Nature's last agony was o'er ; ' or that ' all was 
 torn from my bleeding heart ; ' but thought that ' would to 
 God this were my experience ! ' that I might love Him 
 supremely that I might burn with love in return for His 
 matchless goodness ! But, what I most objected to was 
 a hymn, beginning, f Abraham when severely tried/ and 
 in the third line, ' He with the harsh command complied/ 
 I may not be correct in any except the marked words ; but 
 surely nothing can be ' severe, ' or f harsh, ' which proceeds 
 from a God of love, who is engaged to make all things 
 work together for our good. Send me word, dear B. what 
 you think of these things : whether these remarks are not 
 the offspring of a captious and weak head ; or whether it is 
 an artifice of Satan to prevent me from profiting by their 
 company ; for, certain it is, I feel little of that elevation I 
 have often felt after religious conversation. I spent the 
 evening of Sunday at Mrs. B/s, I trust profitably. Some 
 of their relations were there, and went away seemingly 
 impressed. May God fix what was said on their hearts ! 
 I spoke to them from my favourite subject, 2 Cor. viii. 9. 
 The subject of our poverty, and the way in which we were 
 made rich in Christ, were the principal topics I dwelt on. 
 that He would be pleased to own the labours of the very 
 least of his servants, who am not worthy to be called a 
 servant ! Blessed be He who has ' laid help on one that is 
 mighty ; ' and blessed be He who knows how to pity our 
 infirmities, and will send his Spirit to teach us what to ask 
 for. How my praise for ever flows, to the adorable Trinity 
 for that grand scheme of redemption ! While I write, I 
 feel the efficacy of Christ's atoning blood to purify souls 
 polluted as mine. when shall redemption in its fullest 
 import appear ! When shall we begin the triumphant song 
 of the redeemed, ' To Him who loved us and washed us 
 from our sins in his own blood ! ' " 
 
MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " March 7, 1803. 
 
 " My time, sorry am I to say, has passed heavily of late. 
 Such backwardness to communion with God, such sloth- 
 fulness in His service : so many painful apprehensions with 
 regard to temporal inconveniences : so many distressing 
 doubts with regard to retaining Stoke ! You, perhaps, 
 will not wonder when I tell you that, what with inward 
 conflict and outward service, I am brought very low; or 
 that these unbelieving fears have provoked the Holy Spirit 
 of God to leave me, in some measure, to wrestle with those 
 inward and hidden corruptions of my heart, which, like a 
 troubled sea, throw up mire and dirt in abundance. Yet 
 by this, if by nothing else, do I know that the Lord favours 
 me, since my enemies, who have assaulted me so continually, 
 have not prevailed against me. And though my soul is 
 cast down ; yet do I not doubt but that, when the Lord 
 sees fit, I shall praise Him, and again rejoice in the God of 
 my salvation. 
 
 " You desire to know how I go on, that is, I suppose, 
 how the work of the Lord prospers. that I had more to 
 tell you on this head ! At Sewstern, I have reason to fear 
 that my hopes were too sanguine. Miss N. was last week 
 attacked very suddenly with a fainting fit. It happened to 
 be the day I was to drink tea with them. I found them 
 much alarmed ; and, it gave me an opportunity of speaking 
 on the necessity of a speedy application to Christ. . . . 
 May the Spirit of God apply it to their hearts ! At Easton, 
 I was called to visit a woman who has been long confined, 
 though till lately unknown to me. I trust that the Lord 
 has indeed visited her in mercy. I found her at first in a 
 very contented state, supposing, (in her own words), that 
 she had ' a good repenting heart.' I endeavoured to con- 
 vince her that by nature no one has a repenting heart, but 
 on the contrary that it is only evil, yea ' desperately wicked/ 
 On my return a few days after, I found her in much anxiety, 
 
HIS EARLY MINISTRATIONS. 7 
 
 saying that she had been deceived in her opinion of herself, 
 &c. ; and though her doubts are not yet removed, I trust 
 she disclaimed all other ground of confidence but the Re- 
 deemer's merits. This is matter of much comfort to me ; 
 and what comfort that I have myself been taught these 
 things ! Might I not have been ' a blind leader of the 
 blind.' Might I not still have been the slave of Satan, and 
 been his instrument in destroying souls ? ' to grace how 
 great a debtor ! ' ' 
 
 " April 25, 1803. 
 
 (e Soon after my last letter to you, peace began to dawn 
 upon my soul ; and by imperceptible advances gradually to 
 increase. I have since then enjoyed in general a settled 
 calm ; though of late I have been severely exercised by the 
 revival of corruptions which I had hoped were in a great 
 measure subdued. The Lord has let me plainly see that 
 the seeds of these evils still remain. At the same time I 
 have reason to bless His name, who has made me more than 
 conqueror. Mr. Newton's letter on Temptation suits my 
 experience on that subject ; and it has been the instrument 
 of much comfort and strength to me. 
 
 " You perhaps have learned from the newspapers the sudden 
 death of Mr. Cholmeley.* He was riding with some 
 friends near his own house, and fell from his horse in a fit, 
 and expired in a few minutes, without speaking a word : 
 he was buried last Saturday. How loudly do such provi- 
 dences call upon us to be in continual readiness ; not only 
 to awake from sin, but to be diligent in the improvement of 
 our talent, that when our Lord cometh, He may receive 
 His own with usury." 
 
 * Montague Cholmeley, Esq. of Easton Hall, near Grantham, 
 one of Mr. Corrie's parishioners, and grandfather of the present 
 Sir Montague J. Cholmeley, Bart. 
 
8 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " Colsterworth, June 8, 1803. 
 
 kl Your letter directed to High Street, followed me hither. 
 I should have answered it sooner, but have been much en- 
 gaged in catechising, attending visitations, &c., besides my 
 usual avocations. With yourself, I have to complain of 
 much deadness of soul; though I enjoy now and then a 
 passing glimpse of the Divine goodness, for which I have 
 much reason to be thankful, and which keeps my soul 
 athirst for God, and leads me to long for brighter manifesta- 
 tions of His love. I cannot but adore the condescension of 
 Jehovah,who, I trust, smiles upon my labours, and owns 
 His own work in the most worthless of His creatures." 
 
 " Stoke, October 31, 1803. 
 
 " What obligations am I under to you for the part you 
 have taken, in leading my feet into the ways of peace ! 
 But, what infinitely greater obligations do I owe to the 
 Friend of Sinners ! That name, the ' Friend of Sinners/ 
 endears the adorable Saviour to my soul ; and gladly would I 
 leave all things here below to see Him as he is, and love 
 Him as I ought. But His time is best : and it is infinite 
 condescension that He grants us here some visits of His 
 love, and gives us to taste a blessedness begun. When I 
 read your letter, I was almost ready to envy you the pleasure 
 you must have enjoyed during your stay in London ; but a 
 little reflection reconciled me to my confined situation. 
 Though you were feasted with spiritual dainties, yet unless 
 your spiritual appetite was good you would pine in the 
 midst of plenty ; and, blessed be His name, where He 
 creates an appetite, He will surely satisfy it, were it in a 
 desert. ' If Elijah wants food, ravens shall feed him/ . . . 
 I have in general enjoyed much comfort in private, but my 
 public duties have not brought me so much consolation. 
 
HIS EARLY MINISTRATIONS. 
 
 So much of self mixes with all I do, that it mars my peace j 
 and, I fear, hinders the success of my labours ; though it 
 seems the highest presumption to limit the Almighty, or to 
 suppose that a ' potsherd of the earth ' should obstruct His 
 designs. The Sunday preceding the Fast- day, I en- 
 deavoured to prepare the minds of the people for that oc- 
 casion; and was happy to find that it was not without 
 effect. The three churches were crowded. I took my text 
 from Psalm lix. 1, 2. I have read lately two of the Homilies, 
 ' the Homily on the Misery of Man/ and ' the Homily on 
 Salvation/ By the advice of my father, I reserve the others 
 for the festivals for which they are appointed. I hope this 
 may have the effect of removing prejudice the Lord grant 
 it may ! I can appeal to Him that my desires are to be use- 
 ful in His vineyard. May that sovereign grace be magnified 
 which has inspired the desire ! Yesterday my father ad- 
 ministered the Sacrament for me at Buckminster ; the num- 
 ber of communicants was unusually large, though it is a 
 time of the year in which the people do not usually attend in 
 numbers. I hope this is a token for good, and an en- 
 couragement to persevere and wait the Lord's time 
 
 " My dear friend, forget me not at the throne of grace : 
 thither I always bear you in my mind, and I have much 
 need of your prayers, that I may have utterance given me 
 to declare the mysteries of the Gospel. This is all that is 
 worth living for, to make known the riches of Divine grace, 
 and to be instrumental in winning souls to Christ. Yet, O 
 what coldness and backwardness I feel even in this delight- 
 * ful service ! . . . . 
 
 " Did you, my friend, partial as you are, but know the 
 thoughts that haunt my soul, and pursue me even into the 
 pulpit, your good opinion would, I fear, be turned into 
 disgust. But ' this is a saying worthy of all acceptation, 
 that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners/ 
 This is all my salvation, and all my desire ; and this shall 
 be all my theme, ' Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. 
 
10 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 From this hold, Satan has not prevailed to drive me of late. 
 To this hold will I cling, for He that is my righteousness is 
 also my strength, and in His strength I shall be more than 
 conqueror. May the soul of my friend ' blossom as the 
 rose ; and be as the garden of the Lord, well watered every 
 where and fruitful ! ' " 
 
 " London, December 20, 1803. 
 
 " I rejoice that you seem to expect no further hinderance 
 to your ordination at Easter. I hope you will be abundantly 
 blessed in your labours, for truly nothing else can satisfy a 
 soul thirsting after the honour that comes of God. We need 
 much patience, dear B., that after having done the will of 
 God we may inherit the promises 
 
 ' God moves in a mysterious way, 
 His wonders to perform,' 
 
 and, when our finite capacities can discover no good working, 
 He is bringing about the purposes of His own will. 
 Often has he given my impatient soul to see this : in a 
 moment hushed the storm of raging and impetuous 
 passions; and made, even when all in prospect seemed 
 gloomy, a great calm. This experience has been of great 
 service to me, in enabling me to impart consolation to others, 
 and to comfort them with the same comfort wherewith I 
 myself have been comforted of God. the heights and 
 depths, and lengths and breadths, of the love and con- 
 descension of God, to submit, as it were, to the caprices of 
 the creatures of His hand, yea, of the rebels against His 
 government ! { Is this the manner of men, Lord ? ' I 
 feel, indeed, according to your expression, that ' without all- 
 sufficient grace, quickly would my heart return to the indul- 
 gence of those things which my judgment tells me, are 
 nothing but vanity and sin/ In the review of my experience 
 since I came hither, much cause of praise appears. That 
 
HIS EARLY MINISTRATIONS. 11 
 
 promise has been very abundantly realized, ' He will not 
 suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able, but will 
 with the temptation make a way to escape/ And having 
 this experience I would gladly ' cast all my care upon Him/ 
 who, I trust, ' careth for me,' in expectation that He will 
 ' keep me by His mighty power through faith unto salvation.'" 
 
 " Stoke, February 14, 1804. 
 
 " I anticipate much pleasure in your company and from 
 hearing you preach in some of my churches. I have, how- 
 ever, I trust, learned in some poor measure to ( cease from 
 man ; ' nor do I expect either pleasure or comfort further 
 than as a Divine blessing shall attend our communications. 
 The work of the ministry seems to be followed with little 
 effect in this place : for my own part, however, I have felt 
 much freedom from slavish fear; and have delivered my 
 message with boldness. If it were the will of God, I 
 should rejoice in some visible effects ; but I desire to resign 
 myself to His pleasure. 
 
 " The Methodists have at length established preaching at 
 Sewstern ; and, I understand, some have been brought under 
 convictions by their means. If the work be of God, I 
 would gladly bid it God speed ; and if it be of man, it will 
 come to nothing. The ministers of the Established Church 
 labour under some disadvantages, from the necessity of 
 
 having so many parishes to attend to, &c Every day 
 
 convinces me more of the necessity of subordination in 
 religious, as well as civil affairs. The want of this is the 
 cause of that mania, if I may so speak, which prevails 
 among the Methodists, and bids fair in time to turn them all 
 into preachers and no hearers. They seem to look upon 
 preaching as the only instrument of conversion, and over- 
 look other means, such as reflection, self-examination, &c. ; 
 hence their various backslidings, falling from grace, &c., with 
 
12 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the many reproaches that are brought upon the gospel thereby. 
 These things make me lament sincerely, the defection which, 
 I fear, daily takes place from the Establishment. Pure in 
 her doctrines, and apostolic in her constitution, our Church 
 seems, indeed, ' the pillar and ground of truth ; ' and the 
 best means, under the great Head, of keeping men in the 
 simplicity of the gospel. I would not, however, say with 
 Mr. D. that there is no salvation out of her pale. I would 
 rather pray, earnestly pray, for a revival of vital godliness 
 in her sons that it would ' please God to illumi- 
 nate all Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, with true know- 
 ledge and understanding of His word ; ' and enable them to 
 shew its real power both in their preaching and living. . . " 
 
 " April 4, 1804. 
 
 "I should have answered your letter sooner, but have 
 been both very unwell and very much engaged. Mrs. B. 
 left this life for a better, in the night of the 26th ultimo. I 
 was in the house at the time of her departure, and I trust 
 profited by the awful event. She was sensible at the last, 
 though for some days she had been wandering. Frequently 
 during her illness, she confessed that she had no hope but 
 in the blood and righteousness of Christ, and wished to re- 
 ceive Him as her King to make her holy, as well as her 
 Prophet to teach her, and her Priest to atone for her trans- 
 gressions. It was matter of surprise to me to hear her ex- 
 press herself with a correctness on the work of the Redeemer, 
 which had been unusual to her ; and did not seem to be 
 expected from one who had become so late in life acquainted 
 with the way of salvation. I have felt more than I had 
 expected to feel from the departure of one of my most con- 
 stant and attentive hearers. May the effect be lasting ! 
 
 " I have of late had reason to bless God for some visible 
 testimony of His acceptance of my labours. Soon after you 
 left us, I went to visit an old person and his wife at Sews- 
 
HIS EARLY MINISTRATIONS. 13 
 
 tern, and trust that the man is in a hopeful way. Some 
 persons at Easton, too, have been awakened, and now meet 
 for the purpose of social worship. The multitude, alas ! 
 continue inattentive: but, one soul saved, and that the 
 meanest or weakest of God's creation, is abundant recom- 
 pense for a life of toil and labour. 
 
 " Last Sunday, I exchanged duty with Mr. G. at W. It 
 is grievous to observe so small an attendance at public wor- 
 ship. It seems a beacon to warn us of the ill consequences 
 of irregularity. When a man shews a contempt for the in- 
 stitutions of the church to which he belongs, the profanum 
 vulguSj though dull enough in general, can easily see the 
 motive that keeps him in the church, and they learn to de- 
 spise the person who, for the sake of emolument, will con- 
 tinue a member of the church/' 
 
 To the foregoing notices of Mr. Corrie's early 
 ministerial labours, may be added an extract from 
 his Journal, dated April 10, 1804. 
 
 "On Trinity Sunday, June 13, 1802, I was ordained 
 Deacon. I trust I had a desire to do good to the souls of 
 men ; but it was, as I now perceive, very faint, though I 
 hope my labours have not been in vain. And now, Lord, 
 I desire to adore that sovereign grace, which plucked me as 
 a brand from the mouth of the devouring flame ! I would 
 pour out my soul in gratitude, to that dear Redeemer, whose 
 intercession has delivered me from so great a death ; and 
 would bless the Holy and Eternal Spirit who has enlightened 
 my dark understanding, so that though I know not the hour, 
 nor the day, nor the month, nor even the year, when He 
 graciously wrought savingly upon me, yet I can say, 
 ' Whereas I was blind, now I see/ Holy, Blessed, and 
 glorious Trinity, let thy choicest blessings descend on Mr. 
 Simeon, who, regardless of the frowns he might incur, faith- 
 fully warned me of my danger ; and let thy watchful Provi- 
 
14 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 dence ever protect my friend Buckworth, dearer than a 
 brother ; and, 0, pardon my manifold sins ! This is all my 
 hope, that the blood of Jesus Christ eleanseth from all sin, 
 and that His Spirit is powerful to subdue the most inveterate 
 corruptions. 
 
 1 On thee alone my hope relies, 
 At thy dear cross I fall, 
 My Lord, my Life, my Righteousness, 
 My Saviour, and my all.' 
 
 Impart to me from thy fulness, and let me evermore be abound- 
 ing in thy work. I trust thou hast given me to desire the 
 furtherance of thy glory. Enable me to act accordingly, and 
 to live to Him who loved me and gave himself for me. Let 
 nothing ever prevail to allure me from Thee, neither the 
 hope of preferment, nor the fear of opposition. I have a 
 deceitful and desperately wicked heart, but I trust thou wilt 
 never leave me nor forsake me, seeing thou hast given me to 
 hope in thy word/' 
 
 During the Easter Term 1804, Mr. Corrie 
 returned to Cambridge for the purpose of keeping 
 his Law Exercises;* and on Sunday, June 10th, of 
 that year, was ordained Priest at Buckden, an event 
 which he thus notices: 
 
 " This day I have been admitted to the sacred Order of 
 Priests. I have much, Lord, to be grateful to Thee for ! 
 I was kept calm and collected during the examination ; and, 
 (glory be to Thy name ! ) I have been given to feel, in 
 some measure, my insufficiency for these things. Make 
 me, I beseech thee, more sensible of this, and grant that 
 the solemn transactions of this day may never rise up in 
 judgment against me ! Let me be a light in the world, 
 
 * It was now that Mr. Corrie became more intimately acquainted 
 with Henry Martyn than he had before been. 
 
HIS EARLY MINISTRATIONS. 15 
 
 showing forth thy praise ; and make me, both in life and 
 doctrine, an example to Thy flock. Lord, excite in my 
 heart strong desires after the welfare of immortal souls ; 
 and grant that those to whom, I trust, thou hast sent me, 
 may be ' turned from darkness to light, and from the power 
 of Satan unto God.' To thee I look : on thee I would 
 depend. Blessed Jesus ! be thou my righteousness and my 
 strength. Fulfil all the good pleasure of thy will in me." 
 
 In answer to a letter received from Mr. Buck- 
 worth, who, the Easter previously 3 had been ordained 
 to the curacy of Dewsbury, he writes, August 24th, 
 1804: 
 
 "I rejoice to hear of the success of your ministerial 
 efforts. that the Lord would hasten the time when 
 Satan's kingdom shall be finally demolished, and the king- 
 dom of the Messiah established on its ruins ! You will now 
 have another snare to contend with ; the Lord having been 
 pleased to own you for his servant, Satan will now seek to 
 exalt you beyond measure. We tread in a narrow path : 
 dangers stand thick around : a single false step may lead to 
 consequences most ruinous. what need of watchfulness ! 
 May the ' Watchman of Israel ' guard you ; then will you 
 be secure indeed ! For myself, I can but just discern the 
 pulse of spiritual life to beat, and that chiefly by the strug- 
 gle between sin and grace. Alas ! I have no active exer- 
 tions to reflect on. That I am not the willing captive of 
 natural inclination is all that I can say. Since you were 
 here, I have been obliged to apply for medical aid, and have 
 found considerable relief (thanks be to the chief Physician !) 
 so that I am now in usual health, except that I am op- 
 pressed with a languor which distresses me exceedingly, and 
 leaves me only able to sigh and cry. How cheering the 
 consideration that ' our life is hid with Christ in God ! ' 
 There it is secure. How animating the thought that ' when 
 
16 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear 
 with him in glory ! ' the wonders of redeeming love, 
 that worms, rebellious worms, may not only hope, but 
 confidently expect such transcendent blessedness ! For 
 Christ our Head having endured the cross, to deny Him the 
 rewards of His sufferings would be an injustice incapable of 
 entering the Eternal mind. What shall I render [to the 
 Lord] that amidst all my deadness, this hope is not taken 
 from me ? My help it standeth only with the Lord ; and 
 though I am destitute of sensible comfort, yet I am ena- 
 bled to rest upon the unchangeable word of promise, that 
 those whom He has justified, and to whom He has given 
 the love of holiness, the inseparable companion of justifi- 
 cation, He will infallibly glorify. With respect to the 
 work of the Lord, I hope it prospers among us. I hear of 
 good being done, and that is some comfort to me. Amongst 
 your numerous friends, let me beg of you to remember me 
 at the throne of grace : none more stands in need of your 
 earnest supplications. Whilst I can keep hold of the pro- 
 mise, I am encouraged : but I assure you, it is indeed a 
 warfare, a struggle, a race. You are often, often present 
 to my mind ; and while I have any apprehension of the in- 
 estimable value of spiritual blessings, I will not cease to 
 pray that you may be enriched with the choicest of them ; 
 and that we may be permitted to join in the songs of the 
 redeemed." 
 
 " Stoke, November 12, 1804. 
 
 " It is some time since I heard of you, but hope you are 
 well : if so, the less matter whether I hear of you or not. 
 However, pray snatch some passing hour to let us know 
 how the work of the Lord goes on at D. ; for, let matters 
 go how they may with ourselves, still will we say respecting 
 the success of the Gospel, ( Good luck have thou ! ' There 
 is in man a desire to be something, somewhere ; and this 
 
HIS EARLY MINISTRATIONS. 17 
 
 desire is, beyond a doubt, the moving spring of much of 
 that forwardness we see in many touching the promotion of 
 religion. Howbeit, the Gospel is furthered. 
 
 <f You will be surprised to hear of the death of James P. 
 He was buried at Colsterworth about a fortnight since. 
 With my father's permission, I preached at his funeral to a 
 crowded church. The effect I know not, but my own heart 
 seemed hard and insensible as a rock ; and, indeed, though 
 I have proof that my labours are owned by my gracious 
 Lord, yet I seem like Gideon's fleece, dry in the midst of 
 divine dew. My hope, however, and my confidence, is kept 
 immoveably fixed on the rock of ages ; and I have to bless 
 God for a growing devotedness to his service, an increasing 
 determination to be the world's fool for the sake of Christ, 
 and to count His reproach my highest honour." 
 
 An entry in his private Journal, dated January 
 27th, 1805, manifests the same distrust of self, and 
 the same earnestness for the good of his people. 
 
 " At Skillington, this morning, I felt an earnest desire, 
 had it been God's will, that I were able to preach extempore. 
 I had so strong a desire to communicate to the people what 
 I felt of God's goodness, that it seemed a restraint to con- 
 fine myself to my paper. But, Lord, thou knowest what a 
 proud creature I am. Thou seest how I covet the praise of 
 man, and in mercy to my soul hast made me 'slow of 
 speech/ make me of quick understanding in the ways 
 of godliness ! At Stoke, I felt something of the same spirit 
 remaining, some longings after God in prayer, and some 
 breathings for his blessing on the people during the sermon ; 
 but at Buckminster, how changed ! Wandering thoughts 
 and imaginations. How manifold are the mercies, how 
 infinite the patience of God ! O when will it be that my 
 heart shall be immoveably fixed on God : when shall my 
 soul become as a weaned child ? Blessed Saviour ! thou art 
 my Friend, my Advocate, my Head of influence : visit me 
 
 c 
 
18 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 with thy salvation : smile upon my poor, imperfect, defiled 
 labours, and glorify thy name in my weakness ! " 
 
 April 10th, being his 28th birth-day, is thus no- 
 ticed : 
 
 " Yesterday, I was twenty-eigKt years of age : but, my 
 heart ever prone to forget the Lord's mercies, I forgot to 
 make any reflections on the Divine goodness in bringing me 
 thus far. Lord, I would remember, to the glory of thy rich 
 and free grace, that thou forgivest my transgressions, and 
 coverest all mine iniquities. I have to praise thee that thou 
 hidest me from the strife of tongues : thou makest my way 
 very pleasant : thou strewest my path with flowers : thou 
 hast also given me some tokens that I have not run unsent, 
 by blessing my poor attempts to the consciences of my peo- 
 ple, and awakening some of them, I trust, from the sleep of 
 sin, making them to hear thy sweet voice speaking peace to 
 their souls. If a worm may be permitted to plead with his 
 Maker, let my cry enter into thy ears, and awaken many 
 sinners amongst us to come to Christ that they perish not ! 
 Yea, Lord, give me to see Jerusalem in prosperity : nor 
 would I cease to plead with thee till thou hast answered my 
 prayer. I would praise thy holy name for a growing de- 
 termination to glory in nothing save in the cross of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. I would bless thee for a disposition to 
 count reproach for his sake as my highest glory. I plainly 
 perceive that ' all who will live godly must suffer persecu- 
 tion.' I cannot hope to enter into heaven but f through 
 much tribulation/ even as thy choicest servants have done. 
 enable me to keep my eye ever fixed on Jesus, that I may 
 not be weary, or faint in my mind ! When I look back, the 
 brightness of thy favour makes my unprofitableness dark in- 
 deed ; and I should have just cause to fear, that the aveng- 
 ing sword of thy justice would cut me down as a cumberer 
 of the ground ; but Jesus liveth, making intercession, and 
 therefore I am not consumed. Nor shall I ever be con- 
 
HIS EARLY MINISTRATIONS. 19 
 
 sumed, seeing, { He is able to save to the uttermost/ To 
 all thy other favours, O Lord, add a heart to trust thy word ; 
 and henceforth let the love of Christ constrain me to a more 
 constant and uniform obedience. Thou knowest that I love 
 thy law ; and though I come far short of its requirements, 
 yet there is not one jot or tittle that I desire to have altered. 
 I consent to it that it is f holy, just, and good/ and desire 
 to conform my whole spirit, soul and body, to its divine 
 precepts. Let thy Holy Spirit, then, carry on the work 
 thou hast begun ! Write thy law upon my heart ; put it 
 into my mind ; and let me be changed from glory to glory, 
 till I become ' meet for the inheritance of the saints in 
 light : ' whither, in thine own good time and way, bring me 
 of thine infinite mercy, for Christ's sake. Amen/ 
 
 In the Easter term of 1805, Mr. Corrie was ad- 
 mitted to his L.L.B. degree. It was during this 
 visit to Cambridge that the subject of a chaplaincy to 
 the East India Company was strongly urged upon 
 him by the late Mr. Simeon. After much and serious 
 consideration, it seemed to Mr. C. to be his duty to 
 devote himself to the spread of the Gospel amongst 
 the heathen. An appointment to India was according- 
 ly obtained for him, through tbe influence of the late 
 Mr. William Hoare ; and the following extracts from 
 Mr. C.'s journal and letters will exhibit the state of 
 his mind, in the prospect of quitting his curacy, for 
 the purpose of exercising his ministry in a distant land. 
 
 "July 25th, 1805. I have for a long time neglected to 
 note down the workings of my soul ; but I would now re- 
 mark, that when I have been in my best frames, my mind 
 has been most resigned to the work of the Lord in India. 
 
 C 2 
 
20 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Yet I feel much cleaving to creatures, and a want of resigna- 
 tion. Lord, teach me to know, and do thy will ! 
 
 " Oct. 6th. As the time approaches for leaving England, 
 more anxiety of mind arises ; though blessed be God, no 
 desire to draw back from the work. may I be found but 
 faithful ! Lord, strengthen and support me in the work. 
 ( Give what thou commandest, and then command what 
 thou wilt : ' let thy will be done in me, and by me ; and in 
 life and death let me be thine, through Jesus Christ, thy 
 dear Son, and my beloved Saviour. Amen ! " 
 
 TO THE REV. J. BUCKWORTH. 
 
 " November 12, 1805. 
 
 " From my last you would, perhaps, expect to hear from 
 me before this; which might have been the case, but that I 
 received information, when in London, that the fleet does 
 not sail for India before January next. It is not likely, 
 therefore, that I shall leave this place [Stoke] before that 
 time; unless, indeed, Mr. D. should meet with a curate to 
 supply my place. He is now in London ; and, as my en- 
 gagement with him ceases at Martinmas, should he meet 
 with any person at liberty to enter on the curacy, I cannot 
 expect, nor do I desire, to continue longer. He returns 
 this week, when it will be determined. On my way from 
 London, I stopped at Cambridge, and read prayers for Mr. 
 Simeon on the Thursday evening. It was highly gratifying 
 to see very many gownsmen attentive hearers of God's word. 
 One might compare it to so many messengers waiting for 
 instructions, with which they were about to post off in all 
 directions. The Lord increase their number, and long con- 
 tinue Mr. Simeon at Cambridge, an invaluable blessing to 
 the church and nation ! I feel some degree of regret at 
 leaving [this place] ; and, especially on account of some 
 who manifest an attachment to the cause [of God] , whilst 
 yet they are far from being what I could wish them. I ex- 
 
HIS EARLY MINISTRATIONS. 21 
 
 perience something of what the Apostle expressed towards 
 his people, when he declared he f travailed in birth of them 
 till Christ were formed in them.' that the Lord would 
 ' cut short his work in righteousness/ that I might leave 
 them with a prospect of rendering an account of them with 
 joy ! I reflect with much dissatisfaction on my conduct 
 whilst among them : so little of the example of Christ, so 
 little of warmth in public, so little of zeal in private, so 
 much ignorance, and inexperience in stating the truths of 
 God, that I fear lest their blood should be required at my 
 hands : almost involuntarily my soul cries out, e Deliver me 
 from blood-guiltiness, Lord, and my mouth shall sing 
 aloud of thy righteousness ! ' the horrid wickedness of 
 soul-murder ! How infinitely valuable must that blood be, 
 that can wash out so foul a stain ! may I ever experience 
 its healing and cleansing power ; and may the consideration 
 of the richness and the fulness of redeeming love animate 
 me to greater exertions, and fill my mouth with more ex- 
 alted praises ! Lord Jesus, let thy power rest upon me, and 
 thy strength be perfected in my weakness ! Out of the 
 mouth of a babe and suckling in Divine knowledge, ordain 
 praise and glory to Thyself ! Let my dear friend say, 
 ' Amen/ to these unconnected petitions ; whilst, through 
 grace, my prayers shall continue to ascend, that every need- 
 ful gift and grace may be bestowed upon you, that you may 
 be enriched with all spiritual knowledge and understanding ; 
 and that you may have utterance given f to declare the whole 
 counsel of God.' " 
 
 " January 13th, 1806. 
 
 " I have not heard further respecting the time of sailing 
 for India, but am getting ready for a removal on the 
 shortest notice. With much thankfulness I inform you, 
 that my mind is quite tranquil in the prospect of leaving 
 everything dear to human nature. I have, indeed, some- 
 
22 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 times, painful convictions of my insufficiency for the great 
 work before me ; but am in general enabled to believe, that 
 e as my day is, so shall my strength be/ The affection my 
 people express for me fills me with shame, that I do not 
 more deserve it, and with fear lest I should be tempted to 
 think of myself more highly than I ought to think. It has 
 pleased my gracious Lord, however, to give me of late a 
 deep experience of my own depravity, and of my unwor- 
 thiness of the least of his mercies. My dear friends seem 
 entirely reconciled to a separation. I trust that we shall 
 be able to part without the sorrow of those ' who have no 
 hope/ how great the condescension of our Redeemer 
 God, who stoops to so close an union with sinful worms : 
 who allows the sons and daughters of corruption to address 
 Him as their Husband and their head ; and salutes them 
 as His spouse and His beloved ! Methinks such honour, 
 so undeserved, might well engage our every thought, and 
 make our every inquiry only, ' What shall I render, &c ? ' 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 DEPARTURE FOR INDIA VOYAGE ARRIVAL AT CALCUTTA. 
 
 EARLY in the year 1806, Mr. Corrie took leave of 
 his relatives and parishioners to embark for India. 
 At that time, a voyage to India was looked upon 
 as a much greater undertaking than it is considered 
 at the present day. Accordingly on Mr. Corrie's 
 departure from his father's house, the parishioners 
 pressed round to take their leave of him ; many 
 of them deeply affected, believing " that they should 
 see his face no more." 
 
 After v a prosperous journey to London and Ports- 
 mouth, he embarked (March 30, 1806) on board 
 the Asia East Indiaman, bound to Calcutta. Mr. 
 C. was accompanied by a brother- Chaplain, the Rev. 
 Joseph Parson, one of his most attached College 
 friends. Among the passengers were many cadets, 
 to several of whom Mr. C. was made useful, and be- 
 
24 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 came in after life their friend and counsellor. Some 
 particulars of the voyage are subjoined from Mr. 
 Corrie's Journal and Letters, which shew the lively 
 interest he took in the welfare of all around him, and 
 indicate the steady purpose with which he kept in 
 view the great work before him. 
 
 In his journal, Mr. C. writes under date of 
 
 "April 10th. This day I have completed my twenty- 
 ninth year. In the review of the past year, what reason 
 have I to adore the divine mercy. Soon after I had deter- 
 mined on going to India, which was in June last, it pleased 
 God to work by his word, and to raise a general attention to 
 eternal things, amongst my people at Buckminster and 
 Stoke, giving me real favour in their sight, for which I 
 desire to praise Him, confessing that I am not worthy to be 
 ranked amongst the meanest of His ministers. Some 
 amongst them, I hope, were brought to God. that they 
 may continue to walk in the truth ; and may each amongst 
 them become Christians, not in name only, but in deed and 
 in truth ! Since I have been on the point of departing 
 from England, every objection to the undertaking has been 
 removed from my mind. My heart is set on the work of 
 the Lord in India ; and I would not draw back, as far as I 
 know myself, to be made Archbishop of Canterbury. I 
 have taken leave of my dear friends, most likely for ever in 
 this world. I would dedicate every faculty of my soul and 
 body to my redeeming God. Lord, accept me, working in 
 me that which is well-pleasing in thy sight, through Jesus 
 Christ my Lord and Saviour ; to whom with Thy blessed 
 self, and Holy Spirit, Three persons in one Jehovah, be all 
 glory, and honour, and praise, now and for evermore. 
 Amen ! 
 
 "April 14th. On Saturday afternoon, and yesterday 
 morning, the wind blew quite a hurricane. In the night of 
 
VOYAGE TO INDIA. 25 
 
 Saturday, I could not sleep for the tossing of the ship : I 
 lay meditating on death, and found my mind calm and re- 
 signed ; but saw nothing in whatever I had done on which I 
 could rely for a moment; saw nothing, in fact, but what 
 was deficient and defiled with sin. Yet, in the consideration 
 of the atonement, and intercession of Jesus, I could look 
 without dismay, though not with any sensible joy, to a 
 judgment-seat. 
 
 "Yesterday the wind was too high to admit of divine 
 service. Much consideration about our danger during the 
 preceding night ; but. alas, little disposition to praise the 
 Lord for his goodness ! Some few of the passengers listened 
 with attention, whilst I read a sermon on the poop. I had 
 much conversation at intervals with several of them, on the 
 subject of religion; and found some disposed to attend. 
 Yesterday, passed one of the Salvage islands : to-day one 
 of the Canaries (Palma.) No one who has not been for 
 some time out of sight of land can conceive the delight 
 which the view of these created ; or the refreshment they 
 afforded the eye. As stupendous monuments of the divine 
 power, they ought to have raised more adoration in my heart 
 to the great Supreme. But, alas ! I find the more I get 
 familiarized to the wonders with which I am surrounded, 
 the less sensibly I feel my dependence on Him in whom I 
 live and move. Blessed Saviour, let me be accepted, and 
 ever preserved through thy intercession, and kept by thy 
 power through faith unto salvation. Amen." 
 
 Whilst off the coast of Africa, Mr. Corrie relates 
 that the Lady Burgess, one of the Indiamen in 
 company with the Asia, struck upon a rock : 
 
 " The masts were cut away : the pinnace, contrary to ex- 
 pectation, floated, (for she filled with water,) and soon after 
 was driven clear of the breakers, with about forty persons. 
 As many as could swim plunged in, and about seventy at 
 length got into her. The boat also was manned, and, by 
 
26 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the exertions of the chief mate, the ladies, (six in number,) 
 were put into her, and none allowed to go with them, lest, 
 being crowded by too many, she should be swamped. The 
 captain and some others who could not swim, were saved by 
 laying themselves on planks; and, being drifted by the 
 waves, were afterwards picked up by the boats. The Leo- 
 pard's boats saved about twenty-five. The ladies were re- 
 ceived on board the Nelson ; the greater part [of the crew] 
 were taken up by the Melville, and some by the Sovereign 
 and Alexander. About fifty perished ; amongst whom were 
 the first and sixth mates, the purser, and twenty-four 
 cadets ; the greater part of the others were Asiatics, with 
 some soldiers." 
 
 With reference to this melancholy occurrence, Mr. 
 C. writes : 
 
 " Sunday, April 20. This morning has been spent in 
 great anxiety. About two o'clock, I heard guns firing as 
 signals of distress. When day broke, the wreck of a vessel 
 was seen on the rocks, off the island Benevento. About 
 eight boats were observed at a distance, and at ten o'clock 
 we perceived one making towards the Asia. Soon after, a 
 passenger of the Nelson, and one of the mates of the Lady 
 Burgess, came on board, from whom we learnt that the un- 
 fortunate ship was the Lady Burgess, which was gone down 
 with every part of the cargo. Six ladies, passengers, 
 reached the Nelson in safety. The mate, after putting the 
 ladies on board the Nelson, returned to the wreck, when 
 her poop remained above water sufficiently to preserve life : 
 on returning a second time, nothing was seen but part of 
 the bowsprit, every creature had disappeared ; but the Com- 
 modore, having sent several boats to their assistance, sug- 
 gests a hope that all are saved. What reason have we of 
 this ship to adore a kind Providence for being directed a 
 different course! Alas, that such indifference, nay base 
 rebellion [against God] should still appear ! let me not 
 
VOYAGE TO INDIA. 27 
 
 be as those who know not God, but grant me such a due 
 sense of all thy mercies, Lord, that my heart may be un- 
 feignedly thankful, and that I may show forth thy praise 
 not only with my lips, but in my life ! Amen." 
 
 The Journal proceeds : 
 
 "April 23rd, St. lago. Went on shore with the purser. 
 On landing was struck by the scenery, which was quite new 
 to me, and highly picturesque. Within the beach there is 
 a low valley, having the appearance of a marsh, with shrubs 
 growing in the shape of a pine-apple ; it had a very pleasing 
 effect. Water was here procured for the fleet. The town 
 stands on a hill, on the right of the valley ; and within the 
 fortifications. At the foot of the ascent, and on the beach, 
 were three officers riding on small lean ponies. Their 
 clothes, ragged and much worn, were such a contrast to an 
 Englishman's idea of the word ' officer,' as to excite a smile. 
 Further on were some slaves, in a state of nature, employed 
 in breaking cocoa-nuts. At the entrance of the garrison 
 stood a sentinel, without shoes or stockings, his other clothes 
 hanging in rags, and having no lock to his musket ; alto- 
 gether, he reminded me of one of Sancho Panza's guards. 
 In the town, which consisted of two rows of huts, we found 
 poultry, pine apples, cocoa-nuts, &c. &c. for sale. The 
 natives perfectly understood what are called ' the tricks of 
 trade/ I am told they sell a kind of Port wine of in- 
 ferior quality, mixed with rum to keep it from going sour ; 
 they have also a kind of gin, extracted from the sugar-cane. 
 Their women are the most disgusting figures that can be 
 conceived ; many of them having only a covering round the 
 waist ; the men too like men in general ; but one, a Caffre 
 slave, was about seven feet high. The country presents a 
 most barren appearance, being very hilly, and seldom visited 
 with rain. After staying about three hours, I returned to 
 the Asia, most thankful that my lot had been cast in Bri- 
 tain, and admiring the kindness of providence to that happy 
 
28 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 isle. Long may a gracious God exercise the same fatherly 
 care over it ! Long may England flourish, as the place 
 which God hath chosen to put his name there ! 
 
 " Sunday, April 27th. I had service on deck to-day, the 
 sailors being very attentive ; was much affected with languor, 
 so that the day has passed in an unprofitable manner. I 
 had a long conversation with G., and hope well of him again. 
 Thought much of my dear relations ; and had an affecting 
 sense of the value of former privileges, ' when I went to the 
 house of God, with the voice of joy and gladness/ for 
 the happy time when I shall be privileged to draw near to 
 God without restraint ! Blessed be His name for some 
 sweet seasons in private. may the impression of them 
 remain, and be productive of holiness in heart and life ! 
 
 " May 3rd. Yesterday the wind sprung up, a light breeze, 
 and continues to drive us two knots an hour, after a calm of 
 three days. In the night, we had a very narrow escape from 
 running foul of the Alexander ; the boats were about to be 
 lowered from the idea that the ship might go down by the 
 concussion. What reason to be thankful for preservation ! 
 
 for a due sense of all thy mercies, my God and Saviour ! 
 "Friday, May llth. This day had divine service on 
 
 deck : in the evening had a conversation with V. on the 
 doctrine of the Atonement. He seemed much impressed, 
 and said he had never before considered it ; but hoped he 
 should now make it the study of his life. Lord, work in 
 him both to will and to do for Jesus Christ's sake ! Amen. 
 
 1 would record, to my shame, how feeble my efforts are for 
 the eternal welfare of those around me \ and, when I think 
 of the shame I feel, I desire to be roused to greater exer- 
 tions, lest Jesus Christ should profess himself ashamed of 
 me at the last day. the piercing thought of being ex- 
 cluded from thy blessed vision ! Prevent it by thy grace ! 
 let me not fall, I pray. 
 
 " May 18th. Service on deck. Found much sweetness 
 in private devotion, with a disposition to pray for my dear 
 
VOYAGE TO INDIA. 29 
 
 relatives and friends by name. My mind tolerably fixed on 
 divine things, with boldness to speak to any that came in 
 my way, on the subject of religion. I have of late observed 
 with pleasure a great change in P.'s views and sentiments 
 respecting scriptural truths ; and a practice more corre- 
 spondent thereto than formerly. This morning, he spoke 
 with much feeling, on several experimental truths of Chris- 
 tianity ; and I humbly hope, is no stranger to the power of 
 them. that I may be enabled to walk in wisdom towards 
 him, and that he may be an honoured instrument in turning 
 many to righteousness ! 
 
 " Sunday, June 1st. I have neglected to make memo- 
 randa during the past week, and fear it is a symptom of 
 spiritual decay : yet, I find, in general, much fixedness of 
 mind in private prayer ; and sometimes much tenderness of 
 spirit. The Bible is my delight and daily counsellor ; and 
 I think I watch every opportunity of calling the attention 
 of those around me to the things of eternity. Yet, I would 
 confess to my shame, that these attempts are feeble, 
 generally very unskilfully conducted, and little calculated 
 to produce a good effect, and chiefly confined to more in- 
 timate associates. I plainly perceive that without a great 
 exercise of divine power, I am totally unfit for the work of 
 introducing the Gospel amongst the heathen; and much 
 fear lest the objects of time and sense should divert me from 
 that pursuit. Yet, Lord, thou knowest that to be instru- 
 mental in turning many unto righteousness is my highest 
 ambition. This is the determination of my judgment; 
 though, alas ! my affections draw me powerfully to court 
 the favour of man, and to covet ease. I perceive myself 
 poor and blind, and miserable, and wretched, and lost, and 
 undone ; but the joyful sound of wisdom, righteousness, 
 sanctification, and redemption in Christ Jesus for ruined 
 sinners ! Blessed Lord, grant me a spirit of faith, that I 
 may apprehend this dear Redeemer ; and by virtue of union 
 with Him may obtain acquittal from all condemnation, and 
 
30 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 daily become more like Him, in righteousness and true 
 holiness ! " 
 
 To the Rev. J. Buckworth he wrote as follows : 
 
 " We are in hopes of reaching Madras in nine weeks from 
 this time ; so that before you receive this, which comes by 
 way of St. Helena, I shall, by the divine permission, be in 
 India. Indeed, on this element, in a peculiar manner is 
 the apostle's limitation to be attended to, * If the Lord will, 
 we shall do this or that/ My dear friend will be ready to 
 fear that an account of our spiritual voyage is to be ex- 
 cluded from this paper. Would that I could gladden your 
 heart with tidings of a large fleet steering for the haven of 
 everlasting blessedness ; but on this subject my materials are 
 scanty, though, blessed be God, some news of this kind I 
 can send you. . . . We have twenty-two youths on board, 
 going as cadets to India : of these a few allow me to 
 talk freely and familiarly on the best subjects ; the others 
 treat me with civility, though sometimes they are shy of my 
 company. One I sincerely hope is pious, though very 
 volatile in his disposition : another attaches himself very 
 much to me, and is much separated from his companions. 
 These are the most promising among us, ' the gleaning 
 grapes, one or two, on the top of the uppermost boughs/ I 
 have distributed several Testaments, and other books ; but 
 observe no increase at present. . . . 
 
 " My thoughts lead me now to Dewsbury, where I fancy 
 I behold my dear friend and his dear partner, happy in 
 each other, and happy in the love of Jesus ; but not with- 
 out some thorn, to remind them that their God has a more 
 complete happiness in store for them. You will not need 
 assurances that my daily prayers ascend on your behalf; nor 
 need I ask you to believe that words cannot express the 
 interest I feel in your welfare. May the richest blessings of 
 Providence and of grace descend upon you both ; and may 
 you bring much honour to the ways of truth, by your lives 
 
VOYAGE TO INDIA. 31 
 
 and conversation, till, full of days, and full of grace, like 
 shocks of corn in harvest, you be gathered into the heavenly 
 garner ! I long to be publishing glad tidings of salvation 
 to poor Indians, and am daily studying their language for 
 this purpose : an Asiatic on board helps me in acquiring the 
 pronunciation, and in return, receives instruction in the 
 New Testament : he evidences a teachable disposition ; 
 laments the folly and idolatry of his countrymen, and 
 I trust will one day become a witness against their 
 abominations." 
 
 But to return to the Journal : 
 
 "June 8th, 1806. On a review of this week, I feel 
 much cause for humiliation, and much for praise ; for hu- 
 miliation, that I gather no more boldness in the cause of 
 God and of his Son. Yet, I am thankful that my silent 
 refusal to conform to the vanities around me is not un- 
 observed ; and that a sneer about saintship is not unfre- 
 quently indulged in, when I am present. I rejoice in these 
 tokens of my separation from the temper and practices of 
 the world ; yet I would look to more certain evidence of my 
 love to Jesus than this, even in the devotedness of my heart 
 to His service and glory ; and in the love I feel for perishing 
 souls around me. Alas, my evidences are very few : yet I 
 think I would rather be a door-keeper in the house of God 
 where I might see His face, than live in the richest palace 
 on earth ; and to be instrumental in turning sinners f from 
 the power of Satan unto God/ is more desired by me than 
 to be Emperor of the world. These are my sentiments and 
 desires : O Lord, let them not evaporate in empty specula- 
 tions for Jesus Christ's sake ! " 
 
 " Thursday night. I would record to the honour of 
 Divine grace, the goodness of God to my soul. Rose this 
 morning at half-past five, found much earnestness in prayer, 
 and my mind much disposed to that duty, but little if any 
 sensible comfort. Prayed particularly for a believing, 
 
32 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORR1E. 
 
 waiting spirit, which has been graciously vouchsafed. I 
 have observed two or three instances of answers to prayer, 
 in the waiting frame of my mind ; in the attention I have 
 been able to give to study, and in some other particulars. 
 Lord, keep me humble and thankful for Jesus Christ's sake, 
 Amen ! 
 
 " June 29th. I have neglected to make memoranda of 
 my state. Abstained from dinner, with a view to afflict my 
 soul before God, on account of my own sins, and the sins 
 of those around me. Lord, without thy divine influence 
 I fast and pray in vain. The sins in myself I would par- 
 ticularly note are, a backwardness to think on divine sub- 
 jects ; a general deadness in religious duties ; a coldness of 
 affection towards the Lord Jesus Christ ; a want of zeal for 
 God, and of love for souls; and a fear of censure and 
 reproach, which leads me to suffer sin on my neighbour 
 unreproved. With respect to those around me, their profane 
 swearing, their neglect of God and His worship. will 
 not God be avenged on such a people as this ? Will not 
 this floating city be sunk in the mighty waters, for the 
 wickedness of its inhabitants ? Lord, let my cry come 
 before Thee, in behalf of this ship's company, through the 
 mediation of Jesus Christ ! 
 
 " Sunday, July 6th. This morning a most tremendous 
 gale came on. Went on deck at five o'clock. The vessel 
 rolling so as once to ship a sea on the lee-side ; every person 
 seemed apprehensive of danger. For my own part, I , do 
 not recollect to have been afraid, but I felt much awe and 
 seriousness, in the thought of appearing before God. In 
 the afternoon (two o'clock,) a man fell overboard from the 
 foremost main-yard. By the uncommon exertions of Mr. 
 Walker, the third mate, and four of the men, he was taken 
 up alive, and gives hopes of recovery. Mr. W/s conduct 
 on this occasion merits the greatest praise, and has much 
 endeared him to every one on board. 
 
 "July 20th. Read Church History and Persian. The 
 
VOYAGE TO INDIA. 33 
 
 Commodore spoke an American, which left Calcutta on May 
 28, and which on June 22nd, spoke a ship at sea, and re- 
 ceived information that a frigate, supposed to be detached 
 by Jerome Buonaparte,* put into the Cape and was cap- 
 tured by Admiral Popham ; from whence it is concluded 
 that Jerome Buonaparte either followed the frigate into the 
 Cape and was taken, or proceeded to India. Two country 
 ships had been captured in the straits of Malacca. 
 
 " Thursday, July 24th. In addition to the news heard 
 on Tuesday, learned from the Commodore, that the Ame- 
 rican told him a general peace had been broitght about in 
 India. that ' the Prince of Peace ' would establish His 
 dominion among those perishing heathens ! Every day 
 brings me acquainted with some new proof of that wretched 
 slavery which they are under to the powers of darkness. 
 My mind is bent on the work of the ministry amongst them. 
 I think with delight on the time when I shall be able to 
 address them, in their own language, on the glorious truths 
 of the gospel ; and am thankful that I find diligence and 
 ardour in the acquirement of Hindoostanee. Yet, when 
 I reflect on the backwardness and timidity that possesses 
 my mind in this matter, among my present associates, I am 
 ready to fear lest I should be diverted from my purpose. 
 Lord, hold me up, and bring me through, more than con- 
 queror, for His sake who, I believe and feel, ' loved me, 
 and gave himself for me ! ' 
 
 "Thursday, August 21st, . . This morning heard that 
 Ceylon was in sight ; went on deck soon after, and saw 
 land, but very indistinctly. At half-past one the shore pre- 
 sented a beautiful object ; a great variety of trees, hills, and 
 plains. My mind more affected than I can express, with a 
 sense of the goodness of God, in bringing me thus far in 
 health and safety. I feel no inconvenience from the climate, 
 
 * In 1806, Napoleon placed his brother, Jerome Buonaparte, in 
 command of a squadron of eight ships of the line, which were 
 ostensibly destined for the West Indies. 
 
 D 
 
34 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 and very little of that listlessness I so much feared. for 
 a heart to praise the Lord ! Surely, surely, I am more un- 
 grateful than any of God's children ; for His child I feel I 
 am ! write thy law on my heart ; and let my obedient 
 life bring glory to Thee, through Jesus Christ ! how I 
 long to be declaring the way of salvation to perishing souls ! 
 let me /have] that faith which overcomes the world ; set 
 me free from every entanglement ; keep through thy word 
 those on board whom thou hast disposed to consideration ; 
 fortify their minds, and keep them from the tempter's 
 power, to the glory of thy grace, Amen, Amen ! " 
 
 " Sunday, August 24th . Rose this morning at five o'clock. 
 After prayer in which I found earnestness, and tolerable 
 fixedness of mind, though no stirring of affection went on 
 deck. Read in the epistle to the Hebrews, and found much 
 light flash on my mind in reading. Saw more clearly than 
 ever the distinction, yet consistency, between the old and new 
 covenant. At eleven, read a sermon from Walker ; after- 
 wards joined in prayer with W, P, G, and V.* I found 
 much enlargement of heart, and much freedom of expres- 
 sion in prayer. Lord, keep me humble ; and, bless these 
 my associates ! Convince them of sin ; lead them to Jesus ; 
 make them strong in the Lord ; and be a spirit of adoption 
 in their hearts, for Jesus Christ's sake ! Lord, bless my 
 dear relatives. give them grace to walk before thee with 
 perfect hearts ; and supply them with every needful earthly 
 blessing. Feed them ' with food convenient ' for their 
 station, and finally crown grace with glory. Amen ! No 
 prayers on deck, or in the cuddy." 
 
 " Monday. Yesterday afternoon, a strange sail came in 
 sight to the northward. Cleared for action, and lay at 
 quarters all night. Expect to reach Madras to-morrow 
 morning by six o'clock. Every one seems unsettled in pros- 
 pect of going ashore ; my own mind has caught the conta- 
 
 * Cadets. 
 
OFF MADRAS. 35 
 
 gion. Nothing to advantage has been done to-day. ' Lord, 
 save or I perish. ' 
 
 " Wednesday. Were disappointed in our expectation, by 
 a strong current which set us so far to the westward that 
 we were obliged to tack, and wait for the sea-breeze, which 
 to our great joy sprang up about three o'clock; and brought 
 us into Madras roads, where we cast anchor exactly at ten 
 at night. Yesterday morning the air was much impregnated 
 with the flavour of the productions of Asia, having a smell 
 like the sickly smell arising from sweetmeats. The en- 
 trance into the roads was very delightful : the light-house 
 before us, the European residents' houses on the left, show- 
 ing lights from various quarters; the Nabob of Arcot's 
 palace lighted so as to appear brilliantly illuminated. All these 
 were pleasing objects to eyes accustomed to look only upon 
 the wide extended ocean for four months past. The striking 
 of clocks, too, was most gratifying to the ear. My mind 
 was much affected with a sense of the Divine goodness, in 
 bringing us thus far in safety and peace. As soon as we 
 were anchored, two boats came from Admiral Trowbridge 
 for despatches; and a Catamaran,* with three natives 
 charged with letters from the Town-major to the Command- 
 ing Officer. These natives presented a most disgusting ap- 
 pearance to a stranger, especially an European stranger. 
 They have no covering, save a small piece of cotton round 
 their waists ; and a cap, like a fool's cap, of fine basket- 
 work, in which they carry their letters : and, being entire 
 strangers to our language, my mind was affected with dis- 
 may and horror. Retiring to my cabin, despondency almost 
 overcame me. My native country, with its healthy climate, 
 and hospitable inhabitants, came forcibly to my mind. Those 
 loved objects seemed for ever gone : dear relatives for ever 
 fled ! In exchange, a sickly climate, a burning soil, a hea- 
 then population, were to be my associates. Alas ! how these 
 
 * A species of raft used by the natives of Madras. 
 D 2 
 
36 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 considerations depress my spirits, while a sense of ray own 
 unfitness to encounter any of these obstacles, leads me to 
 consider this as a place of banishment, and an untimely 
 burial-ground ! Yet have I not freely chosen this under- 
 taking ? And, has not God power to bring me through ? 
 And, is He not sovereign of Asia, as well as of Europe ? 
 And, is He not ready to save here, as there ? my foolish, 
 unbelieving heart ! I see the truth of these suggestions ; 
 yet unbelief prevents me from taking the comfort of them. 
 Lord, work faith in my heart ; and enable me to glorify 
 thee by a firm reliance on thy promise, that thou wilt not 
 leave me, but wilt make me ' more than conqueror through 
 Him that loved me/ even Jesus thy Son : to whom with Thee 
 and the Holy Ghost be glory for ever ! 
 
 " This morning several boats filled with natives came 
 off : the rowers, like the Catamaran Jacks in appearance 
 and dress : the masters or duboshes,* having white muslin 
 coats and petticoats. These duboshes are very obsequious, 
 very pressing of their services ; and have written characters, 
 as from former masters ; but many of these are evidently 
 forgeries. Many of our Bengal passengers are gone on 
 shore. I felt too depressed to go ; and too much interested 
 in V. and Y. to leave them on board. Y. I hope, seems 
 in some measure, established in sound principles and 
 practice. V. alas, discovers a backwardness to converse 
 on religious subjects ; and I fear, shuns me, lest I should 
 trouble him with them : he is, however, very regular in 
 his conduct ; and much respected by his associates. But, 
 Oh ! what avails a mere name to live ? He is now gone on 
 shore. Y. remains on board, with the other Madras cadets, 
 until an order for their disembarkation arrives. Lord, 
 keep them by thy power ! let not Satan triumph over 
 them, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 * A kind of general Agent. 
 
MADRAS. 37 
 
 "MADRAS, Wednesday evening, Aug. 27th, 1806. Went 
 on shore, and was much annoyed by the clamorous impor- 
 tunity of the natives, who were waiting in hundreds on the 
 beach to carry the luggage, or otherwise serve the new 
 comers : their harsh language, and their almost naked bodies^ 
 their eager and obtrusive offers of service disgusted and 
 wearied me exceedingly. With some difficulty, I got through 
 the crowd ; and, on arriving at the New Navy Tavern, 
 found some of my old shipmates. Here we were again im- 
 portuned by duboshes who were eager to serve us. We 
 made choice of one who proved a notorious cheat : he made 
 off with six rupees given him to hire a bandy ;* and I know 
 not yet how much linen he may have stolen. The profusion 
 of silver or gold rings which the natives wear on their arms, 
 their ancles, their ears, and their toes, appeared odd to me ; 
 their offers of service and their whole conduct, whilst I was 
 on shore, have impressed my mind with an opinion of their 
 deep depravity, and their entire want of principle 
 
 " On Thursday, August 28th. Parson and I went to call 
 on the London Society's missionary. Though unknown to 
 him, and though carrying no letter of introduction, yet I 
 was certain that if he were a real missionary, we should be 
 welcome ; and I was not disappointed in this expectation. 
 We received a cordial reception : Martyn having mentioned 
 my name, we soon became cordial. He appears a humble 
 pious man, not destitute of ability, with a degree of zeal : 
 his education appears to have been confined. Here we 
 learned that Dr. Ker, the Senior Chaplain, had a letter for 
 me from Martyn ; and that, being obliged to go to Sering- 
 apatam for the recovery of his health, he had left it at the 
 house of Mr. Torriano. Thither Mr. L. drove me in his 
 bandy, leaving Mr. Parson to walk back to the inn. On 
 arriving at Mr. T.'s, I found the letter, enclosed in one from 
 
 * A kind of gig. 
 
MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Dr. Ker, recommending me to accept Mr. T/s invitation to 
 take up our abode with him ; which we did, and experienced 
 much hospitality and kindness. Mr. T. is a self-taught 
 Christian indeed : his son is a sensible and very pious youth, 
 and showed us much brotherly love ; and from the Lieu- 
 tenant we received great regard. Next day Mr. P. and 
 myself called on Mr. V. and found him very reserved : he 
 afterwards, on further intercourse, became more sociable ; and 
 engaged me to preach for him on Sunday the 31st; which I 
 did, and took for a subject the character of Josiah. The 
 Governor, &c., were present; and the church was pretty 
 full : the congregation was very attentive ; though some, I 
 hear scoffed; but others expressed their approbation. In 
 the evening P. officiated at the chapel, Black Town, and ex- 
 pounded the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. I 
 went to hear Mr. L. who preached from Psalm xxxvii. 40. 
 During our stay on shore, I went often to the cadets' tents, 
 and have reason to be thankful. Found V. and Y. kept 
 free from the vices of the place. 
 
 " Friday evening, Sept. 5th. I read a portion of the 
 church prayers, and addressed an exhortation to the boys at 
 the Asylum. There are about two hundred half-caste boys 
 educated there, and maintained by public subscription. Dr. 
 Ker is Superintendent; and Mr. L. is acting Master. 
 During our stay at Mr. Torriano' s, our apartment was a tent 
 comfortably fitted up, where Mr. T. generally (his son V. 
 always), comes morning and evening to join in worship. 
 The fort is a most complete structure, seemingly defying 
 the power of man to take it : the buildings within it are 
 very sumptuous. The Black Town far exceeds my ex- 
 pectation, in the commodiousness of its houses, and in their 
 structure ; but the streets are narrow ; and the dust and 
 filth in them render the town exceedingly unwholesome. I 
 do not find the heat by any means so oppressive as I ex- 
 pected : morning and evening it is as cool as summer in 
 England. I frequently walked several miles. The Euro- 
 
MASULIPATAM. 39 
 
 peans are, in general, very averse to the idea of evangelizing 
 the natives. The chaplains consider it as a hopeless case; 
 and others look upon it as needless and impolitic. I lament 
 that my mind was not more affected with the stupid idolatry 
 of these depraved people. Their pagodas abound ; and their 
 attention to them might shame people of purer principles ; 
 whilst their depraved morals show that their religion is 
 confined wholly to externals ; and that they are incapable of 
 communion with a holy God. These considerations ought 
 to impress me more. the unconquerable hardness of this 
 stupid heart ! Yet, blessed be God, who has reconciled my 
 mind more to the work of the ministry here ; and has in- 
 fluenced me to prefer the honour which cometh of God, 
 more than the favour of men. I think I am more de- 
 termined than ever on publishing salvation to these ignorant 
 heathen. I have to lament that my mind seldom ex- 
 perienced any sensible comfort in God> whilst on shore : 
 deadness and oppression overspread my soul for the most 
 part ; yet, I do not recollect, except on one occasion, that I 
 attempted to shun the reproach of the cross ; and, in general 
 I was enable to introduce serious subjects. 
 
 " Sunday, Sept. 7th. Came on board the Alexander, in 
 consequence of the Asia being ordered round by Penang, to 
 take troops to Bengal : much heaviness of mind on account 
 of the state of those around me 
 
 " Saturday, Sept. 13th. On Tuesday evening last, we 
 came to anchor off Masulipatam. During that day, in 
 making in to the shore, the ship was found in three and a 
 half fathoms (she draws three fathoms ; ) consequently great 
 alarm prevailed, every one expecting that she would strike 
 instantly. The wind being brisk, the ship answered the 
 helm; and, by the Divine favour, we got clear of the 
 danger. In the afternoon, a ship which had been in sight 
 for some days, hauled her wind and stood our course : this 
 raised a suspicion of her being an enemy ; the drum beat to 
 quarters and every preparation was made to prevent her 
 
40 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 boarding us. After some time, she hoisted Danish colours, 
 and came to anchor near us off Masulipatam. During these 
 two times of alarm, I recollect to have been much more 
 anxious as to the event, than on former times of danger 
 during the voyage ; and have reason to fear I have suffered 
 damage, especially since we left Madras. This I know has 
 been the case, and I bless God who has given me to feel it, 
 and to lament it, and to strive and pray against it ; and 
 (blessed be His name) not in vain. 
 
 " On Wednesday, Parson and myself went off together 
 with two officers of the king's regiment : after a most un- 
 pleasant passage of twenty -four hours, we arrived at Masu- 
 lipatam, a distance of not more than six miles in a straight 
 line. Our delay was owing to the land wind, which, blow- 
 ing directly opposite, drove us far to leeward, and obliged 
 the men ^to push the boat along shore with long poles ; a 
 tedious and laborious operation. On entering the fort, we 
 found that Colonel Norris (to whom we had a letter of in- 
 troduction from his father-in law, Mr. Torriano,) was in the 
 fort. We went to his house, and on being introduced to 
 his lady, presented our letter, which she opened, and sent to 
 the Colonel, who was on a committee at the barracks. 
 Breakfast was got for us immediately, and every attention 
 shown us ; after breakfast, the Colonel came in, and ordered 
 us change of clothes ; after we had dressed, he came and 
 shook us very kindly by the hand, and said, he had an 
 order in his pocket, which obliged him to be particularly 
 kind to us. This order he punctually obeyed, shewing us 
 every mark of attention possible, and even regard. .... 
 The propriety of conduct necessary in ministers, the 
 characters of many eminently pious missionaries, and of 
 Christ and His Apostles, were the principal subjects of 
 conversation. May God give a blessing to our poor attempts 
 to spread the savour of Jesus' name ; and may the Colonel's 
 kindnesses to us be abundantly repaid out of the fulness of 
 Christ ! After passing twenty -four hours very agreeably, 
 
MASULIPATAM. 41 
 
 and I trust not unprofitably, we left Masulipatam yesterday 
 about three o' clock, with the purser ; and though detained 
 a short time at the entrance of the river, from want of 
 water, we got on board the Alexander by five o'clock : the 
 anchor was weighed, and we set sail as soon as possible. 
 
 " Tuesday. Yesterday I was very unwell in consequence 
 of drinking too much water : the day passed in a restless, 
 unprofitable manner to myself. In the evening, I was en- 
 abled to speak to the surgeon on the utility of prayer; 
 which I did because of some sarcastic remarks made, as to 
 the uselessness of the Bible and Prayer-book in time of 
 action ; we being suspicious that there was an enemy's ship 
 in view. He was silenced, and afterwards showed me more 
 than usual attention. We were looking out all the after- 
 noon of yesterday for a pilot ; and came to anchor at ten 
 in the evening in Saugor roads, amidst a fleet of Indiamen 
 homeward-bound two ships of war, with many country 
 ships a most gratifying sight ; though, I confess, I felt 
 little pleasure. The remembrance of dear relatives filled me 
 with deep regret, whilst the prospect of being instrumental 
 in furthering the Lord's work in India filled me with joy ; 
 and I felt I could forsake all for Christ's sake. 
 
 " Thursday. We came to anchor in Diamond harbour. 
 The sailing up the river was delightful ; the green herbage 
 and foliage most refreshing to the eye ; and the numerous 
 population raised wonder how provision could be found for 
 so many persons. The whole shore, as far as the eye 
 could reach, appeared one continued village on each side. 
 The sight of a bury ing- ground for Europeans at Diamond 
 harbour, with several monuments erected therein, tended 
 
 to lessen my joy ; as did the death of Captain of the 
 
 77th, for whom the colours were hoisted half-mast high, 
 and who was buried in the sea the evening we lay at anchor, 
 in Saugor roads. Captain. C , Ensign W, Parson, and 
 myself, left the Alexander in a budgerow,* about nine o'clock, 
 * A native travelling boat. 
 
42 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 and sailed from Diamond harbour about half past ten in the 
 evening. 
 
 " Friday, Sept. 19th. I went on shore in the morning 
 at Fulta, and sending some provisions on board to my 
 chums, remained till flood-tide, which was not till two 
 o'clock. My mind was much gratified with the scene ; the 
 green fields appearing here and there between the groves, 
 were very much like scenes I remembered in England ; many 
 birds were singing much like the nightingale; herds of 
 cattle, of the buffalo breed, with herdsmen tending them 
 here and there on the bank. A dead body floating on the 
 river created much horror in my mind ; and the bird called 
 the adjutant excited much surprise. At Fulta I found a 
 very elegant inn, and accommodations very reasonable. 
 Having placed a chair at the gate-way on the elevated si- 
 tuation on the bank of the river, the opposite bank appeared 
 covered with villages, and the surface of the river with 
 boats. I took out my bible, and read the 60th chapter of 
 Isaiah. The precious promises of the enlargement of 
 Christ's Church came with much power to my mind ; the 
 last verse was very encouraging, and raised mufch joy, from 
 the hope that I might be honoured to be one of ' the little 
 ones ' who should ' become a thousand, and a strong nation.' 
 The prospect of all these swarms of people bowing to the 
 sceptre and dominion of Jesus, filled my soul with exul- 
 tation. I found much freedom in prayer, and spent some 
 time in joy and rejoicing. The budgerow being much longer 
 in coming up than was expected, occasioned great anxiety ; 
 and, to my shame be it spoken, impatience. O how fickle 
 is my mind : but Jesus liveth, and He changeth not ! 
 Blessed be God for Jesus Christ ! I came on board about 
 two o'clock this afternoon ; and we are now at anchor about 
 ten miles below Calcutta. 
 
 " Sept. 21st, 1806. Yesterday morning, being tired of 
 waiting any longer for a fair wind, I left the budgerow about 
 five o'clock, and came up in the tow-boat to Calcutta. The 
 
ARRIVAL AT CALCUTTA. 43 
 
 scene on each side of the river was much the same as during 
 the preceding day; but being indisposed from want of 
 food, and by exposure to the sun, I felt but little lively joy. 
 Read in the Bible, and Newton's Hymns ; and found much 
 desire to be grateful for preservation during the voyage, for 
 meeting with kind friends, and for the abundant supply of 
 every temporal want; above all, that notwithstanding my 
 manifold failings, some sense of my obligations to God in 
 Christ still remains. The sight of Calcutta afforded me 
 great satisfaction : the approach to it was tedious ; and I 
 felt some impatience at the perversity of the boatmen. 
 Alas, the depravity of my nature is but little subdued ! I 
 walked up to the church, and inquired in vain for Martyn : 
 went to Doughty's hotel, where I met V. at the door, who, 
 I feared, was oppressed in spirit and suffering from the 
 effects of climate. I took some refreshment, and was about 
 to go forth in quest of Martyn, when a note arrived from 
 him, desiring me to go to him in the college.* I set off 
 immediately, and was received by him with the most lively 
 demonstrations of joy. Here I was desired to take up my 
 abode ; and here I am fixed for the present. Mr. Brown, f 
 to whom I am indebted for my present entertainment, ap- 
 pears a sensible, determined, pious man ; very different 
 from the descriptions I heard of him during the voyage." 
 
 On the same day, in which these particulars are 
 noticed in his journal, Mr. C. sent a letter to his 
 sister ; written, as it appears, at intervals during his 
 voyage, and communicating information up to the 
 period of his arrival at Calcutta. The letter itself is 
 not less remarkable for its plain good sense, than as 
 
 * The College of Fort William. 
 
 t The late Rev. David Brown, at that time Chaplain at the 
 Presidency, and Provost of the College of Fort William. 
 
44 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 manifesting that strong natural affection and love of 
 country, which entered so largely into the character 
 of the writer : 
 
 "From the date of this letter, (Sep. 21st.) you will 
 perceive how much longer our voyage has proved than at 
 the beginning of it we hoped it would. Twenty weeks are 
 completed since we left Portsmouth : the usual time a 
 voyage of the kind occupies is about fifteen weeks. The 
 chief part of our delay was between St. lago, and the Cape 
 of Good Hope. Before we arrived at St. lago, we had fair 
 and strong winds ; and since we got round the Cape, the 
 weather has proved most agreeable. A thousand anxious 
 thoughts daily fill my mind on your account: separation 
 from you has only tended to show how much my comfort 
 depended on you : scarcely for two successive waking hours 
 has your image been out of my remembrance. I am very 
 anxious that you should come out to me ; and I am very 
 anxious respecting your voyage. You have little, humanly 
 speaking, to fear from dangers of the sea. Your greatest 
 inconvenience will arise from not having a person with whom 
 you can communicate freely : to be under a restraint of this 
 kind, for five months, is a greater evil than you can at 
 present suppose. You will, no doubt, hear of some lady 
 coming out, with whom you can take half of a cabin ; and 
 if such an opportunity offers, you need not hesitate to em- 
 brace it. But you will need to use great caution how you 
 trust strangers ; and by no means be too familiar with any of 
 the passengers, till you have had time to observe their dis- 
 positions : the evil of a contrary conduct has appeared very 
 strikingly with us ; and still more so in some other of the 
 ships of our fleet. It is very easy to assume an appearance 
 of gaiety and good-humour, when people only meet occa- 
 sionally, and for a short time ; but when they come to live 
 together, and are obliged to meet each other at every turn, 
 without Divine grace, few tempers are found sufficiently ac- 
 
CALCUTTA. 45 
 
 comtnodating to maintaiD that forbearance, and to make 
 those concessions, which are absolutely necessary to peace 
 and comfort. Hence, when by an unguarded confidence, 
 persons of contrary dispositions and habits have committed 
 themselves to each other, they soon become mutually dis- 
 gusted ; family circumstances are exposed ; weaknesses ridi- 
 culed ; and contempt and hatred follows. You see I write 
 under the idea that you will not leave England till you hear 
 of my arrival in India. I have only to add, that my health 
 is much improved since I left you. 
 
 " Since I began this letter, a variety of events have taken 
 place, and crowd so fast on my mind, that I know not where 
 or how to relate them. On entering Madras roads in the 
 evening, the lights reflected from the houses built on the 
 shore, with the sound of the sentinels' voices passing the 
 word, and the striking of the clocks, formed altogether the 
 most remarkable impression I recollect in life. After having 
 for five months been separated from the civilized world in a 
 great measure, and having seen only the boundless ocean, 
 and occasionally hailing some of our consorts, you may sup- 
 pose the entrance into society was highly gratifying. My 
 joy was silent, and chiefly expressed in ejaculations of praise 
 to Him who had so graciously preserved us through the great 
 deep ; nor were wanting prayers for my native land, and for 
 the many dear objects left behind. This pleasant temper 
 of mind was, however, of short continuance , as soon as we 
 came to anchor, some of the natives came off in catamarans ; 
 they were almost naked, and very savage in appearance. The 
 consideration of being, in all probability, to spend the re- 
 mainder of my life among such wretched beings, filled me 
 with melancholy; and rendered me sleepless during the 
 greater part of the night ; and the whole of the next day, I 
 was very unhappy. But you will perceive my sin and un- 
 belief in this matter; as their wretchedness should ' rather 
 have excited compassion and anxiety for bettering their con- 
 dition : the idea of no further comfort remaining for me, 
 
46 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 certainly arose from the absence of the proper influence of that 
 precious truth, f If He give peace, who then can cause trou- 
 ble ? ' I perceive this clearly now ; and I am thankful that 
 I am able to take the comfort of it to myself. During the 
 whole of our stay, the anniversary festival of one of their 
 idols was celebrating at a pagoda or temple, in sight of the 
 house where we were. Their chief solemnities were celebra- 
 ted during the night ; and consisted in most wretchedly bad 
 music, something like bad bag-pipes, accompanied with a 
 tom-tom, or small drum unbraced, and incapable of music j 
 with these, at intervals, loud shouts were set up by the peo- 
 ple, and something of a song in praise of their idol sung in 
 alternate strains, which were responded by the people to each 
 other in a sing-song tone of voice. what a blessing is 
 the Gospel to mankind ! Well might the angels sing at 
 Messiah's birth, ' goodwill towards men/ no less than 
 ' glory to God ! ' How lovely does Christianity appear, con- 
 trasted with the absurdities of these pitiable heathen ! 0, 
 how privileged is Britain, where Divine truth shines forth in 
 all its purity ! May my happy native land know the value 
 of her privileges, and improve them : that, to latest ages, 
 her rulers may continue nursing fathers, and nursing mothers 
 to the Church ; and use their widely-extended influence in 
 rendering their colonies happy as themselves \" 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 AT ALDEEN APPOINTED TO CHUNAK. 
 
 ON Mr. Corrie's arrival in Bengal both he and Mr. 
 Parson took up their abode with Mr. Brown at 
 Aldeen, a short distance from Calcutta, and remained 
 under the same hospitable roof until they proceeded 
 to the stations that had been assigned to them re- 
 spectively by the government. Henry Martyn was 
 their fellow-guest for a time, and with that honoured 
 servant of God Mr. Corrie's intimacy was close and 
 brotherly. Mr. C. was also in the habit of preach- 
 ing regularly during his residence with Mr. Brown, 
 and of maintaining constant intercourse with the 
 whole body of Christian Missionaries in Calcutta and 
 Serampore. In his Journal, too, occur many intima- 
 tions of the anxious affection with which he regarded 
 such of the Cadets as remained within reach of his 
 visits, or were willing to correspond with him. A 
 peculiar regard for the welfare of young persons 
 
48 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 was, in fact, a distinguishing feature of Mr. Corrie's 
 character. 
 
 Early in December 1806, Mr. Corrie and Mr. 
 Parson left Aldeen, the one having been appointed 
 at Chunar, the other at Berhampore. As respects 
 Mr. C. it will be seen, that during the whole of his 
 journey to the place of his destination, the subject 
 of the conversion of the heathen occupied a large 
 portion of his thoughts. 
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 " Calcutta strikes me as the most magnificient city in the 
 world ; and I am made most happy by the hope of being 
 instrumental to the eternal good of many. A great oppo- 
 sition, I find, is raised against Martyn, and the principles 
 he preaches ; this gives me no uneasiness by the help of 
 God, I will stand fast in the doctrine of Christ crucified, and 
 maintain it against all opposition. But, Lord, grant me the 
 wisdom that is from above, that I may act with discretion, 
 and in nothing give unnecessary offence ! 
 
 " At three o'clock,* Martyn preached from Rom. iii. 21 
 23, the most impressive and best composition I ever heard. 
 The disposition of love and good will which appeared in him 
 must have had great effect ; and the calmness and firmness 
 with which he spoke raised in me great wonder. May God 
 grant a blessing to the word. may it silence opposition, 
 and promote religion for Jesus Christ's sake, Amen. 
 
 " Tuesday, Sept. 30th. I have neglected for some time 
 to make a memorandum of occurrences ; but remember, that 
 in general, my mind has been without any lively sense of 
 divine things ; though my heart has been going out much 
 
 * On Sunday, Sept. 21. 
 
CALCUTTA. 49 
 
 after God. The joy expressed by the few serious people here 
 is very great ; and were not those comforts withheld which I 
 have been some time favoured with, their kindness would 
 have a tendency to make me proud : for, Oh ! I feel an evil 
 heart cleaving to the world, though not under its former 
 shape. I am not without a secret uneasiness, that I have 
 not talents to render me equally acceptable with others. 
 This is not to be content with God's appointments ; though, 
 I think, I would not have others brought to my standard, 
 but would rise to their 5 s, that God may be more glorified. 
 I have received great kindness from Mr. Brown, and much 
 benefit from his conversation. Blessed be God, I feel no 
 disposition to shrink from the shame of the cross, but hope, 
 with boldness, to declare myself a fellow-labourer with 
 Martyn, in the controversy excited by his preaching. 
 
 " I preached on Sunday [Sept. 28,] evening, at the 
 Mission Church, from 2 Thess. i. 7 10 : my mind was 
 somewhat impressed with the importance of my office, both 
 before and during the service. I trust the furtherance of 
 God's glory, and the good of souls, was, and is, my prevail- 
 ing desire. Went up to Serampore yesterday, and in the 
 evening was present at the marriage of Mr. Desgranges.* 
 Mr. Brown entered into their concerns with much interest. 
 The pagodaf was fixed on, and lighted up for the celebration 
 of the wedding ; at eight o'clock the parties came from the 
 Mission house, [at Serampore] attended by most of the 
 family. Mr. Brown commenced with the hymn, ' Come, 
 gracious Spirit, heavenly dove ! ' A divine influence seemed 
 to attend us, and most delightful were my sensations. The 
 circumstance of so many being engaged in spreading the 
 
 * One of the London Society's Missionaries. 
 
 t The Hindoo temple of the idol Bullub, which the Brahmins 
 had deserted. Mr. Brown had repaired, and fitted it up as a family 
 chapel and study. The pagoda was, also, sometimes appropriated 
 to the accommodation of Mr. Brown's particular friends. MEMO- 
 RIAL SKETCHES OF REV. D. BROWN, p. 137. 
 
 E 
 
50 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 glad tidings of salvation, the temple of an idol converted 
 to the purpose of Christian worship, and the Divine presence 
 felt among us, filled me with joy unspeakable. After the 
 marriage service of the Church of England, Mr. Brown gave 
 out ' the Wedding hymn ; ' and after signing certificates of 
 the marriage, we adjourned to the house, where Mr. Brown 
 had provided supper. Two hymns given out by Mr. Marsh- 
 man* were felt very powerfully. He is a most lively, san- 
 guine missionary; his conversation made my heart burn 
 within me, and I find desires of spreading the Gospel grow- 
 ing stronger daily, and my zeal in the cause more ardent. 
 But ' my leanness * in comparison of these ' burning and 
 shining lights ' around me. Yet, in the strength of Jehovah 
 will I go forward, and will tread in their steps, and pursue 
 them at a distance, though I may not hope to come near 
 their attainments. 
 
 " Oct. 10th. I have for some time past been oppressed 
 with a sense of the want of spiritual affections : my heart 
 as cold as ice, no mouth to speak of, or for God : deadness 
 in prayer, and languor in every spiritual duty. I perceive 
 my great insufficiency for the work of the ministry ; and 
 lament exceedingly my small opportunities of education, f 
 and my sinful negligence in not better improving those I 
 had. ' God be merciful to me a sinner/ and perfect praise 
 to Himself out of my weak and unskilful mouth ! Last 
 night I went to the Mission-house, [at Serampore] and sup- 
 ped at the same table with about fifty native converts. The 
 triumph of the cross was most evident in breaking down 
 their prejudices, and uniting them with those who formerly 
 were an abomination in their eyes. After supper, they sang 
 a Bengalee hymn, many of them with tears of joy ; and 
 they concluded with prayer in Bengalee, with evident ear- 
 nestness and emotion. My own feelings were too big for 
 
 * Baptist Missionary. 
 
 t During the four years that Mr. Corrie resided in the neigh- 
 bourhood of London, little or no attention was paid to his education. 
 
ALDEEN. 51 
 
 utterance. may the time be hastened when every tongue 
 shall confess Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father ! 
 
 "On Friday evening, [Oct. 10th.] we had a meeting in the 
 pagoda, at which almost all the missionaries, some of their 
 wives, and Captain W. attended : with a view to commend 
 Martyn to the favour and protection of God in his work. 
 The Divine presence was with us. I felt more than it would 
 have been proper to express. Mr. Brown commenced with 
 a hymn and prayer, Mr. Desgranges succeeded him, with 
 much devotion and sweetness of expression : Mr. Marshman 
 followed, and dwelt particularly on the promising appear- 
 ance of things ; and, with much humility, pleaded God's pro- 
 mises for the enlargement of Zion ; with many petitions for 
 Mr. Brown and his family. The service was concluded by 
 Mr. Carey,* who was earnest in prayer for Mr. Brown : the 
 petition that ' having laboured for many years without en- 
 couragement or support, in the evening it might be light/ 
 seemed much to affect his own mind, and greatly impressed 
 us all. Afterwards we supped together at Mr. Brown's. 
 The influence of this association remained on my mind, and 
 shed a divine peace and composure through my soul. 
 
 " Sunday 12th. This day I preached at the New Church 
 from Gal. vi. 14. The Governor General, &c., attended. I 
 felt a good deal of palpitation before I ascended the pulpit, 
 but afterwards experienced great composure of mind; and 
 had no idea that any one would be offended, being conscious 
 that I was speaking the truth. I found much earnestness 
 in prayer before, and after, divine service. God grant an 
 increase to His own word for Jesus Christ's sake ! 
 
 " Oct. 13th . I came to Serampore to dinner. Had a 
 pleasant sail up the river : the time passed agreeably in con- 
 versation. In the evening a fire was kindled on the opposite 
 bank ; and we soon perceived that it was a funeral pile, on 
 which the wife was burning with the dead body of her hus- 
 band. It was too dark to distinguish the miserable victim 
 
 * Baptist Missionary. 
 E 2 
 
52 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 of superstition; but by the light of the flames we could 
 discover a great crowd of people: their horrid noise, and 
 senseless music, joined with the testimony of some of the 
 servants, convinced us that our apprehensions were founded 
 on fact. The noise continued till ten o'clock, and the fire 
 was kept burning till that time. My mind was struck with 
 horror and pity. On going out to walk with Martyn to the 
 pagoda, the noise so unnatural, and so little calculated to 
 excite joy, raised in my mind an awful sense of the presence 
 and influence of evil spirits. that the Lord would com- 
 mand his word to run and be glorified, in casting them out, 
 and placing in their stead the mild influence of his Gospel ! 
 " Oct. 18th, 1806. On Wednesday last, Mr. Brown, 
 Parson and myself proceeded up the river with Martyn, to 
 set him on his way to Dinapore. We landed at 'Ghyretee, 
 and walked through a most delightful avenue ; afterwards 
 through a neat village (for this country), and arrived at 
 Chandernagore about seven o'clock : we took tea at a tavern, 
 and went on board our budgerow, about nine o'clock. After 
 joining in prayer, we retired to rest. On Thursday morning, 
 we proceeded to Chinsurah, on foot, through groves of fruit- 
 trees ; we arrived at Chinsurah soon after seven o'clock, and 
 received a most hospitable reception from Mr. Forsyth : * 
 after dinner, we went with Mr. F. above Bandell ; and after 
 worship, returned to Chinsurah in a paunchway .f Yester- 
 day morning, the weather having commenced rainy, we 
 determined to return to Aldeen, on account of Mr. Brown's 
 boat becoming uninhabitable. We first engaged, according 
 to arrangement, in alternate prayer. Mr. Brown commenced 
 with reading a portion of Scripture, singing a hymn, and 
 prayer, which order was observed by P., myself, and Martyn. 
 A sense of the Divine presence was experienced by each of 
 us, and our consolation in Christ Jesus abounded ; so that 
 we left our friend without regret, and he parted with us 
 
 * One of the London Society's Missionaries, 
 t A small covered boat. 
 
ALDEEN. 53 
 
 cheerfully ; each persuaded that God was with us, and would 
 be our ' shield and exceeding great reward/ 
 
 " Oct. 22nd. On coming down the river, I saw the 
 figures of Doorga * paraded on the river, and the indecencies 
 of idol- worship. My mind was inexpressibly grieved ; and 
 most earnestly did I desire to be able to address the poor 
 deluded heathen. 
 
 " Nov. 3rd. For some time past I have made no memo- 
 randa of the state of my mind. Alas, my wretched back- 
 wardness to any really good thing ! In general my heart 
 has been hard and insensible, though my desire has been to 
 the contrary ; and I have had but little inclination to pray, 
 though no disposition to give up prayer; and sometimes 
 have experienced enlargement of heart, and melting of soul 
 in prayer. I have preached several times at the Old Church, 
 and once at the New. My purposes of labouring among 
 the heathen are, I bless God, more fixed ; and a desire to be 
 at my station, and about my proper work, grows upon me. 
 
 " When I hear of a spirit of covetousness which has 
 affected many, I fear and tremble ; and I think something 
 of that disposition was working within me this morning. 
 Oh ! how often have I said that I desire not to leave one shil- 
 ling behind me at death. I would record my own declara- 
 tion, beseeching thee, Lord, that I may be enabled to 
 trust thee for future supplies, and to live by faith upon thee 
 for daily bread ! 
 
 " 24th> For some days past my mind has enjoyed quiet 
 and peace with God ; my indisposition has been in a great 
 measure removed, and I can speak and act as usual. t Praise 
 God from whom all blessings flow.' My mind has been calm 
 and resigned to the will of God, in the prospect of my des- 
 tination, and in my preparation to set out for Chunar ; but 
 little, alas ! of lively affection, with much wandering of heart 
 in prayer. The youths who came out with me have been 
 much on my mind. My dear relatives have not had so par- 
 
 * One of the principal Hindoo female deities. 
 
54 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 ticular an interest in my prayers as at some other times ; 
 but their welfare is exceedingly dear to me, and the prospect 
 of having my sister with me very cheering. 
 
 " Nov. 29th. This morning Mr. Brown, Parson, Mr. 
 Thompson* (of Madras), and myself, met in the pagoda at 
 Aldeen, to consult in what way we may most effectually 
 promote the glory of our redeeming God in the earth. After 
 prayer by Mr. Brown, and after some conversation, we 
 agreed, 1st. To join in the views, and aid to the utmost of 
 our power, the purposes of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society : 2ndly. To help forward the translation of the 
 Scriptures into the languages of the East, as much as in us 
 lies; and to take the expense of the Sanscrit and Greek 
 Testaments upon ourselves : and 3rdly. To make a quarterly 
 report of our prospects, our plans, and actual situation in 
 our various stations, as far as the Church is concerned, to 
 Mr. Brown ; who will add his own, and cause a copy of the 
 whole to be transmitted to each individual. After prayer we 
 separated. 
 
 " Dec. 8. To-day set off for Chunar. In the strength of 
 the Lord God I go forth. 0, prepare a people for Thyself, 
 and make me the instrument of gathering them into thy 
 fold ! Keep me by thy mighty power in body and soul ; and 
 enlarge my heart that I may delight in Thy will, and lay 
 out all my time and labour in Thy service ! Amen, Lord 
 Jesus. Amen ! " 
 
 "Dec. 13th. On Monday last Parson and myself left 
 Aldeen, to proceed to our stations ; Mr. Brown and Mr. 
 Thompson accompanying us. We arrived at Chinsurah 
 about three o'clock, after a quick sail up the river, the tide 
 being in our favour : we called on Mr. Forsyth, with whom 
 we spent the evening. Mr. F. conducted family worship, 
 and was excellent in the application, and very fervent for 
 the fulfilment of many precious promises. The presence of 
 God was with us. Mr. F. gave me favourable intelligence 
 
 * The Rev. Marmaduke Thompson, late Chaplain at Madras. 
 
CHINSURAH. 55 
 
 respecting General M. at Chunar, to which place Mr. L. had 
 sent tracts, which had been noticed with approbation by the 
 General. I hope the Lord has prepared my way. Yester- 
 day morning, after breakfast and family worship, we set 
 forward, Mr. Forsyth accompanying us. In the evening 
 we walked on the bank, whilst the boatmen hauled our boat 
 along. The encouragement and comfort his conversation 
 raised in my mind will, I hope, never be forgotten : much 
 lively and spiritual conversation passed, chiefly on the means 
 most suitable for us to employ under present circumstances. 
 We concluded by commissioning Messrs. Brown and T. to 
 buy Bibles, Testaments, and Common Prayer-books, to 
 be sent to us from time to time for distribution. Our friends 
 left us to return to Calcutta. A sweet composure fills my 
 heart : and, without regret, I leave all that earth and sense 
 hold dear, to do thy will, my God ! Let me find strength 
 according to my day ; and call Thou me to any thing in 
 which I may most glorify Thee. Leave me not for a 
 moment; for though now, ( by thy goodness, thou hast 
 made my mountain strong/ yet if thou hide thy face I shall 
 be < troubled ! ' 
 
 " Dec. 14th. Yesterday morning we left Sook Saugur : 
 in the afternoon our attention was arrested by loud lamenta- 
 tions : we observed a dying man put into the river to expire ; 
 this, in the opinion of the Hindoos, insuring Paradise. We 
 were much shocked at the spectacle. Lord, how long, how 
 long shall Satan triumph ? Four out of six are killed in 
 this way, and hurried out of life." 
 
 On the 16th of December, Mr. Corrie writes to 
 his father : 
 
 " I am now on my way to my station at Chunar, five 
 days' journey from Calcutta, and three from Berhampore. 
 To this last place Parson is appointed, and we are together 
 in the same boat ; after which I have eight weeks' journey 
 alone. I have, however, several introductions to Christian 
 
56 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 friends on the way, and Martyn's station is before me, where 
 I intend to stay a few days with him. My mind is at per- 
 fect ease, and my soul happy in the love of God, and over- 
 flowing with gratitude to the Giver of all good. Much and 
 unexpected kindness has been shewn me in this strange land ; 
 and I have found that whosoever forsaketh aught for Christ 
 shall reap an hundred-fold ' in the present life : ' how, then, 
 can I doubt the fulfilment of that part of the promise which 
 relates to the life to come ? In the house of Mr. Brown, 
 every attention that affection could think of has been shewn 
 me. . . . The country through which we have come, is, in 
 general, very pleasant, though flat. We walk on the bank 
 morning and evening ; and amuse ourselves with finding out 
 resemblances, or fancied resemblances to scenes we remember 
 in Britain. We have every comfort we can wish for ; and 
 our morning and evening worship, consisting of singing, 
 prayer, and reading the Scriptures, tends to revive our souls ; 
 whilst we walk as friends, and take sweet counsel together 
 on the ends and means we purpose in our ministry. I have 
 written so often that I forget what I may have said to you ; 
 but you who know how much I am the creature of impulse in 
 every thing except my expressions of affection for you all, 
 and in matters of fact, will not judge of the state of my 
 mind from one single letter. I allude especially to what I 
 have written respecting the conversion of the heathen. You 
 know, what / now know, how sanguine I am in schemes 
 that my soul enters into ; and oft have I made calculations 
 and statements which have afterwards made me blush. 
 The state of society among our own countrymen here is 
 much altered for the better within these few years. The 
 Marquis Wellesley openly patronized religion ; whether from 
 motives of state policy or not, it is not ours to judge. He 
 on every possible opportunity, made moral character a 
 sine qua non to his patronage, and sought for men of 
 character from every quarter to fill offices of trust. He 
 avowedly encouraged, and contributed to, the translation of 
 
PLASSEY. 57 
 
 the Scriptures into the native languages ; and wherever he 
 went, paid a strict regard to divine worship on the Sunday. 
 Before his time, all causes were tried in the courts of 
 justice, through the medium of interpreters; but by the 
 College which he instituted, he furnished the natives with 
 judges capable of determining from their own knowledge of 
 the language, and judgment on the evidence ; and has thus 
 laid the foundation of peace and justice, such as Asia before 
 knew not. He has been the saviour of India to Britain. 
 The state of the natives in a moral point of view is deplora- 
 ble; the most shocking indecencies form a part of their 
 worship; and lying, cheating, &c., are not considered crimes. 
 Two youths who were seriously impressed during the voyage, 
 and one who was our fellow-passenger, and has since been 
 brought to consideration, are going on consistently in the 
 ways of wisdom. These first-fruits of our Indian en- 
 gagement afford me the most lively encouragement, and the 
 strongest hope that God is with me of a truth. O may He 
 be a spirit of power in my own heart, and a word of power 
 in my mouth, that many may be turned unto righteousness : 
 then I am sure that you will bless the day that took me 
 from you, and we shall rejoice together in the loving-kind- 
 ness of our God \" 
 
 But to return to the Journal : 
 
 " December 18th. This evening we are at Plassy. 
 Walking on the bank of the river, we passed an old man 
 brought down to die by the river-side : he exhibited signs 
 of considerable vitality ; and certainly no symptoms of im- 
 mediate dissolution. My spirit was stirred within me ; and a 
 Brahmin coming past, I began to talk to him on the wicked- 
 ness of killing men in this way. He said his shasters* 
 commanded it, and that the doctor had pronounced the man 
 dying. I told him that God did no injury to man ; 
 that He was good; and, therefore, the shasters were not 
 
 * Holy books. 
 
58 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 God's word ; and that God was displeased at such proceed- 
 ings ; he understood me, and pleaded their customs. I 
 answered, that the custom, the shasters, and the people, 
 were all bad ; and that when he died he would go down 
 and lie in fire for ever. He evidently understood me 
 and seemed confounded. I then told him that at Cutwa, a 
 Sahib lived, who would give him the true word of God, and 
 recommended him to go there. It appeared, however, that 
 he came from Moorshedebad, and showed no disposition to 
 return to Cutwa. Passing on, we found a party going to 
 Juggernauth. I asked one of them, Why he went there ? 
 What use it would be to him, and what good it would do 
 to him ? He seemed confounded, and made no reply. I 
 told him also of the anger of God, and of the fire after death. 
 A Birajee* came running after us to beg ; he was an old 
 man. On being told by him what he was, I said to him, 
 that he was a lazy man that would do no work, but only 
 eat, and that God was angry with him, and that when he 
 died he would go down to fire for ever. He was surprised 
 at this reception, and could only plead his age. I recom- 
 mended him to Cutwa. This is my first effort at missionary 
 work : but 0, how I blush, and abhor myself, for the imper- 
 fect manner I speak for God. I know enough of the language 
 to have conveyed different ideas, and more of them, but 
 I am nothing, and know nothing. Lord, grant me wisdom 
 and utterance ; and, 0, smile on my feeble attempts for the 
 furtherance of thine own glory, through Christ Jesus ! 
 
 " Dec. 21st. We are now by the kind providence of God 
 at Berhampore. On Friday Mr. Grant and Mr. Ellerton 
 stopped our boat, about one o'clock, and we stayed at that 
 place all night. We met, also, with Messrs. B. and their 
 friends ; one a youth from England, by the Nelson. They 
 also stayed with us ; and in the evening, we were joined by 
 two officers, going down to Calcutta. We made a party of 
 eight, and sat up till twelve, talking to little profit, chiefly 
 
 * A kind of religious mendicant. 
 
BOGWONGOLA. 59 
 
 about the siege of Bhurtpore. Yesterday morning we 
 separated, and were accompanied the whole of the day by 
 the Messrs. B, who joined with us in morning and evening 
 worship. 
 
 "Dec. 23rd, 1806. (Bogwongola) . Yesterday morning 
 we waited on General P. and afterwards visited the place 
 appointed for public worship, a large upper room. In the 
 afternoon, we visited the hospital. I drew near the bed of a 
 man apparently in the last stage of disease, who received the 
 word with tears, and requested me to pray with him. Hav- 
 ing made this known, P. invited the others to draw near : 
 a large party collected from all parts of the hospital. I ex- 
 pounded the third chapter of St. John's Gospel, and prayed. 
 Much attention in the poor men. 
 
 " I left Berhampore this morning at seven o'clock ; and, 
 after passing through a well-cultivated and fertile country, 
 arrived here at twelve. I am now on the great river, pro- 
 ceeding to Mr. Creighton* at Gomalty. I am much pained at 
 heart on account of separation from dear Parson, and disheart- 
 ened at the prospect of being so long on the way to Chunar ; 
 and tired with the importunity of the natives. Never, never 
 have I felt so keenly the separation from dear relatives ; but 
 I have no wish to draw back, but would pray and hope that 
 " God will be the strength of my heart, and my portion for 
 ever/' in and through Jesus Christ. 
 
 " Dec. 26th. Last night I arrived at Gomalty, and found a 
 very kind reception from Mr. Creighton. In the course of con- 
 versation, I have learned that he, with Messrs. Ellerton and 
 Grant, have instituted about twelve schools in the villages, in 
 this neighbourhood, in which many children of the poornatives 
 are taught to read and write ; and Christian tracts, and the 
 New Testament in Bengalee are read to them, and by them. 
 One Brahmin objected to the reading the Holy Scirptures ; 
 but, some parts of them being read to him, his objections 
 were removed, and he considered that they were very good. 
 * Superintendent of Indigo works. 
 
60 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 In one of the schools the master is a Brahmin, who teaches 
 these tracts, &c. ; though he says, that if the sentiments 
 contained in them prevail, the Brahmin's power will soon be 
 at an end. The salary allowed the teachers is five rupees * 
 per month ; for which they teach as many children as choose 
 to come. In one school about seventy or eighty children 
 attended at first ; and about forty still continue to come. In 
 this school thirty have been taught, and are gone off to dif- 
 ferent employments. Many of the boys have made con- 
 siderable proficiency in reading and writing ; and through 
 them, the knowledge of the Scriptures is diffused to a con- 
 siderable extent; the consequence is, that much less dis- 
 sension is found in the neighbourhood ; so that when the 
 native missionaries come amongst them, the people are 
 much more ready to hear them than in other districts. They 
 hear, also, with much attention, and in general approve of 
 Christian truth. 
 
 ' Dec. 27th. To-day Mr. Creighton sent for the school- 
 master of the place with his little charge, about fourteen : 
 some others were in the habit of attending, but were at this 
 time absent. The method of teaching is by writing the charac- 
 ter in the sand, and then pronouncing the letter ; thus they 
 learn both to read and write at the same time : some of the 
 children have made considerable advancement. The manners 
 of the children are much the same as those of children at 
 home ; and much gratification did their contented faces and 
 their little tricks afford me. 
 
 'Dec. 29th. Yesterday morning Messrs. W. the two 
 B's and A. came over to attend Divine worship. At ten 
 o j clock we went and heard the Bengalee missionaries preach 
 to their countrymen : the three appear to be humble and 
 sincere Christians. Those who understood them say, that 
 the preaching was very energetic and eloquent. 
 
 " Gomalty, Jan. 1st. 1807. I would begin the new year 
 by reviewing the old. The mercies of the past year are 
 * About ten shillings sterling. 
 
GOMALTY. 61 
 
 many and great ; and, for these mercies, I am bound to be 
 exceedingly thankful. During the voyage, my attempts 
 were not without some good effects on the minds of V. and 
 Y. especially : the Lord made my presence a restraint on 
 some who would otherwise have been more profane, and gave 
 me favour in the sight of many : kind friends have been raised 
 up for me in India, wherever I have come, and all my wants have 
 been abundantly supplied. These mercies call for the loudest 
 praise to Him who rules on high ; but especially do spiritual 
 mercies call for gratitude : that I have been kept from gross 
 sins before men ; that I have not been permitted wholly to res- 
 train prayer before God, or to cast off His fear ; that I have 
 been enabled in public preaching to declare what I believe 
 to be the whole counsel of God ; and that some tokens of 
 Divine approbation have been granted to His word. I feel a 
 growing boldness to speak for God in private, and something 
 more of a power to cast off the fear of man. These are 
 subjects which may well furnish matter for everlasting songs. 
 I would record what I feel still wrong, that I may be dis- 
 posed to live more simply on Christ for strength as well as 
 righteousness. I find a disposition to seek the applause of 
 men, which sometimes leads me into words and actions 
 which grieve the Holy Spirit, and wound my own soul. 
 There is a sinful nature ; a disposition to rest in the form 
 of godliness ; and a spirit of indolence which causes me to 
 waste hours and days to no profit. These things grieve and 
 bow down my soul. I would, also, record my purposes, 
 that I may be bound to perform them. I intend to keep 
 aloof from visiting parties at Chunar, as much as I can ; to 
 establish worship as often as possible ; and to teach and 
 preach Jesus Christ, ' publicly and from house to house,' 
 both to professed Christians, and to the heathen. But, 
 when I reflect how most of my resolutions have hitherto 
 come to nothing, Lord, let thy power rest upon me ! I 
 would record my most earnest desires, to mark the Lord's 
 dealings with me, and His answers to prayer. My first 
 
62 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 desire is, that a ' door may be opened ' at Chunar, and that 
 I may have power to enter in thereat, that so ' the word of 
 God may have free course and be glorified ' in the conver- 
 sion of souls. Secondly, that my dear family may be the 
 special objects of the favour of Jehovah ; and that my dear 
 sister may come out to me, if it be the will of God, other- 
 wise not. Thirdly, that V., Y., and B., may be kept from 
 the power of the devil, the world, and the flesh ; and that 
 they may be redeemed and preserved from all iniquity, and 
 have liberty to serve God without fear. Fourthly, that the 
 choicest mercies both of Providence and Grace, may descend 
 on all whose hearts have been disposed to favour me ; and 
 that the Government of India may be disposed to permit, 
 at least, attempts for the conversion of the natives ; and that 
 the kingdom of Christ may come. And, Lord, I would 
 devote my life, my strength, my every faculty, and every 
 gift of grace, nature, or providence, wholly to thy service 
 and glory ! I offer myself to Thee. pardon, accept, and 
 bless me, through Jesus Christ ; and bring these purposes 
 to good effect, for thy name's sake ! 
 
 " Jan. 6th. Left Mr. Creighton at Gomalty yesterday morn- 
 ing. Jn travelling, found my mind somewhat stayed on God. 
 I welcomed the budgerow, and the dreary river, as old though 
 inconvenient friends, who would put me in the way of active 
 usefulness. I was much pleased with the school in Mr. C/s 
 bungalow ; and, from the pleasure the Brahmin showed, 
 in making the scholars read the Bengalee New Testament, 
 I have a hopeful presentiment that the kingdom of Satan, 
 thus divided against itself, cannot stand long. 
 
 " Jan. 16th. This morning, I visited the wells near 
 Monghyr.* One of the wells is cold ; but close to it, 
 another bubbles up water, like the bubbles that rise from 
 the bottom of a caldron as the water grows hot. I found 
 this water so hot, that I was scarcely able to bear my hand 
 
 * The celebrated hot-well named " Seetacoom," the fountain of 
 Seeta. BISHOP HEBER'S JOURNAL. 
 
DINAPORE. 
 
 63 
 
 in it. Here, they say, Ram's wife bathed, after she had 
 been stolen away, and recovered again by her husband. 
 Many Brahmins and Faqueers were staying there ; and were 
 very importunate for money. With a buckshish* I offered 
 tracts, and was immediately told that a Sahib, a short time 
 since, had left many. A very interesting boy, about fifteen 
 years of age, read in one of the tracts, and told me that it 
 meant, There is only one God, and that all their poojahs, 
 &c., are vain. I spoke to him, and an old man, with 
 several around; the boy seemed to understand perfectly 
 what I meant; and said, that when he understood the 
 matter thoroughly, he should leave off poojah ; and, as I 
 spake of hell as the portion of wicked men, several behind 
 showed symptoms of scorn. The old man discovered much 
 impatience, but, for the buckshish, stayed till I had said all 
 that I thought necessary. The boy's father manifested un- 
 easiness, and evidently wished his son away ; but for the 
 same reason permitted him to stay. The father said, that 
 Adam was first created, and that all men are his children : 
 that the world was drowned, and then Noah became the 
 parent of us all. I replied that it was true ; and that Adam 
 and Noah worshipped God, and paid no regard to poojahs 
 and the river. Why, then, did they pay that regard to the 
 creature, which was due only to God ? He answered, that 
 when God should give all the world to be of the same 
 opinion, it would be so. To which I replied, That it was 
 true ; and that in England we worshipped God as Adam 
 and Noah did ; and that now the word was sent to him. 
 
 " Jan. 26th. On Friday, I left the budgerow, and came 
 through a most fertile country to Dinapore. I observed 
 some of the customs of the natives which explained passages 
 of Scripture. In the evening, the conversation of dear 
 Martyn seemed to drive away all pain ; but weakness soon 
 made me wish for rest. Yesterday, I preached here to an 
 attentive people, from Matt. vii. 21 23. Some of the 
 * Present. 
 
64 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 officers scoffed. Oh ! what cause for thankfulness in the 
 sweet communion I am favoured with in Martyn, and in the 
 kindness I meet with on all hands ! for a heart to praise 
 the Lord for his goodness ! for power to do His will, 
 to love His work ; and for a spirit of compassion for 
 perishing souls ! 
 
 " Jan. 29th. Just leaving Dinapore to proceed to Chunar, 
 in tolerable health and spirits. I have found but little 
 of spiritual comfort ; though much pleasure in communion 
 with dear Martyn. My purposes of labouring amongst the 
 heathen are much revived, encouraged and strengthened, by 
 the conversation of this dear friend : we agreed to exchange 
 letters every other Monday. I found the vanity of worldly 
 pursuits in the society I went into ; and perceive afresh 
 that God is alone the tit and satisfying portion of the soul. 
 may I live under this impression, and may my life and 
 conduct testify that it is a divine impression ! 
 
 "Feb. 15th. On approaching Chunar, the appearance 
 of the fort struck me as beautiful ; but, from the reports of 
 its unhealthiness, I was ready to consider it as my grave, 
 and approached it with a heavy heart. I have found some 
 earnestness and liberty in praying for a blessing on my 
 entrance in amongst them. I trust the Lord will be entreated." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SETTLEMENT AT CHUNAR. 
 
 CHUNAR, the first scene of Mr. Corrie's stated ministry 
 in India, used to be a place of greater importance 
 than it is now that the frontier of the British Empire 
 has been so much extended in all directions. The 
 fortress is spread over the sides of a high rock which 
 is washed by the Ganges ; and although the place is 
 not considered unhealthy, yet during some months 
 in the year, the heat at Chunar is intense. The 
 Europeans stationed there, when Mr. C. was chap- 
 lain, were all military, and for the most part invalids, 
 who, though unfit for active service, were equal to 
 garrison-duty. Besides those Europeans and some 
 Sepoys, there were a few half-castes of Portuguese 
 extraction, and some native women who followed the 
 army. Without the cantonments was a Hindoo and 
 Mahomedan population amounting to 10,000 or 
 
 F 
 
66 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 12,000 souls. The Europeans, also, at Secrole 
 (about twelve miles from Chunar) became afterwards 
 part of Mr. Corrie's charge ; whilst the vast heathen 
 population of Benares, with its cruel and senseless 
 superstitions, opened out a large field for the exercise 
 of missionary zeal and Christian philanthropy. 
 
 The extracts given below from Mr. Corrie's journal 
 and Letters, will explain the nature of his official 
 duties, and missionary operations. It will be seen 
 that he had many obstacles to encounter in his efforts 
 to impart the knowledge of Christ to those " who lay 
 in darkness and in the shadow of death. "* Among 
 the many trials, too, which his faith had to sustain, not 
 the least will appear to have arisen from the determined 
 hostility to all missionary labours, manifested by the 
 Government of India; in forgetfulness, it may be 
 presumed, of the great truth, that as " the kingdoms 
 of this world are " destined to " become the kingdoms 
 of our Lord and of His Christ," all opposition to the 
 spread of Christianity is hostility to the " King of 
 kings, "t 
 
 " Sunday, Feb. 22nd. This day I begin my labours at 
 Chunar, and have much reason to adore him who heareth 
 prayer, for smoothing my way, and opening a door of hope 
 that good will be done. I arose at five o'clock this morning 
 and prepared for divine service. At seven o'clock, I went 
 to the place of worship, and found there the effective artillery- 
 men, the garrison invalids, and several of the others, with the 
 
 * Luke i. 79. t Rev. xi. 15 ; xix. 16. 
 
CHUNAR. 67 
 
 Colonel, Captain P., Lieut. A., and the invalid officers D. 
 and H. with some other officers of the Fort. Observed 
 several very attentive. At half past nine o'clock I went to 
 the hospital, and found a table set, and the people very ready 
 to hear, and attentive. Now, Lord, 
 
 " Do thou the gracious harvest raise, 
 And thine alone shall be the praise." 
 
 " Feb. 25th. This evening I went to see the Roman 
 Catholic chapel, a small place of about eight feet square, 
 surrounded with a veranda. A dish with spices, and another 
 with flour, were placed on the altar. A Padre comes occa- 
 sionally, but he has not been here for the last two years ; 
 he has baptized several native women connected with Euro- 
 peans ; but I cannot find that any other natives have been 
 baptized by him. 
 
 " Feb. 27th. Yesterday and to-day, I had an opportu- 
 nity of talking with some poor women, Portuguese Roman 
 Catholics, about Jesus Christ ; and found some relief to my 
 own mind in recommending Him to their regard. From 
 one I learned (what indeed I had heard before) that at 
 Bettiah, situate in what used to be the old kingdom of Ne- 
 paul, eight days' journey inland from Chuprah, all the 
 inhabitants are Roman Catholic Christians : a padre re- 
 sides amongst them, and they have a church. 
 
 " March 8th. The week has passed with little profit. I 
 received a letter from dear Martyn,* which comforted me 
 not a little. On returning from public service, I found some 
 earnestness in prayer to God for my flock ; for the Church 
 in India ; and her ministers ; for my dear relatives ; for my 
 former flock, and all who pray for me ; but especially for 
 my dear country, her government, her ministers, her peo- 
 ple ; and for all Christians. After dinner I called in the 
 Bettiah-christian,t and found him intelligent, and very at- 
 
 * See the Journals and Letters of Henry Martjn, vol. ii, p. 21. 
 t Mr. Corrie relates (below, p. 73.) in what way, his acquaintance 
 with this Bettiah-christian commenced. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 tentive to his padre. He gave me the history of the crea- 
 tion and fall of man, with a mixture of fable, and some con- 
 fusion in the connexion. He seems to know nothing ex- 
 perimentally of Christ ; and, if I understood him rightly, 
 considers that the sin of Adam, which fell upon his posterity, 
 is removed by Christ ; and that now by attending to the 
 sacraments we obtain pardon of sin. God grant me wisdom 
 to deal prudently with him : he appears sincere, but not very 
 humble. 
 
 " March 9th. This morning I went to the hospital, in 
 consequence of a message from a native woman, who is de- 
 sirous of baptism : she appeared anxious to go in God's way, 
 as she expressed it ; and with tears said, that from her heart 
 she desired baptism. On my asking her whether she was a 
 sinner ? She replied, That before, or towards God, she was a 
 sinner : but on being further questioned, confessed she did 
 not know wherein she had done amiss, except it were in 
 living in an unmarried state ; looking wistfully at the man. 
 I took occasion, from this confession, to speak of the evil of 
 this circumstance, and of the only way of obtaining forgive- 
 ness, through the blood of Christ. She promised to keep 
 this word in her heart, and to pray according to my direc- 
 tions. The man appears sensible of the evil of his present 
 habits ; and promises that, if the woman lives, he will marry 
 her. I am at a loss how to proceed : to refuse her bap- 
 tism will evidently be a grief to her ; and I hope she is 
 awakened to a sense of her sin. May the Lord direct me ! 
 
 " March 15th. I went yesterday evening to the barracks ; 
 and if circumstances had been favourable, should have mar- 
 ried the persons above-mentioned ; but find I should have 
 broken military regulations if I had done so. To-day, the 
 man seems unwilling ; but the woman expressed dread at 
 the thought of continuing in sin. I have observed, on se- 
 veral occasions, when explaining Christian subjects through 
 a native who understands English, that they [the natives] 
 
CHUNAR. 69 
 
 have a great reluctance to speak of Jesus^Christ, and never 
 do it till I urge it again. 
 
 " March 17th. A letter from dear Martyn dispirits me ;* 
 as, from the dislike manifested to his schools, I may see 
 how little is to be hoped for : yet we expect opposition ; why 
 then should I be dismayed ? my soul ! hope in God ! 
 Notwithstanding, I have engaged a schoolmaster, and am 
 waiting to see the result. I have employed myself to-day in 
 translating the ten commandments into Hindoostanee, with 
 the assistance of a moonshee. He could not, for a long 
 time, understand why God is called a f jealous God.' 
 
 "March 18th. A native woman has been with me, ex- 
 pressing her desire for baptism. I made the moonshee read 
 to her the ten commandments ; and could not help smiling 
 to hear one Hindoo explain the law of God to another : she 
 exhibits no humility. The Bettiah-christian pleased me 
 much this evening : he mentioned four good works which 
 God approved of; three of which I understood to be faith, 
 love, and obedience to the law. I replied, that if faith was 
 in the heart, all the other good works would follow ; if we 
 really believed the love of Christ to sinners, we must love 
 Him in return. He answered, that it was true'; and said, 
 If faith is not in the heart, none of the other graces would 
 be there. All this was said with a seriousness and gravity 
 which looked very like sincerity, if it was not really so. A 
 female attending the woman who has applied for baptism, 
 interfering very improperly, was desired to hold her peace. 
 She left the room with marks of great anger, having before 
 exhibited symptoms of uneasiness ; especially when the 
 seventh commandment was repeated. So does Satan "rage 
 when his strongholds are attacked ! 
 
 " March 22nd. In conversation with Mooney Lol and 
 Moonshee, on the necessity of making inquiry for ourselves 
 in matters of the soul, I remarked an expression which has 
 
 * See Journals and Letters of Henry Martyn, vol. ii. p. 28, 29. 
 
70 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORR1E. 
 
 dwelt much on my mind : ' When we have a king of our 
 own to order us in the right way, we will then walk in it.' 
 This, with other circumstances, convinces me of the impo- 
 licy of the Government, in withholding Christianity from 
 the natives. They are tasting of British liberty ; but, having 
 no principles to guide them, when they feel their strength, 
 they will expel the British ; whereas now, if missionaries 
 were permitted, they would, in two generations, probably 
 all embrace Christianity. 
 
 tf March 26th. This evening, after conversation with the 
 native woman, I baptized her, with earnest warning not to 
 trust to the outward sign. She said, She had been a sinner, 
 but that she would pray to Jesus, night and day, to make 
 her free from sin, and would be His slave, and serve Him 
 for ever. After the service she cast her eyes up to heaven, 
 and kept them fixed for some time, with an appearance of 
 most ardent supplication. Afterwards I went home with 
 Sergeant M'D., whose wife, though a Roman Catholic, 
 wishes to communicate. 
 
 " April 2nd. Yesterday morning I went to the barracks. 
 I asked the native woman whom I lately baptized, whether 
 she prayed ? She answered, ' Yes/ ( What do you pray to God 
 for ? ' ' To make me well in this world if He pleases ; and if 
 not, to take me to Himself.' I endeavoured to impress on 
 her the necessity of asking all in Christ's name ; which she 
 seemed to attend to very diligently. The man was impressed. 
 In the evening I went to bury a child ; and spoke to three 
 invalids, plainly and at length, on the necessity of winning 
 Christ. 
 
 " April 6th. I learned from the Moonshee that the old 
 schoolmaster, in order to keep his scholars from the free 
 school, circulated a report that I should send the children 
 to Calcutta ; which, it seems, keeps many back ; but this no- 
 tion, however, is now done away with. 
 
 " April 8th. Yesterday the Bettiah-walla came again after 
 an absence of a fortnight. He said he had been unwell ; and 
 
CHUNAR. 
 
 71 
 
 his appearance bespoke it. He told me that he was poor and 
 helpless without Jesus Christ. To-day he came again, and 
 read, with evident interest, the fourteenth and fifteenth 
 chapters of St. John ; especially the promise of being one 
 with God and Christ. The account of the fruitless branches 
 also impressed him ; and he confessed that his heart was 
 backward towards God. This morning the children of the 
 school came to me : I was much struck with their ap- 
 pearance, and artless manners. The Bettiah-walla received 
 the ten commandments with reluctance : the second is not 
 in his number. I took several occasions of pointing out to 
 him the name of Jesus, as the only medium of access to 
 God ; and observed that we must not pray to saints. At 
 hearing this, his countenance fell. that the Lord may 
 lead him into all truth ! 
 
 " April 10th, 1807. This day I have completed my thir- 
 tieth year. I have been reviewing my birth-day memoranda, 
 and I feel quite abased. Alas ! where is the blessedness I 
 experienced some time back ; or was I then under a mistake 
 as to my real state ? I suspect that much of animal feeling 
 mixed with my former experience, for I think my soul is as 
 fixed as ever, in knowing nothing upon earth but f Jesus 
 Christ and him crucified/ Yet, my God (for mine thou 
 art) search me ! The Lord's mercies to me are innume- 
 rable : if I should attempt to number them, they exceed the 
 minutes of my existence ; but alas ! my heart is insensible ; 
 my affections are as cold as ice : I am become a stone to the 
 fear of death ; and the terror of the Lord, rather than the 
 sweet love of Jesus Christ, seems to constrain all my doings. 
 There is not a desire, I think, to keep back a tittle of God's 
 word. I even feel the time long till the Lord's day returns, 
 that I may have an opportunity of warning poor sinners : 
 yet when it comes my heart is heavy ; and I go with a kind 
 of sullenness and desponding tardiness to God's work. O 
 that it were with me as in months past ! The Lord has 
 marvellously hid me from the strife of tongues, has wonder- 
 fully supported my feeble mind, has enabled me to seek the 
 
72 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 salvation of souls with a boldness unusual to my nature ; 
 and has given testimony to the word of His grace in this 
 place. He supports me in solitude, and enables me to spend 
 days alone without weariness : praised be His name ! The 
 undivided and glorious Trinity are worthy of my adoration 
 and love. rather let me go mourning thy absence to the 
 grave than attempt to satisfy my soul with contemptible 
 trash ! Yet, in thy manifold mercies, let me taste thy love, 
 and praise thee in the use of all that thou bestowest ! The 
 prosperity of Zion is my earnest desire : the conversion 
 of the British and the heathen, the success of my preaching, 
 schools, and private attempts [to do good] are the subjects 
 of my daily prayer. that the Lord would bless these 
 feeble efforts, would perfect that which belongeth unto me ! 
 Into thy hands, Lord, I commend my soul and body : 
 and look with humble hope to be kept by thy power through 
 faith unto salvation. 
 
 Cl Martyn alarms me by expressing a wish for my re- 
 moval.* I feel very reluctant to it ; and am enabled to 
 resign myself to God in prayer, even to die here ; if, in this 
 way, He will be more glorified/' 
 
 " April 12th. This evening, I buried the native woman 
 whom I lately baptized ; and spoke to the people from 1 Cor. 
 xv. 33. ' Evil communications corrupt good manners.' 
 Lord, grant thy blessing ! Let thy promise come, and 
 then shall sinners in great numbers be converted unto thee ! " 
 
 The following Letter to Mr. Buckworth dated 
 May 22nd, 1807, contains some interesting particu- 
 lars of which there is no record in the Journal : 
 
 " From the first of January till the beginning of this 
 month, I was much affected by this climate ; and did not 
 
 * On account of the effect which the heat of the climate seemed 
 to be producing on Mr. Corrie's health. See JOURNALS AND LETTERS 
 OF HENRY MARTTN, vol. ii. p. 42. 
 
CHUNAR. 73 
 
 begin to recover till April. Thanks to a kind Providence, I 
 am now quite well ; and have escaped that first attack on arri- 
 val, which has carried off four of my fellow-passengers. The 
 effect of this climate was felt as severely by my mind as my 
 body : a listlessness and languor rendered any little exertion 
 a burden : even my devotion was for the most without life 
 or activity ; and, alas ! little of that lively spirit I, in some 
 poor measure, enjoyed in England, remains with me. I 
 bless God who enables me to live on Christ as my { All in 
 All/ and keeps alive in my heart a sense of the value of His 
 favour, and the excellency of the ' purchased possession/ 
 The absence of lively feeling I conceive to be occasioned by the 
 want of ' the communion of saints ; ' and I remember, with 
 tears sometimes, those days f when I went to the house of 
 God with the multitude of those that kept holy day/ I am 
 very far, however, from being without marks of the Divine 
 favour : I am enabled to spend weeks alone without weari- 
 ness ; and to find pleasure in those studies which may 
 qualify me for extensive usefulness. We have here about 
 three hundred Europeans, invalids, and officers ; of the 
 latter I see little, although we exchange mutual civilities : 
 perhaps, I am not three hours in a week, on the average, 
 in civilized society ; though I might be much more if I 
 chose, but find it my duty and privilege to avoid much 
 visiting. 
 
 " One Sergeant has embraced the truth in love, I trust ; 
 and some others are hopeful. A native, descended from 
 Roman Catholic parents, has been daily with me ; and we 
 read the gospel in Hindoostanee together : he is a man of 
 good understanding. When I found him here (February) 
 he had not seen the Scriptures : he now understands much 
 of the general sense of the gospels ; and evidences a pleasing 
 spirit of enquiry. I am not at present, however, without 
 fears respecting his real conversion. Should it please God to 
 work effectually in him, the blessing to his poor countrymen 
 might prove incalculable. You will wonder, perhaps, that 
 
74 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 I do not speak with rapture on the subject of the conversion 
 of the natives ; be assured, dearest B., no subject is nearer 
 my heart ; and this I feel assured of, that whilst health and 
 strength remain, my life shall be devoted to the furtherance 
 of this work, as well as the more immediate objects of my 
 present appointment. The works of the devil are here ma- 
 nifest, and excite an abhorrence in my soul, which, by the 
 grace of God, will to the last make me labour to destroy 
 them : but the effects of my labours are not, according to 
 human appearance, likely to be immediate. The rising ge- 
 neration seem to be the most likely subjects ; and some fa- 
 voured servant of Christ may, probably, lay my head in the 
 dust, and enter on his labour here among ' a people prepared 
 for the Lord/ But ' they who sow and they who reap shall 
 rejoice together ' in the day of our Lord's appearing. 
 
 The superstition of this country is of such a complicated 
 kind, that I can say nothing with certainty about it, at present. 
 Almost every person has a different idol ; or a different ac- 
 count of the same idol ; and the objects of their worship are 
 innumerable. A circumstance that took place yesterday 
 morning, may help to shew you the folly of their worship : 
 its wickedness, in some respects, cannot be named. The 
 fort of Chunar (in which I live) is a fortified hill of about 
 two miles in circumference ; the ramparts command 
 an extensive view on all sides, and most mornings 
 I take a walk upon them before sun-rise. It seems, that 
 the first founder of this fort and his tutor are both ca- 
 nonized, and are supposed to preside here still, and are 
 worshipped as tutelar deities. Yesterday morning, at the 
 south end, most remote from the guard-house, I found the 
 firelock, turban, and sacred drinking-vessel of one of the 
 sentinels : a brahmin was placed by the sentry-box, and was 
 observed by me below. I passed on. As I returned, he 
 spoke ; but I did not stop. Thinking afterwards that he 
 might be ill, I called a servant, and sent him to see. Now 
 observe. He said that, at three in the morning, he had seen 
 
CHUNAR. 75 
 
 two figures of men approaching, that he challenged them, 
 and that they immediately flew upon him, beat him unmerci- 
 fully, and, after he was stripped, kicked him off the rampart, 
 ten feet at least (the ramparts were certainly seven feet high). 
 The Jemadar (a native officer) who, with others, was come 
 to his assistance, was very angry with him, and said these 
 figures were the identical founder of the fort and his tutor, 
 who dwell in this part of the fort, and have thrown two sen- 
 tinels over the parapet for interrupting them : this the brah- 
 min before mentioned believed, and this opinion was cur- 
 rent. I asked how this god came to beat him, a brahmin, 
 so sacred a man ? He readily answered, That the tutor is 
 not a good, but a bad spirit ; and they worship him to keep 
 him from doing them injury. I said to some others, that 
 it was quite plain that even a brahmin himself was not be- 
 yond the power of these demons ; how then could they ex- 
 pect the brahmins to defend them ? They were silent ; but 
 evidently not convinced, as they offer goats in sacrifice, and 
 pour out wine in libations, which they fancy the demon eats 
 and drinks. I told them not to be so profuse in their offer- 
 ings, lest Bhyzoonat should become so wanton as to destroy 
 them all. 
 
 A rich Brahmin told me yesterday that if any one died 
 in Benares, or within ten miles of it, he would undoubtedly 
 go to heaven, though he were ever so great an offender. I 
 told him I would come some night and plunder his house, 
 and then go to Benares, and so secure both present and 
 future riches. He saw my meaning, and said with a smile, 
 t there is no need for Sahib to take any money by force ; my 
 wealth is all at his feet/ and so evaded my argument. I 
 could fill volumes with conversations of this kind, but they 
 have no more seeming effect than words spoken to the air ; 
 so deeply-rooted is error in their minds, and so congenial 
 are their lying idols to the corrupt nature of man. I should 
 not, however, forget the power of God, nor limit its oper- 
 ation. This I feel sure of, that the young, with means of 
 
76 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 instruction, will grow up ashamed of their idolatry ; and 
 means of instruction are not now entirely wanting. My 
 three dear sons in the faith (young officers who were fellow- 
 passengers) continue to walk in the truth. 0, were 
 the British all true Christians, the conversion of the heathen 
 world, humanly speaking, would be comparatively an easy 
 work ! The appointment of Chaplain is, in this point of 
 view, important." 
 
 It will be recollected (p. 62), that a short time 
 before Mr. Corrie left Calcutta to proceed to Chunar, 
 he had consulted with Mr. Brown and other friends, 
 as to the means by which they " might best promote 
 the glory of God in the earth," and that among other 
 means that were deemed likely to contribute towards 
 so noble an object, one was, that each of the parties 
 then present should forward a quarterly report of his 
 ministerial plans and prospects, to Mr. Brown in 
 Calcutta ; who, having appended his own observations, 
 should transmit a copy of the combined reports to 
 each Individual.* 
 
 It was considered that a mutual knowledge of the 
 facts and observations which might be accumulated 
 in the course of each other's labours and experience, 
 would tend greatly to encourage and direct them as 
 individuals, amid the difficulties which the Missionary 
 and Chaplain had then to contend with. The first 
 
 * Journals and Letters of Henry Martyn, vol. ii. p. 41. See 
 some of the like quarterly communications from Mr. Brown, printed 
 in Wilkinson's Sketches of Christianity in North India, pp. 145. 
 and 169. 
 
CHUNAR. . 77 
 
 of these Reports seems to have been made on the 
 6th of April 1807, but no copy of Mr. Corrie's 
 communications is met with among his papers, of an 
 earlier date than the Eeport which is here subjoined. 
 
 " Chunar, July 6, 1807. 
 
 " The same routine of engagements and employments 
 offers little of variety, either to amuse or profit my ho- 
 noured brethren ; but the idea of being under an engage- 
 ment to communicate something on this day, has been no 
 little spur to activity, that I might have something to relate 
 to them. The motive I feel to be an unworthy one ; but 
 those among whom I am placed may have been benefited 
 from it, and our plan will redound to their benefit at least. 
 
 " My mind has at times, been sorely exercised with temp- 
 tations to give up all exertion in the cause of Christ, and 
 take my ease like those around me ; more especially, about 
 a fortnight since, the improbability of success, the sneers 
 of the world, the dread of singularity, were the chief en- 
 gines the enemy attacked me with, respecting the Euro- 
 peans ; respecting the Heathen, his suggestions were chiefly, 
 the opposition of government, the extreme ignorance of the 
 natives, the fear of commotions in the country, should I 
 attempt their conversion. These, like fiery darts, were at 
 different times, and in divers ways, cast into my soul, 
 and grievously wounded me. I bless God, whose love is 
 everlasting, that He has rebuked the tempter. I look back 
 as one who has escaped shipwreck, barely with life ; and I 
 feel determined, through the grace of Christ, to count not 
 even life dear unto myself, so that I may finish my course 
 with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the 
 Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. 
 
 " We have had divine service regularly every Sunday 
 morning, at sun-rise, in the fort. Our commanding officer 
 
78 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 has for some time left off attending, though he continues 
 very civil and obliging. He makes ill health an excuse ; 
 although he has occasionally been in the fort soon after the 
 time of worship, and without any cause but his own plea- 
 sure, Another officer has also left off attending, although 
 for some time after my first arrival, he was regularly among 
 us. Some others have all along been irregular in their at- 
 tendance, and continue to come occasionally. The gentle- 
 man and his wife, I alluded to in my last report, do not go 
 on as I had hoped, though they are very kind, and my only 
 intimate associates. Although he does not enter into my 
 views, he yet talks familiarly with me on the subject of 
 religion, and tells me his own views and feelings respecting 
 it ; which, together with their regular attendance on public 
 worship, made me to hope they were under a divine influence. 
 But, oh, the love of this present evil world, is a clog which 
 weighs down the souls even of those who know more of its 
 vanity, than these [persons] at present do. 
 
 " Among the common men, I trust some good has been 
 done, although little to lasting benefit, as yet. I mentioned 
 a sergeant of Invalids, who joined himself to me soon after 
 my arrival. He is now in the hospital, and seemingly in 
 the last stage of sickness. He made a profession of godli- 
 ness in his youth, in England, it seems. He is now greatly 
 alive to the consequences of death. He is become extremely 
 communicative, and in comparison of what he used to be, 
 eloquent. His experience is .such a lesson to backsliders, as 
 makes me anxious to communicate it separately, when the 
 final scene may be closed ; and, therefore, I shall say nothing 
 more of him here. 
 
 "A. Serjeant on the pension-list, has, since my last, evinced 
 considerable concern for salvation ; and is, I trust, in a fair 
 way. Another Serjeant also reads, and assents to the books 
 I lend him, and I am told, is somewhat reformed in conduct ; 
 but still is by no means a hopeful character. 
 
 " The native woman whom I baptized, died and was buried, 
 
CHUNAR. 79 
 
 April 12th. The man with whom she lived, is since mar- 
 ried, having expressed great concern for his former conduct, 
 and thanks for my admonitions ; declaring, at the same time, 
 that he never before was told he was doing wrong, in this 
 respect ; and that, for the fifteen years he has been in this 
 country, he had not seen a clergyman, to his knowledge, till 
 I arrived here. Another has put away his native woman ; 
 and another is now desiring to be married, but his command- 
 ing officer refuses to give permission, on the score of the 
 woman's character. 
 
 " No public worship as yet has been established at the 
 barracks, chiefly in consequence of my health having been 
 very unsettled. I am anxiously hoping to be able soon to 
 have opportunity of speaking to them publicly the word of 
 life. It oppresses me with grief, when I can feel as I ought, 
 that many, perhaps 150, of the number of Invalids, seldom, 
 or never join the public worship. The man who for some 
 time has read prayers in his dwelling on Sunday mornings, 
 continues to do so, being lame, and so unable to come up to 
 the Fort ; I fear, however, he is without experience of the 
 love and grace of Christ. On Whitsunday I administered 
 the Lord's Supper to four. Thus far respecting the Euro- 
 peans here, whom I consider myself, in a peculiar manner, 
 called to attend to. 
 
 " At Secrole, which I visited last week, I found a mer- 
 chant of real piety, though from his relating of a vision, he 
 is, in my opinion, something enthusiastic. He devotes much 
 time to the relief of poor and sick natives. He, for some 
 time, read prayers on Sunday mornings and evenings, to the 
 few artillery-men in their barracks ; till, on his imprudently 
 administering medicine to a sick man, he was forbidden all 
 communication with them. He, however, still reads prayers and 
 a sermon, in his own house, on Sundays, and some join him. 
 One artillery-man, he speaks of, as a true Christian. He had 
 not before met with any who could understand him, and had 
 frequent thoughts of writing to Mr. Brown ; but feared that 
 
80 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 his letter would not be welcome. He is a stiff churchman ; 
 and when I asked him whether he had read the Missionary 
 Magazine, which I saw in his shop, he started at the idea, 
 and said ' He never had any connection with Dissenters/ 
 
 1 ' Respecting the heathen, I have instituted four schools 
 for the instruction of children ; two on each side the Fort. 
 On either side, one for Hindoos, and one for Mussulmans. 
 In one Hindoo school are thirty-seven : in the other thirteen. 
 In one Mussulman school, are twenty-two ; in the other 
 sixteen. In all eighty-eight children. Of these a few now 
 know their letters, and I am much exercised in mind re- 
 specting the introduction of the Scriptures among them. 
 The Gooroos are quite averse to any books ; it has never 
 been the custom, they say, for them to read books ; and the 
 Mahomedans have books. I trust the Lord will guide me, and 
 not suffer me to mar his work by my extreme ignorance of 
 the best mode of proceeding. The nearer I approach the 
 work, the greater appears its difficulty, the more I feel my 
 own insufficiency. If any good is done among us, how 
 evidently will it appear to be of God. 
 
 "Not having a copy of my last report, I know not whether 
 I mentioned some native Roman Catholic Christians who 
 daily attended me for reading the Scriptures. Only one of 
 four continues to come, and he seems to be in earnest. He 
 has with great reluctance been brought to confess, that at 
 least the purgatory of the Papists, their transubstantiation, 
 and prayer to saints, have no foundation in Scripture. He 
 has read the Gospels through ; St. John twice, and we are 
 now going through St. Matthew a second time. He has 
 brought his wife and family to Chunar -, and has expressed 
 a wish to instruct his native brethren, if I will find him sub- 
 sistence. After many expressions of this kind, I told him, 
 that he must consider that the Company give no authority 
 for this ; that he must expect no more favour than others, 
 from the British ; that I would only support him with neces- 
 saries, but should expect his children would be taught to 
 
CHUNAR. 81 
 
 earn their bread ; and desired him to reflect seriously on the 
 subject, and make it matter of prayer to God. He has not 
 expressed so much eagerness since this^ as before. He, how- 
 ever, has much conversation with the native baptized persons; 
 tells them faithfully of their sin and heathen practices ; and 
 I think is himself a true Christian. He yesterday explained 
 to me the Parable of the Sower very exactly, without re- 
 ference to our Lord's explanation. It may not be amiss to 
 transcribe a few remarks I have noted down respecting this 
 man's knowledge of divine truth. I understand him better 
 than he understands me, but I enquire of him the meaning 
 of what I have said, till I find he has caught the idea I 
 wish to convey. 
 
 " Saturday, May 16th. The Bettiah-walla remembered 
 very exactly what I explained to him yesterday of our Lord's 
 discourse with Nicodemus ; he, also, remembered very cor- 
 rectly the explanation of the allusion to the brazen serpent, 
 repeating what I had told him of that transaction. On 
 asking him, in what sense must we look to Christ ; he 
 answered, Jesus Christ is not now on the cross : but, as He 
 said to Thomas, who seeing the prints of the nails in his 
 hands, cried out ' My Lord and my God,' ' Blessed is he that 
 hath not seen, and yet hath believed/ so it is with our hearts 
 that we must look to Him ; and believing that He hath given 
 his blood for us, and having our hearts made clean by His 
 Spirit, we shall not perish, but have everlasting life. He 
 explained John iii. 17. (without being asked) very scriptural - 
 ly, and evidently with a sense of its value. 
 
 " May 18th. In the afternoon, I had pleasure in acquir- 
 ing the Hindoostanee. On asking the Bettiah-walla what 
 was meant by the declaration, ' No man can come to me ex- 
 cept the Father which hath sent me draw him ; ' he answered, 
 ' No one desires to come to Christ unless God enlighten his 
 mind, and dispose his heart.' On asking him, What is 
 meant by the expression, in John vi. 40. ' Seeing the Son ; ' 
 he replied, ' Seeing Him in his word, and with our hearts.' 
 
82 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 He has had a conversation with a Mahomedan, who con- 
 cluded with saying that Mahomet was the last prophet. 
 The Bettiah- walla answered, ' According to their own book 
 Jesus is Noor-Ullah, i. e. the Son of God, that He died, 
 and rose, and went up to heaven, and will come to judg- 
 ment : ' The Mahomedan consented. Bettiah-walla : ' Tour 
 prophet is sleeping, as you allow ; whether is greatest, a 
 sleeping or a living prophet ? ' He allowed that the living 
 one was the greatest, and promised to come again to-morrow. 
 The Bettiah-walla answered to my question, ' How it is that 
 if any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine 
 whether it be of God.' (John vii. 17.) ' The Holy Ghost 
 will come upon him and make his heart glad and holy.' J 
 
 " On one occasion I discovered him in a fault, which he 
 confessed with tears, making no attempt to conceal it, and 
 I believe has not fallen into it again. It was at a time I per- 
 ceived him to be much puffed up with his attainments, and 
 would gladly have made him feel the force of the apostle's 
 words, ' Let him that thinketh &c/ 
 
 " My chief employment has been the study of Hindoos- 
 tanee, in which however I have made but little progress, 
 from frequent indisposition. My experience has in general 
 been of a very painful kind. Accustomed to enjoy the com- 
 munion of saints, and the comfort of their faith and love, I 
 know but little, I perceive, how to live by faith. That pas- 
 sage has been the food of my soul for some time past. 2 Cor. 
 i. 22. The name of Jesus has been refreshing ( as ointment 
 poured forth ; ' and in this name, I doubt not finally to 
 triumph." 
 
 It may not, perhaps, be considered foreign to the 
 purpose of these Memoirs to relate, that the sergeant 
 of invalids referred to in the foregoing Keport of Mr. 
 Corrie's proceedings, was the son of a dissenting 
 minister at St. Albans, and had been religiously 
 
CHUNAR. 83 
 
 brought up ; but that, having cast off the fear of God, 
 he had run a sad career of sin and intemperance, 
 until arrested in his course by the sickness which 
 proved fatal to him. Many short notices occur, in 
 Mr. Corrie's journal, of the sergeant's last illness ; 
 and a fuller account of him appeared at the time, in 
 the Cottage Magazine. It may suffice, therefore, to 
 state that after the unhappy man had passed through 
 many alternations of terror and despair, in the fearful 
 expectation of a judgment to come, there was reason 
 to believe that he went down to the grave in hope. 
 Respecting the Bettiah-christian and the Mahomedan 
 who are noticed in the Eeport, some further account 
 occurs in a letter to the Rev. J. Buckworth. 
 
 August 2nd. 1807. 
 
 " By a letter received this day, from my sister, I learn the 
 very agreeable tidings of your presentation to the vicarage of 
 Dewsbury. This event takes away indeed, every latent 
 hope that your lot might have been cast in India ; but the 
 souls of the people of Dewsbury are of equal value with 
 those of Asia ; and I earnestly pray that you may reap a rich 
 harvest of souls as a reward of your labours among them. . . 
 
 " But whilst I am taken up with those whose faces I have 
 seen in the flesh, you are wanting to know how the work of 
 the Lord prospers in India. I can only say that the general 
 aspect of spiritual affairs is pleasing. Were you to ask par- 
 ticulars, I could not, perhaps, satisfactorily tell you why I 
 say so ; yet the progress of translation of the holy Scriptures, 
 with the increased numbers of faithful enquirers, is surely 
 matter of hope. I could dwell much on the labours of that 
 dear servant of Christ, Martyn, in translating, and in ex- 
 
 G 2 
 
84 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 citing himself to propagate the knowledge of salvation among 
 Europeans and heathen ; but, without an intimate acquaint- 
 ance with this country and people, much explanation would 
 be necessary. For myself, the climate has so much affected 
 me as to make the retrospect of my life nearly a blank : some 
 fruit, however, has already appeared, Praised be He who 
 ' giveth the increase ! ' . . . . 
 
 " The native Christian 1 formerly mentioned, has re- 
 nounced the errors of Popery, of his own accord, after a good 
 deal of argument in favour of his old opinions. I believe 
 him to be sincere, and that his heart is right with God. 
 Sometimes he seems amused rather than grieved with the 
 opposition of the Jews to our Lord ; but this, though it gives 
 me pain, is not so much to be wondered at, from the ex- 
 treme want of reflection manifested by all the natives. I now 
 allow him support for himself, wife, and two children. He 
 is very ready in reproving and exhorting a class of people, 
 descendants of the Portuguese, who are very numerous in 
 India, and are nominal Christians. He warns them faithfully 
 of the sin and folly of people called Christians, living as do the 
 heathen ; and, at my instance, he reads to them the Scrip- 
 tures very frequently : so that I hope he may be made an 
 instrument of good. By his means, also, a Mahomedan has 
 been brought at least to doubt the divine commission of the 
 lying prophet, This man now frequently comes to me. He 
 has read the Sermon on the Mount (which I happily had by 
 me, translated into Persian, by a Mr. Chambers, now dead) 
 and manifests a very pleasing earnestness in search of truth . 
 Nearly one hundred and twenty children are learning to 
 read, at my expence : the circumstance of being able to read 
 the Scriptures when put into their hands will be of no small 
 advantage; as the custom of the son's persisting in the 
 business and steps of the father, precludes the multitude 
 from ever thinking the knowledge of letters desirable. 
 Indeed the character in which their sacred books are written 
 is not allowed to be read by any but Brahmins. The written 
 
CHUNAR. 85 
 
 and printed characters are the same ; as they have had no 
 printed books till of late ; so that in learning they have an 
 advantage over us, as they learn to read and write at the 
 same time, first making the letter with chalk, or in the 
 dust, and then pronouncing it. I have had much pleasure 
 at times in exercising the proficiency of the children. Some 
 of them have countenances expressive of every good quality : 
 the difference of the complexion is forgotten under the im- 
 pression that f of one blood hath God made all the families 
 of the earth.' A small present delights the little fellows ; 
 and they sometimes come up to me with smiling faces, as I 
 pass 'j and make salaam with great appearance of attachment. 
 
 " I have said that appearances are pleasing : you will con- 
 clude that I speak comparatively. Alas ! I ought to weep 
 day and night at the reflection, that in this small place there 
 are about 10,000, souls ' sitting in darkness and the shadow 
 of death!' that the Lord may speedily open a door for the 
 entrance of Divine light among them ! I am learning the 
 native language as fast as my slothful nature, and the un- 
 settled state of my affairs, calling me continually here and 
 there, will let me. My Moonshee can now perfectly under- 
 stand me : and when I tell him my meaning, he points out the 
 proper word. In this way, besides my reading for instruc- 
 tion, I have translated the history of Joseph ; and also to 
 the sixth chapter of Genesis ; and have got to the seventh of 
 Acts. These will soon be useless, as better translations will 
 be to be had ; but they are of use to the above-mentioned 
 native Christian for himself, and those who listen to his 
 conversation ; and these exercises improve myself. I shall 
 begin Persian soon (D. V.) The Hebrew is a key to the 
 Arabic ; and Arabic and Persian are so blended with the 
 Hindoostanee, the popular language of this country, that 
 without the knowledge of Arabic and Persian, Hindoostanee 
 cannot be perfectly understood, 
 
 " In order, too, to translate accurately, you know, the 
 knowledge of Hebrew and Greek is necessary. You would 
 
86 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 be astonished at the subtilty with which the Hindoos (I 
 mean learned Hindoos) argue on religious points. A rich 
 man of this place one day visiting me, we entered into a 
 discussion respecting one of their incarnations of the deity. 
 The incarnate God, from their account, married many wives, 
 had many children, &c. and when I observed that these things 
 could not be the actions of God, assigning my reasons, &c. he 
 readily answered, that the deity having taken to himself a 
 human body, these actions were the actions of the man, and 
 the godhead residing in him had no part in them ; that I ac- 
 knowledged Messiah ate, drank, slept &c, which were as 
 little the actions of God, as those related of Krishnoo. I 
 answered, that the body being the instrument of the soul, 
 needs refreshment to support it in its labours ; but that the 
 body cannot accomplish any of its desires without the con- 
 currence of the spirit that actuates it ; so that this multiply- 
 ing of wives, and other acknowledged sinful actions, would 
 not have been accomplished by Krishnoo without the anima- 
 ting spirit. He at length left me, something in anger. 
 
 " I have written this at different intervals, which may apo- 
 logize for its blots and inaccuracies : but why should I make 
 apologies to you ? With what inexpressible tenderness does 
 the remembrance of the sweet counsel I have taken with you, 
 return at times ! I can now, in my mind's eye, view the 
 roads we walked together, the houses we visited, the com- 
 panies we frequented ; the hymns we sang together, the 
 petitions we joined in at the throne of grace, are many of 
 them fresh in mind; and, when I am in tolerably good 
 spirits, they delight me exceedingly. 
 
 1 e But, my general expeirence is of a more painful nature : 
 doubts and temptations press hard upon me. The enerva- 
 ting effects of the climate make all my graces wither; and 
 I go on rather in the spirit of sullen obstinacy than under 
 the influence of the constraining love of Jesus. 
 
 " I hope you have written to me. Think of a solitary 
 being, on the top of a hill ninety feet above the level of the 
 
CHUNAR. 87 
 
 water, without a creature near to speak a word of comfort, 
 or to suggest a word of advice ; and you will not think an 
 hour thrown away that may support and animate his soul 
 in the pursuit of ' a kingdom that cannot be moved/ ' 
 
 The anniversary of the day on which Mr. Corrie 
 arrived in Calcutta, is marked by the following entry 
 made in his jonrnal, 
 
 " September 20th. 1807. On this day of the month last 
 year, I arrived in Calcutta from England. I have deter- 
 mined, through grace, to keep new-ye"ar's-day, my birth-day, 
 days of ordination, and of my arrival in India, as days of 
 examination into my state and views. On reviewing the 
 memoranda connected with this day, I find great cause for 
 thankfulness and praise. What I proposed, in the first 
 place, in coming to India, was the propagation of Chris- 
 tianity amongst the heathen. I had little idea of the diffi- 
 culties attending this work ; yet, blessed be God ! I have 
 not lost sight of it. Four schools will, I trust, prepare 
 many for reading the word of life, when it is ready for dis- 
 tribution. The native Christian has profited greatly by the 
 New Testament : he appears truly pious ; and his desire to 
 instruct others, whilst, I hope, it proves his own sincerity, 
 will, no doubt, be beneficial to many. My prayers, also, 
 have been answered as it regards this place. One is de- 
 parted in peace : one or two others are, I hope, impressed ; 
 most are attentive ; and favour is shewed me by all. I have 
 experienced much mercy in restoration to health ; and es- 
 pecially in the restoring to me the joy of God's salvation ; 
 and the Lord continues to ' defend me with His favour as 
 with a shield/ I feel in danger from the love of the world ; 
 yet, I hope, I shall be able to overcome it. I have often 
 dedicated my all to God ; and I do again now devote my all, 
 especially myself do I give up. I ought to have made 
 greater proficiency in the Hindoostanee ; but I trust, through 
 the power of Christ, to be more assiduous for the future." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 RESIDENCE AT CHUNAR. 
 
 ALTHOUGH Mr. Corrie had been but a short time at 
 Chunar, yet it was evident that his ministerial labours 
 there had begun to excite attention both among Hin- 
 doos and Mahomedans. He had not, indeed, ac- 
 quired such a knowledge of the language of the 
 country as satisfied his earnest desire to make known 
 among the heathen the glad tidings of salvation, yet 
 he had made progress in Hindoostanee sufficient to 
 enable him to hold important communications with the 
 people of the country. We accordingly find in his 
 Journal and Letters more frequent notices of his per- 
 sonal intercourse with the native population. 
 
 " Sep. 21st. An Old Brahmin came from Benares, whom 
 Wheatly told me of. He knows most of our church-cate- 
 chism. He told me that the [answers to] two questions, 
 those respecting our duty towards God, and our duty towards 
 our neighbour, contained the sum of all good. For a long 
 time he had a very bad opinion of the English. The Ma- 
 
CHUNAR. 89 
 
 homedans, he said, do abstain from one kind of meat ; but 
 the English eat every thing. This bad opinion was con- 
 firmed by hearing a gentleman, whom every person praised 
 as a good man, in a great rage, using many abusive expres- 
 sions to a servant for killing a rabbit which should not have 
 been killed. But when he read the holy Scriptures, he found 
 them pure, and that our practices were not consistent with 
 them. This led him to ask whether I thought all the Eng- 
 lish would be saved ? I answered, No : which startled him 
 very much. ' I greatly fear/ said he, ' on that account/ 
 ( If I lose caste, and afterwards come short of heaven, I shall 
 fail in both worlds. ' This he said with tears. ' But/ said 
 he, * I thought it must be so, because the tenth command- 
 ment says, Thou shalt not covet, &c/ and then he told me a 
 story of an English collector, who took by force a little spot 
 of ground that he had devoted to the reception and enter- 
 tainment of sick travellers, when he would not sell it to him : 
 which stumbled him greatly. Baptism, and the eating of 
 meat, which, he says, disagrees with him, are the rock he ap- 
 pears likely to split upon. I told him the truth, and pointed 
 it out to him from the Scriptures. The Lord render it effec- 
 tual to his salvation ! I gave him a New Testament, at 
 which he expressed great surprise^ saying, he supposed it 
 would cost several rupees ; nor did he think my reason (viz.) 
 the love of God, in giving his Son for me, sufficiently con- 
 straining to induce me to give away a thing of such value. 
 
 " Sep. 27th. The Brahmin came on Tuesday ; and, after 
 many endeavours to evade the force of God's word, agreed, 
 with much weeping, to be baptized. I have some doubt of 
 his sincerity on this point. He is gone to Calcutta." 
 
 "Dec. llth. Yesterday, an old Mahomedan called on 
 me : we had a long conversation on religion. After some 
 previous talking, he said ' The deity is above our comprehen- 
 sion ; we are blind, and speak of Him as blind men do from 
 handling an elephant ; each one according to his apprehension 
 of the part he handles. 7 I answered, * True ; but if a man 
 
90 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 possessing sight were to behold the elephant, he would de- 
 scribe it properly ; and we might believe his report/ He 
 answered, ' Yes/ 'Such/ I replied, 'were the prophets 
 and apostles/ &c. This led him to speak of the various pro- 
 phets in whom, he said, we trusted. < Our services [said 
 he] are confessedly unworthy of God, therefore there is need 
 that a worthy Mediator be found, &c. one who wants nothing 
 for himself, but can merit for us.' " 
 
 Agreeably to the resolution which Mr. Corrie had 
 formed, to observe New-year's-day as one of several 
 days for self-examination, we find him observing in 
 his journal : 
 
 " Chunar, January 1st. 1808. I praise God who has 
 brought me thus far in mercy ; and I perceive a good mon- 
 ument of praise on the review of the past. My first desire, 
 on last New-year's-day, was to be enabled to be useful here ; 
 and I mark an answer to prayer in that I am heard with 
 attention, and have evidently obtained some influence amongst 
 the people. One, I believe, is gone home to Christ ; whilst 
 I trust, three others have entered on the narrow way. The 
 Government yet prohibits attempts at conversion ; and the 
 kingdom of Christ, to outward appearance, has made but 
 little progress in this land ; but there is mercy vouchsafed 
 sufficient to encourage me to pray ; and there is still cause 
 for prayer. The Bettiah-walla and two others have been 
 raised up to me ; with other hopeful appearances amongst 
 the native women. I bless God for renewed health of body 
 and vigour of mind ; and for somewhat of increasing patience 
 and diligence in the work of the ministry. With respect to 
 my resolutions, I find I have visited more than I wished to 
 do ; but less than I might have done, and more than I hope 
 to do for the future. I praise God that I am not so much 
 ashamed of the Gospel of Christ as I have been ; and that T 
 have been enabled to preach Jesus Christ from house to house, 
 
CHUNAR. 91 
 
 in some small degree ; but, I have done far less than I might 
 have done : Yet, Lord ; I ought to praise Thee for thy 
 mercy : Thou hast wrought all my works in me ! I know 
 I am a sinner ; but thy grace is sufficient for me, and by thy 
 grace I am what I am. The native schools have refused 
 books ; but I hope to establish a Christian school, and desire 
 that my whole life, spirit, soul, and body, may be occupied 
 in the work of the Lord/' 
 
 The quarterly report transmitted by Mr. Corrie 
 to Mr. Brown, on the 4th of January, 1808, sup- 
 plies us with an outline of the progress of religion at 
 Chunar up to that date; and touches upon the 
 great practical difficulty, inseparable from that loss of 
 the means of subsistence, which converts from hea- 
 thenism usually have to endure. 
 
 " Let us begin our correspondence with erecting an Ebe- 
 nezer to our gracious Lord, who continues us in the land of 
 the living, and gives us opportunities of obtaining a great 
 nearness to His blissful presence, and a more exalted station 
 among those who turn many to righteousness. I might 
 well, in the review of the past year, dread the imputation 
 of unprofitableness, but yet I perceive it a dishonour to the 
 grace of our Redeemer, to disparage the smallest appearance 
 of His grace in myself, or in others ; and though I am sure 
 I must say, ' Lord, when saw I thee a stranger, &c./ I con- 
 sider it my duty to credit the precious declaration spoken by 
 our great Bishop, respecting himself and his S*a:ovo<, 
 ' Though Israel be not gathered, &c/ Is. xliii. 
 
 " Pursuing the plan suggested with so much propriety by 
 our senior brother, I have to observe that since my last, 
 some changes have taken place in our society, which seem 
 upon the whole to have been for the better, as we have 
 
92 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 gained a captain of artillery, of great decorum of manners, 
 both in public and private. Of our old members, I am 
 persuaded that the seed of the word has put forth the 
 < tender blade ' in the lady and gentleman I have before 
 alluded to; whilst considerable alteration in the outward 
 conduct of another gentleman is noticed ; but I fear, f one 
 thing ' at least is lacking in him. By four out of the six 
 families here, I am asked to say grace at dinner, which 
 when I first arrived was unusual. I know not what I ought 
 to think of this, knowing well that in Christ, nothing 
 availeth but ' faith that worketh by love;' yet perhaps 
 something is gained. The Lord help me to be more devoted 
 to his glory, that I may not seem to countenance them in 
 stopping short of the l new creation ! ' One person is often 
 very contemptuous towards me, but finds no one to join him 
 at present. Among the common Europeans little but dis- 
 couragement appears : only one seems entirely from under 
 the dominion of outward sin. He is the sergeant I have 
 mentioned, and appears a subject of divine grace. Several 
 are approvers, and attendants on public worship, but the 
 sad abuse of the late holy festival has damped my hopes 
 respecting them. 
 
 " The first Sunday in November, having prepared a 
 moveable tabernacle, it was erected at the barracks, and 
 divine service has been performed there every Sunday even- 
 ing since. On the first few occasions forty or fifty attended, 
 yesterday there were about twenty-five. These are, for the 
 most part, very attentive, and a good deal of devotion ap- 
 pears among them in making the responses, &c. About 
 six, perhaps, attend divine service twice a day. At the hos- 
 pital one man seems piously affected, another humble and 
 resigned ; both these have been long ill and seem daily de- 
 caying. One, the first time I spoke expressly to him, de- 
 clared with much earnestness, that he believed he had never 
 offended his Maker ; he now speaks a different language. 
 One man, who was greatly alarmed during a fit of sickness, 
 
CHUNAR. 93 
 
 is, I fear, resting in a " form of godliness," though his out- 
 ward conduct is decent, and he comes every Sunday evening 
 to join in worship with me. 
 
 " At Benares, where I occasionally go, the pious merchant 
 I have mentioned, appears much grown in ' grace and in the 
 knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, &c.' He 
 reads the service of the Church of England and a sermon 
 from some author, twice every Sunday and every Wednes- 
 day evening, in a tent erected for that purpose. One Wed- 
 nesday evening I officiated there among twenty-seven, who 
 heard the word with much attention. One artillery-man of 
 the lately arrived party, the merchant speaks of as hopeful. 
 But I find that last week a restraint was laid upon the 
 artillerymen from attending : I trust it will soon be removed. 
 
 " Among the Company's servants there, one known as a 
 proficient in Hindoo literature, has discovered himself well 
 acquainted with evangelical principles. Another Company's 
 servant seems to me one of the Lord's secret ones. I trust 
 there is among us ' as the gleaning grapes when the vintage 
 is done,' one or two. 
 
 " But what I have to say on personal experience will cast 
 further light on the religious state of our society, or rather, 
 it will cast a shade on the prospect. Notwithstanding these 
 agreeable particulars already presented, there is little further 
 outward acknowledgment of God among us ; there appears as 
 yet no disposition to speak and act openly as the dependent 
 creatures and avowed subjects of the Most High ; so that, 
 except now and then in private, I cannot give vent to those 
 feelings which I find it my duty and happiness to cherish. 
 On this account much of my religious exercises pass without 
 that delight in God which His love and mercy demand ; and 
 my experience in general is that of the Psalmist, when he 
 said, ' my heart breaketh for the longing &c; ' yet our state 
 before God depends in no respect on frames and feelings ; 
 and though miserably defective still in every point, some 
 greater degree of boldness for Christ in public, and some- 
 
94 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 thing of resignation to labour in his vineyard though no 
 fruit should appear, I acknowledge as the work of his free 
 Spirit, by whom I trust to be upheld unto the end. My 
 preaching since my last, has been on the following among 
 other subjects, ( God is not a man, &c/ (Numb, xxiii. 19.) 
 ' In this was manifested, &c/ (1 John iv. 19.) ' How shall 
 we escape, &c/ (Heb. ii. 3.) 
 
 " The state of the natives here has lately attracted much 
 of my notice. From their long intercourse with Europeans, 
 native habits are much laid aside. They are generally 
 greatly addicted to drunkenness, and are proverbially dis- 
 solute. They are, in consequence, very little awed by the 
 European Christians. I am assured that they are usually 
 ready to enter into personal contest with any of the Euro- 
 pean invalids, who may attempt to lord it over them ; and 
 except from those who eat the salt of the settlement, none 
 of us have many tokens of respect paid us. In the four 
 native schools, there are at present seventy-five scholars ; 
 those mentioned as reading books have left the schools from 
 some cause or other, and no more books have been received. 
 
 " The native women connected with the Europeans, have 
 assembled on Tuesday evenings in the Fort, and on Friday 
 evenings at the barracks. The usual numbers at both places 
 is from ten to sixteen. For these much of my time has 
 been taken up in translations, &c. Yesterday, in the fort, 
 a congregation of nineteen attended prayers in Hindoostanee. 
 I used the translation our dear brother Martyn favoured me 
 with, excepting a few words altered to the dialect of this 
 part of the country. On these occasions the native Christ- 
 ian, I before mentioned, is of the greatest service. He has 
 acquired a tolerably accurate idea of the plan of salvation, 
 and enlarges, with much evident feeling, on the heads I 
 suggest from the portion of Scripture before us. He offici- 
 ates as clerk in the Hindoostanee congregation, and yester- 
 day read the lessons, and explained and applied them as I 
 suggested to him. The effect of his exhortations lasts. 
 
CHUNAR. 95 
 
 This man is afflicted with an asthma, which lays him up now 
 and then; but the eagerness with which he returns to 
 teaching the native women, indicates, I trust, his heart to be 
 right with God. Some differences took place in his family 
 some time since, which disturbed me a good deal ; but no 
 fault has appeared in him. In a late fit of illness, I found 
 he had a book of prayers, containing addresses to angels, &c. 
 Several of the women have learned from him the Ten Com- 
 mandments, the Lord's Prayer and the Creed ; and it ex- 
 cited a gleam of holy joy yesterday to hear several repeating 
 these after me, and also whispering some of the responses. 
 This reminds me of a school in which an European teaches 
 ten children for me^ some of them orphans, and some who 
 are not eligible to the school in Calcutta. Since the establish- 
 ment of evening worship, one of these children has repeated 
 the Church catechism and some questions of Scripture 
 History, with an accuracy rather surprising considering their 
 years. These also join in the responses and in singing the 
 Psalms, and increase the ( Hosanna to the Son of David/ 
 
 " Two youths, one the son of the native teacher, are on 
 my premises, and read twice a day in the Hindoostanee gos- 
 pel. One discovers no capacity whatever, nor does the word 
 seem to affect him in the least. He has made considerable 
 proficiency in the knowledge of the letters and reads the 
 gospel without much difficulty, but can seldom at the end of 
 a verse, tell the contents of it. The other discovers consi- 
 derable quickness of apprehension, and gains knowledge 
 readily ; but as yet gives no evidence of any heart-work 
 begun. Him I intend, if it please God, to appoint teacher 
 of a school, in a short time. I know now of six children, 
 the offspring of native Christians, whom I wish him to in- 
 struct ; two children now attend him. 
 
 " Of the women who were candidates for Baptism, one, it 
 appears, is living in sin : and on my refusing to baptize her 
 till the fruits of repentance [should appear] has given up 
 seeking instruction. The other appears very sincere; she 
 
96 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 comes a considerable distance, into the Fort, twice a week (on 
 Tuesdays and Sundays) and is herself, as far as I know, of 
 unblemished life. But some circumstances connected with her 
 daughter, has made me defer Baptism, which seems to af- 
 flict her; and she promises to pursue whatever line of con- 
 duct I may point out. The difficulty is in suggesting what 
 these people are to do for an honest livelihood. I am already 
 engaged in disbursements beyond what my pecuniary cir- 
 cumstances point out as prudent ; and to tell them to trust 
 in Providence whilst no means of subsistence appear, seems 
 to savour too much of fatalism. 
 
 " Let me, therefore, conclude with proposing to the consi- 
 deration of my brethren, The best mode of employing native 
 Christians who may be destitute of subsistence ? And I think 
 to ascertain this, it may be of service to enquire, What are 
 the manufactures most engaged in at our different stations ? 
 And, perhaps, a barter might be established among them- 
 selves, without much of our personal interference, if commu- 
 nications were opened between them ; which would certainly 
 be desirable." 
 
 In a Letter to Mr. Buckworth, written a few days 
 later than the preceding Keport, Mr. Corrie enters 
 more into detail respecting his ministry among the hea- 
 then, and the method of teaching employed by the 
 native Christian of whom mention has so frequently 
 been made. 
 
 " Your welcome letter of February last reached me Novem- 
 ber 1st : and I sat down instantly to read and answer it ; 
 and have filled three sheets of paper which would have been 
 sent had opportunity offered ; and, from your affection for 
 myself, would have amused you. I find on review, however, 
 they are very unsatisfactory ; and must select from them a 
 moderate-sized epistle. You rightly suspected that the cli- 
 
CHUNAR. 97 
 
 mate might affect my body, and by consequence my spirits 
 also ; as some of my letters to you will shew ; but, thanks to 
 the Lord our healer, I am as well, and have been for some 
 time, as at any period in my life. Mary had told me of 
 your presentation to D ; had it taken place before I left 
 England, the pleasure of being a fellow-helper with you 
 would probably have kept me there for life ; but He who 
 knows what is best for us has ordered it otherwise ; and I 
 am unspeakably content. At the same time, I little knew 
 my own unsuitableness for the work I am engaged in ; yet 
 ' hitherto hath the Lord helped me : ' and, though I groan 
 under a sense of my shortcomings, He has not suffered me to 
 go back from His sacred ways : and has, moreover, given of 
 His Divine presence. These opportunities of writing call forth 
 all my former feelings towards you ; and I am conscious, 
 that though so widely separated, we are one in the Lord 
 Christ. But I must refrain, and give you some account of 
 matters here." 
 
 After having adverted to the fears of the Indian 
 Government lest the animosity of the natives should 
 be excited by any attempts to convert them to Chris- 
 tianity, Mr. Corrie writes : 
 
 " I suppose we should be taken to task, were we to preach 
 in the streets and highways : but other methods not less ef- 
 fectual are to be used, and less likely to produce popular 
 clamour. Natives themselves may and can be employed, 
 with the greatest advantage, in Evangelizing their brethren, 
 whilst the Minister superintends, and directs and encourages. 
 I have great reason to be thankful, that the Lord has 
 raised up a native Christian, born of Roman Catholic parents, 
 who, from March last, has been daily with me ; and now, 
 having acquired a sufficient knowledge of the way of salva- 
 tion, is daily employed in instructing others ! A despised 
 race, whom the Europeans have attached to themselves, hear 
 
 H 
 
98 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 him with great attention ; and some with evident profit. He 
 is at present very ill ; but I trust the Lord will spare him to 
 us, when more extensive plans will be engaged in. 
 
 " At present, there are seventy-five children in my native 
 schools learning to read, which will tend to undermine the 
 superstructure whose basis is ignorance ; and I purpose es- 
 tablishing a school for [native] Christian children, of whom 
 I know now of six, and shall find more. The bulk of the 
 people are wretchedly poor from their indolent habits, which 
 never let them lay up for a rainy day. When a Mahome- 
 dan gets a little money, he usually spends it in debauchery ; 
 and a Hindoo works no more till it is gone. This is the 
 character of the people : hence, beggars innumerable swarm ; 
 many truly wretched objects, who often make one retire 
 with overflowing eyes, unable to supply them all. Of the 
 Europeans, several are very attentive; and my labour is 
 evidently not in vain, though I know only of one or two I 
 can speak of with good hope. Of my three dear young 
 friends, two are going on delightfully : one of these has 
 lately been with a detachment against a native prince who 
 refused his tribute, and saw some hot work : twelve of his 
 brother officers fell on the occasion, but he received only a 
 slight wound in the knee : the dear lad is much grown in 
 spirituality since then ; and is not without trials of ' cruel 
 mockings : ' he writes to me once a week, and I endeavour, 
 by writing constantly to him, to encourage him to stand fast. 
 Away from the means of grace, and without a single com- 
 panion like-minded, he plainly stands by faith. The other 
 at Madras goes on well, and has the ' communion of saints' 
 to resort to. The third, a most affectionate, sensible youth, 
 is, I fear, led captive ; though not, I think, with his will. 
 Oh ! my heart yearns over them, in consideration of the 
 many, many obstacles in their way ! The demon that op- 
 presses Europeans in thia land, ' goeth not out but by prayer 
 and fasting.' Example, opportunity, solicitation allure 
 them to the paths of death ; and few, alas, return from 
 
CHUNAR. 99 
 
 them ! Those I allude to, are from eighteen to twenty or 
 thereabouts ; from which you will see at once the danger 
 they are in." 
 
 On the subject of missions Mr. Corrie adds : 
 " The nature of missions seems little understood, even by 
 those whose hearts the Lord inclines for the work, till they 
 come into it. Mr. Cecil's sermon, before the Church of 
 England Missionary society,* of which I have only seen 
 extracts, is, I think, an excellent discourse on this subject. 
 The work requires the patience of a Job, with the prudence 
 of an Apostle : and 0, the self-denial required ! How 
 little I am fit for the work, my brother well knows ; yet 
 here, by the good providence of God, I am well content, 
 and determined to count not even ' life dear ' so that I may 
 make ' full proof of my ministry/ and ' finish my course 
 with joy/ I could fill sheets with conversations respecting 
 religion, which I have had most days, with some one or other 
 of the natives. Their duplicity makes it, beyond measure, 
 difficult to know when they are convinced, or even silenced. 
 The least appearance of impatience on my part makes them 
 consider me angry ; and not a word more will they argue, 
 but yield every thing. I may say to you, the friend of my 
 bosom, that my natural impatience is somewhat abated ; and 
 I am not conscious of having offended in this way often ; 
 but even what is the effect of eagerness and zeal, is con- 
 strued into a passion, by a people whose highest perfection 
 consists in restraining the feelings, and whose despotic go- 
 vernment rendered disguise necessary to existence and 
 peace. 
 
 " The same submissive disposition in the people makes it 
 difficult to know when I am understood ; as they do not 
 either acknowledge their ignorance or ask explanation. The 
 dialects of the different provinces are so different as to make 
 
 * Printed in the Proceedings of that Society, vol. i. p. 179, 
 and seq. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 them nearly different languages. . . Among the learned 
 and the Mahomedaus, much Persian and Arabic is intro- 
 duced into their language, which to the Hindoo is unintel- 
 ligible ; and, it is now well known that a person who learns 
 the language from books only, will not be understood by 
 the bulk of the people. This I am aware of, and ask ques- 
 tions from the women above-mentioned ; when I often find 
 the meaning has been imperfectly, or not at all understood ; 
 which leads to fresh explanation. One specimen of our mode 
 of proceeding, I have made a memorandum of, and which 
 may amuse you : After having read the first chapter of Ge- 
 nesis, which I translated, I suggested to this native Christian 
 to enlarge upon the following heads, which he did in this 
 manner, ' Learn, first, the honour put upon man by God : He 
 gave him dominion/ ' See/ continued he, ' the elephant ; one 
 blow of his would be instant death, yet he goes here and there 
 at man's word/ ' Observe the power of God : He commanded, 
 and it was done, &c/ { Let a man try to create an ant, he can- 
 not do it; let him try to make a hair, he cannot do it : yet look 
 at the hills, &c, God made them ; and think not that He used 
 labour : no, the word of His mouth was sufficient.' I sug- 
 gested, ' How ought we then to fear this great God ! ' He 
 proceeded, ' are you not afraid of your masters ; are you not 
 fearful to offend them lest they should punish you ? ' This 
 was so feeling an appeal that they answered, ' Yes, yes ! ' ' 
 then/ said he ' how ought you to fear an infinitely powerful 
 God ! He is infinite in strength ; and, if you sin against 
 Him, you deserve infinite punishment : and think how 
 great punishment He will inflict ! ' One of them at this 
 fell a weeping. I observed, ' See the goodness of God in 
 providing such comforts and accommodation for man in this 
 world/ He went on to speak of the greater love of God in 
 providing a salvation for our souls, which he spoke of with 
 much warmth ; the women hanging upon his words. These 
 occasions are often productive of sweet sensations to my soul : 
 whilst yet the want of positive evidence of grace in them 
 
101 
 
 [the people so instructed] generally makes me to go heavily. 
 Most days are devoted to close study of the native languages : 
 the Hindoostanee proper I can understand, though not to 
 speak it with any fluency or accuracy : and I also begin to 
 know a little Persian, which is a very agreeable study. I 
 rise at day-break, breakfast between seven and eight, take 
 a slight repast about one, and make my principal meal when 
 evening sets in. Then my mind is usually too exhausted for 
 study, and sweet would be the society of some with whom 
 I could talk freely of what Christ did, and said, and suffered 
 for us here below. For the want of such society, very 
 little of the lively feeling I enjoyed in England enters into 
 my experience : yet I am conscious of some more boldness 
 for Christ, and fewer deviations from His holy ways than 
 before ; for which I adore His free grace by which alone I 
 stand. These expressions I owe to your affection, who will 
 fear, perhaps, for me ; lest by any means the tempter gain 
 the better of me. 0, that I could say this were never the 
 case ! Yet, though I should justly be deemed a fool for 
 thus boasting to others, yet I may call upon you to rejoice 
 with me that I have obtained help from the Lord thus far, 
 and have a hope that I shall never be ashamed. 
 
 From all that has passed, I see further proof that to preach 
 nearly or quite Christianity, and live as the world lives, is 
 the way to popularity : to live and preach so as to fancy to 
 recommend Christianity to the carnal mind, is the way to be 
 little esteemed : to live godly in Christ Jesus is the way to 
 win souls, and to obtain friends, with persecution here, and 
 with the certain expectation of glory hereafter. O Holy 
 Ghost, write these truths with deep conviction on my mind ; 
 and let my soul know nothing on earth but Jesus Christ and 
 him crucified ! " 
 
 When it is considered that the labours of a native 
 Teacher cannot but be of great importance, even in 
 the most effective state of Missionary arrangements, 
 
102 MEMOIRS' OP BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 it will not excite surprise that in Mr. Corrie's circum- 
 stances at Chunar, the illness of the Bettiah Christian 
 should occasion him anxiety. Mr. C's journal, how- 
 ever, affords pleasing evidence that the Bettiah- 
 walla in his sickness, found consolation in that 
 gospel which he seems to have been earnestly desirous 
 of making known to his countrymen. 
 
 " Jan. 7th. I sent off to-day a copy of the Gospels, and 
 of the Morning Prayer, and Ten Commandments, to Bet- 
 tiah, at the request of a person who is said to be the Sirdar* 
 of the Christians there, and of whom even the padras stand 
 in awe : lie is represented, also, as understanding Persian, 
 
 Portuguese, and a little Latin. I dined with Captain M ; 
 
 after sitting silent for some time, I was induced by some re- 
 marks of Major General , to enter into a long argument 
 
 in behalf of Christianity, as the General maintained Mabome- 
 danism to be equal to Christianity : the argument arose from 
 my remarking that I thought men would invariably be guided 
 in their conduct respecting temporal affairs by their religious 
 opinions. ' This/ he said, e was a great mistake, and had 
 led to the most disastrous effects : that no greater mis- 
 fortunes had come on mankind than the contentions between 
 Christians on religious pretences, I answered, that these 
 were not caused by Christianity ; and Gibbon himself being 
 judge, Christianity was only the pretext : and on a com- 
 parison between Christianity and Mabomedanism, I was en- 
 abled so to speak as to leave him without reply. 
 
 " Jan. llth. Yesterday, the Bettiab-walla was seized 
 with fever. I asked him bow be was, as it regarded spirit- 
 ual things : he said, ( Happy. ' To-day be is worse : but, in 
 answer to my question, he told me, ' that be was not afraid 
 of deatb, but of sin.' In tbe evening I took Mr. G. to 
 
 * Head. 
 
CHUNAR. 
 
 103 
 
 see him, who kindly offered his services. We found him in 
 danger : he told me that ' his mind was fixed on Christ 
 Jesus : who could do all things.' ' I am/ said he, ' in His 
 hands ; ' and, in answer to my question, he told me f he 
 found comfort.' I have prayed that the Lord will spare him ; 
 and I trust he will be continued to the Church here. 
 
 "Jan. 17th. The Bettiah-walla better: but very low: 
 he speaks of every event as proceeding from the mercy of 
 Jesus. After having spoken to him of the Redeemer, I 
 asked him if he remembered Christ's words, (John. iv. 13, 14.) 
 ' he that drinketh, &c. ' he took up the words and finished 
 the passage, adding, with a significant expression, ' How can 
 I forget Him ? ' And many other declarations were added 
 of His grace and greatness. 
 
 " Jan. 18th. Twenty-two women attended, and heard 
 the history of Ishmael, with much attention. The Bettiah- 
 walla, speaking of the trouble occasioned to Abraham and 
 Sarah, by the strife which arose from their sin in the matter 
 of Hagar, spoke so feebly, yet with such affection, of the 
 love of Christ, through whom they received forgiveness, and 
 through whom we too must seek forgiveness, that most of 
 them wept. I could scarcely contain myself for joy. O 
 Lord, make thy word effectual ! 
 
 " A Tickour woman [who was desirous of baptism] in 
 answer to my questions, and without any suggestion that 
 could lead to such answers, said, ' that her heart is much 
 employed in thinking of her Creator : if it were not, what 
 could she expect of good either here or hereafter/ Sndly, 
 ' that God as Creator and Lord has a right to command us ; 
 and that she is disposed to obey His will in all things/ 
 3rdly, ' that Jesus Christ is God, who came into the world 
 for us sinners, and through whom we may obtain forgive- 
 ness, and the favour of God/ 4thly, ' that in order to this, 
 we must lay hold of Him with the heart, pray to Him, and 
 beg forgiveness/ 5thly, ' that to be baptized, and not to 
 act thus, must needs brings down greater evils upon us; 
 
104 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 and in the world to come, surely great destruction will be 
 our lot, &c. : ' with much more to the same effect, in a 
 spirit of seeming sincerity and earnestness. 
 
 " Jan. 31st. 1808. On Friday evening, thirteen women 
 (native) attended at the barracks. Sergeant W. told me 
 that his native wife, a short time since, entered into a long 
 conversation with a Brahmin, and exhorted him to forsake 
 his idolatry, which he acknowledged to be unreasonable ; 
 but the loss of caste frightens him." 
 
 "Saturday, [Feb. 6.] Just returned from burying a 
 drummer's wife. The Bettiah-walla explained that I was 
 not praying for the dead, but that we might have grace to 
 walk in God's ways. He told them, that when the breath 
 is gone, the soul is fixed in an eternal state ; and that in the 
 last day, the body too will be raised and partake with the soul 
 of happiness or misery : [he concluded] with an exhortation 
 (in which he mixed many quotations from scripture) to watch 
 and pray that that day might not come upon them unawares. 
 Many natives were present, who listened with deep atten- 
 tion ; except one or two who laughed. At my gate I found 
 a blind beggar, whom the Bettiah-walla also exhorted and 
 who went away ; as I have often seen the poor glad to get 
 a rupee and to be off. 
 
 " Feby. 10th. This morning a Brahmin came to me, who 
 declared ' that the Sanscrit language is not the invention of 
 man, but came from Maha Deva's * Bani : that four genii, 
 who remain about the size of children of eight years of age, 
 hearing the sound of the drum, repeated the sounds, from 
 whence, having written them, they collected the twenty-five 
 letters of the alphabet. On my asking him, how so many 
 letters could be collected from one sound ; after some dispute 
 he said, ( Maha Deva's Bani was not like to any now in 
 size, but at the day of judgment it will sound again, and 
 strike all with horror.' I then inquired, who committed 
 
 * The Chief Deity. 
 
CHUNAR. 105 
 
 this language to writing in the Shasters ? He answered, 
 ' three Fakeers, to whom the four genii communicated it/ 
 On asking where they lived, he mentioned ' a jungle near the 
 hill : ' on asking where the hill was, he could not tell ; and, 
 after a long argument, went away promising to bring a map, 
 and shew me the situation of the hill ; ' which, however, is 
 beyond the snowy mountains, in the land of the genii.' To 
 this I objected, that as the Shasters confined the residence 
 of the Hindoos to this country, the religious men would 
 never call their own place of residence unholy ; and, there- 
 fore, it must be in this land. We parted with the promise 
 of his coming again. 
 
 " Feb. 12th. Yesterday, the Brahmin came again ; and, 
 after much conversation said, ' there is no diiference in places ; 
 and that only the ignorant worship stones, &c., but the fear 
 of popular displeasure keeps them silent.' In the evening, 
 he came again, and we had a sharp dispute, chiefly on the 
 distance of places : his Shasters describe Hindoostan as 
 seventy-five millions of miles long. My moonshee and the 
 Brahmin had a warm argument. 
 
 " Feb. 21st. The Tickour woman gave notice that she had 
 found sponsors. On calling her, I asked her if it was the in- 
 tention of her heart to be the slave of Jesus Christ ; to which 
 she replied in the affirmative, with great fervency, saying, 
 ' that it was her desire to walk in His paths always/ I re- 
 minded her of what I had been reading in John xiv., ' He 
 that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is 
 that loveth me ; ' to which she answered, ' that her desire 
 was to obey His will; that it may be well with her both in 
 this life, and the next.' She then used some expressions of 
 admiration at the grace of God to sinners ; and on my 
 saying, that when the Bettiah-walla returned, I would appoint 
 a day for baptism, she fell on the ground at my feet in 
 tears, putting her hand on my shoes, and raised her hand 
 to her forehead. On being asked [a few days afterwards] 
 1 why she so earnestly desired baptism ; ' she said, ' that she 
 
106 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 might be directed in the right way ; obtain pardon of sins 
 and receive God's mercy ; both in this world and that which 
 is to come/ She then entered on a long history of her life, 
 told me that her husband died and left her in poverty, that 
 she went about begging, till her daughter was married, who, 
 after much ill usuge, was at length left destitute; and now, 
 to her grief, is connected with P. ' It was of no use,' she 
 said, f to walk in God's laws, and in this way, for three or 
 four days ; or, in attempting to deceive me, for that God 
 knows her heart ; and should she attempt to deceive me, 
 God would punish her both in this world, and the next/ 
 I left her, desiring her to consider whether she would cause 
 her daughter to take a separate house ; which is evidently 
 a trial to her, and which will, in good earnest, prove her 
 sincerity, if she does." 
 
 The first anniversary of Mr. Corrie's ministerial 
 connexion with Chunar is thus commemorated in his 
 Journal : 
 
 " It is a year to-day [Feb. 22.] since I commenced my 
 public duty at Chunar; and, on considering the way in 
 which the Lord hath led me during that period, I find great 
 cause for thankfulness that I have not laboured in vain : 
 some doors of usefulness have been opened, and some good 
 has been done. Many amongst the invalids are altered for 
 the better in their conduct ; several of them have married, 
 and two artillery-men, I would fain hope, are serious and 
 impressed. Amongst the Hindoos, some, I trust, have 
 been brought to the knowledge of Jesus Christ ; yet, I think, 
 I am not so spiritually-minded as I was before I left Eng- 
 land : though, I think, I am more constantly fixed, and 
 more undeviatingly aiming, at the end of my ministry ; yet 
 I fear that the warmth of spiritual affection is gone ; but I 
 will ' do again my first works/ thou whom my soul 
 loveth, grant me that ' gold, white raiment, and eye salve, ' 
 
CHUNAR. 107 
 
 which thou hast in store for needy creatures ; heal me for 
 thy mercies' sake ! " 
 
 It has been already stated that the Europeans at 
 Secrole were regarded by Mr. Corrie as part of his 
 ministerial charge ; but as Secrole was a kind of 
 suburb to Benares, he was necessarily brought into 
 contact with the Hindoos resident in and about that 
 6 very citadel of Idolatry/ Hitherto, however, it 
 does not appear that any opportunity had occurred 
 to Mr. C. for seeing much of the native city. 
 Under date, therefore, of March 2, 1808, he writes : 
 
 " Yesterday morning, desiring to see Benares, I went down 
 the Ganges in a small boat ; but was greatly disappointed at 
 the appearance of the city, which stands entirely on the west 
 side of the river. One place, the residence of Badshahzada, 
 has the appearance of ruined magnificence; and several 
 ghauts are extensive and laboured monuments of superstition : 
 but the smallness of dimensions of the buildings around 
 makes them appear nothing, to an European. Amidst them 
 all, I came to the British flag, flying at the Ghaut Mangees 
 stairs, which excited grateful sensations. Idolatry is plainly 
 on the decay. Our boat line getting entangled with another 
 boat, much abuse was bestowed on the Feringhee." 
 
 Mr. Corrie relates, that on this occasion he 
 preached to some natives of Benares, as well as gave 
 instruction to the European soldiery. Three weeks 
 later than this visit he was called upon to baptize 
 a Brahmin, who after many strugglings of conscience 
 had been strengthened by the grace of God to ' con- 
 fess the faith of Christ crucified/ An account of 
 
108 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 this event is given by Mr. C. in a letter to his father, 
 dated March 25, 1S08.* 
 
 " I have to tell you of the baptism of a Brahmin at Benares, 
 on Wednesday last, when I was down there, which will grati- 
 fy you much. You must remember that he understands 
 enough of English for common purposes ; and most of our 
 conversation was in English. He came to me in September 
 last, as I wrote to some of you ; he had before been seeking 
 after truth ; and a pious merchant at Benares had given him 
 a Book of Common Prayer : this was the chief instrument in 
 his conversion. The two answers respecting ' our duty to- 
 wards God and our duty towards our neighbour ' struck him 
 forcibly ; and he learned many of the prayers, and much of 
 the catechism by heart. He was, however, greatly averse to 
 baptism in September, and argued that he could serve God 
 in private, and even promote His cause more, whilst he re- 
 frained from the open profession of Christianity. I pointed 
 out from Mark xvi. 1 6, and John iii. the necessity of attend- 
 ing to ' the outward and visible sign, as well as the inward 
 and spiritual grace/ if we would ( make our calling and elec- 
 tion sure. 5 He left me with tears, acknowledging that I 
 spoke truth ; but absented himself until January last, when 
 he again went to the pious merchant, saying he had been 
 very ill, and now found that none but Jesus Christ could 
 save him : he would, therefore, give up all for Christ. After 
 much intercourse, on Tuesday last I asked him, ' Are you 
 willing to be baptized ? ' Answer, ' Yes, I have no other 
 Lord, no other Saviour, but Jesus Christ : He is God, and 
 my God/ What makes you think Him God ? Answer, 
 f Why, Sahib, I don't know how many times I may have 
 been in the world before, or whether born at all, or not, 
 before this time ; but I have continued a great sinner still, 
 
 * The substance of this account was afterwards printed in the 
 Missionary Register, vol. i. p. 317, and seq. 
 
BENARES. 109 
 
 (the Hindoos believe in the metempsychosis,) a very great 
 sinner, I believe : I went to Juggernaut and here to Benares, 
 and here and there (mentioning other places) to poojah 
 (worship ; ) but I was still very bad, Sahib, very great sin- 
 ner. When I found no good among Hindoos' worship, I 
 went to Musselmans,' to Lucknow, (mentioning a great ma- 
 il omedan doctor there,) to enquire ; but found no good in 
 Musselmans' religion ; but all bad, very bad. Then I met 
 with the ten commandments, and these two, my duty to- 
 wards God, and my duty towards my neighbour : this my 
 heart say good, very good : this is Jesus Christ's word, and 
 I pray to Him for His grace, and He gave me understand- 
 ing : now I know the true God ; my heart love His word ; 
 and I no more love sin, or bad way ; therefore, I know 
 Jesus Christ is God/ with more to the same effect. (You 
 will perceive that if men set themselves to seek Christ in this 
 way, we should have no Arians or Socinians.) I then asked, 
 What do you think will be after death ? Answer, f I shall 
 go to God ; what else, Sahib ? Now He has given me grace, 
 I am all light within : will He put light with darkness 
 again ? No, T shall go to God after death.' Will you for- 
 sake your family and friends ? Answer, ' My father, Sahib, 
 very old : he wash in Ganges, and make poojah : I cannot 
 help him, but I will love him, I will honour him, as Jesus 
 Christ's word is : ! I cannot help him, but I will make 
 prayer for him : I must follow my Lord Christ ; there is no 
 Saviour but He : Hindoos, Musselmans, all worship devils,' 
 with more to that effect adding f Ever since I was with you, 
 Sahib, my heart was full, and now, if you please, I will be 
 baptized.' After prayer, we separated : next day when he 
 came to me, I asked him, ' Have you thought much of the 
 matter, and are you willing to forsake all for Christ ? ' He 
 answered, ' I have made much prayer to God for His grace ; 
 and now I will forsake all for my Lord Christ : you will 
 pray, Sahib, that He will wash me, and make me clean : 
 you will mention before Him for the old sinner, a very great 
 
110 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 sinner, an old rogue, very bad, very bad sinner ; that He 
 will save me, and give me grace, that I may love Him with all 
 my heart. I cannot keep His commandments without 
 his grace; but I will pray always, and love Him, and 
 cleave to Him (laying hold of his own garment with 
 eagerness ; ) and, I will always speak truth, and take 
 care of my words.' All this with the expressive action of 
 the natives, who have more action than even the French in 
 conversation. At the time of administering the sacrament 
 of baptism, he made the responses from the Book of Common 
 Prayer, with much feeling : when addressed in the service, 
 he shewed the most lively attention, and was very earnest 
 in the prayers : after the service, he shook hands with all 
 present, expressed with tears his thankfulness to God for his 
 mercy to so great a sinner ; and said he would serve Him 
 for ever, and devote all his time to learning His word more 
 perfectly that he might instruct others. " 
 
 Although there was much to comfort and encourage 
 Mr. Corrie in this manifest example of the power 
 of divine grace, in the conversion of this Brahmin ; 
 yet by an entry in his journal, dated March 31st, we 
 find him complaining : 
 
 " I have for several days laboured under sad spiritual 
 decay; and have been dreadfully oppressed with the fear of 
 man; and very backward to every good word and work. 
 When the Brahmin consented to be baptized on Tuesday, 
 the enemy raised an alarm in my mind respecting what the 
 effect might be ; tumults among the natives ; anger on the 
 part of the Europeans ; removal by the government : these 
 suggestions greatly distracted me : and I got me to my 
 Lord right humbly, who mercifully delivered me from all 
 these fears ; and all these difficulties vanished ; yet, at the 
 time, I felt none of that joy or gratitude I ought, on ac- 
 count of the triumph of the cross." 
 
CHUNAR. Ill 
 
 The Journal proceeds : 
 
 " April 10th, 1808. To-day I am thirty-one years of 
 age. I praise God that I am in the land of prayer ; I have 
 been praying for a right spirit of self-examination. It 
 strikes me as remarkable in my experience, that although I 
 could be always on my knees, I am usually straitened, 
 perplexed, and confused in prayer : wandering thoughts 
 perplex me beyond measure ; and my imagination is wild 
 and troubled, yet without order, even in vainly flying from 
 one scene to another, and musing on the greatest impro- 
 babilities. My mind is, through grace, settled and grounded 
 in the ways of Christ ; and, I am persuaded that I shall 
 never leave the heavenly way, because the Lord will keep 
 me in fear of forsaking it. I have no enjoyment in worldly 
 company, or amusements ; otherwise, I have nothing of 
 assurance, as I have understood it : and though I consent 
 to every tittle stated in our 17th Article, it works nothing of 
 ( unclean living or presumption/ It does, however, pre- 
 serve me from despair ; for, I never should be delivered but 
 by the Spirit of Christ : nor, could I hope that His gracious 
 influence would be granted to my prayers, were it not for 
 the unconditional, covenanted, love of God in Christ Jesus. 
 I have many short, but sweet, visits of heavenly grace. 
 My soul is frequently melted down in praise, for the Divine 
 condescension towards me ; but little of abiding joy, or real- 
 izing faith, stays with me. I find ' the work of righteous- 
 ness ' to be ' peace/ More of my time has been employed 
 for God, than I could once have thought possible to give ; 
 yet few days pass that my soul is not overwhelmed with a 
 sense of short-coming : hence, Thou, Christ, art all I 
 want ! 
 
 "We have had some slight awakenings here (Chunar) during 
 the past year : one in August ; but it is, I fear, come to no- 
 thing, except H. who may have found mercy of the Lord: 
 
 the others have turned backward, and , died in con- 
 
 ' sequence of intoxication. At present a greater enquiry is 
 
112 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 excited than ever : three are come oat (from the world) and 
 several are anxiously concerned. ' The Lord knoweth them 
 that are His.' Now, my soul, look to it lest thou let any of 
 those things ' slip ' which thou hast heard and learned of Jesus. 
 0, for a spirit of grace and supplication : for ' good under- 
 standing in the ways of godliness.' 0, for the conversion 
 of souls ! Lord, hear me in these matters : prosper thy 
 work ; let thine own kingdom come. Bless my country, my 
 family, my friends : and, 0, accept a poor worm who offers 
 himself unto Thee. Take me, as thy dear-bought purchase ; 
 and secure me unto thyself. Let my life bring glory to thy 
 name ; and my death bear testimony to Thy faithfulness and 
 truth : let me live, and die to Christ Jesus, Amen ! " 
 
 " In the afternoon, I baptized the Tickour woman, by the 
 name of ' Mary.* Satan continues to mar my comfort ; 
 though he cannot, through the grace of Christ, prevent the 
 word of God. When I baptized the Brahmin, he raised in 
 my mind such a fear of the anger of those in power as 
 almost drove me to my wits' end : but now I see that all 
 was over-ruled for good, in order to prevent my overween- 
 ing conceit of myself in this matter. " 
 
 It will have been observed, that Mr. Corrie not 
 unfrequently complained of the loss of health. The 
 cause might no doubt be traced to his want of due 
 regard to the trying nature of the climate of India 
 to an European constitution. Repeated notices 
 occur, therefore, in Mr. C.'s Journal and Letters, of 
 a languor and general debility which threatened to 
 lay him altogether aside from duty, if not to render 
 it necessary for him to quit the country. At this 
 time, however, a material change for the better 
 seems to have taken place in his health ; for in 
 
CHUNAR. 113 
 
 writing to his father under date of April, 20, 1808. 
 Mr. C. remarks, 
 
 f< A gracious Providence who has followed us with good- 
 ness and mercy all our days, has prospered me thus far. 
 You will bless God with me, who upholds me in perfect 
 
 health a most surprising change seems to have 
 
 passed upon my constitution, so that I feel very little in- 
 convenience from the heat. Last year I was obliged to have 
 recourse to medicine to keep me from fainting ; now, though 
 the hot winds have been blowing some weeks, I feel active 
 and cheerful as when with you. A sigh of regret at our 
 separation often, indeed, interrupts % my joys, and sends me 
 with tears not unfrequently to your Father and my Father, 
 to your God and my God. 0, praise to a precious Re- 
 deemer, through whose love and grace so lasting an union 
 has been brought about, which swallows up even natural ties, 
 or rather rivets them by an indissoluble bond ! All painful 
 idea of separation and distance is lost in the consideration of 
 that better country, where we shall meet to part no more 
 for ever ! 
 
 " You will rejoice to hear that the word of God is not 
 without increasing witness among the soldiers. Eighteen at- 
 tended the sacrament of the Lord's supper on Easter-day, 
 most of whom are serious and attentive ; and many are re- 
 gular at our evening worship, where they attend voluntarily. 
 Among their wives also great attention continues to be paid ; 
 and knowledge, at least, is increased. The Brahmin whom 
 I baptized came up (from Benares) last Sunday ; and after 
 attending worship in Hindoostanee, expressed much delight. 
 He proposed, as a doubt, what would once have been an 
 article of faith with him : ' Sahib, you have been so little 
 while in this country, and [yet] know the language so well, 
 I think you must have been a Hindoo before you were born 
 in England, and, therefore, your fresh language came to 
 you so quick again/ A fortnight since, I baptized a 
 woman, who is evidently seeking sincerely the kingdom of 
 
 
114 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 God. Yesterday, she expressed her gratitude for instruction, 
 by saying, ' I am a poor woman, and have nothing to offer 
 to Sahib in return for his favour, except three fowls which I 
 shall send to-morrow, if he will please to accept them.' On 
 my saying, God has given me plenty, she said, ' True/ but 
 it is my duty to lay my neck beneath Sahib's feet.' The 
 language of the common people is, indeed, full of compli- 
 ment ; but none of them show a disposition to give any 
 thing away, except in some instances where grace seems to 
 open their hearts. Another, the wife of an European, who 
 seems the best Christian of them all, on my noticing a 
 little dog, sent it to me next day, begging my acceptance of 
 it. To excuse myself, I said it was too young, and she is 
 now keeping it for my sister, and takes great pains in teach- 
 ing it to beg, &c. that my sister may be amused with it when 
 she arrives.*' 
 
 TO THE REV. J. BUCK WORTH. 
 
 " April 25, 1808. 
 
 " The heat of the climate induces a despondency entirely 
 unknown to you. I perceive plainly that this despondency 
 not a little infected my mind most of the last hot weather ; 
 which was, perhaps, increased by continued ill health. I 
 have been enabled, however, to hold fast my integrity ; nor 
 ever have handled the word of God deceitfully ; nor has the 
 word been without witness. A great increase is now made 
 to my evening congregations, which are my only joy, they 
 coming voluntarily; and on Wednesday next, I begin a 
 weekly lecture. . . I am, through mercy, now in perfect 
 health, and usual spirits ; and see it ' good for me to have 
 been in trouble/ My present mode of passing my time will 
 give you, perhaps, pleasure, certainly amusement. On an 
 average, I do not dine from home above once a week, and 
 seldom see any of my equals here, except a family, who, I 
 hope, are pious, though their progress is slow. From 
 
BENARES. 115 
 
 morning (five o'clock till eight) I attend to my own private 
 affairs, with a little exercise : then till three or four, learn 
 the native languages ; when every day, either some of the 
 natives come to me to read the Scriptures, or I attend some- 
 place of meeting for that purpose. Mr. Marty n writes to 
 me weekly : he is preparing a copy of the gospels in Hin- 
 doostanee for the press ,* this will be an invaluable acqui- 
 sition : the one we have is so learned as to be unintelligible 
 to the vulgar for the most part. I have altered [the version 
 of] St. John's Gospel which we use. The Acts of the Apos- 
 tles especially delight the native teacher : I have told you of 
 
 > y u would be surprised to see the effect it has upon 
 
 him ; and the eagerness by which it is heard by others. I 
 feel it to be too little regarded by myself, and am too apt to 
 consider the divine manna a common thing. I send my 
 father by these ships the history of a Brahmin's conversion, 
 whom I lately baptized.* I baptized a woman a fortnight 
 since; and several of the soldiers' native wives. Sinners 
 are plainly under good impressions ; but, Oh ! the patience 
 and perseverance necessary to deal with them ! 
 
 " Dr. Buchanan is on his way home : whatever he may 
 publish will give you a true and clear insight into religious 
 affairs here ; except that you can have no idea of the magni- 
 tude of the work of conversion, unless you were here." 
 
 In the Journal, Mr. Corrie relates 
 
 " May 14th. Yesterday morning, I went to Wheatley's 
 hospital. The Dhobee t only seems truly in earnest : he 
 said that since he first heard the word, his heart had been 
 much taken with it ; that the more he hears it, the more he 
 esteems it; and that he is happy in it. e Jesus Christ,' he 
 says, ' is the creator and preserver of all things, who will 
 take him to God's presence ; or if not, His will be done : 
 yet he will serve Him; and has forsaken Satan's works, 
 and will return to them no more. Satan's works are wor- 
 
 * See above pp. 110, &c. t A Native washerman. 
 
 I 2 
 
116 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 shipping stones, poojah, &c. &c. J Here one of the bystand- 
 ers said, ' Satan's works are also lying, stealing, &c. &c.' 
 To-night Anselmo * is ill. On my speaking to him, he 
 said, ' Whether well or ill, I am always begging for pardon 
 of sin from Jesus Christ : I am not deserving of it, but am 
 worthy of hell ; yet, as He died for sinners, God for His sake 
 will hear me : this is my constant hope ; but now, indeed, 
 I need more grace and support/ Praise God for these things. 
 for patience and perseverance in the Lord's work ! " 
 
 " SECROLE. July 25th. According to leave obtained, and 
 notice given, I came down on Friday evening with the view to 
 perform divine service yesterday. On Saturday morning, I 
 waited on the general, who received me with the most chilling 
 coolness. He told me that he had nothing to do with divine 
 service, or the artillery-men ; and that he should not inter- 
 fere : he had heard nothing of divine service, except from 
 
 my application. Mr. , who had been forward for my 
 
 coming down, on hearing of my arrival flew quite off, and 
 said, ' they could do as well now as before, without divine 
 service,' he, however, came yesterday morning. A congre- 
 gation of at least sixty assembled ; and after service, Mr. 
 A. thanked me, and said he hoped they should give me 
 encouragement to come amongst them oftener. Afterwards, 
 the Brigade Major came with a message from the general, 
 (who did not come to church) saying, that I was ' at liberty 
 to come and go as I pleased, but the artillery-men and offi- 
 cers could not be permitted to attend so far from the lines, 
 for fear of the natives seizing the guns whilst they were at 
 a distance : if the court-house were used to assemble in, or 
 a place of worship erected near the lines, he should have no 
 objection ; but all this was to be kept a secret.' Well : 
 blessed be God, who hath opened a door here for His word ! 
 Had there been no obstacles thrown in the way, it would 
 have been unusua). Satan never yet freely and without a 
 
 * Formerly a Roman Catholic. See below p. 125. 
 
CHUNAR. 117 
 
 struggle, resigned his dominion. Lord, I have no might 
 or skill to resist this great enemy ; neither know I what to 
 do ; but mine eyes are towards thee ! In the morning 
 service, I was sadly amazed by the presence of so many of 
 the great ones of the earth ; but after the service commenced, 
 these feelings vanished." 
 
 " Aug. 24th. On Monday I went to Mirzapore, where I 
 saw an old Fakeer, the most wretched victim of superstition 
 I have met with. He has been a great traveller, and by the 
 strange noises he utters, and the inhuman appearance he 
 puts on, causes the people to take him for some great one. 
 He struck me as strongly under Satanic influence. I en- 
 deavoured to gain from him some idea of his creed ; but 
 could not. Narsingha, who is celebrated in the Bhagavat 
 Geeta,* is his titular deity, whom he considers equal to 
 the other gods. I am confounded at the thought that, from 
 the conduct of the English present, I was prevented warn- 
 ing him as I ought of his danger. 
 
 " Aug. 31st. Yesterday was spent at Ghazeepore; much 
 talk about religion, and religious people ; but little religious 
 conversation. In prayer, I have been sometimes enabled 
 to make my * requests known with thanksgiving ; ' but have 
 felt great backwardness to the public services of the Church. 
 1 Lord, be merciful to me a sinner ! ' for that I suffered the 
 rain to prevent me from going to the evening worship ; and 
 that when I have spoken unto the men, it has been in a cold 
 and indifferent manner ! I see in Robinson f of Cambridge 
 (whose life I read yesterday) how far a person, and even a 
 minister of religion may go, and yet be as f sounding brass 
 or a tinkling symbol.' " 
 
 * A poetical Exposition of the doctrines of a particular school of 
 Hindoo Theology. It forms an Episode in the Maha Bharat, 
 one of the great Hindoo Poems, and has been translated by Wilkins. 
 An abstract of it is given in the Quarterly Review, Vol. 45. 
 
 t An Anabaptist preacher, celebrated in his day for his extreme 
 opinions, both as respected politics and religion ; who, after having 
 written a ' Plea for the Divinity of Christ,' rejected Christianity 
 and died a Socinian. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 VISIT TO CALCUTTA ARRIVAL OF HIS SISTER. 
 
 IN the beginning of September 1808, Mr. Corrie left 
 Chunar, for the purpose of meeting his sister at Cal- 
 cutta on her expected arrival from England ; and on 
 his way thither he spent some weeks with Mr. Mar- 
 tyn, at Dinapore. Several foreboding expressions 
 occur in Mr. Corrie's Journal respecting the possible 
 termination of the unsatisfactory state of health in 
 which he found Mr. Martyn. With the purpose, 
 therefore, of relieving that excellent person from the 
 pressure of clerical duty, Mr. C. remained longer 
 at Dinapore than he had at first intended. Of Mr. 
 Martyn, also, he writes, 
 
 " He entertains the opinion that he shall die before long ; 
 and desired me to tell Mr. Brown that should he die before 
 my return, he trusted he is in the Lord, and happy. He 
 wishes, if it please God, to be spared on account of the 
 translations, but with great earnestness he said, ' I wish to 
 
CALCUTTA. 119 
 
 have my whole soul swallowed up in the will of God/ He 
 then observed, ' When I look back, I see nothing that affords 
 me satisfaction : all my consolation flows from the free grace 
 that is in Christ Jesus : that grace which is now offered 
 to-day, this is alone what comforts my soul/ ' 
 
 Considering the brotherly affection that subsisted 
 between the two friends, it cannot be a matter of 
 surprise, that when, under these circumstances, the 
 time for parting approached, Mr. C. should have 
 experienced some depression of spirits. 
 
 " This morning," he writes, " was a mournful time with 
 me. I could scarcely express myself from the acuteness of 
 my feelings, but tried to suppress them. I have no idea, 
 however, but that I shall meet him again, if I am spared to 
 return ; but ! let me not boast of to-morrow, but learn 
 to die daily. " 
 
 When Mr. Corrie reached Calcutta, his joy on 
 meeting a beloved sister was somewhat modified by the 
 intelligence which she brought that one of his letters* 
 had been printed in an English periodical. The 
 distress and alarm which this circumstance occasioned 
 Mr. Corrie will be readily accounted for, when 
 it is recollected that a violent dread of Missionary 
 operations in India, had at that time taken possession 
 of the minds of many influential persons, and that 
 a motion had even been submitted to the Court of 
 East India proprietors for expelling from India, all 
 
 * That dated Aug. 2, 1807. 
 
120 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the Christian Missionaries who were then labouring 
 there ; and for preventing the circulation of the 
 Scriptures in any of the languages of the East. 
 Nothing could be more probable, therefore, than 
 that the publication of any accounts of Mr. Corrie's 
 labours among the heathen, would draw down upon 
 him the displeasure of the Indian government. That 
 such, at least, was the persuasion of Mr. C. is plain 
 enough, for in announcing to a relative, the safe ar- 
 rival of his sister in Calcutta, he adds : 
 
 " I received little of painful intelligence [by her] except 
 the news of my letter to Buckworth being published. I 
 trust he has not published any more of them. I cannot 
 write to him just yet on the subject, lest I should say some- 
 thing that might wound his feelings : he has caused me 
 more grief than any event of late has caused me." 
 
 Soon afterwards he more fully expressed his appre- 
 hensions in a letter to Mr. Buckworth himself. 
 
 " I heard some time since by a friend, that ' a letter from 
 one of the Bengal chaplains who came out in 1806,' had 
 been published, and in the then state of the court of India 
 Directors towards the evangelization of this country, might 
 be of great detriment. Mary afterwards brought me word 
 who the offending chaplain is, and who the friend is that has 
 published his letters. I confess that for a time I felt myself 
 wounded in the house of friendship. In the eyes of the 
 world, pride told me that my character would suffer ; and 
 I still expect to see myself caricatured by the Edinburgh 
 Reviewers, or by some such enemies to all serious ac- 
 knowledgment of God. My brother will say, what is cha- 
 
CALCUTTA. 121 
 
 racter &c., to being useful to the cause of the gospel ? And 
 so say I, if loss of character stand in competition with that 
 cause ; but really I ara sure there must in my scrawls, writ- 
 ten in the fulness of my heart, be ample matter for criticism; 
 and truly the gospel needs not such a sorry assistant ; espe- 
 cially if the publication should operate either to my recal, 
 or to restrictions being laid upon me here. So well assured 
 am I, however, of the purity of my much -loved friend in 
 his motives for thus sending me into the world as an author, 
 that I shall love the rod even that smites me by his hand : 
 and he will rejoice that I stand ready to glory in the cross 
 of Christ, and count myself honoured, if thought worthy 
 to suffer shame for His sake. I hope you have not sent any 
 more of my letters to the Christian Guardian ; and that if 
 you judge any description of the people or customs, &c. in- 
 teresting, you will give it as an extract, and without my 
 name and place of abode, further than India. I must ab- 
 solutely forbid you to publish what I am doing. Let the 
 great day of the Lord make that manifest. I am sure I 
 shall be found an unprofitable servant, and ' this shall be 
 my only plea, that Jesus lived and died for me.' 
 
 During the whole of Mr. Gome's stay in Calcutta 
 he took up his abode with the Rev. David Brown, from 
 whose counsel and directions he seems to have derived 
 at all times the greatest advantage. To the relative 
 referred to above, he writes on this occasion ; 
 
 " We are now under the roof of Mr. Brown. I cannot 
 tell you how much we are indebted to this man of God : he 
 has been, and is to us younger chaplains, a father in Israel. 
 His affection for us exceeds the affection of most fathers for 
 their children. His letters convey the instructions of a 
 Bishop, with the tenderness of a brother. I trust we feel 
 his worth and value it aright/' 
 
122 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Yet Mr. Corrie's anxiety to get back again to his 
 people at Chunar, did not allow him to remain long 
 in Calcutta. In the letter just now quoted he 
 observes : 
 
 " My few sheep are in the wilderness without a shepherd, 
 and some of whom I hoped better things I hear are gone 
 astray : these thoughts make every place strange to me ex- 
 cept Chunar. There is no one thing on earth worth living 
 for, but to be employed in our blessed master's service, to 
 be ministering in obedience to His will to the spiritual and 
 temporal good of mankind. When my soul ceases to labour 
 after this, life will be no blessing to me. How precious the 
 idea that saints are kept by the power of God ! This is 
 the ground on which I build my hope, of perseverance to 
 the end ; and I know whom I have believed. He who has 
 given me to know the name of Christ, and to trust therein, 
 will enable me to draw out all the virtues contained in that 
 precious name to support me under temptation, and to 
 enable me to holiness of living. " 
 
 Owing, however, to the tedious nature of the 
 passage up the Ganges, Mr. C. did not reach Chu- 
 nar till the middle of January 1809. On his way, 
 he spent a week with Mr. Martyn at Dinapore, and 
 preached there on Christmas-day 1808. On the 
 following New year's day, he placed on record his 
 recollections of the past year : 
 
 " Chuprah ; on the way back from Calcutta to Chunar. 
 Sunday, Jan. 1st. 1809. I desire to review this year past, 
 as in God's presence, and to note down His dealings, as I 
 shall give account at the judgment-seat of Christ. 
 
 " First, let me note His mercies ministerial, in the success 
 
CHUNAR. 123 
 
 of my labours at Chunar ; where a society of fourteen are united 
 in the ways of God ; second, personal, in the preservation of 
 life, and the vouchsafing of excellent health ; the bringing my 
 sister, who is now with me, and promises to be indeed a help- 
 meet for me. Third, spiritual, inasmuch as the Holy Spirit is 
 not withdrawn from me ; nor has the purpose of living only to 
 God forsaken me : I see that nothing is worth living for, but 
 to live to God. I determine, the Lord being my helper, to 
 
 live to no other purpose I am not so watchful of 
 
 myself as formerly ; but I renew my purposes, would do my 
 first works, and go on unto perfection. I seem, as far as I know 
 myself, kept from the love of wealth ; but this is, in some 
 degree at least, from lavishness, which hurries me often into 
 the other extreme : against this, too, do I resolve ; and would 
 use this world's goods as one that must give an account. 
 The work of the Lord among the heathen shall be attended 
 to, with fresh vigour. I can say nothing of the Hindoosta- 
 nees at Chunar, nor of the Schools ; but I hope to do more 
 for them than ever. Lord, let past mercies be remem- 
 bered, as a constraining motive to future exertion; and, 
 whilst I would mourn for my sins and short-coming, O keep 
 me in time to come for Christ's sake. Amen/' 
 
 Under the date of Chunar, Jan. 24, 1809, he 
 writes, 
 
 " Have been at home ten days, and I trust have not been 
 quite forgetful of the goodness of God, in taking me out and 
 bringing me back in safety : but I feel and deplore my hard 
 heartedness and corruption. On Sunday week resumed duty at 
 Secrole, twenty attended. Here, on Sunday last, five services 
 have renewed something of my former pain in the breast. 
 But, alas ! my labours seem all to have been in vain. Not 
 one seems to have stood his ground. My heart is greatly 
 cast down, and would fain shrink from any further trial. 
 Self and worldliness combine to dishearten me from the work 
 
124 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 of the Lord. Lord, leave me not, but revive thy work in 
 me for Jesus' sake ! Amen." 
 
 In a letter addressed to Mr. Buck worth on the 
 8th. of Feb. Mr. C. gives utterance to similar 
 feelings of discomfort : 
 
 " Notwithstanding the many objects new to you, with which 
 I am surrounded, I scarce know what to write to you about : 
 it is a time of great spiritual dulness with me ; and, owing 
 to the indisposition of the native teacher, the great work we 
 have chiefly at heart seems at a stand. My strength is laid 
 out, in the mean time, among the European soldiers ; and, 
 alas, to little seeming purpose. . . I am ready to be weary 
 of what appears so hopeless a task as the turning of men, so 
 incorrigible, from the error of their ways : these workings of 
 my mind are too glaringly impious to escape even my half- 
 awakened perception, and the greatest of all opposition I find 
 to spring from my desperately wicked heart : I trust some- 
 thing of self-abasement, for this horribly rebellious spirit, 
 exists at the same time. 
 
 You know all the controversy that has arisen at home res- 
 pecting missions to this country :* there is no knowing what 
 the end of such opposition to Christ's kingdom will 
 be. We have been in expectation of a visit from the 
 French over land. The late events in Spain may be the 
 means of keeping us longer quiet here. The French would 
 perhaps have established their system of worship where 
 they cotild have got footing; and any mode of Christi- 
 anity would have been preferable to the idolatry and super- 
 stition that overwhelms this unhappy land. My principal 
 employment now is with a school of Christian native 
 children, five in number : some of them read easily the Holy 
 
 * The controversy alluded to grew out of the publication of Dr. 
 Buchanan's Memoirs on the Expediency of an Ecclesiastical Esta- 
 blishment for India. 
 
CHUNAR. 125 
 
 Scriptures in Hindoostanee ; and a gleam of joy sometimes 
 enlivens my mind while hearing them. 
 
 "Feb. 15th. Since writing the above, the old native Chris- 
 tian has been enabled to renew his labours ; and another 
 Christian child is come to school. I have had one of those 
 sudden attacks you happily know little of in England ; it has 
 not yet left me ; but my times are in God's hand. I find it 
 is good to be afflicted : my soul returns unto her rest ; and, 
 I bless God for a desire only to know and glorify Him : this 
 I think I can say is all in all with me. You will have heard 
 of the Roman- catholic mission established in this country. 
 My Catechist is a fruit of this mission ; and four men and 
 four children in my employ besides. They are natives of 
 Bettiah in the kingdom of Nepaul, i. e., the old kingdom of 
 Nepaul ; for now the British posterity of Japheth are dwell- 
 ing in almost every corner of the tents of these sons of Shem ; 
 and the old limits of most of the states of this country are in 
 consequence altered. 
 
 " One man from the same place passed the whole of your 
 summer with me here ; and daily read the Scripture with 
 me ; in which he seems to be taught of God. On returning 
 last September, he withstood the Missionary (an Italian) 
 to his face, respecting the praying to saints, bowing to 
 images &c. : he was, in consequence, excommunicated ; and, 
 on being taken ill soon afterwards was beset by two agents 
 of the missionary, who sounded threatenings of hell, &c., in 
 his ears ; and declared his body should be cast on the dung- 
 hill. Distressed, it seems he paid a fine to be restored to 
 the Church, and soon after died. In his last days, he begged 
 some one of his relations to convey his thanks to me, and 
 to commend his children to me. The message is come, and 
 the unfeigned tears of these few Christians here on learning 
 the end of Anselmo, were a striking proof of the sympathi- 
 zing spirit induced by Christianity, compared with the hard 
 and unfeeling spirit of the heathen. On the map of Hin- 
 doostan you see the country of the Seiks ; their capital is 
 
126 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Lahore. The state consists of a number of independent chiefs, 
 under a nominal head ; many of these chiefs have sought our 
 aid against the oppression of their head ; and, as the country 
 they inhabit lies in route of any overland invading army, we 
 have sent a force in aid of the petitioners. Two of my young 
 friends (very dear to me in our common Lord) are with this 
 force. The principal matter of interest to us in this expe- 
 dition is, that these Seiks are, as a nation, Deists.* Much 
 superstition, indeed, is among them ; but they are neither 
 Hindoos nor Mussulmans ; and profess themselves worship- 
 pers of one invisible God. Such a state of mind seems fa- 
 vourable to a reception of Christianity ; and, may we not 
 hope our intercourse among them may be the means of bring- 
 ing them acquainted with that only name whereby they must 
 be saved ? Martyn is going on, in company with the con- 
 verted Arabian, f in translating the Scriptures into Persian. 
 I have seen the Edinburgh Reviewer's remarks on the Mis- 
 sionaries J and critique on their Journals. It is to be re- 
 gretted, perhaps, that in some expressions they are open to 
 ridicule ; but it is a subject of gratification that in none are 
 they open to reproach. These same gentlemen would gnash 
 their teeth to find Hindoostan, from near Delhi, yea from 
 the Seiks' country, to Cape Comorin^ planted with Christians, 
 who daily pray for the coming of Christ's kingdom in their 
 
 * See Ward, View of History, &c. of the Hindoos. Vol. II., 
 book 7, ch. 4. 
 
 t Sabat. For some account of this person, see Buchanan's tl Star 
 in the East." pp. 23. &c. He afterwards apostatized, left the 
 British territory in India, and went into the service of some of the 
 native princes ; but in some quarrel that occurred he was suspected 
 of treachery to his patron, was put up into a sack and cast into the 
 sea.-" Hough's " History of Christianity in India." vol. 4. p. 389. 
 
 $ An article in the Edinburgh Review for 1808, entitled " Indian 
 Missions," written by the late Rev. Sidney Smith. At the head of 
 this article are given the titles of the principal controversial pam- 
 phlets, which appeared at that time on the subject of Missions to 
 India. 
 
CHUNAR. 
 
 127 
 
 lands ; and who, in their intercourse with those around them, 
 recommend the gospel of God our Saviour in a way not such 
 as will excite insurrection, but induce veneration and ulti- 
 mately conversion. A preaching life these Edinburgh re- 
 viewers themselves cannot gainsay ; and these less enlight- 
 ened heathen are less disposed than they to withstand it. 
 But little visible effect will appear in our day ; the next gen- 
 eration will find a people ' prepared for the Lord/ 
 
 " Our dwelling is on the banks of the Ganges. The com- 
 mon mode of travelling is by water, in commodious boats, 
 dragged, when the wind is adverse, like barges. At this dis- 
 tance from home, hospitality to strangers seems to me a 
 peculiar though painful duty, as it breaks in too much upon 
 my leisure. There is no such thing as an inn ; and very 
 many of the passers-by are young officers, whose situation is, 
 in general, far from being comfortable. To these I would 
 be especially kind, as being also less noticed by many who 
 judge of the attentions due to them by the wealth and rank 
 they possess. Those youths who are now here join readily 
 in our family worship, and delight me when I hear them re- 
 peating the Lord's prayer after me with seriousness. Dear 
 lads, my heart yearns over them, exposed as they are to every 
 kind of temptation, without a rudder or a pilot. May God 
 take them into His direction ! " 
 
 Soon after the date of the foregoing letter, Mr. 
 Corrie was again suffering from illness. An attack 
 of fever rendered it necessary for him to place himself 
 under medical care ; but throughout the months of 
 February and March, his disorder seems to have 
 yielded so little to the remedies applied, that he was 
 almost laid aside from duty. Thus in his Journal 
 under date of March 19th. he remarks : 
 
 " March 19th (Sunday.) To-day not in a con- 
 
128 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 dition for public worship : so there was none in the morn- 
 ing. A merchant and others came to breakfast ; and I had 
 family worship with them. I have been considering my 
 ways, but am, alas ! sadly clouded, so that I can remember 
 but little. My impatience respecting the backsliding pro- 
 fessors has appeared, as it is, sadly inconsistent : I ought to 
 have pitied and prayed for them more, and felt less anger. 
 I bless God for more composure of mind, and drawing out of 
 soul towards God. I see, however, I have little of zeal for 
 His glory and house. I would have a more single eye in 
 this matter. I would desire my own salvation as a means 
 of displaying the glory of His grace. I would desire the 
 salvation of sinners, that He may be glorified. I would en- 
 gage in proper means for these ends, with a single intent 
 that I may bring glory to God, and that God may be glori- 
 fied in me. Let my own personal trials be all sanctified to 
 this end ! Give grace, God of grace, to this end ; and the 
 glory shall redound to Thee, through Jesus Christ, the 
 Saviour ! " 
 
 And again, a fortnight later, he writes : 
 
 " Easter eve. To-morrow the Lord's Supper is to be ad- 
 ministered. Alas, my soul, how many sacred opportunities 
 of this kind have been little better than profaned. Long 
 did I attend the Lord's Table in my own self-confident spirit, 
 and the same day saw me break the vows I had solemnly 
 made. When this self-confidence was in some measure dis- 
 covered, the ordinance became more profitable indeed, but 
 the contrary spirit grew upon me; and for some time, I 
 fear, the consecrated elements have been too little con- 
 sidered. Lord ! never let me fancy the means any other 
 than the channels of thy grace ; but 0, enable me to discern 
 the Lord's body at his Table, and ' with meek heart and due 
 reverence,' feed upon Him by faith ! My illness, I fear, 
 does not leave me ; at least, weakness grows upon me. I 
 seem anxious to live I would live to glorify God, 
 
CIIUNAR. 129 
 
 too, "though he needs not my wretched poor services. I 
 would have my will swallowed up in His. [Lord] grant 
 me grace to this end, then come life or death, all will be 
 well. 
 
 " Easter-day morning, 2nd April. Both in public 
 worship, and afterwards, I trust the Lord was present to 
 heal us : the people were very attentive. I remembered my 
 native land, with sweet recollection, the tabernacle of God, 
 and the communion of saints. For my companions' and 
 brethren's sakes will I seek thy good, Britain, the Zion 
 of the earth ! may these impressions of love and grace 
 remain upon my soul ! Enough I see, even in this day's 
 services, though unusually joyous, to render precious Him 
 who bears the iniquities of his people's holy things." 
 
 In the beginning of the following month, however, 
 a letter to the Eev. David Brown contains the in- 
 telligence that it had pleased God to recover Mr. 
 Corrie from his illness : 
 
 "Chunar, May 11, 1809. 
 
 " I ought to have made known to you before this, the safe 
 arrival of the Bibles and New Testaments. We have no 
 troops here at present to dispose of them to. The Euro- 
 peans hereabout will take a few to distribute at prime cost. 
 A fortnight since beloved Martyn passed this by dawk. * 
 He staid only three days, and you will have heard by this 
 time of his safe arrival at Cawnpore on the 29th. ult. Sabat 
 has left us this morning. The heat of his temper broke out 
 against a washerman who had changed a sheet, but there 
 seems no doubt of the grace of God being in him. He 
 lived with us since the 7th. At Benares, he had intended to 
 
 * Post. Mr. Martyn was then on his way to his new station at 
 Cawnpore. 
 
 K 
 
130 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 pass some days, but about forty persons who had formerly 
 known him, came tumultuously to the boat , and after much 
 confused dispute, he thought it prudent to come on here. 
 We have for some time been engaged about a Church at 
 Benares; a subscription of about 3000 Rupees has been 
 made, and a spot of ground is fixed on. I trust now all 
 opposition is silenced, though not entirely done away. The 
 hearts of some haters of all good have been brought to give 
 money even. One family is highly respectable and regular 
 in religious duties. One young officer has become anew crea- 
 ture. Of the rest, few alas ! seem willing to go any further. 
 Marty n wishes for my removal. I did not desire it before 
 he came, now I should have no objection to it. Less labour 
 than is now put forth on, perhaps in all, eighty people, (for 
 the remainder give me no opportunity of labouring for them,) 
 would serve for eight hundred, and if winning souls be our 
 highest wisdom, the more we win, the wiser we shall be ac- 
 counted. Yet the fear that my Benares congregation would be 
 left without a shepherd, makes me glad to continue. At Chu- 
 nar, all seem dead and lifeless. Some of the poor women 
 are indeed, growing in grace, and that should not be ac- 
 counted little. One of them two days since, on asking her 
 in what way she must attain to God's presence with peace, 
 replied, ' If I remember the name of Jesus Christ : and re- 
 penting of my sins, put my trust in him, I shall doubtless 
 attain God's presence/ Several are equally well informed, 
 and Martyn expressed great satisfaction at their attentive 
 repetition of the responses, in prayer &c. Sabat holds my 
 poor old man in utter disdain for his comparative ignorance. 
 Sabat is indeed a very superior man ; none of the Moonshees 
 can stand before him. He is most amusing with his logic 
 on all occasions. Some of the gay friends of a pious young 
 officer, asked him if it were not written in Scripture, that 
 men shall become bears ? He, in the simplicity of his heart, 
 asked Martyn and myself at Dinapore, before Sabat, if there 
 were such a passage of Scripture ? Sabat replied, ' if 
 
CHUNAR. 
 
 131 
 
 there is such an expression in the word of God, it must be 
 true ; and we will prove it by logic. ' 
 
 " I think I expressed a wish for the tables you mentioned, 
 of Arabic &c. with a copy of the Persian of Matthew when 
 ready. Mr. Myers* would send them and they would be 
 highly useful. I am .happy to say the complaint I was ill of 
 has quite left me, and I trust it is good for me that ; I was^in 
 trouble. It is good in any way to have the heart separated 
 from this ensnaring world ; to be led to have all its fresh 
 springs in God. Would it were more thus with me ! I 
 groan being burdened with an earthly, sensual, devilish na- 
 ture. I wish I could hear oftener of you and your's. I am 
 in hopes those communications that respect our project may 
 pass through my hands to Martyn ; it would cause only one 
 day's delay. The subject of the conversion of the natives is 
 much more discussed among us. I know two converts to the 
 subject from reading Buchanan's Memoir which I lent them. 
 
 " My Christian School goes on well. 
 
 " Beside the Christian children, I have six Christian men, 
 and some families." 
 
 The anniversary of Mr. Corrie's ordination is thus 
 noticed by him : 
 
 " Saturday, June 10th. This day in 1802, I was ordained 
 a Deacon at Buckden, and on the 12th of June 1804, a 
 Priest, at the same place. To-morrow may suit my purposed 
 season of examination ; and I pray God to enable me to this 
 needful work. First, to look over my present spiritual state. 
 Secondly, To examine my views in the ministry. Thirdly, 
 To pray for my Native School. O Lord ! vouchsafe a spirit 
 of grace and supplication for Christ's sake ! 
 
 " Sunday, June llth. Have been considering my ways; 
 and respecting my personal experience, it is but too apparent 
 that I have for some time laboured under a spiritual decay. 
 
 * Mr. Corrie's future father in-law. 
 K 2 
 
132 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 The commencement of it seems to have been soon after this 
 time last year, when my spirit began to faint in outward duties; 
 and I hurried away from them to Calcutta. The Lord does 
 not leave me ; and I trust will not leave me ; yet, my soul, 
 fear being given up to work iniquity. Much reserve, I am 
 aware, in my outward conduct is worn off : respecting this, 
 I would hope the needless scrupulosity I indulged is going ; 
 yet connected with my private experience, I would be jealous 
 over myself with a godly jealousy. Frivolousness and levity 
 in tongue and action, I would watch against. Lord, instruct 
 me, and teach me in thy way ! In the ministry, I have 
 failed greatly in respect of searching out the lost sheep of 
 Christ's flock ; nor have I a proper sense of the hurt and 
 hinderance arising from this negligence. Lord, grant me a 
 due sense of the Saviour's dying love, and of the soul's worth ! 
 I think I do attempt the edification of those who come in my 
 way ; and have less fear of shame and reproach for Christ 
 than once I had. I find a growing facility in speaking Hin- 
 doostanee; and I trust of late more earnest intention of seek- 
 ing opportunities of propagating the Gospel. My views in 
 coming to India I would hope are not altered ; to live and 
 die here ; and to spend my strength and substance in this 
 land is, I think, my purpose. The little children are be- 
 coming very interesting to me. 0, that they may become 
 partakers of the grace of God in truth ! My native servants 
 I would try to make wise unto salvation, and often am ear- 
 nestly engaged in instructing them. Lord, grant me sin- 
 cerity and simplicity in dealing with these ; and enable me 
 to repent of my sins, to ' do my first works ; 9 and, ' leaving 
 the principles of the doctrine of Christ, go on unto perfec- 
 tion/ I feel how entirely it is Thy work to accomplish this 
 in me, then grant me thy Holy Spirit graciously for Christ's 
 sake. Amen ! " 
 
 With what sincerity of spirit, this recital of his 
 inward resolves and feelings was penned, may be ga- 
 
CHUNAR. 133 
 
 thered from the renewed activity with which Mr. 
 Corrie's restored health was devoted to the employ- 
 ment of every means within his reach, that was cal- 
 culated to extend the knowledge of Christ. To Mr. 
 Brown he writes early in June 1809 : 
 
 " I have at length begun the Arabic and Hebrew ; and 
 with the help of the Arabic, Hebrew and Hindoostanee, 
 hope to get a correct Hindoostanee version of the Psalms 
 for the black flock. The 51st Psalm they are learning by 
 heart." 
 
 Similar notices of his application to the study of 
 the Oriental languages occur, also, in Mr. Corrie's 
 letters, about this time, to Mr. Martyn. Yet the 
 external circumstances with which himself and fellow- 
 labourers in the work of the Lord, were all this while 
 conversant, were far from encouraging. In the letter to 
 Mr. Brown quoted above, Mr. Corrie complained : 
 
 " My harp has long been ' hung upon the willows.' Every 
 thing around us bears the image of spiritual death. What 
 little profession there was among us, has issued in nothing 
 that appears decisive." 
 
 And a few weeks later, after recording in his journal 
 that he " had often experienced the Divine Presence 
 and grace," whilst lecturing in public " on the Epistle 
 to the Galatians," Mr. C. adds : 
 
 " I am, nevertheless, cast down greatly with the little ap- 
 pearance of good working among us : the soldiers seem har- 
 dened to all addresses I make : the old native Christian has 
 
134 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 not been lively of late. When not living near to God, I 
 seem afraid of the doctrine of grace, as it is called ; when 
 my soul is deeply affected with divine truth, I can trust 
 God with the consequences of His own declarations. 5 ' 
 
 Whilst having thus to lament the spiritual apathy 
 around him, Mr. Corrie did not on that account 
 slacken his exertions toward hastening on the day, 
 when u the stream of Ganges shall roll through tracts 
 adorned with Christian churches, and the holy hymn 
 be heard beneath the shade of the tamarind." Ac- 
 cordingly he writes to the Rev. Charles Simeon : 
 
 " Aug. 2, 1809. 
 
 " A door of usefulness has been opened ' among those of 
 mine own nation ' at Benares, where I have been enabled to 
 attend every third Sunday, and now materials are collecting 
 to build a place of worship with, by subscription. Some of 
 the principal people there oppose the measure by their 
 private influence, though they have given money for the 
 work. The report of the death of one of the chaplains 
 above, renders me anxious, lest I should be removed before 
 this scheme is accomplished ; but I know the accomplishment 
 of it rests not with me. I now confine my public engage- 
 ments to the mornings, except one service in Hindoostanee 
 on Sunday evenings. I have mentioned a native Christian 
 who reads and expounds the lessons on these occasions, so 
 that my labour is but small when he is present. Just now, 
 he is at Benares, with a view, if possible, to establish 
 Christian worship among a number of Portuguese and native 
 Christians, who reside in various capacities there. He goes 
 from house to house among them, but has hitherto had little 
 success. Only three attend worship. I may remind you, 
 
CHUNAR. 135 
 
 [that] he conducts public worship according to our Church 
 form, translated. The Gospels we have, and I have trans- 
 lated the principal particulars of the Old Testament history. 
 I may mention that the wisdom of God is manifest here, in 
 recording the faults of the Old Testament saints. A maxim 
 among all classes of Natives, seems to be, that every person, 
 by obeying his own religious guide, will attain eternal blessed- 
 ness, and several of the Mahomedans have been offended, at 
 my asserting that Moses, Abraham, David &c., were sinners : 
 the proving these saints to have been sinners by nature, as 
 ourselves, overturns this conceit and makes them to seek out 
 a Saviour, who is himself in no need of salvation. To this 
 point, when I have opportunity, I always bring a Mahomedan, 
 carefully avoiding disrespectful mention of his Prophet. The 
 Hindoostanee women attend, though not in such numbers as 
 at first, yet regularly, and I have no doubt some of these 
 most despised of the human race, will be found at the right 
 hand of the Judge, in the great day. A few evenings since, 
 a poor blind creature caused my heart to joy exceedingly, by 
 her artless commendation of the Redeemer ; any praise of 
 myself might have arisen from servility, but, the epithets 
 she applied to our Lord, could have been learned only from 
 the Scriptures. For some time much of my attention has 
 been directed to the education of some native Christian boys. 
 Watts' first Catechism they can repeat, and a prayer for morn- 
 ing and evening in private ; two of them have begun Persian 
 and make quick progress : there are in all five, from seven 
 to twelve years old, and some younger children will soon be 
 admitted. I am attempting to introduce our own mode of 
 
 teaching, and when at home, hear them twice a day 
 
 No pains have been spared by the Italian Missionaries, at 
 Bettiah to frighten, or allure my old teacher from me, and 
 one man, who had learned the way of God more perfectly 
 here, and on going back refused to pray to saints, &c., was 
 excommunicated and grievously persecuted until his death, 
 which took place soon after. The uproar about Missions 
 
136 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 has been heard of here, bat no one feels any of the alarm 
 expressed at home. I hear occasionally, from some friends 
 at Malda, of Mr. M. who has very poor health; some poor 
 helpless creatures have lately received baptism there. You will 
 not suspect me of depreciating his labours, by this express- 
 ion ; those among whom I myself minister, are as despicable 
 as human beings can well be. Their influence on the general 
 cause can be none, their individual souls are precious." 
 
 Mr. Corrie had now been three years in India, 
 and it will have been seen that those years had not 
 been spent in self-indulgent inactivity, or had been 
 unfruitful in great moral results. Yet he writes : 
 
 " Sept. 20th. 1809. This day completes my third year 
 in India ; and though I could write a journal of events that 
 would set me off in the eyes of men, I know myself to be an 
 unprofitable servant. I have reason to cry, ' Deliver me 
 from blood-guiltiness, God / from the blood of souls ! The 
 perverseness of the natives draws out my perverse temper. 
 I perceive my mind of late too much taken up with the dig- 
 nity religion inspires the mind with, raising it above the 
 petty cares and mean jealousies of an earthly mind : yet, O 
 let me never be high-minded but fear. I desire to renew 
 my dedication of myself, my all to God ; to purpose greater 
 exertion and more labours among whites and blacks. Lord, I 
 pray thee, grant an increase of spiritual influence, that I may 
 go on from grace to grace ! 0, let me not faint nor tire, for 
 Jesus' sake, Amen P' 
 
 The following letters to his Christian friends, bear 
 witness that Mr. Corrie was enabled, in some mea- 
 sure, to carry out the desires and purposes which his 
 Journal records. 
 
CHUNAR. 137 
 
 REV. D. BROWN. 
 
 Chunar, Oct. 12. 1809. 
 
 "I have had our meeting service this morning. Cold 
 myself and lifeless and stupid. I wonder the people attend 
 at all, they are so little excited to run the Christian race. 
 
 " The Christian Native School goes on as well as it can. 
 The children, sometimes nine in number, are reading the 
 Scriptures in Hindoostanee. I have nearly finished a cor- 
 rected edition (about the 4th) of the history of creation, 
 Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the chil- 
 dren of Israel, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, the division 
 of the Tribes, Elijah, Elisha, the Acts of the Apostles, the 
 first Epistle of John. Four of the children have Watts' first 
 Catechism perfect, with prayers for morning and evening, 
 Two of these~ have begun Persian Grammar, on a new plan 
 of my own, after the English mode of question and answer. 
 We have ten Christians about us with whom I read and pray, 
 most mornings, in Hindoostanee. One youth appears truly 
 pious and reads and explains the Scriptures, admirably to 
 others, most evenings after dark. A few of the Hindoos- 
 tanee Women appeared [to be] guided by the fear of God, 
 perhaps four or six. The others complain of hearing no- 
 thing but severe language, and told the Native teacher lately 
 [that] ( as he was paid for instructing them, he ought not 
 to deal so severely with them ! He told them, he was not 
 paid to flatter them.' 
 
 " I have lately been looking into the Arabic and Hebrew, 
 but I entirely despair of making any proficiency in them. 
 The Hebrew I shall go on with. Even by the help of the 
 Lexicon, I gain great pleasure in observing the roots and 
 their connection with the languages around us. If ever you 
 pray for me particularly, pray that I may endure to the end : 
 that patience may hold out : that I may be faithful unto 
 death. May richest grace be multiplied to you and yourV 
 
138 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO THE REV. J. BUCKWORTH. 
 
 "Nov, 1. 1809. 
 
 " I often turn a look of regard towards highly favoured 
 Britain, and a tear starts whilst I bid it a long adieu ; but 
 to a weary pilgrim any lodging is welcome, any place of abode 
 agreeable ; so in Hindoostan, my weary head shall rest, and 
 my longing soul mount up from hence to meet her redeem- 
 ing God. There, my brother, we shall meet ; till then, let 
 our willing feet, our heads, and our tongues be employed in 
 spreading the Saviour's glorious name. 
 
 The Saviour ! what endless charms 
 Dwell in the blissful sound ! 
 
 Your sermon referred to would have suited my people here. 
 In much weakness and fear, indeed, I have been among 
 them. The Evening Lectures I told you of exhausted me 
 entirely ; and conspired with other circumstances to bring 
 on a liver complaint, from which, I sometimes think, I am 
 not quite free : but I am able to endure my labour. 
 
 " You expect to hear of my black flock. My native teacher 
 is, at this time, laid up with Asthma : his notions of divine 
 truth grow more clear daily. Some of the Hindoostanee 
 wives of the soldiers have, also gained good information on 
 Christian subjects ; and from forty to sixty regularly attend 
 public worship on Sundays, and once in the week. I have 
 nine Christian men and women, and six children about me ; 
 with these I read and pray in Hindoostanee every morning I 
 am at home. One lad of them appears truly pious ; he has 
 been with me most of the time I have been here ; he reads 
 and prays in the evenings with the others generally. 
 
 " One night lately I heard him expounding part of the six- 
 teenth chapter of St. John with much feeling and propriety. 
 I have the charge of him entirely ; I begin to love him, and 
 think his disposition gentle and well-inclined : he always at- 
 tends at meals for his portion. The other servants, at times, 
 
CHUNAR. 139 
 
 I hear tell him he is become an Englishman ; and seem to 
 envy him not a little I could fill sheets with the con- 
 versations I frequently have with the natives. Several pro- 
 mising appearances in individuals, have come to nothing. I 
 am, therefore, glad that I have not written any thing about 
 them. 
 
 '* There has been a serious disturbance here (and it is not 
 now quite over) between the Mahomedans and Hindoos. 
 The former destroyed a pillar, long an object of superstition 
 amongst the Hindoos : on which account the latter carried 
 swine and slaughtered them in the Mosques. One hundred 
 and forty have lost their lives ; but not all from religious 
 difference, many taking occasion of the affray to gratify pri- 
 vate revenge.* 
 
 " I can say nothing of my prospects : all you can picture of 
 the difficulties attending this work is far short of the reality. 
 I can only say, to live and die in this work, or to labour 
 until I can do no more, is my not hasty purpose, formed, I 
 trust, on no self-sufficient grounds, but on the grace, mercy, 
 and comfort of an unchanging God and Saviour. 
 
 f; I am writing a little daily in Hindoostanee, Persian, Ara- 
 bic, or Hebrew. My school employs me two portions of the 
 day. I am cheered sometimes with the hope, that I am 
 educating Missionaries ; but it seems hardly possible they 
 should escape the pollutions around them." 
 
 * A more particular account of this affair is given below, in a 
 Letter to Mr. Simeon. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 REMOVES FROM CHUNAB ARRIVES AT CAWNPORE ILLNESS OF 
 MR. MARTYN. 
 
 AT the end of the year 1809, Mr. Corrie having 
 been directed to remove from Chunar to Agra, made 
 preparations for proceeding to the latter station. In 
 the meantime, however, he suffered so much from the 
 illness mentioned in the preceding letter to Mr. 
 Buckworth, that for three months he omitted to keep 
 any record of his proceedings. On the 3rd of Feb. 
 1810, he observes : 
 
 " February 3rd. 1810. I have had much searching of 
 heart in review of my purposes and projects at different 
 seasons of my life, often purposing diligence in acquiring 
 languages ; at other times my chief desire and labour being 
 wholly in the immediate duties of the ministry ; and, to be al- 
 together separated from mere visiting society. I perceive myself 
 to have succeeded in no one scheme ; and am to this day unpro- 
 fitable and without ability to any good. Long, long have I 
 known this in theory, but evidently did not think it of myself. 
 May this sad experience lead me to true humility and deep 
 
CHUNAR. 141 
 
 contrition ; may it lead me to prayer, and to diligence in the 
 means of grace ! The sickness upon me is more violent 
 than last year, but seems yielding to medicine ; for which 
 I would bless the Lord, and devote myself to His cause. 
 These two Sabbaths I have been laid aside from public work, 
 and fear I am not sufficiently humbled. 0, how I ought to 
 thirst after the courts of the Lord ! I think I should greatly 
 regret being kept from the ministry another Sabbath, but am 
 ready to give up all hope of success from my own labours. 
 I know this is from a forgetfulness of the Scripture, and of 
 the power of God. Lord, awaken a spirit of faith and 
 prayer ! The old man goes on instructing the native women, 
 successfully, in a few cases, I hope. 
 
 (( The Roman Catholic padre, with a fair carriage towards 
 me tries all he can in private to counteract this old man. 0, 
 that I were as in days and months past : and, 0, that the 
 Lord would make His word to prosper among us : and, 0, 
 that He may direct and prosper my way to Agra, and make 
 me there a blessing for Jesus sake ! " 
 
 The chief circumstances of interest connected with 
 the remaining portion of Mr. Corrie's residence at 
 Chunar, are related in the following extracts from 
 his letters and Journal. As, however, in those ex- 
 tracts there occur some allusions to an Institution, 
 which about this time sprung up in India, a few 
 words of information will not be out of place. 
 
 The patronage which the Marquis Wellesley (then 
 Earl of Mornington) extended to a plan for trans- 
 lating the Scriptures into the languages of the East, 
 had excited the hope that our rule in India would 
 become the means of imparting the knowledge of the 
 true God to millions of our fellow men : but the re- 
 
142 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 tirement of that large-minded Nobleman from the 
 government of India, was followed by that deter- 
 mined opposition to the diffusion of the gospel among 
 the natives of Hindoostan, of which so many traces 
 have already appeared in the pages of this Memoir. 
 The consequence was, that notwithstanding all at- 
 tempts of Dr. Buchanan, Mr. Brown and others, to 
 procure translations and copies of the Scriptures ; and 
 though aided in their efforts by grants of money from 
 the Bible Society in England, yet there was a famine 
 of the word of God even among the native Christians 
 of India. This dearth of Bibles seems to have pressed 
 more especially upon the Christians of Tanjore, so 
 that in a sermon preached in Calcutta, on New-year's 
 day 1810, Mr. Brown was induced to make an appeal 
 on their behalf. The result was that a liberal sub- 
 scription, headed by General Hewitt, the commander - 
 in-chief, was raised for the purpose of forwarding the 
 distribution of the Tamul Scriptures in Tanjore. 
 Encouraged by the success which attended this effort 
 to procure a larger circulation of the Word of God, 
 Mr. Brown and his friend proceeded to originate mea- 
 sures of larger enterprise. They established a Bi- 
 bliotheca Biblica, an institution which consisted of a 
 " Translation library " and a " Bible repository." 
 The " library " was intended to contain the Scrip- 
 tures in the original languages, Lexicons, Grammars, 
 works on Biblical criticism, and generally, all such 
 
CHUNAR. J43 
 
 books as were likely to be useful to translators. The 
 " Bible repository " was designed to contain Bibles 
 and Testaments in all languages, European as well as 
 Asiatic, to be disposed of at moderate prices.* It 
 will be seen that with " this judicious and efficient in- 
 strument" for good, Mr. Corrie readily united 
 himself. 
 
 TO THE REV. J. BUCKWORTH. 
 
 "March 12, 1810. 
 
 "I cannot recollect how long it is since I was favoured with 
 a letter from you : so many are the accidents to which our 
 letters are exposed between Britain and India, that I attri- 
 bute the little intercourse we have had to some of these ; 
 and, therefore, add one more to the many letters I have 
 sent you ; and trust to hear of you when opportunity serves. 
 Sometimes my mind has been deeply affected with the idea 
 of growing old without a friend, or solace of declining 
 years. Gray has well described the feelings of Nature in 
 the lines : 
 
 1 On some fond breast the parting soul relies 
 Some pious drops the closing eye requires.' 
 
 " It is the privilege of faith, indeed, to raise the soul above 
 creature dependencies ; and, I bless God that, in general, 
 I am enabled to say ' none of these things move me/ 
 Still, I cling, with the fondest recollection, to the hours 
 I have spent with you, and the advances in knowledge, and 
 I would hope in grace, my soul made in your society ; nor 
 can I endure the thought of our intercourse being at 
 an end. 
 
 " In this strange land, God has also supplied several whose 
 letters and occasional visits are a source of great comfort and 
 * Owen, Hist, of the Bible Society, Vol. 2. pp. 182. 
 
144 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 encouragement to ine. I believe the number of true Chris- 
 tians is increasing among us, and as these abound ' the de- 
 sert will blossom as the rose ; ' and this wilderness shall be 
 glad for them. The only principal cause of concern is the 
 small advances that are making towards the evangelization 
 of the Hindoos and Mahomedans. If you cast your eye 
 over the map, you^will perceive the distance between the 
 different abodes of the Europeans ; and then, suppose even 
 at those stations something may be doing toward this work, 
 how is the intervening space to be supplied ? 
 
 " I am recovered from another attack of the liver, much 
 severer than last year's, and which prevented me from 
 public duty for three Sabbaths : I reckon these interruptions 
 as the choicest blessings. The vain mind is tempted, in full 
 health, to lay up for many years ; but these warnings 
 strongly impress the exhortation, ' whatsoever thy hand 
 findeth to do, do it with thy might/ 
 
 " My European flock, as to numbers, has been at a stand of 
 late : some of them, however, are now grown unto some 
 stature in Christ ; and are a source of great refreshment at 
 times 
 
 " The old native Christian has improved of late, and some 
 of the native Christian flock give good evidence of a true 
 conversion. At times, whilst ministering among these, my 
 heart overflows with delight ; and the simplicity with which 
 they express themselves is very striking. I only wish the 
 number of them was greater : for, alas ! who, in comparison 
 hath yet ' believed our report ? ' 
 
 " I am removed from this station to Agra, once the impe- 
 rial city, where are the most splendid remains of fallen great- 
 ness in Hindoostan. One of my dear young friends, whom 
 I heard of yesterday, says, ( You are the first who has been 
 commissioned to preach in that Nineveh repentance and re- 
 mission of sins. I see a peculiar honour conferred upon you 
 by this appointment. May God prosper you ! ' My soul 
 responds, Amen ! The Lord grant my entering in among 
 
CHUNAR. 145 
 
 them, may be ' not in word only, but in power, and in the 
 Holy Ghost, and in much assurance/ Hitherto I have 
 been prevented from proceeding, but trust shortly to go on 
 my way, by the will of God, rejoicing. One comfort 
 attending the journey is, that it will take me by the abode 
 of dearest Martyn ; and with him I shall make some stay. 
 
 " We regret deeply that no more chaplains, who would 
 lend a helping hand, are coming over to assist us. In three 
 years, I have been preparing myself, I would hope, for 
 greater exertions, by learning languages, &c. ; and have 
 done some little here towards founding a Christian church ; 
 but now, alas ! the work, to human appearance, will be at a 
 stand. My old deacon wishes to go with me through, and 
 I shall take him ; though at first it seemed better to leave 
 him with these ' few sheep in the wilderness : ' but those of 
 them who are most serious have husbands somewhat like- 
 minded, and, therefore, are less likely to suffer wrong; 
 and the old man will be very useful in a new place. Most 
 of the Christian men go with me, in one capacity or another ; 
 though they are a heavy expense to me. Where we are 
 going, I purpose to colonize them, if God in his providence 
 shall supply opportunities. Oh ! were you but here to talk 
 over these subjects w r ith me ! You cannot well have a due 
 idea of this country, nor of our proceedings, unless you 
 were to be with us ; but I must restrain my feelings, and 
 rather give you some information that will amuse you. 
 
 " Two days since, a Brahmin in authority here, and with 
 whom I have had many disputes, took away a copy of the 
 gospels, after I had read to him some particulars of the 
 death of Christ, which impressed him greatly at the time. 
 My removal has made him very anxious ; and sometime ago, 
 when I was first ordered away, he came, and after many ex- 
 pressions of concern said, ' Sir, I have a great favour to 
 beg before you leave this place ; pray cause to be written for 
 me your account of the first beginning of things, with the 
 genealogies of the first ages. Before you came, I never 
 
146 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 heard these subjects spoken of, and when you are gone, no 
 one will take the trouble to unfold us any hidden thing/ 
 He has now the beginning of Genesis, and the four Gospels. 
 Affairs on the continent have taken a most disastrous turn * 
 to our apprehension ; but ' the Lord reigneth ; ' and one 
 thing we cannot but rejoice in, the fall of the man of sin."" 
 
 TO THE REV. D. BROWN. 
 
 " March 15, 1810. 
 
 "I yesterday sent off by banghy^ De Coetlegon's Sermons, 
 and some chapters of Genesis in Persian, translated by my 
 Moonshee from my Hindoostanee translations. It is on this 
 account I sent the Sermons, as the Moonshee would give 
 me no peace until you should have a specimen of his per- 
 formance, and give your opinion whether or no it will be of any 
 use to go on in this way. The occasion of doing thus much 
 arose from some Mahomedans about the court at Mirzapore 
 desiring from me some account of the books of Moses. Mr. 
 Ricketts, the judge, was passing this, and some people in 
 his train. They called upon me and immediately expressed 
 a wish to see some of the translations they had heard I em- 
 ployed myself about. I produced the epitome done by 
 Gladwin, it seems, at the request of Mr. Clarke. This they 
 read for an hour at least, and on going away begged a copy. 
 Afterwards the Molwhee told the moonshee that the Koran 
 gives a more particular account of things than our books. To 
 this the moonshee answered, that what he had seen was a 
 very concise abridgment, but if he were to see the original 
 he would forget the Koran. This brought on a violent dis- 
 pute. To make good his assertion, the translation you have 
 a copy of was made, and the remainder of the epitome 
 added. One chapter was first sent to Martyn, who approved 
 
 * Alluding probably to the successes of Napoleon in Germany, 
 which terminated in the treaty of Schonbrun. 
 
 t Carrier. 
 
CHUNAR. 147 
 
 of it, and now you must also see it. Our Cutwal * here is 
 a Hindoo, and has often, vrith heat, contended with me about 
 the comparative authenticity of our books ; but on the pros- 
 pect of my leaving seems softened, and has of his own 
 accord begged a copy of the beginning of Genesis and of 
 the Gospel ; which he has got. He often contends eagerly 
 with the Mahommedans, and puts them to silence by the 
 arguments he has learnt ; and on the riots at Benares a great 
 concourse of Mahomedans came to him and my moonshee. 
 One night they continued to dispute until midnight, not 
 respecting Hindooism and Mahomedanism, but entirely 
 respecting the Mahomedan and Christian writings. I hope I 
 am getting better, but not so speedily as last year. My flock 
 is already as without a shepherd. I have not been among 
 them for a month. A few came to the house on Sunday 
 evening, but the exertion on the occasion, though little 
 more than family worship, has thrown me back/' 
 
 April 3, 1810. 
 
 " Your last letter found me very unwell, so much so, that 
 greatly as I wished, I could not engage in answering it. I 
 have no fear of being forgotten by you, yet these tokens 
 of your regard are indeed very acceptable. It seems a weak- 
 ness in my nature that makes me cling to creatures as I do ; 
 and the same weakness is the source of what you are so 
 kind as to call by a softer name. 
 
 ff It would be a cause of deep regret to me to be excluded 
 from your ' Translation library ; ' you will really oblige me by 
 inserting my name among the subscribers, and I will make 
 an eifort to set all straight with you and all the world. After 
 deducting the amount of the house here, which I have sold and 
 am to be paid for in August, I do not owe above 3000 rupees : 
 yet I do owe all I am, and all I ever shall have in my power, 
 to such purposes as you propose. I will endeavour first to 
 be just, and then I wijl glory in devoting my all to the pro- 
 * A kind of Police officer. 
 L 2 
 
148 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 pagation of the gospel in India. The doctors say there is 
 no occasion for my going down the country, but I shall be 
 guided much by Mr. Robinson.* He is near at hand ; yet 
 come I shall not without some alteration for the worse. I 
 have now very little pain, but am weak and incapable of 
 application. I should rejoice more in visiting Aldeen than 
 Cawnpore even, for the children are all very dear to me, 
 and their playfulness delights me. I hear Martyn has re- 
 ceived the packet from you, and has heard from Mr. Simeon 
 that Cambridge university voted Buchanan, a D.D. degree.f 
 I hear general M. wishes to reside at Ghazeepore with the 
 67th. The poor old man has thrown obstacles in the way of 
 our church till the materials are likely to be lost, but the 
 congregation increases in proportion to the general's oppo- 
 sition. W. has often 30 at Divine Service, and usually about 
 20. They sing hymns, and are generally a very interesting 
 people ; though but a few, as usual, give evidence of any 
 change. 
 
 " Chunar, April 28, 1810. 
 
 "Your papers have reached me in safety; viz. 1st. a re- 
 port for 1809. 2nd., the Agra books and papers. 3rd., the 
 Bibliotheca Biblica &c. The ' Translation library ' must 
 prove highly useful. I have some of the books you have 
 mentioned A Golius, Dictionarium Arabicum, Schultens, 
 Life of Saladin, Stillingfleet's Origines Sacrse, Wells's Geo- 
 graphy, and others, which shall be sent down, if you please ; 
 except Golius, which is to be delivered to Martyn's care on 
 my arrival at Cawnpore. But the ' Bible repository ' delights 
 me. This is beyond all your other highly meritorious labours, 
 for the benefit of the present generation. I shall send it 
 round here, if I have time, but I have only eight days more 
 here, and on my arrival at Agra will make it public. On 
 
 * Son of the late Rev. T. Robinson, of Leicester, 
 t Pearson's Memoirs of Dr. Buchanan, vol. 2. p. 211. 
 
CHUNAR. 149 
 
 receipt of the Report, I sent it to some acquaintance here. 
 One sent it to a rich Native * in the city, who reads English ; 
 he has returned it with a Hoondee^ for 100 rupees, and an 
 address to the Bible Society. I shall, D. v. send it off to 
 the Secretary in due form on Monday, and he may send it 
 for publication ; it appears to me an event that would interest 
 at home^ but you will judge when you see the whole. It has 
 delighted me highly. I have been this week at Benares 
 taking leave. E. is not yet arrived. The old gentleman 
 there is most gracious always to myself, but is a raging bear 
 behind my back against all our measures. It has called forth 
 all my little energy to make the poor stand I have against 
 his influence. The Church has been delayed under various 
 pretexts twelve months, but the materials were collected. I 
 made those efforts since March, and at length got permission 
 to begin last week. Robinson undertook the super- 
 intendence as a last resource and his offer was accepted. 
 The gentleman, however, attacked him when the work was 
 begun, and called me by name, Augustus Brooke, and the 
 Salmons, fanatics, &c. I fear this will make E. less forward 
 than he might otherwise have been, but I have left a jjew 
 Bibles and Testaments at Wheatley's for sale : most are al- 
 ready supplied. Though I have not sold one Bible, Robinson 
 is anxious to get the Church ready by the time you arrive. You 
 can find a congregation. Several families and some individuals 
 spoke out on my coming away, the fulness of a gracious 
 heart. I often think of an expression in a prayer of old 
 Carey's, in the pagoda, ( that in the evening of your residence 
 in India you might see the light of truth shine abroad.' 
 Your's and his prayer are, I trust, heard. There will be a 
 change in European India, yea there is a change ; infidels 
 are beginning to hide their faces, and the young are growing 
 up at the different stations, with a reverence for the ways of 
 
 * Named Jounarain Ghoshaid, a resident in Benares, 
 t Bill of Exchange. 
 
J50 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 God. I perceive the married especially most easily prevailed 
 with. Yesterday, on an occasion of extraordinary awakening, 
 I, after two or three visits, administered the Lord's Supper to 
 a young Captain and his wife, and the wife of another officer. 
 The latter had called her husband from a party, and entreated 
 him to join our worship ; he could scarce refuse. She appears 
 serving God with all her mind, though not with all under- 
 standing : I have just been sending her a book. It pleases 
 God to continue me still in much weakness, and no little fear 
 as to rny long continuance among you. If I desire any thing 
 ID life but to speak and act and write for Him, I pray He 
 may graciously disappoint me and hide from me the evil that 
 would follow ; but if He has given me a desire to glorify 
 Him, I trust He will spare me a little that I may shew forth 
 His praise ! 
 
 It may not be uninteresting to mention, that the 
 letter which Mr. Corrie states to have been written by 
 a Hindoo to the committee of the Bible Society, is 
 printed at length in Mr. Owen's History of that 
 Society, (vol, 2. pp. 36 38.) In transmitting 
 the letter, Mr. C. observed : 
 
 " This native has acquired a considerable fortune, in some 
 employment under our government, in wjiich it was neces- 
 sary for him to read and write in English. On being pres- 
 sed by arguments urged for the supreme importance of 
 Christianity, he excused himself by spying, ' He thought if 
 it were so, the British government would have made the 
 Christian religion known to their subjects in this land/ 
 This objection he urged in a variety of ways, and here the 
 discussion ended. On receiving the report for 1809, in 
 answer to this, he sent an address to the Bible Society, writ- 
 ten by himself, and now in my possession, requesting that 
 it might be corrected; which was done, retaining his own 
 expressions as much as possible." 
 
CHUNAR. 151 
 
 TO THE REV. D. BROWN. 
 
 "May 7th. 1810. 
 
 "This morning we left Chunar, and are now on our way 
 to Cawnpore. I have recovered greatly of late, but now my 
 sister is fallen unwell, and thus we are kept dependant, and 
 trust we find it best to be so. On Saturday morning, Mr. E. ar- 
 rived, but did not let me know. I however heard about mid- 
 day, and straightway sent an invitation to our house. In the 
 evening he came, and next morning Mrs. E. and the infant ; 
 and we have left them this morning in our former habitation. 
 I preached a farewell sermon yesterday morning, from Romans 
 x. 1., first : pointing out the meaning of salvation as including 
 deliverance from danger : the danger arising from sin, the 
 necessity of salvation from sin if we would avoid its conse- 
 quences, as well as to make us meet for the inheritance &c. 
 and second : Why I wished them to be saved, viz., from the 
 consideration of the misery of Hell, the joys of Heaven and 
 the pleasures of religion here. There was great attention. I 
 said a good deal too, in the conclusion, on the strain of my 
 preaching among them, that I was aware many did not like 
 it, but pointed out the necessity of delivering my own soul, 
 as well as my desire not so much for their favour and appro- 
 bation, considered in itself, but as connected with salvation. 
 Here I intended my successor should hear something of my 
 opinion of our works. In the evening, my little flock were 
 full of expressions of kindness, and I think it was a season 
 that will be remembered. The Hindoostanees came in a 
 body, and made loud expressions of regret at my departure, 
 many of them weeping aloud. In the evening too I baptized 
 three Caffres, the servants of a gentleman, and who had for 
 some time been under instruction. Many were present, and we 
 begun the service by singing some verses from Veni Creator. 
 Two of them gave pertinent answers to some questions on 
 
152 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Christianity; and on their repeating the creed in Hindoostanec 
 most present were melted to tears. Mr. G. has, it seems, pro- 
 fessed to the General that he will never go to Benares, unless 
 he is ordered, and the general has declared he will never order 
 him. The Church however is going on under Mr. Robinson, 
 and much interest is excited about it. The military have 
 desired him to make the building a handsome one, and they 
 will add to the subscription. Thus in spite of Satan and 
 those he leads captive, the work of the Lord prospers and 
 will prosper. I have had packets of letters on leaving, and 
 am astonished at the kind acceptance my little more than ab- 
 staining from evil has met with. It seems to be a wonder 
 among them, that I performed my official duty when called 
 upon ; and especially that I should express my readiness to 
 serve them. Dear Mr. R. is greatly excited of late towards the 
 best things ; his heart has been deeply touched by the death 
 of his youngest sister, and he is tenderly alive to the blessed- 
 ness of those who die in the Lord. This is a happy event 
 just now, when some of the society there, (especially one 
 Captain) seem seriously seeking to secure the better part. 
 They know his Father's character, and the advantages he has 
 enjoyed ; and also they have seen him more retired and more 
 attentive to his duty than most ; and they seem now to look 
 to him for information. We know however, how slow of 
 growth the heavenly plant is, from the untowardness of the 
 soil it falls into ; we know how many blights and thorns it is 
 exposed to : though some good appears, we still are not con- 
 tent, but, filled with hopes and fears, we watch for the event. 
 I told you I had sent the plan of the library to Major Wil- 
 ford. He had not understood me, so I intend writing again. 
 I enclose his note with the papers, it will give you a more 
 correct idea of his mind towards this work than I can. I 
 fear E. will not take any trouble to make known the Bible 
 Society proceedings. I send a copy of the advertisement to 
 Wheatley's shop, where it will be seen by many ; and have 
 left one dozen Bibles, and two dozen New Testaments, with 
 
CHUNAR. 153 
 
 Mr. E. at Chunar. Dr. W. I find, does our cause good 
 against his will, by his incivility and grasping after fees. Do 
 you indeed come up the country ? Martyn talks of my re- 
 maining a month at Cawnpore : at any rate I hope to leave 
 there to conduct you to the imperial city. It perhaps would 
 be of importance to get Martyn to resign the service, and give 
 himself to the translating and printing the scriptures. He 
 will not eat the bread of idleness, and it is clear his present 
 labours will bring an early period to his life. I scarce know 
 how to write it, but so it is. I will give you a faithful account 
 from Cawnpore. 
 
 The following letter, addressed to the Rev. Mr. 
 Simeon of Cambridge, contains a kind of retrospect 
 of Mr. C's labours at Chunar, and is on that account 
 given at length, at the risk of the repetition of a 
 few circumstances which have been already mentioned. 
 
 "May 9th. 1810. 
 
 (c I know it will be agreeable to you to hear of the pro- 
 gress I am making, if it may be called progress, in the ap- 
 pointment I hold. Three years last February, I arrived at 
 Chunar, with very imperfect views of the nature of the 
 work I had engaged in ; the habits and character of Euro- 
 peans undergo an almost entire change, after a few years 
 residence here, so that our work among the Europeans takes 
 a different turn from the work of the ministry in England. 
 We have to argue for the sanctity of the sabbath, the ex- 
 tensive import of the seventh commandment, &c, before we 
 can speak of the evil of breaking these commandments. 
 The necessity of caring about the example we set is decried, 
 as, say they, ' those we live among do not own the autho- 
 rity of the scriptures &c>' My labours have not, however, 
 been in vain among the Europeans. A small society among 
 the soldiers, I left at Chunar, and some of them will no 
 
154 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 doubt endure unto the end. Of the higher classes many 
 individuals are exemplary. A church, or rather chapel, is 
 erecting at Benares,* and though my successor expresses no 
 zeal for the success of it, I doubt not instruments will be 
 raised up, and sent forth in due time. I would to God, 
 some of the many young men around you, were but excited 
 to engage in this service. As to privations, save that of se- 
 paration from dear earthly ties, which is indeed a severe 
 privation, we have only to fear being lulled into indolence 
 and fatal security. Our countrymen here ought to be held 
 in high estimation, and a soul saved in India is indeed a 
 brand snatched from the burning, whilst it is usually, also, 
 a valuable member restored to society; for scarcely any 
 motive, but that which the gospel supplies, can rouse from the 
 apathy and overwhelming influence of an enfeebling climate 
 and systematic lust. 
 
 "Soon after February 1807, I met with a Native Chris- 
 tian, who engaged in reading the Hindoostanee gospels with 
 me, and in September following, we began worship in Hin- 
 doostanee, to the native wives of the soldiers. These had 
 been baptized by Roman Catholic priests, but were deplorably 
 ignorant of every Christian truth. I began also with a 
 Moonshee to translate from the books of Moses ; and though 
 I blush often in review of these first attempts, they were 
 useful in conveying some idea of the truth, as the Native 
 Christian, by repeated efforts on my part, gained a correct 
 notion of the subject, and by his exhortations &c. conveyed it 
 to them. About .forty continued to attend once in the week, 
 and once on the Sabbath, till last Lord's day ; some of these 
 I trust to meet at the right hand of the Judge ' in that day/ 
 Two of them are truly spiritual, and many of them unexcep- 
 tionable in conduct. The change in those who attended in- 
 struction, is manifest to all. I baptized during my residence 
 at Chunar, two men and three women ; the men and one 
 
 * Mr. Come laid the first stone of this Church, on the morning 
 of Tuesday, April 29,1810. 
 
CHUNAR. 
 
 155 
 
 woman unconnected with Europeans, and all except one man 
 are walking unblameably. Beside these, many Roman ca- 
 tholic christians come from time to time, and several of these 
 are in my service. I have five Christian children also, who 
 are going with me, that their education may not be hindered 
 by my removal. There is with me also, a youth about seven- 
 teen, whose parents are the children of Europeans \ this lad 
 gives hope that he is a partaker of the grace of God, and is 
 going with me for the express purpose of learning the way 
 of God more perfectly, that he may become a teacher of the 
 christians here, in general lying in darkness as much as the 
 heathen. His purpose at present is, ' according to the lan- 
 guage of each people,' so that he requires instruction in 
 English and in the native languages also. My native flock, 
 on my coming away, expressed their regret by many tears, 
 and some by loud lamentations. The old teacher goes with 
 me, as there are many native christians at Agra. I wished 
 to have left him behind ; but circumstances, with the advice 
 of beloved Martyn, induced me to let him come as he desired. 
 He will probably soon return. The tumult about missions 
 has subsided here, though the generality of the English 'are 
 as averse to it as ever. A riot took place at Benares last 
 September, which the alarmists here will no doubt make all 
 the use they can of, in their reports home. A quarrel* took 
 place between the Hindoos and Musselmans, in which some 
 lost their lives. Report at first magnified the number to three 
 hundred, but I have seen a copy of the official report to 
 government, and the following, you may depend, is the truth. 
 In the reign of Aurungzebe, a Hindoo place of worship con- 
 sisting of a Temple with a sacred Well within the enclosure, 
 (or church-yard) was seized upon by the king's order. The 
 temple was appropriated for Mahomedan worship, but the 
 Hindoos had still access to the well. Whilst the Mahomed- 
 an s were in power, no disputes arose, for the Hindoos con- 
 sider the king's order one road to heaven. Since the Eng- 
 * A full account of this religious tumult is given in Bishop 
 Heber's Journal. 
 
156 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 lish have had dominion, many causes of mutual complaint 
 have risen up, from the disrespect shewn by the different 
 sects to each other in their worship. The Mahomedans, in 
 their petition to government, state, that amongst other in- 
 dignities, the Hindoos had on a late festival, placed an idol 
 in the pulpit of the temple by way of contempt, whilst the 
 Hindoos, in their petition, relate similar instances of disrespect, 
 shewn to them by the Mahomedans. The immediate cause 
 of the riot was as follows. An idol being some time since 
 dug out of a ruin, a Fakeer began to make it the object of 
 his worship. For this end he built over it a mud shed, and 
 afterwards a thatched little house, on the border of the dis- 
 puted ground, where the Mosque and Well are. A rich mer- 
 chant at last vowed before this idol, that if he might but 
 have a child, he would build a stone house over it : he had 
 a child, and in building the house, encroached on the 
 ground the Mahomedans claimed, who straightway collecting, 
 demolished the idol, and killing cows, sprinkled their blood 
 on many temples of the Hindoos, and destroyed a sacred 
 pillar. The Hindoos retaliated, and killing hogs, sprinkled 
 their blood on the Mosques. To prevent these fancied pollu- 
 tions there was much violence on both sides ; and five men 
 were killed and many wounded. The soldiery put an end to 
 the tumult. 
 
 " May 17. I dispatch this from Allahabad. I heard 
 here from Martyn, who is in usual health, and with whose 
 company I hope to be refreshed in eight or ten days, if the 
 Lord will. This is a large station of Europeans, and is 
 highly deserving of a chaplain. It is, at present, in the 
 Cawnpore district. I have several occasional duties as they 
 are called, to perform for Martyn, and am detained three days 
 on that account. I may have mentioned, that at Benares a 
 merchant calls the soldiers and people of his own description 
 to worship in his house on the Sunday and once a week ; 
 and here an inferior officer in the ordnance department does 
 the same. He tells me he had last sabbath a congregation of 
 
CHUNAR. 157 
 
 fifteen. I have lent copies of the Village Sermons at both 
 places, and they use the Church of England prayers. But 
 the unhappy pride of rank &c. which prevails here to an 
 extent you have no idea of, prevents their influence from 
 reaching far, though they are witnesses of God, ( epistles 
 of Christ, known and read of all men/ Had we a few more 
 Colonel Proles, (whom I believe you know,) the presence of 
 more chaplains might be better dispensed with. He officiates 
 unweariedly, as priest, as well as prince of the host ; and you 
 will be gratified to hear, that very decided marks of favour 
 from the commander in chief have been shewn him of late. 
 He is just put into an important command at Delhi. I have 
 had a more severe attack again in the liver this spring, from 
 which I am, through mercy, recovering, and perceive these 
 visitations to be most merciful appointments ; I hope they 
 may be sanctified to me. I trust your health may be res- 
 tored by this, or that at least, you may be continued to keep 
 open the doors of Trinity Church for many years." 
 
 The spirit of self-devotion in which Mr. Corrie 
 left Chunar to proceed to his new station, may be 
 seen in these letters : in his Journal, also, he 
 repeatedly expresses his desire, that his removal to 
 Agra may be for greater usefulness in the ministry, 
 and " that his profiting might appear unto many." 
 Very earnest, too, are his expressed prayers, that 
 the Christian youths who accompanied him might 
 by his means be " led to God, through Christ, in 
 holiness of life ; " and that he might be " enabled to 
 walk circumspectly, so that the Lord might sanctify 
 his intercourse with them." And his petition with 
 regard to his own soul was : 
 
158 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " O Lord, my inmost thoughts inspect, and teach 
 me to know myself as thou knowest me ; and not to 
 think of myself above what I ought to think, but to 
 think humbly ! O, help me, mighty Lord, and make 
 me a blessing to many ! " 
 
 Mr. Corrie reached Cawnpore on Saturday, June 
 2. 1810, and next day, writes : 
 
 " June 3rd. 1810, (Sunday.) I arrived here yesterday 
 morning. For some days preceding I have been unsettled, 
 and unable to apply myself to any good purpose. To-day 
 I have had much sweet conversation with Martyn, but ought 
 to lament a want of spiritual affection. In prayer dead and 
 lifeless, unaffected with the importance of what I am about. 
 
 Lord, revive me ! This morning I preached to the 8th 
 Light Dragoons, but sadly without feeling myself j and I fear 
 they too were. thou, who canst make the dead to hear 
 thy voice, raise us to a life of righteousness ! The General 
 here is very attentive to religious duties. I love him for 
 what be does; and pray, as do others, that be may be 
 blessed in well-doing. Lord, direct my way to Agra, 
 and make me a blessing tbere ! 
 
 On the following Sunday we find him noting: 
 "June 10th. 1810. I have been endeavouring to review 
 my ways, as connected with the ministry I engaged in tbis 
 day, in 1802. I perceive how greatly I have offended against 
 my engagements, in respect of personal holiness, of motives 
 in my ministrations, and of intercourse with the world. 
 
 1 would admire tbe goodness of God, my Saviour, in 
 hiding me from the strife of tongues, in bearing with 
 the unhallowed fire of my public services, in preserving 
 me from returning to the world. Especially ought I to praise 
 Him for any acceptance be has given me in my work. I have 
 been made acceptable to many wbo know God , and it is no 
 
CAWNPORE. 159 
 
 small honour to be instrumental in building up God's church. 
 Some are gone to the grave with hope in the name of Christ, 
 through my instrumentality, especially Dr. B., and a young 
 man at Sewstern. On the voyage to India, H. Y. was roused to 
 consider the instructions a pious father had given him ; and 
 G. V. led to choose the better part. A young man I was 
 told, was alarmed on account of his sins from the first ser- 
 mon I preached at the Old Church, Calcutta. B. at Chunar 
 is walking in the narrow way : and I hope G. will lay hold 
 on eternal life. Among the soldiers, I reckon three at 
 Chunar, who seem truly seeking life eternal, beside many 
 others more or less nopeful there. But, I fear for them all ; 
 so desperate are their situations, and trying their circum- 
 stances. But, perhaps I ought to bless God above all for 
 the three native women, viz., the wife of sergeant W. of 
 William B. and of John W., they seem to be truly ' par- 
 takers of the benefit / and may the Lord grant that James 
 may go on unto perfection. may the S's be found 
 among the happy few ; with Mr. and Mrs. Y. now in Cal- 
 cutta ! I often think I labour in vain ; and alas ! in com- 
 parison of the world lying in wickedness, what are these 
 few ? But, how far do they exceed any reward I could pos- 
 sibly have reckoned on, considering my own weakness, in- 
 attention and worthlessness. My God, I bless thee for 
 these ! These are my joy and crown : now, let me watch 
 over my own soul ; and, thou Spirit of life, and love, and 
 liberty, accomplish in me complete redemption ! Prosper 
 my way to Agra, and prepare much people to thyself there, 
 for Jesus Christ's sake ! This evening attended the funeral 
 of Captain W. H. M. 53rd. Regiment. The band played 
 before the corpse ; and a more affecting scene I have not 
 witnessed for a long time. God, I praise thee that I have 
 not been cut down as a cumberer of the ground. 0, teach 
 me so to number my days that heavenly, holy wisdom may 
 be my only pursuit ! ' 
 
160 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Mr. Corrie had not been long at Cawnpore before 
 it became apparent that Mr. Martyn's health was in 
 so unsatisfactory a state, as to render it necessary 
 that he should be relieved from the duties of the 
 station. Mr. C. was in consequence detained there 
 to assist Mr. Marty n. His own account of this cir- 
 cumstance is contained in a letter : 
 
 TO THE KEY. D. BROWN. 
 
 "Cawnpore, July 10th. 1810. 
 
 ' I have been upon writing to you daily for a long time, 
 till at last I know not well what I have to tell you. When 
 I arrived here, Martyn was looking very ill, and a very little 
 exertion laid him up. Since then you will know that I have 
 been ordered to remain here for a time, to assist him ; and he 
 is already greatly recovered. His appearance is much im- 
 proved. His rest and appetite much more regular, and he is 
 altogether better. It will be well, however, if his former 
 weakness does not return, when he shall again be left to the 
 whole duties of this large station, for his frame is by no 
 means suited for strong labour. For myself, I am well, and 
 as strong as ever I recollect to have been. If I can but avoid 
 a return of the fever, I may last a long while ; but it is not 
 for us to boast of the morrow. I am under the same roof 
 with Martyn. Sabat is within call ; and of him you will be 
 glad to hear that he is far more respectful and careful in his 
 intercourse with Martyn, than he used to be. He seems to 
 feel that he has gone the ' length of his tether/ and is evi- 
 dently anxious to keep on good terms. He seldom omits 
 doing something in the translations daily ; so they proceed 
 regularly. I am greatly pleased with his corrected Persian 
 gospels, which I can read with facility; and having read 
 much of the Shah Nameh, think the style much like that 
 book. The Hindoostanee New Testament will, I suppose, 
 
CAWNPORE. 161 
 
 become a standard for future editions. To any one acquainted 
 with the Hindoostanee of Gilchrist, it will not be very diffi- 
 cult. I am decidedly of opinion that the style of any trans- 
 lation for this country, ought to be high rather than low ; 
 as it will be the duty of expounders to understand and explain 
 it ; and one low expression will make the whole appear con- 
 temptible. Hard words, also, when judiciously inserted, 
 are no great detriment to the sense, whether understood or 
 not, as I have often found from the children. I have seen 
 very little of the people here, beside the religious soldiers. 
 I hear sad accounts from my former flock at Chunar. A 
 young man, a physician beloved in the Lord, writes me from 
 thence, that those I thought most staunch among the men, 
 are fallen into sad drunkenness again ; and one of my native 
 Christians, too, has turned out very ill there. I had fitted 
 up a small church there, and left it for the use of the seri- 
 ous men; but it is turned into worse than a ' den of thieves/ " 
 
 In the letters which follow, will be found many 
 particulars connected with the studies and habits of life 
 of Mr. Martyn, which cannot fail to be read with 
 melancholy interest. Somewhat minute accounts, 
 too, of the progress of the last illness of that sainted 
 person, occur in the letters to Mr. Brown, and 
 which it has not been deemed requisite to omit ; for 
 it can never be thought superfluous to relate " after 
 what sort " the servants of God " have closed up tbeir 
 days on earth." * 
 
 TO THE REV. D. BROWN. 
 
 "Cawnpore, July 31. 1810. 
 " You will have received mine of the 14th. which will 
 
 * Hooker, " A remedy against Sorrow and Fear." 
 M 
 
162 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 have set you somewhat at ease. Martyn is much affected 
 by your anxiety about him ; but he says, he does not consi- 
 der^himself in danger ; and this morning said, he thought 
 a month's silence would entirely restore him. I try all 
 methods to induce him to leave the translation for a few 
 months, and sometimes seem to have prevailed ; and then 
 a little refreshment makes him think himself well. The 
 worst sign seems to be that for a month past he is rather 
 weaker than stronger. On my first arrival he recruited 
 greatly for a fortnight, but is now, to say the best, at 
 a stand. He has agreed to go on the river to try the effect 
 of change and silence ; and as soon as a boat can be pro- 
 cured will go towards Futtygur. He objects to going to 
 sea at present, that the cold season here will be beneficial, 
 and that the damps and fogs of Calcutta would be less so 
 at this time ; and that he is determined to leave this in 
 February next, in order to get to sea in March. But, the 
 truth is, he expects the New Testament to be done in Arabic 
 by that time, and that then he shall be more at liberty. 
 The state of his health seems this : he is easily fatigued, 
 and then gets but broken rest, with confused and dis- 
 tressing dreams. A very little exertion in speaking pro- 
 duces pains in the chest, with almost total loss of voice, 
 and almost all these symptoms are produced by the evening 
 of every day. He is sparing in his food &c., as usual, 
 but takes sufficient nourishment, although, he says, with 
 little appetite, but froin a sense of necessity. I think you 
 will consider immediate relaxation necessary, as I do, and 
 have urged so repeatedly, and in such a variety of ways, that 
 any one but himself would think I wanted to succeed him 
 here. But that to me would be one of the painful circum- 
 stances attending his removal. I think the wisdom and 
 goodness of God evident in my former appointment and in 
 my present destination. I can do a little in a quiet way for 
 the furtherance of our common cause, but this large station 
 
CA.WNPORE. 163 
 
 would both occupy my whole time and make my deficiencies 
 more conspicuous," 
 
 " Aug. 1st. My heart is seldom so much at ease as I 
 wish it to be when I write to you. Our dear brother will 
 not believe that he is in any danger ; nor is it likely he will 
 die immediately. A little care makes him feel better, and 
 now he hesitates about going on the river at present. He 
 has for some days been from morning till night with Sabat 
 at the Arabic, getting ready the first seven chapters of 
 Matthew : when that is done he is going on with Eitrut in 
 Genesis. I wish it had been convenient for you to come 
 up ; you could have taken him back with you, vi et armis : 
 but that is past. He speaks of himself as threatened with 
 consumption, with all the composure others speak of a 
 legacy; but thinks it is not yet begun in him. The failure 
 of his voice, and his poor thin frame, make me fear the 
 worst ; and I tell him freely my chief hope of a cure in him is 
 from a removal from this [place] and cessation from labour 
 immediately. 
 
 c< I can write you of nothing else at present. This sub- 
 ject occupies most of my thoughts ; I dare not dwell upon 
 the probable issue. But we may ' have all things and 
 abound,' whilst we have our God and Saviour. That hymn 
 I sang with a heavy heart, when I first left your paternal 
 roof for Chunar ; and daily find it suitable. The ' sin that 
 dwelleth in me ' makes my life heavy ; and but for the invi- 
 sible hand, I should entirely faint, or c become a rebuke 
 unto the foolish.' 
 
 TO THE REV. J. BUOKWORTH. 
 
 " Cawnpore, Aug. 16, 1810. 
 
 " I am now under Martyn's roof: you know of my re- 
 moval to Agra. On our way thither, we found our brother 
 so unwell that I applied, and was ordered by the General 
 
 L 2 
 
164 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 commanding, to remain here for a time to assist him. We 
 enjoy all the comforts of religious society we can desire. I 
 am as happy as I can desire to be on earth. Had I been 
 with you, as you kindly suggest, I could not have been more 
 so ; and, perhaps not so useful. I am thankful no such 
 temptation offered to detain me in England ; the wish to 
 have been a ( helper together with you/ would probably have 
 prevailed above all others. It is in vain to conceal that my 
 health has suffered from the climate ; and chiefly from im- 
 prudence. The necessity of cessation from labour it imposes 
 is most painful. I bless God for these sicknesses, above all 
 His other mercies, as connected with the salvation which is 
 in Christ Jesus. I trust I know that he is blessed who is 
 instructed whilst undergoing correction. At times, I have 
 had such views as I cannot describe, of the excellency of the 
 rest remaining for God's people, so as to make me f desire 
 to depart and be with Christ ; ' but, these sweet moments 
 are alas ! only of short duration. How does the corrupt 
 nature emit clouds of vain and vile passions, which obscure 
 and darken the greater part of my days ! Blessed be God 
 for Jesus Christ ! 
 
 " The account of one day will give you a general idea of 
 our whole manner of life. We usually rise at day-break, 
 and ride out. Martyn and I breakfast between six and seven 
 o'clock : then read the scriptures with a Polyglott before us, 
 and pray. Martyn then goes to his study. I go to see 
 Mary ; and she and Mrs. S. are learning Hindoostanee in 
 order to be able to speak on religion to their female servants ; 
 and if circumstances favour, to get a school of female native 
 children. I am their teacher. Mrs. S. has a school of Eu- 
 ropean children belonging to the regiment. I return to 
 reading, usually Hindoostanee or Persian. At eleven, my 
 Christian children come to say the lesson they have been 
 learning with the native schoolmaster. In the middle of the 
 day we have a repast ; and then resume reading till four, 
 when the Christian children come again to read in the Hin- 
 
CAWNPORE. 165 
 
 doostanee gospels. In the evening we meet, usually, at Cap- 
 tain S's, or Martyn's, when we sing some hymns, with 
 reading and prayer before we separate. This is the peaceful 
 tenor of our way. At the intervals, two days in the week 
 I visit, and pray with, the sick in the hospitals : on the Sab- 
 bath, public worship ; in the morning at the drum-head of 
 one of three European corps lying here, in rotation ; in the 
 evening of Sunday and Wednesday, we have social worship 
 with a goodly number of pious soldiers in a public building 
 fitting up, but not yet ready to open as a church : besides 
 these [services] once a fortnight there is public worship in 
 the General's house. Except the soldiers, all our other Eng- 
 lish rank as gentlemen. We have here only these two 
 classes, except a very few persons in trade. 
 
 ' ' I do not consider myself at home here ; and am longing 
 for Agra, that I may commence more extensive plans among 
 the heathen. My Christian boys are becoming very dear to 
 me ; one especially is very intelligent and hopeful : they will 
 be well grounded in principles ; and I pray God to give 
 them spiritual understanding. They come to me with their 
 little complaints, and their Arab black faces often make me 
 very merry ; nor would I leave the often painful, because 
 tedious task, of attempting to make them wise unto salvation, 
 even to be the helper of my beloved Buckworth. 
 
 " I know not if I wrote to you on our leaving Chunar in 
 May. The native teacher has returned thither; and I 
 reckon some of the native Christians there to be truly spiri- 
 tual. I hope to have a large native flock at Agra : there 
 are few Europeans there, which will leave me more leisure 
 than I have here. Respecting our brother Martyn, his 
 health is far from good, his constitution far from strong : 
 he is going to sea before long, (D. v.) to try sea-air. May 
 God render it effectual to his restoration ! His life is beyond 
 all price to us. You know what a profound scholar he is, 
 and all his acquirements are dedicated to the service of 
 Christ. If ever man, since St. Paul, could use these words, 
 
166 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 he may, ' One thing I do, &c., (Philip, iii. 13, 14.) He has, 
 with a learned native, finished the translation into Hindoo- 
 stance of the whole New Testament ; which is ready to be 
 sent to the press, when money is supplied. He is going on 
 with the books of Moses. Sabat has finished the four 
 Gospels, the Acts, and to 2nd. Corinthians, in Persian and 
 Arabic, which Martyn compares with the Greek. The Bible 
 Society helps nobly, and will continue to foster ' the day of 
 small things ' among us. 
 
 " It is in my heart to live, if health permits, and to die, 
 among these people. This, my brother, is my true life, I 
 find ; and often, in the anguish excited by the idea of seeing 
 you all no more, I use those words, ' Cease, fond nature, 
 cease thy strife ; and let me languish into life.' To live to 
 God is life indeed. I am infinitely unworthy of the place I 
 fill, and miserably defective in every part of it ; but no one 
 else offers to supply my lack, so that the little I do would 
 be left undone, were I not where I am. May God keep me 
 faithful unto death ! Yea, faithful is he, therefore I shall 
 endure : through his power, I shall meet you before the 
 throne. It matters not, then, where we are for the short 
 time of our day." 
 
 TO THE REV. D. BROWN. 
 
 " Cawnpore, Aug. 17. 1810. 
 
 " I have made three attempts at a report respecting our 
 brother's health. On the 15th. he was very lively, and then 
 talked of not going even on the river. Yesterday he was 
 weaker, and last night had a violent attack of sickness, 
 which has not entirely left him yet, and has brought him to 
 a lamentable state of weakness. What to do I don't know. 
 I have urged his leaving his studies and trying change of 
 air, in every possible way. To-day, indeed, he talks again 
 
CAWNPORE. 16? 
 
 of going on the river, and I hope to keep him in this mind. 
 Your applications for Arabic have set him to work anew 
 with an ardour that nothing but death can repress. From 
 seven in the morning till near or after six in the evening 
 (save a little interval at mid-day ; ) he is at work with Sabat, 
 and Mirza Fitrut. In vain I warn him of the consequences. 
 Never was any one so inattentive to health, or so unskilful 
 in sickness. I was up with him much of the former part 
 of last night : and without somebody he would be worse 
 from his unskilful applications. He is indeed most tractable 
 as to meats and drinks, but there my authority over him ends. 
 He will have told you of the delay occasioned by want of an 
 Arabic scribe. I don't know how many copies, but Sabat 
 says ten, have been attempted of the beginning of Matthew 
 for you, and have failed. I wrote to Major Wilford lately, 
 to ask him if he would read and give his opinion of the 
 Sanscrit Gospels. I have received his answer this morning. 
 He says, ' I rejoice to hear of the progress that is making in 
 the attempt to diffuse the knowledge of the word of God 
 among the Gentiles, but I lament that hardly anything has 
 hitherto been done worth notice, to diffuse it among the 
 Hindoos. Every thing seems calculated for the Mussulmans. 
 .... The Sanscrit translation of the gospels is useless, for 
 the proud and stubborn Brahmin will never read it. We 
 
 want a good translation in Hindee, pure Hindee 
 
 Where the Missionaries at Serampore have learned the Hin- 
 dee, I am at a loss to divine. I hope their assistants do not 
 understand a word of Persian. With regard to the Sanscrit 
 translation, I am very unwilling to have anything to do either 
 directly or indirectly with the Serampore school ; but in the 
 sincerity of my heart I wish them success. It was my inten- 
 tion to have leisurely erased all the Persian words out of my 
 friend's' (Hunter's translation, a copy of which I gave Major 
 W.) ' version ; for I am not in the least afraid to revise his 
 or any other version, even publicly. It has not been 
 in my power hitherto (from ill health), and God alone knows 
 
168 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 when I shall be able to resume my studies con amore et spi- 
 .' Thus far Major Wilford." 
 
 " Cawnpore, Sept. 4, 1810. 
 
 " Our brother it seems, has told you, he is so well, all 
 further reports respecting his health are needless. I would, 
 however, prove how ready I am to comply with your wishes, 
 though, I hope too, all anxiety respecting Martyn's recovery 
 is at an end. It seems he requires only rest. It is to be 
 hoped, his constitution is not unsound, but has been greatly 
 triedby his continual exertions. During the last fortnight the 
 change for the better in him has been very evident, but on 
 Sunday evening, the pain in his breast returned, sufficiently 
 to shew him, he must not fancy himself what he once was. 
 He began to ask, why he should go to Calcutta ? being so 
 much better ; but this feeling of his former complaint, has, I 
 hope, put all doubts on the subject to flight. Indeed I have 
 made his leaving the station a condition of my remaining. The 
 General has consented to my being put in orders to remain here, 
 till Martyn's return, and to give Martyn an unlimited leave 
 of absence. So now, on the 1st of Nov. he purposes leaving 
 this for Calcutta, and is meditating schemes of usefulness 
 on his way down, and among the native, Armenian, and 
 Arabian Christians in Calcutta. It will be of much impor- 
 tance that you should see him, and talk with him face to face, 
 about the translations, &c. Sabat, I told you, is much more 
 on his guard and more respectful towards Martyn, but causes 
 him great uneasiness, by the slow progress he makes in his 
 work. It is indeed very trying to our brother, as, without 
 some change, the translations will hardly ever be brought to 
 an end. It is needless for me to say anything about the 
 subscriptions, &c. as Martyn writes to you so fully on those 
 subjects. For my own part, I am anxious, that some trans- 
 lation should be got ready for circulation in India ; there is 
 yet, none that seems suited to the population we are among ; 
 
CAWNPORE. 169 
 
 and my views are chiefly confined to these people ; among 
 these I shall probably live and die, but no extensive good can 
 flow from the labours of any, till the Scriptures are ready to be 
 delivered to them. I am therefore more delighted with your 
 intention of publishing the Hindoostanee gospels, than the 
 Arabic, whilst I pray you God's speed with both. About 
 one fifteenth of the population of this country is Mahomedan, 
 and of that fifteenth part, not one in five hundred knows 
 Arabic ; but many of them are acquainted with and admire 
 the Persian, and all of them understand the Moors, as it is 
 called. Many too of the Hindoos understand it, and a 
 skilful reader could easily make it understood by all. 
 
 " Sep. 12. Thus far I had written as above, but your fre- 
 quent letters from and to Martyn, made me think it unne- 
 cessary to send this. In consequence of your last, Martyn 
 intends leaving this, as soon as boats can be procured for 
 himself and Sabat, but it is uncertain when that may be, as 
 boats are in great request for the General and his suite. 
 Martyn had frequently expressed to me his opinion res- 
 pecting the incorrectness of Sabat's Arabic, as well as com- 
 plained of his slow progress. It is likely, however, that his 
 work will be found better than your last would suggest : so 
 few are qualified to criticise Arabic, that probably many of the 
 objections raised, will be found groundless. I think, how- 
 ever, dearest Sir, to give the light of life to the population 
 of India is no small honour put upon your Committee, and 
 I hope you will put the Hindoostanee translation, Martyn is 
 bringing down, to the press straightway. We have, during 
 last week, been often on the river in a borrowed pinnace, 
 and the effect has been good to us all. Our dear brother 
 continues to mend, but the length of his life will depend 
 much on his desisting, or not, from public duties. He 
 would soon be laid up again, were he to begin to preach. He 
 would, at all events, take half of the duty last Sunday, but 
 beside not being heard by half the Regiment, he was obliged 
 to shorten the service, and with the Faqueers in the evening, 
 
170 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 brought on the old pain in his breast. The same employ- 
 ments as before occupy me, so I have nothing new to write 
 to you. Our society of soldiers increases, and we are inex- 
 pressibly happy together. Mrs. S. has been unwell, but is 
 recovering, and indeed we have mercies multiplied upon us 
 without number. May we have grace to be more thankful/' 
 
 It may be proper here to state, that the Committee 
 referred to in this letter, as being instrumental in 
 giving " the word of life to the population of India," 
 was a Committee formed in Calcutta for holding 
 correspondence with the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society in England. This corresponding Committee 
 was definitely organized in August, 1809, having Mr. 
 Brown for its Secretary ; and measures were then 
 adopted for carrying forward approved translations of 
 the Scriptures in the Arabic, Persian, Hindoostanee, 
 and Telinga languages."* 
 
 That to " live and die among " the people of 
 Hindoostanee, which is here only expressed as a 
 probability, had become a settled purpose with Mr. 
 Corrie, may be gathered from his Journal : 
 
 " Sept. 20th. This day has completed my fourth year in 
 India. My intention of remaining in India continues the 
 same, and of seeking the furtherance of the gospel among 
 the heathen. These Christian children engross much of my 
 time ; but not so much prayer as they ought. I would pur- 
 pose to pray more for them. Oh ! may I have grace to be 
 devoted to the ministry ! I do determine to be so, the Lord 
 
 * Owen's History of the Bible Society, vol. ii. pp. 14, 15. 
 
CAWNPORE. 171 
 
 being my helper : my determined choice is the doctrine of 
 Christ and him crucified. may my affections be more taken 
 up with God ! A variety of circumstances have of late made 
 me feel that the best of creatures are subject to vanity. I 
 would complain of none, for the most vain are far preferable 
 to me ; but, may my soul be more taken up with God ! 
 Draw me, Lord the Spirit, and I will run after Thee ! 
 Martyn is now going to Calcutta and to sea ; and I remain 
 here for a time. I feel my bodily health far from strong." 
 
 And in writing to a near relative, about the same 
 time, after mentioning the intended departure of 
 Martyn from Cawnpore, and the consequent changes, 
 Mr. C. adds, 
 
 " These uncertainties make us more and more to feel that 
 this is not our rest. I do rejoice in the blessed hope of a 
 rest remaining for the people of God. 
 
 " One of the godly soldiers departed this life last night. 
 His end was peaceful and blessed. His last words to me, 
 yesterday morning, were, ' I desire to depart and to be with 
 Christ as soon as possible/ A day or two before, on my asking 
 him how he was, he said, ( Waiting to be made free from 
 corruption and fit for God/ And at the same visit he said, 
 ' Blessed Saviour ! He has done great things for my soul.' 
 His life, for some time past, had been suitable to the gospel. 
 This is the third who has been taken from the little flock 
 since we came here. Blessed be God, who raises up one and 
 another to supply their places. 
 
 " One of the officers has joined himself to our meetings 
 for worship, &c. and is a hopeful and pleasing young man, 
 and a great encouragement to the poor soldiers, who for a 
 time were much discouraged by their superiors. 
 
 " We have had several instances of very awful awakenings 
 of conscience in the prospect of death. One person, a week 
 or two since, could not contain his feelings in the midst of 
 
172 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the many sick around him, in the hospital, but openly 
 accused himself, and loudly called for mercy. However, the 
 generality, alas ! are careless, notwithstanding these and 
 other solemn warnings. A gay, smart young Captain, a 
 short time since was seized with a fit in a large company, at 
 dinner, and died during the night. A great crowd attended 
 his funeral, and all the solemnity and pomp of military 
 parade attended, but alas ! the impression passed away. . . . 
 There are indeed a few (and the number is increasing) of 
 godly people, scattered up and down, who are each a light 
 in his place." 
 
 The references which are found in the foregoing 
 letter and in the letters which follow, to the " incor- 
 rectness of Sabat's Arabic," and to the ' ' rage " of 
 that unhappy man, " against the moonshees of Cal- 
 cutta," are explained by the circumstance, that just 
 before Mr. Martyn left Cawnpore, he had received 
 intelligence from Mr. Brown that the translations of 
 the Gospels into Persian were considered to be too 
 imperfect for publication ; whilst it was insinuated 
 that Sabat's translations into Arabic were but copies 
 from some old version.* This apparent failure in an 
 object so near his heart, as the translating of the 
 Scriptures, occasioned great distress of mind to Mr. 
 Martyn ; and all the evil passions of Sabat were ex- 
 asperated by the imputation cast on his learning. In 
 these letters, may be but too plainly traced the 
 unrestrained workings of that pride, selfishness and 
 violence in Sabat which afterwards ended so mourn- 
 
 * See Martyn's Letter to Mr. Brown, dated Sept. 10, 1810. 
 
CAWNPORE. 173 
 
 fully, though not unnaturally, in his apostasy from 
 the " faith which " always " worketh by love." 
 
 TO THE REV. D. BROWN. 
 
 ' Cawnpore, Oct. 4, 1810. 
 
 " Our brother Martyn left this on the 1st for Calcutta, in 
 better health than for some time, so that, but for the Arabic 
 translation, he would perhaps not have been persuaded to 
 leave this at present. Since I wrote to you, I have had a 
 specimen of the violence of Sabat, and the inexpressible 
 trouble Martyn must have had with him. It began before 
 the last letter of yours came, about boat-hire. He began 
 by writing that Martyn ought to pay for his boat. On 
 this Martyn referred him to you, but he evidently wished 
 not to speak to you on the subject. Soon after this, your 
 last arrived, and Martyn did not tell him the whole of its 
 contents ; at first only said, you were more than ever urgent 
 for their going down speedily. As the time drew near, he 
 one day came in, and after much cross-purposes, demanded 
 to see the order for his going down, or he would not stir ; 
 intimating that Martyn had some sinister motive and in- 
 terested purpose in taking him down with him. It is im- 
 possible to convey to you an idea of the aggravating manner 
 and expressions he used. I lost patience, and told him 
 plainly, how unchristian his conduct was, and how little 
 like the gentility he pretended to. Martyn then read him 
 your letter, which filled him with rage against the Calcutta 
 moonshees, &c., and he determined to set off instantly, and 
 put them all to flight before Martyn could arrive. This 
 manner lasted two or three days, when an invitation he had 
 asked for, came from BailHe, * and away he went to Luck- 
 now, purposing to return the third day. Instead of return- 
 ing, he sent a note to say, he would stay twenty days, or a 
 
 * The English resident at Lucknow. 
 
174 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE, 
 
 month, and would translate and Baillie would inspect ; and 
 so he would come down to Calcutta armed for the contest 
 with the objectors there. Martyn was hurt at this, and 
 wrote a statement of the circumstances to Baillie ; telling 
 Sabat also, he should set off as he intended, should go to 
 sea, and that the disputed translation would remain in sus- 
 pense ; and of course, as he could not go on with the work, 
 it was likely his salary would be stopped ; adding also, that 
 his family would be obliged to remove into another bungalow, 
 as my sister would come here. On this, Sabat wrote in the 
 most earnest manner, for Martyn not to go without him ; 
 at the same time saying, he should stay four or five days 
 longer. To this Martyn paid no attention, but set off, and 
 yesterday Sabat returned, full of rage against him, and 
 purposing to set off to-morrow or next day to overtake him 
 if possible, and at all events to procure from you full redress 
 of his many wrongs. There is little hope that any person 
 but Martyn, supposing them capable and willing to super- 
 intend Sabat's translations, could bear with him ; and indeed 
 when the work would be finished by him, it is difficult to 
 say. His unsteady and haughty temper is likely to prevent 
 his ever doing extensive good, not to say, that the love of 
 money has too evident hold of him. He has procured boats. 
 He is now full of expressions of concern about his wife, who is 
 within a month of having a child : and indeed his concern is 
 proper enough, but had he set off as was first agreed, he 
 might have been now in Calcutta. For my part, I feel 
 quite alone and a stranger in the midst of this large society. 
 Parson, you may have heard, is wishing to come here under 
 the idea, as he says, that I was going away, to leave Martyn 
 sinking under the duty. I had not thought of so doing ; 
 but heartily glad shall I be to give place to him, as my own 
 strength is not likely to hold out long under the constant 
 duties of this station. The folly and dissipation of the 
 higher sort, cast me greatly down. How to deal with them, 
 I know not. The church was opened last Sunday, which 
 
C AWN PORE. 175 
 
 may give me more opportunities with them, than I should 
 otherwise have had. A few of the poor receive the word 
 gladly, and they are our joy and crown. Your opinion of 
 the Native boys, has caused me great disquietude. I was 
 convinced of danger as to their turning out well, but hoped 
 not quite so much as you describe. It has made me more 
 watchful over them : but I shall make a fair experiment with 
 them. I trust all your family are enjoying good health, and 
 as much comfort as this world of sin and sorrow will admit of/ 
 
 TO THE REV. H. MARTYN. 
 
 " Cawnpore, Oct. 8, 1810. 
 
 " Yours of the 3rd. from Allahabad, came only yesterday. 
 We were thankful to hear you had got so far in safety. I 
 received the enclosed also yesterday, and sent one or two 
 of less consequence for you to Calcutta. We had a very 
 large congregation yesterday, beside the morning service 
 with the 53rd. I have escaped with a severe head-ache this 
 morning ; I trust to be quite well to-morrow. I called at 
 
 R > Sy G 's, E 'a, and B 's this morning, so 
 
 am making great progress in my work, I hope ; though this 
 of calling is a very insignificant part of it. I have, since 
 you left, seen in the life of President Edwards, that he 
 thought ministers should consider their talent for conver- 
 sation, and, if they cannot improve conversation &c., should 
 stay at home. If I had the least pretension to his useful- 
 ness in the closet, I should be inclined to dwell there. The 
 gateway to the church shall be put up as you wish; at 
 present we are busy making Sabat's house sweet. I have 
 got the Christian children close by the book-room, and hope 
 to have a watchful and effectual eye over them now. 
 
 " I wrote to Mr. Brown on Thursday, and gave him a par- 
 ticular account of my opinion of Sabat. I told him, what, 
 I fancy, I did not tell you in the former cover enclosing 
 
176 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Mr. Brown's, that on Sabat's return from Lucknow, he ex- 
 pressed great warmth about your going without him, and 
 the subject of your letter to Baillie. It seems he was sorely 
 hurt at your writing to Baillie on the subject ; Baillie had 
 shewed him the letter, &c. He wished me to side with him 
 in thinking you had treated him as a Hindoo, &c. After 
 many words, I told him, that no other person I knew, would 
 have borne with him as you have done ; and that all the 
 Christians in Europe would think so, if the circumstances 
 were known. This stopped his violence j and during the few 
 remaining days he shewed great humiliation, and at parting 
 seemed much cast down. I hear he had been beating the 
 dandees,* and they all ran away at Georgemow, but as I 
 have heard no more, suppose he got off somehow. The 
 Mirror is come this week as usual ; when you arrive, be so 
 good as order it to come in my name, as I wish to continue 
 it. There have been enquiries respecting you, from every- 
 body I have seen, and as many kind wishes for your speedy 
 return in health." 
 
 TO THE REV. D. BROWN. 
 
 " Cawnpore, Oct. 10, 1810. 
 
 " I sent off yesterday by ban ghee, a correct copy of the 
 Hindoostanee New Testament, for Martyn at your house ; 
 he has one copy with him beside. I heard from him from 
 Allahabad on the 3rd., he was going on his way prospe- 
 rously. I have sent some letters that came here for him, 
 to meet him at Patna. Shepherd will be here in a few days. 
 He was to leave Meerut on the 1st. I have then the whole 
 range of the Doab.f Our new church was opened, as I 
 told you, by Martyn, and we had a larger attendance on 
 Sunday last. The natives are greatly pleased with the bell ; 
 
 * Native boatmen, 
 t The whole country lying between the rivers Ganges and Tumna. 
 
CAWNPORE. 
 
 177 
 
 they argue for the antiquity and holiness of their own use of 
 bells in their temples, from the English also using them. 
 The Sherwoods are living next door, and have made a gate 
 into our garden. The continual calls of duty of one kind 
 or other, leave me very little time with them. I have got 
 the Christian children within call of my window, and entirely 
 separated from the other parts of the premises. Mary talks 
 of beginning a school for native Christian girls. She can 
 read the Persian character pretty readily, and we have &^ 
 promising half-caste boy, who will be her schoolmaster. We 
 are progressing, I think, both among the Europeans, and in 
 our little establishment for the natives ; yet, I know not why, 
 my mind is almost always cast down and without hope. 
 The select meeting of the poor soldiers is a source of much, 
 and almost the only refreshment to me. I would desire 
 greatly to begin a meeting with the 8th Light Dragoons, 
 where many of the men are hopeful, but I fear my bodily 
 strength would sink under it, for as it is, I cannot keep 
 quite rid of a cough and other symptoms of weak lungs. I 
 know, however, that my Redeemer liveth, let me quietly 
 leave all with him, and he will bring it to pass ! When 
 will the chaplains Dr. B. mentioned, arrive ? Simeon says, 
 he can get no chaplains to come out ; even worldly men 
 dread our climate so much, they will not encounter it. 
 
 N 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 RESIDENCE AT CAWNPORE, 
 
 AFTER Mr. Marty n had taken his departure for 
 Calcutta, the clerical duties connected with Cawn- 
 pore devolved upon Mr. Corrie. Some idea of the 
 varied and laborious nature of those duties will have 
 been gathered from the foregoing correspondence, 
 and will have been sufficient to explain the anxiety 
 with which the arrival in India of additional Chap- 
 lains was made the subject of enquiry. Not the 
 least fatiguing portions of a Chaplain's duty were 
 the long journeys he was repeatedly called on to make, 
 for the purpose of solemnizing marriages between 
 Europeans, and administering the Sacrament of 
 Baptism to their children. Two journeys of this 
 kind Mr. C. had to undertake within a month 
 after he had been in the sole charge of Cawnpore : 
 one into Bundelcund, the other to Coel, distant at 
 
COEL. 179 
 
 least 200 miles up the country. In the latter journey 
 Mr. C. was accompanied by a young friend; and 
 under date of Nov. 20, remarks, 
 
 " COEL. Arrived here this morning, to marry a couple. I 
 have reason to be thankful that my pride, and angry feelings 
 have been more in subjection towards the servants this 
 journey. I have, however, to lament one instance of undue 
 anger; but, in general, their perverseness has not caused 
 the impatience and excitement as on former occasions ; e be 
 not high-minded, but fear : ' ' by faith ye stand/ During 
 the journey to Mynpoorie, G v expressed, on the whole, 
 true Christian conduct, love of the word of God, and prayer, 
 and often feeling impressions of his own unworthiness 
 before God, and the need of the Holy Spirit's grace, to per- 
 fect him in holiness ; which, also, on Sunday evening, he 
 spoke of, as if he felt their comforting and sanctifying 
 power. May the Lord God, the Saviour, confirm, strengthen, 
 and establish him ! 
 
 " At Mynpoorie, the proposition for public worship was 
 readily entertained, and most of the station, (in all fifteen,) 
 attended at the judge's house on Sunday. I preached on 
 the benefit of the scripture history, with some boldness, 
 and comfort to myself; and there was a great attention 
 given ; and afterwards two baptisms." 
 
 It would seem from circumstances noticed in his 
 Journal, that in consequence of his declining to take 
 part in some frivolous amusements that were going 
 on at Coel, Mr. Corrie did not meet with that kindness 
 and social regard which he might naturally have ex- 
 pected ; and his affectionate spirit seems to have been 
 somewhat deeply wounded. 
 
 " my God ! " he observes, " I bless thee that thou 
 
 N 2 
 
180 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 didst deign to look upon me, and to call me to the adop- 
 tion of a son, through the grace of Christ ! I have said 
 unto my soul, * The Lord is my portion in the land of the 
 living.' Why should a soul its thirst bemoan, who has a 
 fountain near ? I would not take one step backward to con- 
 ciliate their [favour.] ' Let them return to thee, but return 
 not thou to them/ [Jerem. xv. 19.] My soul adores the di- 
 vine will in this command. No more would I go to the world. 
 I have observed much of late, what Newton expresses in the 
 hymn, ' Prayer answered by crosses.' I have been desiring 
 to be more dead to the world, and the Lord has been pleased 
 4o make it bitter to me/' 
 
 His Journal then proceeds : 
 
 " Agra, Nov. 6th. Arrived here yesterday morning 
 from Coel. In the morning, on viewing the magnificent 
 remains of this city, I was not duly sensible of the vanity 
 of earthly glory. O that my mind were always alive to the 
 vanity ]of present things, in comparison of eternal ! 
 
 " In consequence of orders from Colonel B., the European 
 artillery, to the amount of four hundred, attended divine 
 service in the dewan. I stood on the marble slab which was 
 occupied formerly by the vizier, when handing up petitions 
 to the emperor, in the balcony above. Many of the officers 
 attended ;" % I preached from Malachi iii. 18. I much fear 
 they did not understand me, but a general attention was 
 given : in the afternoon, I went out to Nonilla, and bap- 
 tized three children ; several of the young officers attended, 
 and kneeled down very devoutly. My heart rejoiced, and 
 was raised to God for a blessing upon them. To all appear- 
 ance, they are such as our Lord, in the days of his flesh, 
 would have loved ; my soul desires their salvation. Oh, that 
 the Lord would take them effectually in hand ! Oh, the 
 depth of divine wisdom and knowledge ! Alas, that these 
 engaging forms of human nature should be slaves of sin, 
 and so, objects of the divine displeasure. Just and righ- 
 
CAWNPORE. 181 
 
 teous are thy ways, king of saints ! Oh, how I ought to 
 praise God for the acceptance He gives me among men who 
 yet are by no means conformed to His word ! Oh, may the 
 good Lord make them willing and obedient, that they may 
 be blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ ; and, may 
 all their kindnesses be returned a hundred fold into their 
 bosoms ! " 
 
 Some further particulars of Mr. Corrie's journey 
 up the country, as well as of his flock at Cawnpore, 
 are found in the following letter. 
 
 TO THE REV. H. MARTYN. 
 
 "Cawnpore, Dec. 21,1810. 
 
 " I returned last night from Muttra and Agra, and found 
 your's of the 3rd instant. ... If I were in Calcutta, I 
 should vote against your preaching every week. If you will 
 not take rest, dear brother, come away back, and understand, 
 if you can, from those in power, if I am to be permitted to 
 remain with you here, or not. At Agra there will be little 
 labour among the Europeans - 9 some good, I suppose, might 
 be done among the native Christians. I this time visited 
 the Roman Catholic place. The premises are large, but 
 every thing going to decay from the covetousness of Angelo. 
 There is a church of one long room, the roof arched, at the 
 east end a round recess, like the Mosques of the Mahome- 
 dans, and a picture of the Virgin with a child half as large 
 as herself, over the high altar. At Agra we had no public 
 worship on Sunday ; there was nobody in garrison, and the 
 Artillerymen were a far way off. Colonel M. sent after 
 me a draft for 1600 rupees ! ! ! I suppose he meant to try, 
 whether a mighty bribe would not prevail to draw me from 
 our purpose.* I returned it with thanks, and have heard 
 
 * Mr. Martyn and Mr. Come had agreed to decline all fees for 
 
182 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 no more of the matter. I have been with Captain P. who 
 commands the 53rd, and he will send to desire the Regiment 
 to be marched to Church on Sunday. I hear from C , that 
 the society continues to walk in the fear of the Lord, and 
 are, I hope, multiplying in number. Some new members 
 are to be admitted to-night, I do not know how many. I 
 regret to hear, the man of the 8th. you remember, has been 
 behaving ill since I was here, yet there is one it seems, who 
 is disposed to come out from among them. He has been 
 often with C , so I shall go down as I intended and fixed 
 with the schoolmaster of the 8th. though the above man was 
 the first encouragement, and must now be kept at a distance. 
 I should not forget to tell you, of dear Harrington's con- 
 tinued stedfastness, and attention to the men when I am 
 absent, which is no doubt one reason of their consistency. 
 S. has invited the religious men to a dinner on Christmas 
 day. They must be greatly comforted by these circum- 
 stances, no longer constrained to hide themselves through 
 fear of man. We are all well, blessed be the Lord our Sa- 
 viour. May you increase in strength of body, and be 
 strengthened with all might by the Spirit in the inner man. 
 Love to all the saints. All here wish you grace, mercy, and 
 peace. 
 
 " I shall proceed with all care with Mirza. There is no 
 fear of any further inconvenience. I have resisted ; he has 
 submitted ; we are now as before. I have not seen him to- 
 day, but will, (D. V.,) write fully about him in a few days/' 
 
 Letters which Mr. Corrie addressed to Mr. Martyn 
 and Mr. Brown respectively, a week later than the 
 preceding date, give a pleasing account of the 
 state of the congregation at Cawnpore ; and supply, 
 
 the solemnizing of marriages, &c. The reasons for their decision on 
 that matter are given at length in a letter to Mr. Simeon, dated 
 June 14, 1811. 
 
CAWNPORE. 183 
 
 also, a specimen of the difficulties with which the 
 earlier Missionary labourers in India had to contend, 
 in their efforts to secure translations of the Word of 
 God into the native languages. 
 
 TO THE REV. H. MARTYN. 
 
 " Cawnpore, Dec. 26, 1810. 
 
 " Yesterday divine service was appointed at eleven. Few of 
 the soldiers came, but the body of the church was entirely 
 filled with the gentry. Colonel and Mrs. W. came, and 
 brought many of the officers of the 8th. The civilians too, 
 were all present. We had upwards of fifty at the Lord's 
 table : three complete tables. Among them the above and 
 Dr. M., Captain and Mrs. E., Mr, G. S. and Harrington of 
 the 53rd, with many of the soldiers beside the society. . . . 
 There were three more admitted to the society on Friday 
 night. On Sunday one part of the 53rd were marched to 
 Church. At two, I therefore went to the school-room of 
 the 8th, and about thirty came. One of them has lately 
 been several times to the Church : several of them were 
 disposed to be attentive. S. had a number of the religious 
 men at dinner. Harrington dined with us, and after dinner 
 we went over and staid awhile at S.'s. It was a very happy 
 time. . . . Mr. G. has been reading Newton on the Prophe- 
 cies, and has now Edwards on Redemption. This, with his 
 attendance yesterday, and general sobriety, looks well. Cap- 
 tain G. and P. are both unwell ; E. is better : I fear his im- 
 pressions are gone ; B. has been unwell too ; perhaps you do 
 not know him, he is an acquaintance since you left. Indeed, 
 I have seen them almost all, but have not been at the mess. 
 
 " Yesterday I baptised my little boy by the name of Osman 
 Daniel.* The child afterwards was reading the Gospels 
 
 * A little boy who was rescued from death, during a famine, and 
 brought up by Mr. C. 
 
184 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 almost all day. I have not shewn your muvisfttee to Fitrut. 
 He has got to the end of Joshua, and does on an average 
 more than two chapters a day. Beside that without your 
 reviewing his work, it will be but little worth ; and if he 
 were doing it by task work, it would be still more incorrect. 
 The first discontent he shewed was only the usual policy 
 of an Indian to try how far his influence extended ; I took 
 no notice of it, but positively refused his demands ; and for 
 two or three weeks made no inquiry after him, on which he 
 came entirely into the old plan. He comes every day, 
 and we translate a collect or two : and in this way I shall 
 have the Prayer book , as well as the Bible translated. We 
 have begun a little work of Mrs. Sherwood's also, in the 
 manner of the Pilgrim's Progress, which I tell him, he shall 
 receive some gratuity for doing. This seized upon him 
 instantly, and he would fain have taken the book with him ; 
 but I would not allow that, lest the greater work be hindered." 
 
 Mr. Corrie's private reflections on the religious 
 services mentioned above, were as follow : 
 
 " 25th. [Dec. 1810] A large attendance at church, and 
 above fifty attended at the Lord's table. may their souls 
 be nourished by grace divine ! My own heart all the morn- 
 ing unfeeling and hard, during the whole of divine worship ; 
 and at dinner on going to S.'s. to see their party of godly 
 men, and joining in a hymn with them, my soul melted 
 under a sense of the Lord's grace and love to me. may 
 this impression remain ; and may its constraining influence 
 attend me ! Prepare me for my evening work, Lord the 
 Spirit, Amen ! " 
 
 TO THE EEV. D. BROWN. 
 
 " Cawnpore, Dec. 26, 1810. 
 
 " I send enclosed a letter to Martyn ; if he is gone to sea, 
 you will peruse it, and send it after him. The account of 
 Fitrut and the translation, you are concerned in, as much as 
 
CAWNPORE. 185 
 
 he is, and I shall give you an account of our progress from 
 time to time. We are all here very busy in one way or 
 other, but with all our bustle we should not be missed 
 if taken away from the face of the earth. I trust, however, 
 some seed is sowing, that may spring up another day. The 
 half-caste lad, I have had now a year, during which, not one 
 instance of misconduct has come to my hearing. Yesterday 
 he seriously devoted himself to the work of a Missionary, 
 after a free choice, on my part, given him, to be a writer, or 
 any thing else, I could serve him in. He has begun to-day 
 to learn Latin from Lieut. Harrington, who is teaching one 
 of the officer's sons, and an orphan European boy, Latin. 
 He is now about eighteen ; he is reading and writing Persian 
 too, and learning to translate into Hindoostanee his native 
 tongue. The other native boys make considerable profi- 
 ciency. I keep a strict hand over them." 
 
 On the first day of the new year, Mr. Corrie 
 again wrote to Mr. Martyn, but it was chiefly about 
 private matters. The letter, however, to Mr. Brown, 
 which enclosed that to Mr. M. is of more general 
 interest. 
 
 TO THE KEY. D. BROWN. 
 
 "Cawnpore, Jan. 1, 1811. 
 
 " I send another note for Martyn. He tells me you must 
 wait for paper from England before you can print the Hindoo- 
 stanee. The late arrivals in our department are not favourable 
 specimens of their labours at Cambridge and Leadenhall street. 
 They are frightened, I fancy, by the Twinings,* &c. : but yet 
 what can they do if men will not offer themselves ? During 
 my late journeys in these parts, I observed the idol-temples 
 
 * Twining was the name of the gentleman who was for expelling 
 all Missionaries from India. See above p. 119. 
 
186 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 and the mosques, in most places falling to decay, and with 
 little appearance of being frequented. Here and there a 
 rich underling of some of the Company's servants has retired 
 and built a pagoda to commemorate his ill-gotten wealth ; 
 but in general, the spirit and fury of idolatry does not ap- 
 pear. I have thought much, if the time were but come for 
 the labourers to enter in, the gospel would not fail to be 
 attended to. But where are the labourers ? At best, I was 
 never but an under-servant, and now my hands are full of 
 Europeans : and the Company's Chaplains will always be so, 
 unless there were more of them. May we have more of the 
 spirit of prayer, that the Lord may ' give the word,' and 
 then e great shall be the company of the preachers ! ' 
 
 <{ I have very little comfort in the work of the ministry 
 among the Europeans. I consider it always a secondary 
 consideration, yet how to be doing it more for the heathen, I 
 know not. At Agra, I suppose there may be greater 
 opportunities ; but Martyn will not hold up many months 
 under the duties of this station, so I hope to be continued 
 with him." 
 
 The following extract from his Journal informs us 
 of Mr. Corrie's private occupations and purposes : 
 
 " January 2nd, 1811. I am much occupied in reading 
 Greek, and other exercises, tending, I hope, to mutual benefit 
 with H., but let me not deceive myself in fancying it all duty, 
 when it is all so agreeable. The children have made con- 
 siderable progress during the past year : as much as I could 
 expect. James has begun Latin, under the express idea of 
 becoming a teacher of others : and may he have grace to 
 give himself willingly to this work ! I am very much taken up 
 with schemes for the furtherance of the gospel ; but little is 
 yet done. The Europeans require more time and labour than 
 I have to give [to them.] Blessed be God for some suc- 
 cess among them. may they [who fear God] increase in 
 
CAWNPORE. 187 
 
 number ! During the year, my proficiency has been very 
 scanty : some knowledge of the history of this country, some 
 proficiency in Hindoostanee ; the Hindoostanee catechism : 
 these are my chief employments, beside my ministry among 
 the Europeans. I purpose to be more in the study of these 
 languages, more in writing sermons, more attentive to the 
 children; to translate the Pilgrim's Progress, the Prayer 
 book, and any other work that may be useful to the children. 
 Lord, direct my steps, and make me an instrument of good 
 for Jesus' sake, Amen ! " 
 
 It will be recollected that, in consequence of a 
 sermon which Mr. Brown preached on New-year's 
 day, 1810, an important effort was made to sup- 
 ply the Christians of Tanjore with Bibles. Encour- 
 aged, it would seem, by the success which attended 
 that effort, Mr. Martyn, whilst in Calcutta was 
 induced to occupy Mr. Brown's pulpit on the 1st 
 of January, 1811, for the purpose of making "An 
 appeal on behalf of 900,000 Christians in India who 
 were in want of a Bible." This Sermon not only 
 produced a lasting effect on those who heard it de- 
 livered, but having been printed and widely circulated, 
 called forth among the Europeans in India, a 
 strong feeling of sympathy in behalf of the native 
 Christians, and contributed mainly towards the for- 
 mation of an Auxiliary Bible Society in Calcutta. 
 It is to these circumstances that allusion is made in 
 the following letter ; although the Auxiliary Society 
 was not actually formed till the 21st of February.* 
 
 * History of the Bible Society, vol. ii. pp. 108, and seq. 
 
188 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORR1E. 
 
 TO THE REV. D. BROWN. 
 
 *' Cawnpore, Jan. 28,1811. 
 
 " I am much pleased with the idea of an Auxiliary Bible 
 Society. I wonder the thought had not occurred before. 
 When we receive Martyn's sermon I hope we shall be able to 
 get you help from this [place]. I have mentioned the 
 sermon in several places, and it will be read here with great 
 eagerness. We have no support from our new General : he 
 sets but a very indifferent example to the community, whilst 
 he is quiet and civil enough in private. ' To the poor the 
 gospel is preached/ and they receive it, though not in great 
 numbers. 
 
 " I have had five long journeys since November, and ex- 
 pect to go to Bareilly next week to attend two marriages. At 
 the other end of the cantonments I have lately begun to as- 
 semble the Light Dragoons on a Thursday evening. At first 
 many came, and a few still continue to attend. Most of our 
 Hymn-books are distributed, and numbers of the Bibles, but 
 few of the New Testaments 
 
 " I am at present in very good health, and strong to labour. 
 We have service three times on Sundays, and on Wednes- 
 day, Thursday, and Friday evenings. The distance be- 
 tween the two European regiments, makes double labour, 
 but (blessed be God ! ) it is not labour in vain. And whilst 
 there is no service that could well be dispensed with I can do 
 nothing better than patiently { spend and be spent/ while 
 strength remains. Even now the hospitals are sadly neg- 
 lected, but the godly men, and especially Harrington, supply 
 the lack with great diligence." 
 
 Of the journey to Bareilly (about 170 miles distant 
 from Cawnpore) there is a short notice in Mr. C's 
 Journal, dated, 
 
 "February 21st. I have had a journey to Bareilly. H. 
 went with me to Futtyghur. I have reason to bless God for 
 
CAWNPORE. 189 
 
 preservation from angry tempers during the journey, and 
 for the much sweet converse I had with H. In riding 
 along, our manner was to read a sentence from a book, and 
 to converse upon it ; or sing a hymn. In this way weariness 
 was prevented, and my heart often burned within me. Let 
 me however watch and pray that the things which I have 
 wrought be not lost. 0, may I never be suffered to faint or 
 grow weary in the heavenly way ! My inward frame and 
 spirit is sadly prone to this. I have to drag this f body of 
 sin ' along with me. How often would my spirit sit down 
 to rest ; or, wearied with the constant load, yield to the 
 death ! Lord, preserve and uphold me to the end ! Amen." 
 
 During the two months following the date of this 
 extract, Mr. Corrie was chiefly occupied with the 
 ordinary clerical duties at Cawnpore. Besides these 
 however, he did not cease to employ himself in urging 
 on the translation of the Old Testament into Hin- 
 doostanee, which Mirza Fitrut had commenced under 
 the superintendence of Mr. Martyn ; and Mr. C's cor- 
 respondence about this time shews him, also, to have 
 been actively engaged in furthering the objects con- 
 templated by the Calcutta Bible Society, and in 
 collecting subscriptions for it. Thus in a letter to 
 Mr. Brown, Mr. C. observes, 
 
 " April 8, 1811. 
 
 " I wrote to Fitrut on the receipt of your last. He sends 
 word, that he is unwell, but will come over soon. I expect 
 him daily, but suppose he will raise obstacles. The copy 
 of Martyn's sermon which Mr T. sent me, has not been at 
 home a day since it arrived. Applications from all hands 
 are daily made for it. The people are astonished at the 
 
190 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 number of Christians in India. Whilst they have been ob- 
 jecting to conversion, behold a harvest is already gathered ! 
 I have the promise of many subscriptions, chiefly, indeed^ 
 from those who have not much to give ; but till I can tell 
 them all about you in Calcutta, I know not exactly on what 
 ground to ask for subscriptions." 
 
 And, again, in a letter to Mr. Brown, during the 
 same month : 
 
 *' By Fitrufs desire I send you the enclosed. Before 
 it arrives, you will have determined on his request. He is 
 now ready to set off, but that I do not choose absolutely to 
 promise the increase of salary he wishes for. In the mean- 
 time, he is going on translating, and he comes every morning 
 for an hour or two, to superintend my translations also. 
 No banghy has yet arrived with sermon &c., but Col. P. 
 has written to Lieut. L., assistant commissary here, reques- 
 ting his aid and exertions for the Bible Society. He sent 
 a sermon and a copy of the proceedings, &c.* Mr. Lums- 
 daine, accordingly, is getting subscriptions from his friends. 
 The general has given 200 rupees, and the plan of the so- 
 ciety is generally approved. The public attention has been 
 greatly excited, and our friends here thought it advisable to 
 give the subject all the publicity possible ; so yesterday, I 
 gave notice from the pulpit, that on Sunday next, I shall 
 preach a sermon on the subject of the Holy Scriptures, and state 
 the views of the society lately formed in Calcutta, in aid of 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society in London, &c. I had 
 before waited on Mr. L. and agreed to act in concert. 
 Thus, more advantage to the cause is likely to arise than we 
 ever hoped for; we want only copies of proceedings, &c., 
 to gratify the attention thus far excited, before it subsides. 
 
 " The religious men of the 53rd., I understand, mean to 
 
 * The Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society printed 1000 copies of the 
 first six Reports of the Parent Society, for circulation in India. 
 
CAWNPORE. 191 
 
 give each a month's pay. They say, they have before been 
 called upon for a month's pay, to help to carry on the war, 
 much more will they contribute f to the help of the Lord 
 against the mighty.' I have great reason for thankfulness 
 for the acceptance the word of God has among us. The 
 church is usually crowded in the part allotted to the gentry, 
 and our societies increase considerably. Even the wild Irish 
 Roman Catholics of the 8th Light Dragoons, pay great at- 
 tention, and the Thursday evenings attendance increases. 
 A sergeant, his wife, and several others of them, appear in good 
 earnest seeking salvation. The Company's Europeans are 
 the least attentive, and indeed, with a few exceptions, the 
 Company's officers are the least constant at church. I have 
 a Hindoostanee congregation of nine, every morning, and 
 am going through the Epistles with them. The half-caste 
 lad I have mentioned, has began to read to them. He con- 
 tinues to give good hope that his heart is in the work ; and 
 the children also, continue improving. I am often greatly 
 exhausted from the frequent public services, and feel often 
 much inward weakness. Should I ever be relieved from 
 this, I would try to get to sea for a few weeks, just recruit 
 strength, and prevent the frame from giving way entirely. 
 I have many thoughts about Benares ; if you send the copies 
 of proceedings to E., I fear he will never distribute them. 
 You should send some to Robinson. I am desirous to see 
 the proceedings of Martyn, when you can spare his letter. 
 You cannot suppose how widowed I feel from his absence. 
 .... Mr. Y. tells me there is a Bible Depository in Cal- 
 cutta. Who has the charge of it ? I have been applied to 
 for information about it, but could give none To- 
 day, I have a letter from Martyn dated 19th March, ( Bom- 
 bay,' containing extracts from Simeon, on not taking fees, 
 far more pointed than his cautions to P. *' 
 
 But assiduously occupied as Mr. Corrie thus ap- 
 pears to have been in furthering every plan that 
 
192 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 promised to yield moral benefit to his fellow-men, he 
 was nevertheless alive, at the time, to the importance 
 of watching over the state of religion in his own 
 soul. On the anniversary of his birth-day he 
 writes : 
 
 " April 10th. This day I am thirty-four. It was the 
 night I heard of my mother's death, February 1798, that 
 I first remember my resolutions made to be religious. Till 
 the summer of 1801, I went on sinning and repenting, as 
 I thought ; but quite ignorant of the author and finisher of 
 salvation. In the latter end of that year, my views of scripture 
 truth became more distinct ; and, since then, I have gone on 
 my way, ' looking unto Jesus ; } but every year has brought 
 me, it should seem, only experience of my own depravity. 
 True, I have experience of ( the Lord's mercy/ too, in that 
 I am ' not consumed ; ' and the fulness, freeness, and efficacy 
 of the ' fountain opened ' to purify my guilty soul is so 
 fully known to my soul, and my own hope in that ' blood 
 shed for the remission of sins/ so stayed, that my own 
 guilt does not dismay me, as it otherwise might well do : at 
 the same time, one propensity after another to evil starts 
 up so unavoidably, that doubtless, my soul is ' full of 
 wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores : ' to Thee, there- 
 fore, divine Physician, do I turn my fainting eyes. I 
 come to Thee for healing, that it would please Thee to cast 
 the salt of Thy grace into this impure fountain, that the 
 streams may be purified from the noxious qualities, which 
 now render unfruitful the whole field of the soul. Lord, 
 I pray that the overflowings of sin may be restrained ; 
 teach me to watch arid pray ; quicken me to diligence in this 
 work, and service ; enable me to ( give attendance to reading, 
 to exhortation, to doctrine ; ' to give myself wholly to 
 them, that my profiting may appear ' in the edification of 
 thy people, through the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ !'' 
 
CAWNPORE. 193 
 
 " June 10th. This day nine years ago, I was ordained a 
 deacon ; and on the twelfth of June, two years after, a priest. 
 I have sinned grievously in respect of personal holiness ; and, 
 during the last year, also, I fear, as much as ever. I know 
 not what to do against my strong foe, ' whose name is legion/ 
 The Lord knows I purpose perpetual enmity with every sin ; 
 and, I think, if it were the will of God to take away every 
 disposition to evil, I should rejoice ; but, at the same time, 
 should require such measures of grace to keep me humble, 
 as seem out of the way of God's usual method to bestow. 
 Indeed, when I feel such a disposition to self-importance in 
 a very short time, if my evil dispositions are quiet, what 
 devilish pride should I not be puffed up with, if my heart 
 were freed from corruption. Blessed be God, I can say, 
 that no sin hath dominion over me ; yet do I not justify 
 myself : though I am often surprised, and get a spiritual fall, 
 yet the enemy cannot keep me down : by faith I rise, by 
 faith I stand; and f in the Lord have I righteousness and 
 strength/ I have been at Cawnpore about a year; and 
 since October have had the whole charge : ten are added to 
 the (religious) society since then ; and several are enquiring 
 after the ways of godliness. Some of the light dragoons, 
 (especially sergeant R.) are, I hope, seriously impressed. 
 Gracious God, I praise Thee for these fruits ! I have 
 to mourn my unprofitableness among the better sort. I 
 think I am not suited to do good by much visiting, and, 
 therefore, stay at home. I have been employed a great deal 
 in translating for the children ; and Nicholas is very hope- 
 ful : these in all are six, besides those who came yesterday. 
 God of all grace, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, give 
 me a larger portion of the Holy Spirit's grace : make me 
 holy in body, soul, and spirit ; ' holiness becometh thy 
 house.' Lord, my soul is athirst for holiness. Teach 
 me how to preach holiness through the Spirit, and by the 
 Saviour ! But, I am forbidden by the doctors to preach, on 
 account of this liver. May I pray the more for the souls 
 
194 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 around me : for a spirit of grace and supplication ! To 
 Thee, OLord, have I dedicated myself; at thy table, yester- 
 day, did I give myself away to Thee; and, though the 
 watchful enemy robbed me of part of the benefit, yet, I 
 know, thou hast accepted me : Thou didst sit at thine own 
 table ; it was a season of refreshment to many, as well as to 
 myself; about fifty attended ; in the evening, a large con- 
 gregation. I hope soon to establish worship for the Hin- 
 doostanees ; James, I trust, is fully bent on this work, 
 though he has a good deal of youthful levity about him. 
 Lord, bless all my flock, my dear family, and friends ! Bless 
 my soul, Lord, and let my soul praise Thee at all times ! " 
 
 The following letter to Mr. Simeon, whilst giving 
 a general outline of the religious condition of Cawn- 
 pore, as presented during Mr. Corrie's ministrations 
 at that station, explains also, the lofty, self-deny- 
 ing principle on which both Mr. Martyn and himself 
 had decided to waive the accepting of any fee for the 
 celebration of marriages, &c. 
 
 " Cawnpore, June 4, 1811. 
 
 "As your Indian friends are, at this time, widely 
 separated, I shall not be likely to trouble you with repeti- 
 tion of intelligence from this quarter, and I know you will 
 take part in the hopes and fears attending the work of the 
 ministry in this place. You will, I hope, hear from Mr. 
 Martyn himself from Persia ; the last I heard of him was 
 from Bombay, March 19th. He had benefited little, or 
 nothing, from the change. Since his departure, I have had 
 much encouragement in my work. I began with a very dis- 
 couraging impression of my unfitness to stand up in his 
 place, but the word delivered in weakness, has been attended 
 with power to several. Ten have been added to the religious 
 
CAWNPORE. 195 
 
 society, and several are on probation, in one of the European 
 Regiments ; in the other, some good has been done, and 
 even from among the Company's Artillery-men (surely the 
 most hardened against all good, of any set of men I ever 
 saw) five are become regular attendants at the Lord's Table. 
 We might have hoped for more abundant fruit ; but that it 
 was the Divine will I should be laid up a third time with 
 the liver, and obliged to desist from all labour but the Sun- 
 day's duty. I am now so affected with mercury, that I can- 
 not appear next Sunday, but I am happy to say, that for 
 several days the pains have left me, and I trust the disease 
 has subsided. I hope the life, thus repeatedly renewed to 
 me, will be more than ever devoted to the work of the min- 
 istry, for truly I find no life like living to Christ. His 
 service is perfect freedom and a great reward ! 
 
 My absence from the Irish regiment has been most felt ; as 
 in the English regiment, one of the officers, a nephew of 
 the late Dr. Elliston of Sidney College, has supplied my lack 
 of service, by reading &c., having ' first given himself unto the 
 Lord.' We have every Wednesday evening a party of friends, 
 who take sweet counsel together. It consists, when altogether, 
 of a Lieutenant of Dragoons and his wife, the Paymaster of 
 the 53rd and his wife, an Assistant Surgeon, the above 
 Lieutenant, ray sister, and a young lady who is living with 
 her ; we sometimes have beside, another Surgeon and his 
 lady, who have been brought up among religious people ; an 
 officer on the staff here, and, now and then, a friend from 
 the country; and there are others, who approve and are 
 hopeful, though they do not yet care to come out from the 
 world. When we thus happily meet, we are encouraged to 
 think, the whole world must speedily bow before the word of 
 the Lord ; but, alas, we return again with the complaint of 
 Melancthon. The multitude, alas, tread heedlessly the broad 
 way ! 
 
 " You will know of the formation of an Auxiliary Bible 
 society in Calcutta. It has raised f no small stir about that 
 
 O 2 
 
196 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 way.' Here we have had good success, but the enemy also 
 has been at work. My application to the Commander of 
 one of the corps here, was yesterday returned, with many 
 concessions as to the purity of our motives, but representing 
 this new association as the most dangerous thing imaginable, 
 and praying me, and others, to desist from promoting the 
 objects of it. In two entire regiments, out of the five, we have 
 been thus hindered, but blessed be God, we have a majority, 
 even in point of numbers. One undeniable benefit has arisen 
 from it, even to the English ; for after a sermon I preached 
 on the subject, April 28th, we had a greater number of ap- 
 plications for English Bibles, than for many months together 
 before. 
 
 During this month my school of Christian boys has in- 
 creased to nine. I hear them myself twice a day, and find 
 they learn even quicker than many English boys. Some of 
 the parents, seeing how desirous I am to retain these 
 children at school, plague me not a little for money to sup- 
 port themselves also, saying they must otherwise remove to 
 some other place, and take their children with them. The 
 Christian man I left at Chunar, has within these few days 
 arrived here, having left his charge. The house I fitted up, 
 is still used for public worship by the Europeans, but no 
 one pities my poor black flock, so they are again left in the 
 wide wilderness. A few of them, who have, I trust been 
 made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted of the 
 good word of God, attend the service in English, though 
 they understand nothing of what is said, yet they hear the 
 name of ' Jesu Kreesht? and, that, they say, ' is pleasure.' 
 At this place there are many Christians of Portuguese descent, 
 but, in language and manners, quite Hindoostanees. 
 Through two of my Christian people, who, I trust, are real 
 Christians, a desire has been excited among them for hear- 
 ing and reading the Scriptures. The youth I have men- 
 tioned, of European descent, is with me still, and very pro- 
 mising. 1 hope to establish worship in Hindoostanee, in a 
 
CAWNPORE. 197 
 
 month's time, for the above native Christians here, and to 
 make this lad officiate. If I were able to officiate myself, I 
 would not set him so forward yet, but our friends here advise 
 that, considering the difficulty of again putting affairs in 
 the train they now are, we had better secure the present 
 opportunity, and hope and pray that the Lord will be with 
 us, till Martyn's return, when he will find the way he had 
 prepared, somewhat carried forward, and may enlarge it 
 after, as he judges proper. He had addressed himself to the 
 multitude at large who used to assemble every Sunday even- 
 ing, on his lawn, till his health and strength were exhausted. 
 My health and strength have been brought nearly as low, 
 though I have a stronger constitution to renew upon ; so I set 
 the above servants to work at the houses of individual Chris- 
 tians, and now hope to establish a small congregation from 
 among them, against our brother's return. 
 
 " From Bombay, M. sent me a part of a letter of your's, 
 on the subject of fees, which he desired me to consider. I 
 beg leave to state a few particulars on that subject for your 
 information. First, all in the army, below the rank of 
 Captain, are obliged to use the strictest economy, in order 
 to maintain a family. A Captain may live without care, 
 but, if it be considered that he must send his children 
 to England for education, it will be easily believed, that 
 every married military man, who has a family, is likely 
 to be poor to the end of his service, with the exception of 
 a few, who get staff-appointments, and they are almost the 
 only ones who are ever able to return home. When we 
 are sent for to a distance, the expences of travelling are 
 paid by the parties, which usually costs from forty to sixty 
 pounds. It is usually the younger officers who marry, for 
 the old ones almost all live in sin : and indeed from the above 
 circumstances, together with the few opportunities of reli- 
 gious instruction, most of the young ones too ; and some 
 have told me plainly, that they could get nobody to marry 
 them, and if they could, they had not money to give, as was 
 
198 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 usually expected by the Chaplains. For these causes, from 
 the first, I wished to decline being an obstacle in the 
 way of any. Sometimes young men marry the daughters 
 of old Indians by native mothers, but though the father 
 could often give a fee in this case, he has himself sacrificed 
 conscience to money, and thinks any one would do the same, 
 and how are we to convince him to the contrary, but by refus- 
 ing his money ? The civilians who marry, are also usually of 
 the younger part, and have nothing to spare without borrow- 
 ing, which they can do indeed too easily. The elder 
 civilians are altogether as preposterously paid to excess, and 
 indeed there are very few of them, who are not in conse- 
 quence, so vain, and carry themselves so high, that I know 
 not how we can shew them the folly of trusting in 
 these things, but by refusing the opportunities of obtaining 
 them. On this head, there will be difference of opinion, 
 but my humble judgment is, to renounce the fee, to convince 
 them by all possible means, that a man's life consisteth not 
 in these things. In so doing, we are not injuring our 
 successor, because he has a sufficiency of income for all the 
 purposes that his station in life can require. I suppose you 
 do not care whether we be able to keep a carriage, or not, 
 if we should ever return ; and suppose we save but enough 
 to pay our passage to England, the retiring pension is an 
 abundant provision for our necessities. I suppose, that 
 even a chaplain marries, and has children, then even he has 
 plenty to educate them, though his usefulness here may be 
 thereby confined, and in what situation would it not be so ? 
 I see no motive for receiving fees that ought to be enter- 
 tained a moment, but that of taking them to give to the 
 poor, and such has been the state of things among the 
 British here hitherto, that the mention of such a motive 
 would have excited derision, as mere hypocrisy. It has 
 never been conceived, that a man came to India, except to 
 make money. After all, dear Sir, we have no such thing 
 as a regular fee ; we are military chaplains, and the general 
 
CAWNPORE. 199 
 
 could order us to officiate, in any part of the district, there 
 being no legal impediment : you can recover the accustomed 
 offering by law ; we have no law on the subject, nor do the 
 soldiers ever, on any occasion, offer a fee. We have indeed 
 custom on our side, but it is a custom that has made the 
 name of Chaplain an offence. Would government but ap- 
 point a regular supply of Chaplains, and let any reasonable 
 fee be appointed, for occasional duties, as a part of their 
 subsistence, it would be well. 0, I wish that some of the 
 young men around you, did but see the different stations 
 of India, where numbers of their countrymen are actually 
 falling into the jaws of infidelity and deism, for the want of 
 some one merely to remind them of the customs and 
 opinions of their native land. They come out boys ; they leave 
 the Sabbath and public worship behind them ; they straight- 
 way fall into sinful habits, and grow to argue for that, which 
 they would once have blushed to mention. But what, if the 
 young clergy knew, and pitied, and were willing to come 
 over and help us, what could they do whilst the way is shut 
 against them ? Consider, this district contains, I know 
 not the exact number, but I know twelve subordinate sta- 
 tions, at each of which, there will be from twenty to forty 
 English and native Christians in the Company's service ; at 
 Allahabad, one hundred miles to the east, there are about 
 two hundred Europeans alone ; at Futtyghur eighty miles 
 to the west, there are at least as many, and at Bareilly not 
 much less than a hundred, To these places, the Chaplain 
 of Cawnpore must go, to celebrate marriages, for this is the 
 only duty he cannot be dispensed with for ; but as to all 
 other religious services, they are left entirely destitute, and 
 from the long habits of indifference they have been in, 
 it is not always, even when we do go, that we can have 
 public worship. 0, dear Sir, ought the immense revenues 
 of this fruitful land to be wholly appropriated to the pur- 
 poses of merchandize ! Ought the souls of our own coun- 
 trymen, not to speak of the natives, to be weighed in the 
 
200 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 balance against bales of silk and cotton ! Surely this sys- 
 tem will have an end ! 
 
 " Mr. Thomason was so kind as to send me some Chris- 
 tian Observers, with the paper war with the Christian 
 Advocate.* These are exceedingly interesting to us, and 
 you cannot confer a greater favour, than by forwarding to 
 this country, supplies of Christian Guardians, Eclectic Re- 
 views, Christian Observers, &c. We can lend them about, 
 they are read with avidity, and excite much conversation 
 about religious books. 
 
 " I hope this will find you renewed in the outer, as well 
 as in the inner man. The Lord can send by whom he 
 will, but my soul would mourn to hear, that that can- 
 dlestick, which was the means of guiding me into divine 
 light and peace, was removed from Cambridge. May your 
 latter days, dearest Sir, be more blessed than the former, 
 and when heart and strength shall fail, may you have the 
 assurance in your own soul, that God is the strength of 
 your heart, as well as the portion you have chosen for ever ! 
 
 " If there were to be a quantity of copies of the Christian 
 Guardian sent out yearly, they would be eagerly purchased 
 by the religious soldiers, and would be highly useful. The 
 Christian Observer is above their modes of thinking. 
 
 * Dr. E. Pearson, Master of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, 
 between whom and Mr. Simeon, some Pamphlets were exchanged 
 on the subject of Mr.^Simeon's preaching. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CAWNPORE COEL RETURN TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 THE illness which Mr. Corrie mentions in the fore- 
 going letter, as having ' obliged him to desist from 
 all labour, except the Sunday duty,' now continued 
 to increase upon him; so that, in the beginning of 
 July he was not only laid aside from duty, but con- 
 fined to the house. From his Journal it appears, 
 also, that he suffered greatly from the exhaustion 
 consequent on fever ; and that he was much harassed 
 by impatience and a nervous irritability of temper. 
 Added to this, Mr. C., states himself to have been 
 distressed by the * mournful view,' which his mind 
 took ' of the desolate state of professing Christians 
 in India, scattered as sheep upon the hills.' With 
 the hope, therefore, of recruiting both health and 
 spirits, he spent a fortnight or more on the river. 
 His correspondence at the same time, shews that the 
 
202 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 pressure of bodily sickness did not prevent Mr. C., 
 from occupying his mind with plans for the permanent 
 welfare of India. 
 
 TO THE REV. D. BROWN. 
 
 " Cawnpore, July 11, 1811. 
 
 " Since I wrote to you, I have been entirely laid aside. 
 A fever seized me, and I thought I was following Des Gran- 
 ges ; * but after some days, through divine mercy, it left 
 me, exceedingly weakened, so that although now, in my 
 own opinion, able to officiate in public, those about me will 
 not let me. 
 
 " I had a letter from Martyn, dated 24th. April, at Muscat. 
 He gets no stronger, I fear ; but you will have heard from 
 him yourself : I begin greatly to wish him back again. Since 
 I have been confined to the house, Mr. Sherwood and Mr. 
 Harrington have, in turns, read to the people in church of 
 an evening. I am much gratified by this help ; it relieves 
 my mind greatly. At the same time the numbers fall off. 
 The preaching of .the Cross is the usual mean of salvation. 
 I am well aware that none of my sermons can be compared 
 with those they read, in point of composition, &c. and yet 
 the people go to sleep under them ; and those who shewed 
 some love begin to ' wax cold/ I wish, therefore, to renew 
 my public work, that 6 through the foolishness of preaching/ 
 some may believe and be saved. 
 
 " My Moonshee, as you will expect, is on the way to Se- 
 rampore, he left this [place] near a fortnight ago. Fitrut 
 alarmed him greatly at last, by telling him that he knows 
 
 * The missionary mentioned in p. 49. and who died of fever at 
 Vizagapatam, July 12, 1S10. Hough's History of Christianity 
 in India, vol. iv. pp. 265, &c. 
 
CAWNPORE. 203 
 
 Sabat is his great enemy, and that nothing but disgrace and 
 loss of character will ensue to him. Fitrut is himself gone 
 to Lucknow, he is at work on the Psalms, having passed 
 by Esther and Job ; he has given in as far as the 37th. 
 the translation is, in general, very excellent. I hope that 
 the Psalms, when properly corrected, will be printed sepa- 
 rately ; no good will be done to any extent, till the Scrip- 
 tures are printed ; therefore, God be thanked for the Cal- 
 cutta Auxiliary Bible Society ! Y. told me of the opposition 
 to the measure at Madras. * It must needs be that offences 
 come, but woe to that man by whom they come/ I expect 
 there will be a ' Hue and Cry ' raised by the opposers at 
 home to this society : but it is founded on a rock. 
 
 " I have been thinking much about a representation being 
 made to somebody or other at home, (perhaps the Archbishop 
 of Canterbury), on the subject of the want of Chaplains in 
 India. As everything is in a state of tranquillity here, and 
 the revenues [are] flourishing, perhaps it might be attended 
 to. At Allahabad there ought to be a Chaplain, and at 
 Futtyghur, and at Rewaree and Kurnaul. At Allahabad 
 there are always two companies of Artillery, and a large 
 society besides; and at Bewaree, and Kurnaul about the 
 same. At Futtyghur, one company, and a large society of 
 Commissioners, Civilians, &c. And at Benares, there is 
 certainly need of a chaplain ; there should also, at Cawnpore 
 and Chunar, be one King's chaplain, at least at each station, 
 or an additional Company's chaplain. I am told how little 
 likely such a representation would be to produce the desired 
 effect, but there is no saying. If you, the senior, were to 
 draw up and sign something of this kind, and send it to the 
 juniors for their signatures, it appears to me, it would cer- 
 tainly be attended to, especially if the King should recover, 
 and the present ministers remain in office. 
 
 "15th. on the river. I have been so out of spirits as not 
 to be able to write to you as I could wish, so delayed sending 
 off this. I ought not however to detain the Society's money. 
 
204 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 I fear a voyage to sea will be necessary to get me quite well. 
 I was reduced so much that the doctors made me leave off 
 mercury ; but they talk of making me begin again to use it, 
 three times a day. They say, there is little or no danger in 
 the complaint ; it may be so, but I would have my ' loins 
 girded about ' and my ' lamp burning/ I lament the falling 
 off of the people at church, whilst I rejoice I am much com- 
 forted by the faith and love of the helpers supplied to me." 
 
 But notwithstanding the means used by Mr. Cor- 
 rie for the recovery of his health, it pleased God 
 still to afflict him. The medical men accordingly 
 continued to prohibit his performance of any public 
 duty for at least six weeks or more. During this 
 cessation from duty, he took advantage of a sum- 
 mons to marry a couple at Coel, to perform the 
 greater part of the journey to that place by boat on 
 the river, and purposed to spend a short time at Coel 
 for the benefit of change of air. Many days, how- 
 ever, had not passed over before Mr. C. took cold, 
 and his ' frame began to sink and his spirits to lan- 
 guish.' He therefore decided on returning to Cawn- 
 pore, and proposed taking Agra in his way, having 
 been engaged to solemnize a marriage there. But 
 before he reached Agra, the fever returned upon 
 him with great violence, so that he was detained on 
 the road and reduced to a state of extreme debility. 
 Some account of this journey is given in a letter. 
 
COEL. 205 
 
 TO THE REV. D. BROWN. 
 
 " Coel, August 27, 1811. 
 
 " I made a journey by water to this neighbourhood, and 
 then by dawk to this place. We convened the settlement 
 for public worship on Sunday, and had evening service with 
 the family. They are very kind to me, and I hope I help to 
 remove the prejudices of some against the cause we wish to 
 serve, by bringing before them sometimes the other side of 
 the question about missions. The commanding officer here 
 is an intelligent man ; he favours the Bible Society, as you 
 will know. I have lent him a copy of Martyn's Hindoos - 
 tanee New Testament : he says that he will have it copied 
 and sent to the Portuguese, drummers, &c. he is somewhat 
 acquainted with Persian and Arabic, and expresses himself 
 gratified by what he has seen of the translation. 
 
 " I ought to have written to Moonshee before this, but for 
 a month I have not been near a post-office, except just in 
 passing Futtyghur. I am greatly benefited by change of air, 
 and hope my little flock are suffering no lack, through the 
 kindness of Harrington and Sherwood. But I fear staying 
 away longer than needful, and am now anxious to be at 
 Cawnpore. 
 
 " Agra, Saturday, 31st. I have had a severe attack of ill- 
 ness, which laid me up on the road to this [place] . A whole 
 day I was in a wretched Bazaar, and learned something of 
 the value of home and friends to a sick man. But my mind 
 was undisturbed. 
 
 " Lord, I believe thou hast prepared, 
 Unworthy though I be, 
 For me a blood-bought, free, reward 
 A golden harp for me." 
 
 " I am confined to Colonel Bowie's quarters, and was only 
 just able last night to marry the young people. I am sorry 
 
206 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE, 
 
 to find the Bible Society has been so little encouraged here ; 
 but I cannot go out to see people on the subject. The sur- 
 geon here tells me, I must go to sea." 
 
 Yet after a few days repose, added to God's bles- 
 sing on the kind attentions of his host at Agra, 
 Mr. Corrie was sufficiently recovered to allow of his 
 proceeding on his journey, and before his arrival at 
 Cawnpore he found himself much recruited in 
 strength. As, however, he seems now to have been 
 convinced, that his illness was chiefly to be attri- 
 buted to the frequency of his preaching ; Mr. C. 
 considered it to be his duty to resolve to be more 
 careful in that respect for the future. Still, with re- 
 ference to that matter he remarks in his Journal : 
 
 " I trust it is with a single eye to future usefulness that I 
 purpose to be more careful of my health, and to be less 
 engaged in preaching." 
 
 But when he was again settled among his flock 
 at Cawnpore, Mr. C's purpose to be " less engaged 
 in preaching," was but partially carried into effect, 
 He writes, for example, under date of 
 
 " 18th. Sept. [1811.] I have been thinking of three 
 separate courses of sermons. First, for Sunday mornings : 
 to begin with man's ruin ; justification ; illumination ; sepa- 
 ration from the world ; progress in the ' fruits of the Spirit/ 
 Secondly, for the Wednesday evenings : a view of the church 
 of Christ ; its establishment ; progress ; and final triumph 
 in the world, notwithstanding the opposition of Satan : a 
 course from Matt. xvi. 18., on the plan of Ed ward's History 
 
COEL. 207 
 
 of Redemption. Thirdly : to translate into Hindoostanee, 
 to be read by James to the Hindoostanees, a Commentary 
 on Genesis i : on the original state of man ; the fall ; the 
 promise in succession, on to the history of our Lord in 
 the gospels/' 
 
 And, again, in a letter : 
 
 TO THE REV. D. BROWN. 
 
 "Cawnpore, Oct, 10, 1811. 
 
 " I could put twenty copies of the New Testament into 
 immediate use, and we go on very lamely without them. 
 Writing is slow, incorrect, and expensive. Nothing will 
 be done to purpose, till we get printed copies in abundance. 
 Three of the pious soldiers are learning Hindoostanee, that 
 they may, as they say, be able to exhort the heathen. One 
 of them is a superior young man, and very humble and un- 
 obtrusive. He has long wished to be able to talk with the 
 Brahmins at a certain pagoda, near the river, where he goes 
 often ; and purposes reading the New Testament to them, 
 when he can get one.* 
 
 " The Lord adds to us one by one, according to his pro- 
 mise. Since my return, three have joined the society, and 
 all walk orderly. Our Hindoostanee worship was well at- 
 tended last Sunday. Moonshee Fitrut is come back from 
 Lucknow ; he yesterday gave me the 21st. chapter of Pro- 
 verbs, the Old Testament is completed so far. I have given 
 him a place of abode on the premises, and done every thing 
 to induce him to go on quietly. This work will, I hope, 
 
 * After relating this circumstance, in a letter to Mr. Simeon, 
 Mr. C. adds, "The Edinburgh Reviewers need not be alarmed, 
 for he is a man of superior understanding, as well as superior 
 piety, and will neither profane the temple, nor insult the Brah- 
 mins." 
 
208 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 be done in three or four months ; and, please God to spare 
 Martyn to put the finishing hand to it, will be the greatest 
 work, as to utility, ever accomplished on this side India. 
 
 " Beside my other employments, I have now to translate 
 from Henry's Commentary on Genesis, which serves as a 
 Hindoostanee sermon on Sundays. I know nothing else 
 you will desire to hear of, from this [place.] The miserable 
 squabbles which disgust the world at this place, I am happy 
 to know little about. Happy privilege to be ' redeemed 
 from a vain conversation/ to be delivered ' from the present 
 evil world ! 9 O, for more power to proclaim aloud the year 
 of release ! My strength increases, but not a third in the 
 way of public duty is done, that might be done. I preach 
 twice on Sundays, and on Wednesday evening; and meet 
 the society on Fridays. I hope to begin my weekly meeting 
 with the Dragoons on Thursday next : but I believe it 
 would be right for me to leave off, in that case, my present 
 Wednesday evening engagement. But the three hospitals 
 are sadly neglected ; I can only visit those who are very ill. 
 I dare not preach in the wards : my breast and side are on 
 fire this morning, from last night's exertion. Yet, the cold 
 season being set in, increases my strength, and I have no 
 expectation but of doing well enough, until the heat 
 commences again. 
 
 " We have had lately a remarkable instance of the freeness 
 and fulness of redeeming love, in the case of a soldier's 
 wife, who died here. I am collecting a few particulars 
 which I may send you." 
 
 The " particulars " here referred to, rio not occur 
 in Mr. C's correspondence or Journal ; but a notice 
 of an interview he had with a dying soldier a short 
 time before the preceding letter was written, may 
 not be omitted : 
 
CAWNPORE. 209 
 
 " Yesterday evening I went to the hospital, to visit J. 
 he has been ill some time. He considers himself in a de- 
 cline, and indeed, seems to be so ; he began by saying, that 
 f he felt very composed in his mind, looked upon the world 
 as done with, and no longer any thing to him, and would 
 be happy, if it were the Lord's will to take him to Himself/ 
 I asked him when he supposed the Lord began to make him 
 a partaker of His grace ? He said, ' it was at Chunar he 
 first began to consider, and there he became somewhat en- 
 lightened, but lately his mind had become more confirmed 
 and strengthened.' Not wishing him to be deceived, I re- 
 minded him of some improprieties since he left Chunar : 
 he acknowledged ' that he had been often led astray, and 
 found his heart often going wrong ; but for these things he 
 was heartily sorry, and hoped by the grace of God to prevail 
 against them : indeed, for some months past, he had been 
 more alive to religion than ever.' I asked him the ground 
 of a sinner's hope towards God : he replied with some cheer- 
 fulness, 'only the Lord Jesus Christ/ I asked what he 
 expected Christ would do for him : he said, ' to save him, 
 and make him a partaker of salvation with the saints in 
 glory/ I pointed out the meaning of the word ' saint/ and 
 asked him f if he considered that Christ, if he saved us, 
 would make us holy, and that heaven was the enjoyment of 
 a holy God, and therefore, a happy place/ He said ' that 
 even now he was happy only when sin was subdued within 
 him ; and to be freed from sin in heaven, would be complete 
 happiness/ " 
 
 Amid labours such as these, Mr. Corrie writes : 
 
 TO THE REV. J. BUCKWORTH. 
 
 " Cawnpore, Oct. 30, 1811. 
 I am recovering from an illness, that has nearly laid me 
 
210 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 aside, ever since the 24th of April last. The Lord my 
 healer, I hope I may say, renews my spiritual strength, 
 as the outer man is brought low. It was brought on by 
 undue previous exertion. I trust I am taught that this is 
 not the Lord's will. Without a miracle, we cannot hope 
 our flocks will be fed with the bread of life after our de- 
 cease; to abide with them is, therefore, most desirable, and 
 to use the means for preserving health to minister among 
 them, necessary. 
 
 " You will have heard of the establishment of an Auxiliary 
 Bible Society in Calcutta. Doubtless the night has passed 
 away, and the true light is now arising upon India. Mr. 
 Martyn is gone for change of air, hoping to recover health, 
 and, perhaps, avoid the threatened beginning of a consump- 
 tion : he was at Shiraz, in Persia, on the 26th of June ; and 
 is at work on a Persian translation of the New Testament. 
 His translation of the New Testament into Hindoostanee, 
 is just put to the press ; we greatly long for this work to 
 appear. You know, he was assisted by a learned native,* 
 who passed six years in England, and is well acquainted 
 with the English language also. The translation of the 
 Baptist missionaries into Hindoostanee, is really too defec- 
 tive to be useful to any extent. You will not accuse me of 
 depreciating their labours : ' I speak the truth in Christ.' 
 I have the greater part of their work. The Christians 
 about me lay it aside, and prefer the parts of scripture they 
 have of Martyn' s translation. 
 
 " The above [mentioned] learned native is living on our 
 premises, and goes on translating the Old Testament ; in 
 any difficult passage he consults me about the meaning. He 
 has translated to Isaiah, and is now engaged on that book. 
 This work, please God to spare Martyn to come back to 
 correct it by the Hebrew, will be a glorious work for Hin- 
 doostan Proper. This part of India is still without a 
 translation, except that of the Baptist missionaries. Two 
 * Mirza Fitrut. 
 
CAWNPORE. 211 
 
 of these missionaries have gone to Agra : I was there lately 
 and saw them ; they had not then got quite settled. The 
 natives of that quarter are very independent and fierce in 
 their manners, the Mahomedans especially. You have heard 
 of the population of India, but can have no idea of its im- 
 mensity unless you saw it ; so that a man may visit I cannot 
 tell how many villages of three hundred, four hundred 
 people and upwards, in a circle of six or eight miles : there 
 seems, therefore, little need of itinerating according to your 
 idea of the word ; but you may think to how little an extent 
 all that the whole of the missionaries now in India can do is 
 likely to be felt. Yet the day, I am certain, has dawned 
 that will never set till all India shall see the glory of the 
 Lord. 
 
 " Of my own proceedings, I have little to say ; my native 
 school consists of ten ; four of whom can say the whole of 
 Watts's scripture catechism (but indeed one of the four has 
 just left me to go to his friends who live far away). I read, 
 the scriptures and prayers in Hindoostanee with them in the 
 school-house every morning, and am helped greatly in these 
 exercises, by the youth I have mentioned, of European 
 descent. Since September, we have had worship in Hin- 
 doostanee ; in church on a Sunday afternoon, fifty or sixty 
 native Christians sometimes attend, and usually thirty or 
 forty ; my own people have learned to sing translations of 
 psalms and hymns to English tunes : they are very fond of 
 them, though I know the poetry is very poor : I hope an 
 Indian Watts may be raised up ere long, to regulate the 
 psalmody of the Indian church. 
 
 " You would wish to know what success I perceive in the 
 midst of our labours. Of the Europeans, about fifteen or 
 sixteen have been added to our society during the last year : 
 of the natives, I cannot speak so certainly. One servant of 
 our own has been piously inclined sometime, and I hope he 
 is now a decided character ; and one, whom you would call a 
 footman, who used to have all the vanity and foppery of that 
 
 P 2 
 
212 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 class at home, is become attentive, not only to his employ- 
 ment, but serious in worship, and diligent in reading at 
 leisure hours. I have a particular regard for this youth, 
 and shall greatly rejoice in his turning to God : he is 
 married, has good natural talents, is of a pleasing appearance ; 
 and though one is often short-sighted and deceived, I fancy 
 he would make a good missionary, if he had a heart to it, 
 which I often pray may be granted him. 
 
 " I must not forget to tell you how happy I am at my 
 beloved sister's having commenced a school for native Chris- 
 tian girls. She has so far mastered the language as to be 
 able to read Hindoostanee easily, and to understand it pretty 
 well. The little girls work as little girls do at home, and 
 say a lesson, and learn the Assembly's shorter Catechism, 
 which I translated long ago, and by frequent corrections 
 have got nearly worthy of printing. These things were 
 hardly ever thought of for women in this country : now and 
 then among the Mahomedans, a woman is found who can 
 read, but I have not heard that this is ever the case among 
 the Hindoos. 
 
 "At leisure hours, I am abridging Milner's Church History, 
 and have finished the first two centuries, and even translated 
 about half the first : the scholars I have had so long are 
 growing great lads, and want something now beyond mere 
 school-books : one is a promising boy, and the others are as 
 children at that age usually are." 
 
 The expectation which this letter shews Mr. Cor- 
 rie to have entertained of his recovery from the 
 illness, under which he had been suffering during 
 the preceding six months, turned out not to be well 
 founded. Although he had latterly been somewhat 
 more attentive to his health, yet the disease of the 
 liver now returned upon him with increased severity, 
 
CAWNPORE. 213 
 
 and altogether laid him aside from public duty. Yet 
 in a letter to Mr. Simeon, dated early in November, 
 1811, Mr. C. writes: 
 
 " One expression in it [a letter from Mr. S.] has brought 
 before me an entirely new train of ideas respecting my duty 
 in the ministry. You express thankfulness, that you are 
 enabled to do the little you do now, compared with former 
 exertions. I perceive it is an inexpressible favour to be em- 
 ployed in the Lord's service at all ; and instead of being uneasy 
 at not being able to do more, I ought to be thankful for 
 some health, and inclination to do something ; and when 
 health is withdrawn, it is as much a duty to suffer, as in 
 health to do, the Lord's will. Alas ! I seem to arrive so 
 slowly at proper views of divine things, that opportunity is 
 gone before properly understood." 
 
 With reference to a friend, who after having de- 
 cided on going to India as a chaplain, changed his 
 mind, as the time for his leaving England approached, 
 Mr. Corrie adds : 
 
 " Mr. L's family I know, and regret that he has with- 
 drawn his hand from the plough. It is true, that the pain 
 of separation from relatives, and dear, dear Britain, can 
 be known only to those who have endured it ; but truly an 
 hundred-fold recompense attends it. No one can understand 
 the pangs I endured, at times, between the time when first, 
 in your rooms, the idea of carrying the gospel to heathen 
 lands took possession of my mind, and the period of my 
 leaving England. Yet dear as all the places, persons, and 
 privileges enjoyed at home still are, I would not return to 
 them on any consideration I am at present acquainted with. 
 Here the light of the glow-worm even is splendid, so gross 
 
214 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 is the surrounding darkness; and every stone put into 
 moral order is so much rescued from chaos." 
 
 The following extract from Mr. C/s Journal will 
 explain the nature of the communings which he held, 
 at this time, with his own heart : 
 
 " Sunday, Nov. 17th. I am prevented this day from 
 [attending] public worship. 0, that I were more alive to 
 the importance of the ministry, and more fitted for the 
 sacred duties of it. I do not lament, as I ought, the in- 
 terruption of any duty, nor am humbled, as I ought to be, 
 under the mighty hand of God. I think that the world and 
 the fear of man have less hold, [of me] but am afraid it is 
 more from a spirit of misanthropy than faith. I see the folly 
 of natural men : I feel the best of creatures [to be] miserable 
 comforters ; I fear I despise them, rather than look above 
 them to God. How deeply do I perceive and feel, that no- 
 thing but the power of God can make me ' a right spirit,' 
 or ' create in me a clean heart/ May the Almighty God, 
 the Lord, whose office it is to quicken the souls of men, re- 
 new my whole body, soul and spirit, and command a bless- 
 ing upon those around me, who all need his influence as 
 much as I do myself; some to be converted, some to be 
 guided in the narrow way ; one and all to be fitted for 
 heaven ! " 
 
 The continued absence of Mr. Martyn from India, 
 induced the government to appoint another chap- 
 lain to Cawnpore, without, however, superseding 
 Mr. M. This, therefore, left Mr. Corrie at li- 
 berty to proceed to Calcutta, for the purpose of 
 recruiting his health. As, however, it was not un- 
 likely that the new chaplain might think it his duty 
 to confine his ministrations exclusively to the Euro- 
 
CAWNPORE. 215 
 
 peans at Cawnpore, it became desirable to provide 
 for the carrying on of those missionary operations for 
 the instruction of the native Christians and others, 
 which had been originated by Mr. Martyn. The 
 idea of training up a class of scripture-readers for 
 that purpose, presented itself to the mind of Mr. 
 Corrie and his friends at Cawnpore : and in this they 
 seem to have anticipated a project to the same effect 
 which had been about that time adopted by the So- 
 ciety for Missions to Africa and the East, at the 
 suggestion of their corresponding committee in Cal- 
 cutta.* With this purpose in view, therefore, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Sherwood had for some time been learning 
 the language of the country, and had been teaching 
 a class of natives and half-castes to read the Hindoo- 
 stanee, that these might become readers of the word 
 of God to their heathen, as well as to their Christian 
 brethren. It was with reference to this, among other 
 matters connected with his removal from Cawnpore 
 that Mr. C. writes 
 
 TO THE REV. D. BROWN. 
 
 "Cawnpore, Dec. 3,1811. 
 
 "I do now purpose, D.V. to bend my course to Calcutta, 
 at the close of the cold weather ; which will be just two 
 
 * Proceedings of th^ Society for Missions to Africa and the East, 
 Vol. iii. pp. 238242, 426. 
 
216 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 months from this. A constant head-ache oppresses me, and 
 makes it necessary to avoid the violence of the hot winds ; 
 but I could not be better even in England, at this season, 
 than here; and till E. arrives, I cannot move; and he will 
 not be here till relieved by the Chaplains from below. Your 
 tetter of yesterday rejoiced us all exceedingly the reading 
 scheme I had determined to pursue, to the utmost of my 
 ability. We had prevented your views on the subject, by 
 measures for continuing the gospel here. One of the 
 Christian youths that has been with me almost five years, 
 has been induced of his own accord to offer himself to this 
 work. He seems truly pious, and labours indefatigably to 
 qualify himself to teach others. He is about twenty years 
 of age, and under the management of the Sherwoods will be 
 one of your first readers. Another of the boys is better 
 qualified than the above, but is not old enough ; he gives 
 every evidence of seriousness. Another of the boys is as 
 forward in learning ; but I have no hope at present, that his 
 mind is at all under the influence of what he learns. I have 
 seen no occasion for any Committee for the management of 
 this affair. Take the whole management of it yourself; espe- 
 cially as the less that is said of it among the English the 
 better. No one can find fault with me, or any individual, 
 for supporting readers ; but the Alarmists would be up in 
 arms, if they heard of supplies from home, appropriated to 
 such a purpose. 
 
 " I know not how to account for the story of the Pilgrim. 
 I was asked about such a book by some Natives, when I was 
 at Chunar : I think it must be a work of a former Koman 
 Catholic Missionary, of whom I have heard, and who seems 
 to have been a true Evangelist. I know the Christians of 
 Bettiah have a book, written in the way of a Dialogue, in 
 which the errors of the Brahmins are refuted. The Pilgrim, 
 by Mrs. Sherwood, I translated in part, but Fitrut got so 
 angry with it at last, he would not go on ; and the copier, 
 who is a Hindoo, said he should be obliged to give ten 
 
CAWNPORE. 217 
 
 rupees in a feast to the Brahmins, to atone for his fault in 
 writing such a book. . . . Fitrut is to-day employed on 
 Isaiah Ixiii. He has for some time been very much out of 
 humour ; a perfect comment on the apostle's words, ' hateful 
 and hating/ I let him fume, till his ill-humour is evaporated, 
 when he becomes humble. He has been in to-day, to beg 
 he may go with me to Calcutta. 'In heaven or in earth, he 
 has none but me to depend on ; and he cannot be happy if 
 I leave him behind/ I told him I have no authority to 
 take him down, and no boat-hire to give him. He said, ' he 
 would pay his own boat-hire, if you should not see fit to give 
 it him, when he got to Calcutta/ I told him, ' he must 
 not expect anything of the kind : ' and so he left me. The 
 Roman Catholic Priest is over from Lucknow, and seems 
 greatly altered from last year. He now professes to be de- 
 sirous his people should be taught to read the Scriptures ; 
 and I hope we shall get something established under his 
 inspection. It is true he has little appearance of serious 
 religion ; but he affects at least great indifference to the sign 
 of the cross, &c., and may serve as a drawer of water for the 
 temple-service. He has taken away a copy of Genesis for 
 himself, which, he says, he will read and expound in church/ 
 
 And in another letter to Mr. Brown, of somewhat 
 later date, Mr. C. observes : 
 
 " We have been expecting to hear from you about the 
 reading system, and especially we have been longing for 
 news about the printing of Martyn's Translation. Mr. E. 
 is on his way to this place, and will be here about the 10th 
 proximo. The work we wish to carry on will, I fear, suffer, 
 especially among the Light Dragoons. There is a little leaven 
 evidently implanted there ; some of them begin to assemble 
 for reading and prayer ; but they are only as children 
 beginning to walk, and I see no one to take them by 
 
218 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the hand : but the Lord will provide. We are got into a 
 plan that promises well, if pursued. I say we, for you 
 know my helpers of the 53rd; and Mrs. D. of the Light 
 Dragoons, has been induced to offer herself to superintend 
 the school of the Light Dragoons. I have added questions 
 and scripture proofs to the Church Catechism, which the 
 children are getting off. At Christmas, we had the children 
 of both regiments at church, to be catechised, and my 
 sister gave them tea and cake. We had several to see them, 
 and it was the most festive day that has been known here. 
 I am sure I have never felt so attached to any place as this ; yet 
 it appears to me that I should not remain here. The Hindoos- 
 tanee worship will be carried on under the inspection of Mr. 
 andMrs. Sherwood. The youth I mentioned labours diligently 
 to qualify himself for instructing the children and women, 
 and appears more and more devoted to the work in spirit 
 and in truth. At this time there are on these premises (i. e. 
 on Sherwood's farm) about twenty children learning to read 
 the Hindoostanee gospels. We are greatly perplexed for 
 books for them, though no time has yet been lost with them. 
 " I am beginning to pack up Martyn's books ; but have 
 not disposed of his house yet. Indeed I am loth to think 
 he will not come back to this place ; you well know how 
 much the funds of the Bible Society may suffer if there be 
 no one here to recommend the subject : and, indeed, the dis- 
 position of the British in these parts, in general, towards the 
 evangelization of India, will be no little affected by the 
 opinions held at this large station. This makes me greatly 
 desire Martyn's return hither. But have you, or has any one 
 in Calcutta, heard from him lately ? We have begun here 
 to lose our care for the objects of his journey, in the care 
 for himself/' 
 
 Respecting the progress of the translation, Mr. 
 C. adds : 
 
 " Fitrut left me about New-year's-day, for Benares, and 
 
CAWNPORE. 219 
 
 parted by no means friends. He was at Lucknow, July, 
 August, and September : in October he came back and went 
 on well with his work till November 20th, he then came to 
 say, he wished to go to Benares, I begged him to finish 
 Isaiah, of which only a few chapters remained. He wanted 
 to borrow money also, which I refused, as I know he is not 
 in want, but has many hundred Rupees out at interest. He 
 went on sullenly till the end of the year, doing only the few 
 remaining chapters of Isaiah. I wished him to have 100 
 Rupees for forty chapters, which he refused : so at length 
 I was obliged to say, ' I should expect the whole to be done 
 in four months'. He then asked, if his salary was not to be 
 continued till Martyn's return ? I told him, if he would 
 stay and help me in my Catechisms, &c., his pay should be 
 continued, but that I could not think of going on in the 
 trifling way he had been doing lately. He then talked of ap- 
 plying personally to you, with a vast deal of nonsense about 
 sharing in the profits of the Translation, &c. I told him, 
 you had not sent for him ; that he must not expect boat- 
 hire, or any indulgence from you : and thus we parted. I 
 have sent him this month's salary through Mr. Robinson, 
 but hear nothing farther of him or of his Translation. I 
 have got the whole of the Old Testament from him to the 
 end of Isaiah, and bound up in small volumes. 
 
 " You will by this time have heard of or seen Mrs. H. 
 They were here the first Sunday in the New-year. I preached 
 on the uncertainty of life, not knowing she was in church. 
 The subject affected her greatly, but she was in a most hea- 
 venly temper of mind. I fear her end is near. May my 
 end be like hers ! 0, how little can the world spare such 
 lovely examples of piety ; but he who gave her as a light for 
 a season, can raise up other more numerous instruments to 
 shew forth His praise. 
 
 "When we shall be able to leave this I cannot say. 
 I have five months' leave of absence from the 10th of Feb- 
 ruary." 
 
220 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 But before Mr. Corrie left Cawnpore, a portion of 
 his European congregation was called into active 
 service, by some disturbances in Bundelkund. It 
 was on the day before Christmas-day that he parted 
 with the soldiers who were members of " the society," 
 so often mentioned; and in recording this circum- 
 stance, he adds that many of them were persons 
 whose " light so shone before men," that, he trusted 
 " glory was brought to God thereby." He seems 
 to have been much depressed in spirit on the occa- 
 sion ; and was made more deeply sorrowful by the 
 intelligence which reached him early in the following 
 February, that some of his military friends had fallen 
 in an unsuccessful attempt to gain possession of Cal- 
 linger, an extensive hill-fort, about 150 miles from 
 Cawnpore. Mr. C's first impulse, on hearing of this 
 disaster, was to proceed direct from Banda, (where 
 he then happened to be) to the scene of action, for 
 the purpose of attending to the wounded men ; but 
 being unable to obtain any " help for the journey," 
 he reluctantly returned back to Cawnpore. He 
 states himself, however, to have " felt as if he had 
 neglected his duty ; or, at least, had been sadly de- 
 ficient in Christian love." He, therefore, writes, on 
 the llth. Feb. 1812: 
 
 " I had prepared all to set off into Bundelkund on Mon- 
 day [Feb. 9.] when news came of all being settled. 
 
 " God grant that the impression made on some may be 
 
DEPARTS FOR CALCUTTA. 221 
 
 lasting ! And, 0, may I have grace to give myself to 
 follow the Lord fully, and to be ready to every good word 
 and work ! I have been considering my unprofitableness 
 this morning, and have much reason for deep humiliation.' 
 
 And under date of Friday, Feb. 13th. Mr. C. 
 observes : 
 
 " From the conversation in the Society this evening, it 
 appears that most of the men had their minds exercised with 
 thoughts of death during the late march. A. H. sent word 
 ' that his mind was more refreshed with the considerations 
 of the grace of God, and love of Christ, than ever he ex- 
 perienced before ; that one morning especially, whilst march- 
 ing along, he felt such a hatred and weariness of sin, that 
 the hope of being speedily removed from the seeing, hear- 
 ing, and feeling of it, was highly agreeable to him.' Here 
 was real and rational courage." 
 
 The chaplain who had been appointed to supersede 
 Mr. Corrie at Cawnpore, having arrived toward the 
 end of February 1812, and entered on the duties of 
 the station, Mr. C. made immediate arrangements for 
 his journey to Calcutta. He lingered for a short time 
 in the hope of being able to see some of the soldiers 
 who were expected back from Callinger, but failing 
 in this, he left Cawnpore on Friday the 28th of Feb- 
 ruary, having first placed four native youths and a 
 native Christian reader under the direction of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Sherwood. The young person of European 
 descent, of whom mention often occurs in the pre- 
 ceding Journal and letters, accompanied Mr. C. to 
 
222 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Calcutta, in order that he might there follow out the 
 study of Greek and Latin, with a view to his being 
 afterwards employed as a missionary. Eespecting 
 the religious condition of the native congregation 
 which Mr. C., left at Cawnpore, he observes, under 
 date of March 1, 1812: 
 
 ( ' In September last, we began Hindoostanee worship, 
 which has been attended sometimes by fifty or sixty, but 
 irregularly, and generally by about twenty -five. I have read 
 among them Genesis, with the Gospel of St. Matthew. 
 Left Goon* reading Exodus, and the Acts. I had translated 
 Henry's Commentary on many parts of Genesis, which is 
 left with Mrs. S. Some of the women had learned more or 
 less of the shorter Catechism, and one the whole of it, and 
 had been baptized and married : several of the people mani- 
 fested great concern at my coming away. I ought to feel 
 more thankful, and may well have great searchings of heart 
 on my own account. I have done much duty as to quantity, of 
 late ; but have much cause for humiliation in respect of the 
 formal manner of doing it. Lord ! enliven me, and let me 
 be enabled to profit by this journey ! Enable me to be a 
 witness for Thee in every place ; and to fit myself for further 
 usefulness by due observation of Thy providences ! Restore 
 me to health, if it be Thy will, that I may shew forth Thy 
 praises ! " 
 
 As Mr. Corrie was now passing through the scenes 
 of his former labours, some portions of his Journal 
 are subjoined. 
 
 " March 8. Above Mirzapore, last night, when on shore, 
 I observed a Brahmin at his devotions, and wished to enter 
 
 * A native Christian reader. 
 
CHUNAR. 223 
 
 into discourse with him. After some questions, I asked 
 him, ' What benefit he expected from his devotions ? ' 
 Another Brahmin answered, 'What but that Narsingha 
 should supply food to fill his belly/ I observed, ' that 
 many who never made poojah* were supplied with food : ' 
 He said, ' If any would make poojah he might serve us, 
 and we would provide for him ; but they that lived there by 
 themselves made poojah, and Narsingha provided for them/ 
 But I asked, l In the world to come what do you expect 
 from your devotions ? ' To this he answered, ' Who knows 
 what will be in the life to come ? ' One of my Dandees on 
 this said, { Sahib asks about your Shasters and your reli- 
 gion : he is a Brahmin among the English as you are : he 
 marries, says his prayers, and gives to the poor as you do, 
 if not, why should he enquire about your religion, who else 
 of the English would enquire ? ' 
 
 " 15th March. I have to-day been officiating to the con- 
 gregation in the new Church at Secrole : on going, had felt 
 thankful for being permitted to worship in this place, and 
 prayed that it might be indeed a house of prayer. may 
 the Lord grant a blessing to his own truth, and bring many 
 sons unto glory at Chunar ! On Wednesday, had public 
 worship at Church for the English and Hindoostanee ; many 
 
 attended. I was grieved at the spirit manifested by Mr. 
 
 and others there. The bitterness of their spirit is what I 
 lament, and their contempt of all subordination. O may 
 my own soul be more attentive to obey my Lord in spirit and 
 in truth ! I seldom enjoy nearness to God : I do not walk 
 closely with him, but suffer company, reading, and undue 
 indulgence of myself to interfere with time of devotion. 
 Lord, I beseech thee to enable me to lay aside every weight, 
 and to run, looking unto Jesus ! 
 
 " Sunday, March 22nd. At Chunar, Serjeant Williams' 
 wife, on my asking her if she yet knew the way of accep- 
 
 * Worship. 
 
224 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 tance with God, answered, ' It is through Jesus Christ : He 
 is, indeed, himself the way ; and I continue day and night 
 in the consideration and expectation of his mercy/ At 
 Buxar, an old woman who seems in a dying state, on my 
 asking her how sin could be forgiven, said, ( Surely in no 
 way but through the Lord Jesus Christ ; He took our nature 
 upon him, and endured suffering and death for our sins, and 
 now through the mercy of God we shall be saved. ' I asked 
 her what she thought of the employment of heaven ? She said 
 ' She should there see the Lord Jesus, and love and worship 
 him for ever ; and that those who do not love and worship 
 him on earth cannot enter heaven.' ' 
 
 In a letter to Mr. Brown, dated 6th. of April, 
 after mentioning several of the foregoing particulars 
 respecting the state of things at Chunar and Buxar, 
 Mr. Corrie adds : 
 
 " During the short stay I made at Gazeepore, I could 
 find never a vestige of dear Martyn's labours. One man ex- 
 pressed great love for his former pastor, but lamented that 
 all are fallen into decay. Perhaps the latent spark may 
 again be lighted up, if they again come under ' the joyful 
 sound ; ' but, 0, what are they doing at home, that none are 
 found to come and help us ? " 
 
 The recurrence of his birth-day was not forgotten 
 by Mr. C. as an occasion for self-examination and 
 thanksgiving. 
 
 "April 1 1th. Yesterday, I was thirty-five years old ; the day 
 did not pass unnoticed, though I fall sadly short in the spirit 
 with which I would serve God at all times. I praise Him who 
 hath kept me wonderfully of late, so that though I am con- 
 scious of many falls, yet he hath raised me up, and restored 
 
CAWNPORE. 
 
 225 
 
 my soul, and made me watchful : I have devoted myself 
 anew to the Lord my Saviour, and hope my conscience 
 witnesses truly that to me to live is Christ, though in no 
 one duty do I live as I ought : the heathen especially I 
 would live and die with. I praise God who renews my 
 bodily strength : to Him would I surrender myself. 
 O give me to live more simply by faith in Jesus, and to 
 live a life of closet communion with the Father and the 
 Son ! 
 
 In a like happy and watchful spirit, Mr. C. con- 
 tinued to pursue his journey : 
 
 " Sunday, April 19th. During the last week, I have 
 been in the Muta-bangha Nulla, * the shore on either side 
 presents a gaudy, flattering view ; I have in general been 
 enabled to keep in mind the harbour of eternity, and_trust 
 to attain to the desired haven through the abounding grace 
 of God the Saviour. This morning I was a good deal 
 favoured in prayer ; may the savour of thy grace, O Lord, 
 remain with me ! O how much to be desired are thy courts : 
 how happy the men who, with joyful experience of thy 
 grace are always praising Thee : one day, Lord, in thy 
 heavenly sanctuary, how will it blot out the remembrance 
 of all the trials and conflicts attending this militant state. 
 
 " Tuesday. Erom the very winding course of the stream, 
 we are not yet at Chinsurah : I hope to reach there this 
 forenoon : yesterday I was unable to attend to any thing, 
 and am much the same to-day : the journey thus finishes 
 miserably. I forget mercies in a manner that ought to 
 humble me exceedingly, and become in consequence, a prey 
 to temptation. Instead of being thankful for preservation 
 &c., I kick against the hand that upholds me, so that I 
 
 * One of the channels which connects the Ganges with the 
 Hooghley. 
 
226 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 must close with acknowledging it to be l of the Lord's mercy 
 that I am not consumed ; ' and ' what shall I render unto 
 the Lord ? ' 
 
 " 22nd. Arrived yesterday about four at Chinsurah, and 
 passed the evening with Mr. Forsyth : learned many gratify- 
 ing particulars from him respecting the progress of the 
 gospel ; and had much profitable conversation on the signs 
 of the times. may I have that preparation of heart which 
 is from the Lord, that my journey may not be in vain ! 
 Thanks to the Lord, who healeth my bodily infirmities ; and 
 I trust, my spiritual ones also. may I have grace to give 
 myself wholly to him ! " 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 CALCUTTA. 
 
 ON the 24th of April 1812, Mr. Corrie arrived 
 in Calcutta, and took up his abode with Mr. Thoma- 
 son. He found his friend Mr. Brown in a very de- 
 bilitated state of health. During the preceding six 
 months, Mr. B's strength had been manifestly 
 failing ; but now his illness had assumed so threat- 
 ening an aspect, that a sea-voyage was recommended 
 as the only human means, that promised to ward off 
 the danger of death. Mr. Brown accordingly con- 
 sented to make trial of that remedy ; and having ex- 
 pressed a great desire that Mr. Corrie should accom- 
 pany him in the voyage, the two friends left Calcutta 
 early in May, and on the 14th of that month, 
 embarked on board the Dover Castle, with the in- 
 tention to visit Madras. The first effect of the sea- 
 air was beneficial to both. Respecting his friend, 
 Mr. Corrie observed : 
 
 Q2 
 
228 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " Mr. Brown, since his coming on board is much recovered, 
 though still very weak. He has, at times a great deal of his 
 former wit, and sound sense in conversation. He observed, 
 that he had generally found considerable scrupulosity atten- 
 ded with little understanding, and some defect in morality. '' 
 
 This record is dated on the 17th of May : and on 
 the 30th. Mr. Corrie writes : 
 
 " Many events have taken place since writing the above, 
 which I would remember. We lay at Saugur till the 23rd. 
 during that time I was much occupied about Mr. B. and 
 cabins, &c. I had time, however, to get near some of those 
 around me ; our discourse was all upon religion : on the 
 23rd., we weighed anchor, and went down to the first buoy : 
 on Sunday the 24th, owing to the confusion attending heav- 
 ing the anchor, &c., we could not have worship. I employed 
 myself most of the morning in reading Paley's Sermons. 
 Mr. B. was too ill to attend to any thing ; about 2 o'clock on 
 that day, as Mr.B. and I were talking, we perceived the ship to 
 touch ground ; and, after two or three scrapings of that kind, 
 fairly stick fast : all appeared alarmed on deck ; the masts were 
 ready to go over-board, and the decks began to heave : during 
 this time the rudder broke off: in about half an hour we 
 were carried into deep water, but obliged to anchor, the 
 ship being unmanageable : she was found to leak, and all 
 hands ordered to the pumps : on her first striking, Mr. B. 
 quietly observed, " It is the Lord, let him do as seemeth him 
 good ; " then quietly putting on his clothes, we came up into 
 the captain's cabin, and remained there all the time : on 
 Monday, we attempted to float up with the tide, but the 
 wind failing, the ship went toward the sand, and the anchor 
 was lost : in consequence of this all became dismayed, and 
 it was recommended that the Colonel and Lady Elizabeth 
 Murray, with Mr. B. and myself, should go on board the 
 pilot schooner; we went accordingly, but here great troubles 
 awaited us. Mr. B. fainted through fatigue ; and as there 
 
CALCUTTA. 229 
 
 was only one private cabin, he would not take it, but re- 
 mained on deck the whole of that day and night, and till 
 the evening of Tuesday, when we were taken on board the 
 Baring : here we had a quiet night, and next day Mr. B. 
 appeared quite revived ; but the following night, having got 
 chilled in his sleep, he arose very unwell, and from what I 
 observed, I first began to think he would not recover : on 
 Friday, we got up to Fulta, where Mr. B. again appeared 
 better, but having been worse during Saturday night, he 
 resolved to come to Calcutta on Sunday, where he now is, 
 in a very weak state, at Mr. Harrington's. During all these 
 changes, I have felt little of either hope or fear, pleasure or 
 pain ; the plague of a hard heart has seized me. God grant 
 me never to think well of myself, till I can feel more of his 
 hand in my daily history ! This insensibility began on 
 going on board the yacht, where my retirements were inter- 
 rupted, and my time broken up ; being hourly with Mr. B., 
 and constantly on the watch to wait upon him, destroyed my 
 time on board ; and now, Lord, I would return to Thee, 
 do thou quicken me, as thou art wont ! I found the evening 
 prayers in church very grateful on Sunday, and the sermon 
 suitable. God ! I thank thee for these visits : enable me 
 to remember them thankfully ! The general temper of Mr. 
 B, was deep humiliation ; the penitential psalms he said 
 were just suited to him, and often he praised God for his 
 word, and for the record of his dealings with his saints : 
 often he said, ' the Lord's will is best ; His way is best, 
 His time is best ; He doeth all things well ! ' He said, 
 ' a man does not know the wickedness of his heart till he 
 grows old : ' he had been more sensible of Satan's attacks 
 during the last two years than at any period of his life : the 
 Office for visiting the Sick he often read, and expressed 
 his feeling of how suitable it was." 
 
 Fatigue and exposure to the weather, added to 
 the want of sustenance proper for an invalid, so worked 
 
230 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 upon the exhausted frame of Mr. Brown, that not- 
 withstanding all that medical skill and the attention of 
 friends could do for him, he closed his mortal career 
 within about a fortnight of his return to Calcutta. As 
 regarded Mr. Corrie, his health still required that 
 he should try the efficacy of a sea-voyage, and 
 therefore he made arrangements for embarking 
 for the Isle of France, at the beginning of July. 
 In the meanwhile, however, he was occupied in 
 various clerical duties, and paid the last tribute of 
 affection to his deceased friend, Mr. Brown, by a 
 funeral sermon preached in the Presidency church. 
 With reference to this and the circumstances con- 
 nected with his intended voyage, Mr. C. remarks : 
 
 "Diamond Harbour, ship Bengal, merchantman, July 
 5, 1812. Since my last memoranda, how many striking 
 events have occurred, and how little, alas, improved ! 
 
 " On the fourteenth of June, Mr. B. departed this life. 
 I have learned, from this event, the absolute necessity of 
 keeping the mind in a humble, waiting posture. Lord, 
 may I watch and pray, and have patience to endure, that 
 I may inherit the promises. I have had frequent public 
 ministrations ; amongst others, preached on the twenty-fifth 
 in the new church, a funeral sermon for Mr. B., it had the 
 effect of removing prejudice from the minds of some ; the 
 
 enmity of is too apparent, but he can go no further 
 
 than permitted. Lord, look in mercy on the congrega- 
 tion at the new church, and take not the light of thy truth 
 from them ! The frequent calls into the heat, with many 
 interruptions, rendered it needful for me to seek change, 
 and behold I am here, I think by the will of God. I hope 
 
SAUGUR ROADS. 231 
 
 to get rid of the disease of the liver, but the failure of my 
 lungs, I am conscious of, will not be so easily repaired. 
 
 " I am in the Lord's hands. Agra seems on all accounts 
 best fitted for me, presenting less labour among Europeans, 
 and more opportunities of schools, &c. among the natives. 
 Lord, bring me thither, if it be thy will ! 
 
 "July 12th. I have been detained here beyond my 
 expectations ; my mind generally at peace through Jesus 
 Christ. I have humbled myself, and renewed my repen- 
 tance, and trust I am at peace through the blood of sprink- 
 ling. During the week have had many conversations with 
 P. ; and, I hope, with good effect ; he has been extracting 
 the passages that refer to Justification, and said last night, 
 he is determined to give the subject thorough consideration. 
 In prayer I have had more freedom than on shore, and have 
 been led, from reflecting on God's care of his church, to 
 pray for the enlargement of it in India. 
 
 Whilst detained on the shores of India, Mr. Cor- 
 rie received a letter from Mr. Buck worth, which 
 called forth the following reply : 
 
 "July 20, 1812. 
 
 " A letter of your's without date, reached me yesterday, 
 and delighted me much. I have had many apprehensions 
 respecting your continuance in this { vale of tears :' fears 
 for myself and for your flock and family, not for yourself. 
 I trust that as it is better for us that you should remain ; 
 you will be given to us for a season longer. 
 
 "You and I have both erred in excess of labour; we 
 know who hath said, " I will have mercy and not sacrifice." 
 I do not, however, regret having done what I could. It is 
 here, I trust, we do not presume in expecting pardon for 
 our iniquities ; and though we might have served our gener- 
 ation more effectually by simple dependence on the promised 
 blessing, on quiet unconsiimmg labour, we may hope when 
 
MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 our head is laid low, others shall enter into our labours. 
 The prospect in this land is indeed very discouraging on this 
 head. Government continues its determined opposition to 
 every thing tending to bring the light of the Gospel before 
 the heathen. It is now, also, a melancholy consideration 
 that so many of their native subjects, bearing the Chris- 
 tian name, are left to c perish for lack of knowledge/ 
 Would to God something might be done on this subject in 
 the new settlement of the Charter ! Surely the religious 
 public at home, will make an effort to bring the circum- 
 stances of the Indian Church before Parliament. 
 
 " I am highly gratified by the account of your young 
 friends who have devoted themselves to missionary labour. 
 e Say unto them, be strong, fear not.' How earnestly do I 
 wish a way were opened for them to this land ; how gladly 
 would I hail them as brethren ; but, unless they could come 
 in some way accredited from home, such is the state of things 
 here, I could not serve them much. There is no hindrance 
 east in my own way, but such as the Gospel meets with 
 every where ; but what I mean is, that very little could be 
 done to procure the consent of Government to their stay, 
 unless they had leave from home. By the Charter, the Com- 
 pany ought to have schoolmasters as well as Chaplains for 
 their European regiments ; could none of the London friends 
 procure schoolmasters to be sent here ? Mr. Thomason is 
 greatly in want of an assistant in the old church, Calcutta ; 
 could not one of your young friends get ordained, and come 
 over to us ? Whilst Mr. Brown was alive, Mr. Thomason 
 had help ; now he stands alone in Calcutta. Besides, the 
 ( Society for Missions to Africa and the East,' want to send 
 a missionary to Ceylon, a most important field of labour. 
 I would urge their coming to this land, if a way were 
 opened, in preference to Africa, because here the natives are 
 not sanguinary, and the land is under European govern- 
 ment ; and also, because though I have lost my health, 
 and others also, yet I think another who should follow my 
 
SAUGUR ROADS. 233 
 
 advice might here live to the age of man, notwithstanding 
 the difference of climate. Mr. Desgranges destroyed him- 
 self ; ' the zeal of God's house ate him up, ' I think may be 
 said of this member of Christ, in his measure; and the 
 same of beloved and honoured Martyn. Notwithstanding 
 the opposition of Government, a work is working in this 
 land, which the despisers wonder at, and know not how to 
 resist. The public sentiment appeared gloriously on the 
 foundation of the Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society; even 
 those who oppose officially, saying they obey orders from 
 home, cannot resist the Christian argument in behalf of the 
 many already baptized. Missions have uniformly been dis- 
 couraged by the British government here, yet we find ten 
 or twelve thousand converts among their subjects ; and now 
 many, very many of our British fellow- subjects here are 
 awakened seriously to their own state, and to a sense of the 
 duty we owe them. Some young officers, I know, have 
 schools in their own house, where they educate the native 
 Christian children they find about them. At every European 
 station, there are some of these children. One married 
 officer and his lady have collected about twenty, and pray 
 with them in Hindoostanee every morning. Let these con- 
 siderations, my brother, excite a spirit of prayer for us 
 here; among your young brethren, at your quarterly meet- 
 ings, make mention of our affairs, that we may have a 
 place in your joint supplications ; and God grant that some 
 of them may be led to offer themselves to the help of the 
 Lord ! 
 
 Then, after mentioning 1 some particulars respecting 
 the state in which he left his flocks at Cawnpore, 
 Chunar and Benares, and which have already been 
 related, Mr. Corrie proceeds : 
 
 " What a dreary waste from Benares to Calcutta ! There 
 are indeed, several worthy individuals in that place; but 
 
234 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " The sound of the church -going bell 
 These beautiful plains never heard ; 
 Never sighed at the sound of the knell, 
 Nor smiled when a sabbath appeared." 
 
 Mr. Martyn is in Persia ; I heard from him, dated March 
 20th "from Shiraz ; he had finished a copy of the New 
 Testament, and of the Psalms, in Persian, and was em- 
 ployed on the book of Daniel : he purposes going into 
 Arabia, to prove specimens of Arabic translation, before his 
 return. I baptized four converts a few days ago, the fruits 
 of a Native brother's labours, who possesses good ministerial 
 abilities, and promises great usefulness. Of the Baptists, I may 
 speak in a body. Their chief success is in Calcutta, where 
 some, in most months, are added to them. They have some 
 brethren at Agra; some at Dinapore, or Patna (which are 
 close together,) but I hear of none persuaded by them ex- 
 cept a young officer, who was awakened by some means at 
 a distance from Christian society, and having none that he 
 could advise with, wrote to them ; and from one step to 
 another seems now disposed to join them. He has been 
 persuaded to pause. Their labours in Chinese and Sanscrit 
 are valuable, because they have proper helps; but their 
 other productions are inferior. Of those who have joined 
 them in Calcutta, it is no disparaging of their individual 
 worth to say that they are mostly of inferior rank. I hesitate 
 not to say, they prevail by legal considerations for the most 
 part ; and I lament that their prejudices against the Church 
 of England will not suffer them to take one step beyond their 
 own narrow enclosure. But may the work of the Lord, as 
 far as it is His work, prosper in their hands, no less than 
 in ours : and may we all be found one in Christ Jesus ! 
 For myself, I write this on board of ship in Saugur roads, at 
 the entrance of the river leading to Calcutta. I am going 
 to sea on account of a liver-complaint, which has afflicted 
 me now upwards of three years, and does not give way to 
 medicine. I am told, it has not yet injured iny constitution, 
 
SAUGUR ROADS. 235 
 
 but ministerial labours completely counteract the effects of 
 medicine, so that I can only hope for a cure from rest and 
 change of air. I feel it a duty to try these ; and for this 
 purpose came down from Cawnpore." 
 
 Scarcely had Mr. Corrie put to sea, when he again 
 had to encounter the perils of the deep. Writing 
 on the 31st July, he remarks : 
 
 " On the 27th it began to blow a gale, which continued 
 the whole day with great violence : and though its violence 
 abated in the evening, it has been blowing weather ever 
 since. Yesterday, we were obliged to heave overboard 370 
 bags of rice, it having got damaged from the water we 
 shipped continually, and gave the ship so great a lurch that 
 we were afraid she would sink, the pumps not being able to 
 keep her clear. On Monday especially, our danger was 
 apparent, and my mind was at first a good deal discomposed. 
 I retired to my cabin, and on a review could say that I have 
 not wasted my health in self- pleasing, that however mixed 
 my services have been with sinful motives, yet the further- 
 ance of the gospel has been my chief aim, and now I am 
 here seeking renewal of strength, much against my own in- 
 clination ; but at the urgent importunities of friends : and if 
 it please God to restore me, I intend no other work or way 
 but to serve Him in the gospel of his Son. Such reflec- 
 tions encouraged me to draw near with faith to God in 
 Christ. I was favoured with freedom of access, and by 
 prayer and thanksgiving, was enabled to ' cast my burden 
 on the Lord,' and to hope for and expect the preservation 
 afforded. I, at the same time, devoted my body, soul, and 
 spirit anew to the service of God my Saviour ; and I do now 
 renew that dedication, and purpose through thy strength, 
 blessed Saviour, to know nothing, and follow after nothing, 
 but the knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ, and the diffu- 
 sion of his blessed truth." 
 
 " August 3rd. The wind still boisterous, and often stormy ; 
 
236 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 this destroys our comfort with the poor attendance we 
 have on board. I endeavour to improve my mind by read- 
 ing and conversation with , who seems to come more 
 
 and more into true notions on religion ; may grace be 
 vouchsafed him, that he may feel their importance, and rest 
 upon them ! During yesterday and to-day we have been re- 
 turning to nearly our former way ; the wish of putting into 
 some port has been much present with me, and the hope of 
 being able to return, without going to the Isle of France, 
 has made me too anxious. Lord, give me grace to be 
 submissive to thine appointments ! I know not what is best : 
 thou, Lord well knowest : direct, controul, and support 
 my soul ! The sight of the raging sea, which at times made 
 me feel powerfully the presence and majesty of God, ceases 
 to have that effect : because others apprehend no danger, I 
 am ready to conclude there is none, and so live without that 
 looking unto Jesus which is my duty and my privilege. O 
 Lord, though to human apprehension danger is not nigh ; yet 
 my life is in thy hands, and thine are all my ways ; and in 
 the practice of these words I desire to live and die. Amen ! " 
 
 Owing to this stormy weather, contrary winds, 
 and a strong current, the ship made but little way, 
 for after a fortnight's sailing, Mr. Corrie found him- 
 self no further on his voyage than the Cacoas islands. 
 The captain then decided to retrace their course 
 somewhat, with a view to getting to the westward, 
 and that object was accomplished so far that toward 
 the end of August, the ship was slowly working her 
 way down the coast, and on the 6th of September 
 entered the Vizagapatam roads. It appears how- 
 ever, from Mr. Corrie's Journal, that the prospect of 
 a long and tedious voyage, and the consequent un- 
 
VIZAGAPATAM. 
 
 237 
 
 certainty as to the time when he might get back 
 again to India, often ' filled his mind with painful 
 anxiety.' The return, too, of former pains in his 
 side, he regarded as being chiefly occasioned by ' the 
 want of regular food and exercise.' These and other 
 considerations weighed so powerfully on his mind that 
 for some time previously to coming within sight of 
 the coast of India, he had decided to abandon the 
 voyage to the Isle of France, and to ' disembark at 
 whatever port the ship might put in.' On reaching 
 Vizagapatam he carried that purpose into effect. 
 This place had then been occupied for about eight 
 years as a central station by the London Missionary 
 Society ; and was, moreover, a place of much interest 
 to Mr. Corrie, as being the scene of the labours and 
 death of Mr. Desgranges, who is so feelingly men- 
 tioned in the foregoing letter to Mr. Buckworth. 
 Here, therefore, Mr. Corrie remained for more than 
 a fortnight in the house of Mr. Pritchett, the London 
 Society's missionary. During his stay at Vizaga- 
 patam, Mr. C. notes on 
 
 " September 20th. This day six years I arrived in Cal- 
 cutta : I scarcely know what to say or think of the time 
 gone by. I feel myself an unprofitable servant. My cold- 
 ness in prayer ; my want of love to the Bible ; my generally 
 reading other books in its stead, oppress me with a sense of 
 guilt. The favour shown me here is very humiliating, being 
 so much more than I deserve. God, give me grace to 
 know and do thy will, and to delight in thy law ! " 
 
238 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE, 
 
 Mr. Corrie's departure from Vizagapatam is no- 
 ticed as follows : 
 
 " September 23rd. On board the ship Union, leaving 
 Vizagapatam. Arrived here on the 6th, wrote to Mr. 
 Pritchett, and went on shore by invitation, in the evening, 
 to their family worship. I have been hospitably entertained 
 ever since, at the mission-house, though owing to the low- 
 ness of the place, and consequent heat, I should have pre- 
 ferred a higher situation. I have observed in general that 
 the missionaries are men of true piety, and of more candour 
 than I expected : they receive ten pagodas per month from 
 Government (a pitiful sum,) for which they officiate as Chap- 
 lain to the station ; but do not baptize or marry. They have 
 public worship in the court-house on Sunday, and at the 
 house on top of the hill; the attendance is generally good,* 
 I officiated at the latter place the two Sundays I was there. 
 On Sunday last I administered the Lord's Supper to twelve ; 
 and last night married a couple : baptized eight children, 
 and preached in the court-house in the evening, and after- 
 wards administered the Lord's Supper to six 
 
 Though the missionaries are doubtless good men, yet I 
 see decidedly the advantage men who have been brought up 
 from youth with attention to learning, have over them. I 
 suggested a native Christian school, and it will, I expect, 
 be adopted ; and according to my views of the subject, will 
 supply a door of entrance among the heathen. May I re- 
 member their Christian love, and be excited to imitate it ! 
 May the remembrance of the attention shown me operate to 
 render me more anxious to deserve it ! " 
 
 " September 24th. Last night we were obliged to come to 
 anchor off Vizagapatam. This morning a slight breeze 
 
 * From the period of their first arrival at Vizagapatam, the Mis- 
 sionaries seem to have been in the habit of conducting public wor- 
 ship according to the ritual of the church of England ; and pro- 
 ceeded to translate the English liturgy into the Teloogoo language. 
 
VIZAGAPATAM. 239 
 
 sprung up; and we are now, 4 a. m. losing sight of hospi- 
 table Waltere. My heart, ever cleaving to creatures, viewed 
 Mr. P's house several times during the day, with regret at 
 
 leaving it I know, O Lord, that thy salvation is life 
 
 eternal, and that in thy light alone does light and joy appear 
 to the soul. Lord my God, lift upon me the light of thy 
 countenance for the sake of thine Anointed ! " 
 
 The following are also extracts from Mr. C's 
 Journal : 
 
 " Sunday, 27th Sept. This has been a most unprofitable 
 day ; the temper of those on board seems more removed from 
 the Christian temper than any thing I have seen. A con- 
 temptuous disregard of every thing sacred reminds me con- 
 tinually of the caution not to cast pearls before swine ; yet 
 let me not suffer sin upon my neighbour unreproved. I have 
 attempted to pray, and have gone over the usual subjects ; 
 but, alas, with little heart : it occurred to me the increased 
 number of names I have to mention ought to make me mark 
 more decidedly the power of God towards me." 
 
 " October 6th, Below Kedgeree. During the last week, 
 I was occupied a good deal with some writings of Madame de 
 Stael ; and could not but be thankful for mere comfortable 
 views of religious truth than she can afford : I felt how abso- 
 lutely absurd all her theories of happiness are, and how 
 insane her most exemplary characters. At the same time, I 
 felt a fear lest any foolish pride of sentiment, or fine feeling, 
 should tempt me to forsake the fountain of living waters, 
 and was led to pray with some fervency for a more simple 
 regard to the word of God, and more attention to it. On 
 Sunday, the 4th, we fell in with a pilot, and yesterday 
 evening anchored in Saugur roads. To-day, we are at anchor 
 below Kedgeree light-house. I have felt much thankfulness 
 for a safe return to this land. I know not whether or not 
 my side is well, but feel that I am weaker than formerly ; 
 
240 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 easily affected by the heat, and do not soon recover from the 
 use of medicine. I have, however much reason to adore the 
 love and kindness of God my Saviour, that this land, once 
 the land of banishment to me, is become a land of promise. 
 I return to it not by constraint, but as a home : there are 
 sisters, brothers, and dear friends in the Lord, to whom my 
 soul cleaves, and to whom I am welcome. O my God, 
 surely I owe thee myself, my soul and body ! I have owed 
 to thee my days; thou hast delivered me from the great 
 deep, and my soul shall praise thee ! My work among the 
 British, my native schools and teaching, to these employ- 
 ments I consecrate my days/' 
 
 On the evening of Thursday the 8th October 
 1812, Mr. Corrie reached Calcutta, and on finding 
 that Mr. Thomason was laid aside from duty, by an 
 attack of illness, Mr. C. undertook the services at 
 the Old Church for a few weeks, until his friend 
 should be convalescent. It was not his desire, how- 
 ever, to remain long absent from his own station, 
 now that his health had been in a great measure res- 
 tored to him, and he, therefore, made preparations 
 for proceeding to Agra. But before leaving Cal- 
 cutta, Mr. C. was united in marriage to Elizabeth, 
 the only child of Mr. W. Myers, a gentleman whose 
 name has already occurred in these memoirs as 
 among the friends of the Rev. D. Brown. Respec- 
 ting Miss Myers, the observation of Mr. Thomason 
 was, in reference to her marriage with Mr. Corrie, 
 that she was c one who entered into all his missi- 
 onary views, and was indeed a help-meet for him.' 
 
CALCUTTA. 241 
 
 It was now, also, that the Christian friendship which 
 subsisted throughout after-life between Mr. Corrie 
 and Abdool Messeeh, may be said to have commenced ; 
 for the sincerity of Abdool's profession of the gospel 
 having by this time been well proved, it was decided 
 that he should accompany Mr. Corrie to Agra, as a 
 Scripture Reader and Catechist. An outline of the 
 history of this remarkable convert to the Christian 
 faith, was drawn up at the time by Mr. Corrie,* and 
 has been frequently reprinted ; so that it would be 
 superfluous, in this place, to do more than to supply 
 such a brief sketch of Abdool's earlier life, as may 
 serve for the elucidation of some particulars respec- 
 ting him, which are given below. It will be remem- 
 bered, then, that Abdool was a native of Delhi ; 
 but that when arrived at man's estate he accompanied 
 his family to Lucknow ; being all the while a zealous 
 Mahomedan. From thence he removed to Cawnpore, 
 where he was so impressed by the preaching of Mr. 
 Martyn, that he became a candidate for baptism, 
 accompanied Mr. M. to Calcutta, and was, after due 
 probation, admitted into the church of Christ, by 
 Mr. Brown, on Whit-Sunday, 1811. From that time 
 until he joined Mr. Corrie's family, Abdool lived in 
 Calcutta or the neighbourhood, suffering much op- 
 position from the Mahomedans, but being the in- 
 strument of much good to many of his countrymen. 
 
 * Missionary Register, vol. i. p. 261 266. 
 R 
 
242 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE, 
 
 At the latter end of November 1812, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Corrie took leave of Calcutta for Agra, Ab- 
 dool with several Christian native children occupying 
 a boat by themselves. Abdool employed himself 
 during the journey in teaching the children to read, 
 &c., and in composing hymns to native measures. 
 These he was in the habit of singing with the chil- 
 dren and servants when the party came to anchor 
 for the night. As also, the journey from Calcutta 
 occupied many weeks, it was customary to remain 
 at anchor throughout every Sunday that occurred on 
 the way ; and on those occasions Abdool used to 
 collect together the boatmen and others on the banks 
 of the river, and explain the scriptures to them. 
 On many occasions, too, he maintained arguments 
 with Brahmins and Romanists on subjects connected 
 with their respective superstitions ; but, as copious ac- 
 counts of those disputes are given in the printed 
 journal of Abdool's proceedings, it is not considered 
 necessary to repeat them. The result usually was to 
 call forth much hostility to Abdool, and to expose him 
 to personal danger. Thus, from Cawnpore, 1 7th Feb. 
 1813, Mr. Corrie writes to his brother-in-law : 
 
 TO J. W. SHERER, ESQ. 
 
 f We expect to leave this about the 25th ; we should have 
 gone before now, but that Abdool Messeeh is gone to Lucknow 
 
CAWNPORE. 243 
 
 to visit his family, and will not return ujatil the 24th. I 
 was not for his going, nor did he intend to go, but on his 
 writing from Allahabad, a brother and nephew of his came 
 over here, and received him with much affection, and told 
 him, that his father, mother, another brother and three 
 sisters, with their children, had determined on coming over> 
 if he would not go to see them ; professing also, that all 
 his family wish to become Christians together with him. 
 There has been a great stir at Lucknow about his conver- 
 sion. A crowd assemble'd one night about his father's house 
 and demanded that he should openly renounce Abdool, or 
 they should suspect him also of becoming a Christian. He 
 and the brothers said, they would not renounce Abdool, who 
 had always behaved kindly, and now wrote to them with 
 great affection. A tumult ensued, which required the in- 
 terference of the Cutwal ; and the report was carried to the 
 Nabob's son, if not to the Nabob. The great men took the 
 part of Abdool's family, and reproved the others ; but under 
 these circumstances, I did not think it advisable for Abdool 
 to go over, nor would he but for the desire manifested by 
 his family to cleave to him. This made him determined to 
 run all risks, and also because his sisters' husbands threat- 
 ened to forsake them, if they came over here ; and Abdool 
 argued it was not right for him to be the cause of their dis- 
 obeying their husbands, so he would go to them. Indeed 
 his whole conduct manifests a great deal of discretion and 
 good sense, though no superiority in understanding ; so that 
 I fear nothing from indiscretion, and have sent a servant of 
 my own with him, and hope the Lord will be his defence. 
 
 In a letter, however, which Mr. Corrie addressed 
 soon after this to Lieutenant (now Captain) Peevor of 
 H. M. 1 7th foot, he states that Abdool "was obliged 
 to retreat privately," from Lucknow, the rage of the 
 
 R 2 
 
244 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Mahomedans was so great against him." Yet it ap- 
 pears that " his father, mother, two brothers and two 
 nephews, had all professed their readiness to embrace 
 the gospel," and that the nephews returned with 
 Abdool to Cawnpore. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 AGRA. 
 
 MR. Corrie and his party reached Agra on the 18th 
 of April 1813. There he was made acquainted with 
 the death of Mr. Martyn. In a letter to Mr. 
 Sherer, and with reference to that event, Mr. C. 
 writes : 
 
 " We arrived here in good health, and found your letter 
 containing the affecting intelligence of Martyn's death : 
 to us afflictive, to him happy beyond expression. I thought of 
 writing immediately, but could find nothing beyond lamenta- 
 tions to express ; lamentations for us, not for him. He was 
 meet for the " inheritance of the saints in light/' my mas- 
 ter is taken away from me, for a double portion of his 
 spirit ! The work of printing and distributing the scriptures, 
 will henceforth go on more slowly. It is impossible to have 
 so lively an impression of the importance of supplying the 
 written word, where people have not intercourse with the 
 spiritually needy. You all feel for the poor English, be- 
 cause you now and then talk with them, and have demons- 
 
246 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 tration of their ignorance on eternal things. Thus those 
 who enter among the heathen have a demonstration on the 
 subject, which constrains them to pity them, and to exclaim^ 
 ' that they had but a Bible ! ' " 
 
 Shortly after his arrival at Agra, Mr. Corrie en- 
 quired for, and obtained a house, every way suitable 
 for the residence of Abdool Messeeh. The rent was 
 agreed upon, and possession in part given, but in the 
 meantime Abdool's circumstances becoming known, 
 the owner of the house, a Mahomedan, departed 
 from his agreement, and would not accept Abdool 
 for a tenant. But shortly afterwards a property 
 called Boottats Kuttra, a court in the middle of the 
 principal street in Agra, being put up for sale, it 
 was bought by an English gentleman, who gene- 
 rously gave it for the purposes of the mission. In 
 this place Abdool Messeeh regularly conducted Divine 
 Service twice on Sundays, and once, sometimes twice, 
 during the week. He had family worship also, daily 
 with the Native Christians, who resided in or near 
 the Kuttra. Some account of these missionary pro- 
 ceedings is given by Mr. C. in answer to a letter 
 from Mr. Sherer. He writes, on the 8th June 
 1813: 
 
 "The plan of a Native Free-School I admire greatly; 
 and have no doubt of its utility and success. I have been 
 proceeding on that plan ever since I came to the country. 
 
AGRA. 247 
 
 James * failed me, and one of the boys, (Simon) through 
 the wickedness of his parents, is likely to fail me also ; yet 
 I do not despair. Osman is one of the cleverest of any, 
 in English ; Nicholas, most solid ; Abdool's two nephews 
 are promising, especially the younger, Shumsher Rham. 
 We have a tribe of younger ones, and a whole host of little 
 sons of drummers. J. A. is coming, on the first opportunity, 
 to be my English master for them ; which will relieve me 
 much, both as to time and labour ; after two disappointments, 
 and many attempts, we have at length obtained an old 
 premise in the city. This is the fourth day we have been in 
 possession; and a school is already collected there. The 
 whole city rings with this, to them new doctrine; and copies 
 of the New Testament are eagerly sought for : not a tongue 
 moves in opposition; which is a matter both of surprise, 
 and congratulation. Abdool Messeeh is greatly called 
 forth ; and his heart becomes more and more in the work, 
 as people come forward. Two or three, indeed many, have 
 professed their wish to be baptized; but perhaps these 
 are not the most hopeful, for being most forward. The 
 subject has now got amongst the English ; and they evi- 
 dently don't know what to make of it. ... The people in 
 the city generally speak of the school with great approba- 
 tion, and hope it will be made a college. The establish- 
 ment for the whole is now, a Molwee 20 Us. ; an Ostad 10 
 Us. ; a writer 7 Rs, : and a schoolmaster for the little boys 
 8 Rs. : besides Durwan 3 Us. ; and about 25 Rs. for the 
 maintenance of children, &c. &c. So that, I fear, I cannot 
 enlarge much our present establishment." 
 
 Although it had hitherto been the unchristian po- 
 licy of the Indian government either to discounte- 
 
 * The youth of European descent so often mentioned in Mr. Cor- 
 rie's correspondence. He accepted a clerkship of some kind in the 
 Company's service, in preference to becoming a missionary. 
 
248 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 nance all efforts to raise the moral and religious 
 condition of their subjects, or to leave them to be 
 altogether dependent for instruction in the great 
 truths of revealed religion, on the personal zeal and 
 narrow resources of a few private individuals, yet a 
 better state of things appeared now to be at hand. 
 The various missionary societies, and the religious 
 portion of Britain at large, regarded the renewal of 
 the company's charter to be a favourable opportunity 
 for pressing upon the attention of the legislature, 
 the destitute condition of India with respect to the 
 gospel. This was accordingly done, and the result 
 was, that during the month of June ] 8 1 3, the par- 
 liament affirmed the necessity for a Church establish- 
 ment in India ; voted that it was the duty of England 
 to promote the moral and religious improvement of 
 her subjects in India ; and that facilities ought like- 
 wise to be afforded to persons desirous of going to 
 India for the purpose of accomplishing those bene- 
 volent designs. This favourable change in the policy 
 of government was of course unknown to Mr. Cor- 
 rie, when he addressed the following letter: 
 
 TO THE REV. MR. SIMEON. 
 
 " Agra, June 23, 1813. 
 What will the new charter bring to light in respect of 
 
AGRA. 249 
 
 our ' project/ as Mr. Cecil used to speak ? The desirableness 
 of some extension of our present establishment, is beyond 
 all dispute : the most careless among us cry shame on 
 the want of attention of our governors to this point. If 
 we had a sufficient establishment of proper chaplains, there 
 need be little further anxiety about evangelizing India : but 
 who are to supply the places of Brown^ Buchanan, Jeffreys, 
 and Martyn ? It seems almost as if Mr. Carey's prophecy 
 were coming true, that God would not employ us in the 
 work of evangelization. Amidst the great attention we hear 
 of, excited to the distribution of the scriptures, how comes 
 it, none of our Brethren offer themselves to come and dis- 
 tribute the word of life ? And what are we, who believe 
 Episcopacy to be the Order of the primitive church, to do for 
 duly ordained pastors, from among the native converts? 
 I write thus freely, my honoured father in the gospel, for 
 now Mr. Brown and Mr. Martyn no longer bring these 
 subjects before you, and Mr. Thomason, though he is 
 nearer the scene of action, has really no more to do with the 
 natives than you have, nor does Mr. Parson give himself to 
 this work. Mr. Thomason has more to do as Minister of the 
 Old Church, Secretary, etc. etc. than one man ought to have, 
 and this situation must always occupy one : and Mr. Parson 
 gives himself wholly to the British soldiers, among whom he 
 is eminently useful. 
 
 " I am now next on the list of Chaplains to be appointed to 
 Calcutta, and if I must go, there will then be no chaplain out 
 of Calcutta, to enter into the affairs of the Natives. There 
 is no town in India, where a person may not be usefully 
 employed in missionary work, and for superintendance, 
 Calcutta is a preferable situation, but then there must be 
 something to superintend. At present, I am in some per- 
 plexity on this subject. God has been pleased to make the 
 labours of Abdool-Messeeh very acceptable in this place in 
 general. I yesterday sent off to Mr. Bates a copy of his 
 journal from March to this time ; there are eighteen children 
 
250 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 at his school in the city, and six candidates for baptism : 
 the whole city, containing a population of upwards of fifty 
 thousand, is moved, and very little opposition has appeared ; 
 none that deserves to be called opposition : the Kazee * 
 has begun to move against us. I trust we shall give no 
 occasion for tumult, nor have I the smallest fear on that 
 head. Martyn's translation is admired as a composition, 
 no less than as containing important truth ; could he look 
 from Heaven and see Abdool Messeeh, with the translated 
 New Testament in his hand, preaching to the listening 
 throng, and could he know of Mr. M's wish to follow 
 his steps in this work, it would add fresh delight to his 
 holy soul ! Now this prospect of a rising native church 
 makes one reflect, what is to be done for them. Could 
 Abdool Messeeh be properly ordained, he is, in my opinion, 
 for humility, zeal and discretion, most eminently worthy of 
 the ministry. Fervent and experimental piety with such 
 matured judgment, I never expected to meet with in a 
 native of Hindoostan, and such are the sentiments of Mr. 
 M. and another Christian friend, now with us, respecting 
 him. But according to my views on the subject, he cannot 
 with propriety administer the Christian Sacraments ; and 
 my successors would not, perhaps, admit him to their 
 presence. It seems my duty, to decline all removal, as far 
 as I may be permitted, and, I trust, I shall be able to do 
 so, though it would, in many respects, prove a trial both 
 personal and otherwise. The Armenian bishops, and the 
 bishops of the Syrians, have occurred to me, if their ordina- 
 tions be considered valid, f If I had any suitable helper to 
 
 * Native judge. 
 
 t In a letter addressed about this time to the correspondents in 
 Calcutta of the Society for Missions to Africa and the East, Mr. 
 C. recommends them ' to advise with the society, as to the ordina- 
 tion of native ministers, without which,' he adds, ' the Sacramento 
 cannot be regularly administered, nor any permanency looked for 
 in this work.' 
 
AGRA. 251 
 
 whom the work might be committed, I should perhaps, 
 think it advisable to take the privilege of furlough, for 
 the recovery of my strength, if it please God. The great 
 quantity of medicine, I was obliged to take, reduced me 
 much, and the right side is still very tender. I trust in this, 
 and all my ways, to acknowledge the Lord, and doubt not, 
 he will guide me aright. May his kingdom come more 
 fully in my own heart, that I may do his will in all things ! " 
 
 The success which, under the divine blessing, had 
 so signally marked the labours of Abdool Messeeh 
 at Agra, was not unattended by correspondent diffi- 
 culties. The loss of caste and the consequent des- 
 titution which followed the native converts, required 
 to be alleviated by supplying them with sustenance, 
 until some employment could be found for them. 
 The schools also, which had been established under 
 the favourable circumstances, mentioned in the fore- 
 going letters, were necessarily attended with a certain 
 regular expense. As, therefore, Mr. Corrie's re- 
 sources were altogether inadequate to meet the stated 
 and increasing demands upon them, he applied to 
 the Calcutta agents of the Society for Missions to 
 Africa and the East, to ascertain how far assistance 
 might be looked for from that Society. He suggested 
 to them, at the same time, that an auxiliary missi- 
 onary society might be formed in Calcutta, which 
 might aid the work he had in hand, by monthly sub- 
 scriptions. He advised, moreover, that a few friends 
 of missions should form themselves into a committee, 
 
252 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 for the purpose of considering how native converts 
 could be best employed, and their children be brought 
 up to trades. The result of this application to Cal- 
 cutta, was the formation of an association, and the 
 collecting of subscriptions to the amount of four hun- 
 dred pounds, the express objects of which were to 
 enable Mr. Corrie to '* establish and support native 
 schools at Agra and elsewhere." Subscriptions from 
 private sources also, were not wanting. To a friend 
 who took an interest in the Agra mission, Mr. Cor- 
 rie writes on the 2nd of Aug. 1813. 
 
 " I was far from expecting any separate contribution to 
 the work here, but do not even wish to refuse it ; for sure 
 I am that of money thus spent, we shall be able to say at 
 last, * what I have given away, remains.' " 
 
 He then goes on to inform his correspondent, that 
 
 " The Sunday (July 25.) before yesterday was the begin- 
 ning of our visible edifice. The foundation is, I am per- 
 suaded, laid in Christ. The Hukeem * and AbdooPs ne- 
 phew, are both not only enlightened in mind, but informed 
 also in judgment. The former once led a party to fight for 
 Islam, consequently his conversion has called forth more of 
 the spite of the enemy than we before have seen. Several 
 have told Abdool plainly, that under any other government 
 they would have risen upon him. I observe without saying 
 anything to any around. Mr. H. talks to every body in the 
 same strain, and then tells E. the remarks people make. 
 Why ! I know before hand what such people will say." 
 
 * A native physician. 
 
AGRA. 253 
 
 The Hukeem mentioned in the preceding extract, 
 was a Mahomedan from Burtpore, and physician to 
 the Rajah's family. His first acquaintance with 
 divine truth was through the medium of the Pen- 
 tateuch in Arabic, which a Romish priest had lent 
 him some years before the date of the letter just 
 quoted. Afterwards, meeting with a copy of the 
 gospels translated into Persian, by Sabat, the Hu- 
 keem became convinced of the truth of Christianity, 
 but made no open profession of the gospel ; 
 until under the instruction of Abdool, he learned 
 " the way of God more perfectly," and was baptised 
 by the name of Talib Messeeh Khan, on the Sunday 
 above-mentioned. His baptism occasioned so great 
 a sensation among the Mahomedans, that Abdool's 
 house in the city was for some days a constant scene 
 of comers and goers. The disciples of the various 
 Musselman saints came in bodies (sometimes of 
 upwards of forty) to enquire about the mode of ini- 
 tiation into the Christian Religion. The eldest ne- 
 phew of Abdool was baptised at the same time with 
 the Hukeem. 
 
 These promising appearances, however, brought 
 with them correspondent anxieties, so far as respected 
 Mr. Corrie; for in writing to Mr. Sherer (Aug. 18, 
 1813.) he remarks : 
 
 " I never before felt the care attending the winning of 
 souls as now ; and never before so entirely felt my own per- 
 
254 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 feet insignificance and folly. While all was only beginning, 
 there was food for vain glory, and no occasion for suspicion 
 or watchfulness. Now time has been given for probation, 
 my rest sometimes departs from me lest Satan should gain 
 an advantage over us." 
 
 Mr. Corrie then goes on to inform Mr. S. : 
 " The Hukeem I baptized proves a man of superior un- 
 derstanding. He has begun Hebrew, and if he proceeds 
 as he has begun, will prove a most valuable corrector of the 
 Hindoostanee Old Testament, which Mirza Fitrut has trans- 
 lated from the English. He is not, however, so obliging 
 in his disposition as Abdool Messeeh. The eldest nephew 
 of Abdool has been, ever since his baptism, quite another 
 creature, lively, devoted, and the servant of all. He is on 
 your fund, as a Reader ; and the Hukeem receives for him- 
 self and family 20 R. till he becomes qualified for some office 
 in the church. To prove the sincerity of the Fakeers, I 
 hired forty Bigohs * of land, and they have laboured with 
 readiness for their bread, in clearing, weeding, watching, &c. 
 This has been a present extra expense, but I am told the grain 
 will produce a return. In consequence of the scarcity, mul- 
 titudes of poor are very ill off, and a subscription, at the 
 suggestion of Mr. F. was entered into for their relief. The 
 sum amounts to 15 Us. a day, and Abdool and I are the 
 Almoners : a more troublesome and unthankful office I was 
 never engaged in. Two months, it is thought, will put an 
 end to the present distress. Three Schools, beside the one 
 at home, are gaining ground. The supply you mentioned 
 could easily be appropriated, and when something is deter- 
 mined, I will send down a statement of items. I refrain 
 at present, lest I should seem to claim what will come as an 
 offering to the Lord. I feel it would be an honour to live on 
 bread and water that all might go in this work and way ; but 
 the claims of justice and family demand attention also." 
 
 * The Bigoh or Bigga is less than an English acre. 
 
AGRA. 255 
 
 Occupations of various kinds now so multiplied 
 upon Mr. Corrie, that his private Journal was but 
 irregularly kept. The completion of seven years' 
 residence in India was, however, too marked an 
 event to pass unnoticed by him, and he therefore 
 writes : 
 
 " Agra, Sep. 19, 1813. To-morrow will complete to me 
 seven years in India. Many mercies have attended me, and 
 many instances of God's gracious dealings, which ought to 
 be had in remembrance, to His praise, and my own comfort 
 and encouragement. The death of Mr. Brown, and after- 
 wards of Mr. Martyn, deprived me of two pillars on whom I 
 leaned partly for so long a time : and to this hour I feel 
 my earthly masters to be taken away from me. There is now 
 none on earth, to whom I look for guidance as to what I 
 should do in my ministry. For a time this discouraged me ; 
 but the Lord mercifully made my way plain, and his work 
 here is going on with seeming success. For this work 
 Abdool Messeeh was raised up, and qualified, and sent of 
 God. He is eminently humble, teachable, persevering, and 
 zealous. Two were baptized from the heathen on July 25 : 
 and eight more, with three of their children, on August 25. 
 There are now many catechumens, and upwards of ninety 
 children in school, at three places. Keeping the journal of 
 Abdool's labours, has interrupted my private journal ; though, 
 after all, they are quite distinct. In general, my mind has 
 been too much occupied in the outward work. I have lived 
 too little in the habit of ejaculatory prayer ; and contented 
 myself with very little of spirituality of mind; so that if 
 success had depended on me, it must utterly have failed. 
 But the spiritual temple grows up ' not by might, or by 
 power/ but by the Spirit of the Lord. Oh may he carry on 
 his work within, and enable me to grow up into Christ in 
 
256 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 all things. I have engaged too largely in expences, consi- 
 dering the natural claims upon me. The schools and native 
 Christians stand me in not less than 300 Us. monthly ; while 
 building &c. is likely to involve me in debt. The heart of 
 Mr. B. was, indeed, mercifully disposed to give Kuttra ; 
 and help is promised from other quarters, and I doubt not 
 but the Lord will provide, since, I think, I seek not my own 
 vain glory, but His worthy praise and honour. For some 
 days past, I have experienced a sensible return of the liver 
 complaint. What this may be the forerunner of, I know 
 not. It would be a painful trial to cease from labour now, 
 though that may be needful to try my humility, whilst, Oh 
 what may it prove to my European flock ! Who shall speak 
 to them, or make known the way of salvation ? Lord ! di- 
 rect me in this matter. Enable me to give myself to medi- 
 tation and prayer : and grant me to know and do thy will. 
 . . . Praised be thy name, who hast kept me in my purpose 
 respecting coming to India. The love of souls, more than of 
 wealth, or earthly honour, I trust, still, through grace, pre- 
 dominates ; and may grace reign in my soul, through righ- 
 teousness, unto eternal life, through Jesus Christ." 
 
 It was soon after the date of the preceding ex- 
 tract, that intelligence reached Agra from England, 
 that it was intended to publish a memoir of Mr. 
 Martyn ; and Mr. Corrie in consequence, addressed 
 the following letter 
 
 TO THE REV. J. SARGENT. 
 
 " Agra, Nov. 1. 1813. 
 
 " I have very lately learned through Mr. Thomason that 
 you have undertaken to draw up a life of the Rev. H. Mar- 
 
AGRA. 257 
 
 tyn. It will be of use for you to know that when he left 
 Cawnpore in 1810 to seek change of air, I was with him, 
 and persuaded him to leave in my hands a number of memo- 
 randums he was about to destroy. They were sealed up, 
 but on his death, being opened, they prove to be Journals of 
 the exercises of his mind from January 1803, to 1807, inclu- 
 sive. They seem to me no less worthy of publication than 
 the Journal of Mr. Brainerd, if more books of that kind 
 should be judged necessary. Since the beginning of 1807, 
 Mr. M. favoured me with almost a weekly letter, in which 
 his various employments and engagements for the further- 
 ance of the gospel in this country, are detailed with occa- 
 sional very interesting remarks. This correspondence ceased 
 on my being ordered by our commander-in-chief to assist 
 Mr. M. in the duties of the station of Cawnpore, when I 
 took up my abode with him from June till his departure, 
 October 1st. Other letters passed between us after that 
 time, and it is my intention to send you copies of all the 
 above correspondence, together with his private Memoran- 
 dums. The latter, with copies of Martyn's letters from 
 Feb. to July 1807, were sent off this day to Mr. Thomason 
 in Calcutta, to be forwarded to England by the first oppor- 
 tunity, and the copies of the remaining letters shall follow 
 as soon as may be. Of course I have omitted to copy what 
 seems purely personal : yet much remains which you will 
 perhaps judge unnecessary for publication, and will exercise 
 your own judgment on that head. All the extracts seem to 
 me, however, to cast light on the progress of missionary 
 work in this land, and may perhaps be thought interesting 
 to those who take a concern in Indian affairs. These ex- 
 tracts give so full a view of Mr. M's character that nothing 
 remains for me to add. Only I may say, a more perfect 
 character I never met with, nor expect to see again on earth. 
 During the four years we were fellow-labourers in this coun- 
 try, I had no less than six opportunities of enjoying his 
 company ; the last time for four months together, and 
 
258 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 under the same roof all the time ; and each opportunity 
 only increased my love and veneration for him. 
 
 " I conclude the above intelligence will plead my excuse for 
 writing to you without previous introduction, and I was 
 anxious it should reach you through the nearest channel. 
 Your brother in Calcutta has told me several times of your 
 welfare ; and during beloved Martyn's life I used to hear of 
 you sometimes. Your person, whilst a student at King's 
 College, was well known to me, and your character admired, 
 though I had not steadiness of principle sufficient at that 
 time to imitate you; and consequently had no pretensions to 
 an acquaintance with you, though I often greatly desired it. 
 To that ' Father in Israel,' Mr. Simeon, I owe all my com- 
 fort on earth and all my hopes respecting eternity: for 
 through his instrumentality the seeds of grace, I trust, 
 were, during my residence at Cambridge, especially during 
 the latter part of my stay, implanted in my heart, and have 
 influenced, though alas ! unsteadily, my after days. 
 
 " From this far country you will however desire other tid- 
 ings, if any. The discussions in Parliament respecting the 
 religious part of the Company's charter, give me much 
 pain, as both friends and op posers evidently view the sub- 
 ject imperfectly. The opposers know full well, or might 
 know, that if every servant of the Company in India were 
 a clergyman, so long as we go on as heretofore, it would 
 not excite an enquiry scarcely from any native ; he would 
 conclude it was the English caste, and there his reflections 
 would end. On the other hand, it seems premature to 
 connect the conversion of the natives with an ecclesiastical 
 establishment, for unless our Bishops should be men, not 
 only of learning and sobriety, but of zeal, they will never 
 hold out against the discouragements a residence in this 
 country presents. Indeed, in this work, a man must engage 
 with the spirit of those words "Though the fig-tree 
 should not blossom ; " &c. It is not that the evangelization 
 of India is a hopeless project, or that to attempt it is at- 
 
AGRA. 259 
 
 tended with political danger ; for the story General Kyd 
 produced in the House of Commons, to shew the danger of 
 interfering with the natives, is both erroneously stated and 
 ridiculously applied. The idea of grave ministers of religion 
 going out to shoot monkeys, would not have been enter- 
 tained in any other connexion but as supplying an objection 
 to Missions. But the young men were not destroyed by the 
 natives ; the elephant on which they rode took fright at 
 the clamour of lamentation and displeasure raised by the 
 people on the monkey being killed, and plunged into a 
 deep place of the river Jumna, when the Howdah on which 
 they sat getting loose from the elephant's back, the young 
 men were drowned. General Kyd would perhaps say, he 
 had seen Chaplains in India shooting monkeys, and he 
 should at the same time have the candor to state, that none 
 of that description made themselves obnoxious to the natives 
 by their religion, and consequently there is nothing to fear 
 from an establishment of that kind. The work of evangeli- 
 zation is however, going on ; the instruction of the natives 
 already bearing the Christian name, opens a way for wide 
 and lasting benefit. Ever since my arrival and short ac- 
 quaintance with this country, it has appeared that natives 
 will be the great means of converting their brethren. Mr. 
 Martyn has done what no native could do, and what had 
 not been done before, left an idiom atical and faithful trans- 
 lation of the New Testament in the Hindoostanee language. 
 This language is known pretty generally by those tribes also 
 who do not use it in their usual conversation. This city 
 is near the Mahratta states, and the resort of people from 
 all parts of India, who all understand the tenor of this 
 translation, as has been abundantly proved. " 
 
 As illustrative of the importance which Mr. Corrie 
 attached to the having many schools, it may be 
 
 S 2 
 
260 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 mentioned, that about the time the foregoing letter 
 was written, he had it in contemplation to obtain 
 leave of absence from Agra, with the view to visit 
 different stations, and to establish schools wherever 
 it might be practicable. With reference to such a 
 plan, he writes 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " I have had it in mind to ask leave of Government, to 
 go to different stations to institute schools for the Native 
 Christian children. All that would be required would be, pri- 
 vate unlimited leave of absence, with directions to report or 
 not, as they might think proper. Sir George N. would, I 
 think, make no objection, if the noble Earl did not ; and if 
 he were put into possession of the real state of things, I 
 think he would rather encourage. It would be a peculiar 
 glory on his government to take measures for bettering the 
 state of the Native Christian subjects, as well as of the other 
 classes of natives ; and sure I am that the way in which I 
 propose to proceed, would excite no jealousy among the 
 natives, but rather call forth their esteem for our national 
 character," 
 
 At this time, too, the accounts Mr. C. received 
 of Abdool's proceedings at Meerut, (where the latter 
 was on a visit), were of the most encouraging kind. 
 He was gratified, also, by the intelligence that Mr. 
 Vetch was at work at Delhi, among the Armenian 
 and Portuguese Christians there. The opposition to 
 missionary labours at Agra, had moreover, for the 
 
AGRA. 261 
 
 present ceased, whilst the schools were prospering as 
 much as could reasonably be expected. As however, 
 any changes among the chaplains would, in all pro- 
 bability, occasion Mr. C.'s removal from Agra, it be- 
 came an object of great solicitude to him that so 
 promising a state of things should not retrograde, for 
 want of adequate superintendence and pecuniary sup- 
 port ; and he, in consequence, addressed the follow- 
 ing communication to the Secretary of the Church 
 Missionary Society, in England : 
 
 " Agra, E. I. Dec. 31. 1813. 
 
 " You are made acquainted through the Rev. Mr. Thoma- 
 son, with the labours of Abdool Messeeh, who is engaged as 
 a Catechist for the Society for Missions to Africa and the 
 East ; and of the success attending them. Since our arrival 
 at this place in March last, forty-one adults, and fourteen 
 children of theirs, have been baptized into the faith of Christ, 
 and all continue to walk in the truth. The prospect of in- 
 creasing numbers is very encouraging, and as several of the 
 converts are men of learning and of some influence, there 
 seems ground to hope that lasting benefit is intended by our 
 Almighty and most merciful Father to this place. 
 
 " The want of useful books in their own language will, 
 however, render the Native converts for a long time in need 
 of European intelligence and firmness. Though the grace 
 of the gospel be sufficient for their individual salvation, yet 
 they are not sufficiently acquainted with the history of man- 
 kind, and especially of the Church of Christ, to enable them 
 to calculate on the probable consequences of any particular 
 mode of conduct : nor can they for some time reap the bene- 
 fits to be derived from the experience of those who have gone 
 before them in the good way. 
 
262 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " I feel, therefore, anxious to call the attention of the 
 Society of which you are Secretary, to this part of the world; 
 and to beg, that, if practicable, a Missionary may be sent 
 over to take charge of this infant church. The place of 
 worship and the premises now occupied, should with plea- 
 sure be made over in perpetuity for the use of the Mission ; 
 and I think I may affirm, that the friends of religion in this 
 country would find sufficient support for the person whom 
 you may send, without his continuing burthensome to the 
 Society. 
 
 " Among the reasons why a Missionary should be sent to 
 this country, in preference to any other, I would beg leave 
 respectfully to suggest two ; viz. the teeming population of 
 India, and the protection of equitable laws, which put it in 
 the power of a Missionary to do more good with less 
 personal inconvenience here than in any other heathen 
 country. 
 
 " The objections raised at home to the evangelization of 
 India, on the score of political danger, are founded in entire 
 misrepresentation of the subject. It seems not to have oc- 
 curred to either friends or foes of the measure, that there are 
 none among the natives who have the means, whatever 
 might be their will, of resisting the British Government. 
 Almost all the ancient reigning families are reduced to a 
 state of dependence : nor at any time, did ever the zeal of 
 the Hindoos lead them to any formidable opposition even to 
 the intolerant and avowedly proselyting Mahomedans: so 
 that neither do past experience nor present probabilities op- 
 pose any difficulty in the way of publishing the gospel in 
 India. 
 
 " Besides, it might well be expected that reflecting men 
 should discriminate between a senseless attack upon images, 
 processions, &c. and the simple inoffensive statement of Divine 
 truth. The former might well be expected to rouse every 
 bad passion of the human mind; the latter will always 
 command respect if not obedience, whilst the same Divine 
 
AGRA. 263 
 
 truth assures us his word shall not return void. Our 
 method is to state the plain truths of the gospel with 
 little or no reference to any other system called religion. 
 By pointing out the Scripture doctrines of man's fall, 
 through the transgression of Adam, and his recovery by the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, which appeals to matters of obvious and 
 general experience, usually such a sensation is produced as 
 leads some one or other to examine what foundation he rests 
 upon ; and the result is always, that there is salvation in 
 none but in God incarnate ! 
 
 ( ' Permit me also respectfully to solicit the attention of your 
 Society to the subject of providing ministers from among 
 the Native converts : for it seems out of the question ever 
 to expect a sufficient number of regularly-ordained ministers 
 from England. The Liturgy of our church translated, has 
 been of singular benefit in this place : and every circum- 
 stance in the case of a church newly gathered from among 
 the heathen, demonstrates that the order of our church is 
 that of the primitive Christian churches. Whatever may be 
 said in favour of the liberty of people to choose their own 
 ministers, or in favour of extempore prayer, in a more 
 advanced state of Christian education and experience, does 
 not apply in our circumstances : and it follows of course, 
 that a person who should be the means of planting the 
 gospel in any city or place, remains the superintendent and 
 umpire in all cases requiring arrangement. Under this 
 persuasion it would be painful either to leave a native con- 
 gregation without a pastor, or to usurp authority. I would 
 humbly, however, request advice and help on this head. 
 Abdool Messeeh seems, for heavenly-mindedness, discretions 
 and zeal, to be worthy of the ministry : and we are endea- 
 vouring to qualify some promising young Christians in this 
 place for the ministry, by instructing them in the learned 
 languages of this country, and in Hebrew : to which we 
 propose adding the study of Greek, and thus we hope they 
 may one day be found worthy of Episcopal ordination. 
 
264 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " The Rev. Mr. Thomason will forward this : and I trust 
 no apology is necessary for endeavouring to draw the atten- 
 tion of the Society, of which you are Secretary, to this 
 quarter. The opinion of one who resides on the spot, and 
 whose personal safety, attachments and interests are much 
 more involved in the subject than any retired Indian, may 
 perhaps be considered worthy of attention, however in- 
 significant the writer may be. I may be also allowed to 
 express anxiety, that the church to which I belong may 
 take a conspicuous part in the progressive work of evangeli- 
 zation now going on in this country ; since she possesses 
 facilities above all other Societies, and her ordinances are 
 best calculated, in my opinion, to ensure edification, and 
 that the work should not fail in after-generations." 
 
 Early in January 1814, Mr. Corrie left Agra on 
 a visit to Delhi ; and was there met by some natives 
 from Meerut, who were desirous of baptism. One 
 of these was a Moonshee, in the service of Dr. R., 
 and who, from conversation with Abdool Messeeh, 
 and the reading of the translated Scriptures, had 
 been convinced that ' Jesus is the Son of God.' 
 Another was a Molwee, a native of Rampoor, who 
 had, in like manner, been led to expect salvation 
 only through Christ. A third was an aged Birajee, 
 who possessed great influence among the natives, but 
 whose faith in the Hindoo and Mahomedan systems 
 had been completely shaken by the deistical 
 writings of Cuber, a satirical poet, who lived at 
 Benares. This Birajee had made many enquiries 
 respecting the Christian religion, and once thought 
 
AGRA. 265 
 
 of joining the Romish sect, but was deterred from 
 doing so by finding that they used images in their 
 worship. He had ultimately been brought to a 
 knowledge of " the truth as it is in Jesus," by the 
 perusal of the New Testament, a copy of which, in 
 the Nagree, he had lately obtained. For the sake, 
 therefore, of these and other natives, Mr. Corrie 
 determined on a visit to Meerut. There he had the 
 satisfaction to find a congregation of from twenty to 
 thirty Christians, under the direction of Mr. Bow- 
 ley,* assisted by the Hukeem from Agra ; and after 
 due enquiry and examination, he baptized the Ram- 
 poor Molwee and the Birajee, on Sunday, January 
 30. On the following day Mr. C. baptized also a 
 native woman, and returned to Agra early in Feb- 
 ruary. 
 
 It may here be mentioned, that the success with 
 which it pleased God to mark the labours of Mr. 
 Corrie and his friends at Agra, made that city a 
 place toward which those, not unnaturally, looked for 
 assistance, who were anxious for the spread of the 
 gospel among the tribes of Northern India. Mr. C. 
 was therefore, frequently requested to supply, from 
 among the converts at Agra, scripture-readers, to be 
 employed at other stations. In answer to an appli- 
 cation of that nature, he writes 
 
 * Who afterwards became so well known as a devoted and emi- 
 nently useful Missionary Clergyman. 
 
266 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO CAPTAIN PEEVOR. 
 
 " Feb. 3. 1814. 
 
 " I have been thinking who I could send you as a reader ; 
 but really fear that none of those at present with me, are fit 
 for the appointment. It requires some time to make them 
 acquainted with the Scriptures ; and some time for them to 
 lay aside the old ways of thinking, in which they have been 
 brought up : so that only one, like yourself, who would bear 
 with them, rather than expect them to bend in all things to 
 you, could be intrusted with the care of a very recent convert. 
 Abdool Messeeh's nephew is, next to his uncle, the most 
 deeply humbled of the new converts; and him his uncle 
 does not wish to part with, at present. I will, however, 
 when we reach home, write to you further on the subject ; 
 for you must know we left Agra on the 10th of January, and 
 have been at Delhi and Meerut." 
 
 Yet the quick succession in which first one native 
 and then another had been added to the church at 
 Agra and elsewhere, was so unusual a phenomenon 
 in India, that some of the friends of missions seem 
 to have been apprehensive, lest converts should 
 have been admitted to baptism, before the sincerity 
 of their faith and repentance had been sufficiently 
 tested. On that point, therefore, Mr. Corrie writes 
 in answer 
 
 TO THE REV. MR. THOMASON. 
 
 " Many kind and cordial thanks for your cautions respecting 
 baptism. I have in no instance administered [that sacrament] 
 
AGRA. 267 
 
 but where there seemed experience, as well as knowledge, 
 of the grace of God. Even the youths seem convinced of 
 sin, and aware of the necessity of avoiding it. But the 
 further we advance, the more arduous does my post become. 
 Nothing has occurred to make me doubt the sincerity of 
 any of the baptized, but others have tried to deceive. I 
 wish all the converts could remain with me ; but it is no 
 sin in them that they cannot Jive without food ; and I cannot 
 maintain them all/' 
 
 Mr. Corrie then adds, on the subject of scripture 
 readers : 
 
 " The Hukeem discovers great reluctance to leave, but at 
 the request of S. for a native Christian, he goes on Thurs- 
 day next, and Abdool Messeeh goes with him on a visit. 
 He will be in as good hands as here : his son is likely to 
 prove a treasure. He is quite familiar with the Arabic of 
 the Koran, is very quick of comprehension, needs seldom 
 to have a lesson repeated, and is devoted to study. His 
 frame of body is but weakly ; and thus devotedness to learn- 
 ing is accompanied (as is generally the case) with less ap- 
 pearance of zeal for others. How few, like Martyn, live 
 only that they may impart knowledge ! This youth appears 
 a sincere convert. He and two others are, henceforth, to 
 have a lesson daily in Hebrew. In two months he has 
 learned to construe the English New Testament; and pur- 
 poses acquiring also the rudiments of Greek." 
 
 The following extracts from letters written about 
 this time, afford additional evidence of that caution 
 and godly wisdom, by which Mr. Corrie's missionary 
 labours were directed : 
 
268 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORR1E. 
 
 TO J. W. SHERER, ESQ. 
 
 " Agra, March 4, 1814. 
 
 " I have little to write to you about, except what is con- 
 nected with the affairs of our Church here. The number of 
 converts and present inquirers on all hands, renders attention 
 to our concerns necessary that ' the work should not fail/ I 
 do not write down the tenth part of the interesting particu- 
 lars that come to our ears from Delhi, Meerut, and the Mah- 
 ratta country : all which, though, if considered in respect of 
 individuals, comprehends but a very insignificant part of the 
 population, yet shews, I think, that "the report is gone 
 forth/' and enquiry begins to be made. Labourers also, are, 
 I trust, springing up, qualified for the work of instruction. 
 . . . The Rampoor Molwee seems very disinterested; and is 
 by far the most clever man we have yet had. The Moonshee, 
 who accompanied him, is not very superior, but appears sin- 
 cerely disposed to impart what he knows ; and expresses a 
 wish to go into the lately- acquired territory, towards the 
 Seiks, where his family resides. At Delhi, the king's sons, 
 it is said, have got a copy of the gospels. Praised be God, 
 nothing actually wrong has yet appeared in any of the con- 
 verts, though it may be supposed that I am sometimes tired 
 with their complaints and requests." 
 
 TO CAPTAIN PEEVOR. 
 
 "Agra, March 20. 1814. 
 
 " I have by no means been forgetful of your wishes res- 
 pecting a reader, but have not yet been able to determine 
 anything for you. The success attending the word is very 
 gratifying and encouraging; but it requires time to acquire 
 
AGRA. 269 
 
 information sufficient to become a teacher of others ; so that 
 I hesitate even to wish the new converts to leave this [place] : 
 and for another reason also, [viz.] lest through temptation 
 or unwatchfulness, anything amiss should appear in them ; 
 when you know how the enemy would triumph. e There are 
 your converts ! ' would be the cry. ' So would we have it ! ' 
 But be assured, it is as much my wish as it can be your's, 
 to send the light of the gospel to you as fast as possible. 
 
 " I do not know that our plan of schooling is by any 
 means the most advantageous. It is simply this : Before 
 nine o'clock, the children learn by heart, catechism or gram- 
 mar, in the way of question and answer. After that Per- 
 sian ; and after mid-day, English. This school consists of 
 Christian children. . . . The natives are so irregular in their 
 habits, and so entirely negligent of time, at the same time 
 so ignorant of the advantages of regularity, and improve- 
 ment of time, that they fly off if too much troubled on the 
 subject. In this work I am often reminded of that passage, 
 ' Ye have need of patience, that having done the will of God, 
 ye may receive the promises/ May we be followers of them, 
 who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises ! 
 Faith we acknowledge [to be] a heavenly principle, but 
 often look for patience in ourselves ; which, alas, is no more 
 of ourselves than faith." 
 
 Within a short time of the date of this letter to 
 Captain Peevor, the fall of two of the baptized from 
 " their stedfastness," occasioned Mr. Corrie some 
 distress, although his knowledge of the native cha- 
 racter had prepared him, as has been seen, to expect 
 that offences would sooner or later come. As 
 regarded his own experience, however, all outward 
 trials and perplexities only seem to have led him to 
 
270 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 depend more simply on the divine aid. Thus on the 
 10th of April 1814, (Easter-day) Mr. C. writes: 
 
 " To-day I have completed my 37th year. An eventful 
 year the last has been, from the spiritual enlargement of the 
 Church, both among white and black. Many trials, too, 
 have sprung up from the same cause ; and often I am at my 
 wits' end. I find all creatures, in themselves, but miserable 
 comforters ; and I have, at times, a deep, deep feeling of the 
 disorder and misery introduced by sin ; of the strange per- 
 verseness and blindness of my own nature in particular, and 
 of human nature in general. My own folly and perverse- 
 ness appears, in the preference of outward labour and bodily 
 exercise to spiritual obedience, and mental discipline. Yet, 
 at times, I have stronger views than I ever had before, of 
 the excellence of the Divine nature, and the blessedness of 
 knowing, and being with God. I trust my heart is not 
 weary of this work, though often groaning in it. God has 
 raised pecuniary help, but the responsibility attached to it 
 makes me sometimes wish to decline it. Mr. B. is coming 
 to help in this work, which I should rejoice in : and the 
 Molwee, from Rampoor, promises to be a ' burning and a 
 shining light/ My dear wife grows in union of heart and 
 labour with me ; and, on the whole, I have nothing to regret 
 but my own hardness of heart, whilst I would set up an 
 ' Ebenezer 9 to my covenant God ! Amen." 
 
 It was at this time that Mr. Corrie, at the sug- 
 gestion of Mr. Thomason, addressed a letter to the 
 committee of the Church Missionary Society in Cal- 
 cutta, on the subject of missionary schoolmasters. 
 In that communication he observed : 
 
 " Agra, April 6, 1814. 
 " The circumstance lately come to our knowledge respect- 
 
AGRA. 271 
 
 ing the provisions in the Honourable Company's new charter, 
 for affording religious instruction to our fellow subjects in 
 this country, leads me to submit the following considerations 
 to your notice, to be forwarded [to England J if you approve, 
 for the consideration of the Church Missionary Society. 
 
 " The state of those descendants of Europeans, and others 
 professing Christianity, at the different European stations, 
 has always appeared to me worthy of attention, both as it 
 respects themselves, and as a medium through which the 
 natives in general might be approached, with the greatest 
 success. There are many persons of the above description 
 at Berhampore, Monghyr, Bagulpore, Patna, Dinapore, 
 Buxar, Benares, Chunar, Allahabad, Cawnpore, Agra, 
 Delhi, Meerut, and other inferior stations. 
 
 "At each of these places, a schoolmaster might be placed 
 with great advantage. His ostensible, and indeed first duty, 
 should be to educate Christian children, and to conduct pub- 
 lic worship for native Christians. The Divine blessing would, 
 doubtless, attend the education of these children ; and some 
 of them would be led to choose the work of instruction ; 
 and would go forth among the natives, with tenfold advan- 
 tage over any European missionary. As these people are 
 in general very poor, the schoolmaster must be supplied with 
 a maintenance, and, together with the Christian children, 
 should give instruction in English to as many children as he 
 could attend to. The Native Christian children might learn 
 the principles of religion in Hindoostanee ; and be farther 
 instructed in the language of the country, by means of na- 
 tive instructors, under the superintendance of the Euro- 
 pean master ; whilst the latter would instruct them in Eng- 
 lish, and thus open to them the stores of European learning. 
 Many of the natives would rejoice in an opportunity of having 
 their children taught English, gratis ; and the necessary in- 
 tercourse with a schoolmaster, for this purpose, tends greatly 
 to remove prejudice, and to prepare the mind for the recep- 
 tion of Divine truth. At each of the above stations, a way 
 
272 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 appears to be prepared for the propagation of the gospel ; 
 and a soil made ready, as it were, to receive the seed of Chris- 
 tian instruction, the fruits of which would spread through 
 the land. 
 
 " The modes of instruction used by our Church are, also, 
 exactly suited to the state of the people professing Christi- 
 anity at these places ; and they are usually as anxious for 
 the prayer-book, (translated) as for the New Testament. If 
 our Society could but supply labourers for this field, doubt- 
 less, on a proper representation of the subject, government 
 would readily permit them to proceed hither. 
 
 "Their Christian subjects have a claim upon government 
 for such permission, to say the least : and in this way, 
 part of their subjects would become attached [to them] no 
 less from duty, than from interest. The professedly Chris- 
 tian part of the natives, are as little attached to us as any 
 other; a sincere lover of his country cannot but wish that 
 this portion of the population, at least, should be brought 
 to feel common interest with us. Our civil Institutions 
 have furnished much new information to the natives, on the 
 subject of moral right and wrong ; and from the increase of 
 respectability, of late years, in the Honourable Company's 
 servants, as well as from the growth of real piety among 
 them, much religious knowledge is gone abroad ; add to 
 this, also, the considerable distribution of translations of the 
 Scriptures, in various languages, of late years. From all 
 this, an attentive observer cannot but conclude, that as the 
 subject of civil liberty becomes better understood by the 
 natives, more political danger is to be apprehended from 
 this quarter ; unless it be counteracted by those motives to 
 contentment, and obedience to the " powers that be," which 
 the gospel alone supplies, than from any temperate attempts 
 at evangelization. Of these attempts, the plan of schoolmas- 
 ters, such as our society could approve at the different stations, 
 as above suggested, seems to me the least objectionable, and to 
 imply no cause of irritation whatever in the natives. Whilst there 
 
AGRA. 273 
 
 is every ground, from reason and Scripture, to expect that 
 the blessing of God would attend endeavours of this kind. " 
 
 As, also, the government of Lord Moira then 
 professed to have in contemplation some scheme for 
 the education of the natives of India at large, Mr. 
 Corrie thought it his duty to write to Sir George 
 Nugent, to request that the Native Christians might 
 not be overlooked. With reference to that important 
 matter he observes in a letter 
 
 TO J. W. SHERER, ESQ. 
 
 " April 21, 1814. 
 
 " I fear lest the school-plan proposed [by government] 
 should swallow up all the funds government can spare, in 
 mere literary objects, and the gospel be left still to depend 
 on the charity of God's people. There is nothing in Arabic 
 or Sanscrit, as at present studied in India, that can enlarge 
 the mind or prepare it for the gospel : so that if Christians 
 also are not to be educated, we shall be just where we were." 
 
 But whilst Mr. Corrie was thus busily occupied 
 with plans for the extension and perpetuating of 
 divine truth, his health had again begun to decline ; 
 for in writing to his brother-in-law, he concludes 
 some observations on the state of religion at Agra, 
 with the remarks : 
 
 " The care of these things tends greatly to increase the 
 inflammation in my side, which is as bad as ever it was at 
 
 T 
 
274 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Cawnpore, though I trust it will, as hitherto, give way to 
 medicine." 
 
 In this expectation, however, Mr. C. was disap- 
 pointed. His illness so increased upon him, that 
 early in July 1814, a voyage to sea was decided 
 upon, as the only means likely to prolong his life. 
 In the letters which Mr. C. wrote to his friends 
 about this time, he speaks of himself as being greatly 
 tried at the thought of having " to leave a variety 
 of hopeful prospects and persons, without knowing 
 how they would terminate ; " and in his Journal 
 observes : 
 
 "July 31, 1814. Having been recommended by the me- 
 dical men to go to England for the recovery of my health, 
 application has been made for leave [to do so.] My mind 
 is, in consequence, much occupied by the subject. Some- 
 times it is suggested that I am weary of the work, and 
 wish to run away from the difficulties which the various 
 tempers, and wants of the people impose upon me. But cer- 
 tain it is that my frame is so shattered that these difficulties 
 agitate me more than can be conceived, and so as to pre- 
 vent my gaining strength. On the other hand, I think the 
 horror I feel at the sea -voyage, with the expence and trou- 
 ble attending it, would prevent my undertaking it from 
 mere self -pleasing motives. I feel, at the same time, so 
 little ability to benefit the cause of missions at home, that 
 I see no good, in that view, likely to arise from the journey. 
 Only a wish to recover strength to serve God in newness of 
 life, I think, is uppermost, though many base and foolish 
 thoughts intrude themselves." 
 
 Before, however, taking his departure from Agra, 
 
AGRA. 275 
 
 Mr. Corrie administered the Lord's Supper to fifty- 
 nine native communicants, and on the next day 
 (Aug. 18th.) he committed the congregation to the 
 care of Mr. Bowley and Abdool Messeeh, " amid 
 many tears on the part of the new converts, and 
 much sorrow on his own." Respecting that vseason 
 of interest and solemnity, Mr. C. writes : 
 
 " The will of the Lord is to be acknowledged in my de- 
 parture, no less than in my arrival at this station. During 
 the preceding sixteen months, seventy -one natives have 
 received baptism, of whom about fifty are adults ; about half 
 of them Mahomedans, and the other half Hindoos. Of 
 these, one has been expelled, six have apostatized, four are 
 gone to their friends, and are, we hope, holding fast their 
 profession ; and others are occupying different stations, as 
 readers and Catechists : several catechumens remain to be 
 further proved. I would remark, that exactly in opposition 
 to the popular opinion among Europeans in India, the more 
 learned converts, and those who had been Fakeers, caused 
 us the most anxiety and trouble. In this, as in other 
 respects, the Lord's ways are not as man's ways ; and his 
 gospel will make its way in this country, as usual, first 
 among the poor and least regarded of mankind." 
 
 It remains only to remark, that as the preceding- 
 pages, in connection with the published Journal of 
 Abdool Messeeh, make it appear, that the moral 
 results of Mr. Corrie's short residence at Agra were 
 neither few nor unimportant ; so, it is believed, that 
 the following observations addressed by him, soon after 
 leaving Agra, to a friend desirous of information res- 
 
 T 2 
 
276 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 pecting the natives of India, will shew, that his 
 labours had not been prompted by a blind or indis- 
 criminating zeal, but were regulated by the enlightened 
 convictions, and feeling heart, of a Christian philo- 
 sopher. 
 
 " The population of India consists of Mahomedans and 
 Hindoos ; though the majority of them are Hindoos. The 
 common people of both classes, are much alike in habits, 
 and superstitions. There is little that is social in the 
 general religious worship of either Mahomedans, or Hin- 
 doos ; except at certain festivals, when they resort in crowds 
 to the place of assembly ; and their respective processions 
 are celebrated in much the same noisy and unmeaning 
 manner. 
 
 In different parts of the country there are Durgahs, or 
 tombs of eminent Mahomedans deceased ; which are en- 
 dowed with lands, for the support of persons to read the 
 Koran at them. This is supposed to have a happy effect 
 on the state of the deceased. At these places, an anniver- 
 sary is generally observed, which is attended as a fair, by 
 the people, no less than to make offerings at the shrine. 
 There are certain idol temples, also, by making pilgrimages 
 to which, Hindoos think they benefit deceased ancestors, and 
 forward their own future happiness. At these tombs and 
 temples, the priests entertain disciples, who are instructed 
 in their respective creeds. 
 
 Except at such places, the generality of Mahomedans 
 observe the times of daily prayer according to their inclina- 
 tion, wherever they happen to be. In large Mahomedan 
 towns, indeed, a few assemble at the Mosques on Fridays : 
 at Agra, the number, (except on festivals,) was usually six. 
 The Hindoos, also, make their offerings at the idol-temple, 
 at the time most convenient to themselves. So that there is 
 no general appearance of religious observances among them, 
 
AGRA. 277 
 
 except at the festivals ; when the whole country wears the ap- 
 pearance of a mountebank-show. On these occasions, a por- 
 tion of time is given to hear the history of the prophet, or god, 
 connected with the occasion ; and rich individuals unite to 
 pay a pundit, or learned Hindoo, who reads to them, usually 
 in the evening, portions of their books, in a chaunting tone 
 of voice, and explains sentence by sentence, to the audience, 
 as he goes on. By such means the Mahomedans, especially 
 the higher classes of them, are acquainted with the principal 
 names in the Old and New Testaments, and with some par- 
 ticulars of their history ; with the exceedingly gross intermix- 
 tures which are to be found in the Koran. The Hindoo 
 books, also> contain some stories derived from the books of 
 Moses, or from ancient tradition, mixed with much fable. 
 These facts, on which all agree, serve as points on which a 
 Christian may engage them in conversation, and from which 
 by rational deduction, he may prove them in error ; whilst 
 the Holy Ghost alone can convert them to the acknowledg- 
 ment of the truth. 
 
 The general habits of both Mahomedans and Hindoos 
 greatly assimilate. They alike bathe their bodies, under the 
 idea of rendering themselves more holy in the sight of the 
 Deity ; they alike observe the distinction of caste, and avoid 
 eating with certain classes of men ; they alike revere Fa- 
 keerS; or religious mendicants ; they alike pay adoration to 
 the rising or setting sun, the new moon, and to recently-lighted 
 lamps; and they alike implore, in their prayers, the inter- 
 cession of deceased persons, reputed holy ; and observe 
 times and seasons, accounted lucky or unlucky. They 
 all believe in ghosts and apparitions, and the active agency 
 of evil spirits. To guard against their influence, they wear 
 charms : and depend on the aid of some particular patron 
 god or saint. The more religious enrol themselves as the 
 disciples of some renowned holy man : and in sickness or 
 under any calamity, or with a view to obtain some desired 
 object, they multiply charms, or increase their offerings, at 
 
278 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the tomb or temple : make vows, or offer in sacrifice a goat 
 or a fowl, sometimes a buffalo : and on the day the Maho- 
 medans commemorate Abraham's offering up his spn, a 
 camel is sacrificed, the flesh of which is eagerly sought 
 after as holy meat. Hence the arguments used by Abdool 
 Messeeh, respecting the necessity of inward purity. The in- 
 sufficiency of any mediator, but one that is Divine : the 
 doctrine of the atonement by the sacrifice of Immanuel : 
 the happiness of having an Almighty friend, patron, and 
 protector ; and being under the teaching and guidance of 
 the Holy and good Spirit; were equally applicable to 
 Hindoos and Mahomedans ; and his instructions proved 
 
 equally attractive to both descriptions of people The 
 
 difficulties in the way of improving every class of native 
 Indians, are greater than any one can suppose who has not 
 been acquainted with them. They are not, however, of a nature 
 to demand great bodily exertion or much severe privation. 
 They arise from causes which require a common measure of 
 understanding; and an intimate acquaintance with human 
 nature, as described in holy Scripture. 
 
 Persons whose intercourse with the natives relates merely 
 to temporal concerns, can have little idea of their peculiar 
 habits and prejudices. It is thus that I account for the very 
 incorrect reports respecting the religious state of the natives 
 of India, and which have been published in England by some 
 who resided years among them. I have even known men of 
 real piety, whose situations led them to much intercourse 
 with the natives, for mercantile and other temporal purposes, 
 express it as their opinion that nothing less than a miraculous 
 interposition could convert them to Christianity. I account 
 for this from the circumstance, that they find such a dis- 
 position to chicanery and imposition, in the natives, as re- 
 quires the exercise of a degree of authority and even of 
 severity, in men dealing with them, which is unknown in 
 England. . . . From having lived always under an absolute, 
 military despotism, the natives of India, beside that natural 
 
AGRA. 279 
 
 propensity to selfishness, which in them is uncontrolled, are 
 cautious how they offend their superiors ; and such they 
 consider Europeans of almost every rank. They must have 
 had much proof of the forbearance and gentleness of 
 white man, before they will ask questions on any subject, 
 further than he appears disposed to answer ; and they will 
 be cautious how they answer to his questions, lest they 
 should unintentionally offend. . . . This servile spirit does 
 not give place entirely, even on conversion. It renders much 
 patience and tenderness necessary in dealing with new con- 
 verts, no less than with the unconverted. They have very 
 little idea of an option being allowed them in things in- 
 different ; and will often appear hesitating and indecisive, 
 when their only fear is offending their superiors. So that 
 the impossibility of benefiting, or improving the moral state 
 of the different classes of [native] Christians, is asserted by 
 many of the British, equally with the impossibility of the 
 conversion of the Heathen/' 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 VOYAGE TO ENGLAND. 
 
 IT was on the 18th of August 1814, that Mr. Cor- 
 rie left Agra. On his way to Calcutta he paid visits 
 to his friends at the different stations on the river, 
 more especially at Chunar and Benares, the scene 
 of his earliest ministrations in India. Whilst at the 
 latter place, he received intelligence that Mr. Bowley 
 and Abdool Messeeh were so discouraged by some 
 difficulties that occurred soon after his departure 
 from Agra, that both "were ready to desist from 
 the work of the Lord." This occasioned great sor- 
 row and anxiety to Mr. C., inasmuch as he not only 
 anticipated the breaking up of the native congre- 
 gation which he had been mainly instrumental in ga- 
 thering around him ; but, also, that it might afford 
 matter for triumph to the enemies of missions. With 
 reference to this subject, Mr. C. observed in a letter 
 
VOYAGE TO ENGLAND. 281 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " If Abdool should give up in discouragement, my plans 
 would be much set aside. But ' Jehovah Jireh, ' must be 
 my motto. This perplexity brings me often to my knees, 
 and therefore I hope will work for my good. An expression 
 of Mr. Brown, in our last intercourse, often occurs to me : 
 ' Instead of praying always and not fainting, we faint 
 always and never pray, till we find ourselves in a strait/ " 
 
 On reaching Calcutta, Mr. Corrie found that all 
 his medical friends concurred in the opinion that a 
 sea-voyage was absolutely necessary to eradicate his 
 disorder ; but as his wife's expected confinement did 
 not allow of his immediate embarkation, Mr. C. em- 
 ployed himself during his stay at Calcutta, in setting 
 on foot a school for native Christian schoolmasters. 
 He had an opportunity too, of becoming acquainted 
 with Bishop Middleton, who had then recently 
 arrived in India, and of submitting to the consideration 
 of that prelate, many circumstances connected with 
 the state of religion in that country. 
 
 On the 1st January 1815, Mr. and Mrs. Corrie 
 went on board the H. C. ship Europe, with the inten- 
 tion of proceeding, in the first instance, to the Cape 
 of Good Hope. But on arriving at the Cape, Mr. 
 Corrie was recommended to proceed to England for 
 the benefit of the colder climate ; and with this 
 advice he considered it his duty to comply. In a 
 
282 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 letter to Mr. Sherer, dated from Cape Town, March 
 29, 1815, Mr. C, relates: 
 
 " This morning I have written to the Adjutant General, 
 enclosing a medical certificate of the necessity for my going 
 on. Our own Surgeon N. an old practitioner here, Dr. H. 
 and Dr. S. the garrison-surgeon, concur in opinion, and 
 without hesitation on the subject. I ought, I believe, to 
 consider this as the voice of Providence, and to acquiesce 
 in it, as I hope I do. But the whole of this dispensation 
 has proved the greatest trial I ever met with. I cannot 
 see my way at all in it ; and I go on, driven, as it were, by cir- 
 cumstances. I foresee innumerable difficulties before me, 
 without one certainty of good to follow, and utterly despair 
 of profiting myself or others in England. I am called to 
 walk by faith more than ever : sense is all opposed/' 
 
 Shortly after the date of this letter, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Corrie sailed from the Cape for England, and after 
 a prosperous voyage, landed at Southampton on the 
 22nd June. Here Mr. C. was made acquainted for 
 the first time, with the publication of the Journal 
 of Abdool Messeeh, and the interest excited by it. He 
 heard also, with sorrow, of the death of Dr. Buchanan. 
 On reaching London he was visited by several of those 
 friends who interested themselves with the progress 
 of the gospel among the Hindoos ; and at an early 
 day attended a meeting of the Committee of the 
 Society for Missions to Africa and the East, to com- 
 municate to them information on missionary subjects. 
 He was, also, invited to attend a Committee of the 
 
VISIT TO ENGLAND. 283 
 
 London Missionary Society, to answer enquiries res- 
 pecting their prospects in India. On all these oc- 
 casions Mr. C. endeavoured to shew, that from the 
 co-operation of many pious individuals among the 
 English in India ; from the readiness with which 
 children were sent to school whenever opportunity 
 was afforded, and from the eagerness with which 
 translations of the Scriptures were received by many 
 among the natives, there appeared to be fair pros- 
 pects of good being done among them. He pressed 
 upon his friends at the same time, the fact, that but 
 little or nothing had yet been effected in India, for 
 want of a sufficiency of labourers, and that nothing 
 would be done without them ; that wherever mis- 
 sionaries thoroughly acquainted with the language of 
 the country had resided, they found plenty to do, 
 and that though few of the natives of India in com- 
 parison with the multitude, shewed any concern for 
 religion, still the number of such as did so, exceeded 
 the opportunities of instruction. 
 
 It was a gratifying circumstance to Mr. C. to 
 observe, from the eagerness with which all persons 
 with whom he conversed, enquired after the progress 
 of missions among the heathen, that there had been 
 a great increase of zeal for the spread of divine truth, 
 as compared with the state of religious feeling at the 
 time he left England in 1806. He expressed himself, 
 also, agreeably surprised to find that the increased 
 
284 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE, 
 
 regard for sacred things which he observed in 
 London, was not less visible in his native village 
 and county ; in the more orderly observance of the 
 Sabbath, and in the attention that was given by the 
 gentry and clergy to the education of the poor, to 
 Sunday schools, and to the support of different re- 
 ligious societies. On the other hand his affectionate 
 nature was afflicted by hearing of the death of neigh- 
 bours and friends ; by learning that some with whom 
 he had formerly " walked in the house of God as 
 friends," had turned aside from the simplicity of the 
 gospel ; and by having to witness the many other 
 changes which the lapse of years never fails to bring 
 about in families and localities. Deep therefore were 
 the emotions called forth both in preacher and 
 hearers, when, for the first time after his return from 
 India, Mr. Corrie occupied his fathers pulpit, and 
 urged his surviving neighbours to use the numberless 
 changes and trials and deaths, that had occurred 
 since he last addressed them, as a reason for increased 
 anxiety to secure to themselves an enduring inhe- 
 ritance.* 
 
 No sooner, however, had Mr. C. somewhat recruited 
 his health, than he visited his friends, in different parts 
 of England ; taking occasion to plead the cause of mis- 
 sions, both from the pulpit and at public meetings, 
 as opportunities occurred. Such portions of his 
 
 * Mr. Corrie's text on the occasion alluded to, was 1 John ii. 17* 
 
VISIT TO ENGLAND. 285 
 
 time, also, as were not thus occupied, he devoted to 
 a revision of the Liturgy in Hindoostanee. His 
 purpose was, if practicable, to carry out with him to 
 India, a reprint of that important translation, for the 
 use of the native Christians. 
 
 In the spring of 1816, Mr. Corrie was engaged 
 to preach the anniversary sermon for the Church 
 Missionary Society in London. With reference to 
 that circumstance he wrote 
 
 TO J. W. SHERER, ESQ. 
 
 t( I am appointed to preach that sermon, which I would 
 gladly have avoided : but it was said, ' That many would be 
 discouraged if I held back ; for that the idea would be, that 
 the subject [of missions] was not considered so important 
 by us in India, as it has been represented here/ I therefore 
 consented, leaving the issue to God/' 
 
 Before preaching the sermon, however, Mr. Cor- 
 rie availed himself of Mr. Simeon's judgment and 
 experience ; and in transmitting a copy of the ma- 
 nuscript to that honoured friend, he observed : 
 
 " I am deeply sensible of its defects. Being anxious to 
 introduce a number of facts, not, as I think, sufficiently 
 known, there is too little Scripture quotation ; and I feel 
 it to be wanting in a devotional spirit, though I hope the 
 relation may occasion a feeling of compassion, and excite to 
 exertion in behalf of the heathen/' 
 
286 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 This hope seems, in some measure, to have been 
 realized, for the accounts given at the time, state that 
 this sermon, which was preached on the 30th of April, 
 and grounded on Isaiah xliv, 20. awakened peculiar 
 interest.* As, also, it embodies Mr. Gome's con- 
 victions respecting the moral condition and responsi- 
 bilities of the heathen, and developes the means 
 which his experience led him to regard as best cal- 
 culated to rescue the Hindoo from debasing super- 
 stitions ; a brief abstract of the sermon cannot well 
 be omitted. Let it be observed, then, that Mr. Cor- 
 rie purposed in the first instance 
 
 " Fairly to meet the objections made against missionary 
 efforts, as if the present state of the heathen were unavoid- 
 able as if they were scarcely accountable for their errors, 
 and our solicitude on their behalf were therefore superfluous." 
 
 To meet objections of this kind, he goes on to 
 trace the origin of all false religion, and in this, 
 observes that 
 
 " Intercourse with heathen nations had inclined him to 
 the opinion, that the original revelation made to our first 
 parents after their fall, is the ground of all the worship 
 offered up throughout the world. That the dispensations 
 of God to Noah and to the Church before him, must have 
 been known to the family of Noah, and would be remem- 
 bered by his immediate descendants ; and carried by them 
 into the different countries, whither they were afterwards 
 scattered. Hence, it was, he apprehended, that the custom 
 * See Missionary Register for 181 G, p. 185. 
 
VISIT TO ENGLAND. 287 
 
 proceeded, of offering sacrifices in worship, by the heathen 
 tribes of every description, as the only means of pacifying 
 the Evil Spirit ; who, according to their apprehension of 
 him, is going about seeking whom he may devour. 
 
 But there are many circumstances in the state of the 
 idolatrous nations of the east, that discover a still later 
 acquaintance with Divine revelation, than the time of Noah. 
 Many coincidences in the fabulous histories of the Hindoos 
 with the writings of the Old and New Testament, indicate 
 that the forefathers of that race were not altogether ig- 
 norant of the subsequent circumstances of the church of 
 God. Their present deplorable ignorance and error, cannot 
 therefore, be said to arise from any appointment of the 
 Almighty ; but from their wilful neglect of those notices 
 of his will with which they were originally favoured. The 
 sins of the fathers are thus, in an especial manner, visited 
 upon their children. The neglect of parental instruction, 
 by a just connection between guilt and punishment, involves 
 their posterity in ignorance, which is the parent of super- 
 stition, and the fruitful source of their miseries and their 
 crimes. This view of the subject ought, therefore, to be 
 kept distinctly in mind; that we may not charge God 
 foolishly with being, in any other way than by the instituted 
 order of connection between cause and effect, the author of 
 that blindness of mind, and hardness of heart, which excludes 
 the heathen from the divine favour. The declaration of 
 God, by the prophet Hosea, respecting Israel, is true also 
 of the heathen, though in a subordinate degree : Thou hast 
 destroyed thyself' 
 
 These observations are in a particular manner applicable 
 to the idolatrous nations of India. In their present circum- 
 stances, viewed by the light of revelation, they evidently appear 
 1 without God and without hope in the world ; ' not only 
 as they are without Christ, but as their own religious views 
 and feelings render them totally incapable of enjoying God, 
 or of participating in the happiness of the heavenly state.'' 
 
288 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE, 
 
 Then after reciting many of the superstitious 
 practices of the heathen, and shewing that the effi- 
 cacy of any religious rite which they might perform, 
 was not regarded by them as being, in any moral 
 sense, dependent on the state of mind in the wor- 
 shippers ; whilst on the other hand their idea of 
 sin, being connected with the neglect of ceremonial 
 observances, and not with moral delinquencies, they 
 allowed themselves in all kinds of sensual indul- 
 gences, without any compunctions of conscience 
 or feelings of shame ; Mr. Corrie proceeded to ob- 
 serve : 
 
 " How then can we avoid the conclusion, that the reli- 
 gious views and feelings even, of these miserable men, do, in 
 the very nature of things, exclude them from the approbation 
 of God, and incapacitate them for the enjoyments of the 
 heavenly state ? It is impossible that a sinner, going 
 out of this world, in expectation of any thing corresponding 
 with earthly honours, amusements or enjoyments, should not 
 be met by disappointment and shame. It is impossible, that 
 a soul utterly ignorant of holy, spiritual, and intellectual 
 enjoyments, should find any place among ' the general as- 
 sembly and church of the first-born ; the innumerable company 
 of angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect.' Here, 
 therefore, the Christian takes bis firm stand against all who 
 oppose missionary efforts. The heathen, not only according 
 to the unerring word of God, but by the evidence of facts, 
 are in a perishing condition. Without Christ, they cannot 
 be saved. ( He that hath the Son, hath life ; and he that 
 hath not the Son of God, hath not life/ And myriads of 
 these immortal spirits are passing into eternity, whose state 
 and dispositions prove them to be utterly alienated from the 
 
IN ENGLAND. 289 
 
 favour of God, destitute of spiritual life, and fatally incapa- 
 citated for the enjoyments of a better world. For without 
 dispositions suited to the enjoyments of the heavenly state, 
 they could no more comprehend the happiness arising from 
 them, even if admitted to a participation of heaven, than a 
 brute can enjoy the pleasures of reason. And unless this 
 be kept in mind, it can scarcely be hoped, that a due 
 measure of zeal for the salvation of the heathen will be 
 maintained among us." 
 
 Mr. Corrie then went on to give his reasons for 
 regarding (1st.) The distribution of the Scriptures 
 in different heathen languages ; (2nd.) The esta- 
 blishing of Missions; and (3rd.) The education of 
 youth ; as being among the most likely means, under 
 the Divine favour, to further the rescue of the hea- 
 then from their perilous condition ; and he concluded 
 by earnestly exhorting his hearers to do all in their 
 power to aid in a work so pressing, and involving 
 such fearful responsibilities. 
 
 There seems to be no doubt but that Mr. C.'s 
 Sermon on this, as his addresses on other occasions, 
 whilst conveying to the religious portion of the com- 
 munity, a more accurate conception of the moral 
 condition of the heathen world, served also to 
 deepen tbe convictions of many, that it is a primary 
 Christian duty to be unwearied in our efforts to bring 
 the heathen " out of darkness into " God's " mar- 
 vellous light." It was plain also, from bis letters and 
 communications with friends, that this awakened in 
 
 u 
 
290 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 terest on behalf of missions, acted very beneficially 
 on his own mind. His experience whilst in India 
 had been such, that he had to bear up not only 
 against the ordinary difficulties inseparable from the 
 missionary life, but also against the hostility of 
 the government, the indifference of his fellow-coun- 
 trymen in India, and the misgivings of even good 
 men, as to the possibility of converting the hea- 
 then. He had, moreover, in a great measure, to 
 maintain schools and teachers, and scripture-readers, 
 out of such resources as his own income and the oc- 
 casional contributions of a few Christian friends might 
 supply. But his residence in England had brought to 
 his knowledge the encouraging fact, that there were 
 thousands in his native country, who had become 
 earnestly desirous of promoting the best interests of 
 their fellow-subjects in India. With reference to this 
 circumstance, Mr. Corrie had occasion to remark : 
 
 " I was frequently favoured to witness the lively interest 
 expressed, by persons in all ranks of life, with regard to the 
 state of the heathen. The bare mention of some of the 
 cruelties and superstitions we daily witness, drew forth tears 
 of commiseration. The news of a single soul turned from 
 heathen darkness to the light of the gospel, drew forth 
 bursts of praise and thanksgiving to the God of all grace 
 and mercy. Nor were these empty expressions only ; for the 
 abundant contributions throughout Britain, for carrying on 
 the work of Missions, proved that multitudes were sincere 
 in those expressions of interest in the cause." 
 
 When, therefore, after a residence of nearly two 
 
IN ENGLAND. 291 
 
 years in England, Mr. Corrie prepared to return to 
 his former scene of labour, he carried with him both 
 a deeper impression of the importance of the work 
 in which he had been so long engaged, and also, the 
 cheering consciousness that in such difficulties as 
 might hereafter occur in his missionary career, he 
 would be accompanied by the prayers and sympathies 
 of thousands. Nor could he overlook that additi- 
 onal encouragement to exertion, which had recently 
 been supplied by the kind and public manner, in 
 which his labours at Agra had been commended by 
 the Bishop of Calcutta.* 
 
 It may be also here mentioned, that although the 
 frequent public services in which Mr. Corrie engaged, 
 had not allowed him repose sufficient to recruit his 
 health so effectually as could have been desired, yet 
 he was unwilling to let pass any opportunity that oc- 
 curred to promote the cause of missions. Within 
 a few days, therefore, of his departure from England, 
 he agreed to attend a meeting of the Committee of 
 the Church Missionary Society in London, for the pur- 
 pose of addressing two missionaries who were about to 
 proceed to India ; and the next day he preached a fare- 
 well sermon at the church of St. Mary Woolnoth. 
 
 On the 14th of April 1817, Mr. Corrie embarked 
 on board the Carnatic, Indiaman, with his wife and in- 
 fant daughter, and the same day sailed from the Downs. 
 
 * See Bishop Middleton's Sermons and Charges, p. 197. 
 U 2 
 
292 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 There were on board the Carnatic, besides his own 
 family and those of the two missionaries above men- 
 tioned, upwards of forty passengers, and a detachment 
 of soldiers. " We have about three hundred souls on 
 board," observes Mr. C. in a letter to his father, 
 " but how to set about attempting their good, it is 
 difficult to say." As regarded himself, Mr. C. added : 
 
 " A solemn, but not a painful feeling, sometimes fills my 
 mind on recollecting my father's house, and the distant pros- 
 pect of again beholding it ; but the consideration of the 
 ' house not made with hands,' quiets every anxiety, and the 
 sure and certain hope of meeting there may well reconcile 
 us to temporary separation. I have had many thoughts of 
 late, about the variety of religious divisions in England, and 
 see clearly, that most of them arise from excess of spiritual 
 advantages ; and thus the means intended for their good, 
 become to many an f occasion of falling.' No view of reli- 
 gion but what affects the heart, temper, and life, is of any 
 avail for eternity. The great facts of the Trinity in Unity, 
 the incarnation and vicarious death of the Son of God, the 
 promise of the Holy Ghost, all these remain true and cer- 
 tain, though all men should deny them. The influence they 
 have, therefore, upon my heart and life, is the great thing I 
 have to attend to. If I do so understand and feel these truths, 
 as to engage me in private, and influence me in public, the 
 end for which they were revealed is effected in me ; and I 
 shall be led by them to the issue they promise : otherwise 
 they serve no good purpose to me." 
 
 On approaching Madeira he again wrote to his 
 father : 
 
 " You will be glad to hear that we have proceeded thus 
 far in safety Our ship is in all respects most comforta- 
 ble, so that in all things relating to our voyage, we, as yet, 
 
AT SEA. 293 
 
 have only cause for thankfulness. I hope we may be carried 
 to our desired haven in peace, and that you will hear of our 
 continued welfare in that far country ; and that we may 
 yet again see each other in the body, to recount new mercies, 
 and to excite to renewed praises. My mind is kept in per- 
 fect peace ; and I am enabled to keep the object of my 
 calling steadily in view. Less of determination, as to 
 what I shall do, than on my first going to India, but I trust 
 a full determination to do what my hand findeth to do, in 
 its time and season." 
 
 In a private memorandum, Mr. C. remarks : 
 
 " My mind is, I think, more resolutely and deliberately 
 set upon the work of the ministry in India ; more disposed 
 to spend and to be spent in that service ; and to glory in it. I 
 am in danger from the reasonableness and propriety that ap- 
 pear to me in so doing : for though it is indeed a reasonable 
 thing, to offer body, soul and spirit to the Lord's service, 
 yet reason cannot enable me to do it. The quickening grace 
 of the Holy Spirit can alone keep the soul alive to God. 
 The experience of the Saviour's love alone, constrains dull 
 nature, even when regenerated, to activity in saving souls. 
 O for more experience of a Saviour's love ! " 
 
 " May 10th. During the past week, I have had much 
 thought of life, as a state of endurance, rather than enjoy- 
 ment. We endure a ship in order to go to India : a cabin, 
 in order to attain to a house : medicine, in order to health : 
 the society on board, because we cannot get away : the in- 
 mates, in hopes of doing them good. In the view of these 
 circumstances, Oh ! how great does the goodness of God 
 appear, in His long suffering and patience ! May it lead me 
 to a more entire repentance." 
 
 " August 3rd, 1817. Came to anchor in Madras roads, 
 
 at nine o'clock A. M. Our voyage has been very favourable, 
 
 in respect to weather and speed. At sea, off the Cape, heard 
 
 by a vessel, from Bengal, of the death of Mr. Myers : ' this 
 
 * Mrs. Corrie's father. 
 
294 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 has proved a severe trial to us ; but the certainty that he died 
 in the Lord, prevented us sorrowing immoderately. Thus the 
 Lord is mindful of us, and lays no heavier burden on us 
 than we can bear." 
 
 The Carnatic reached Madras early in August, 
 and remained there for ten days or a fortnight. 
 During that period Mr. Corrie and his family were 
 the guests of his kind friend, the Eev. Marmaduke 
 Thompson. In a letter written to his brother from 
 Madras, Mr. C. informs him that 
 
 " There is a growing respect for religion in this place. 
 Indeed, there are many instances of serious religion through- 
 out the Presidency, both among the Civil and Military 
 servants of the Company. The Chaplains have entered 
 into a regular communication with each other in connec- 
 tion with the Committee of the Church Missionary Society, 
 and at some stations things seem wonderfully prepared for 
 them. At one station where Mr. Spring is, [Tellicherry] , 
 he found that through a native Christian, whom God had 
 stirred up to read the Scriptures to his neighbours, thirteen 
 of the heathen were anxious to be baptized, some of whom 
 have accordingly been baptized. We hear too, that near 
 Delhi, a company of about five hundred people had col- 
 lected to converse on the subject of the Christian Scriptures, 
 which had been circulated among them, and that they had 
 resolved to be Christians ; although they professed an un- 
 willingness to associate with the English, on account of 
 their eating all kinds of food. I hope they will learn the 
 ways of God more perfectly." 
 
 The Carnatic sailed from Madras on the 20th of 
 August, and arrived at Calcutta by the end of that 
 month . 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 RETURN TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 ALTHOUGH Mr. Corrie, at the time he landed in India, 
 was one of the Senior chaplains in Bengal, and on that 
 account had a claim to reside in Calcutta, yet as a 
 junior chaplain had been appointed to the Presidency 
 during Mr. C.'s absence from the country, it was de- 
 cided that the latter should proceed to one of the 
 out-stations, until a vacancy should again occur in 
 Calcutta. To Mr. C. was accordingly assigned the 
 chaplaincy at Benares. Before, however, he pro- 
 ceeded to that station, he addressed himself to the 
 work of missions ; the natives as usual flocking 
 around him. In reference to that object, he writes 
 to his brother : 
 
 " Calcutta, Sep. 22. 1817. 
 
 " I find a great progress in public opinion respecting the 
 spread of the gospel. A Diocesan Committee,* and 
 School-Book Society, t and Hindoo College, J are formed ; 
 
 * Formed in 1815. t Instituted May 1817. 
 
 ^ Originated by natives in Aug. 1816. 
 
296 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 in addition to the Bible Society, and Church Missionary 
 Committee, before existing ; considerable exertions, also are 
 making to enlarge the Free School,* which now boards, 
 clothes and educates upwards of two hundred children. 
 But notwithstanding all these favourable appearances, vital 
 religion has even more than ever to struggle with ; a form 
 of godliness without the power of it ; a scheme of doctrine 
 approaching to the truth, but still not the truth itself, is 
 the fashion of the day. True religion does however make 
 way, though it ' cometh not with observation.' ' j 
 
 On Sunday, 12th of October, Mr. Corrie 
 preached a sermon at the Old Church in Calcutta, on 
 behalf of the Church Missionary Society. This seems 
 to have been the first discourse delivered from the 
 pulpit of the Established Church in India, with a pro- 
 fessedly missionary object ; f and was on that account 
 not without its effect. After the service, a native- 
 convert was baptized by the name of Fuez Messeeh. 
 This person had come from Bareilly to Calcutta, and 
 had been for several months under Christian instruc- 
 tion. The account which he gave of himself to Mr. 
 Corrie was, that at the age of eighteen, being dis- 
 gusted with the idolatry of the Hindoos, he became 
 a Mahomedan,- and lived so strict a life as to gain 
 many disciples by his reputed sanctity. That 
 finding no peace of mind amid the practice of all 
 kinds of austerities ; and having, in the meanwhile, 
 
 * Established in 1789. 
 t See Missionary Register for 1818, p. 448. 
 
ON THE GANGES. 297 
 
 heard much of the gospel, he contrived to obtain a 
 copy of Martyn's Hindoostanee New Testament ; that 
 he read it, and was led " to know and feel that there 
 is none other name under heaven, given among men, 
 whereby he must be saved, but only the name of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ." 
 
 It was on the evening of Nov. 17, 1817, that Mr. 
 Corrie left Calcutta for Benares. The following are 
 extracts from his Journal at this time : 
 
 " We have in company, Abdullah, baptized in England ; 
 Fuez Messeeh, baptized in Calcutta ; Noor Messeeh, baptized 
 at Agra ; a Christian Khidmutgar,* baptized at the Lall- 
 Eazaar Chapel [in Calcutta] ; Khristnoo, baptized at Agra ; 
 the five Christian youths, under the patronage of the 
 Church Missionary Society; and several Christian fami- 
 lies. During the 19th and 20th, we had an opportunity 
 of witnessing two distressing instances of the unfeeling 
 conduct of the Hindoos, towards the sick and dying. On 
 one occasion, two women were employed, at the river-side, 
 filling the mouth of a child with mud. Miss B. asked 
 them if the child were ill ? One of them answered, ' Yes/ 
 Miss B. f You are going to kill it outright.' On which 
 they began to laugh, and talk with each other ; and prose- 
 cuted their work of death. Farther on, a sick man was 
 laid, with several people sitting round. A young and 
 handsome Brahmin was attempting to bind a weight round 
 his neck, in order to sink him in the river, which the sick 
 man was resisting, with marks of much remaining strength. 
 Abdullah called out, ' Take him into some warm place, and 
 he will recover :' to which the Brahmin answered, with a 
 significant nod, ' Aye, Aye, we will put him into a warm 
 
 * A kind of footman. 
 
298 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 place :' on which the persons around laughed aloud. On 
 the evening of the 21st, Fuez Messeeh, whilst walking on the 
 bank of the river, said among other things, that ' at times 
 he experienced such delight in contemplating the love of 
 Christ, that no relish remained for earthly things/ Noor 
 Messeeh, (who appears truly a partaker of the grace of 
 Christ) joined us ; and after some time asked, with seem- 
 ing interest, ' Whether if a person sinned after believing in 
 Christ, he might hope for forgiveness ? ' One of the Christian 
 youths enquired, ' Whether if a person did not believe in 
 Christ, and yet practised virtue, his virtue would be accepted 
 of God ? ' These questions seem to me, to explain the 
 the doctrine contained in the xvL and xviii. Articles of our 
 Church. The situation of native Christians, in respect of the 
 Mahomedans and Heathen, point out to them the necessity 
 of faith in Christ, in order to acceptance with God ; and at 
 the same time, teaches them the inefficacy of a mere pro- 
 fession of Christianity. 
 
 " Sunday 24th. Our Christian congregation consisted of 
 seventeen. Fuez Messeeh read first the 116th Psalm, and after- 
 wards the xvi and xviith chapters of St. John. He was himself 
 evidently affected by the repeated references to our Lord's di- 
 vinity, and spoke to the others on that subject ; and of the 
 great condescension of the Saviour, in becoming the surety 
 of sinners ; with the love that ought to subsist among 
 Christians : saying, ' they ought to be as the eyes in the 
 head, which though they dwell in two sockets, yet were intent 
 always on the same objects ; and constituted but one organ 
 of vision/ 
 
 " At Augurdeep. In the evening went into the village, 
 where is a celebrated Idol temple. Fuez Messeeh entered 
 into a dispute with a Brahmin, before twenty -five or thirty 
 people, assembled for poojah (worship.) The Brahmin was 
 forced at length to confess that Idolatry was inexcusable : 
 on which an appeal was made to the bystanders, who de- 
 clared that the Brahmins led them astray. 
 
BENARES. 299 
 
 " Dec. 22nd, at Bauglipore. Visited the Roman Catho- 
 lic Christians here, whom we found still in great poverty, 
 and complaining of the neglect of their priests. Gave 
 Augustine dementis (who professes to wish for a school 
 and has several children of his own) ten rupees towards 
 erecting a shed, and engaging a schoolmaster, with a pro- 
 mise of further assistance. Left with him, for the use of 
 the intended school, one copy of the New Testament in 
 Persian, one copy in Hindoostanee, and one copy of the 
 Psalms in Persian. Grave him also a copy of the Psalms, 
 and some copies of family prayers, in Hindoostanee, for 
 distribution. 
 
 "Buxar, Jan. 18, 1818. Had divine service this morn- 
 ing in English, and baptized an Israelite, aged fifty-five, 
 who has been long in our military service, and who seems 
 spiritually alive to the true character of Christ, as the pro- 
 mised Messiah. In the afternoon had service in Hindoos- 
 tanee. Twenty-five adults, beside our own people, attended. 
 The anxiety manifested by several of the Jews for religious 
 instruction, is very pleasing; and must, if possible, be 
 gratified. May the Lord raise up a suitable teacher ; and 
 direct and prosper me in my wishes to erect a place of wor- 
 ship for them!" 
 
 No sooner had Mr. Corrie arrived at Benares, 
 (Jan, 26. 1818.) than he projected a missionary es- 
 tablishment in the neighbourhood of that large and 
 populous city. The following extract from a letter 
 addressed to the secretary of the Calcutta Committee 
 of the Church Missionary Society, will explain the 
 objects he had in view : 
 
 " Three native Battalions are usually cantoned here; two 
 are now at the station. I have been taking measures for 
 
300 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the establishment of a school for the younger drummers and 
 fifers, and for the children of native Christians attached to 
 these Corps. I have already twenty-four names of children, 
 whose parents desire that they should become scholars too. 
 We also, on Sunday [Feb. 8th.] began Hindoostanee worship, 
 and about fifteen of the above class attended. For the 
 school, I have met with a small bungalow conveniently 
 situated, offered for six hundred rupees. In this bungalow 
 Mr. Adlingtou could also reside for the present. I beg, 
 therefore, that the Committee will consider whether they can 
 adopt this bungalow and premises for a Missionary residence ; 
 or whether they would wish Mr. Adlington to reside alto- 
 gether in Benares ; and that premises should be procured 
 for him there OE his return from Agra ?* Let me repeat, 
 then, that at this place there are immediate calls on the 
 Society for assistance ; and that not merely in the hope of 
 probable benefit, but from the actual wants of professing 
 native Christians ; whilst many of the natives, Mahomedan 
 and Heathen, are awakened to discern the importance of 
 Christianity, and will probably be encouraged or discouraged 
 by the readiness or otherwise which we manifest in meeting 
 these wants of our Christian brethren." 
 
 Mr. Corrie had the satisfaction to find that the 
 Committee in Calcutta readily entered into his views, 
 and authorized him to purchase the premises referred 
 to in the preceding letter. He was thus enabled to 
 open a school, to the support of which many of the 
 European residents at Benares contributed, by 
 monthly benefactions and subscriptions. 
 
 Early in February Mr. Corrie visited Chunar, his 
 first station in India, and where the native church 
 
 * Mr. Adlington had gone to Agra to visit Abdool Messeeh. 
 
BENARES. 301 
 
 was now under the care of Mr. Bowley. It appears 
 from the report he sent to the Calcutta Committee of 
 the Church Missionary Society, that Mr. C. found 
 the mission at Chunar in a satisfactory state. Under 
 date of Feb. 9, 1818, he writes : 
 
 " On the 5th instant I went to Chunar : it was rather late 
 in the evening when I arrived, but I found several of the 
 converted Hindoos waiting to see me. Next morning at 
 seven o'clock, about eighty of the native Christians attended 
 for divine worship. They began by singing a hymn, in the 
 native measures, on the sufferings of Christians. The regu- 
 larity with which they sung, and the earnestness most of 
 them manifested, greatly affected me. Mr. Bowley expounded 
 the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins ; and concluded 
 the service with prayer. Among other things, he prayed 
 for a blessing on the king, and on his nobles in England, 
 and in India. I mention this not as a proof of Mr. Bowley's 
 loyalty, for that was known long before, but to shew how 
 the labours of such men tend to attach the natives of India 
 to the British nation, by uniting their most important in- 
 terests. At ten o'clock, about one hundred Europeans at- 
 tended divine service in English ; after which, twelve of 
 their children were baptized, and eleven marriages celebrated. 
 At three p. m., the native congregation again assembled to 
 the number of about ninety adults ; when, after evening 
 prayer, I endeavoured to explain to them and apply the 
 second Psalm. It appears that the usual number of Euro- 
 peans who attend Divine service regularly in English, is about 
 forty, and the usual number of native Christians who attend 
 worship in Hindoostanee, is about seventy or eighty. The 
 number in both congregations has been gradually and regu- 
 larly increasing, and testifies of itself to the diligence and 
 exemplary conduct of Mr. Bowley, and of the blessing 
 attending his labours. The little I was able, in my short 
 
302 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE- 
 
 visit, to see of the state of the people, impressed me deeply 
 with the value of his labours. I knew the degradation of 
 both European invalids and their native wives and families, 
 from three years residence among them, and now to behold 
 so many of them adorning by their lives the doctrine of God 
 our Saviour, was to me most gratifying, and will be con- 
 sidered an ample recompence for all their contributions, by 
 the supporters of our Society, There being but one place 
 for both the free-school and the congregation to assemble in, 
 I could not see the scholars at their tasks. Three or four 
 children of parents, who can afford it, pay half a rupee per 
 month ; with which, together with voluntary contributions 
 of some of the pious soldiers, Mr. Bowley has provided 
 wall-shades for evening service, and supplies the lights. I, 
 also, conversed at Chunar with ten Hindoos, who appear to 
 be fully convinced of the truth of Christianity, though not 
 yet prepared to encounter the consequences of an open 
 profession [of it]. Some of them even join Mr. Bowley 
 occasionally in prayers. One of them, on being asked, 
 what he considered the great peculiarity of the Christian 
 religion ? answered, That in every other system of religion, 
 works were made a condition of justification, but that in 
 Christianity, only faith in Christ is required ; whilst, wonder- 
 ful to say, it produced more exemplary holiness than any 
 other system." 
 
 By a statement which Mr. Corrie put in circulation 
 at Secrole, dated llth of March, it will be seen that 
 he was not unmindful of the duties connected with 
 that station : 
 
 " It having been found on enquiry, that many children of 
 Christians, chiefly connected with the native battalions, 
 were without the means of instruction, a school was es- 
 tablished in the lines, in the month of February, for their 
 
BENARES. 303 
 
 benefit, which now consists of the following number and 
 description of scholars : 
 4 Adult Christians, learning to read Hindoostanee in the 
 
 Nagree character. 
 
 2 Adult Hindoos, learning to read English. 
 4 Young men, who were educated for a short time in the 
 Orphan school. 
 
 4 Christian youths, who with the last-mentioned, form 
 one class in reading, writing, and casting accounts. 
 
 5 Christian boys, who read the New Testament, and write. 
 10 Christian boys, learning first lessons in English reading 
 
 and writing. 
 
 2 Mahomedan boys, learning first lessons in English read- 
 ing and writing. 
 
 8 Christian girls, learning to read English. 
 
 39 " 
 
 Of the above-mentioned boys, eight, it was stated, 
 were orphans, or the children of parents who were 
 too indigent to maintain them ; the consequence was 
 that they had to be provided with sustenance as well 
 as education. To the school was also attached a 
 Christian Moonshee, whose office it was to read the 
 Scriptures morning and evening, to as many Christians 
 as chose to attend ; and on Sundays, to read the service 
 of the Church of England, and a previously-prepared 
 exhortation, (both in Hindoostanee) to the native 
 Christians in the lines, of whom about thirty or forty, 
 with their children, were in the habit of regularly 
 attending. 
 
 The object of this statement was to make the Eu- 
 
304 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 ropean residents at Benares acquainted with the mis- 
 sionary operations in progress among them, and to 
 afford them " an opportunity of contributing to the 
 support of measures, the beneficial tendency of which 
 they were so well able to appreciate." The result was 
 that the schools at Secrole received such an increase 
 of patronage, as to be almost wholly supported by 
 local contributions. 
 
 About the middle of March, Mr. Corrie again 
 visited Chunar. In a letter from Benares, dated 
 March 24, 1818, he writes : 
 
 " I attended at Chunar last week. On Good Friday, we 
 first had divine service in English, in a barrack ; and after- 
 wards in Hindoostanee, at the Free-school. The number of 
 communicants after the first service, was seventeen. Of the 
 native congregation, twenty-seven females and two men re- 
 mained to commemorate the death of our Lord. Almost the 
 whole congregation were in tears during the sermon, in 
 which Mr. Bowley set before them the Saviour's sufferings : 
 and during the communion, the greater number appeared to 
 be deeply affected, and all of them exceedingly serious and 
 attentive. There was an evident blessing vouchsafed to us, 
 and, in my own case, a lively sense of the Divine presence, 
 which seemed also to pervade the whole congregation. Fri- 
 day before, I heard thirty-two native Christians read, who 
 have within these few months, most of them, and all of 
 them since Mr. Bowley came to Chunar, begun to learn, 
 some the Persian, others the Nagree character ; and some of 
 them now read the Scriptures in Hindoostanee, with fluency, 
 and all of them expressed much delight arising from their 
 new attainment. Indeed, a remarkable tenderness of con- 
 science seems to distinguish most of them ; and their altered 
 
BENARES. 305 
 
 exemplary conduct is the talk of all, and as usual, by some 
 ridiculed, and by others commended. 
 
 " On Thursday, I catechised the first class in the Free- 
 school, consisting of seven boys, who not only repeated their 
 catechism correctly, but answered very intelligently many 
 questions I asked them, arising out of the catechism. They 
 also repeated passages of Scripture, which they got off as 
 tasks, and the whole class repeated verse by verse, the thir- 
 teenth chapter of Proverbs. Some of the children in the 
 Free-school, and their mothers, who are amongst the 
 most exemplary of Mr. Bowley's congregation, are the 
 families of non-commissioned officers belonging to native 
 corps now in the field. It must strike every reflecting 
 mind what a comfort establishments such as that of the 
 Church Missionary Society at Chunar, must be to Europeans 
 of the above class. If instead of leaving their wives and 
 children comparatively unprotected, and exposed to the 
 temptations of this heathen land, they could place them 
 where their children might receive education at little or no 
 expense, and their wives be receiving good instruction, in- 
 stead of being left to every wind of temptation, surely much 
 of the pain arising from separation in time of war would be 
 alleviated. 
 
 " The school-room being too small to contain the Native 
 congregation, and encouraged by the Committee's * approba- 
 tion of my wish to build a larger house for their accommo- 
 dation, I desired Mr. Bowley to look out for a proper spot 
 to build upon. A house and premises, contiguous to the 
 barracks, the owner refused to dispose of to us ; and this led 
 us to fix upon a spot about two hundred yards further from 
 the barracks, and on two sides bounded by the Native town. 
 The possessor, Mr. Turnbull, was applied to for it, and he 
 begged Mr. G. Robinson to go up and fix a price on it. Mr. 
 R. accordingly went with me last week and valued the 
 premises at 500 Rupees. On this being reported to Mr. 
 
 * The Calcutta Committee of the Church Missionary Society, 
 
 X 
 
306 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Turnbull, he generously wrote, saying, that he begged I 
 would accept the ground for the purpose intended. This, I 
 hope, is a token for good, and may be taken as an encourage- 
 ment to proceed I think there will be no difficulty in 
 
 raising 4 or 5000 Rupees for our intended church." 
 
 Mr. Corrie had the happiness to find that these 
 anticipations were not premature, for on a subscrip- 
 tion paper being put into circulation, the Marquis of 
 Hastings was pleased to head the list of contributions 
 by a donation of 1000 sicca rupees, towards building 
 a church at Chunar. 
 
 Encouraging, however, as was this improved state 
 of feeling in favour of missionary labours, there re- 
 mained abundant scope for the exercise of Christian 
 zeal. In a letter, addressed to his brother about this 
 time, Mr. Corrie writes from Benares : 
 
 " In a neighbouring district (with the magistrate of which 
 I am well acquainted) during the last year, two widows were 
 burned on an average every month ; six lepers were buried 
 alive, or drowned, by their friends ; and not less than one 
 hundred persons destroyed themselves by drowning, in fits of 
 passion, under the idea that their ghosts would haunt the 
 offending party. Such being the strength of passion in 
 them, you will not be surprised that murders are exceedingly 
 frequent : and, what is worst of all, their religion en- 
 courages these excesses. .... The progress of the gospel is 
 slow, but advancing. The unholy rivalry of some who 
 differ from us in modes of worship is a stumbling-block to 
 a few ; and it grieves me to be often obliged to spend my 
 time and my breath in proving the lawfulness of infant- 
 baptism, and the propriety of baptism by sprinkling. Satan 
 thus divides, but he shall not finally prevail." 
 
BENARES. 307 
 
 It was now the will of God to exercise the faith 
 and patience of His servant, by a no less severe 
 affliction than the death of an only son. How great 
 this trial proved to Mr. Corrie, will be seen from his 
 letter on that occasion 
 
 TO MRS. MYERS, 
 
 " April 9, 1818. 
 
 " Our dearest Grandmama will have heard the melancholy 
 tidings communicated to Mr. Sherer yesterday. I judged 
 it best, that, if possible, the heavy affliction should not come 
 upon you suddenly. Your still bleeding heart will more 
 severely feel this arrow of the Almighty, winged no doubt 
 with love, but piercing to the very quick. Our lovely boy 
 was becoming inexpressibly interesting. He was taken 
 with a severe attack nearly three weeks ago, which yielded 
 to strong medicine, though he never was after as before, 
 but seemed mending, when by some means, he caught a 
 severe cold. The doctor says it was of the nature of In- 
 fluenza, and many in the house have suffered from it. On 
 Saturday morning we sent for the doctor; medicines did 
 not produce the wished-for effect, and we had a very restless 
 night on Saturday. On Sunday morning my heart began 
 to sink on his account, and the Lord's prayer in Church 
 tried both my principles and my feelings. 
 
 " Throughout Sunday, little alteration appeared ; but he 
 rested so well on Sunday night, that the doctor on Monday 
 morning pronounced him out of danger. About eleven he 
 altered for the worse. His little sweet countenance assumed 
 an appearance of eagerness, and about twelve he was mani- 
 festly convulsed, though not strongly. On this, our doctor 
 called in another skilful medical man, who happened to be at 
 the station, and new medicines were tried which promised 
 
 X 2 
 
308 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 partial relief, and the fond mother began again to hope. 
 About twelve on Monday night, he was in great pain, and 
 the work of death was evidently rapidly going on. We 
 commended him to our covenant God in prayer. I pleaded, 
 as well as I was able, His promise to be the God of our seed, 
 as well as our own God. I prayed for the child as a member 
 of Christ's mystical body and a branch of the true Vine ; 
 and besought that the suffering child might be remembered 
 in the suffering Christ. Our prayers were mercifully heard, 
 and our babe from that time suffered comparatively little. 
 About five on the morning of the 7th, his soul seemed long- 
 ing to mount upward. We again in prayer commended 
 him to our covenant God, and about half-past five, he 
 ceased to breathe without a struggle or even a sigh. 
 
 " It seemed to me inconceivable that my mind should 
 ever have become so confused respecting the truths of Scrip- 
 ture. During the whole of Tuesday, and on Tuesday night 
 especially, I became alarmed lest any thing extravagant 
 should escape me. My God ever graciously kept me from 
 bringing a reproach on the principles I preach : but ! I 
 seem only now to have begun to understand many of them. 
 I now know what is meant by the bread of affliction, and the 
 water of adversity : I now understand the 38th Psalm in a 
 way I never did before ; and though even at this moment no 
 one Scripture could I point to, and say that it supports me, 
 yet, I feel myself on safe ground, and seem secured on 
 all sides from danger. 
 
 " I hope the bitterness of this death is past to us both, 
 though our bereavement (as I conceive it ought not) will 
 never be forgotten. We are constrained to abstract our 
 thoughts from the lovely object that bound our affections so 
 fast ; and do, we hope, rejoice in his gain, whilst we mourn 
 our sad loss. My understanding yesterday received a lesson 
 from Anna. When we sat down to the ceremony of dinner, 
 she became raving for water. Sometimes it was ( Dear papa, 
 give Nan a some water/ Then with a curtsey to nurse, 
 
BENARES. 309 
 
 ' Please Nan, give Nana some water/ Then with anger cry- 
 ing for water ; but though our hearts were bleeding for her 
 distress, we would not give her water for her hurt. Thus, 
 thought I, our heavenly Father is looking down upon us. 
 He heard our prayers, our tears for the life of our babe ; He 
 saw our distress, and He doubtless pitied, but for our good, 
 denies our desires. Oh, may the Holy Spirit send home 
 the lesson effectually ! 
 
 " On entering the pulpit on Sunday morning in heaviness 
 of heart, when I pronounced the sentence { Our Father 
 which art in heaven/ it powerfully came to my mind, ' Is he 
 less a Father than thou art, that he should not care for thee 
 and thy child ? ' Lord ! I believe, help my unbelief ! ' 
 
 In acknowledging the Christian sympathy of Cap- 
 tain Peevor, expressed in connection with this do- 
 mestic sorrow, Mr. C. writes : 
 
 " We try to realize the truths you kindly bring before us ; 
 but it is hard to walk by faith when sense and sight so pow- 
 erfully attract the contrary way. We are not, however, 
 without experience of the grace of our Lord ; and hope the 
 lesson intended may not be lost upon us. One day in this 
 school of adversity, has taught me more than years of ease 
 and prosperity." 
 
 It was now, also, that Mr. Corrie communicated 
 with 
 
 THE REV. J. BUCKWORTH. 
 
 " Benares, March 14, 1818. 
 
 " You will see by the date, where I am stationed. The 
 place is important, on many accounts. It is central, and 
 near several missionary stations : but we want helpers at 
 Chunar, my first station in India. Mr. Bowley's labours 
 
310 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 have been greatly blessed to the Christian part of the popu- 
 lation ; who were ' as sheep without a shepherd/ till he 
 went among them. Mr. Adlington is at this time visiting 
 dear brother Abdool; of whom he writes very favourable 
 accounts, as to spiritual things ; but his bodily health has 
 greatly declined, and is declining. A few have been added 
 to the church at Agra ; and several bearing the Christian 
 name, seem to have experienced a new birth unto righteous- 
 ness. With respect to the public state of affairs, you will 
 hear of the wonderful events which have taken place here, 
 during the last six months ; by which the whole continent 
 of India is become subject to British authority.* Very 
 critical have been our circumstances repeatedly, at one place 
 1200 of our troops were assaulted by a greater number of 
 thousands at another place, 3,000 of our troops were set 
 upon by 40,000 j and such is the inconstant nature of the 
 natives of this country, that in either of the above affairs, 
 had victory declared against us, the whole of India would 
 have been in a flame. This, then, is the Lord's doing, and 
 it is marvellous in our eyes. We have many praying souls 
 now in our Indian army ; and the number is increasing : 
 and we know that our God is a hearer of prayer." 
 
 " April 9. Since I began my letter, it has pleased God to 
 relieve you of the charge we put upon you, respecting our 
 Infant. t He was removed from our sight on the 7th, and 
 is now with his Father and our Father, with his God and 
 our God. I know not how to write about anything else, 
 but yet I wish not to fill my paper with the expression of 
 feelings which, no doubt, every one in similar circumstances 
 experiences. I shall only say, that I seem never to have 
 known sadness till now." 
 
 This extension of the British rule in India, by 
 opening out wider fields for missionary exertions, 
 
 * By the termination of the Pindarry and Mahratta wars, 
 t That of Godfather. 
 
BENARES. 311 
 
 rendered, also, the want of labourers more sensibly 
 apparent. Hence Mr. Corrie writes 
 
 TO THE EEV. MR. SIMEON. 
 
 " Benares, June 16, 1818. 
 
 " I write now to acquaint you with the death of one of 
 our chaplains at Cawnpore on the 22nd instant, that you 
 may, if possible, get some proper person appointed in his 
 place. Our honoured friend Mr. Grant, will not be back- 
 ward to use his influence, if it can avail and may God 
 grant, for the honor of his gospel in these lands, that a true 
 minister of his word may be sent out. It is inconceivable to 
 those not on the spot, how much pious well-educated men 
 may effect, above the usual run, even of pious men who 
 come out as missionaries. If translations be to supply the 
 gift of tongues, then those translations ought to come as 
 near the character of that gift as possible. Now the Seram- 
 pore translations all, I fear, fail entirely in idiom and every 
 recommendation. Of their Hindoostanee translation, I can 
 speak from some knowledge, that it is calculated to displease 
 the least fastidious, by the mixture of Persian, Arabic, and 
 English words in it, as well as by the turn given to many 
 phrases, from the literal rendering from the English. Thus, 
 ' on these two hang all the law and the prophets/ the word 
 used is literally, ' suspended as from a peg/ Such is my 
 own feeling respecting this translation, that I should abstain 
 from giving it to an intelligent Hindoo, and no other could 
 make anything of it ; and at this place, we have, in conse- 
 quence, nothing to meet the enquiries of the Hindoos, ex- 
 cept a catechism translated by Mr. Bowley, which is read 
 with avidity. 
 
 " Divine providence is, I hope, opening a door of great 
 usefulness here, through the means of the Baboo Joy Narian 
 kind of Deist, who is about giving up a house, and 
 
312 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 .5,000. to endow it as a school, to our Church Missionary 
 Society. The house in Benares we have actual possession 
 of, and it is now undergoing a little repair, with a view to 
 commence a school of general learning, of which Mr. 
 Adlington will be the superintendent." 
 
 The name of Joy Narain will be remembered, as 
 that of the rich native at Benares, who, some years 
 ago, sent a letter and a benefaction to the Bible So- 
 ciety.* It appears that the same benevolent indivi- 
 dual had at that time formed, also, the design of 
 building and endowing a free-school, by means of 
 which the poorer classes of his countrymen might 
 receive education. f He seems to have gone so far 
 as to have himself drawn up a plan of the institution, 
 to have commenced building a suitable house, and 
 to have offered to pay for the support of a school- 
 master and assistants ; but, from some cause or other, 
 nothing had been definitely settled up to the time 
 that Mr. Corrie was appointed chaplain at Benares, 
 after his return from England. Soon after Mr. C.'s 
 arrival at that station, however, Joy Narain brought 
 the subject of the free-school before him ; and the 
 following extract from a letter addressed by Mr. C. 
 to the committee of the Church Missionary Society, 
 gives the substance of what passed between Joy Narain 
 and himself: 
 
 * See above p. 149. 
 
 t Joy Narain's own account of the circumstances which led him 
 thus to consult the good of his countrymen, may be seen in the 
 Missionary Register for 1819, pp. 416, 417. 
 
BENARES. 313 
 
 " He proposes giving a large house in the city for a 
 school, endowing it with 200 Us. a month, (about .300. 
 a year,) Mr. Adlington to be the teacher. I suggested to 
 him to let us have the house on Mr. Adlington' s arrival 
 [from AgraJ to begin operations ; and that for the present 
 Mr. A should derive his support from the Church Mission- 
 ary Society, whilst he (Joy Narain,) should pay for books 
 and incidental expenses. This seemed to delight him. I 
 proposed that he should make the Church Missionary Soci- 
 ety's committee trustees of his endowment; reserving to 
 himself the approval of their agent, who, if approved of 
 at the end of one year, should be confirmed for life ; or, 
 during conformity with the rules of the endowment ; which, 
 I proposed, should be for general learning : our Missionary 
 to be at liberty to receive enquirers after truth, in his private 
 apartments, after school-hours ." 
 
 To these several propositions, Joy Narain cor- 
 dially assented, and although at the date of the fore- 
 going letter to Mr. Simeon, the property was not 
 legally made over, yet the school-house had been put 
 into the possession of the Church Missionary Society. 
 The school itself was opened on Monday, July 17, 
 1818, under the superintendence of Mr. Adlington ; 
 the second master being a young man, country-born, 
 but educated in England, and intimately acquainted 
 with the colloquial language and manners of the 
 natives. Mr. Corrie observes, however, to the 
 Committee of the Church Missionary Society : 
 
 " To give full effect to this gift of Joy Narain, you must 
 send us one or two men of as good education as possible, 
 and as soon as you can find them. The disposition to hear 
 
314 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 and receive the word, is increasing daily among the natives. 
 Many of the rich and learned Hindoos, especially of this 
 city, seem ready to welcome the gospel." 
 
 And again to the Committee in Calcutta : 
 
 " A man of learning should by all means be sent out to 
 that school, both to release Mr. Adlington, and to occupy 
 a post than which there is none more conspicuous in all the 
 sphere of missionary labour ; and, it ought, therefore, to be 
 supplied accordingly/' 
 
 It was whilst engaged in watching over the first 
 beginnings of this Institution, that Mr. Corrie wrote 
 to his brother, 
 
 " July 29, 1818. 
 
 " This country becomes daily more and more interesting 
 to the Christian. The paramount influence of our govern- 
 ment now seems to hold out some degree of permanency to 
 our rule ; and, in consequence, the natives are less embar- 
 rassed with the fear of the return of former superiors ; and 
 the consequent persecution that would have followed any 
 attention to our religion. Considerate men among them, 
 therefore, begin to speak out their dissatisfaction with Ido- 
 latry ; and to enquire what better we have to offer them. 
 This disposition is most providentially met by the institu- 
 tions which have risen amongst us of late : and the hand 
 of God in disposing all things for the spread of His truth, 
 seems evidently displayed. First, there is the Diocesan 
 Committee, which confines itself to supplying those only 
 who understand English, with bibles, prayer-books, and 
 tracts. Next, the Church Missionary Society, which sup- 
 plies the native Christians with bibles, and prayer-books in 
 the native languages : as well as its more direct objects. 
 Then the School-Book Society, which supplies elementary 
 books in all languages, for all description of persons ; and 
 then the glorious Bible Society, like the f lion which cover* 
 
BENARES. 315 
 
 cth/ embracing all classes and climes, in the distribution 
 of the words of life eternal. If to these be added, the 
 labours of missionaries of different denominations, it will 
 appear that the kingdom of God is near to India. Of 
 missionaries, however, we have as yet, but a scanty supply. 
 May the Lord of the harvest, thrust forth labourers into 
 India," 
 
 " In the beginning of this month I baptized, at Chunar, 
 a Brahmin, and a Moonshee, in the presence of the native 
 Christian congregation, and of many Heathen and Maho r 
 medans. The Brahmin declared that he had visited all the 
 places reputed holy by Hindoos, from Brindrinath in the 
 borders of the snowy mountains in the N. W., to Jugger- 
 nauth in the lower parts of Bengal, but found nothing on 
 which his mind could rest, till he heard the gospel at Chu- 
 nar. That he found all the Hindoos in error, and plainly 
 told them so ; in proof of his being in earnest, [he] broke off 
 the Brahmin's cord, (or, as he called it, ' the lying cord/) 
 before them all. The Moonshee bore a similar testimony 
 respecting the insufficiency of the Mahomedan faith.* Three 
 more are waiting for my next visit to Chunar in order to be 
 
 then baptized These are encouraging circumstances; 
 
 may God grant us his blessing to improve them to his glory ! " 
 
 But besides relating such encouraging circum- 
 stances as these, Mr. Corrie's correspondence con- 
 tains many incidental notices, also, of his intercourse 
 with natives of all classes. Thus on the 18th of 
 August, he informs Mr. Sherer : 
 
 " We are going on as usual here, doing a little : ( unknown 
 and yet well known.' Several of the high Natives have 
 visited me lately ; chiefly from the intimacy they perceived 
 
 * A fuller account of the baptism of these persons is given in the 
 Missionary Register for 1820, p. 123. 
 
316 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Mr Bird * had formed with us ; but it led, though they 
 meant it not, to religious discussions. A near relation of 
 the Rajah of Benares, took away yesterday a Hindoostanee 
 New Testament, and Hindoostanee Prayer-book, with 
 evident desire, after a long discussion on subjects connected 
 with them. 
 
 And, again, in writing to the same relative in the 
 month of October, Mr. C. observes : 
 
 - " Joy Narain's school goes on very well. Many of good 
 caste and family now come for instruction in English. The 
 enquiries they make on religious subjects, have led to the 
 conviction, in several, of the folly of idolatry. Indeed, I 
 am obliged to refrain at times from talking with them, lest 
 the whole design should be obstructed by the rapid progress 
 some of them are making in Christian knowledge." 
 
 The school here mentioned, having, by Deed, 
 bearing date Oct. 21, 1818, been legally placed 
 under the control of the Calcutta Committee of the 
 Church Missionary Society and their successors, 
 Mr. Corrie was requested by Joy Narain to draw up, 
 in English, a detailed statement of the plan and ob- 
 jects contemplated by the school. A draft of the 
 statement was, in the first instance, [1 1th Nov. 
 1818.] submitted by Mr. Corrie to the Agent of the 
 Government at Benares, and was afterwards translated 
 into several of the languages of the country, and 
 circulated among the natives of India. As illustra- 
 tive of a remarkable moral movement, towards the 
 maturing of which the subject of these memoirs 
 
 * The magistrate of the district. 
 
BENARES. 317 
 
 materially contributed, the document is too important 
 to be omitted. 
 
 " The following statement of the object and plan of the 
 Institution, is published, with a view to engage such support 
 as may enable the managers to extend to the utmost the 
 benefits it is intended to convey. 
 
 "1. In this school, four languages are taught, viz. English 
 Persian, Hindoostanee and Bengalee. 
 
 " 2. For the purpose of affording instruction in these 
 languages, an English master, as superintendent of the In- 
 stitution, is engaged ; proper assistance and learned 
 teachers in the other languages respectively, are also retained. 
 
 "3. It is intended to maintain, as well as educate, a number 
 of poor boys, who are to be accommodated in the house, as 
 soon as proper arrangements can be made, and a small daily 
 allowance will be made to such poor boys as cannot be 
 received into the house, to such extent as the funds may 
 admit of. 
 
 "4. The benefits of the Institution to be at the same time 
 open to all who are desirous of availing themselves of them, 
 without regard to caste or country ; and for this purpose, 
 teachers, paper, pens and ink, will be provided gratis, for 
 all the scholars ; it being left to the option of such parents 
 as can afford to pay for their children's education, to con- 
 tribute at their pleasure to the general expenses of the 
 school, and thereby to extend the benefits of it further to 
 the poor. 
 
 " 5. The primary design of teaching the above languages 
 being, to enable industrious youths to obtain for themselves 
 a comfortable livelihood, the first care will be to instruct the 
 scholars in reading and writing grammatically, and in the 
 most necessary rules of arithmetic ; together with the govern- 
 ment regulations on the subjects of police, and ordinary 
 affairs : after which such youths as desire further improve- 
 
318 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 ment, may be instructed in general history, geography, and 
 astronomy. 
 
 " 6. No scholar to be admitted into the school under seven 
 years of age, except such as are on the foundation, nor any to 
 be admitted to receive maintenance from the funds who are 
 above eighteen years. Each scholar to remain in school, if 
 practicable, at least two years, but no scholar to receive 
 pecuniary support beyond the period of seven years, nor 
 above the age of twenty, unless for the pursuit of some 
 study approved by the managers. 
 
 " 7. All the scholars are required to attend regularly every 
 day, to abstain from all improper language in school, and 
 to maintain a respectable moral character in society ; without 
 which no scholar can be admitted, or if admitted, be re- 
 tained on his ill conduct being discovered. 
 
 " 8. The school to be open to all visitors every Tuesday, 
 and all contributors to the funds to be admitted to inspect 
 the accounts on the second Tuesday in every month. 
 
 " It being intended to form a library and museum also 
 connected with the school, as soon as practicable, any 
 donation of natural curiosities, or of books, in English, or 
 in any of the languages of India, (especially grammars, 
 dictionaries, and books of history) will be thankfully re- 
 ceived ; and a book will be kept in which the names of 
 donors will be recorded, with the nature and extent of the 
 donation." 
 
 " Benares, llth November, 1818." 
 
 At the time the foregoing statement was put into 
 circulation, there were no less than one hundred and 
 sixteen scholars in the school; but it had already 
 become apparent that the monthly sum granted by 
 the founder, was by no means sufficient to meet the 
 necessary expenses of the establishment. Joy Narain 
 therefore, made a formal application to the Governor- 
 
BENARES. 319 
 
 General in council for pecuniary assistance, when 
 Lord Hastings, with the ready attention which he 
 always manifested for the moral improvement of 
 India, ordered a regular monthly allowance to be 
 contributed from the funds of government toward the 
 efficient maintenance of the school. 
 
 But the residence of Mr. Corrie at Benares was 
 now drawing to a close. He received about this 
 time, an appointment to the vacant Chaplaincy at 
 Cawnpore ; but before he could proceed to that sta- 
 tion, a vacancy had occurred at the Presidency by the 
 departure of the senior chaplain on sick-leave. This 
 event was the occasion of Mr. Corrie's recal to Cal- 
 cutta. He accordingly left Benares in December 
 1818, amid the regrets of a large body of respectable 
 natives, who had seen so much reason for regarding 
 him as the friend and promoter of every institution 
 which was calculated to promote their welfare. It 
 could not, therefore, but be a matter of gratification 
 to him, to be followed to Calcutta by the subjoined 
 Address written in English, Persian, Hindoostanee, 
 and Bengalee : 
 
 FROM THE INHABITANTS OF BENARES, 
 TO THE REV. D. CORBIE. 
 
 " For several years past we have entertained a desire, that 
 no one would indulge in any kind of controversy, and that 
 
320 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 all theological discussion might cease amongst us. For 
 the attainment of this our desire, Joy Narain Maharaj, 
 often attempted to establish a school, but was never able to 
 accomplish his design. When you arrived at Benares, and 
 kindly engaged the superintendence of a school, in the 
 which instruction should be afforded in the English, Per- 
 sian, Hindue and Bengalee languages, from that time our 
 wishes began to be realized : seeing that as at all times it is 
 a difficult thing to collect individuals of different religious 
 principles, you by your investigation, liberality and kind- 
 ness, &c. caused upwards of 200 to lay aside their religious 
 prejudices and engage in the same pursuit. Since when, 
 by the will of God, you were pleased to embark for Cal- 
 cutta, your condescension, liberality, and charity; your 
 kindness, love for the truth, and enmity to deception; 
 your excellent understanding, convincing knowledge, and 
 acquaintance with the theological works of the Christian 
 religion ; your Christian-like conduct, your affording in- 
 struction to those desirous of being more acquainted with 
 the way of salvation by the mediation of Christ, and meet- 
 ing the views of the learner ; are subjects of daily conversa- 
 tion, and cause us to admire that prudence which, aloof 
 from the violence made use of by those of other dynasties, 
 causes Rajahs, Baboos, great and learned Pundits, Moulu- 
 wees, Moonshees, in fact the great of the city, to court your 
 friendship. A remembrance of these things occasions much 
 sorrow, and produces a desire for another interview. Here 
 we trust that God Almighty will again suffer us to meet, 
 and that as long as it please Him to retain you in Calcutta, 
 He will not fail on your account to bless both us and the 
 school." 
 
 (Here follow the signatures of Joy Narain and of 266 
 other natives of Benares.) 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 REMOVAL TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 IT was not without regret that Mr. Corrie quitted a 
 place which he had found (to use his own words,) 
 "a scene of delightful labour." In anticipation 
 of his probable removal from Benares, he had written 
 some time before 
 
 TO THE REV. MR. SIMEON. 
 
 " I am at a loss to decide how to act should my removal 
 be determined on by Government. You will see a report of 
 our Church Missionary proceedings here, no doubt, by Mr. 
 Thomason. There is a great deal too much said in it about 
 me, especially should I be removed soon, so as to be pre- 
 vented establishing the plans in agitation. But I pray I 
 may be able to go on in simplicity of mind, in obedience 
 to the will of God's providence, and seek nothing for my- 
 self; who am indeed nothing, and deserve to be the 
 ' off-scouring of all.' If I were professedly a Missionary, 
 
322 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 and had the same prospect of entrance into this very citadel 
 of Idolatry, I should consider it a call to live and die in 
 this place ; but as a Chaplain of the Government, am I not 
 to consider the disposal of Government, as the voice of 
 providence to me ? I can truly say that, in the prospect 
 of leaving this place, { I am oppressed j Lord, undertake 
 forme!'" 
 
 Before proceeding, however, to Calcutta, Mr. C. 
 visited Chunar, and there administered the Lord's 
 Supper to sixty communicants, of whom half were 
 native Christians. He drew up a plan, also, for the 
 future guidance of those who were engaged in the 
 mission at that place and Benares, with a view to 
 secure regularity and efficiency to their exertions : 
 and in this he so arranged as to secure the coopera- 
 tion of all the parties, for whose guidance his direc- 
 tions were intended. It may be mentioned, too, in 
 connexion with the mission at Chunar, that Mr. C. 
 had employed himself, during his residence at 
 Benares, in carefully examining and correcting a re- 
 vision of Mr. Martyn's Hindoostanee translation of 
 the New Testament, into Hindoowee, which Mr. 
 Bowley had found it necessary to undertake for the 
 sake of the native population, among whom he la- 
 boured ; and which was afterwards printed by the 
 Bible Society. At the close of the year 1818, 
 Mr. Corrie commenced his journey to Calcutta. 
 On the way thither he touched at Buxar, a place to 
 
CALCUTTA. 323 
 
 which he had frequently paid missionary visits ; 
 and where a great desire had often been mani- 
 fested on the part of the Christian inhabitants, to 
 have a schoolmaster or Missionary located among 
 them. As a proof of the anxiety which these 
 Christians still cherished for the advantages of a 
 stated ministry, there was now placed in Mr. Corrie's 
 hands a list of about seventy persons, (chiefly of 
 the less wealthy class,) who were willing to contri- 
 bute certain monthly payments toward building a 
 church, and the maintenance of a Missionary. 
 
 On reaching Calcutta, among the first objects of 
 Mr. Corrie's care was, the placing under proper 
 instruction some Hindoostanee youths, who had 
 accompanied him from Benares. He had for some 
 time been in the habit of devoting much attention to 
 their education, with a view to their future useful- 
 ness as teachers ; and he now placed them in a school 
 for Hindoostanee boys, which the Calcutta Com- 
 mittee of the Church Missionary Society had just 
 established in that city. With reference to the im- 
 portance of such an Institution, Mr. Corrie had long 
 entertained a decided opinion. In a letter, an- 
 terior to this period, he had observed to Mr. 
 Sherer, 
 
 " I see so strongly, and experience also in my connection 
 with the adult converts, the improbability of finding steady, 
 judicious pastors, except from among those who have been 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 educated in Christian studies, that I should like to devote 
 the rest of my days to the instruction of native youths, 
 with a view to the ministry. That may be better done in 
 Calcutta than elsewhere, from the greater readiness with 
 which books may be had, and especially help for the instruc- 
 tion of others got ready. Besides, future Missionaries will 
 act with greater effect, aided by well-educated native 
 brethren. So that in every point of view this appears to be 
 a prime object, to educate for the ministry." 
 
 As respected himself, it is scarcely necessary to 
 state that the scene of labour at the Presidency was, 
 in most respects, widely different from that to which 
 Mr. Corrie had been accustomed in the provinces. 
 In a letter to his brother, dated early in 1819, Mr. 
 C. relates, as a specimen of his engagements, 
 
 " Mr. Parson and myself go on happily in our joint 
 Chaplaincy. The Bishop is absent at Madras, where, we 
 hear, he is confirming, in his sermons, all Mr. Thompson's 
 labours. He is in many respects a valuable man. 
 
 " I have lately been appointed Honorary Chaplain to the 
 [Military] Orphan Institution,* where I officiate every 
 Sunday Morning soon after six o'clock. At the Cathedral 
 I read prayers or preach at nine ; and the same at eight in 
 the evening. I take the weekly occasional duties in turn. 
 I am, also, ex ojficio, a Governor of the Free School, and 
 a member of the Select Vestry; who are Trustees of charities 
 distributed to the monthly amount of 3,411 rupees, among 
 568 Pensioners." 
 
 The connexion with the " Select Vestry " here men- 
 tioned, did not however prove without its difficulties ; 
 
 * Instituted in the year 1782. 
 
CALCUTTA. 325 
 
 for it happened that Mr. Corrie commenced his du- 
 ties at the Presidency before a dispute had subsided, 
 respecting the mode in which that Yestry was consti- 
 tuted, and the authority which they claimed to exer- 
 cise. It seems to have been the custom for the 
 members of the Vestry to re-elect themselves annually, 
 so as to admit new members into their body only as 
 vacancies occurred by deaths, resignations, or depar- 
 tures for England. They had customarily, also, 
 appointed the officers connected with the Church, 
 now called the Cathedral. But it appears that at 
 the Easter preceding Mr. Corrie's connection with 
 the Cathedral, a certain number of persons opposed 
 the re-election of the Select Vestry, as being contrary 
 to the practice usual in England ; and the senior 
 Chaplain, at the same time, claimed the right to no- 
 minate the churchwardens. The Select Vestry, on the 
 other hand, regarded themselves (and had long been 
 so recognized by government) as special Trustees for 
 a Church which had been originally built by private 
 individuals ; and for the due distribution of certain 
 funds, arising mainly from legacies left for charitable 
 purposes, and under the administration of the Vestry. 
 However much, therefore, to be deplored, might be 
 the animosity and indecorous language, into which 
 some of the parties concerned in the dispute, seem 
 to have been betrayed, it cannot be a matter of sur- 
 prise that the Vestry, as a body, should hesitate to 
 
326 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 abandon long-acknowledged claims, and to hand over 
 to other persons, the distribution of certain charities 
 which they conceived to be legally entrusted to the 
 Vestry. To such a length, however, had the dispute 
 respecting this matter been carried, that both parties 
 complained to the Governor General in Council ; and 
 the Government had given it as an opinion, rather 
 than as a decision, that the vestry should remain 
 in possession of its accustomed functions, until the 
 authorities in England might judge it proper to 
 interfere. But notwithstanding this opinion on the 
 part of Government, the opponents of the Vestry 
 revived the dispute, at the, Easter of 1819. Much 
 correspondence seems to have taken place on the 
 subject, and many hard words again to have been 
 used ; and Mr. Corrie as one, among others, who con- 
 sidered it their duty to maintain themselves in the posi- 
 tion which had been thus sanctioned by Government, 
 became, as a matter of course, the subject of repre- 
 hension on the part of those, who opposed the claims 
 of the Vestry. Yet it is stated by those who were 
 in Calcutta at the time, and were also well acquainted 
 with the facts of the case, that the subject of these 
 Memoirs was enabled so far to keep apart from the 
 bitterness of this strife, as to exhibit throughout 
 " the prudence and meekness becoming the minister 
 of Christ." 
 
 With the exception, however, of passing occur- 
 
CALCUTTA. 327 
 
 rences such as these, there was but little diversity 
 in the duties which now fell to Mr. Corrie's lot, 
 beyond what may be found in the life of a parochial 
 clergyman. The history of any one day was, to a 
 great extent therefore, the history of the succeeding 
 month ; and so on, from month to month : for as it 
 was not yet certain, whether the senior Chaplain, who 
 had gone to the Cape, would return to India or not, 
 Mr. Corrie could not regard himself as more than a 
 temporary resident at the Presidency, and did not 
 therefore feel at liberty to engage so actively in the 
 concerns of several religious societies in Calcutta, 
 as he afterwards felt called upon to do. But when 
 intelligence reached India, early in 1820, that 
 the senior Chaplain had proceeded to England, 
 and Mr. C. thus became entitled to succeed to 
 the vacant chaplaincy, he began to lay himself out 
 for some steady course of missionary labour in 
 Calcutta and the neighbourhood. One of his first 
 movements was, to endeavour to collect a native 
 congregation in Calcutta, by means of Mr. 
 Bowley, who had come down from Chunar to super- 
 intend the printing of that revised Hindoowee trans- 
 lation of the New Testament, which has been al- 
 ready mentioned.* The ulterior object Mr. Corrie 
 had in view in this was, to provide a sphere of labour 
 for Abdool Messeeh, who was expected to reach 
 * See above, p.322. 
 
328 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Calcutta in the spring of 1820, and whose state of 
 health might probably render it desirable that he 
 should remain there for the future. Mr. Corrie was, 
 also, desirous to excite a deeper interest for missionary 
 objects, among the poorer classes about the Presi- 
 dency, in the belief that less attention had hitherto 
 been given to effect this, than, on every Christian 
 principle, seemed necessary. As having now, also, 
 undertaken the office of Secretary to the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society in Calcutta, Mr. C. was in better 
 circumstances to direct these missionary plans. 
 Some account of his occupations, is given in a letter 
 to his sister, who had returned to England: 
 
 " May 19, 1820. 
 
 " Abdool Messeeh is here : I am daily at work with him, 
 writing a Commentary in Hindoostanee, from six in the 
 morning till breakfast and after, if I am not called away. 
 We have got him a house in Meer-jan-Jcee-gully. It is a 
 roomy (upper-roomed) house, but out of repair ; so we get 
 it for fifty rupees a month ; and here he collects the poor 
 four times a week. The Church Missionary concerns occupy 
 me too a good deal ; and we are setting up a printing-press 
 in my go-downs.* To-day the first sheet of a tract is print- 
 ing off, as a beginning/' 
 
 Soon after the date of the foregoing extract, Mr. 
 Corrie had an examination of the boys of his Hin- 
 doostanee-school, in the presence of the members of 
 the Calcutta Committee of the Church Missionary 
 
 * A printer and printing-press, sent out by the Church Missionary 
 Society, had just arrived from England. 
 
CALCUTTA. 329 
 
 Society, and of such other persons as interested 
 themselves about missionary objects. His many 
 avocations did not admit of his undertaking the 
 superintendence of a larger number of scholars than 
 that with which the school had commenced ; but the 
 result of the examination proved, that the benefit 
 derived from being habituated to Christian example 
 and the progress which the boys had made in a 
 knowledge of the Hindoostanee New Testament, the 
 Hindoostanee Catechism, and the principles of the 
 Christian religion in general, were of a very encou- 
 raging nature. Impressed, therefore, with the con- 
 viction that a Christian education was of the greatest 
 importance as a means to render the natives them- 
 selves efficient instruments of God to their coun- 
 trymen, Mr. Corrie welcomed the idea of establishing 
 a missionary College by the Bishop. With reference 
 to that circumstance, he wrote to his brother: 
 
 f< I am quite sure that all men will rejoice in the establish- 
 ment of the College ; although learning alone will do but 
 little. It therefore appears to me more than ever necessary 
 to maintain strenuously the labours and plans of the Church 
 Missionary Society. Under these feelings I was led last 
 Thursday into a long conversation with the Bishop, respect- 
 ing Missionary proceedings, in which the Church Missionary 
 Society and its views were brought forward and discussed. 
 The Bishop's chief objection was, that the sending out of 
 English clergymen as Missionaries, would prevent the East 
 India Company from making such a provision of Chaplains, 
 as they ought to make. As far as it goes, the argument is 
 
330 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 just ; but I think he ought rather to adopt such Missionaries, 
 and by pointing out to Government the benefits produced by 
 them, to draw forth Government support, which otherwise 
 may not be afforded in any way/' 
 
 It may not be amiss to mention, that however 
 much Mr. Corrie might be occupied by matters of 
 public interest, he did not neglect the charities of 
 social life. On the contrary, he did not allow his gate 
 to be closed against any who might have a reason for 
 desiring to hold communication with him. And, as in 
 India, persons arriving from England, or visiting 
 the Presidency were, at that time, regarded as having 
 an almost unlimited claim on the hospitality of the 
 residents in Calcutta, Mr. C. was seldom without 
 his share of such guests. This circumstance, added 
 to his natural kind-heartedness, gave occasion to one, 
 who loved him, and who was then under his roof, 
 to remark, ' as long as he lives and wherever he 
 lives, he will have as many people about him as fall 
 in his way ; until every corner be occupied, and he 
 himself is left without a corner.' To many of the 
 younger portion of these visitors Mr. C. was, also, 
 oftentimes the instrument of great moral good ; and 
 in such cases it was his custom, as occasion served or 
 might require, to address to them a letter of encou- 
 ragement or direction, after they had left him. An 
 extract from a letter to Capt. Moyle Sherer, H. M. 
 34th regiment, and who had been on a visit to his 
 
CALCUTTA. 331 
 
 brother in Calcutta, may serve to illustrate the spirit 
 of such communications : 
 
 " Calcutta, May 27, 1820. 
 
 " You are by this time settled with your regiment, and 
 begin to find exactly how the minds of those around you 
 stand affected to the principles of true religion. Some 
 painful discoveries will probably have been made, and on 
 the other hand, perhaps, consolation will have arisen from 
 unexpected sources. Such is the beginning, especially of a 
 life of piety. We are apt to wonder that what we see so 
 clearly to be rational and necessary, is not equally seen by 
 others when brought before them ; and the result is, to make 
 us feel more experimentally that what we have learned on these 
 subjects, has not been from man's teaching, but that God 
 has been leading us by ways that we knew not. The dis- 
 covery of our own inbred sin is what is most distressing at 
 this stage. Indeed, to the end of life such ebullitions of the 
 sin that dwell eth in us, occasionally take place, as almost 
 confound the Christian, and send him back to his first princi- 
 ples ; and it seems as if the whole work of religion were yet 
 to begin. Yea, how often does this inward enemy impel him 
 to the very brink of disgrace, and he escapes as by miracle, 
 from temporal no less than eternal ruin. Such is my ex- 
 perience up to this day ; and now, what with the experience 
 upwards of forty years have supplied of the world's in- 
 sufficiency to afford happiness, and of the power of sin, unless 
 God prevent, to work temporal and eternal ruin, the grave be- 
 gins to appear a refuge, and I have a deep conviction that 
 they only are completely blessed who are in heaven. I think 
 you were quite right in not taking part with the Wesleyans 
 till you know more of them. By degrees the truly sincere 
 will draw to you as their natural superior, and you will 
 be able to direct their reading and to regulate their affairs 
 far more to their advantage than they can do themselves. 
 
332 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 During the October of 1820, Mr. Corrie was 
 afflicted by the death of one of the elder of the Hin- 
 doostanee boys, who were in the school under his 
 care. The youth in question was a Hindoo by birth, 
 and when a child had been purchased up the country, 
 from his parents, during a season of scarcity. He 
 had therefore been under Christian instruction the 
 greater part of his life. It seems that he died of 
 consumption, and that during a long illness, he 
 had afforded satisfactory evidence that he had not re- 
 ceived a Christian education in vain. The death of 
 this youth was not long afterwards followed by the 
 removal of the remaining youths, to assist in the 
 schools at different missionary stations. Before, 
 however, Mr. Corrie's Hindoostanee scholars had 
 been thus dispersed, there had been admitted among 
 them, for the purpose of receiving instruction in order 
 to baptism, a Hindoo youth who had been servant to a 
 converted Moonshee.* This youth, when full of the 
 idea of making the pilgrimage to Juggernauth, had 
 accidentally fallen in with the Moonshee, and accom- 
 panied him as far as Benares. In consequence, how- 
 ever, of the conversations, which he held with the 
 Moonshee on the subject of religion, his faith in 
 the efficacy of a pilgrimage to Juggernauth had 
 entirely abated, by the time they reached Benares : 
 
 * Moonshee Mooneef Masseeh, who was baptised at Chunar in 
 1818. 
 
CALCUTTA. 333 
 
 and he accordingly returned back to Delhi with the 
 Moonshee, in the capacity of servant ; although he 
 left his master, after a while, to avoid the scoffs of 
 his Hindoo acquaintances. He could not, however, 
 rid himself of the conviction that his master was 
 right, and became so uneasy under that conviction, 
 that he quitted his home in search of peace of mind. 
 Eventually he made his way to Calcutta, and be- 
 came an inmate of the Hindoostanee school there, 
 and in due time was baptised. 
 
 It may here not be uninteresting to relate, that 
 after Mr. Corrie became Secretary to the Calcutta 
 Committee of the Church Missionary Society, he 
 was in the habit of employing himself as he found 
 opportunity, in contributing to the pages of a 
 * Quarterly Circular,' which first appeared in 1820, 
 and contained from time to time, a summary of 
 ' Missionary Intelligence,' for the use of Missionaries 
 and others, at the different stations in India. 
 Among his contributions to this periodical may be 
 mentioned a series of papers, containing a ' Sketch 
 of the progress of Christianity in Calcutta and in 
 the provinces of the presidency of Bengal.' Mr. 
 Corrie had often been struck by observing the im- 
 portance attached by historians to but imperfect 
 records of former ages, provided those records hap- 
 pened to bear the marks of authenticity ; and he 
 conceived, therefore, that some future historian of 
 
334 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the church of Christ in India, might possibly derive 
 assistance from a notice of such facts and circum- 
 stances as that ' Sketch ' might be the means of 
 rescuing from oblivion. It may with truth be added, 
 that no person then living was better qualified than 
 Mr. C. to record the more recent occurrences con- 
 nected with the history of Christianity in Bengal, 
 he having himself been not only a careful observer 
 of all that concerned the progress of true religion in 
 that Presidency, but also the personal friend of those 
 men of God, who had immediately preceded him, 
 and to whose zeal and labours may be traced the first 
 origin of almost every religious institution in Ben- 
 gal. The Calcutta Diocesan Committee of the So- 
 ciety for promoting Christian knowledge, having 
 now, also, directed their attention to the translation 
 of religious Tracts into the languages of India, a 
 translation into Hindoostanee, both in the Nagree 
 and Nustaliq character, of " Sellon's Abridgment of 
 the Holy Scriptures," was assigned to the superin- 
 tendence and revision of Mr. Corrie. Having been 
 requested, moreover, by the Committee of the 
 Calcutta Bible Society, to state for their information, 
 such particulars illustrative of the benefit attending 
 the circulation of the Holy Scriptures, as might have 
 fallen under his own observation, the following was 
 his reply : 
 
CALCUTTA. 335 
 
 " Calcutta, 6th Feb. 1821. 
 
 " In compliance with your request that I would state any 
 circumstances within my own knowledge, tending to shew 
 the good arising from the distribution of the Scriptures 
 alone, I have endeavoured to call to mind some facts in 
 corroboration of my general feeling of the good arising from 
 the measure in question. The benefit arising to professed 
 Christians is not, I believe, within your contemplation, 
 otherwise I might say much respecting the benefit the native 
 Christians on this side of India have derived from the Bible 
 Society. During the prevalence of the Mahratta power, 
 many Christians were employed in offices of trust by the 
 Native princes, chiefly in situations connected with the army. 
 
 I had, whilst residing at Agra, frequent applications from 
 Christians of that class, and many of them sent from far, for 
 copies of the Persian and Hindoostanee translations : to shew 
 the need they stood in of such supplies, I may just observe, 
 that a Christian of the class referred to, in the service of the 
 Burthpore Rajah, on applying personally to me for a copy 
 of the New Testament, was asked if he had ever perused 
 the Gospel in any language ? he answered that he had never 
 even seen the Book ; and in the figurative language of the 
 country, added, that ' he knew not whether the Book was 
 made of wood or paper.' 
 
 " Among the most remarkable instances of Mahomedans 
 and Hindoos deriving benefit from the Scriptures alone, the 
 following occur to me : 
 
 " In 3813, a Mahomedan Hukeem came to me at Agra 
 from Burthpore, saying, that he had many years before read 
 the Pentateuch in Arabic, a copy of which had been given to 
 him by a Roman Catholic priest : that about two years before 
 the time he came to me, he had obtained a copy of St. 
 Matthew's gospel in Persian, from reading of which he had 
 become convinced of the divinity of Jesus Christ. This man, 
 with his son, was afterwards baptized. 
 
336 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " The next instance that occurs to me, is of an aged Hin- 
 doo : this man from reading the writings of Cuber, had been 
 led to renounce Idolatry, and finding the Law and Gospel 
 spoken of by Cuber, as divine books, he was for several 
 years anxious to possess a copy. After several ineffectual 
 attempts to procure a copy from English gentlemen, he at 
 length obtained the Gospels in the Nagree character. He 
 was also afterwards baptized. A third instance of good de- 
 rived from the Scriptures alone, was Burukut Museeh in 1813; 
 he got a manuscript copy of Job, which he perused with 
 great interest ; afterwards he got a copy of the Psalms ; then 
 Isaiah ; and finally the New Testament in Hindoostanee. 
 His exemplary life and happy death are recorded in the 
 Missionary Register. 
 
 " The only other case that occurs to me, is that of Fuez 
 Musseeh, baptized in 1817. At seventeen years of age, he 
 became a Mahomedan purely from the abhorrence of idolatry 
 expressed in the Koran ; he remained upwards of twenty 
 years a strict and indefatigable disciple of the Koran, living 
 as a Fakeer and obtaining great honour among his country- 
 men for his supposed sanctity. At length, being disgusted 
 in his own mind with the practices recommended by his 
 spiritual guides, and wearied with his own ineffectual labours 
 after holiness, he abandoned all his honours as a Religieux, 
 and bought from a lady a copy of the New Testament, if 
 haply he might find in it that rest for his soul he had hither- 
 to sought in vain from other quarters. He sought, and 
 found, as his conduct hitherto leads us to think, the object 
 of his pursuit. 
 
 " I have met whilst residing out of Calcutta, with very 
 many natives, who from reading the Scriptures, have had all 
 prejudice against Christianity removed ; and some of them, 
 as Joy Narain Ghossaul, at Benares, have been set upon 
 many works of benevolence and charity, from their know- 
 ledge of duty as learned from the Bible, though they have 
 not derived all the benefits to be desired from the copies of 
 
CALCUTTA. 337 
 
 the Scriptures circulated among them. How far this par- 
 tial good is to be appreciated, each Christian will form his 
 own judgment. As a preparing of the way of the Lord, it 
 is by no means to be undervalued, and future labourers will 
 reap the fruit of the precious seed which the Bible Society 
 has been sowing in India with so much diligence for several 
 years past." 
 
 The memoranda which occur in Mr. Corrie's 
 Journal after his return to India, are very few, but 
 under date of June 11, 1821, he remarks: 
 
 " I have been endeavouring to call my ways to remem- 
 brance, and find enough to be humbled for in the review, 
 but a difficulty as to how I should speak of it. This dif- 
 ficulty I wish to account for. Formerly I could write of my 
 state with ease ; lately I have neglected to make memoranda. 
 I have certainly been much employed in public matters. My 
 duties as Chaplain, and as Secretary to the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society, the schools, the press, leave me very little 
 time, and that little I find difficult to apply to a good pur- 
 pose. My want of retirement prevents the right use of the 
 little I might have. I am deeply conscious that the evil 
 propensities of my nature are by no means eradicated ; and 
 I ought to be alarmed that they do not more alarm me. 
 I feel daily that I sin, and resolve daily against my propen- 
 sities, yet daily am more or less overcome. Oh ! I desire to 
 awake to righteousness ! I desire to be alarmed ; to be 
 saved from sin, and quickened and made alive to God. O 
 Spirit of light and love, of power and of a sound mind, 
 work in me to will and do of thy good pleasure ! I see, in 
 reading the epistle to Titus, that except in such points as 
 are agreeable to my nature, I am far from the character of a 
 true minister of Christ." 
 
 There is reason, however, to hope that Mr. Cor- 
 
 z 
 
338 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 rie's ministrations in Calcutta were not altogether in 
 vain. At any rate, it is well known that his labours 
 were unceasing, whether regard be had to his duties 
 as chaplain, or those connected with the Church 
 Missionary Society, and the superintendence of the 
 native schools. In the December too, of this year, 
 he was appointed to preach the sermon at the third 
 visitation of Bishop Middleton ; and in the same 
 month printed, among the Quarterly Missionary 
 Intelligence, a biographical sketch of his old friend 
 Joy Narain, who had died at Benares in November. 
 But that which now more especially occupied the 
 attention of Mr. C. and others, engaged in con- 
 ducting the affairs of the Church Missionary Society 
 in Calcutta, was the education of the native females 
 of India. The state of society had until lately, 
 seemed hopelessly to exclude the native female from 
 all share in the benefits of education ; but the success 
 which had attended a school set on foot by the 
 Baptist mission, had induced some friends of religion 
 in India, to communicate with the British and 
 Foreign School- Society in England, with a view to 
 extend the means of instruction to the females of 
 India, as widely as practicable. Funds were in con- 
 sequence, raised for that purpose ; and Miss Cooke, 
 a lady of education and piety, arrived in Calcutta 
 during Nov. 1821, for the purpose of devoting her- 
 self to the work. 
 
CALCUTTA. 339 
 
 It was early in January 1822, that the Calcutta 
 Committee of the Church Missionary Society, took 
 measures for the formation of female schools, under 
 the superintendence of this lady ; and such was the 
 success attending their first efforts, that three schools 
 were in operation by the middle of February. It 
 was then thought desirable to bring the subject more 
 distinctly before the residents in Calcutta, in the 
 hope that the friends to the moral and intellectual 
 improvement of the natives of India, might be in- 
 duced to assist in carrying on this important and 
 difficult undertaking : and to Mr. Corrie it was 
 assigned, to draw up and circulate the following 
 address : 
 
 " NATIVE FEMALE EDUCATION. 
 
 " The importance of education, in order to the improvement 
 of the state of society among the natives of this country, 
 is now generally acknowledged, and the eagerness of the 
 natives themselves for instruction begins to exceed the 
 opportunities hitherto afforded them. 
 
 " But to render education effectual to the improvement of 
 society, it must obviously, be extended to both sexes. Man 
 requires a t Help-meet ; ' and in every country the infant 
 mind receives its earliest impressions from the female sex. 
 Wherever, therefore, this sex is left in a state of ignorance 
 and degradation, the endearing and important duties of wife 
 and mother cannot be duly discharged ; and no great pro- 
 gress in general civilization and morals can, in such a state 
 of things, be reasonably hoped for. 
 
 Z 2 
 
340 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " Such however, with few exceptions has hitherto been 
 the state of the female sex in this country ; but a happy 
 change in this respect seems at length to be gradually taking 
 place. A most pleasing proof of this occurred in the in- 
 teresting fact, that thirty-five girls were among the number 
 of scholars, at the last examination of the School Society, in 
 the house of one of the most respectable natives in Calcutta. 
 
 " The arrival of a lady of judgment and experience, at 
 such a crisis, for the purpose of devoting her time and 
 talents to the work of native female education, could not 
 but be regarded, by all interested in the improvement of 
 society among the natives of this country, as a most favour- 
 able event. 
 
 " This lady (Miss Cooke) was recommended, in the first 
 instance, by the British and Foreign School Society, to the 
 Calcutta School Society ; but the Committee of this Society, 
 being composed partly of native gentlemen, were not pre- 
 pared unanimously and actively to engage in any general 
 plan of native female education. Most of these, however, 
 have expressed their good-will towards such a plan, and 
 their intention of availing themselves, as circumstances may 
 admit, of Miss Cookers disinterested services to obtain in- 
 struction for their families. 
 
 " Under these circumstances the corresponding Com- 
 mittee of the Church Missionary Society have cordially un- 
 dertaken to promote, as they may be enabled, the objects of 
 Miss Cooke's mission. 
 
 " Miss Cooke will, as she may find opportunity, afford in- 
 struction at home to the female children of the higher classes 
 of natives ; and at the suggestion of an enlightened native 
 gentleman, a separate school will be attempted, for poor 
 female children of high caste, with a view to their becoming 
 hereafter teachers in the families of their wealthy country- 
 women. 
 
 " Miss Cooke has already made sufficient progress in the 
 acquirement of Bengalee, to enable her to superintend the 
 
CALCUTTA. 341 
 
 establishment of schools ; and having been attended in her 
 first attempt by a female friend, who can converse in Ben- 
 galee, some interesting conversations took place with the 
 mothers of the children first collected, in which Miss 
 Cookers motives were fully explained to them. Soon after, 
 a petition was presented to Miss Cooke, in consequence of 
 which, a second female school has been established in another 
 quarter of the town, and a third school has been formed in 
 Mirzapore, near the Church Mission-House. Thus three 
 schools are already established under Miss Cooke's immedi- 
 ate care, containing about sixty girls ; and the disposition 
 manifested towards these schools by the natives, affords 
 reason to expect that a wish to have female schools will in 
 time become general. 
 
 " It is intended therefore, to erect in a suitable situation 
 in the native town, a school-room, with a dwelling-house at- 
 tached, in which an extensive system of female education 
 may be attempted ; and this plan, so peculiarly within their 
 province, is submitted, with much respect and confidence of 
 success, to the sympathy and patronage of the ladies of this 
 Presidency, by the corresponding Committee of the Church 
 Missionary Society. Whatever assistance may be afforded, 
 either as donations or monthly subscriptions, will be ex- 
 clusively applied to the purposes of female education, and a 
 report of progress will be submitted, from time to time by 
 Miss Cooke, for the information of subscribers/' 
 " Calcutta, Feb. 23, 1822." 
 
 The result of this appeal was, that within a few 
 weeks not less net 3,000 rupees were subscribed for 
 the furtherance of the object contemplated; the 
 Governor General, Lady Hastings, and others of the 
 first distinction being among the most liberal of the 
 contributors. Nor was it among the least remarkable 
 
342 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 circumstance connected with this great social move- 
 ment, that a highly respectable Brahmin wrote and 
 circulated a tract, for the express purpose of recom- 
 mending to his countrymen the importance of female 
 education. He urged it also, as the duty of every 
 parent to rescue thus their female offspring from that 
 state of degradation, to which (as he proved from 
 history) the women in Hindoostan were not formerly 
 subject. 
 
 With reference to these and similar occurrences, 
 Mr. Corrie writes to his brother. 
 
 " Calcutta, April 19, 1822. 
 
 "Our missionary engagements are becoming moreand more 
 important; and opportunities for extending our plans moreand 
 more frequent and easy : But with all these [prospects,] aspirit 
 unfriendly to the gospel is gone forth amongst the natives, 
 and they are commencing Deistical politicians. Four native 
 newspapers have started in Calcutta ; two in Bengalee^ one in 
 Hindoostanee, and one in Persian. They cannot all stand 
 long, but they mark the spirit of the times. They are all 
 under an influence unfriendly to our Church establishment : 
 but we are getting on with our schools, having now up- 
 wards of four hundred boys, and one hundred and thirty-four 
 girls, under our Church Missionary Society, within the 
 boundary of Calcutta ; while the Diocesan Committee have 
 several schools in the suburbs. The youth in these [schools] 
 will, we hope, grow up with impressions favourable to our 
 views of things." 
 
 On Wednesday, May 26, 1822, Mr. Corrie preached 
 a sermon at the Old Church, in aid of the Society for 
 Missions to Africa and the East. The sermon was 
 
CALCUTTA. 343 
 
 afterwards printed with the fifth report of the Cal- 
 cutta Committee of that Society, and contains some 
 valuable remarks on the advantages connected with 
 direct instruction in the faith of Christ, over the 
 education which merely imparts such knowledge as 
 has reference only to the affairs of this life. One 
 sentence may here be cited as illustrative of the 
 great change which the mind of India had undergone, 
 since the time when Mr. Corrie could labour for the 
 conversion of the heathen, only at the risk of in- 
 curring the censure of government : 
 
 " Our Church, with reason we think, calls herself Apos- 
 tolical : now, what is this but missionary ? And a portion of 
 missionary spirit has always resided among her members. 
 Time has been, indeed, when this was regarded by many 
 rather as a mark of dissent ; but now, blessed be God, she 
 seems to be rising, through all her ranks, to her high and 
 proper character as a missionary body." 
 
 About six weeks only had passed since the delivery 
 of this discourse, when Mr. Corrie was summoned 
 to attend the death-bed of the Bishop of Calcutta, 
 who was called to his rest after but a few days' 
 illness. Considering the peculiar circumstances of 
 India, and the then novelty of episcopal rule in 
 that country, it could scarcely be expected that Mr. 
 Corrie, among others, should be able to recognise 
 the wisdom of every act of Bishop Middleton's ad- 
 ministration, and the equity of the control which that 
 
344 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 able prelate claimed to exercise over the temporal as 
 well as spiritual affairs of the chaplains to the East 
 India Company ; but his correspondence abundantly 
 shows that he could well appreciate the Bishop's cha- 
 racter. With regard more especially to the cause 
 nearest his heart that of missions, Mr. C. con- 
 sidered it to have derived from the deceased prelate, 
 exactly that kind of sanction which was then re- 
 quired ; it wanted only official countenance, and the 
 reputation of orthodoxy. To labour for the moral 
 improvement and conversion of our heathen fellow- 
 subjects, used to be regarded as characterising a 
 party in the church, and as proceeding from a kind 
 of fanaticism that would endanger the stability of our 
 oriental empire. But the interest which Bishop Mid- 
 dleton had taken in the Missionary cause, had given 
 reason to believe, that official dignity combined 
 with a high reputation for sound judgment and 
 secular learning, were not incompatible with the con- 
 viction, that our rule in India had every thing to hope 
 from the spread of Christianity ; and that it was not 
 fanatical to suppose, that so vast an empire had been 
 committed to our governance for the noble purpose 
 of making known the Son of God, to a people who 
 were ignorant of Him. 
 
 Within two inonths of the death of Bishop Mid- 
 dleton, the Archdeacon of Calcutta fell a victim to 
 the Cholera ; and as that circumstance rendered it 
 
CALCUTTA. 345 
 
 necessary for the Government to delegate the admi- 
 nistration of the affairs of the See to other hands, Mr. 
 Corrie and Mr. Parson were commissioned to exercise 
 such jurisdiction as by law might be warranted, until 
 a successor to Bishop Middleton should arrive from 
 England. 
 
 In a memorandum, penned about that time, Mr. 
 Corrie writes : 
 
 " Sep. 28th, 1822. This day sixteen years ago I first 
 landed in Calcutta. How altered the state of society ! 
 Then Mr. Brown was senior Chaplain. He had at time 
 dear Martyn in his house, and received Parson and myself 
 into his family. Now he and his wife are numbered with 
 
 the dead, and all their children returned How many 
 
 other changes, also, in the state of the religious society 
 of Calcutta, so that Mr. U. only remains of the friends of 
 religion in his class of society of that day. How varied has 
 been the scene of my own Indian-life ! 
 
 " In respect of public affairs, great changes, also, have 
 taken place. In ecclesiastical matters great changes. A bishop 
 and archdeacon appointed in 1814, and Bishop's college 
 has been the result. The subject of missions has thus, by 
 degrees, become one of acknowledged duty and advantage to 
 society. The bishop hurried off by sudden death : the archdea- 
 con taken off not two months after, more suddenly still : Par- 
 son and I appointed to exercise their functions pro tempore^ 
 I would, however, remark especially the state of my own 
 mind during this long period. I came to India chiefly with a 
 view to the propagation of the gospel ; and that view, I trust 
 I can say, has not been lost sight of. My time has been 
 principally devoted to that object. My money, too, has 
 chiefly gone in that cause. I trust a mission has been es- 
 tablished at Chunar, Agra, and Benares, through my 
 
346 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 humble means, which will go on, and ' increase with the in- 
 crease of God.' In Calcutta, the labours of Secretary to the 
 Church Missionary Society, in addition to my own official 
 duties, have helped to bring on the loss of strength I am 
 now suffering under. But I would be aware that the state 
 of heart is chiefly to be attended to. And here I can see no 
 one duty so performed, that I dare think of it in the view 
 of presenting it to God ; and were it not that Jesus is the 
 righteousness and strength of all who believe, I could not 
 entertain the slightest hope. 
 
 " For about three months, my ancles have swollen occa- 
 sionally, with bad digestion, and aching of the limbs 
 and legs. The doctor says it is the effect of climate ; by 
 which I understand that my frame is debilitated sensibly, 
 by the heat. He says, rest is the only remedy, and I am 
 come to Pultah Ghaut * for rest, and retirement. My 
 prayer to God is that I may be made fully alive to my real 
 state, and may not waste away without feeling the tendency 
 of such a wasting. I desire to have my loins girt about and 
 my lamp supplied with oil ; so that, whenever the bride- 
 groom is announced, I may be ready to enter in. 
 
 " I desire to be more spiritually minded ; and to have 
 more of a realizing faith, as to the truths I am exercised about 
 day by day out of the holy word. I would fain see religion on 
 the increase among us ; and have more abundant fruit of the 
 word. Oh ! that the Spirit were poured upon Europeans and 
 natives ! Oh ! that the kingdom of Christ were established 
 in my own heart ! more settled in my family ; my flock ; 
 and on all around generally. Oh ! that the salvation were come 
 out of Zion. Then should this nation be glad and rejoice ; 
 and He whose name is Jehovah, be acknowledged throughout 
 the land. Amen/' 
 
 The debility of which Mr. Corrie here complains 
 
 * A place on the river Hooghley. 
 
POOREE. 347 
 
 had so increased, that the medical men decided that 
 it would not be safe for him to remain in Calcutta 
 during the hot weather ; and moreover, advised a 
 long sea- voyage as the best means for recruiting his 
 impaired health. He did not, however, think a voyage 
 to be of so much consequence ; yet early in February 
 1823 he quitted Calcutta, accompanied by his family 
 and Captain Stephen of the Engineers, and went to 
 reside on the coast, near Juggernaut. For the first 
 eight or nine weeks of his residence at Pooree, Mr. 
 Corrie's health had been greatly restored ; but the 
 anxiety and fatigue which he underwent in attending 
 the sick-bed of Captain Stephen, who died at 
 Pooree on the 10th of May, brought on a serious 
 attack of fever. In this state he attended the funeral 
 of his deceased friend ; but being too unwell to 
 proceed through the service, he was carried home in 
 a state of the greatest exhaustion. In the course of 
 the day, however, Mr. Corrie revived sufficiently to 
 allow of his writing to Mr. Thomason, an account 
 of the last illness of Captain Stephen ; after which 
 the fever returned with such violence that for several 
 days the sufferer was scarcely sensible. The fol- 
 lowing is his letter : 
 
348 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO THE REV. T. THOMASON. 
 
 " Pooree, May 10, 1823. 
 
 " The last sad offices having been performed for your beloved 
 son-in-law, I will endeavour to recal some of the pleasing 
 expressions which fell from his lips during the last week, 
 both with a view to the comfort of his friends, and to indulge 
 myself on a subject which engrosses all my thoughts. My 
 acquaintance with the dear departed commenced in Septem- 
 ber 1814, when I saw him almost the whole of every day during 
 about a week. Again in 1817 and 1818, our intercourse 
 was renewed both at Ghazeepoor and Benares. He was 
 then, it is almost needless to say, strictly correct in his 
 conversation and general conduct, but did not exhibit that 
 serious impression of divine truth which latterly appeared 
 in him. When we went on board the schooner, I soon dis- 
 covered a marked difference in him in that respect. There 
 was an evident love of religious exercises, and religious 
 books ; and I observed more than once a serious attention 
 to private devotion. From that period our intercourse was 
 unreserved, and his general conversation and remarks, such 
 as belong to godliness. He joined us regularly in our 
 morning and evening family worship. He frequently spoke 
 of his expectation that his illness would end in death, but 
 we hoped otherwise; and nothing particular, as to his 
 views in the prospect of such an event was mentioned. 
 He had never been free from bowel-complaint since we came 
 together, and during the early part of the week commenc- 
 ing April 27, he complained of an increase to his disorder 
 from having taken cold, though no such appearances as 
 usually attend a cold appeared about him. He kept up as 
 usual till Friday the 3rd of May, when he did not come to 
 breakfast with the family, but came out to dinner. 
 
 " On Saturday he did not leave his room. On Sunday I 
 
POOREE. 349 
 
 went into his room, and asked if I should join him 
 in reading the word of God and prayer, since he no longer 
 could join with us. To this he gladly assented, and began 
 to speak of the great mercy of God towards him in pre- 
 serving him from acute pain, whilst he felt himself sinking 
 gradually. I read the first lesson for the day, and he made 
 several remarks on the applicableness of the admonitions to 
 the spiritual state of the Christian. Being drowsy, from 
 the opiates administered to allay his disease, he desired me 
 to defer praying till the afternoon. In the afternoon he 
 was quite awake, spoke of the mercies of God toward him, 
 complaining also of his want of gratitude to his God and 
 Saviour. I spoke to him of what I thought of his state 
 when at Ghazeepoor in 1814, and especially some remarks 
 he then made on hymn singing, and expressed my delight 
 at his now altered feeling, and the ground of encourage- 
 ment it afforded him. He said that he had strong convic- 
 tions of sin before that time; that he owed much to his 
 deceased Aunt Stephen, who had tried much to impress his 
 mind with a sense of religion ; adding, ' I know now why 
 Christians take so much pleasure in hymn-singing ; they 
 love to dwell upon the ideas conveyed by the words/ I 
 may here observe that he several times, since we have been 
 at Pooree, spoke of his Aunt Stephen, and of all his family, 
 and the obligations he owed her. 
 
 " To-day he also mentioned his wish to partake of the 
 Lord's Supper, before his intellects should become 
 clouded. On Monday, May 5th, he asked me if I were 
 prepared to administer to him the Lord's Supper. As no 
 time had been mentioned the day before, I proposed to 
 put off the celebration till next day, when we would make 
 it a family ordinance ; to this he cheerfully assented. I do 
 not recollect any particulars of what fell from him that day, 
 but his conversation was always with reference to his dying 
 soon, and filled with thanksgiving to his God and Saviour 
 for the comparative ease in which he lay,and especially for the 
 
350 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 hope of heaven which he enjoyed; often exclaiming that it was 
 all of mercy, and entirely flowing from the Saviour's merits. 
 On Tuesday May 6, his mind was confused all the morning 
 from opiates ; about two, p. M. seeing him collected, I 
 asked if he would now have the Sacrament administered ? 
 He said he wished to be more awake and would postpone it till 
 the morrow; adding, 'I have committed my all into the 
 hands of my blessed Saviour, and I can trust him to keep 
 me sleeping or waking.' 
 
 (e On Wednesday he was taken up with some temporal mat- 
 ters, and wrote the letter which I forwarded to you on that day. 
 Afterwards Mrs. Corrie and I went into his room, and we all, 
 I trust, by faith fed on Christ in our hearts, with thanks- 
 giving. Our sick brother was much alive during the whole 
 of the service, and read the passages in which the congrega- 
 tion join, with much clearness and fervor. On going 
 into his room about an hour after the service, he broke out, 
 ' Oh, may this dispensation be blessed to my dear Esther, 
 that she may give herself wholly up to God, and fix all her 
 love on him alone. She has a deep sense of her own un- 
 worthiness, and I bless God for the piety that is in her.' 
 On Thursday May 8th, there appeared no alteration in the 
 state of his disease. Two surgeons from Cuttack having 
 arrived, our own doctor brought them to see him. They 
 went into the next room to communicate their thoughts on 
 his case, when he heard them agree that nothing could be 
 done for his relief. On my going into his room after they 
 went away, he seized my hand with all his remaining 
 strength, and said, ' Oh my dear friend, how much am I 
 indebted to God for placing me at this time with friends, 
 who do all they can for my comfort, without concealing 
 their concern that my soul should be prepared for death ; ' 
 adding much on the evil too many medical men are guilty of 
 in cherishing hopes of life when their patients should rather 
 be thinking of death, and contrasting the difference of his 
 present circumstances with what they would have been had 
 
POOREE. 351 
 
 he gone, on leaving Calcutta, among strangers and irreligi- 
 ous persons ; then adding praise and thanksgiving to God. 
 On the early part of this afternoon Mrs. Corrie went into 
 his room, when he presently began to speak to her as for the 
 last time, praying that her husband might be spared to her, 
 and her children, and to the church, adding many expres- 
 sions of his regard and affection. 
 
 " On Friday, May 9th. On my entering his room early, 
 and enquiring after his state, he said, ( I have had a wretched 
 night, not in body, for I have been easy, but in mind. I 
 have been thinking of this and that treatment which might 
 have been used j but it is all wrong, and thus my wickedness 
 brings its own punishment. I have much tried to repent of 
 my daily wickedness, and of my wicked life.' Adding a 
 good deal on the subject of God's ordering all our affairs, 
 and the duty of looking above human agents and said, ' O 
 never did weary traveller desire his home more than I desire 
 my rest : ' most cordially acknowledging with me the duty 
 of submission, and joining in prayer for an increase in faith 
 and patience. Some favourable symptoms appeared, but he 
 seemed to build nothing on them. For several days we 
 had an European Sergeant to sit up at night. He has ex- 
 pressed his surprise at the constant patience our brother 
 manifested, and told me, that he was much in prayer during 
 Friday night. 
 
 " On Saturday morning, about half past three, a violent 
 discharge of blood took place, and again about five. I went 
 into his room just after the latter, and found him prostrate 
 indeed. 
 
 " He began at once, c my God, suffer me not to fall from 
 thee : make my repentance sincere, and let my faith stand 
 firm ! accept me, unworthy ! for the merits of Jesus 
 Christ. I am wretched and miserable, let my soul be clean- 
 sed in his blood and presented spotless before thee; bless 
 my dear wife and children, bless my dear father and mother, 
 bless you (addressing himself to me,) and your family ; and 
 
352 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 God make you a greater blessing than ever to the church, 
 but don't waste your life in this country, go home and do 
 good among the poor. God ! bless all the doctors who 
 have attended me, and let them not forget their own mor- 
 tality amidst these scenes ; ' adding prayers for such gene- 
 rally as he might at any time have had disagreement with. 
 On my reminding him of our blessedness in having an advo- 
 cate with the Father to render these petitions available, he 
 added strong expressions of the mercy of God towards him, 
 and of his earnest desire to be at rest with God ; adding 
 ' God, thou knowest that I love thee,' and asked me if I 
 thought it wrong to pray for his dismissal. He spoke of 
 his temporal affairs as settled, and said he had no anxiety 
 about his children, the Lord would provide for them. 
 About 7, on going into his room, I spoke respecting the lit- 
 tle probability when we first met that I should survive him : 
 he began to pray for blessings for me, adding, ' Bless the 
 Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits ; who for- 
 giveth all thy sins, who healeth all thy diseases.' Adding 
 with emphasis, 'forget not all his benefits ; that he had 
 been forgetful all his days, but the Lord had shewed him 
 great mercy.' From that time he spoke little. Being re- 
 moved to another bed, he dosed much from medicine. About 
 ten, observing him restless, I asked if he wanted anything ? 
 he said ' No : If he retained his peace of mind ? He said, ' His 
 mind had become very confused/ And on reminding him 
 of the ' Advocate with the Father,' he faintly added, ' Bless 
 God for all the way He has led me,' or to that effect. About 
 eleven, seeing him restless, andless of consciousness about him, 
 I asked him if he knew me/ he said, ' Yes ; ' and in answer 
 to my question, ' If I should pray for him ? ' he said, ' Yes ; * 
 but there was no respond to the few petitions I offered 
 up, and he was no longer sensible. At half-past one, another 
 discharge of blood took place, which led us to think him expir- 
 ing ; but the spirit lingered till half-past two, when, we doubt 
 not, he entered into his much-desired rest. I may tell you, 
 
POOREE. 353 
 
 though I mean to send a medical statement of the fact, that 
 the three doctors ascertained after his death, that the liver 
 was perfectly sound, but the colon had become ulcerated ; 
 and at length, a blood-vessel being eaten through, the dis- 
 charge above-mentioned ensued, and brought on dissolution ; 
 but that this must have happened at no great distance of 
 time, and that no change of climate or treatment, could 
 have prevented the fatal result. This morning the beloved 
 remains were committed to their parent earth, in the Pooree 
 burying-ground. The burying-ground is an enclosed square 
 on the sands of Juggernauth. 
 
 " Those sands, after almost a year from the Rutt Jattra, 
 are still strewed with the whitened bones of the wretched 
 victims of this Indian Moloch, and I indulged the idea, whilst 
 standing by the grave, that we were taking possession of 
 the land m the name of Jesus our Lord. Without dispa- 
 ragement to a few other remains there interred, and of whose 
 history I know nothing, I knew that we were committing to 
 the earth the remains of a member of His mystical body ; 
 and will He not bring in the remnant of His elect, and^shall 
 not these, at present, wretched Hindoos, bow to His sceptre, 
 and confess Him ' Lord, to the glory of God the Father ? ' 
 Then, instead of that heartless brutality with which idola- 
 trous remains are treated, decent burial will be given them ; 
 and instead of the howling of jackalls and wild dogs over 
 their remains, { Devout men will make lamentation/ though 
 they will not sorrow as c those who have no hope.' These 
 remarks, dearest brother, are indulged in, rather to ease my 
 own heart, than to comfort you and your sorrowing fami- 
 ly. I am inexpressibly afflicted for this my brother, but 
 what is my grief compared with his family's ? I send off 
 this blotted and only copy, both that you may receive it 
 within a due time of your knowledge of the aifticting event ; 
 and that no discretion may remain with me as to multiplying 
 copies. Mrs. Corrie joins me in tender sympathy to all 
 your house/' 
 
 2 A 
 
354 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORR1E. 
 
 For the remaining portion of the month of May, 
 Mr. Corrie continued to gain no strength. A 
 change of air was, therefore recommended, and he 
 removed to Cuttack, about fifty miles inland. There 
 it pleased God to recover him surprisingly fast. But 
 in a letter to Mr. Sherer, dated June 13, 1823, he 
 observed : 
 
 " By the frequent attacks of illness I have of late ex- 
 perienced, our thoughts are sometimes directed towards you 
 [in England] ; but I must remain another year in order to the 
 pension. The Lord only knows what time may bring forth. 
 I feel most reluctant to leave India^ and nothing but 
 necessity shall lead me to leave it at present." 
 
 Ten days later Mr. Corrie writes to his brother : 
 
 "Cuttack, Orissa, June 2.3, 1823. 
 
 " You will have heard the reason for my being here, so 
 I will not repeat the history of my ailment. I am, 
 through Divine mercy, much better, but this enfeebling 
 climate is not favourable to the recovery of strength, 
 especially at the age of forty-six. You accuse me of 
 writing despondingly, I am not aware of any such feel- 
 ing ; though sickness induces reflection, and ' it is a serious 
 thing to die/ Although my faith in the Redeemer is un- 
 shaken, and affords at times strong consolation, yet the 
 presence of sin often clouds the view. But I will not fill my 
 paper with such reflections. 
 
 "On the death of the Archdeacon about two months 
 after that of the Bishop, Parson and I were appointed 
 Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The Archdeacon of Bombay 
 remonstrated against our appointment, and some of the 
 Chaplains have acted without reference to us. We have gone 
 on quietly ; as in fact, there is little for us to do officially ; 
 
CUTTACK. 355 
 
 and I should not wonder to see in some of the high church 
 Reviews, (if opportunity offer) accusations of neglect. 
 The fact is, the Bishop has no authority whatever beyond 
 what his personal character may procure him. The late 
 Bishop laboured all his Indian life, to establish an authority 
 independent of the local Government. This was resisted covert- 
 ly by the Government, and was felt to be a grievance by the 
 Chaplains. I rejoice greatly in Mr. Heber's appointment, 
 and trust it is a token for good to the established church 
 in India. Nothing short of annihilation as a society, will 
 be refused him by the Church Missionary Society in Cal- 
 cutta; and in truth, everything short of a separate 
 existence for it, was repeatedly offered to the late Bishop. 
 
 " I should not have entered on this subject, except to tell 
 you how in the providence of God, I have been affected by 
 events/' 
 
 During Mr. Corrie's absence from the Presidency, 
 the Rev. Isaac Wilson arrived from England, and 
 the Calcutta corresponding Committee of the Church 
 Missionary Society having thus obtained the aid of 
 a clergyman, whom they could appoint as secretary, 
 decided on forming a Church Missionary Associa- 
 tion, as had been done at Madras. Up to this time, 
 it will be remembered, the concerns of the Society 
 for Missions to Africa and the East, had been con- 
 ducted in Bengal by a Committee appointed originally 
 from England ; so that although the friends of reli- 
 gion had by this arrangement possessed the means of 
 substantially contributing to the support of Missions, 
 yet they had not been formally embodied in a Society. 
 The jealousy and opposition of Government to 
 
 2 A 2 
 
356 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Missionary operations having now, however, somewhat 
 abated, it was thought important to take advantage 
 of the first favourable opportunity that presented 
 itself, to place the Church Missionary Society on a 
 more definite footing. The arrival in India of an 
 episcopally ordained Missionary, who could render 
 essential aid to an object that appeared so desirable, 
 decided the corresponding Committee to take mea- 
 sures for the formation of an Association so soon as 
 ever Mr. Corrie should return to the Presidency. 
 This he was enabled to do during the month of July, 
 and accordingly on the 31st of that month, the best 
 means for forming such an Association were taken 
 into consideration. On the llth of August another 
 meeting of the corresponding Committee and their 
 friends was held, at which rules for the conducting 
 of a Church Missionary Association were provision- 
 ally agreed upon ; and with a view to a public meet- 
 ing towards the end of the month, copies of the 
 proceedings of the Committee were in the meantime 
 printed and circulated for the information of the 
 subscribers to Church Missions in Bengal. On the 
 28th of August a public meeting was held, and 
 the Calcutta Church Missionary Association was 
 formed, Mr. Corrie being chosen the first President. 
 In the Eeport of the proceedings on the latter occa- 
 sion, it is stated that 
 
 " The Uev. D. Corrie, in accepting the office of Presi- 
 
CALCUTTA. 357 
 
 dent of the Association, addressed the meeting in a speech 
 which breathed an ardent spirit of piety, of affection, and 
 of zeal for the sacred cause of Missions. It would be 
 impossible to convey any adequate idea of it by a 
 cursory mention in this place of the persuasive topics then 
 so feelingly urged. Suffice it, therefore, to say, that, as Mr. 
 Corrie himself was deeply affected, so he made a deep im- 
 pression upon the whole audience." 
 
 The formation of this Association was not, how- 
 ever, effected without some little opposition, but as 
 that appears to have arisen from a misunderstanding 
 of the motives and relative positions of the parties 
 concerned, and was speedily allayed, it is therefore 
 here mentioned merely in deference to the truth of 
 history. 
 
 Respecting his own affairs Mr. Corrie wrote to 
 Mr. Sherer, then in England : 
 
 " Calcutta, Sep. 11, 1823. 
 
 " We are all, through mercy, quite well. We cannot be 
 so much alone as my state of body requires, but we are 
 more alone than when you were here, and our souls and 
 bodies benefit by it ; though I cannot but regret the partial 
 exclusion it occasions from some of the excellent of the 
 earth. 
 
 " Of public affairs I can say nothing, except that a Com- 
 mittee for public Instruction is formed. This was planned 
 under Mr. Adam's reign. A picture of him was voted after 
 Lord Amherst's arrival, by a great meeting at the Town- 
 hall. Mr. A. is gone to Bombay in very bad health. 
 
 " Our great man, the Bishop, will soon, we hope, be here. 
 He will come opportunely for our Missionary affairs, and his 
 
358 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 coming will prove, we trust, a blessing to many. They say 
 he means to make the senior Chaplain Archdeacon ; whether 
 that means Mr. Shepherd, or myself, I know not, and am 
 not anxious about it. I should lose in point of emolument, 
 but the ease would suit me in my present state of health. 
 I trust I can bless God for an increasing indifference as to 
 outward things and distinctions. 
 
 " Mr. Jetter, about a fortnight since, baptized a young 
 Brahmin ; and inquirers increase at Mirzapore. The place 
 is becoming known. It is now, also, assuming a pleasing 
 appearance/' 
 
 According to expectation, Bishop Heber reached 
 India at the beginning of Oct. 1823. So soon as 
 ever it was known that the Bishop had reached 
 Saugur, Mr. Corrie, as senior chaplain, Mr. Abbott 
 as registrar of the diocese, and Principal Mill of 
 Bishop's College, went down the river in the govern- 
 ment yacht, to conduct his lordship to Calcutta. 
 On Saturday, Oct. 18th, the Bishop was installed 
 in the Cathedral, and on the following Monday was 
 pleased to appoint Mr. Corrie to the Archdeaconry 
 of Calcutta. With reference to that circumstance 
 Bishop Heber wrote to Mr. Williams Wynn.* 
 
 " I have bestowed the Archdeaconry, much to my satis- 
 faction, on the senior resident chaplain, Mr. Corrie, who is 
 extremely popular in the place, and one of the most amiable 
 and gentlemanly men in manners and temper, I ever met 
 with/' 
 
 In a letter from Dum Dum, Nov. 3, 1823, announ- 
 
 * Journal, &c., vol. 3. p. 230, 2nd edit. 
 
CALCUTTA. 359 
 
 cing his appointment to the Archdeaconry, Mr. 
 Corrie also informs Mr. Sherer : 
 
 " We are miserably off for Chaplains, and you will see 
 from the date that I am at Dum Dum doing duty there 
 until we get a reinforcement. I am, however, but weak, 
 being on the recovery from a fever which was brought on 
 by going out in the heat, to marry a couple about the 
 middle of October. I had become quite unfit for the Pre- 
 sidency duties. The sight of the Cathedral used to make 
 me ill, from the weak state into which I had fallen ; and I 
 trembled like a leaf in the breeze when I ascended the 
 steps of either desk or pulpit. At the same time I could 
 not leave the country, not being entitled to the pension, for 
 a year to come. I am now relieved from those distressing 
 occasions, and my mind is eased of a burden. I feel that, 
 humanly speaking, I may yet be strong here, and do a little 
 in the Missionary cause." 
 
 Nor were these Mr. Corrie's anticipations with 
 respect to his health premature ; for being now re- 
 leased from the duties of the Cathedral, he gradually 
 recovered his strength, and attained to such a health- 
 iness of appearance, that persons who had not seen 
 him for some time, could scarcely imagine that he 
 had been so seriously ill. 
 
 But besides the beneficial change which had thus 
 been effected in Archdeacon Corrie's personal con- 
 dition, it was no small satisfaction to him to find, 
 that in carrying on the affairs of the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society, he could now have the advantage 
 of the support and direction of his Diocesan. For 
 
360 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the difficulties in the way of co-operating with that 
 society, which appeared insuperable to the late 
 Bishop Middleton, having been either surmounted 
 or removed, it became the pleasant duty of the 
 Archdeacon, to propose that the Bishop of Calcutta 
 should be respectfully requested to accept the office 
 of President of the Auxiliary Church Missionary 
 Society, which was formed in that city, on the 1st 
 of December 1823. Nor, after the active part which 
 he had taken in the proceedings of the Society, could 
 it be otherwise than gratifying to the Archdeacon, 
 to hear Bishop Heber, on that occasion, publicly 
 express his lordship's conviction, that the Church 
 Missionary Society, in conjunction with others of a 
 similar nature, had been the means of accomplishing 
 extensive good. 
 
 For the two months following the occasion here 
 referred to, Archdeacon Corrie was chiefly resident 
 at Dum Dum. To his brother he writes from 
 
 " Calcutta, March U, 1824. 
 
 " Our hot season has commenced. During the cold sea- 
 son we have been residing chiefly at Dum Dum, the Artil- 
 lery station, seven miles from the fort, where, since my 
 preferment, I have done the Chaplain's duty. Mr. Crau- 
 ford, now Chaplain of the Old Church, having friends in the 
 Artillery regiment, with whom he spends some days every 
 week, has agreed to take the duties of Dum Dum for the 
 present, leaving to me the charge of the old church. In 
 this Mr. Wilson, a Church Missionary, assists me ; so that 
 
CALCUTTA. 361 
 
 I have had, as yet, no relief, except from the occasional 
 duties of this large place. And indeed, this was all I de- 
 sired,, as, when not exposed to the sun and consequent fati- 
 gue, I am as well as I am likely, with my nervous frame, 
 to be anywhere. We must now consider ourselves fixed 
 here for seven years, should life be prolonged. What may 
 be necessary for our children in that period, we know not. 
 Hitherto they have enjoyed good health ; and if it please 
 God to continue it to them, we do not mean to separate them 
 from us. But we experience in fact, I trust, as well as in 
 theory, our dependence on a higher power, and are disposed 
 to do what may be His holy will, as we discover it. 
 
 " Of our public affairs you hear through public channels. 
 Of private and family affairs I do not like to say much on 
 paper. The bishop has proved toward myself most disin- 
 terested and kind. Had he been less impartial and less 
 feeling than he is, I should not now have been here. Re- 
 peated attacks of fever had so weakened me, that I could 
 not go through my duties ; and here no unemployed clergy- 
 man is at hand to help a friend in need. I was therefore, 
 preparing for a voyage to the Cape, which by draining our 
 resources would both have kept us low in circumstances, and 
 would have sent me back to what had proved a distressing 
 situation. We cannot therefore, but feel the hand of Pro- 
 vidence in the very considerate kindness of the Bishop. 
 He has met with much annoyance, I fear, in consequence, 
 from quarters where submission to Episcopal authority used 
 to be the order of the day ; but which, like all order not 
 founded on Scripture principles, is only submitted to when 
 on their own side. I do not say that Episcopacy is not 
 founded on Scripture, but that, all obedience to it does not 
 rest on the same foundation. I can truly say, I never took 
 a step in our Church Missionary proceedings which had not 
 the sanction of episcopal principles. 
 
 " We have now three Missionaries from the Society for 
 the Propagation of the Gospel. The College has begun 
 
362 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 operations, and I feel no little satisfaction that the first stu- 
 dent is a youth previously prepared by the Church Mission- 
 ary Society. He is given up to the Society for the Propa- 
 gation of the Gospel, partly because they have funds 
 unappropriated, and the Church Missionary Society has 
 not, and partly because I could not find among our friends 
 the support I wished for in respect of this youth. Alas ! 
 how much of human infirmity cleaves to us all ; for I do 
 not pretend to be free from it, and others see more, per- 
 haps than I should like to acknowledge. Our Bishop is the 
 most free from party-views of any man I ever met with. 
 In a ruler this is beautiful, and I have felt the benefit re- 
 sulting from it. But a few years ago it seemed as if it was 
 impossible to exercise such a spirit. Certainly Bishop Heber 
 in those days, would not have been raised to the Bench ; 
 when unlimited submission was the only condition of co- 
 operation. Some would have given up the Church Mission- 
 ary Society, and have resolved all the Episcopal Societies 
 into the Diocesan Committee. I withstood it, and held what 
 is now acknowledged, that the Bishop is (such) in his office 
 alone, and that whenever he sits in committee, he sits as a 
 private member, and not as Bishop. Hence he can sit in any 
 Society conducted on episcopal principles. The time in- 
 deed seems approaching when all societies will send out men 
 of a similar spirit, and then our oo-operation will be com- 
 plete. The three men, of the Society for the Propagation 
 of the Gospel, appear truly pious, though as yet they 
 manifest not that love of prayer and religious exercises 
 which maintain religion in its power. 
 
 " I long to hear more of you all, but we must be con- 
 tent, I believe, to endure this longing as a necessary con- 
 comitant of our voluntary banishment. I earnestly wish you 
 would, as you have opportunity, direct the attention of 
 young men of piety to this country. Of twenty-six Chap- 
 lains allowed for Bengal, only thirteen are present ; the dis- 
 tress consequently is great, especially in Calcutta. No 
 
CALCUTTA. 363 
 
 one of us can be ill, or omit a sermon, without casting 
 additional labour on men already fully employed, whilst the 
 Dissenters are in number strong ; both exhibiting variety to 
 draw people, and relieving each other from too much work. 
 
 " Our Government has declared war against the king of 
 Burmah, and an expedition is ordered against that country. 
 We have had skirmishing already on the borders, and have lost 
 some officers. Happily there is no power in the interior to 
 disturb us at present. Runjeet Sing, the king of Lahore, 
 is moving on the banks of the Indus ; and it is said an army 
 of observation is forming on the Bombay side, to watch 
 him. We are all well, and expecting a journey through the 
 Upper Provinces in company with the Bishop and family, 
 to commence in June." 
 
 Before the time arrived for undertaking the jour- 
 ney here mentioned as in prospect, Archdeacon 
 Corrie was called upon to officiate at the ordination 
 of Christian David, a native of Malabar. This 
 person had been a pupil of Schwartz, and had for 
 many years been employed as a catechist in Ceylon, 
 by the Society for promoting Christian knowledge. 
 He had proved himself to be so faithful a labourer, 
 in the Christian cause, that except for some legal 
 scruple on the part of Bishop Middleton, he would 
 have received ordination from that prelate in 1821. 
 He now came to Calcutta, bringing with him the 
 recommendation of Archdeacon Twistleton, and for 
 a title, a colonial chaplaincy to which he had been 
 appointed by Sir Edward Barnes, the Governor of 
 Ceylon. The day fixed upon by Bishop Heber, for 
 
364 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the ordination of Christian David, was Ascension- 
 day (May 27, 1824,) and on the following Trinity 
 Sunday, he was ordained priest. With reference 
 to that most interesting event, Archdeacon Corrie 
 wrote 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " Calcutta, June 10. 1824. 
 
 " I had to examine him on such points as a missionary 
 to the heathen, unacquainted with Western science should 
 know. The Bishop was so pleased with my questions and 
 Christian David's answers, that he has sent a copy of them 
 to the Archbishop of Canterbury. " 
 
 After some observations on private matters, the 
 Archdeacon then adds : 
 
 " All public religious affairs you will learn from the 
 Missionary Register. A Ladies' Society for promoting 
 native female education ; Lady Amherst, Patroness ! ! * 
 Who would have dreamt of this a few years ago ? 
 
 " We set out next week with the Bishop, but a difficulty 
 has arisen about my being absent at the same time [with 
 him] I being ex officio Commissary. This will in all proba- 
 bility bring us back from Chunar. I have got over the hot 
 season without a fever, and am now tolerably well, though 
 constrained to keep in doors. I look forward to coming to 
 England as a dream of which the reality is barely probable. 
 0, may we be more in the contemplation of our heavenly home ! 
 I have no reason to be dissatisfied with the world, further 
 than as sin renders it uneasy to me, sometimes me to it ; 
 
 * " The Ladies Society for Native female education in Calcutta, 
 and its vicinity," was formed on the 25th of March 1824. 
 
ON THE GANGES. 365 
 
 and my children will perhaps be better off by my remaining 
 here. For the rest, I have but little anxiety ; and home is 
 home, in a Christian, as well as in a worldly sense ; nor 
 shall we be at home until we get to heaven." 
 
 The difficulty referred to in the foregoing letter, 
 as regarded the absence of both Bishop and Arch- 
 deacon from Calcutta at the same time, having been 
 surmounted, Bishop Heber, accompanied by his 
 Chaplain, Mr. Stowe, commenced his journey toward 
 the upper provinces on the 15th of June, 1824. 
 Archdeacon Corrie, with his wife and children, fol- 
 lowed in a separate budgerow. After three days 
 voyage on the river, they parted company ; the 
 Bishop and his chaplain proceeding to Dacca, whilst 
 the Archdeacon and his family passed on by Ber- 
 hampore, and Malda, to Bhaugulpore, where they 
 were to wait for the Bishop. But in the meantime 
 Mr. Stowe was taken dangerously ill at Dacca, and 
 died there on the 17th of July.* Bishop Heber 
 joined the Archdeacon's party on the 10th of August, 
 and proceeded to visit the several stations of Monghyr, 
 Patna, Dinapore, Buxar, Benares, Chunar, &c', in 
 succession.! When near Allahabad, the Archdea- 
 con wrote to his brother : 
 
 * See Life of Bishop Heber, Vol. ii. pp. 217, &c. 
 t It has not been thought necessary to notice in detail, the many 
 interesting occurrences which have already been related in Bishop 
 Heber' s Journal and Correspondence. 
 
366 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " Sept. 12, 1824. 
 
 " We have seen much done here in the way of prepara- 
 tion ; but then it is much only as compared with the former 
 state of things. With reference to what remains to be done, 
 nothing comparatively has been accomplished. The country 
 near Allahabad, which the English possessed when I arrived in 
 Bengal, extended in length about twelve hundred miles, by 
 an average breadth of one hundred and fifty or two hundred. 
 That constituted the Bengal Presidency. The Ganges may 
 be considered a line running through the length of the tract, 
 dividing it into two parts. Throughout this extent, there 
 was only one place of Protestant worship [and that] in 
 Calcutta ; and not a building appropriated to worship out of 
 Calcutta, belonging to the English. There are now in Calcutta 
 four places of worship in the Established Church ; besides the 
 Mission College, and three Dissenting Chapels. There is 
 a Church at Dacca, Benares, Chunar, Futtyghur, and 
 Meerut. Churches are in the course of erection at Agra 
 and Cawnpore. Whilst at the old stations of Dinapore and 
 Berhampore, public worship is still performed in an empty 
 barrack. There are at Monghyr and Benares, dissent- 
 ing Chapels, and perhaps at some of the upper stations 
 also. All this has not been accomplished without considera- 
 ble individual exertion, as well as public support : and 
 though individual piety is still lamentably scarce, yet much 
 more of public attention to religious observances prevails 
 than formerly; and also much more of individual piety. 
 With respect to the natives, when I arrived in the country, 
 a few converts were found at Serampore ; and a few, I be- 
 lieve existed at Dinapore : nor were there any attempts 
 [to convert the natives] entered upon beyond those places, 
 except at Cutwa, where the late missionary, Chamberlain,* 
 had settled. Now, we have a few native converts in 
 Calcutta, at Burdwan, and at Cutwa and its branch in 
 
 * One of the Baptists. 
 
ALLAHABAD. 367 
 
 Beerbhoom ; at Monghyr, Buxar, Benares, Chunar and 
 Meerut. In each of these places, a few converts are found ; 
 and what will eventually work greatly for the good of the 
 heathen, some of the Roman Catholic converts, and descend- 
 ants of Europeans, who had become quite native in their 
 habits and language, are attracted by the labours of the 
 missionaries at those places ; and in some of them, as at 
 Chunar, where the native congregation is the largest on the 
 side of India, [the Roman Catholics] constitute the chief 
 part. Besides these, I might mention Meerut, and Futty- 
 ghur, where missionaries are labouring, and some converts 
 have been gained. Thus where all was darkness, now, here 
 and there, a glimmering of light begins to appear. But a 
 reference to the situation of these places on a map, and of 
 the small number to whom the means of grace have proved 
 effectual at each place, will shew you how little has yet been 
 accomplished. How much remains to be done, ere this 
 people can possess even the means of knowing the way of 
 life ! We are now, as you know, attending the Bishop. 
 His visit cannot fail to increase the disposition of the British 
 to help on the work of missions. At Buxar, he sat down 
 in the hut of the native catechist, and heard the Christians 
 read ; and questioned them in their catechisms ; at Benares, 
 he went in his robes to the Hindoostanee chapel, where Mr. 
 Morris officiates, and pronounced the blessing; and the 
 same at Chunar. He has acquired sufficient Hindoostanee 
 to give the blessing in that language. Also at Benares, he 
 administered Confirmation to fourteen native Christians, and 
 afterwards the Lord's Supper : and at Chunar to fifty-seven 
 native Christians. He asked the questions and pronounced 
 the prayer, in Confirmation, in Hindoostanee, and also the 
 words addressed in giving the elements in the Lord's Supper. 
 In the latter ordinance, he was assisted at Benares by Mr. 
 Morris ; and at Chunar by myself. But, in general, I have 
 not been able to do more than attend him in public ; my 
 state of weakness not allowing of visiting or dining from 
 
368 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 home. Some of the old alarmists still remain, who, by 
 these proceedings, are silenced if not convinced ; and scoffers 
 are put to shame. The Bishop, also, visits all the mission- 
 ary native schools, as he proceeds ; and the Missionaries are 
 greatly encouraged by the interest he takes in their pro- 
 ceedings." 
 
 The Archdeacon then adds : 
 
 " I must say a few words about myself. The season has 
 not been favourable, as yet, for restoring my strength. We 
 have had comparatively little rain ; and the east wind failed 
 by the 20th of August. Since then the west-wind has 
 blown : and now in the afternoon blows hot. The river is 
 fallen as much as is usual in November. Notwithstanding, I 
 am greatly stronger than when in Calcutta, and have no 
 positive disease : at least I think so. We now begin to feel 
 the coolness at night the forerunner of the cool season. 
 Six weeks will bring it here. I then hope, with care, to 
 recruit, and feel much the goodness of God in allowing me 
 this hope." 
 
 On the 27th of November 1824, Archdeacon 
 Corrie addressed the following letter to Mr. Buck- 
 worth, from Cawnpore : 
 
 " You will have heard, from my friends, of the debilita- 
 ting effects this climate has at length began to have on my 
 frame; but I am thankful to be able to say, that I am 
 better this year than last. Knowing the cooler nature of this 
 part of the country, at this season [of the year,] the Bishop 
 kindly invited me to accompany him [on his visitation], and 
 here we arrived early in October. The latitude is five degrees 
 higher [North] than that of Calcutta ; and, being within 
 two hundred miles of the Snowy Mountains, is more than 
 proportionably cooler. Your parish news is very interesting 
 to me ; and the increase of your places of worship must be 
 
CAWNPORE. 369 
 
 a source of great gratification to you. If it should be given 
 me to be your helper in one of these Churches, separate 
 from occasional duties, some day, it would, I trust, be a 
 comfort to both of us. But it becomes us more than ever 
 not to boast, or lay plans respecting the morrow. We have 
 now passed a fair proportion of the days usually assigned 
 to man ; and besides this, we have both personal experience 
 of a dying nature. I feel for my own part, how sickness 
 even may lose the effect of impressing the idea of death ; and 
 have hourly need to pray for more of that quickening Spirit, 
 who alone makes us and keeps us alive to God and things 
 divine and eternal. Our situation here is quite different 
 from yours, we have no parish annals to record. I 
 arrived at this [station] on the day fourteen years after 
 sainted Martyn had dedicated the Church. The house he 
 occupied stands close by. The view of the place, and the 
 remembrance of what had passed, greatly affected me. I 
 arrived on the Sunday morning, after divine service had 
 begun ; (the Bishop having come on the day before) and, as 
 the Chaplain is sick, I had to assist in administering the 
 Sacrament ; and well it was, on the whole, that none present 
 could enter into my feelings, or I should have been overcome. 
 " You wish to hear tidings of our Bishop ; and, from 
 public sources, you will have heard of the favour he shews 
 generally to the righteous cause. Of the natural amiability 
 of the man, it is impossible to convey an adequate idea. 
 Our children speak of him always as ' the dear Bishop.' 
 I merely mention this to shew how lovely he appears in his 
 general temper and habits. His conversation is very lively ; 
 and from his large acquaintance with books and men, very 
 instructive, and tending to improve those he meets with ; 
 whilst he industriously seeks opportunities of public wor- 
 ship, Sunday and week day ; and urges on all the impor- 
 tance of attending on the means of grace. Surely this 
 land has cause of praise to God, that such an one has been 
 placed at the head of affairs here ! 
 
 2 B 
 
370 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " At this station, there are about two thousand five 
 hundred Christians, and the chaplain being sick I remained 
 here, to do the parochial duties. Having accompanied the 
 Bishop to Lucknow, where we were entertained by the King 
 of Oude, I returned hither. The Bishop presented the 
 King with a Bible, and a Book of Common Prayer, in 
 the native language ; and the King was so taken with 
 the Bishop, that he begged to have his picture; which 
 was accordingly taken immediately, by an eminent Eng- 
 lish artist, whom the King keeps in constant pay. The 
 Bishop went on his way to Meerut, Delhi, and Agra ; at 
 the latter place I hope to meet him, about Christmas ; I am 
 now therefore in a sphere I greatly like. On Sunday last 
 I had two full services ; and attended a meeting with the 
 Dragoon regiment on Wednesday, and with the Foot regi- 
 ment last night, and feel no ill effects ; by which you will 
 judge of the bodily strength which is mercifully renewed to 
 me. I have one of the learned native converts with me ; 
 and he is collecting the few native Christians here, and we 
 shall, I hope, be useful to them also." 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 CAWNPORE. CALCUTTA. RETURN OF MR. THOMA- 
 
 SON. DEATH OF BISHOP HEBER. 
 
 IT was because Archdeacon Corrie did not find 
 himself equal to the fatigue of travelling, that when 
 the party reached Lucknow, it was decided, that 
 instead of proceeding with the Bishop, he should 
 endeavour to recruit his strength by remaining 
 stationary for a time at Cawnpore. From that place, 
 therefore, he writes 
 
 TO THE REV. MR. THOMASON. 
 
 " Cawnpore, Dec. 26, 1824. 
 
 " I have been expecting, for some time, to receive a few 
 copies of the last Report of our Calcutta Church Missionary 
 Society. I am very desirous of endeavouring to help the 
 funds; but cannot well make applications without giving 
 some information as to our plans. I begin to fear that 
 even if about eight copies were dispatched immediately, 
 they would not reach me in time, as I am only waiting the 
 Bishop's decision as to my movements. I have now done 
 the duty here, for five Sundays, and expect to be here 
 
 2 B 2 
 
372 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 about three Sundays more. I could much have wished Mr. 
 Torriano* to have arrived before I leave, but he will find 
 his way comparatively smooth. You know I brought Fuez 
 Messeeh with me from Benares, where he was doing little, and 
 had fallen ill. He is still prevented by the cough, which has 
 for some time affected him, from doing all I believe he is 
 willing to do for the gospel. I have every reason to believe 
 him to be a partaker of Divine grace ; though his talent in 
 communicating what he knows to others, is not great. He, 
 on our arrival, brought a few of the families of the Chris- 
 tian drummers and fifers to our house, for Sunday worship ; 
 and about six of their girls are learning to read Hindoostanee 
 and to sew, with Mrs. Corrie. About three weeks ago, Mr. 
 Fisher, Peter Dilsooke and his wife Ruth, with their two 
 sons came here. They had a chit [letter] from Mr. Fisher, 
 and I have since written to him, and ascertained that he 
 thinks well of them as Christians. I have retained him on 
 ten rupees a month, to teach such Christians [adults] as 
 wish to learn to read the Scriptures in their native tongue, 
 and Nagree character, and he has a school in the lines, of 
 eight adults ; and his wife teaches the Christian girls in 
 our house, their two boys go to the Free School. There 
 are three native corps here generally. The Christians con- 
 nected with them are not fewer than sixty or seventy ; and 
 there are many of a similar class connected with the many 
 public offices of the field command, besides a considerable 
 number of poor people of the same description, who resort 
 to Cawnpore, as the Calcutta of the Upper Provinces. The 
 native population too, is wonderfully increased since I was 
 resident here. On the whole, this place calls loudly for Missi- 
 onary help ; and 1 greatly hope something may be done, at 
 least for those who profess Christianity, and understand only 
 the native language. Already our congregation on Sunday 
 last had increased to about twenty ; and I am writing to 
 
 * Rev. Josiah Torriano, Vicar of Stansted-Mount-fitchet, Essex, 
 formerly Chaplain to the E. I. C. 
 
CAWNPORE. 373 
 
 Chunar for copies of the native catechism, and Nagree 
 hymns, which are much desired by some of the Christians. 
 I happily got a supply of the Scriptures in various lan- 
 guages. Should the Bishop decide on my residing in the 
 Upper Provinces, these stores will prove invaluable ; and 
 become the means of blessing, I hope, to many. The 
 duties of a Chaplain, I know from experience, leave him, at 
 such stations as this, little leisure for extra-parochial engage- 
 ments. As I shall have more leisure for such pursuits, 
 with liberty to remove from place to place, I shall consider 
 it a peculiar happiness to be the means of establishing 
 Christian worship, for the class of people who are to be 
 found at every station professing Christianity, and knowing 
 only the native language. 
 
 " I believe no copies of the e Outline of Ancient His- 
 tory/ * have been sent to Bombay ; will you be so good as 
 to send twelve or twenty copies to Mr. Farish, as a speci- 
 men, that more may be sent if required ? The first class 
 of native youths, in the Free School here, are reading it ; and 
 get, from the former chapters of the work, such informa- 
 tion on the early religious history of the world, as they 
 would not otherwise at present obtain. This Free School 
 will, I hope, prove very useful to this part of the country. 
 There are ten boys and ten girls already on the foundation, 
 on the plan of the Calcutta Free School. Many poor 
 Christian day -scholars, and seventeen natives, are learning 
 English. There are also, belonging to the Institution, a 
 Persian and Hindee school, containing together about one 
 hundred children ; who read only the School-book Society's 
 books. The young man who is schoolmaster, is a con- 
 scientious man, and attends diligently to the duties of the 
 school. The divisions you have heard of nearly annihilated 
 the school for a time; and an opposition school was 
 opened for day-scholars. This will eventually do no harm. 
 Competition will produce exertion, and education will be 
 
 * A school-book written in Hindoostanee, by Archdeacon Corrie. 
 
374 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 better forwarded. It is wonderful how much a little super- 
 intendence may help on these things, where there is no 
 selfish end in view, and no seeking of preeminence ; and I 
 cannot but hope Mr. Torriano will prove a great blessing to 
 this place. How would it have rejoiced the heart of 
 Martyn, could he have had the chief authorities associated 
 by order of Government, to assist him in the work of 
 education; and how gladly would he have made himself 
 their servant in the work, for Jesus' sake ! One poor blind 
 man, who lived in an outhouse of Martyn's, and received a 
 small monthly sum from him, often comes to our house ; 
 and affords a mournful pleasure in reminding me of some 
 little occurrence of those times. A wealthy native too, who 
 lived next door to us, and who was intimate with Sabat and 
 Abdool Messeeh, sent his nephew to me, a few days ago, 
 to make ( Salaam ; ' and to express to me the pleasure he 
 derived from his acquaintance with Martyn. These are all 
 the traces I have found of that ' excellent one of the earth, ' 
 at the station." 
 
 The Archdeacon remained still another month at 
 Cawnpore, and then proceeded toward the valley of the 
 Dhoon,* with the intention of spending the hot season 
 there. He writes to his sister, in a letter dated 
 
 " March 6, 1825. 
 
 " We left Cawnpore on January 24 ; were one Sunday at 
 Futtyghur, and two at Meerut, and are to-day at Muzuffer- 
 nugur, three marches N. W. of Meerut, and in sight of the 
 snowy mountains. At Euttyghur we met dear old Abdool, 
 who is grown remarkably larger, but is reduced in strength. 
 At Meerut we enjoyed the society of several excellent per- 
 sons. Mr. Fisher has regular service in a fine church, on 
 the plan of the cathedral in Calcutta, on Wednesdays and 
 
 * A full account of this part of Hindoostan, with views of the 
 scenery, is contained in "the Himalaya Tourist," edited by E. 
 Roberts, 
 
MUZUFFERNUGUR. 375 
 
 Fridays, besides the morning and evening service on Sun- 
 days. ... I was much pleased with what I saw of Mr. F., 
 and his labours are blessed. 
 
 " We are proceeding to the Dhoon, a valley on the first 
 range of hills. We expect to reach the Ghaut * in five 
 days, and to be at Dehrah, the head station on the Dhoon, 
 by next Sunday. We have in company with us, a son of 
 Mr. Layard of Uffington,f who has suffered from the cli- 
 mate, although he has been only a year in the country ; but 
 will, I hope, recover among the hills, as he has no symp- 
 toms of serious illness about him. I am, through great 
 mercy, quite well. I do not expect, indeed, that my nerves, 
 never strong, will be ever what they were ; still I am well, 
 have recovered my former appearance and size, and have no- 
 thing to complain of. 
 
 " I have daily more cause for thankfulness in my present 
 appointment. Being confined to no station, I can go gene- 
 rally where I am likely to be most useful ; and retreat, as 
 we are now doing, from the violence of the hot winds. The 
 country acquired by the Nepaul war is likely to be of great 
 service as a retreat for invalids from the burning plains. 
 There is a mountain near Dehrah in the Dhoon, which can 
 be climbed with some difficulty, and has a fine level top 
 where we can pitch our tent, and have the thermometer at 
 60 during the month of May. There we expect to pass 
 the months of April and May, and to descend when the 
 rains threaten ; and so return to the plains. Farther on, 
 the climate is equally favourable ; with a greater range to roam 
 over ; but we are content to take the nearest shelter, as I 
 have no desire after field sports, and we are happy enough 
 at home. We have one of the Agra youths, named Aman- 
 nee, with us, so that we make a congregation of six, and 
 enjoy the repose of the sabbath much. We have a couple 
 of small camel-trunks filled with books, and so carry with 
 
 f The mountain-pass at Hurdwar, the entrance to the Dhoon. 
 t Near Stamford. 
 
376 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 us food for the mind as well as the body. . . . Thus you 
 know all our affairs. Surrounded by temporal mercies, I 
 trust we are still saying, ' Whom have we in heaven but 
 Thee, and there is none on earth, &c. &c.' " 
 
 To his brother, the Archdeacon writes : 
 
 Dehrah Dhoon, March 30, 1825. 
 
 <e I am so much recruited in strength as to indulge the 
 hope of some further years of further endeavour for the 
 good of India. You hear of our public affairs from public 
 sources, but there are certain discouragements in the situ- 
 ation of affairs, both as it respects church and state, which 
 you will not hear, and which it is scarcely worth while to 
 fill one's paper with. He ' whose kingdom ruleth over all/ 
 is engaged to make ' all things work together for good to 
 them that love Him/ and with His love in our hearts what 
 need disquiet us? ... Our difficulties in church-matters 
 arise chiefly from want of cordial union, and from the fluc- 
 tuating nature of our Society, which renders it necessary to 
 begin our affairs anew every few years ; and causes the 
 labour of communicating intelligence to be continually re- 
 curring. But the church generally is, I doubt not, ad- 
 vancing among us ; and we must not grow weary ; however, 
 of necessity, we grow less able to do what we would. In 
 our Bishop we have all we can have in one man, to unite 
 us and to help our work by its various instruments. 
 
 " You would be delighted if you could visit us in our 
 present situation. We are living on the ridge of Kalunga 
 hill, near where General Gillespie fell ten years ago. * 
 " The house we occupy is a kind of hunting bungalow, three 
 miles from cantonments, belonging to the commanding 
 
 * General G. fell at th"e commencement of the Nepaul war, in an 
 heroic assault on the fort of Kalunga, on the 30th of October 1814. 
 
DHOON. 377 
 
 officer here. Leopards in plenty live around us, and some 
 of our workmen going a few days ago to drink water at a 
 pool, in a recess in the wood, spied a large tiger tm the oppo- 
 site side. We, however, have nothing to fear from them ; 
 and now the novelty is over, the day passes in our usual 
 studies and pursuits, very happily. The children and I ride 
 on ponies, through the path-ways, early in the morning ; 
 with a few men with large sticks ahead, to frighten away 
 any thing that might come among us. We have had snow 
 on the neighbouring hill, within a week, and specks of it 
 are still visible. We contemplate ascending the second range 
 of hills, about 8,000 feet above those we now are on ; and 
 to pitch our tent there, during the approaching months of 
 April and May, where the thermometer ranges, we are told, 
 between 60 and 70. Here we are happy to have it, from 
 twelve o'clock to six, about 80. . . . Even this is a relief un- 
 speakable from the plains, and our nights are cool; the 
 wind regularly setting-in, in the evening, from the snowy 
 mountains. I have nothing to say about this people, (who 
 differ a good deal from the people of the plains,) because I 
 know but little about them." 
 
 In another letter to his brother, dated 6th of April, 
 Archdeacon Corrie observes : 
 
 " I have told G. that our Bishop confirmed about 150 
 adult natives, at the different Church Missionary stations 
 between this and Calcutta ; which shows that we labour not 
 in vain. The progress, though slow, is still a progress, in res- 
 pect of the diffusion of Divine truth, in these parts. It will 
 be an especial care to establish seminaries, at the principal 
 stations, for the instruction of native Christian youths, on as 
 permanent a footing as we can. Our territories, in this 
 part of the world, are beginning to be too extensive. We 
 can scarcely hope to have men, at the head of affairs, always 
 
3?8 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 of capacity enough for such a load of government ; but He 
 who ruleth over all, will doubtless use us for some good 
 purpose, to this benighted land. May those of us who 
 feel the importance of this subject be up and doing ! There 
 is a general falling off amongst the Hindoos, from their for- 
 mer system. They have no reverence for the usual forms 
 of an oath. They set little by the Brahmins generally; 
 and, except on festivals, and at particularly celebrated places, 
 their idolatrous rites are fallen into considerable disuse. 
 The Hindoos, too, much more generally than formerly, keep 
 the Mahomedan festivals. These facts are noticed by all 
 the men in office, throughout the country. From this, how- 
 ever, no good has, as yet, arisen, to the righteous cause. 
 Though less observant of their own rites, they know no- 
 thing of the gospel that they should value it. Their festi- 
 vals resemble an English fair, much more than what we 
 consider by the word ' worship ; ' and it is not to be won- 
 dered at, that the natural man loves these occasions ; or that 
 a people so circumstanced, should at first turn away from 
 the humbling, self-denying truths of the gospel, when set 
 before them. 
 
 " These regions, [the Dhoon] are becoming much resorted to 
 at this season by the British, on account of the coolness of the 
 climate. I have a Christian youth with me, whom I daily 
 instruct, and we met here a Brahmin, who has been baptized 
 by one of the Baptist Missionaries. He would not stay with 
 his teacher, having been long used to a roving ' life. He 
 seems quite convinced of the supreme importance of Chris- 
 tianity. He reads the scriptures with me ; and I hope may 
 grow in knowledge, and in grace." 
 
 To Mr. Sherer, who had just arrived in Calcutta 
 from England, in company with the Kev. Francis 
 Goode, one of the Company's Chaplains, the Arch- 
 deacon writes : 
 
DHOON. 379 
 
 " May 25, 1825. 
 
 " The arrival of Mr. Goode, after some recent comers, is 
 a source of much thanksgiving. I can now say, as far as 
 the church in India is concerned, f Lord ! now lettest thou thy 
 servant depart, either to some retreat for a time on earth, or 
 to the rest which remaineth ! ' I speak only in respect of the 
 prospects of the church at this Presidency, which, from the 
 several valuable ministers she now possesses, may well do 
 without so bruised a reed as I am. 
 
 " Mr. Newton,* you will know, is now the financial secre- 
 tary of our Church Missionary Society. He, above all our 
 Committee, has been with me like-minded, entering with 
 all his spirit into our concerns, and looking our difficulties 
 in the face. Having, as I hope, got Mirzapore into some 
 form, we must go on cautiously j by which I mean, have 
 our resources in view before we extend our plans. I am 
 now anxious to get the Female Central School built, and to 
 extend no more, but rather contract the present scale of 
 small schools." 
 
 It will have been seen that it was in Bishop 
 Heber's contemplation, that the Archdeacon should 
 permanently reside in the Upper Provinces, that by 
 this means more effectual assistance might be rendered 
 to the Bishop in administering the affairs of his vast 
 diocese. It was however, ultimately arranged that 
 whilst Bishop Heber was visiting Madras and Bom- 
 bay, the Archdeacon should proceed to Calcutta. 
 With this object in view, Archdeacon Corrie left the 
 Dhoon, in the beginning of June, for Meerut. From 
 that place he wrote 
 
 * Edward A. Newton, Esq. now of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, U.S. 
 
380 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " June 25, 1825. 
 
 " We have been here (as you will have heard through 
 Mrs. Ellerton) a week. I feel some comfort in the idea of 
 being a hundred miles nearer to you, but here, I apprehend, 
 we must stay a month at least. The season has been un- 
 usually warm here. For several years past, the seasons have 
 proved irregular, but this year the regular hot winds have 
 been blowing, and the natives anticipate a plentiful produc- 
 tion of the fruits of the earth. We are tied in the mean- 
 time ; and on every account I must not expose myself [to 
 the heat] more than I can help. We are at present in a 
 bungalow which Parson and his family inhabited most of 
 the time they were at Meerut. It is in Mr. Fisher's com- 
 pound ; and here, I believe, we must stay, for no other place 
 is to be found. An additional regiment of Cavalry and one 
 of Infantry, are to be here, so that every corner is filled. 
 We have been living with the Fishers almost entirely, but 
 have now got their leave to supply ourselves in this bun- 
 galow. 
 
 " Mr. F. is more attended to than any chaplain in the 
 country, by the upper classes, as well as by the lower ; and 
 has a wide correspondence among conductors, writers, &c. 
 at surrounding stations. He has also a native congregation. 
 This is doubtless his proper work. A missionary, how- 
 ever, would not at all interfere with any thing doing here. 
 It is evidently of God alone, that the few natives professing 
 Christianity have been drawn together and kept together. 
 Many are reported as prepared for the reception of Chris- 
 tianity at Delhi, and Mr. H. Fisher yesterday went to reside 
 there, with Anund Musseeh. Anund has been unwell with 
 the small-pox, and unable to attend Mr. Fisher, for scrip- 
 tural instruction, as the Bishop desired ; so that his ordi- 
 nation must be postponed until some more distant period. 
 
MEERUT. 381 
 
 I am anxious to hear from the Church Missionary Committee 
 respecting Abdool and Bowley, in answer to my letter 
 of the 14th of April. If I hear nothing I shall bring them 
 down, considering the Bishop's wishes sufficient authority." 
 
 To the same relative, the Archdeacon again wrote 
 
 " July 23, 1825. 
 
 " We purpose leaving this [Meerut] at the end of Au- 
 gust, and shall get down to you speedily. I told you that 
 the heat affected me, but by keeping quiet, I have avoided 
 feeling more than languor. I have not yet called on any, 
 except one or two in the next premises around us. I have 
 always assisted Mr. Fisher; and kept his flock together 
 during twelve days he was absent at Lehornupore and Dey- 
 rah, where his son John is. He and his son Samuel had a 
 narrow escape from drowning, on their return. One of the 
 mountain-torrents came down suddenly. A Suwarr* who 
 was with them, escaped with difficulty, together with his 
 horse. Samuel's horse was carried down a good way, but 
 both his and Mr. Fisher 's horse, being in better heart than 
 the Suwarr's horse, got over. A pedestrian, who attempted 
 to swim over, was drowned. 
 
 " We have now the rains, but scantily. The natives 
 begin to say the rains will not be heavy this year." 
 
 In accordance with the purpose expressed in the 
 foregoing letter, Archdeacon Corrie left Meerut on 
 the 22nd of August. In a letter addressed to Mr. 
 Sherer, on the 25th of that month, the Archdeacon 
 remarks : 
 
 " We left much good at Meerut, and passed our time 
 pleasantly ; and, I hope, not unprofitably. . . . We are in 
 
 * A horse soldier. 
 
382 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 sight of Futtyghur, from whence I shall dispatch this. 
 Goodness and mercy continue to attend us. The weather 
 is unusually favourable for us, but the country requires 
 rain. 
 
 " At Meerut we had a Bible Society Sermon on the 14th, 
 and a public meeting on the 16th. Considerable interest, 
 above former years, was excited, and a fair collection made. 
 Some converts to the cause, also, among the upper classes 
 of Society." 
 
 On his way to the Presidency, Archdeacon Corrie 
 visited Cawnpore, Chunar, Benares, and other sta- 
 tions with which he had been before time connected 
 or acquainted. With regard to Cawnpore, he ob- 
 served in a letter to Mr. Sherer, dated 
 
 " Allahabad, Sep. 12, 1825." 
 
 " I wrote to Mr. Thomason, from Cawnpore, about a 
 native chapel. I am happy to tell you that little, if any- 
 thing, will be needed from the [Church Missionary] Society 
 to accomplish this object. I put a paper into circulation be- 
 fore I left, and there was enough for present purposes being 
 raised at the station. 
 
 " On the Sunday, which I passed at Chunar, about 
 two hundred attended Divine service, of whom about forty 
 were unbaptized inhabitants of the place, and most of 
 whom attend every sabbath-day. Some of the scholars 
 who have received instruction in English, afford the most 
 pleasing hopes of their sincere conversion." 
 
 And in a letter to the same relative, he writes 
 from 
 
 " Benares, Sep. 26, 1825. 
 " We are detained here longer than I wished, but I hope 
 
ON THE GANGES. 383 
 
 to do something for the mission by the delay. Our friends 
 are each doing what he can in his sphere. They have sug- 
 gested that I should write a letter to the Committee, which 
 might be printed in the Monthly Intelligence, giving some 
 account of the schools and congregations. I will send such 
 a letter, and it may be printed or not. 33 
 
 With reference also to this subject, the Archdeacon 
 informs his brother in a letter dated 
 
 " Oct. 11, 1825, above Monghyr. 
 
 " Mr. H. Fisher, at Delhi his father at Meerut : Mr. 
 Torriano, at Cawnpore have each a native missionary who 
 labours around them, and instructs especially those natives 
 who profess Christianity. This last class is fast improving, 
 I would fain hope, in knowledge and character ; and thus 
 they become ' Epistles of Christ, read and known ' among 
 the heathens : and the reproach which formerly attended the 
 gospel is lessening." 
 
 Thus wherever the Archdeacon might be, the 
 subject nearest his heart was, the progress of the 
 gospel among the heathen. 
 
 It was on the 25th of October 1825, that Arch- 
 deacon Corrie arrived in Calcutta, on his return 
 from the Upper Provinces. Among the first things 
 to which the Archdeacon directed his attention, 
 were the affairs of the Church Missionary Society, 
 which he found to be as prosperous as could 
 well be expected. At the end of the following 
 month he was gladdened by the ordination of 
 
384 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE, 
 
 his long-tried friend Abdool Messeeh, who, toge- 
 ther with Messrs Eeichardt and Bowley, was admitted 
 into the order of Deacons, by Bishop Heber. The 
 ordination took place on the 30th of November, in 
 the Cathedral of Calcutta, and in the presence of a 
 large congregation, among whom were more than 
 twenty clergymen. It was remarked by one who 
 was present on that interesting occasion, that 
 
 " Nothing could equal the joy of Mr. Corrie : he ap- 
 peared as if he could just then adopt the language of Simeon 
 of old. He has watched the gradual progress of every 
 thing : he could remember when matters assumed a far dif- 
 ferent semblance." 
 
 On the 23rd of December the Archdeacon at- 
 tended the Bishop at a public examination of the 
 children educated in the schools maintained in the 
 Calcutta Ladies' Society for Native Female 
 Education; when, during the examination, the 
 Rajah Boidenauth came forward and presented the 
 Society with a donation of 20,000 sicca rupees, 
 toward the erection of a central school. One of the 
 great objects which the Archdeacon had long had in 
 view, was thus in the progress of being realized ; 
 and as a preliminary measure, he obtained per- 
 mission to place under the Ladies' Society, those 
 Female-schools at Burdwan which had hitherto been 
 supported by the Church Missionary Society. 
 
 These several causes for rejoicing were not, however, 
 
CALCUTTA. 385 
 
 without a corresponding draw-back. The hot season 
 of 1825 had been unusually unhealthy, and among 
 others who had suffered in health were Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thomason, especially the latter. This decided Mr. 
 Thomason to return to Europe early in the spring of 
 1826. Mr. Sherer, too, having accomplished the 
 object for which he went out to India, was preparing 
 to return to his family in England. The Bishop, 
 moreover, left Calcutta on the 30th of January 
 1826, for the purpose of holding visitations in 
 Madras. Under these circumstances Archdeacon 
 Corrie writes to Mr. Sherer, then on the point of 
 embarking for England : 
 
 " Feb. 22, 1826. 
 
 " A feeling of desolation oppresses me, which I try to 
 shake off, by looking to Him who possesses all fulness, in 
 order to supply his needy dependents. In P. I lost my 
 worldly adviser, and in Mr. Thomason my religious 
 helper : but the Lord liveth. In you, I will not say how 
 much we seem to have lost ; but this much I cannot but 
 say. There is no possibility of my following you in less 
 than five years, and what may occur before then, who can 
 tell ? It would be presumptuous to say any of us shall see 
 that period ; and yet there is no doubt a secret hope that 
 we shall. How I shall part with the mother and the chil- 
 dren, I know not. It seems as if they ought sooner to go 
 into a more favourable climate, and if it were necessary, I 
 suppose the necessity would go far to reconcile me to it. 
 My heart goes with you to Morcott and Colsterworth ; may 
 you be carried to them in health and safety, and may the 
 peace of God attend your meeting with them ! It seems 
 
 2 c 
 
386 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 superfluous to say anything about my love for them. They 
 need no assurance of it ; yet it is a relief to write about it." 
 
 Some further account of his condition is given by 
 the Archdeacon 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " March 14, 1826, 
 
 " We continue much as you left us. The wet has set in, 
 and the monsoon has been almost constantly against you. 
 The Bishop was twenty days reaching Madras. This will 
 delay your progress ; but great is our happiness in knowing 
 that winds and waves obey His will, " whose we are, and 
 whom we serve." 
 
 " Our Friday evening [services] have been but irregularly 
 attended. The Government dinners have, no doubt, in- 
 terfered ; and next Friday Lady A. has an ' at home.' 
 Shall we ever have ' the powers that be ' on our side ? Yea, 
 doubtless, it shall be even so. 
 
 " You will know all about Lord A's recal before this reaches 
 you. May it please God to send us a Governor who will at 
 least own his duty in respect of the God of Christians ! 
 The most painful thing in the present administration is, 
 that our duty as Christians is not recognised. Policy is 
 avowedly the idol worshipped. 
 
 " I am thankful and happy in my present situation. I 
 know not what time, if permitted to me, may bring forth, 
 but I cannot at present conceive of happiness in leaving my 
 station. A few short years will unite us all, I trust, where 
 probably natural feeling will be absorbed in relationship to 
 Christ, but not, I apprehend, be forgotten. In the mean 
 time, while passing through this ( valley of Baca,' let our 
 correspondence serve as ' pools of refreshment/' 
 
CALCUTTA. 38? 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " Calcutta, April 11, 182(5. 
 
 " Before this reaches you, we hope you will have received 
 back our dear Sherer, well in all respects. In this changing 
 world, we know not what a day may bring forth, but we are 
 taught that ' ' sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof ; " 
 and, therefore, I will anticipate none of those things, evil 
 to nature, to which both he on the water and his family on 
 land are liable, but trust that your meeting has been joyous 
 and thankful. We go on much as Sherer left us. The 
 fall of Bhurtpore and peace with Ava,* leave the country 
 externally quiet, but in so extended an empire, composed of 
 such discordant elements, we are less, in reality, settled. Two 
 native regiments at Bhurtpore refused to go into the 
 trenches ; the business was hushed up, but a discovery was 
 made of the state of the native mind. The fact is, that 
 ' the powers which be/ while they fear the smallest move- 
 ment in favour of Christianity, fear nothing when saving 
 money is concerned. Whereas the native, if he be liberally 
 dealt with, will give you his caste even, if you do not de- 
 mand it all at once. " The Lord reigneth," must be our 
 motto ; and though we cannot but see what is doing, must 
 refer ourselves, to His power, providence and grace, to 
 order all things as shall be for His own glory. 
 
 " Yesterday I completed forty-nine years. Great goodness 
 have I experienced, great ingratitude am I conscious of; 
 but great is the mercy of God my Saviour ; infinite the 
 value of Jesus' blood. Therefore I will hope on, and expect 
 to be preserved by "the power of God through faith unto 
 salvation/' " He restoreth my soul for his name's sake/' 
 
 * Bhurtpore was taken by storm on the 18th of January, 1826 ; 
 and peace was concluded with Ava towards the end of the same 
 month. 
 
 2 C 2 
 
388 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Within a few days of the date of the foregoing 
 letter, Archdeacon Corrie received the afflicting 
 intelligence that it had pleased God suddenly to 
 remove Bishop Heber from this scene of trial, to the 
 church triumphant in heaven. Appended to a copy 
 of the letter from the Rev. Mr. Doran which an- 
 nounced this event, and the circumstances by which 
 it was accompanied, the Archdeacon wrote 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " Calcutta, April 15, 1826. 
 
 " By the copy on the other side you will see with what a 
 heavy stroke God has smitten us ; doubtless in mercy, though 
 we see it not now. Nothing can be added at present to Mr. 
 Doran's account. All here is mute astonishment. Public 
 and individual concern is spread over all. I will send all 
 the public documents, and will take the first further oppor- 
 tunity to send more particulars." 
 
 These particulars are too well known to need 
 repetition in this place, but the following extract from 
 a letter addressed about that time by the Archdeacon 
 to his brother, may not be without interest : 
 
 " You will hear from other sources of the loss all India 
 has sustained, in the death of Bishop Heber. My first 
 impression was to inform Sherer, who, from being so lately 
 among us, could judge more readily of our feelings on the 
 occasion. I have printed, and privately distributed, a 
 sermon preached at the time ; and have sent some copies to 
 
CALCUTTA. 389 
 
 Mr. Pratt. Mr. Robinson [subsequently archdeacon of 
 Madras,] took some copies to send home, with a sermon of 
 his own, preached at Trichinopoly, the Sunday after the 
 Bishop's death. We cannot but be anxious as to who will 
 succeed to this see. Our late beloved Bishop was so en- 
 tirely a Missionary, that we can scarcely hope to see one 
 like him ; and in respect of temper and beauty of general 
 disposition, to expect the like of him seems utterly hopeless. 
 In what I have said of him in the sermon, I have said what 
 I know his views were on certain points, rather than ex- 
 pressed my own. Such was the natural amiability of Bishop 
 Heber's character, that it was often difficult to say whether he 
 acted from nature or grace. But whatever might be judged 
 by some, at times, to be errors of judgment, the general 
 tenor of his life was so opposed to worldly maxims, and 
 what the world would have wished him to follow, that there 
 seems no doubt grace was the ruling influence of his con- 
 duct. The great number of subscribers he obtained for the 
 society for the Propagation of the Gospel, shews what an 
 influence he had obtained; and how many he had drawn 
 over to support the Missionary cause/' 
 
 The sermon here alluded to, was preached in the 
 Cathedral Church of Calcutta, on Sunday April 23, 
 from Heb. xiii. 7, 8. In a short notice prefixed to 
 the sermon, the reason for printing it is stated to be 
 " not any idea of its pretensions to literary merit, 
 but a sincere desire on the part of the author, to 
 improve the melancholy occasion of it, to the good 
 of a community with which he had been connected 
 nearly twenty years." The Archdeacon added, 
 that as " all who approached their late beloved and 
 venerated diocesan, could not but admire his brilliant 
 
390 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 conversation, various acquirements, and commanding 
 talents, it was hoped that, the perusal of the sermon 
 might tend to recommend, to some at least, the cul- 
 tivation of those principles of Christian piety which 
 spread a charm over all his other great qualities/ 5 
 
 The limits within which it is desirable to comprise 
 these memoirs, do not allow of the insertion here of 
 the vivid sketch of Bishop Heber's ministerial life in 
 India, which this sermon contains, but as, in the 
 letter quoted above, specific reference is made to the 
 Bishop's " views on certain points," it may be 
 proper to quote the outline of the doctrines which 
 the Archdeacon states himself to have " heard the 
 deceased prelate preach," on different occasions. 
 
 " It was the word of God which he administered. For 
 man, fallen from God and far from original righte- 
 ousness, he preached a full and free redemption by the 
 blood of Christ justification by faith the need of the 
 Holy Spirit's grace to incline and enable man to repent, and 
 to bring forth fruit meet for repentance, persuading man, 
 by the terrors of the Lord, to flee from the wrath to come, 
 and by the mercies of Christ, to be reconciled unto God 
 the pleasantness of religious ways the comfort attending 
 the death of the righteous the terrors of a judgment- day 
 to the impenitent, and the rewards of the faithful servant 
 setting forth every Christian duty in its relation to Christian 
 principle, in his own peculiarly lively and impressive 
 manner." 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to add, that Archdeacon 
 Corrie was among those who met in the Town-hall of 
 
CALCUTTA, 391 
 
 Calcutta, on the 6th of May, for the purpose of ex- 
 pressing their deep concern at the loss which India 
 had sustained in the death of Bishop Heber, and for 
 devising means by which the memory of the labours 
 of that man of God might be transmitted to future 
 generations.* 
 
 On the 18th of May, the Archdeacon, after having 
 long desired to see such an object accomplished, was 
 called upon to take part in the ceremonial of laying 
 the foundation-stone of a Central School for the edu- 
 cation of native females. Four years, it will be re- 
 membered, had now elapsed since female education in 
 India had been first commenced on a general plan ; 
 but the difficulties in the way of such an undertaking 
 were apparently so serious, that but few could have 
 ventured even to hope that such an inroad on Hindoo 
 prejudice and superstition could have been made, as 
 that above five hundred females should already have 
 been brought under instruction in Calcutta and the 
 vicinity alone. The ground purchased for the site 
 of the school and other requisite buildings, was in 
 the centre of the Hindoo population, and about half 
 a mile to the north of the Church Missionary station 
 at Mirzapore. The foundation stone was laid by the 
 Lady Amherst, prayer having been offered up by the 
 Archdeacon for the divine blessing on the un- 
 
 * An account of the proceedings on that sorrowful occasion is 
 given in an Appendix to the Life of Bishop Heber. 
 
392 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 
 
 dertaking. Many natives (particularly women and 
 their daughters) were present, on this interesting oc- 
 casion ; and the Rajah Boidinath Eoy, through an 
 interpreter, congratulated the Lady Amherst on the 
 success which had crowned the exertions of her 
 Ladyship and the Ladies of Calcutta ; expressing also, 
 his deep sense of the gratitude which himself and 
 others entertained for the benefits which might be 
 expected from the education of his country-women. 
 
 The demise of the Bishop devolved on the Arch- 
 deacon the administration of the affairs of the diocese 
 during the vacancy of the See. In writing to his 
 brother he therefore observed : 
 
 " Calcutta, June 29, 1826. 
 
 " We are now residing in the Episcopal house, which 
 Government allows me to use, as Commissary for the See, 
 and gives me the Bishop's salary instead of my own. It is 
 a new thing to me, to be consulting Burn's Ecclesiastical 
 law, Gibson, &c. There is, indeed, no power vested in the 
 Bishop of Calcutta, for Government reserve the decision of 
 every point to themselves ; and the letters patent give no 
 independent authority. Yet such a man as Bishop Heber 
 will be applied to from all parts of India, on points affecting 
 divorce, wills, &c., and his opinion will be received as 
 law : so that such studies as I have mentioned, are not in 
 vain. The love for antiquity, indeed, which some entertain, 
 overlooks, I think, too much the present race of men ; and 
 sooner than deviate from ancient modes, would suffer them 
 to pass out of life in their ignorance ; but I have as yet 
 discovered no ground for such rigid adherence to rules 
 adapted to the Church in a settled state, and am sure the 
 early Evangelists did not observe them, 
 
CALCUTTA. 393 
 
 " All things here begin to assume their usual appearance 
 again, except that our beloved Bishop no more occupies his 
 seat among us ; and that a second Escutcheon, hung up in 
 the Cathedral, reminds us, that two Bishops have passed 
 away from among us. My mind seems wearied with 
 considering what may be destined for our Indian Church. 
 The work of Missions had assumed a regular form. In 
 the south of India, regular help, and enough of it, 
 would give Christianity an almost established form ; so many 
 Natives profess Christianity. May God be gracious unto 
 the land, and send us a man of a right spirit ! " 
 
 By the advice of the medical men in Calcutta, the 
 Archdeacon decided on a journey up the river, as far 
 as Benares and Chunar. He, therefore, left Cal- 
 cutta in the month of July 1826, visiting several of 
 the out-stations as he passed along. On reaching Be- 
 nares, one of the chief objects of his attention naturally 
 was Joy Narain's school, in the founding of which 
 the Archdeacon had taken so much interest. He had 
 now the satisfaction to find the School in excellent 
 order ; there being in it one hundred and thirty-one 
 boys under daily instruction. Besides this, he found 
 that two youths who had been educated in the school, 
 had been engaged ever since January last, as assis- 
 tant English-teachers in the free-school at Cawnpore, 
 and were giving satisfaction ; and that the success 
 of those youths in thus obtaining a comfortable pro- 
 vision for themselves, had recommended the school 
 to the good opinion of the natives of Benares and 
 the neighbourhood. The Archdeacon found, also, that 
 
394 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 six other schools had been established, in different 
 parts of the city, in which, among other books, the 
 gospels were read. With reference to these schools 
 he observes : 
 
 " The streets of Benares, being for the most part very 
 narrow, the boys assemble in long Verandahs, and the 
 passers-by see and hear all that takes place. This, though 
 unfavourable for the purposes of a School, yet causes what 
 the boys read to be heard by many; and sometimes a 
 hundred people, and upwards, will crowd around, while 
 the boys are examined, in the previous week's Exercises : 
 and thus their knowledge is diffused." 
 
 On reaching Chunar, the Archdeacon records in a 
 memorandum dated 
 
 " Chunar, Sep. 17, 1826. 
 
 " It is twenty years since I reached Bengal, having 
 arrived in Calcutta on Saturday, Sept. 20. 1806. I had 
 appointed the 20th. Sept. as a day for calling my ways to 
 remembrance ; but have aforetime too much neglected this 
 duty : and I fear interruption on Wednesday, the Anniver- 
 sary of my actual entrance on life in this land. Many 
 sinful causes have of late years, prevented me from making 
 Memoranda of the state of my mind, as formerly, but I 
 have thus deprived myself of the power of calling many 
 things to mind, of which I ought deeply to repent ; and 
 am constrained to pray, " Cleanse me from my secret faults," 
 secret and hidden by forgetfulness from myself. Early in 
 1819, I arrived at the highest emoluments in the way of 
 Chaplains. In 1822, I received increased emoluments as a 
 Commissary for the See; and now enjoy alone, all the 
 advantages arising from the second vacancy of the See. I 
 feel decidedly, and painfully, that large means have not 
 been of advantage to myself, or family. My own soul has 
 
CHUNAR. 395 
 
 gradually lost much of the liveliness I once possessed in re- 
 ligion. The readiness to labour, the willingness to attend 
 to the poor, the pleasure of going here and there to serve 
 others, either officially or of choice, is greatly departed 
 from me. Increased years, and debility, may have a share 
 in this indisposition to active duties, but are far from being 
 the whole cause. I am deeply conscious, also, that the 
 receiving of so many [persons] from time to time into our 
 house (though in many cases a mere returning of civilities, 
 or rather favours previously by us received, and a debt of 
 gratitude, and in almost every case appearing to be an exercise 
 of hospitality) yet the numbers at table, consequent desultory 
 conversation, &c. weaken the power of religion in me, and I 
 seem to myself to have no strength in comparison of former 
 days. I have many thoughts how far this company and 
 constantly full table have had a share in my loss of health. 
 I would especially call to mind, my dulness in secret duties, 
 and how seldom I can ' take hold on God/ I read and 
 kneel in devotion, but too generally without apprehending or 
 appropriating any benefit. Deeply humiliating as this is, 
 I yet bless my Saviour that it is no worse ; that He has not 
 cast me utterly from his presence, nor taken His Holy Spirit 
 from me. I am conscious of a desire to be ' as in days 
 past,' and of some endeavour after it. But O ! I have 
 much ground to regain ; many days to redeem, and fewer 
 left to work out my salvation in. The cross of Christ is my 
 only hope and glory. The Lord, I think, knows I desire 
 to be crucified with Christ ; and to have all iniquity taken 
 away. Lord, work thou in me to do, no less than to will ! 
 Oh ! incline and enable my dear partner to bear in mind 
 more and more, the subjects of our late conversations ; that 
 our own souls and our lovely and beloved children, may be 
 improved in every grace of the Spirit ; and that our light 
 may yet shine before men, to the glory of our heavenly 
 Father. Preserve our dear children in health ; and ! give 
 them spiritual healing and blessing. Make us more and 
 
396 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 more one in Christ Jesus. Help me to walk circumspectly, 
 and to behave in present circumstances as becometh the 
 gospel of Christ. keep me from any fall, either in public 
 or private ; and lead me in the paths of righteousness for 
 thy name's sake. Other plea have I none : other refuge 
 have I none. To thee, to thee alone I cleave. A poor 
 feeble vine, I would cleave to thee as the stem ; and in thy 
 strength alone be strong. Quicken me more and more. 
 Lead me from strength to strength. * Hold thou me up, 
 so shall I be safe ? ' ! forsake not the work of thine 
 own hands. I am thine, save me. Amen." 
 
 As it was at Chunar that Archdeacon Corrie com- 
 menced his missionary labours, his account of the 
 state of the native church there may ngt be omitted. 
 He writes : 
 
 " The congregation of the Hindoostanee worshippers, 
 is rather on the increase. The day I was there, upwards of 
 two hundred attended, of whom at least fifty were unbap- 
 tized natives. I conversed with some of the recent con- 
 verts, who appear to be really sincere. Among them 
 some are natives of villages in the neighbourhood, who, at 
 first, were greatly opposed by their relatives ; but retreating 
 to Chunar, they continued to receive renewed strength and 
 encouragement, by attending on the means of grace. By 
 repeating their visits home at intervals, they have at length 
 overcome prejudice so far, as to be heard with attention, on 
 the subject of their change ; and in one case, the convert 
 (who is one of several brothers, Brahmins, who are the 
 principal cultivators in the village) has been acknowledged 
 by his family, and allowed to resume his place among them. 
 
 " Of those natives who attend Christian worship, one 
 whole family have become candidates for baptism. The 
 first of the family who became impressed with the subject 
 of religion, was the eldest son ; about two years ago, he 
 
CHUNAR. 397 
 
 proposed himself for baptism, but his father entreated Mr. 
 Bowley to delay, and he also would consider whether he 
 should not join the son. Mr. Bowley on this account 
 recommended delay to the son ; he has continued steady, 
 and now the father and mother, and some other members 
 of the family, are resolved to embrace Christianity." 
 
 On the 20th of September the Archdeacon com- 
 menced his journey back to Calcutta. When above 
 Rajemahl, he wrote 
 
 TO ME. SHERER. 
 
 " Oct. 4, 1826. 
 
 " At Benares and Chunar, our friends are greatly im- 
 proved, and their usefulness and comforts increased by the 
 ordination. There is also more of Christian union and love 
 among them, and their work prospers. We call on the 
 chaplains and missionaries as we pass along, and on few 
 besides. We hope to reach the Berhampore river to-day. 
 We have been mercifully preserved, during our journey on 
 this uncertain river. By going leisurely, we have not had 
 an alarm, while most persons we have met with have lost 
 boats, or been some way annoyed. What lies before me I 
 know not. I regret not having regularly to preach, for 
 though ministers are too apt to read the Scriptures for 
 others, I find it good in any way to be kept close to them. 
 
 " I sometimes long to visit you all ; but vain are such 
 longings, for after all, we are only that to each other which 
 God makes us. The light of His countenance alone, maketh 
 whole ; and I should have no comfort in leaving my post, 
 without some more evident necessity than appears at present." 
 
 Archdeacon Corrie arrived in Calcutta toward 
 
398 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the end of October, and early in the following month 
 (Nov. 12th) was present at the opening of a new 
 chapel at Mirzapore, in which it was intended to 
 have the services of the Church of England statedly 
 conducted in Bengalee. Not long before Bishop 
 Heber left Calcutta on his last visitation, he had re- 
 commended the Church Missionary Society to make 
 a pecuniary grant toward the building of the chapel, 
 and the Archdeacon had laid the foundation-stone 
 of it during the April of this year; the object 
 mainly contemplated in the erection of it being, to 
 afford native Christians and such natives as might be 
 enquiring after Christianity, an opportunity for at- 
 tending the worship of God, conducted in their own 
 language. On this occasion, a considerable number 
 of native Christians were assembled within the chapel, 
 and the doors were thronged by crowds of Hindoos 
 and Mahomedans, who were attracted to the spot. 
 On the day following, the Archdeacon writes 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 "Calcutta, Nov. 13,1826. 
 
 " From Sherer you will learn our own affairs, and will 
 know that since he left us we have been up to Benares. 
 We are rendered uncomfortable in this large house by the 
 decaying state of some part of the walls ; so that our per- 
 sonal comfort is not increased by the enlargement of our 
 limits. And so I have found it in every advance in temporal 
 
CALCUTTA. 399 
 
 circumstances; something or other connected with it, has 
 always prevented increase of enjoyment. All true happiness 
 dwells in the mind : and 0, " What shall I render to the 
 Lord," that the peace of God, through Christ Jesus, is no 
 stranger to my breast ? Too often, alas, have I had reason 
 to mourn my backslidings in heart, and temper, and con- 
 duct ; but if guilt removed return, the power of the atone- 
 ment may, also, be again and again proved. 
 
 "I find myself more a bishop than during the former 
 vacancy of this See ; but here again the passings-by of 
 some, the reluctance with which others apply for what they 
 cannot do without, &c. might well embitter this temporary 
 elevation also ; but that, I trust, I have learned to forbear 
 in some measure, and to forgive as I expect forgiveness ; 
 so that no breach has occurred with any of our body. I am 
 bound both in conscience and consistency to take part in 
 those measures which have, all along, given offence to some, 
 whilst they are obliged also to take me with them in their 
 plans. The reluctance, however, is on their part, for ' so 
 that Christ be preached, I rejoice/ 
 
 " Now our cold season is set in, I think with reluctance, 
 of returning to England. Here, I trust, I am useful in 
 helping on projects for the good of many thousands; in 
 England, a small parish would be all I could undertake the 
 charge of. Nothing, therefore, but decided inability to 
 remain in India should make me leave it. Our children, in- 
 deed, cannot here fully comprehend that flow of the Christian 
 affections which the interest taken in all classes at home 
 calls forth ; and whether I shall be able to part with them 
 and their mother, for three years, to visit England, I know 
 not. I greatly shrink from such a separation. 
 
 " You will have read the life of Dr. E. D. Clarke, and 
 will have seen the intense desire with which, when abroad, 
 he sought letters from home. Now something similar has 
 always dwelt in me, though wife and children, dear as life, 
 have consoled me under long silence from home. The life 
 
400 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 of Clarke is admirably well done. I remember the person of 
 the biographer, and admired his fine delivery of a sermon 
 at St. Mary's [Cambridge] ; the subject of it I have for- 
 gotten. But that is a long time ago, he must be getting 
 old now, and I am following fast after him." 
 
 During this month (Nov.) it was, that a circum- 
 stance occurred of some interest, as indicative of the 
 feeling of the native mind, with regard to Chris- 
 tianity. It appeared that for want of funds, the 
 Committee of the Church Missionary Society in 
 Calcutta, were intending to withdraw their mis- 
 sionary from Culna, a populous town and district 
 on the west bank of the Hooghly, where schools 
 had been established. But no sooner were the prin- 
 cipal native inhabitants of the place (who were 
 chiefly of the Brahmin caste) apprised of that in- 
 tention, than they presented a petition in Bengalee, 
 to Archdeacon Corrie, requesting that the missionary 
 might be continued with them. Among other 
 things, they observed that : 
 
 " They acknowledged that they formerly entertained some 
 slight degree of apprehension of our sacred books ; but that 
 in consequence of the Rev. Mr. Derr making known to 
 them these our Scriptures, not only had their fears entirely 
 vanished, but they considered that these books were de- 
 serving of unqualified reception, and highly beneficial ; and 
 on this account, they considered themselves equally bene- 
 fitted, and rejoiced, as much as a man born blind when he 
 receives his sight." 
 
 It having been decided to appoint an assistant to 
 
CALCUTTA. 401 
 
 Mr. Bowley, in the mission at Chunar, Mr. Lande- 
 man, who was born in India, and well acquainted 
 with Hindoostanee, was the person fixed upon. 
 Previously, however, to the departure of this gen- 
 tleman from Calcutta, a meeting was held (Dec. 15, 
 1826,) in the Church Missionary Library, at Mir- 
 zapore, when Archdeacon Corrie delivered an address 
 to Mr. Landeman, in which he took a brief review 
 of the circumstances connected with the then state 
 of missions, and the duties arising out of them. 
 The whole address was characterised by that large- 
 mindedness, singleness of heart, and tenderness, 
 which the Archdeacon was wont to manifest on oc- 
 casions like these.* 
 
 As several months had now passed since the death 
 of Bishop Heber, the intelligence of the appoint- 
 ment of his successor, was daily expected to reach 
 Calcutta. Thus the Archdeacon writes 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " Calcutta, January 25, 1827. 
 
 " It seems that the news of Bishop Heber's death had 
 reached England overland in August. ' The Osprey/ and 
 ' Barett/ carry official accounts. We shall now soon hear 
 of a successor. The head of the Church reigneth, let the 
 
 * The address is given at length in the Missionary Register for 
 1827, pp. 489, &c. 
 
 2 D 
 
402 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 earth rejoice ; and may we wait the result in patience. You 
 will hear that Mr. Mack published, in the ' Monthly Friend of 
 India/ an attack on our Mirzapore friends ; very unkind, 
 and mistaken. It has recoiled painfully on their own head ; 
 for Adam, who is now editor of the Bengal Chronicle, has 
 taken it up, and ' John Bull/ has responded ; and the old 
 sores about Serampore premises, imperfect translations, and 
 fallacious statements, have all been laid open again. We 
 have kept silence, though called upon for explanations, &c. 
 &c., and the storm is a little blown over. . . The time of 
 difficulty in our funds, (viz) the end of our year,* has come 
 on, and I am often much cast down in mind. Great 
 temptations arise to withdraw, and leave things to them- 
 selves : for few come freely to take a part. . . But is not 
 the cause of missions the cause of Christ ? I fear really for 
 those, who, with the opportunities now afforded, can over- 
 look that cause. It seems pure selfishness, to be content 
 that these [natives] should go on in ignorance and sin, so 
 we get but to heaven ourselves : and it is often, I doubt, 
 fear for myself, rather than love for the heathen, that keeps 
 me, in a measure, at the Missionary helm. But here I 
 must stay : yet after all, if I wear away, some might feel it 
 then incumbent on them to take it up more efficiently. 
 Doubtless a principle is at work in this community, which 
 will lead the population forward rapidly in knowledge and 
 character generally ; and if it be not rightly directed, those 
 who neglect the present season of operation will suffer : but 
 I shall not see that time, rapid as the progress is. New 
 states are plainly no place for a person who possesses a 
 competency, and can enjoy repose. India especially, is not 
 a country a man who knows anything of England would 
 choose to grow old in. Here, in a peculiar degree, the 
 mind is forced to look off, both from the Church and from 
 the world, to the Rock, Christ." 
 
COSSIPORE. 403 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 
 
 "Feb. 22,1827. 
 
 " We are now more out of the way of such a bustle as 
 we formerly were subject to, being, (as I think I told you) 
 fixed in a nice little house at Cossipore ; but I fear falling 
 into the opposite extreme; for when we cease to do all we 
 ought for the good of our fellow-sinners, we sin against the 
 law of Christ. Surely, there is as little peace in retiring, 
 selfish ease, as in bustling ambitious publicity. I returned 
 a few days since, from Burdwan. The fields indeed, in that 
 quarter, seems ' white for the harvest,' but both Mr. Perowne, 
 and Mr. Deerr, are obliged to leave their posts, and seek 
 change of air. Mr. Bowley is, also, becoming well attended 
 to, about Chunar. Isaiah Ix. 4, 5.* has been much on my 
 mind, as applicable to these two spheres of Missionary 
 labour at this time; and fear fills my heart, whilst it is 
 enlarged with gratitude and thankfulness. 
 
 " What may be the effect of such a commotion as seems 
 approaching, on the powers that be, and how we shall 
 provide for the increased calls for men and money, I know 
 not. But surely He whom we serve in the gospel of His 
 Son, can, and will appear for us. Rumours have reached 
 us about a new Bishop, and men unknown to missionary 
 fame, have been named. This seems sad : let us in patience 
 wait the event. 
 
 " Government has given forty rupees monthly to Chunar 
 Church ; and the same to Gorrikepore Church : and I am 
 not without hope of getting a monthly salary for Bowley, as 
 
 * " Lift up thine eyes round about and see, all they gather 
 themselves together, they come to thee ; thy sons shall come from 
 far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt 
 see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged ; 
 because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the 
 forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." 
 
 2 D 2 
 
404 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORR1E. 
 
 Minister on the Establishment, to a congregation of native 
 Christian subjects of the Government. Yesterday was the 
 Bible Society anniversary. An excellent report, drawn up 
 by Mr. Goode : all our old plans are going on, sometimes 
 briskly, sometimes heavily. ' Faint, yet pursuing, ' my 
 habitual motto." 
 
 In the following month, (March 15) Archdeacon 
 Corrie again visited Burdwan, for the purpose of 
 examining the schools there, and also for making 
 enquiry into the conduct of the head Pundit con- 
 nected with the mission, who, for some time had 
 been carrying on a system of double-dealing. It 
 appeared that this Pundit had induced no less than 
 thirteen Brahmins (most of them school-pundits) to 
 apply to the Missionary at Burdwan for Christian 
 baptism ; and that, as a preliminary step, they had 
 accordingly been receiving daily instruction from the 
 missionary, and evidencing the while a good deal of 
 apparent sincerity and earnestness. At length how- 
 ever, one of the number went to the missionary, and 
 told him, that all that had occurred was mere hypocrisy, 
 and had been kept up at the instigation of the head- 
 Pundit; that the only object they had in view, was 
 to induce, if they could, the missionary to " report 
 them as enquirers after truth ; " their notion being, 
 that if that were but once published, they would 
 have the missionary in their power, as they thought 
 that, for consistency's sake, he must keep up ap- 
 
BURDWAN. 405 
 
 pearances, and so be obliged to continue them in 
 their schools, and pay them their wages. 
 
 It has been thought desirable to mention the par- 
 ticulars of this transaction, because a repetition of 
 such or similar attempts to deceive missionaries, may 
 be expected to occur the more frequently, in pro- 
 portion as the profession of Christianity becomes 
 more common among the natives of India. It does 
 not seem, however, that the Christian missionary 
 need be unduly depressed by the occurrence of such 
 instances of the sad depravity of the native character ; 
 for whilst deploring the miserable condition of the 
 deceivers themselves, he will know that even they 
 must have received more distinct ideas of divine 
 truth than they otherwise would have had. For him- 
 self, he will learn how little confidence can be placed 
 in any profession of Christianity, which does not 
 originate in a change of heart, by the power of the 
 Holy Ghost. Still, the Archdeacon found some en- 
 couraging circumstances connected with the mission 
 at Burdwan. In the report of his visit, he relates : 
 
 " I had some conversation with Manick, a Brahmin who 
 was baptized on the 16th of December. He had been for 
 some time employed by different missionaries. I asked 
 him, f What he had seen in Christianity which led him to 
 embrace it ? ' he replied, ' In the Hindoo poorans and 
 shasters there is no certainty : one asserts one thing, 
 another, another ; but here is a clear way ' ' In what way 
 in particular ? ' ' More especially in the way of worshipping 
 
406 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 God : in other systems a variety of ceremonies and rites 
 must be observed ; in this it is required only to pray to God 
 alone ' * What have you learned to pray for ? ' ' Daily I 
 pray for pardon of sin ; for this I daily require/ ' What 
 do you understand by sin ? ' ' Whatever is not according to 
 God's commands/ He then, in answer, repeated briefly the 
 substance of the Ten Commandments ; and said that every 
 one must labour to fulfil them to the utmost of his power, 
 though no one could do it perfectly. A good deal more 
 conversation followed/' 
 
 The next communication from the Archdeacon 
 shews him to have been still anxious respecting who 
 might be Bishop Heber's successor. It is addressed 
 
 TO MR. SHERER, 
 
 " Calcutta, April 7, 1827. 
 
 "It is now a year since Providence was pleased to with- 
 draw our Bishop, and we have no tidings of a successor. 
 We shall no doubt, hear in due time, but the delay of ar- 
 rivals keeps us, also, in ignorance how matters stand with 
 those who are dear to us in the bonds of nature. Since the 
 beginning of January, we have continued to reside at Cossi- 
 pore chiefly. The quiet, freedom and airiness of the situa- 
 tion is very agreeable to us ; and when a Bishop arrives, I 
 shall have less occasion to be so frequently in town. The 
 ship that carries this, carries also Mr. Perowne and family. 
 His removal just now is very painful, on account of the 
 mission, as you can well judge. Deerr will reside there ; 
 but declines taking charge of the mission. Mr. Wilson will 
 go up every month : he has been three times since you left 
 us ; and is very acceptable to the people ; and we may hope 
 the work will go on. Dear Abdool Messeeh is gone to his 
 
COSSIPORE. 407 
 
 rest. A tumour somewhere in the back, of which he had 
 nearly died two years ago, proved to be a carbuncle, brought 
 on mortification and death. He always spoke of it as a 
 boil ; and his little medical knowledge proved indeed a fatal 
 thing to him. But his end was according to the tenor of 
 his life, peaceful, intelligent, resigned. His last sensible 
 breath was expended in singing a hymn, of the kind and 
 meaning of that in Simeon's collection, " Lord, remember 
 me ! " * An obituary is sent home, which you will no 
 doubt see.f Mr. Reichardt will now have the principal 
 charge at Mirzapore. His German order and system, is be- 
 coming very important to us. There are three catechists, 
 who ought to be lectured once a week at least : and an ac- 
 count kept of their labours for the information of the 
 Society. Mr. W. seems as if he could not do this. He 
 will talk and preach from morning to night ; but this particu- 
 larity seems to him, resting in the letter ; but Reichardt 
 thinks otherwise, and rightly ; and will labour also to render 
 the whole a spiritual service. My sphere, as far as it appears, 
 is about Benares. There our friends require only to be led ; 
 and I feel I have no power to command. I am expecting 300 
 Rupees a month [from Government] for Mr. Morris, as 
 minister of Chunar. Greenwood is coming down to the 
 Calcutta Grammar school, perhaps has arrived there ; and 
 
 * The following literal translation of this hymn is given by the 
 Archdeacon in his memoir of Abdool : 
 
 Beloved Saviour, let not me 
 In thy kind heart forgotten be ! 
 Of all that deck the field or bower, 
 Thou art the sweetest, fairest flower ! 
 
 Youth's morn has fled, old age comes on ; 
 But sin distracts my soul alone ; 
 Beloved Saviour, let not me 
 In thy kind heart, forgotten be ! 
 
 See Missionary Register, 1827, p. 453. 
 t Ibid. p. 449 453. 
 
408 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Morris can officiate also in Hindoostanee, leaving Bowley 
 free to itinerate. The Society will be relieved, in part, by 
 these means, besides in some degree accredited by Govern- 
 ment. Indeed, since I have been in charge, Government 
 has done every thing I asked. Both Mr. H. and B. and 
 Lord Combermere, have, in official matters, shewn much 
 
 kindness j and I ask nothing else The expences of 
 
 the mission, of necessity increase, as the work increases. 
 Bowley now requires three bungalows in different villages, 
 where influential people have embraced the gospel ; and 
 their neighbours desire, also, to hear more of ( this way/ 
 Mirza Bagir, son of the traveller, Abu Talib Khan, was 
 baptized last month. Mr. W. Bird was the means of his 
 becoming acquainted with the Scriptures, and sent him to 
 Bowley for baptism/' 
 
 In a communication addressed, in May, to the 
 Church Missionary Society in England, the Arch- 
 deacon enters more fully into some of the encou- 
 raging circumstances, and prospective difficulties, 
 then attending missions, and which are touched upon 
 in the letter given above. 
 
 " Opportunities open on every side for missionary work : 
 but we cannot meet them. I agree entirely, that the pro- 
 spect of good, and not present local patronage, should move 
 us in attempting new plans; but everywhere the popula- 
 tion is very large, and access to them comparatively easy. 
 Government has granted to Mr. Morris at Chunar 300 ru- 
 pees a month, in consideration of services rendered to the 
 native congregation ; but new openings round that station 
 call for increased help. One convert baptized last year, has, 
 from his father's death, become heir of his property in land : 
 a place of worship is required in his village ; with a school, 
 
COSS1PORE. 409 
 
 and a native catechist. A Zemindar, also lately baptized, 
 possessing property in land in a village opposite to Chunar, 
 has called for the same kind of aid : a bungalow is building, 
 and a catechist will reside with him. Thus success in our 
 labours entails increased expense. We may hope that Divine 
 Providence will raise up aid ; but at present, we see not 
 how. We may indeed, hope that the days of indifference 
 on the part of the British are gone by, and that our 
 Bishops will continue, in succession, to uphold the work of 
 evangelization ; but it seems to me that the most trying 
 period for all our plans may yet be to come. Till help be 
 raised up among the natives, or the Government take up the 
 subject, the work will be up hill : we cannot expect the 
 natives to join heartily till they taste the good of what is 
 brought before them ; and that will not be, humanly speak- 
 ing, till the young now educating, grow into active life. 
 The Government has given a precedent at Chunar, of help- 
 ing to afford instruction to converted natives ; but till con- 
 gregations are collected, Government, on the present system, 
 cannot help directly. Fifteen or twenty years then must 
 pass on this " System of Mendicancy/' as Bishop Heber 
 well termed it ; and as we feel it to be, in a way which you 
 at home cannot well understand : you address congregations 
 where all acknowledge the duty, and profess faith in God for 
 its success we mix with those who scarcely acknowledge 
 the duty or utility of attempting the conversion of the 
 heathen, and have no hope of success. We are encouraged 
 however, to persevere ; and 1 trust that our faith will be 
 found of a kind more precious than gold that perisheth, 
 though it be tried, and sometimes as by fire ; and that, 
 after all, chiefly from within." 
 
 During the summer of 1827, the Archdeacon 
 had his equanimity somewhat disturbed by the in- 
 telligence that the sermon which he had printed on 
 
410 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the death of Bishop Heber, only for circulation 
 among his own friends, and those of the deceased 
 prelate, had been made public in England. With 
 reference to that circumstance, he writes 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " I am filled with concern to hear that my sermon has 
 been reprinted in England. It was intended to be purely 
 private, and I sent some copies to be distributed privately. 
 It will be fine game for the reviewers : well, I must be con- 
 tent. No man ever less sought publicity, or was less fitted 
 for the trials connected with it. I have been led from one 
 step to another, and it is singular that those with whom I 
 have felt most closely united, have seemed least to rejoice in 
 my advancement from time to time. I have acquainted you 
 with some of my experience in the school of authority ; and 
 it has made me desire retirement more than ever ; yet how I 
 shall leave this country, except ill-health compel me, I 
 know not." 
 
 It must not be omitted to mention, that with the 
 administration of the diocese of Calcutta, during this 
 vacancy of the see, was connected a more active 
 attention to the operations of the Society for Propa- 
 gating the Gospel, and of the Society for Promoting 
 Christian Knowledge, than the Archdeacon had before 
 felt called upon to give. To this was added an oc- 
 casional correspondence with the English function- 
 aries of those Societies. The following communi- 
 
CALCUTTA. 411 
 
 cation addressed to the secretary of the Society for 
 Promoting Christian Knowledge, will not be read 
 without interest : 
 
 " Calcutta, Sep. 15, 1827. 
 
 " I had yesterday the honour to receive your letter of 
 March 1st., and beg to offer my be'st thanks to the venera- 
 ble Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, for its 
 acceptance of my offers of service, and to yourself for the 
 obliging manner in which your communication is con- 
 veyed. On the subject of the Native schools, I would 
 respectfully call your attention to the condition on which I 
 proposed to transfer the funds to the Society for Pro- 
 moting Christian Knowledge ; viz. " if the Society for Pro- 
 moting Christian Knowledge send out no more Mission- 
 aries." It is with reference to the superintendence alone 
 any difficulty can arise. My humble opinion is, that all the 
 Societies in the Establishment should strive together in the 
 good cause, and each support as many schools as it can, each 
 at the same time supplying superintendence for its own 
 schools. In this way all classes who support our Establish- 
 ment will be induced to lend their aid ; and it is agreeable to 
 the constitution of human nature, and not contrary to the 
 gospel, that each Society should labour to support its own 
 schools whilst it rejoices in the prosperity of all. The 
 superintendents being amenable to one Society, whilst the 
 expenses of the schools are supplied by another, has led, I 
 must say, to less exertion, and a less strict economy than 
 would otherwise have been the case; and as in the case of the 
 Rev. Mr. D'Mello at Howrah, some of his schools being sup- 
 ported by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, whilst 
 others of them are supported by the Society for Promoting 
 Christian Knowledge, causes a perplexity in our proceed- 
 ings, which the public will not take the trouble to understand. 
 My purpose, however, in writing now is not to oppose but 
 merely to put you in possession of the true state of things 
 
412 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 here, and my earnest endeavours shall be directed in con- 
 junction with the other friends of the Society here, to pro- 
 mote its interests and uphold the credit it has justly acquired 
 by its long and most beneficial labours in the cause of pure 
 and undefiled religion. In its English department it is 
 unrivalled, and the edification afforded by its lending 
 libraries in this country cannot be expressed in adequate 
 language. 
 
 There is a circumstance connected with the support of 
 native schools which has not been prominently brought for- 
 ward; viz. the providing of school-books. This is a 
 source of considerable expense, but without incurring it, 
 schools are utterly inefficient. The school-book Society 
 supplies its books to religious Societies at half-price ; these 
 are mostly of a mere elementary character, but necessary in 
 their place. Besides these, our Diocesan Committee printed an 
 edition of the discourses, miracles, and parables of our blessed 
 Saviour, which has long been expended. The Diocesan 
 Committee's National schools have been supplied from time 
 to time with copies both of the whole New Testament, and 
 of the Gospels and Acts separately, by the Calcutta 
 Auxiliary Bible Society, and with copies of a catechism on 
 the evidences and leading doctrines of Christianity, and of 
 Watts' catechism, and of dialogues on the events related in 
 the book of Genesis, by a Mr. Ellerton, from the press of 
 the Church Missionary Society (all gratis,) in Bengalee. 
 Last week at a meeting of the Diocesan Committee's Society 
 for the Propagation of the Gospel, I submitted to the 
 meeting the necessity of printing the books most sought 
 after by the Natives, after the gospels, viz. Watts's Catechism 
 and Ellerton's dialogues, at the press of Bishop's College. 
 A question then arose, at whose expense should they be 
 printed, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, or 
 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel ? and this 
 question is to be discussed next quarterly meeting. In the 
 meantime the schools will be supplied from the former 
 
CALCUTTA. 413 
 
 sources. The Rev. Mr. Tweddle has been resident since 
 June last in the Society's house, connected with the 
 Russypuglah circle of schools, and is greatly encouraged by 
 the attention which many of the adult population pay to the 
 subject of Christianity. Several have professed their desire 
 to be baptized, but he delays a little to prove their sincerity 
 and impart further instruction. In that neighbourhood 
 the desire for schools is very urgent, and all, be it observed, 
 are willing, I might say desirous, that the Christian Scriptures 
 should be introduced. The objection to the Scriptures seems 
 chiefly among the Brahmins and Pundits, and they coun- 
 teract, without great care on the part of the Missionary, the 
 willingness at least of the people to know something about 
 the Gospel. The wise and the learned among the Hindoos, as 
 formerly among the Greeks, are, generally speaking, least 
 disposed to attend to the things which belong to their peace. 
 To the poor the gospel is preached, and they will receive it ; 
 and as a wealthy native lately observed to me respecting 
 native female education, f We shall soon be obliged to teach 
 our daughters letters, for all the poor are becoming more 
 knowing than the rich : ' so the superiority of character 
 which Christianity produces in the poor will force the rich to 
 reflect on their ways. Till then, we shall have to struggle 
 with scanty funds and poor converts ; and how long that may 
 be, God only knows, but in due time we " shall reap if we 
 faint not." If you will have your schools prosper, and pro- 
 duce the fruits of righteousness, pray send Missionaries ; 
 but allow me to say, other kind of men are wanted here, 
 than would suit well enough for North America. We want, 
 besides good character, activity, aptness to learn languages, 
 and to impart instruction. A Missionary who should come 
 here merely to impart instruction in English would only 
 waste his Society's money, disappoint the expectations of 
 those who sent him, and expose the ministerial character to 
 contempt. The natives can perceive, and do admire the 
 disinterestedness of a man, who can be content with 
 
414 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 little, whilst he spends his strength in native labours ; but a 
 clergyman living among a few Europeans at an out-station, 
 without other employment, would be liable to be considered 
 as on some account or other disgraced ; like some who have 
 been dismissed the service of government with a pittance 
 to subsist on. 
 
 " I might perhaps have omitted to write now, as we have 
 heard of the appointment of a Bishop j but I am anxious to 
 afford to those who, like yourself, take an interest in the 
 Church in India, information respecting the true state of 
 our affairs. The reviewer of the church in India notices the 
 many applications to Bishop Heber for Missionaries ; and as 
 an indication of improved feeling among Europeans 
 here, it is a most gratifying fact ; but if it should lead any 
 to offer himself as a Missionary under the idea that English 
 services were the chief thing required, and this idea should 
 not be corrected by those who send him forth, the effect 
 would be to misapply missionary-funds, and to fill India 
 with a poor clergy to the saving of a rich Government. 
 
 " Accept, I pray, my unfeigned apology for any thing I 
 have written which may appear irrelevant or uncalled for. 
 As far as I know myself, my only desire is to promote the 
 interests of the Established Church in these lands. I shall 
 not again intrude myself on your attention ; and at the age 
 of fifty, in a climate like this, and after twenty-one years 
 service, cannot expect to be of much use to a cause, the pros- 
 perity of which constitutes my chief joy/' 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ARRIVAL OF BISHOP JAMES CONSECRATION OF 
 
 THE BISHOP'S COLLEGE DEATH OF BISHOP JAMES 
 ' VISIT TO THE UPPER PROVINCES. 
 
 ALTHOUGH Dr. James was consecrated Bishop of 
 Calcutta on the 3rd June, 1827, yet intelligence of 
 his appointment to that See, did not reach Calcutta 
 till toward the close of the year. In the meanwhile 
 questions and difficulties had arisen, which the au- 
 thority of a Commissary was not sufficiently recog- 
 nised to settle, and the letters of the Archdeacon 
 contain, in consequence, many expressions of anxiety 
 .for the arrival of the Diocesan. To his brother he 
 writes : 
 
 " I have sent home several folios of late about Missions and 
 other matters : some private to Mr. Sherer, some to Mr. Bick- 
 ersteth. If you have any curiosity about such matters, you 
 may gratify it by referring to those sources ; for I am weary 
 of the subject, though it is getting every day more perplex- 
 ing, and deserving of more attention." 
 
 The domestic affairs of the Archdeacon were, also, 
 a source of trial ; for the health of his children (es- 
 
416 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 pecially that of the eldest,) had of late been gra- 
 dually suffering from the climate, until it became ne- 
 cessary to arrange for sending them to England, 
 accompanied by their mother. In the prospect of 
 this separation from his family, he writes 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " Nov. 12, 1827. 
 
 " Altogether, we concluded that it was the will of God 
 that they should proceed to England. Wherein we have 
 decided amiss, the Lord pardon us ; for I am painfully cer- 
 tain that not every movement that comes recommended by 
 fair appearances, is from above, but often to prove whether 
 we trust God or not." 
 
 And after the day of actual separation had arrived 
 the Archdeacon writes 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " Calcutta, Dec. 14, 1827. 
 
 " The ship which carries this, sails at the same time with 
 the ' Duke of Lancaster/ which carries my earthly treasures. 
 I try to think of my children as going to school, and their 
 Mother going to take care of them. This, in our circum- 
 stances, is duty ; but I have known no trial to be compared 
 to it, except parting with Mary, when I went the first time 
 to embark at Portsmouth. I cannot, in sober thought, 
 bring myself to resolve on following them ; but much may 
 arise to render it proper, if not necessary : and as I made 
 
CALCUTTA. 417 
 
 no positive resolve on leaving home about returning, I 
 make none now about remaining here. When our infants 
 were called away, their Mother and others in their stead 
 were left. Now all are going ; but there is hope, in every 
 sense, of meeting again. I feel too proud, I fear, of my 
 children, as most parents perhaps do. Their Mother and I 
 have enjoyed as much of happiness, as earth affords ; and 
 remembrance of happiness only will follow her : whether ever 
 to be renewed, He only knows certainly who is engaged 
 to make all things work together for our good." 
 
 The time was now approaching when the Arch- 
 deacon was to be relieved from his duties as Commis- 
 sary, for within a month of the date of the preceding 
 letter, he writes 
 
 TO HIS WIFE. 
 
 "January 21, 1828* 
 
 " The Bishop is at length arrived. He was installed 
 yesterday. On Monday the report of the ' Mary Anne's J 
 arrival reached us ; on Friday [Jan. 17,] we went down, 
 Messrs. Eales, Abbott, Mill, Cracraft, Prinsep (the younger.) 
 We found the ship at Culpee, near to where we met Bishop 
 Heber. Bishop James resembles him much in appearance 
 and manner. He is evidently of a kind disposition, and 
 for my own part, I have much reason to be satisfied with my 
 reception. 
 
 " I have not ascertained any of the Bishop's plans, nor 
 perhaps has he yet settled any. I mentioned the residence 
 in the Upper Provinces, but he did not think the Archdeacon 
 could be spared from Calcutta, on account of the frequent 
 absence of the Bishop." 
 
 2 E 
 
418 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 The bishop, however, expressed a wish that, subject 
 to his own instructions, his correspondence with the 
 Chaplains and the Government, should be carried 
 on by the Archdeacon, but it does not appear that 
 any plan to that effect was settled. As regarded 
 himself, the Archdeacon occupied his comparative 
 freedom from public business, in assisting the chap- 
 lains in their clerical duties, in finishing the trans- 
 lation of the Prayer-book and the Homilies into 
 Hindoostanee, and in superintending a translation of 
 the Prayer-book into Persian by Mr. da Costa. 
 These were all afterwards printed, either by, or by 
 the aid of, the Prayer-book and Homily Society. 
 With reference to these occupations, the Archdeacon 
 writes 
 
 TO HIS WIFE. 
 
 " Feb. 12, 1828. 
 
 " I have been officiating at Howrah, and the same sermon 
 enabled me to assist Goode ; so that I have not been idle, 
 and am much the better for it." 
 
 And again : 
 
 " I know not what C. has taken [to England] for you : I 
 told him to take you a copy of the translations of the 
 Common Prayer. I send three copies, by this ship, to the 
 Prayer Book and Homily Society. It is found fault with, as 
 Martyn's Testament was ; but I care little, as time will bring 
 to light the labours I have gone through ; and those who 
 can improve it may/' 
 
CALCUTTA. 419 
 
 He adds 
 
 " I have been much moved by the affection of the Hin- 
 doostanee congregation for John Adlington. He has always 
 been more disposed to suffer in silence, than to complain ; 
 yet after some time the Native Christians became so at- 
 tached to him on account of his ministrations, that one day, 
 on going to Church, he found a punkah* hung up for him. 
 The place for the Communion table being bare, one begged 
 to be allowed to place a mat on it. Another placed a car- 
 pet, where John stood to minister ; and lately one came and 
 said, he had been so comforted at the Communion, that he 
 begged to be allowed to present a silver cup, and wished to 
 know what shape John would have it made in. These are 
 genuine expressions of Christian Native feeling, beyond what 
 has appeared here ; for Bowley is a great disciplinarian, and 
 his people are more under awe than John's flock. These 
 facts the Hindoostanee Homilies brought to my mind ; for 
 the translation is now read to the people." 
 
 It has now to be observed, that as the frequent 
 correspondence which the Archdeacon maintained 
 with his wife, during the time that she was absent 
 from India, affords a kind of Journal of the writer's 
 own feelings, and of such occurrences as passed under 
 his notice, little more for the present is necessary 
 than to subjoin extracts from his letters to her. 
 Thus, under date of April 7th, he writes : 
 
 (( I should tell you that Mr. Deerr had a most interesting 
 occasion last week, at Culna ; he has baptized five persons 
 there, and another offered himself. The new Christians begged 
 
 * A hoard suspended from the ceiling, and having ropes attached 
 by which to swing it to and fro, for the purpose of cooling the room. 
 
 E 2 
 
420 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the baptism might take place in their quarter of the large 
 spreading town. No appropriate building being available, 
 Mr. Deerr had a table set under a tree, in a large Mango 
 grove ; the table covered with ' a fair linen cloth/ and on 
 it a marble basin full of pure water. The Christians sung a 
 hymn. About one hundred and fifty assembled. Mr. 
 Deerr preached from " Hallowed be thy name." All were 
 hushed in silent attention ; not a sound besides Mr. Deerr' s 
 voice, except the gentle sighing of the breeze among the 
 branches. Mr. Deerr hopes a good impression was made. 
 A little circumstance characteristic of the people must be 
 added : after the service, an old woman came up to Mr. 
 Deerr full of bustle, ' Sir/ said she ' one of your Christians 
 owes me money, command him to pay me/ Mr. Deerr 
 said this was not a suitable time for such business. ( Sir/ 
 replied she, ' if I am not heard in so holy an assembly, 
 where shall I get justice ? " 
 
 It might seem an unkindness to his memory to 
 keep back another portion of the same letter, illus- 
 trative as it is (with many other extracts that might 
 be given) of that enduring strength of natural 
 affection, with which the subject of these Memoirs 
 was so peculiarly imbued. 
 
 " This is a day, on several accounts, to be remembered 
 by us. It is your birth-day ; it is also close on my own. 
 It is a day long to be remembered, too, for the sorrow we 
 were visited with ten years ago ; when our John was removed 
 from this scene of trial, to behold his Father's face in 
 heaven. It is fit that we should call these things to re- 
 membrance; whilst deep humiliation becomes us, before 
 Him who has been about our path all our days. We have 
 much, also, to praise him for, both as it respects the past, 
 and the present. I think of you now as about the Channel, 
 
CALCUTTA. 421 
 
 approaching your desired haven. How the weather may 
 have proved, and what the society on board ship, and whe- 
 ther my children have escaped all accidents, and how your 
 health has been ? These are anxious questions [to which] I 
 must wait some months for an answer. To what, also, may 
 await you in England. ' Is my father yet alive/ the ' old 
 man ' to whom we all owe so much ? But why perplex my- 
 self on these accounts ? I could not but observe yesterday, 
 how blessed is the appointment, that time alleviates the 
 feeling of loss. What agonies did we endure, when our 
 John was taken away ? Of Emily, I confess, I think less, 
 because I knew her not as you did ; but now it seems well, 
 that they are safely lodged in the Lamb's bosom, and it 
 would be unkind to wish them back. may our two re- 
 maining loves hear the Saviour's voice, and in their early 
 youth, know the love and kindness of His heart ! " 
 
 The Archdeacon afterwards forwarded to his wife, 
 the following memorandum : 
 
 " Calcutta, Thursday, April 10, 1828. 
 
 " This day completes my fifty-first year. The last year 
 has proved very eventful in several respects. The change 
 in my circumstances by the departure to England of my 
 wife and children, is great and painful beyond my expecta- 
 tion, though I anticipated painful things. The change in 
 the circumstances of the Church Mission, by the sickness of 
 several, and the defection of others, is painful to a degree. 
 A blight seems to have come over my temporal prospects ; 
 and much reason is there for self-examination, as to why I 
 am thus : but I need not go far, nor search long. To my 
 own soul, at least, the cause is so obvious as to silence all 
 complaints. If these be not for my individual sin, yet my 
 sins deserve much more of mortification and shame. In 
 company, vain words and compliances leave a sense of sin 
 that would drive me to solitude : solitude cannot be im- 
 
422 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 proved without the grace of solitude. Indolence, preference 
 of amusement to profit, want of delight in the Scriptures ; 
 in public and in private, in the pulpit and in the closet, in 
 capacity to benefit myself or others, is brought more power 
 fully home to me, as I advance in life. And will it ever be 
 otherwise ? And how can I meet death in this state ? I 
 know theoretically the fulness, freeness and sufficiency of the 
 Saviour's grace, but am I a partaker therein ? I can think of 
 my beloved family without exertion, and follow the intima- 
 tions of my wife's will, though she be far removed from the 
 knowledge of what I do, or power of contradicting me; 
 were the love of the Saviour as really in me, would it not 
 operate in the same way with reference to His will ? I know 
 it would ; and pray to be kept from self-deceiving. 0, may 
 I take no rest until I have the evidence of that faith in me 
 which worketh by love, and overcomes the world, the flesh 
 and the Devil ! I resolve that thus it shall be, the Lord 
 being my helper/ Amen." 
 
 In a subsequent letter the Archdeacon writes to 
 his wife : 
 
 " I have been very busy since I last wrote. A poor 
 creature who killed his wife in a fit of jealousy, sent for 
 me last week ; and I visited him several times before the 
 day, and on the morning of his execution. My dreams for 
 several nights were of prisoners and fettered captives, im- 
 ploring help. The man was a native of Dacca, a Native 
 Christian, spoke English with considerable fluency, and had 
 acquired, from attending on Michael Rosario, a considerable 
 knowledge of Scripture : and had not his awful crime called 
 for more pungent sorrow than he exhibited, he might have 
 passed out of life with a good name for Christian knowledge. 
 To his own master he hath given an account. The day after 
 this poor creature left the world, I was startled by a note 
 from G. saying, ' his brother was indeed gone ! 9 We had 
 
CALCUTTA. 423 
 
 heard of his (the aid-de-camp) illness, but had no idea he 
 was in danger : but so it has come to pass. That finely- 
 formed youth, who was, perhaps, too proud of the personal 
 advantages God had given him, was seized with fever, and 
 sunk under the effects, [of it] in a few days, aged twenty- 
 one ! Poor R. G. when he found his brother was in danger, 
 spoke to him of the Saviour : and the dying youth, it seems, 
 poured out a prayer, that, for Christ's merits, he might find a 
 place in His kingdom. 'And this,' says R. G. 'is the only 
 ray of light that this dark dispensation affords/ " 
 
 The following letter records an interesting passage 
 in the history of Bishop's College, Calcutta. 
 
 " May 16, 1828. 
 
 " Yesterday was Ascension day, and it was a ' high day ' 
 at Bishop's College. The consecration of the chapel and 
 burial-ground took place. All the clergy were invited by 
 advertisement. The Bishop said that he should be at the 
 Ghaut,* opposite the College, at five o'clock in the morning. 
 I left home, therefore, at four : Latham and Adlington went 
 with me. We arrived first ; and as the Bishop had said 
 that his coach would be full, we took advantage of a 
 dingy, f and passed over before him, but there was no 
 meeting, or any reception at the Ghaut. We mustered at 
 Mill's ; and from thence proceeded to the place appointed 
 for a burying-ground. M. had prepared a shepherd's 
 crook, gilt, with an ornamented staff; and this was carried 
 before us, by a Native Christian from Madras, with a coat of 
 crimson colour, such as you know they wear on the coast. 
 We then assembled in the anti-chapel of the chapel, and the 
 Consecration service began ; the gilded crook being carried 
 before us, up to the Communion-table. The ceremony was 
 then gone through, and M. preached the Sermon from 
 Malachi i. 2. ' From the rising of the sun even until the 
 * Landing-place. f A small kind of boat. 
 
424 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 going down of the same, my name shall be great among the 
 Gentiles, &c.' In the conclusion, he quoted part of the 
 prayer used by Bishop Middleton, on laying the first stone ; 
 and pointed to his monument on the wall. I was, perhaps, 
 the only person present besides himself, who had taken 
 part in that ceremony. Mr. Schmidt, the Old Church 
 organist, had been engaged, with his three school- singing 
 boys, and also a finger organ for the occasion. They 
 chaunted 'The Veniie> ' Te Deum,' 'Jubilate,' and sang 
 an Ascension hymn before Communion, and after Commu- 
 nion, an anthem from the eighth Psalm. The Armenian 
 deacon was present in his festival robes, which were of 
 yellow stuff, with a collar worn as our scarf, figured with 
 large crosses embossed. The Bishop provided a breakfast 
 in the hall, to which forty persons sat down. 
 
 "May 18th. We are just returned from the Cathedral, 
 W. and J. Adlington were ordained priests. Hender- 
 son preached the sermon. Dear John, as pale as death ; 
 but he got through without distress. When we commenced 
 the Communion Service, and I was reading the prayers for 
 the Church militant, the remembrance of the last ordina- 
 tions, and of the beloved Bishop Heber, came so strongly 
 upon me, that I could scarcely give utterance to the expres- 
 sion of thanks for those departed in the faith and fear of God 
 our Saviour : I, however, got through. The whole congre- 
 gation were kept the whole time, but only Mrs. James, 
 and Miss 0. communicated, besides the clergy." 
 
 In the letters which Archdeacon Corrie wrote 
 about this time, he frequently mentions the failing 
 health of Bishop James. Thus he writes in a com- 
 munication, dated 
 
 Calcutta, June 30, 1828. 
 
 , " The Bishop left this place last week, [for the Upper 
 Provinces.] He continued very ill past Chinsurah. He 
 
CALCUTTA. 425 
 
 has constituted me his commissary for this Archdeaconry, 
 and the other Archdeacons for their' s respectively ; and so de- 
 volved everything upon us, reserving only the power of inter- 
 fering when he pleases ; and that before any definitive sen- 
 tence shall be passed, reference shall be made to him. Had 
 the former Bishops done this, they might both, perhaps, 
 have been alive still ; and had not the present Bishop their 
 fate before him, he might not have thought of such a mea- 
 sure ; and if there be a real necessity for it, as to a consi- 
 derable extent there is, there should be more Indian 
 Bishops/' 
 
 This deputing of the administration of a portion 
 of the diocese to the Archdeacon, necessarily in- 
 creased his occupations ; yet his correspondence in- 
 timates that he neither declined to perform ordinary 
 clerical duty as occasion served, nor to attend to 
 affairs of missions. Scarcely a month however had 
 elapsed, ere increased illness obliged the Bishop to 
 return to Calcutta ; and so seriously unwell was he 
 on reaching that place, that it was not considered ad- 
 visable for him to land. Respecting the Bishop's 
 state of health, Archdeacon Corrie writes, 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " Calcutta, August 8, 1828. 
 
 " Bishop James has been, and now is, at death's door, 
 from liver complaint. He was affected with it in England, 
 and this climate has excited the disease, almost to death, 
 if indeed he survive. He has sent in his resignation of the 
 
426 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 bishoprick, and is gone to New Anchorage to embark on 
 board the Huntley, for Penang. He told me that his plan is, 
 to stay awhile at Penang, and go from thence to Bombay, and, 
 if possible, to New South Wales, and so to England. Thus 
 we are again without a Bishop, although he will be nomin- 
 ally so, whilst he remains within the Company's territories/' 
 
 With reference to missions, the Archdeacon adds: 
 
 " A blessing is vouchsafed to Deerr's labours, beyond 
 most. He has lately baptized eleven persons, viz. five at 
 Burdwan, and six at Culna. Our Report exhibits sixty 
 added to the Church ; and since May 1st, fifteen more. 
 Simon, one of my school-boys, has resigned a salary of 
 eighty rupees a month, to engage (unsolicited) in Mission- 
 ary work. Thus, among many discouragements the gospel 
 grows among us." 
 
 During the ensuing month the Archdeacon had 
 occasion to visit some of the stations on the river ; 
 and observes in a memorandum : dated 
 
 " Fultah, Sep. 18, 1828. 
 
 " By unexpected circumstances I find myself here, just 
 twenty-two years since passing a day here on my [first] 
 arrival in India. How altered for the worse is this place ! 
 How many changes have I seen since then ! How altered in 
 contrast, are my circumstances ! A stranger then, wander- 
 ing, friendless, and in my own apprehension, poor ; for I 
 understood in England, my salary would be three hundred 
 pounds a year, and was warned that it would supply no 
 superfluities. Though this was a mistake as to sterling 
 amount, and there was something, I apprehend, of a pious 
 fraud used, to prevent my taking the appointment from tem- 
 poral motives ; though I have enjoyed much beyond what 
 was then contemplated by friends or myself, yet I am still 
 poor ; though, blessed be God, neither friendless, nor with- 
 
CALCUTTA. 427 
 
 out a certain object in life. When I say poor, I mean in 
 worldly reckoning, for I am rich, in not caring for riches. I 
 have long seen that they add neither to personal worth, nor 
 public usefulness ; except as used with a single eye, to the 
 grace and goodness of God in granting them. As to objects, 
 I now see what is practicable, in reference to the spread of 
 the gospel in the land, which I was utterly ignorant of 
 when I came here in 1806; and what reason for thanks- 
 giving to God is there, that times and circumstances are so 
 much more favourable now ! Then all was untried and un- 
 certain to a great degree ; now the work of Missions is bet- 
 ter understood ; success has been in many instances granted 
 to it, and the duty and probability of success of the work 
 made, in a considerable degree, manifest." 
 
 At the time the foregoing remarks were penned, 
 the Church in India had been again deprived of her 
 chief pastor, by death ; although the intelligence of 
 Bishop James' decease did not reach Calcutta until 
 the 17th of Oct. In apprising Mrs. Corrie of that 
 mournful event, and of his preaching the Bishop's 
 funeral sermon, in the cathedral on Sunday morning, 
 Oct. 19, the Archdeacon writes : 
 
 " I took for a text Job xxx. 23, [" I know that thou wilt 
 bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all 
 living/'] I offered 
 
 " I. Some reflections on our situation in the world. As 
 rational creatures, we are subject to a law which we have 
 broken, in consequence of which death reigns. But a 
 reprieve is proclaimed, and an offer of escape from the 
 second death made by Jesus Christ. 
 
 <e II. Christianity can render the prospect of death and 
 the grave, comfortable f a house,' ' a home/ 
 
428 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " III. But it is by self-application that it does so ; " I 
 know that thou wilt bring me to death/' 
 
 " IV. And by a determination to live under the influence 
 of the self-application. "I know," is experimental, not 
 mere theory. 
 
 "Application, 1st. Let every instance of mortality around 
 us, lead us to set our house in order ; thus we shall be growing 
 in capacity for the enjoyments and employments of heaven. 
 Nor can our conduct, in this respect, fail to have a power- 
 ful influence on our general character, as members of society. 
 He who thinks not of death, and of preparation for it, can- 
 not set an example of religious living to others. He who 
 wilfully postpones the subject, will shun solitude ; the con- 
 cerns of a future state will be, as much as possible, kept out 
 of sight, and temporal considerations will be all in all. 
 
 " Finally, with reference to the occasion of my appearing 
 in this place to-day, to men who live not under the im- 
 pression of death and the grave, the removal of one after 
 another, of the chief pastors of the Church, will appear in 
 no other light, than the removal of secular persons. The 
 improvement in the religious condition of our own commu- 
 nity being suspended, and the consequent influence such 
 improvements might have had on the immortal interests of 
 the natives, among whom we dwell, being interrupted, and 
 to a considerable extent postponed, these will not enter into 
 the consideration of those, who value not Christianity as the 
 only ground of a sinner's hope ; the only guide of his judg- 
 ment and practice. How many of our countrymen now 
 proceeding in an irreligious course, might, by the example, 
 and the exertion of great attainments put forth in the ser- 
 vice of religion, aided by the influence of high station, have 
 been turned to a life of righteousness ! How many of the 
 youth, among our countrymen at our stations, exposed to 
 every wind of temptation, with scarcely any controlling 
 influence, might by such exertions, and such influence, have 
 been saved from premature death, and rendered heirs of 
 
CALCUTTA. 429 
 
 everlasting life ! These and similar considerations, will not 
 enter into the calculations of men who live only for the pre- 
 sent world. True Christians, however, whilst they sympa- 
 thise with bereaved relations and friends, mourn chiefly 
 the loss of the immortal interest of mankind, involved in 
 these, seemingly premature, bereavements. They will pray 
 that surviving ministers may be enabled to redouble their 
 diligence and zeal ; as their work is no less, and their dis- 
 advantages greater. They will pray that the Lord of the 
 harvest may send suitable labourers into the great and im- 
 portant field of labour ; and then, whatever may be the 
 result as to others, our own enjoyments will be heightened, 
 by conscious attention to the duties which present circum- 
 stances call us to ; and we shall be kept in patient con- 
 tinuance in well doing ; waiting for that glory, honour, 
 and immortality, which the Lord, the righteous judge, 
 will give to all who love his appearing." 
 
 By the premature death of Bishop James, the ad- 
 ministration of the diocese of Calcutta devolved for 
 the second time on Archdeacon Corrie ; and it could 
 scarcely be supposed, but that the increased demands 
 on his time which these changes brought with them, 
 would to some extent debar him from corresponding 
 so frequently with his friends, as he might formerly 
 have been able to do. We find him, therefore, now 
 observing to his valued friend, the 
 
 REV. J. BUCKWORTH. 
 
 " Among the causes of my not writing to you, one is, that 
 much of what I write home is published, so that you know 
 
430 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 generally what I am about. This circumstance, also, has 
 contributed to the difficulty I often find in writing to 
 friends. The publication of my letters has at times occas- 
 sioned me great uneasiness, chiefly on my own account. 
 You cannot but know how little qualified I am for the pub- 
 lic sphere unto which I have been called. You know, also, 
 how little in early life I intended it ; and, I can truly say, I 
 have never desired it, and now greatly wish for the shade, 
 my proper place. Another cause of my unfrequent corres- 
 pondence is, the wearisome, inward conflict I endure, with 
 little or no intermission. I travel, indeed, heavily on the 
 heavenly way. Few, I think, can be burdened as I am with 
 the body of sin and death. My views of the plan of salva- 
 tion have been clear, I apprehend, from the early part of my 
 course ; and I may thank you, in no small degree for this ; 
 but every now and then, the evil of my heart breaks out, as 
 it were, more inveterately than ever, and I seem ready to 
 perish. The text of the first sermon you preached at Stoke, 
 is my stronghold at this time, Psalm xxv. 11, "For thy 
 name's sake, Lord, pardon my iniquity ; for it is great." 
 It needs infinite mercy, and infinite merit ; and both are 
 manifested in Christ Jesus. . . . These interruptions, and the 
 differences which have arisen amongst the religious public 
 with you, make me fear the latter day glory is not to be 
 revealed so soon as once was generally apprehended. I see 
 no reason to differ from Scott's general view of Scripture 
 truth ; but I observe most of those at home, who contend so 
 strenuously for the personal reign [of Christ,] and those 
 here, who have been most dissatisfied with Missionary 
 matters, are high doctrinal men. Well, the counsel of the 
 Lord shall stand. His hand goes not forth even now in 
 vain : where humble men persevere in setting forth the 
 Saviour, as the sinner's only hope, some are drawn to Him. 
 Souls are added to the Church frequently, at almost every 
 Missionary station ; and the Word of God is taking root, 
 up and down this part of India. Three remarkable instances 
 
CALCUTTA. 431 
 
 have lately come to light, of individuals far removed 
 from each other, in the upper parts of the Presidency, 
 receiving incidentally the New Testament [translated,] 
 taking it home, and, after understanding the blessed con- 
 tents, calling their friends and neighbours, to hear the 
 Scriptures read. In one case, the man was murdered ; 
 though it is thought for his wealth, rather than in a way of 
 persecution. In another case, the man was obliged through 
 persecution to flee from his native place, and in the third 
 case, as a brother of some influence in the place, has taken a 
 decided part in favour of the gospel, it is hoped more good 
 will result to the neighbourhood. But the labourers are 
 very, very few ; and if larger salaries are [not] to be given 
 to Missionaries, the number must diminish rather than 
 increase. It seems as if we must labour more, to raise up 
 labourers on the spot. This has always been an object with 
 me ; but I have had but little success. Now, indeed, some 
 young men, born in this country, are coming forward to 
 offer themselves for Missionary work. The characters of such, 
 in a natural point of view, are almost always less robust 
 than that of Englishmen. Their bodies are generally feebler, 
 and the mind seems to partake of the same. They, however, 
 assimilate more to the natives; seem to bear with their 
 feebleness of character, and meet the case of the unconverted 
 with more readiness than Englishmen can do, from the 
 entirely different channel in which their ideas flow. It is, 
 perhaps, never intended that the Indian should equal the 
 European in energy ; and we must be content with things 
 as the God of nature intended them. My attachment to 
 the country increases, as my acquaintance with the people, 
 and, also, the language, becomes more familiar. I must men- 
 tion, that during the last year, and with the help of com- 
 petent assistants, I have translated and have printed a com- 
 plete copy of the Book of Common Prayer. Every letter and 
 tittle of the Prayer-Book is now clothed in the Hindoostanee 
 
432 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 language, and will become increasingly useful, as the borders 
 of our Zion become enlarged."* 
 
 At the beginning of November 1828, Archdeacon 
 Corrie set out to visit the Upper Provinces of Bengal. 
 A Journal of his proceedings is contained in his cor- 
 respondence with his wife.f Thus he writes from 
 
 " Burdwan, Nov. 8, 1828. 
 
 " I yesterday, at half past ten o'clock, went to Bogbonar : 
 Candy and Hammond went with me. I felt relieved on 
 getting away from Calcutta. At twelve the tide turned. I 
 had a long look at our sweet Cossipore abode. The Ganges 
 is unusually full this season, so that by the time I reached 
 Serampore, the tide turned again. I stopped therefore at 
 Marshman's, where Mrs. J. Marshman gave me a kind wel- 
 come. 
 
 " Bearers being procured, I set off soon after four o'clock, 
 for Chinsurah ; but it being Kalee-poojah, they were tipsy. 
 At first, they shouted and joked ; afterwards, getting tired, 
 they quarrelled, and scolded, and, amidst deafening noise, I 
 
 did not get to Herklot's till 8 o'clock I set off for 
 
 Burdwan, where I arrived before ten this morning. Deerr 
 
 * It may here be mentioned that the Creed of St. Athanasius, as 
 translated in this Prayer-book, so attracted the attention of the 
 learned Mahomedans, and the demand to possess it became con- 
 sequently so great, that Archdeacon Corrie was induced to have 
 several hundred copies of it struck off for separate circulation. One 
 of those persons, on applying for a copy of the Creed, observed, 
 " Now we know what you Christians believe." The Archdeacon on 
 relating this circumstance stated, also, that nothing could exceed 
 the bitter enmity against the doctrine of Christ, which the exposi- 
 tion of divine truth contained in that Creed, seemed to stir up in 
 the Mahomedan heart. 
 
 t Many particulars connected with this Journey, and not con- 
 tained in the following pages, may be seen in the Missionary Regis- 
 ter for 1829. 
 
BURDWAN. 433 
 
 and his family are well. They have two fine children, a 
 boy, and a girl, very like each other, and the picture of 
 health. My mind is kept in a measure of peace. I have 
 begun the book of Joshua, for travelling reading. I trust 
 Joshua's God is with me ; and that I go on my way accord- 
 ing to His will. 
 
 " Sunday, 9th. This has been a day of mixed feeling. In 
 the morning, I met the native Christians at family worship. 
 There were twenty-two present. There are two sick, and 
 three absent, making twenty-seven adults, besides children. 
 A converted Brahmin read 1 Cor. xi. ; and Deerr interpreted 
 what observations I wished to make to them, on the Lord's 
 Supper. They seemed to understand. Something also was 
 said to the women, on the honour conferred on them by the 
 gospel, in restoring them to their original state, as the help- 
 meet of man, and fellow- servants of the Lord. They seemed 
 to understand, and were very attentive. At ten o'clock, Di- 
 vine service in English ; about fifteen present. Knowing that 
 the Bengalee worship was waiting, I did not prolong the 
 English service beyond half-past eleven got back to the 
 Mission-house quarter before twelve o'clock ; but the [Ben- 
 galee] worship did not commence till half-past. After a 
 selection from the morning prayer, and a hymn, Deerr 
 preached on the institution of the Lord's Supper. I found 
 that three men and two women had not been instructed with 
 reference to the Sacrament, and at my desire they with- 
 drew. The Lord's Supper was then administered to ten 
 men and six women ; I read the prayer of consecration in 
 English. I then pronounced the words in Bengalee, which 
 I had written down in Roman characters; and gave the 
 bread, and Deerr the wine. The whole went off, I trust, in 
 an edifying manner ; and, on the whole, thankfulness pre- 
 vailed One end of my coming was, by this means 
 
 to try some, and promote the edification of others. It is 
 found that being baptized merely, does not prevent return 
 to caste : partaking of the Lord's Supper does. In conse- 
 
 2 F 
 
434 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 quence, one tried to evade putting the bread into his mouth ; 
 and another, on drinking of the cup, nodded slily to ano- 
 ther, as much as to say (in my interpretation of his look 
 and manner) ' We are caught.' This is sad : but some are 
 sincere beyond all doubt ; and, I may be mistaken in my 
 judgment of others. Mrs. Deerr and her sister say of the 
 women 5 that their carelessness (as it appears to me) is 
 merely their shyness at the appearance of a stranger. One 
 thing was very pleasing, they were almost all well-looking 
 people; clean, and nicely dressed and gave me the im- 
 pression of being the better sort. The two I have mentioned 
 as sick, are a young Brahmin and his wife. He is 
 upwards of six feet high, with quite the erect, independent 
 look and manner of the Brahmin He is of the highest 
 caste. One uncle is Treasurer to the Commercial Bank ; 
 and a cousin is the Dewan * of the Burdwan Rajah, at one 
 of his Purgunahs.f Notwithstanding the favourable ap- 
 pearances here, it would be easy for an unfeeling man to 
 break up the work ; and render what is doing, matter of 
 worldly scorn. The English around are too careless to take 
 notice of what is doing ; and too ignorant of the ways of the 
 people among whom they dwell, to judge rightly. I have 
 always been averse to exciting too much attention in them 
 to missionary work, knowing how easily an ungodly man 
 might turn it all into ridicule. But from my inmost soul, 
 I rejoice even in these very imperfect beginnings I am 
 sure they are the beginning of better days. 
 
 <f Nov. 20th. I am now within four coss [eight miles] 
 of Benares, on the Calcutta side of the Ganges, waiting for 
 bearers, who ought to have been waiting for me. You are 
 made acquainted with my intention of visiting the missions 
 here. I wrote to you from Burdwan on the twelfth. On 
 that day I went to Bancorah, and had a rainy and very 
 tiresome journey on account of the broken road. I received 
 
 * Chief Minister or agent, 
 t A large division or district of land. 
 
SECROLE. 435 
 
 great kindness from Dr. and Mrs, Clarke Dr. C. laid my 
 dawk, so as to admit of my resting every night at one of 
 the stageing bungalows, and I am, thus far, rather refreshed 
 than otherwise by the journey. I am glad to have travelled 
 this road ; for after having traversed in all directions the 
 valley of the Ganges, I had no idea of the varied scenery 
 which borders on it ; on the west side, as well as the east. 
 About one hundred miles from Calcutta, at Bancorah, the 
 ground begins to rise : the range of hills we saw at Cuttack, 
 runs on the left hand (going upwards) ; and you proceed 
 through an uneven surface of country, (the scenery a good 
 deal like the Dhoon,) ascending for a hundred miles more. 
 Then a table-land commences, of nearly another hundred 
 miles, but abounding in ups and downs ; and presenting, 
 at different points, views such as we saw in the Himalahs ; 
 
 only by no means on so grand a scale At about 
 
 three hundred miles from Calcutta, steep ghauts occur ; and 
 by degrees, the traveller gets to the plains you know so well. 
 " Nov. 22, 1828. I arrived about twelve o'clock on the 
 20th at Secrole. On the way from a large ghaut, where I 
 crossed the river, a new, tall steeple, pointing to the skies, 
 attracted my eager eyes, as I approached Secrole. You 
 cannot conceive what a picture the Church is now become. 
 The inside enlarged by the removal of the internal wall, to 
 the north, and the south ; and the verandah inclosed. A 
 new pulpit and reading-desk of really exquisite workman- 
 ship ; and the front of the organ-gallery of the same ; 
 executed, as the whole has been, under Mr. J. P. Prinsep's 
 immediate eye. A well-proportioned stone font, placed 
 near the west entrance ; and the whole arranged with real 
 taste and propriety. I could fill sheets with all I see and 
 hear. I will only now add, that the state of this station 
 affords a striking comment on the sin of despising the day 
 of small things. I used to come, first to Wheatley's back 
 parlour, and meet a few writers and artillery men. We 
 then got an unoccupied house, and all the station assem- 
 
 2 F 2 
 
436 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 bled ; but next week, an alarm was taken : < The discontented 
 would take advantage of our assembling, and fall upon us, 
 and cut off all the English together.' General M. would no 
 more allow the artillery-men to attend. Thomas B. declared 
 he would not again venture into such a ruinous dwelling ; 
 but strange to say the house is yet standing. We then 
 assembled in S's. house, every third Sunday : and after two 
 more years, I ventured to circulate a proposal for building 
 a place of worship, out of which, by remarkable progress as 
 you know, has sprang the present commodious and really 
 elegant structure. The new Missionaries are not arrived 
 here yet ; nor likely to be here for ten days to come." 
 
 " Chunar, Nov. 29. To my great joy, the church is 
 substantially repaired, looks better than ever, and is likely 
 to stand a century. I yesterday had evening service : the 
 Church was full ; not less than two hundred and fifty people, 
 including three officers and their families, of the Regulars. 
 Last Sunday I had service twice at Secrole. P. was here. 
 To-morrow I purpose having service twice here. This will 
 testify of my strength ; for indeed, not being, by my situa- 
 tion, called to it, I would not attempt so much, if I suffered 
 from it." 
 
 " Benares, Dec. 6th. 1828. Crauford, Wilkinson, Bow- 
 ley, Eteson, and Frend have arrived ; who, together with 
 Proby, make seven Padres : and to-day Mr. Adams, of the 
 London Society, and Mr. Robertson, of the same, came in. 
 We commenced soon after ten o'clock, and continued till 
 after two. We discussed the signs of the times, with 
 reference to the spread of the gospel among Europeans and 
 Natives in India. The utility of schools where boys leave 
 early, and the evidences required in adults, in order to 
 baptism. Each spoke in turn, and, on the whole, order was 
 kept ; and all seemed gratified. It was admitted, that the 
 progress of the gospel advances. Many instances were 
 adduced of its gaining a hold on the native public. One 
 man, eighteen coss from Allahabad, heard the gospel from 
 
BENARES. 437 
 
 a Missionary ; and received a copy of the New Testament. 
 He read it at home to his family ; his neighbours also came 
 to hear, till the usual effects began to appear ; some siding 
 with him, others opposing. Lately he came to Mr. Crau- 
 ford, to know what he must do. A Fakeer received a 
 gospel, and sent it to his village in Goruckpore district. 
 His brother, a Thannadar,* had, also, received a gospel 
 from Mr. Wilkinson. The two brothers now unite in 
 reading the Gospel, and collect their neighbours to hear. 
 The raising up of native teachers was also adduced : and the 
 power of Divine truth, in rendering aged Hindoos active 
 and industrious in spreading the knowledge of the gospel, 
 instanced in several cases. Schools were admitted to be of 
 incalculable value; especially as rendering the visits of the 
 Missionary welcome to the adults of a village ; and, it may 
 be hoped, in preoccupying the mind with some degree of 
 useful knowledge ; though, as yet, no direct instances of 
 conversion have come to light in the schools. It was 
 agreed, that repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, should be required in candidates for baptism : 
 but it was also agreed, that the fruits of these would appear 
 in vast variety, and be differently judged of by Missiona- 
 ries ; so that no one should judge another in the admission 
 of converts. In the evening, I preached in the Church 
 from John xvii. 20, 21. "Neither pray I for these alone, 
 but for them also which shall believe on me through their 
 word j that they all may be one, as thou. Father, art in me, 
 and I in thee, that they also may be one in us ; that the 
 world may believe that thou hast sent me." 
 
 " December 12th. Yesterday we passed at the mission 
 bungalow. Mr. E. from Ghazeepoor also joined us. So that 
 there were eight padres. The forenoon was passed as the 
 day before. We discussed the influence the personal cha- 
 racter of a Minister is likely to have on his office ; and 
 agreed to some resolutions on a prayer-union, as formerly 
 * A kind of police officer. 
 
438 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 set on foot by Mr. Brown. This may prove a blessing to 
 others also. At dinner, much discussion arose about 
 recording conversations with natives on religious points ; and 
 the general opinion was favourable to its utility. I was 
 asked to print my sermon, preached on Wednesday evening. 
 If I see any prospect of usefulness, I may do so. v * 
 
 " Dec. 13th, 1828. This evening, I have experienced 
 the greatest pleasure in Hindoostanee worship, I can re- 
 member ever to have done. About sun-set, I rode into the 
 Bazaar, and saw a crowd ; and on approaching, I found the 
 missionaries with Tryloke, raised on the steps of a door ; 
 T. arguing with great seriousness, and perfect calmness of 
 manner, and the people listening attentively. There had 
 been levity, it seems, displayed by some of the crowd before 
 I came ; but they were then all serious ; and T's 
 manner and appearance were very patriarchal. I was much 
 solemnized by the scene : we then adjourned to the preach- 
 ing-house. Charles prayed and read our Lord's discourse 
 with the woman of Samaria, with a comment, adding also 
 some appropriate remarks of his own, and ended with prayer. 
 Kewal Messeeh, then, commenced a hymn, in Hindoostanee; 
 and a few joined him. The measure also was Hindoostanee. 
 The words, and his correct manner, affected me much; and 
 arrested the attention of many of the hearers. It was to 
 the effect of " Jesu, Saviour, God, shew mercy ; " and 
 then instanced several proofs of his power ; and the last 
 verse was an exhortation to trust in that mercy, as the only 
 safe way of salvation. Tryloke then read a sermon on, 
 " There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth." 
 He read with animation, but towards the conclusion of his 
 prayer, his earnestness for his neighbours, and especially for 
 his own family, was very affecting. He seemed to wrestle 
 for a blessing upon them. Doubtless these are the fruits 
 of the Spirit ; and God's presence is evidently with them." 
 
 : It does not appear that the Sermon was ever printed. 
 
BENARES. 439 
 
 * f Sunday evening, 14th. This forenoon, a full church 
 at English service. At three o'clock, p. ra., Mr. Trend 
 read prayers in Hindoostanee, with wonderful propriety, 
 considering the short time he has been in the country. His 
 pronunciation is distinct, and he would be perfectly un- 
 derstood, though some words were imperfectly expressed. 
 After prayers, three adult converts from Hindooism were 
 baptized by Mr Bowley. The mother of one of them came 
 in an agony to church, and also his brother ; but he re- 
 fused to forego his purpose. After church, the poor woman 
 seemed more resigned, saying, ' her son was old enough to 
 judge for himself; and she did not know what might have 
 moved him to the step/ The family live near the church. 
 Another was a teacher of a school ; the third was brought 
 to the faith of Christ by means of an Indigo planter, and 
 sent hither for baptism. He gave his mala * to Mr. Eteson, 
 saying, it was once his treasure, ( but now,' said he, these 
 are my treasures ; ' referring to a Hindoostanee Prayer- 
 book and New Testament he had under his arm. After 
 the baptisms, Mr. Wilkinson preached in Hindoostanee, on 
 the baptism of the Eunuch. I could not but be very thank- 
 ful for the means of instruction thus supplied. I felt how 
 much better the people of this place were off, in respect of 
 means of grace, than when I resided here ; and, I think, I 
 was, from my heart, content to sink in the scale ; and that 
 these devoted servants of Christ should become in every way 
 more useful, and as ministers, more honourable ; and may 
 an abundant blessing follow the instructions afforded here 
 this day ! " 
 
 " Dec. 25th, 1828. This day has been a day of thanks- 
 giving. At church, I preached, and administered the Sacra- 
 ment of the Supper, with Proby. Thirty-eight attended 
 the Lord's Supper, of the English congregation ; and I found 
 Mr. Eteson had above twenty communicants, at the Hin- 
 doostanee Chapel. P. is, at times, all gloom, as if this 
 * Rosary or string of beads. 
 
440 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 were a day of vengeance for Benares ; and the people were 
 filling up their measure of wrath. I maintain, that he 
 would be of an opposite opinion, could he have seen the 
 place twenty-three years ago. I am much importuned to go 
 to Goruckpore ; and propose leaving this to-morrow night, 
 by dawk, for that quarter. I go onjy five stages by 
 bearers ; and then expect to find a buggy the rest of the 
 way. You will conclude, that at times, I feel anxious 
 about who may be the next Bishop; and you will, I know, 
 give me the earliest intelligence you can. The two young 
 men last arrived promise well ; and at times, I am ready to 
 think that means for forwarding the kingdom of Christ are 
 rising up around, which may render my services of little 
 consequence, and then, I should think, I had better with- 
 draw. But who shall reckon on to-morrow? May we 
 labour for the things which are eternal ; and whether in India 
 or England, we shall have the presence of the Saviour to 
 support and comfort us ! " 
 
 " Goruckpore, Dec. 29, 1828. On Sunday I preached 
 twice for Mr. E. In the morning, the singers sang a 
 psalm-tune I do not recollect to have heard since I left 
 
 Colsterworth. It reminded me strongly of early days 
 
 The band-master was clerk : and is a man of real piety, and 
 more than common propriety of manners. The singing is 
 well conducted there. A new church is building, on a plan 
 supplied by Bishop Heber ; but the drain of money, caused 
 by the Burmese war, has caused all matters which require 
 money, to go on very slowly, ever since. At nine o'clock 
 in the evening, I left Mr. E. and came on in a palanquin 
 towards this place. Through the kindness of Mr. Bird 
 and Mr. Wilkinson, I had five relays of horses, and a 
 buggy waiting on the road : so by seven in the morning I 
 mounted the gig. On the bank of the Ganges, I found Mr. 
 Bird in a tent, waiting for me, with breakfast ready. We 
 made a comfortable meal, and heafterwards drove me through 
 a country, finely cultivated, to Goruckpore; where we ar- 
 
GORUCKPORE. 441 
 
 rived just after sun-set. This district has been reclaimed 
 from the forest nearly, since the English gained possession; 
 and a quantity of the forest-trees remain, in scattered clumps, 
 which give a rich appearance to the country. It is in sight, 
 too, of the perpetual snows ; and is seldom scorched as the 
 plain of the Ganges is. R. B. has a house of the best style 
 of the Moffusil,* surrounded with quite a park." 
 
 " Tuesday, 30th. After breakfast, I set out to explore 
 the mission-premises here ; and was much gratified indeed 
 with the general appearance. First, came the Christian 
 houses, situated close to the town ; with a field of about 
 three acres in cultivation before them, towards the high 
 road. On the north side of this field stands the seminary, 
 as it is called. A pucka t building, with two lower rooms 
 at the north end ; and over them one sleeping room. The 
 whole verandahed all round, with tasty pillars, in front of 
 the dwelling part. This forms a most comfortable abode 
 for a single man. In this will dwell a country lad, named 
 Eaphael, whom I brought up from Calcutta. He seems to 
 have received religious benefit from Crauford's Friday 
 evening catechizing, at the old Church room ; and is men- 
 tioned in the last Report of the Church Missionary Com- 
 mittee, as a missionary student. He came over here with 
 Wilkinson, from Benares ; and you will be glad to hear that 
 both W. and R. B. are favourably impressed with what they 
 have as yet seen of him. Next to the seminary, eastward, 
 across the road, is the Church, at present levelled with the 
 ground. The last year here was unusually rainy. The 
 earth became so saturated with rain, that all the wells were 
 running over ; and the sandy soil becoming thus impreg- 
 nated with moisture, the foundations of the Church gave 
 way. R. B. with his usual decision, pulled it all down; 
 and is now employed in rebuilding it on piles, and on a 
 broader foundation ; intending, also, a less ponderous roof. 
 
 * Out-stations. t Brick. 
 
442 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Behind the Church, eastward, is the parsonage; a very 
 pretty and commodious building. It consists of a lower 
 room to the west, and one of similar dimensions to the 
 east ; with two rooms on each side ; a verandah all round, 
 and corner rooms to each side : a complete Indian dwelling, 
 outhouses in abundance ; and a fine garden, kept up by the 
 prisoners sentenced to hard labour. The whole extent of 
 ground is about twelve acres ; which is made over to the 
 Mission, including the site of the Church. I must not 
 forget to mention a nice building, nearly finished, intended 
 for Christian girls : and called, in joke, ' the nursery/ 
 Sarah Bowley was to have come here, to take charge of it, 
 but this plan is suspended, owing to the departure of Dr. 
 and Mrs. Clarke. Perhaps Bowley and his daughter will 
 come here, for the hot season ; and then the plan will 
 proceed. All these temporal advantages, the Mission owes 
 to Mr. B ; and it is a matter of thankfulness that he has 
 notice of being appointed Commissioner here, on the new 
 system ; and will now, (if spared) in all probability, continue 
 here several years. 
 
 " You will now have some idea of the external state of this 
 place ; but cannot adequately conceive of the beauty of the 
 situation of this part of India. But now for the better 
 part. On my going into the Mission-house, all the Chris- 
 tians collected, old and young ; and the room was filled. 
 I could not speak to them all at once, and so proposed a 
 hymn. We sang the thirty-fourth of Bowley's Hindoos- 
 tanee translation, and then some from Betteah were intro- 
 duced, the children of persons who had received copies of 
 the Gospels from me at Chunar, and which are kept now as 
 relics. Raphael, one of my school-boys, is major-domo 
 of the Christian settlement ; and shewed it to me with 
 great glee. The aged Zemindar, and several converts from 
 Islam, conversed for some time; and two or three Hindoo 
 devotees sat * clothed ' beside us, ' and in their right mind/ 
 On coming away, I saw one of these talking with great 
 
BOGLIPORE. 443 
 
 earnestness to a fat Fakeer, covered with ashes ; he seemed 
 to be repeating Scripture to him, but I did not stay to hear, 
 lest I should put an end to the discourse. 
 
 " Wednesday, 31st. This morning at eight o'clock, I 
 assembled with the Christians at morning prayer in the 
 school-room. Forty -three were present; of whom about ten 
 or twelve were boys, of ten or twelve years of age or under ; 
 the remainder adults, male and female. The morning Psalms 
 were read, in alternate verses, in Hindoostanee. The third 
 of St. Matthew was then read, and the latter part commented 
 on by Mr. W. ; a hymn was first sung, I should have said, 
 and all concluded with prayer, by Mr. W. Thus the word 
 of God grows and increases. About two, p. M. I went again 
 to the Mission-house, and read the second Homily, and part 
 of the third, with the Zemindar, and an intelligent young 
 convert from Islam and a few others. They entered into the 
 subject earnestly, and much conversation arose out of diffe- 
 rent parts of the reading. 
 
 " January 1st. 189. I, this morning, went on the top of 
 the house before sun-rise, and had a sight of a peak of the 
 snowy mountains. It brought strongly to my mind Masoree 
 Tabea, and the happy days we passed there in 1825 : my 
 heart yearned after our sweet children, and I tried to pray for 
 them, that this may prove a happy year to them, and that 
 through all eternity we may rejoice together. We had a 
 New-year's day service, with the native Christians ; it was 
 to me, and I believe to several of them, an interesting service; 
 I spoke to them on life as a journey. I am almost constantly 
 with you in spirit ; and associate you in all my poor prayers, 
 for mercy, and blessing. To-day news have arrived here of 
 various movements, seemingly propitious. May divine grace 
 accompany them to those concerned ; and they cannot fail 
 to prove so ! 
 
 " 17th. I have told you of all the people I met with, up to 
 Monghyr. On the 14th, I got to Boglipore, and walked to 
 the cantonments of His Majesty's 3rd Regiment, now sta- 
 
444 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 tioned there. They are on the Calcutta side of the old 
 station, and the distance is considerable. I was rather heated, 
 and could only leave word with a serjeant, that I would come 
 up next morning to the school-house. After a while, the 
 school-master came to my boat, a pious young man who re- 
 ceived the knowledge of the truth under a Chaplain in New 
 South Wales. He has been the means of drawing eight 
 others to join in a religious society, and seems an estimable 
 character. Next morning, at nine o'clock, I went up and 
 found the commanding officer, Colonel C., at the mess- 
 room ; and five children with parents and sponsers assembled. 
 The Colonel went with me to the school, where I catechised 
 the Protestant children, and gave each a little book. He 
 then went with me to the hospital, where I read prayers ; 
 and exhorted the convalescent, about twenty or thirty in 
 number. The Colonel then took me, in his gig, to his 
 bungalow, and introduced me to his wife, and a grown-up 
 daughter. There was a little son also, who seemed greatly 
 pleased with a book I gave him. I was much pressed to stay 
 and dine with the mess, but I had accomplished what seemed 
 in my power, and declined the civility. I gave a good many 
 of the tracts and religious books I mentioned, as having been 
 brought out for me by Mr. Eteson, to the schoolmaster for 
 distribution. 
 
 " Jan. 22nd. I am near Cutwa. It had been my 
 intention to go over to Maldah, from below Chandree ; but 
 unexpectedly this river is still open ; and the Manjee * said, 
 it would make five days difference, as to the length of the 
 journey ; beside the delay of going over to Maldah : and I 
 have been long enough absent from Calcutta, at this time. 
 I hear, also, that the Governor General is about Maldah, 
 shooting ; so that I should have had little comfort in the 
 visit. At Berhampore, I called on the D's, Mr. Hill, and 
 the new Chaplain, Mr. Wintle ; but remained only about 
 three hours : there seemed nothing to detain me. I am 
 * Steersman. 
 
BOGLIPORE. 445 
 
 expecting to see the Vs., this evening, or early to-morrow, 
 at Krishnagur, to call at Culna, and perhaps meet Mr. 
 Deerr, and inspect the schools. . . My recreation is drawing 
 to a close, for the present, for Calcutta has never been a 
 residence of my choice. On the whole, my journey has 
 yielded all the pleasure I expected. I have kept free from 
 colds, and have reaped all the benefit of the change and 
 variety. . . I have met with kindness everywhere ; and 
 seen much of a religious nature, to encourage. From long 
 acquaintance with the natives, I have also derived amuse- 
 ment, beyond any other time, from observing their innocent 
 sports. But alas ! their language, even when in sport, is 
 sadly corrupt. However, I see more and more, how little 
 those who do not mix familiarly with them can know them. 
 Their whole conduct may be construed either seriously, or 
 as in joke, if necessity oblige them to conceal their real 
 meaning. Christian knowledge is doubtless gaining ground, 
 wherever Missionaries dwell. At Monghyr, Mr. M. told me 
 that many natives now come to hear the word regularly. 
 Mr. Hill, at Berhampore, told me the same. The interrup- 
 tion they used to meet with seldom occurs ; and many 
 listen attentively to the end of a discourse, instead of going 
 out and in, as formerly. Still, it is but ' the day of small 
 things ; ' and, respecting the general population, but a very 
 few come under the ' joyful sound.' I heard, at Monghyr, 
 of a wealthy farmer, as you would say in England, near 
 Sheergotty, who received a Hindoostanee New Testament, 
 from Mr. Bowley, in one of his journies back from Cal- 
 cutta. The man read it to his neighbours also ; and other 
 Missionaries, who have since met with him, were delighted 
 with the love he shewed for the truth. This man has lately 
 been murdered; it is thought, on account of valuable orna- 
 ments he wore ; but the particulars are not known. These 
 incidental occurrences shew the value of itinerant labourers/* 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 GOVERNMENT RETRENCHMENTS PLAN FOR A COL- 
 LEGE DEATH OF MR. THOMASON ABOLITION OF 
 SUTTEE ARRIVAL OF BISHOP TURNER. 
 
 IT was on the 30th of January, 1829, that the 
 Archdeacon arrived at Calcutta from his visitation of 
 the Upper Provinces. He found some of his friends 
 preparing to leave India ; and others suffering from 
 the effects of climate. Among the latter was Mr. 
 Thomason, who had been returned to India only a 
 few months, but whose health had altogether given 
 way. With reference to such changes as were thus 
 going on around him, the Archdeacon writes 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " March 10, 1829. 
 
 " I cannot at present see it my duty to prepare for leaving 
 India. It is not, as you justly say, a country to grow old 
 in, but my health is wonderfully renewed, and the work 
 of missions, instead of becoming plainer, is daily becoming 
 more difficult. It would appear that ease makes men more 
 
CALCUTTA. 447 
 
 fastidious, yet the work does prosper. Piety does, how- 
 ever, appear now to be more requisite here than in New 
 Zealand, as you well know that men of mere worldly prin- 
 ciples can scarcely bring themselves to believe, that the 
 natives of this country need conversion. A person of these 
 principles going forth as a Missionary, therefore sits quietly 
 down among the people, and if he superintend a school or 
 two, thinks he does all that is practicable. 
 
 " Conjecture tires as to who may be our next Bishop, but I 
 think we might have learned from the past, to ' cease from 
 
 Then with reference to the measures which had, 
 about that time, been adopted, for the purpose of 
 revising and curtailing the whole expenditure of the 
 three Presidencies of India, the Archdeacon adds : 
 
 " All here are in amazement at the turning of all things 
 upside down, in the service ; and know not what to expect. 
 It is concluded that something is in view with reference to 
 the renewal of the charter, but what, no one can conjecture. 
 
 " As yet, we see not in ' the powers that be ' anything 
 more favourable to true religion, than formerly. Education 
 is encouraged, as it has been for some years past ; but, as 
 formerly, entirely from private funds. No hope of aid from 
 government is held out. The only favourable symptom 
 that I am aware of, is, that Mr. W. B. is to become a mem- 
 ber of the Committee of Public Education. He has had 
 experience of the ease with which Christian instruction can 
 be imparted ; and will do all he can to improve the present 
 system/' 
 
 Soon after the date of this letter, the Archdeacon 
 again alludes to the state of public affairs in a letter 
 
448 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER, 
 
 " At present there is great uneasiness throughout every 
 part of the community. The whole system of civil adminis- 
 tration in the upper branches, is changed, and the most lucra- 
 tive appointments cut off. The same duties are performed 
 by the same men in another manner, and on reduced emo- 
 luments. The army has been reduced two companies in 
 each Regiment, by which a crowd of young men are made 
 supernumeraries ; and the pay at some places is reduced, 
 which it is thought is only a prelude to its being reduced 
 generally. Among the natives great alarm has been occa- 
 sioned by an enquiry set on foot respecting all lakhrage 
 lands, not hitherto rated in the Government books. These 
 consist of religious endowments and lands granted by 
 former Governments for services done to the state. These, 
 in some cases, have been resumed, and no holder of such 
 estate is certain of retaining it. In the public offices many 
 clerks have been dismissed, and by the civil arrangements 
 above alluded to, very many are thrown out of employment. 
 So that no one of any class or condition is satisfied; and 
 some parts of the army are all but in a state of mutiny. 
 The most sober-minded I know of, think the making all these 
 changes together, injudicious. The necessity of economy 
 is the reason assigned for all this, but surely the splendid 
 entertainments given by the Court of Directors in London, 
 look not much like a necessity for taking from the mere 
 subsistence of subaltern officers. I try to be silent and to 
 wait the end. Certainly the personal character of our rulers 
 seemed to [promise] us brighter prospects as to the encour- 
 agement to be afforded to Christian plans and improve- 
 ment. But no they give liberally of their own substance 
 to Societies, but not a rupee, or a smile of approbation must 
 
CALCUTTA. 449 
 
 come from Government; so that the "system of Mendicancy" 
 must continue some time longer/' 
 
 With reference to the same subject, the Arch- 
 deacon writes : 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " Aug. 16, 1829. 
 
 " A thirst for learning English has discovered itself all 
 over the country ; which no doubt, looks hopefully, as to 
 improvement. It is dispiriting, however, that we have so few 
 Missionaries, and next, that the Government shut their eyes 
 more obstinately than ever against every thing in the shape of 
 Christian knowledge. In answer to an application for aid to 
 a school at Meerut, in which Mahomedans, Hindoos and 
 Christians are taught together, it was said, that it would not 
 be right to appropriate funds intended for native education to 
 instruct children of Europeans, i. e. Indo-Britons. And I 
 have been applied to for an opinion about the removal of 
 the Chaplain from Howrah, it not being right, Government 
 thinks, to supply from funds raised from natives, a religious 
 establishment for Europeans, except for the Company's ser- 
 vants. I am endeavouring, with no little anxiety, you will 
 suppose, to combat this view of things, and have been 
 much assisted in the matter by W. B. who is a near neigh- 
 bour. I wish you were nearer London, to speak a word to 
 some of your old friends, now in the Direction, to get a dis- 
 tinct recognition of the right of native Christians, including 
 country-born, to a share in the public measures for the im- 
 provement of the country. I have written to P. and shall 
 write to Mr. A. to ask it, as he may, of Lord E. and the 
 Board of Control. I am hopeless, yet the abstract right of 
 the claim might gain a hearing where personal interest is 
 
 2 G 
 
450 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 out of the way ; and the Government has always acted on 
 the principle that the country-horn should share." 
 
 Yet this settled determination on the part of the 
 Indian Government, to leave Christianity and Chris- 
 tian education to shift for themselves, had not the 
 effect of slackening Archdeacon Corrie's exertions 
 to secure by private aid, some of those advantages 
 for the Christian population, which he had solicited 
 in vain from public resources. Two months anterior 
 to the date of the foregoing letter, he had put into 
 circulation in Calcutta, the outline of a plan for es- 
 tablishing in that city an Institution, which should 
 aim at promoting the interests of true religion in con- 
 nection with large and liberal education. 
 
 In forwarding a copy of this outline, he writes : 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " Calcutta, August 19, 1829. 
 
 " By the enclosed, you will see what has been occupying 
 me, in part, for some time. The class of Indo-Britons, or 
 East-Indians, as they begin to call themselves, is increasing 
 very fast. Besides the number in charity schools, there are 
 not less than five hundred in boarding schools, in this place. 
 Not above one hundred perhaps can pay, so as to remunerate 
 the masters ; yet they are all descendants of gentlemen. 
 Hitherto they have generally been idle, and dissipated ; pos- 
 sessing all the vices of both father and mother, without any 
 of the redeeming points in either. You will conclude there 
 have always been exceptions. But, within these fifteen 
 years, a change has been going on ; and a great improve- 
 
CALCUTTA. 451 
 
 merit is becoming visible among that class. Yet they have 
 hitherto had no bond of union, and stand separate from all 
 established order. The Dissenters, being more on a level 
 with them in most respects, and really exerting themselves 
 for the improvement of this class, would gain the majority 
 of them ere long. I hope, if we can bring the plan of the 
 Prospectus to bear, we may succeed in establishing a con- 
 necting link between the Church of England, and these 
 really Colonists. The lower branch, or a Grammar-school, 
 is first to be attempted ; about twenty thousand rupees are 
 set down, in shares and donations ; and with a like sum in 
 addition, we shall be able to make a beginning. A master 
 will be wanted from England. We could, I think give him 
 a year, and a house, worth here on the lowest scale 
 more ; with a per-centage on any profits that might 
 
 arise We have a good deal to contend with : first, 
 
 our Governor-general, to my great dismay, has all but 
 avowed that the improvement of the Christian part of the 
 Indian community is no part of his duty. Next, a most ex- 
 tensive forgery of Government-bonds has been discovered. 
 Three hundred thousand pounds, it is said, is not the whole 
 extent of it. Many who deal in the funds, find they have 
 bought forged bonds ; consequently it is not a good time for 
 subscriptions. And last, not least, Liberalism prevails 
 here too, as in England ; and will neither do good itself, 
 nor agree to any scheme proposed by others, if religion be 
 included. But we must do what we can. ! my heart 
 sickens at the proceedings of Parliament \ and I feel re- 
 signed, at times, to give my bones to India, England being 
 no longer the land of attraction it was. Another discourage- 
 ment to the scheme inclosed is, that it has been declared to 
 be opposed to Bishop's College ; whereas it will prove a 
 powerful auxiliary, by supplying youths whose abilities and 
 dispositions have been tried as students, and candidates for 
 Missionary work. I am just now, also, much occupied with 
 a correspondence with Government, on the subject of sup- 
 
 2 G 2 
 
452 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE: 
 
 plying religious instruction to Christians not in the immedi- 
 ate service of Government. I hold that they ought to be 
 supplied. The correspondence, I expect, will be referred 
 home. But who cares for religion in high places at home ? 
 and what can the Archbishop do, his office being so little 
 set by ? " 
 
 It remains now to subjoin an outline of the Arch- 
 deacon's views, respecting such a liberal education 
 on Christian principles as, in his judgment, was cal- 
 culated to meet the anomalies and exigencies of the 
 several classes of British subjects in our vast Eastern 
 empire. He proposed, then, 
 
 " That a College should be founded in Calcutta, in which, 
 whilst the various branches of Literature and Science should 
 be made the subjects of instruction, an essential part of 
 the system should be, to imbue the minds of the youths 
 with a knowledge of the Doctrines and Duties of Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 " That this College should be, in every way, conformable 
 to the United Church of England and Ireland. But as 
 there are also many in this land who are not members of 
 that Church, and who are at present completely excluded 
 from the means of bestowing upon their children a liberal 
 education, it was further proposed that persons of all per- 
 suasions should be permitted to attend the various classes 
 in the projected seminary, under certain restrictions, but 
 without such restraints as should go to interfere with their 
 religious opinions. 
 
 " That in conducting the Institution, a liberal and en- 
 larged course of education should be pursued, adapted to 
 the respective attainments of the Students ; the College to 
 be divided into two departments, a higher department for 
 the elder, and a lower department for the younger students. 
 
CALCUTTA. 453 
 
 " The system to comprise Religious and Moral instruc- 
 tion, Classical learning, History, Modern Languages, Ma- 
 thematics, Natural Philosophy, Medicine and Surgery, 
 Chemistry, Jurisprudence, and other branches, as time and 
 circumstances might admit of and require. 
 
 " The College to be open to the sons of native Gentlemen, 
 as well as to all denominations of Christians ; and to be 
 divided into two sections, viz., one consisting of those who 
 should conform in all respects with the regulations of the 
 Institution, to be designated ' Members ; ' the other section 
 to consist of those only, who might attend the classes for 
 the purpose of receiving instruction. 
 
 " The advantages of the Institution to be available for 
 all Students, with the exception of some theological pri- 
 vileges, which unavoidably would have to be restricted to 
 the ' Members J of the College : no student, not being a 
 Member of the College, to be required to comply with any 
 religious form [of worship], provided he submitted to the 
 general system of education, pursued within its walls. 
 
 " The benefit of attending any course of Lectures in the 
 higher branches to be afforded to all who might be disposed 
 to avail themselves of it, under the preceding and such 
 other regulations as might be specified. 
 
 " All students entering as ' Members/ of the College, to 
 be required to conform in every respect, to the Doctrines, 
 Usages and Forms of the United Church of England and 
 Ireland ; and Members of the College only to be received 
 as resident students within its walls, and these to be subject 
 to such rules of discipline, and to such an extent, as may 
 thereafter be agreed and determined upon." 
 
 The great principle however, which it was pur- 
 posed to embody in the projected College was, that 
 whilst in a Christian community every system of 
 general education ought to comprise instruction in the 
 
454 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 doctrines and duties of Christianity ; and whilst, 
 in the then existing state of society in India, to compel 
 all students to comply with the forms of Christian 
 worship, would be to defeat the object which it was 
 conceived the Institution would effect, yet that in 
 all education the WORD OF GOD ought to form an in- 
 dispensable element. It was maintained by the 
 Archdeacon that without this, the acquisition of 
 other branches of knowledge could neither be con- 
 ducive to the happiness of the individual, nor to the 
 welfare of the state. It was, intended, also, that 
 the College should expressly have in view the up- 
 holding of the ancient Institutions of England, and 
 the inculcation of those doctrines and that discipline 
 which were professedly held and taught by the Esta- 
 blished Church. It was proposed, therefore, that 
 none should be " members " of the College, who were 
 not also members of the Church of England ; and 
 that these should, as a matter of course, be required 
 to be present at Divine Service to be performed 
 within the walls of the College, and to be instructed 
 as Church-of-England-men. 
 
 It was whilst matters of such public importance 
 engaged the attention of Archdeacon Corrie, that 
 intelligence of the death of Mr. Thomason reached 
 Calcutta. In noting that event the Archdeacon 
 writes to Mr. Sherer : 
 
CALCUTTA. 455 
 
 " You will have heard of the Church's loss in the death 
 of Mr. Thomason. A blank is made not likely to be soon 
 filled up. I preached a funeral Sermon last Sunday morn- 
 ing, (August 9), in his old pulpit, and did him what 
 honour I could, but far beneath his worth ." 
 
 The Archdeacon had, also, now to encounter a 
 bereavement which more nearly touched his natural 
 affections. His father had died during the spring 
 of 1829 ; and therefore, he writes 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 "August 27, 1829. 
 
 " Yours of the 6th of May, with Henry's note enclosed, 
 came to hand yesterday afternoon. The black seal led me 
 to forebode the event which the contents of the letter 
 confirmed. His great age made such an event probable, 
 and to be looked for ; and with the hope that we have that 
 death to him was gain, we cannot complain, much less 
 ' sorrow as those who have no hope/ A great, great blank 
 is, however, occasioned by my beloved Father's removal ; and 
 soon the elder branches of his family would be strangers to 
 those around them on earth, but for the dear charges given 
 to themselves." 
 
 From his Journal (now so rarely kept) some 
 insight into the Archdeacon's private communings is 
 obtained in the following memoranda : 
 
 " Sep. 11, 1829. 
 
 " If spared to the 20th, I shall have been twenty-three 
 years complete in India. Many things of late combine to 
 
456 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 weigh down my spirits. The defection of Missionaries, and 
 now of L. who though unwell, would not wish to stay if 
 well. The inclination of Government, to withhold all aid 
 from Christian ministrations, even among Christians : begin- 
 ning, at once, by withdrawing the Chaplain from Howrah. 
 The death of my father; and anxiety for my family, 
 constitute a load of care. I am not constitutionally prone 
 to despond ; but neither can I throw off impressions as some 
 can. The care therefore, of answering government, and 
 providing for Howrah. . . whilst they have rendered me 
 anxious, have, also, stirred me up to exertion. Yesterday 
 in conversation with the Governor-general, I was enabled 
 to speak freely, yet respectfully I hope, on the duties of 
 Missionaries. I pointed out to him the different line of 
 study, and reflection on Missionary callings, required from 
 that of a Minister to instruct Christians ; and the wrong 
 done to the English societies and the English public, by 
 employing Missionaries otherwise than as Missionaries : 
 and appealed to him^ that, notwithstanding the duty due to 
 this Government, whether as an English gentleman he could 
 wish the mother country to be burdened with the charge 
 of the religious instruction of India ? That, I was quite 
 certain, that by providing for the support of Christian 
 instruction, as occasions arose, (on a inoderate scale) that 
 this Government need not be burdened; and, at the same 
 time, England would be relieved. He said with regard to 
 Howrah, he would consider more of the matter/' 
 
 Sep. 19, 1829. 
 
 " In conversation with Sir Charles Grey y * on the sub- 
 jects lately started by Government, respecting the duty, or 
 otherwise, of applying revenues, derived from the natives of 
 this country to the support of religious worship among 
 Christian settlers, he said, the anomaly ought not to be 
 applied to that one subject alone : it commenced in our 
 
 * Chief Justice, 
 
CALCUTTA. 457 
 
 taking upon us to govern the country at all. A people of 
 strange tongue, and customs every way foreign to theirs, 
 come, and sit down among the Hindoos, and make them pay 
 for administering laws, to which they had been unused, and 
 introduce usages abhorrent to their modes of thinking. Now, 
 if we can do this in one respect, why not in another ? And 
 if in mere political and prudential matters, for their good, as 
 we say, why not in respect to religion, which we hold to be 
 the greatest of all good ? " 
 
 It will be seen that the same important subject had 
 been adverted to, in a letter, which in the prospect 
 of the renewal of the East India Company's charter, 
 the Archdeacon had recently addressed 
 
 TO THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. 
 
 " There are some circumstances in the state of ecclesias- 
 tical affairs here, which it seems desirable your Grace should 
 be acquainted with before the renewal of the East India 
 Company's Charter, with a view to their being put into some 
 way of order at least, and settled by an acknowledged rule. 
 
 " 1. It is not distinctly understood how the law of mar- 
 riage stands in this country. It is acknowledged that the 
 marriage acts have not had, and have not now, any force in 
 this country ; but Bishop Middleton held that this See, being 
 attached to the Province of Canterbury by Act of Parliament 
 or the Letters Patent, has become subject to the ecclesias- 
 tical law of England, which requires marriages to be cele- 
 brated by a Clergyman, and within Canonical hours. And 
 this rule was generally adhered to till the late Bishop con- 
 sented to an order of Government sanctioning marriages by 
 public Functionaries, both civil and military ; and directing 
 them to be registered by the Registrar of the Archdeaconry ; 
 
458 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 and thus matters stand at present. Some of our first 
 lawyers say, that marriage by a layman is to all purposes 
 good ; others say, only to some purposes ; that it binds the 
 parties, but confers no right of dower on the widow, or of 
 inheritance on the offspring. It is of great importance that 
 some declaration on the subject, by authority, should be set 
 forth. I know that a good deal of anxiety is at times ex- 
 perienced by some who have been married by laymen ; and 
 several sons of men of rank and property are among the 
 servants of this Government, who may eventually be deeply 
 affected, should any irregularity be discovered in the present 
 system. Up to March 1828, the Chaplains were on all oc- 
 casions applied to, to celebrate marriages, and they had often 
 long journeys to make for this purpose ; but now, unless they 
 be near at hand, many do not care to send for them, whilst 
 the sanction of the Government makes no difference whatever 
 in the law of the case. An easy remedy would be, the keep- 
 ing the number of Chaplains always full, taking measures 
 that Chaplains retiring should be obliged to an early deter- 
 mination on the point soon after their return to England, 
 and not, as at present, be allowed to linger on for years, keep- 
 ing their places unsupplied. An increase of Chaplains is, I 
 fear, out of the question ; yet would it not be, if but a common 
 regard for the credit of our religion and the religious wel- 
 fare of Christian subjects existed where it should. In many of 
 the districts of this Presidency, especially in those most favour- 
 able to the growth of indigo and sugar, and in some degree 
 in all of them, many Christian settlers have fixed themselves. 
 A District, your Grace will know, is as large as an English 
 county; and if a Chaplain were appointed at the chief 
 station, where most of the servants of Government reside, 
 and where there are generally from five to fifteen families, 
 they would be at hand to celebrate Christian rites in the 
 District ; and on Festivals, part of the Christians resident in 
 the District would resort for divine service to the head 
 station. If want of funds prevented such appointments, 
 
CALCUTTA. 459 
 
 the necessity must be patiently submitted to, but from the 
 ground-rent of the whole country, surely the East India 
 Company ought to make some reserve for religious purposes 
 beyond the mere wants of the military. But this is con- 
 nected with another point to which I would now entreat 
 your Grace's attention. 
 
 " 2. Hitherto it was thought here, that only the fewness of 
 the Christian portion of the inhabitants prevented appropria- 
 tions being made from the resources of Government for their 
 religious instruction : but it is now answered, that Christians 
 have no claim on Government for religious instruction, and 
 that in fact it would not be right to appropriate revenue 
 derived from the natives of this country, to the supplying of 
 Chaplains to Christian settlers. Now the settler, properly 
 speaking, (i. e. persons whose birth-place is in Britain, and 
 who are still looking to Britain as a home,) are few in 
 number. There are not above 1000 of that description be- 
 yond the boundaries of Calcutta, and not half a dozen of 
 them in any one place. They are scattered over the face of the 
 country. But if by settlers your Grace understand descend- 
 ants of Europeans born in this country, and of which class 
 many of the Indigo-planters, scattered up and down the 
 country, are, and include in them descendants of private 
 soldiers by native mothers, and children of all descriptions 
 of British, and who have been increasing for more than 
 100 years, it will, I think, appear that the term is not ap- 
 plicable to them. They are, to all intents, native-born sub- 
 jects of this Government, the offspring of the soil. Of this 
 class there are in Calcutta not fewer than 4000 ; and at all 
 the principal stations of the army, and in every place where 
 Europeans have been stationed, they are to be found from 
 30 to 300 at each. I have placed the subject in this light 
 that your Grace may be aware of the true state of the class 
 I have in view. 
 
 " It is said that European settlers have no claim on this 
 Government for a religious establishment. I will not stay 
 
460 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 to argue that point ; but then, I maintain, that these Indo- 
 Britons are native-born subjects of the British Indian Govern- 
 ment, and, therefore, have a claim on a Government not 
 only Christian, but proprietors of the land : in fact both 
 king and landlord. It has been officially announced that 
 schools in which the children of Europeans (i. e. perhaps 
 removed six generations from the European stock,) are taught 
 together with Hindoos and Mahomedans, have no claim on 
 the funds appropriated to native education. Shall we then 
 apply to the British Parliament for an annual grant, as for 
 Canada ? The main object then is to procure from the pro- 
 per quarter an acknowledgment of the duty of applying some 
 part of the revenue of this country to the education and 
 religious instruction of native Christians, in their propor- 
 tions, as to that of Hindoos and Mahomedans. 
 
 " It is only lately it has become known here that the 
 East India Company's Charter is to be renewed in the next 
 session of Parliament, which must plead my excuse for this 
 intrusion/' 
 
 It was about this time that Archdeacon Corrie 
 supplied the place of the Government chaplain at 
 Barrackpore, in the absence of the Rev. H. Fisher, 
 who had proceeded up the country. Except in that 
 particular, there occurred but little variety in the 
 occupations of the Archdeacon. His letters, how- 
 ever, mention his desire for the arrival of the Bishop. 
 Thus in writing to his brother he observes : 
 
 " I am by no means at ease in my appointment, from the 
 increasing ill-will of people who neither do any thing to 
 purpose themselves, nor will let those alone who are doing 
 what they can. And if I add, that we have at this time the 
 hottest weather I have ever experienced in Bengal, having 
 no cessation day or night, for nearly a week past, and no 
 
CALCUTTA. 461 
 
 immediate prospect of change the catalogue of ill may 
 seem complete. But, ! no ill have I experienced, com- 
 pared with the least I every day deserve ; and much of mercy 
 remains to mingle in the cup. The departure of my beloved 
 father from Colsterworth, seemed much to weaken my tie to 
 England, his death still more. This country may now be- 
 come my home for the remainder of my pilgrimage. My 
 strength is wonderfully renewed, yet I cannot conceive of 
 any in England, not positively ill, experiencing the lassitude 
 I am seldom free from. Yet the younger sons of the best 
 English families, are coming out in this service in crowds, 
 and even the heirs apparent to titles ; such we are told is the 
 difficulty of providing in any creditable way, for the sons of 
 the gentry." 
 
 The Archdeacon adds : 
 
 " I know not whether you have time to read Reviews. I 
 think they are, as far as the facts detailed can be relied on, 
 the history of Providence, and the last article * in the 
 Quarterly for April, seems on true grounds to forebode much 
 distress to' Britain. This also falls in, I think, with the 
 prophetic intimations respecting these times. I see no 
 ground whatever, for the doctrines of a ' Personal Reign/ 
 or a first literal resurrection, but I do think with Scott, 
 that the witnesses are about to be slain. Mr. Eaber's idea 
 of trouble at hand, seems just in agreement ; though I have 
 no idea of two Churches being represented by the ' witnesses/ 
 There can be but one true Church ; but whether it be the 
 witnesses continuing to prophecy in sackcloth, still, the re- 
 sult is likely to be the same ; and England now in league 
 with the Apostacy,f must not expect to escape the plagues, 
 under which it shall utterly perish. Babylon is already 
 
 * " On the state and prospects of the country." 
 t The allusion is to that legislative alliance with Popery which 
 marked the year 1829. 
 
462 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 fallen in the purpose of God, and unless England purge 
 away the leaven that has crept into her, with Babylon must 
 be her end." 
 
 About the middle of November 1829, the Arch- 
 deacon was released from much anxiety, and depres- 
 sion of spirits, by the return to India of Mrs. Corrie. 
 In announcing her safe arrival, he writes 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 Nov. 30, 1829. 
 
 " To me the mercy is beyond expression. You can never 
 know the depression of a separation such as I have ex- 
 perienced. Death alone could have rendered it more hope- 
 less, but scarcely less painful : but thanks be to God it is 
 over, and if it be His will, may no such trial befal me again ! 
 Our anxieties are now about our children. They seem 
 placed in most desirable circumstances : may the blessing of 
 God but attend the instructions they receive ! Whilst we 
 cannot but desire that they should acquire useful knowledge, 
 and not be altogether without the knowledge of the usual 
 manners of their class in life, our hearts' chief prayer and 
 desire of God for them is, that they may become wise unto 
 salvation/ ..... How precious that promise, ' I will be 
 thy God, and the God of thy seed ! ' But for this what 
 could we do for them at this distance ? But our God heareth 
 prayer ; He remembereth his ' covenant to a thousand 
 generations. In reading Deuteronomy, the expression, 
 'that it may be well withthee and thy seed after thee,' sup- 
 plies both a stimulus to duty and an encouragement. Whilst 
 we are about our Lord's work here, He will be merciful and 
 gracious to our children. " 
 
CALCUTTA. 463 
 
 It was now that there occurred an event of great 
 moral and political importance to India. All the 
 Missionaries in Calcutta and neighbourhood, had 
 some months ago presented a memorial to Lord 
 William Bentinck, respecting the cruel practice of 
 widow-burning ; and Government had been in the 
 habit of discouraging that revolting superstition 
 without venturing directly to prohibit it. But, after 
 satisfying themselves of the feelings of the Native 
 army and Native community, the Governor General 
 in Council, took the decisive step of adopting a 
 Regulation on the 4th of December, to the effect of 
 declaring " the habit of Suttee, or burning or bury- 
 ing alive the widows of Hindoos, illegal and punish- 
 able by the Criminal Courts." 
 
 Soon after the date of this Regulation, Bishop 
 Turner, (who had been consecrated in the preceding 
 May,) arrived in Calcutta. The Archdeacon having 
 mentioned in a letter to his brother, that the Bishop 
 preached in the Cathedral for the first time on 
 Sunday, 13th December, observes 
 
 " Bishop Turner seems to come in a spirit of Christian 
 conciliation. I will not say much lest I should be disap- 
 pointed. He is, however, liked, and will be popular in all 
 probability/' 
 
 Then after having stated how much the account 
 which Mrs. Corrie had given of his relatives in 
 
464 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 England, had " rekindled in him a desire to be again 
 among them," the Archdeacon adds, 
 
 " I am however thought, I find, a party man in Church 
 politics, and it may be so in part, but how far it is right or 
 not you cannot tell. I have said to H. that it is an easy 
 matter for you at home to cast your guinea into the trea- 
 sury of this or that Society, in the hope that good will 
 arise from it ; but the application of your bounty, is a more 
 difficult operation. Whether Jesus Christ shall be set forth 
 in the glory of His grace before the Gentiles, or shall be 
 made a mere ' Master of the ceremonies/ as Hervey * ex- 
 presses it, to introduce to the Divine presence human merit, 
 is no indifferent question. And here we have to decide upon 
 that question, in the application of English liberality. But 
 indeed, brother, I try to watch over myself in this respect 
 also ; and if I had opportunity, could cooperate with even a 
 Papist, in the conversion of the heathen. I do think, how- 
 ever, that what I have done has effected good." 
 
 Then with reference to the late Government Kegu- 
 lation he observes, 
 
 " If I should say nothing about the abolition of Suttee, 
 you would think it strange. Great honour has the Govern- 
 ment gained in this matter. Addresses of congratulation to 
 Lord W. B., from the European Society, and from the Hin- 
 doo also, and Mahomedan classes, are getting signed by 
 numbers." 
 
 To his Sister, also, the Archdeacon writes 
 
 " Dec. 17, 1829. 
 " The glorious abolition of Suttee, will distinguish the 
 
 * Theron and Aspasio, Dialog, vii. 
 
CALCUTTA. 465 
 
 present Government, when the discontent arising from re- 
 trenchment will be forgotten." 
 
 Then with regard to the expected renewal of the 
 charter of the East India Company, he adds 
 
 " The more general admission of Europeans into this 
 country seems determined upon ; which will help forward 
 the progress of Christianity, in its remote consequences; 
 but will probably ruin many in a temporal point of view. 
 From all I can learn, commerce is a losing concern to the 
 merchant generally. The mere agent, of course, deducts 
 his commission from the scanty produce, and thrives. But 
 what is all this to you, I begin to think, although, indeed, 
 in its consequences, it may extend even to Morcott. A few 
 years, I have heard some experienced men say, is likely to 
 produce a general crash ; and then our dividends and pen- 
 sions may be put in jeopardy : so that mere selfishness might 
 make one alive to national affairs ; whilst to the Christian 
 they supply matter for much prayer and solicitude before 
 God. My favourite theme, inspiration and song, is much 
 involved in all this progress of things. It may be that in 
 time of adversity men may consider how much their all de- 
 pends on God, and may become more careful of missionary 
 work, which is so peculiarly His own. We have had days of 
 ease and outward prosperity, and little heart has been found, 
 and little of a right spirit, even in those who favour the righ- 
 teous cause." 
 
 Of the new Bishop of Calcutta, the Archdeacon 
 observes 
 
 " He promises to be everything desirable in his station, 
 and you will be glad to hear that he approves of all my 
 public acts. I have shewn him, also, a letter which I wrote 
 to the Archbishop of Canterbury, all of which he approves 
 
 2 H 
 
466 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 and said, that he had nothing to do but to follow up the 
 views there stated." 
 
 Within a month of the date of this letter, one of 
 those failures in the mercantile world occurred, which 
 some " experienced men ' had anticipated. The 
 Archdeacon, writing " of general news," observes 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " Calcutta, Jan. 8. 1829. 
 
 " The failure of Palmer's house has created the most ex- 
 tensive ruin for a long time experienced. Three millions are 
 said to be the extent of the debts : they promise to pay half, 
 but it does not seem [to be] expected. This, with the for- 
 geries you have heard of, amounting, I am told, to twenty- 
 two Lacs, have given a lesson of the uncertainty of riches 
 such as perhaps never occurred, at one time, in any single 
 community before. It is impossible to enumerate the losses 
 sustained by individuals. Some reduced from wealth to 
 nothing ; others from a pittance to beggary. Truly ' riches 
 make to themselves wings and fly away/ but this will make 
 no one, it is to be feared, less eager in the pursuit of them." 
 
 After relating some private matters connected 
 with the state of society in Calcutta, the Archdeacon 
 proceeds 
 
 ' if The Bishop held his first Visitation last Wednesday, 
 the 6th inst. He had appointed me to preach, and after- 
 wards I was requested by the Bishop and Clergy to publish 
 the Sermon. The Bishop told me privately that it was the 
 thing of all others, he should wish to send to England at 
 this time. I feel grateful for the acceptance, whilst I can- 
 
CALCUTTA. 467 
 
 not but feel, that time and circumstances, and not the 
 merits of the Sermon, call it forth.* . . . The Bishop seems 
 bent on conciliation, with more decision than his prede- 
 cessor. ... He has become Patron of the Calcutta Bible 
 Society, President of the Church Missionary Society, and 
 is to preside this evening at a public meeting of the Bible 
 Association in the Town Hall. He has attended the exami- 
 nation of schools, at Mirzapore, Mrs. Wilson's school, the 
 Female Orphan Asylum, and other Institutions. - 
 
 " Jan. 16th. Among the sudden changes which occur 
 here frequently, not the least unexpected, is the severe illness 
 of the Bishop's Chaplain, and the necessity, as the doctors 
 affirm, of his return to Europe. In consequence, the Bishop 
 requested as a personal kindness, that we would take up our 
 abode with him. After two days deliberation, we have 
 agreed to do so, not without much apprehension on my 
 part. To keep a conscience void of offence, both towards 
 God and man, will, I fear, not be easy ; but many advantages 
 may arise from the arrangement, if we can but keep the 
 even path of duty. The Bishop may be rendered more 
 happy in his work ; and social prayer, which were he alone 
 must be omitted, will also help to keep up in him, as well 
 as in us, proper feelings as well as right views. I shall 
 benefit by his conversation, and learn somewhat of the 
 altered state of society in England, as all I hear leads me 
 to conclude. Our mutual official duties may be more rea- 
 dily effected, and the plans of the various Societies carried 
 forward." 
 
 The following notice of passing events, as given 
 in the same letter, may not be without interest : 
 
 * The text selected on this occasion was 2 Cor. iv. 5 ; the purpose 
 of the preacher was to shew 1st, " What is the subject-matter of a 
 faithful minister's teaching ; " and 2nd, what " His object and aim 
 in his labours." 
 
 2 H 2 
 
468 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " You would be delighted to see how crowded the Old 
 Church now is. Yesterday the Bishop preached there. 
 The city is now divided into parishes, and each is to have 
 its own vestry, and care of its own poor. Yesterday a ser- 
 mon was preached, and 1753 Us. collected for the poor of 
 the Old Church district. . . . The Bishop has confirmed 
 317 persons, which, considering that a confirmation was held 
 in June, 1828, shews a rapid increase of population." 
 
 On the 18th of February 1830, the Archdeacon 
 and his wife went to reside at the palace as the 
 Bishop's inmates ; and the following memorandum, 
 which occurs under that date, in his private Journal, 
 does but reiterate the sentiments contained in the 
 preceding letter : 
 
 " We have to-day entered on a new course, by taking up 
 our abode with the Bishop, on his invitation. It has been 
 the subject of much anxiety with us, and of prayer. The 
 reasons which determined us to this step are these : 1st. 
 The Bishop's kind invitation : His loneliness from the de- 
 parture of Mr. Carter ; and the hope that our being here, 
 may help to keep up the habits of domestic religion to which 
 he had for some time been accustomed. 2nd. On our own 
 part, the desire to benefit by his conversation and extensive 
 acquirements ; and to be workers together in the progress of 
 improvement, both in andoutof the Established Church, espe- 
 cially in the work of missions. 3rd As it respects our use- 
 fulness in society, we shall be prevented shewing hospitality 
 to the same extent as formerly ; and if it should prevent any 
 of our young friends, who are aiming at improvement in 
 personal piety, from visiting us, the change will be unfa- 
 vourable ; but it will, also, cut us off from much unprofitable 
 visiting and expence, to which, of late years, we have been 
 much exposed, and by which I have been much tried. 4th 
 
CALCUTTA. 469 
 
 We shall be much more under restraint than in our own 
 separate dwelling ; but shall at the same time see more of 
 each other, and for this we have been sighing for years past. 
 that we may but be enabled to improve the opportunities 
 afforded, to our mutual growth in every gift, and especially 
 in the love of the Saviour, as well as those things which 
 make for our everlasting peace ! For this we are insufficient 
 of ourselves. May the grace of Christ rest upon us, and 
 then shall we prosper ! " 
 
 During the year 1829 an edition of the Book of 
 Common Prayer in Hindoostanee having been printed 
 by the Calcutta Corresponding Committee of the 
 Prayer-Book and Homily Society, under the super- 
 intendence of Archdeacon Corrie, he forwarded a 
 copy of that important work to England, for the 
 purpose of having it presented to the public library 
 in Cambridge. His reason for doing this is thus 
 stated in a letter, of March 5, 1830, 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " I have been led to do this from our Bishop taking the 
 trouble to send a copy to the Bodleian Library at Oxford. 
 If it be worthy of a place in the one, as the Bishop thinks, 
 it may be equally so of a place at Cambridge." 
 
 The history of a work by means of which the 
 Services of the Church of England were first made 
 accessible to the Native Christians of Hindoostan, may 
 not here be omitted, especially as that history has 
 
470 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 been supplied by the Archdeacon himself, To the 
 Secretary of the Calcutta Corresponding Committee 
 of the Prayer-Book and Homily Society, he writes 
 
 " When I began this edition of the Book of Common 
 Prayer in Hindoostanee,* it was at first intended to have 
 altered very little from the Compendium, printed by the 
 Prayer Book and Homily Society in London, but a near 
 adherence to that model was soon found impracticable. I 
 will here state, that the above Compendium, which is usually 
 ascribed to the late Rev. H. Martyn, was the fruit of my 
 own labour fifteen years ago, and that with very inadequate 
 help. It seems but due to that eminent scholar, that I 
 should publicly avow this, as his translation of the New 
 Testament, shows how inferior the Compendium of the 
 Prayer Book is to his style, and how altogether unworthy of 
 his fame. The Compendium however, has answered an 
 important purpose; the want of something of the kind was 
 so much felt by many native Christians, that it was eagerly 
 adopted by them, and its imperfections even have gained 
 currency among them. 
 
 " It was at first intended, also to have printed a small 
 portion only of the new edition, with a view to collect the 
 opinions of competent persons, respecting the execution; 
 but the difficulty of obtaining such opinions, from the com- 
 plete occupation of the time of every public Functionary in 
 his official duties, is well known ; and the delay that must 
 inevitably arise on that plan, to the accomplishment of a 
 work much needed, seemed to urge the necessity of making 
 the most of present time, and of using the assistance pro- 
 videntially supplied, whilst it could be had. On this 
 account the whole of the Book of Common Prayer, including 
 every part of the Rubric and Articles of Religion, has been 
 printed. The State Prayers, as they are usually called, are 
 
 * The edition of 1820. 
 
CALCUTTA. 471 
 
 not included, nor the Psalms : the latter are printed sepa- 
 rately by the Auxiliary Bible Society, and can be supplied 
 in that form to congregations prepared to use them. After 
 the translation was finished, the native assistants were ne- 
 cessarily retained, till the work should be carried through 
 the Press : this afforded opportunity for translating the 
 Ordination Services also, and 100 copies were printed. Of 
 the whole Book three hundred copies have been printed ; and 
 to 100 copies of these are added the Ordination Services. 
 These, it may be said, are not likely soon to be brought into 
 use, but that seems no reason why the mode adopted by our 
 Church, in these services, and the scriptural sentiments 
 they breathe, should not be laid open to the natives of this 
 country. Besides these complete copies, 1000 copies of 
 the Psalter have been printed for more general distribution. 
 Owing to my absence from Calcutta, more of the Occasional 
 Offices were added than is usual in such a Compendium ; but 
 though a little more expence has thus been incurred, the 
 work is more valuable. One thousand copies, also, of the 
 Morning and Evening Prayers and Litany, with the occa- 
 sional Prayers and Thanksgivings, have been printed in 
 Nagree, for the benefit of Christians who use only that 
 character. 
 
 " It seems necessary to state, that some English terms 
 have been retained, an explanation of them being given in 
 parenthesis, where they are first used. On this point there 
 will probably be a difference of opinion, but as the English 
 terms are familiar to Native Christians connected with the 
 British; and the words, Sacrament, Baptism, and such 
 like, derived from the Latin Scriptures, are used by the 
 numerous Roman Catholic Christians of this country, the 
 retaining of them in the Prayer Book, is at least useful to 
 these classes, whilst it is obvious, that the words, Lent, 
 Whit-sunday, and some others, do not at all explain the 
 events they are used to distinguish, and a word common to 
 several classes of Christians, and to which they all attach the 
 
47*2 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 same meaning, may as well be used as any other, whilst it 
 tends to unite them by a common phraseology. 
 
 " The assistance I have received from a person brought 
 up in the country, and well versed in the writers, both in 
 Persian and Hindoostanee, most esteemed by learned 
 natives, allows me to hope that the translation, generally, is 
 likely to bear the test of candid criticism. The chief ob- 
 jection which I anticipate, arises from the difficulty of 
 clothing many ideas peculiarly Christian, in popular language. 
 The natives of this country, at the same time, generally 
 have the ideas themselves to acquire, and the Christian 
 teacher may therefore as readily explain the meaning of an 
 appropriate term, as, by using circumlocutions, lower the 
 standard of the language and keep his people in a low state 
 of mental cultivation. I will only add that often the at- 
 taching a shade of difference to the meaning of a word, 
 would lead to a conclusion unfavourable to the translator, 
 without cause : I am at the same time aware, that improve- 
 ments may be made in the work, and hope, if life and op- 
 portunity be vouchsafed, to bring forth hereafter a more 
 perfect edition." 
 
 In the same letter to his brother, which is referred 
 to above, the Archdeacon states 
 
 " Our affairs here go on in one uniform course of public 
 grumbling, and private discontent. All who are touched 
 by the retrenchments of Government, think they have 
 cause to complain, and the army are certainly hardly used. 
 But I try to have little to say in these matters. Missionary 
 matters and education, supply sufficient employment without 
 going into politics. We would fain make faster progress, 
 but sickness, and obstacles arising from climate, hinder us ; 
 and we must be content to follow the course of Providence, 
 and not to force it. 
 
 " You will have heard through Sherer, that we have 
 
CALCUTTA. 473 
 
 become part of the Bishop's household. I find his con- 
 versation very improving : he is naturally cheerful, and our 
 intercourse is easy and agreeable. A part of his plan is to 
 constitute his Archdeacons, his commissaries, and to dele- 
 gate to them the details of the respective Archdeaconries. I 
 continue, therefore, a Bishop in partibus still, and having 
 such opportunities of reference to the Bishop on all occa- 
 sions, I am not likely to commit the interests of the church. 
 The only point on which I differ from the Bishop, is on the 
 policy of allowing Missionaries to engage in English duties. 
 This is a far easier employment, than proper missionary work, 
 and it is, moreover, a misapplication of Missionary funds. 
 It will also prevent, I fear, the East India Company, from 
 contributing as they ought, to the support of a ministry 
 for their Christian subjects. 
 
 " I scarcely know what part of our history here will 
 most interest you. The abolition of Suttee will no doubt 
 be heard of all over Europe. The last year presented a 
 return of 800 widows, and upward, consigned to the fire 
 in this presidency. Of these upwards of 600 took place in 
 Bengal; so that in this one province the strength of the 
 practice lay. A considerable sensation has therefore been 
 felt in Calcutta, but no where else. At Benares, Suttees 
 have been even prevented, and the poor widow (glad no 
 doubt) retired quietly home, saying, Such was her fate. 
 What has been said against the abolition in Calcutta, has 
 been chiefly by some of the most wealthy. They are not, 
 however, united ; arguments pro and con are discussed 
 among themselves, with great freedom, and no little acri- 
 mony, and they exhibit the spectacle of a family divided 
 against itself. I wish you were more of a politician. We 
 require on the renewal of the East India Company's charter, 
 that some further expression of public opinion should be 
 shown, on the subject of Christian education. Years ago, 
 Mr. Wilberforce obtained that 100,000 rupees should be ap- 
 propriated towards the moral improvement of this people. 
 
474 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 by education. The said sum is indeed appropriated, but it 
 is to Mahomedan and Hindoo learning, such as it is : now 
 what is required is, that Christian education should also 
 have a share of the public support." 
 
 The following letter to Mr. Sherer, about the 
 same date, supplies some interesting particulars con- 
 nected with the state of society in Calcutta. 
 
 " We have been now nearly a month in the Bishop's 
 house. Our mode of life is as follows : prayers at eight 
 o' clock, when the bishop sometimes expounds ; and again, 
 also, at half past nine o'clock in the evening. We break- 
 fast after prayers ; have tiffin* at two o'clock, dinner at 
 half past six or seven. One evening, (Friday) any person 
 who is not afraid of the Bible, is welcome to come in at 
 eight o'clock, and after tea the Bishop reads and expounds, 
 and dismisses us with prayer. In the season of Lent, the 
 Bishop catechizes in the Cathedral, on Wednesday mornings, 
 and preaches in the evening on Fridays. He is frequently 
 at the Thursday evening lecture. He visited lately with me 
 at Burdwan, and takes a lively interest in Missions ; 
 preaches in Bishop's College Chapel, on Sunday evenings, 
 to the few students and others, and enters much into the 
 affairs of that institution. A Chapel is commenced at the 
 free school, and a Mariner's Church at the custom-house is 
 preparing, and the building of a Church at Howrah is in 
 progress. A form of an association for the better observance 
 of the Lord's day has been drawn up by the Bishop, and 
 sent to the Chaplains, and all the dissenting Ministers ; and 
 yesterday, sermons were preached in all the Churches and 
 Chapels here, on the duty of sanctifying the Sabbath. 
 From these particulars, you will judge what spirit he is of. 
 In our habitual intercourse he is cheerful, communicative, 
 and instructive ; and hitherto, all has gone on very happily, 
 
 * Luncheon. 
 
CALCUTTA. 475 
 
 with every promise of continuing to do so. Among the 
 changes the Bishop has brought about is, the establishment 
 of charitable committees connected with each church. 
 They have been in operation above a month, and promise 
 much good, both from the prevention of imposition, and 
 the right appropriation of charity. 
 
 The Hindoo College is working faster than its present sup- 
 porters wish. The youths are growing up free-thinkers; and 
 lately, some of them partook of a feast with one of the infidel 
 Christian teachers. The thing got wind, and the parents (one 
 a Brahmin) became alarmed. An inquiry was set on foot, 
 and the thing hushed up, but a strict injunction issued, that 
 religion in any shape should not be mentioned to the pupils. 
 It has occurred to me that these high and rich Hindoos, 
 may soon find themselves obliged to urge the Government 
 to pass a regulation, that loss of caste may not deprive 
 individuals of property. A pro-suttee party is set on foot. 
 Radah Cant Deb and others being members. They call 
 themselves the Dhurm Soubah (which, as you have been so 
 so long away, I may translate for you) " the righteous asso- 
 ciation ; ' ' but they have already fallen out about a treasurer : 
 and strong recriminations are published, which promise little 
 co-operation among them. 
 
 " how greatly do we need steady good men at Mirzapore. 
 The situation of the mission-premises is becoming more and 
 more important. All the modern reformed Hindoos reside 
 in that quarter ; and a man of fair attainments and attractive 
 character placed there, might become a mighty instrument 
 of good. Well : no doubt the right person will be forth- 
 coming in the right time." 
 
 As explanatory of the labours of Bishop Turner^ 
 mentioned above, it may not be out of place to state, 
 that of late years European paupers had increased 
 to such an extent in Calcutta, that not only had 
 
476 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the charitable funds in the hands of the Select Ves- 
 try at the Cathedral, become inadequate to meet the 
 exigencies of the distressed, but frauds had been 
 practised with such facility on the charitable part of 
 the community, that it became necessary to provide 
 for the fuller investigation of the cases of applicants 
 for relief. To remedy these evils a " Charitable 
 Society " was formed at the suggestion of the Bishop, 
 which was carried on by a Central Committee of Su- 
 perintendance aided by subordinate Committees, cor- 
 responding in number with the ecclesiastical districts 
 into which Calcutta was divided. 
 
 It will be seen, also, by the following memo- 
 randum, dated April 10, 1830, that the Archdeacon, 
 for his part, had not been unmindful of the necessity 
 of labouring for the public good, though his success 
 seems to have fallen short of his wishes. 
 
 " In reviewing the past year, much cause, both for humi- 
 liation and for gratitude appears. In my own experience, a 
 sense of defect and failure cannot but be felt. I can see 
 nothing accomplished either in a public or private view. 
 Nothing have I attained but to know more deeply that I am 
 nothing, and must be indebted wholly to grace : yea, to 
 grace pardoning grievous despite, leaping over opposition, 
 and ' carrying off the prey/ without corresponding effort on 
 my part to fall in with grace. In public I attempted [to 
 establish] a school for the country-born. The scheme was 
 too large ; and, in yielding this point to N . my own folly 
 appears. I failed also with Howrah, through the opposition 
 of unreasonable men. But both these objects are likely to 
 
CALCUTTA. 477 
 
 be attained by the Bishop : and in this ' I rejoice.' Let 
 good but be effected, and ( I will rejoice.' Other schemes 
 I had in mind for the furtherance and establishment of the 
 gospel, which are approved by the Bishop ; especially the 
 plan of endowments, in which I hope something may be 
 accomplished. I have been much tried in respect of Mirza- 
 pore. Expectations from the school baffled and likely to 
 fail, from the failure (for so it is in fact) of R. Missionary 
 prospects much clouded, from the lack of instruments. Yet 
 doubtless the working is advancing, and the gospel is spread- 
 ing. These are matters of much thought with me , 
 
 If I could, with propriety, withdraw to a quiet missionary 
 station, my mind would have what at all times seems best 
 for it ; but to withdraw from a post to which I have been called, 
 without a clear dispensation leading to it, would embitter 
 such a plan. I see nothing for it, but patiently to abide in 
 my present situation, and to wait till affairs indicate what I 
 ought to do. May I only be preserved from giving offence 
 in my public or private capacity ; and may I have grace to 
 improve opportunities of working in the service of the gos- 
 pel ! " 
 
 But notwithstanding this somewhat dispirited 
 view of the results of his labours, the hopes of the 
 Archdeacon respecting the establishing of a school 
 for the country-born, seemed about to be realized 
 so soon as that important project was taken in hand 
 by the Bishop. In a letter which the Archdeacon 
 wrote on the 23rd of April 1830, he observes 
 
478 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " I wrote to you some time since respecting a project for a 
 school in this city. We are still busy about it, and not with- 
 out hopes of succeeding in establishing it. Great obstacles, 
 however, occur. Our Government just now is too much on the 
 Utilitarian system ; which seems to mean, ' That every one 
 must do the best he can for himself, seeing that no aid is to 
 be afforded/ One thing this will work, which for this coun- 
 try will prove beneficial, whatever it may prove to Old Eng- 
 land it will render this country independent of England. 
 It is well, certainly, that the resources of this country, both 
 individual and general, should be called forth, and with a 
 little forbearing care, they might for ages be auxiliary to the 
 mother-country ; but by refusing present aid, unkind feelings 
 are called forth, and where no obligation is conferred on the 
 one hand, no gratitude is felt on the other./' 
 
 The letter in which the preceding observations are 
 contained, was not finished until the llth of May, 
 under which date the Archdeacon adds : 
 
 " Nothing further has occurred here worth remarking, 
 except that a master has unexpectedly turned up for the 
 Grammar- School. Pray do you ever think of India in a 
 political point of view ? How the charter is constituted, or 
 whether it can be altered for the better ? We seem to want 
 some attention from home ; and I would fain hope we shall 
 get it now the charter is again to be discussed. We are under 
 the regulations of the Government as to abode. If one 
 would establish a school, or promote education in any way, 
 we are liable to be banished to England, if Government 
 should not happen to like our project ; and, if it does, we 
 must ask leave to pay the expences out of our own pockets, for 
 
CALCUTTA. 479 
 
 not a Rupee will Government give : and yet in this presidency 
 alone, seven millions sterling are drawn annually from the 
 land, and as much more from monopolies of salt, and opium, 
 and from certain duties ! Is none of this to be laid out 
 otherwise than to promote increased dividends in Leadenhall 
 Street?" 
 
 An able head-master having thus been ob- 
 tained in the person of the Rev. J. Macqueen, it was 
 determined on the 4th of June 1830, to establish 
 the " Calcutta High School," on a plan arranged by 
 Bishop Turner. To provide for the educational 
 department, it was proposed to raise a sum of money 
 by transferable shares, which were to bear interest 
 arising from dividends of profits ; the shares to be 
 paid by instalments, and the proceeds to be vested 
 in the names of certain Trustees. A Committee of 
 management and visitors was appointed, and such 
 regulations agreed upon as were calculated to give 
 efficiency and stability to the school. But that at 
 which the Archdeacon chiefly aimed was, if possible 
 to obtain from Government, or the benevolence of in- 
 dividuals, an endowment for the School. But the 
 little prospect there was of assistance from the former 
 source will be collected from a letter written by the 
 Archdeacon 
 
480 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 June 17, 1830. 
 
 " Our increased acquaintance with the Bishop renders us 
 more at home with him, and we see more to admire in him. 
 He is by far best suited for this appointment of any who 
 have occupied it. With more practical knowledge of men, and 
 of parochial matters than any of them, he has large views of 
 usefulness ; and, with perfect propriety of language, states 
 them to Government. Had we a man who had any fixed 
 views of Government at the head of affairs, something effec- 
 tual might be accomplished for the religious welfare of India, 
 
 but when is on one hand, and on the other, 
 
 of Government, what can be expected but fancies and crudi- 
 ties ? And such seem most of the public acts at present. 
 
 " I may mention to you that in a Report on Ecclesiastical 
 affairs lately made up by the Finance Committee, the em- 
 ployment of missionaries generally, without regard to class, 
 and Roman Catholic priests, was recommended, to prevent 
 increase of chaplains ; and the principle broadly affirmed, 
 that Government is not bound to supply the means of grace 
 to any besides the European troops, to which the charter 
 binds them. This gave opportunity to state other views and 
 principles, which must have surprised certain persons not a 
 little. You need not be surprised, should you hear of the 
 Bishop's arrival in England a few months hence ; as it is 
 quite evident, that should the Home Government depend on 
 the information derived from this quarter, nothing will be 
 done for us in an ecclesiastical point of view ; and twenty 
 more years of this miserable system [will] be perpetrated, 
 which can only end in confusion almost irremediable." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 DISQUIETUDE CONCERNING THE ANGLO-HINDOO 
 COLLEGE DEATH OF BISHOP TURNER. 
 
 ON the 20th of June, 1830, Archdeacon Corrie 
 left Calcutta in company with the Bishop, with a 
 view to attend that Prelate in a visitation of the 
 Upper Provinces. They proceeded, however,, only 
 as far as Chunar, circumstances having decided the 
 Bishop to defer his Visitation of Delhi and the in- 
 termediate Stations. The Bishop and Archdeacon, 
 therefore, returned to the Presidency by the latter 
 end of September. One result of this journey was, 
 to create a greater anxiety than ever in the mind of 
 the Archdeacon, that in the contemplated renewal of 
 the East India Company's Charter, some more effici- 
 ent provision should be made for the spiritual wants 
 of India, than had hitherto been the case. On that 
 important subject he writes, 
 
 2 I 
 
482 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " Calcutta, Oct. 6, 1830. 
 
 " The times are troublous both at home and abroad ; dis- 
 content is spread through every branch of this service, in 
 many cases unreasonably, in many the privations actually 
 inflicted cause much distress. Your political atmosphere 
 seems very cloudy ; what may follow the death of George IV. 
 we dare not conjecture. It affects my mind especially, with 
 reference to the renewal of the East India Company's charter. 
 ' The Lord reigneth/ might well serve on this head, as on the 
 affairs of England; but I have no call to interfere in the 
 latter, whereas I must plead for India. Do, beloved bro- 
 ther, look about for aid in this matter; affairs here in 
 reference to religion are more and more pressing. The 
 young civilians are now sent out of Calcutta soon after 
 their arrival, qualified or not, so that at the small stations, 
 there are more than formerly. You will remember that out- 
 of-the-way place Azimgurh : there are five civilians, three 
 young officers, and a doctor, with the usual Cranies : * 
 such is the general increase at our Stations. Now, a Chap- 
 lain at each of such stations, is too much at present to 
 expect, but such a number as would admit of a Chaplain 
 from Benares, Gazeepore, or Gorruckpore, visiting the 
 subordinate stations at stated intervals, might and ought to 
 be allowed. Instead of this, it is recommended from this 
 [Government], to reduce the present number of Chaplains 
 seven, and to secure the occasional services of Missionaries, 
 of any and every persuasion, and to abolish the Scotch 
 establishment altogether. Our House of Commons seems 
 indeed at a low ebb. From what a height of splendour, in 
 eloquence and lofty feelings at least, is Parliament fallen. 
 I look in vain for an advocate for poor India, in all that 
 
 * Writers. 
 
CALCUTTA. 483 
 
 passes, at least as reported here, Perhaps a dissolution of 
 Parliament may bring to light some ' gem of purer ray ;' 
 though it is rather to be feared lest India be lost sight of 
 amidst contending politics at home. I can tell you in con- 
 fidence, that our Bishop has represented to the powers 
 here, that by such a scheme of Church arrangements as 
 above, Government would recognise Missions, which they 
 have never done ; have no control over the agents so autho- 
 rised ; and that by a variety of procedure in those employed, 
 confusion probably would ensue. Whereas if they are 
 serious in their attempts to extend sound knowledge, by 
 extending the Church establishment, and taking more pains 
 than at present to secure fit persons, they might provide a 
 body of most efficient agents in forwarding the improvement 
 of the country. I need not tell you, except to refresh your 
 memory, that were a Clergyman of respectable character 
 and attainments placed at Krishnaghur, and every ether 
 S udder * Station, the indigo-planters would in time avail 
 themselves of his services, by coming in with their families at 
 the Festivals, or receiving occasional visits at their houses ; 
 besides, there might be a school under his own eye at 
 home. Would not many of the planters be induced to estab- 
 lish a school each, which the Chaplain would occasionally 
 visit, &c. ? All this has been stated to the Governor General, 
 who at the time is friendly, but is hopeless as to the Court 
 of Directors. Our Bishop is of opinion that were the sub- 
 ject taken up judiciously at home, by a person not suspected 
 of party spirit ; and the Bishop of London, and Archbishop, 
 who are both desirous of India's religious welfare, were 
 judiciously instructed how to proceed, and fully and truly 
 informed of the state of things here, that the Duke of 
 Portland, for instance, and many in high places would join 
 in furthering an extension of Church establishment, along 
 with other measures. The subject taken up singly, our 
 Bishop fears, would not find sufficient patronage. I have 
 '* Chief station. 
 2 I 2 
 
484 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 said all I can, to urge our Bishop to go home himself. It 
 would, I know, be a venturing of everything, and myself, 
 perhaps, durst not, were I in his place, make the venture, 
 yet circumstances seem to call for it. 
 
 " A controversy has arisen on the subject of missionary 
 exertions, most unexpectedly. The whole history is in 
 point. I will send it to you by Captain J. next week. The 
 missionary of the Scotch General Assembly, and Mr. Hill, 
 opened a Lecture in a house in the square, opposite to the 
 Hindoo College : some of the youths attended ; the College 
 council forbad them ! " 
 
 The history here referred to, is too instructive to 
 be omitted. It appears that not only serious chris- 
 tians, but the friends of morality and social order 
 generally, and many of the parents of the students 
 in the Hindoo College, had become alarmed at ob- 
 serving, that whilst the system of education pursued 
 in the College was subverting the pupils' faith in 
 Hindooism, it was substituting no other faith in- 
 stead. Many of the students, in fact, were becoming 
 sceptics, others downright atheists. To obviate, if 
 it might be, the mischievous consequences likely to 
 result from such an education as that, it was deter- 
 mined to give the students an opportunity for becom- 
 ing acquainted with the evidences of Natural and 
 Revealed religion. In order to this, Mr. Duff, the 
 Missionary of the Scotch church, having offered the 
 use of his rooms for the purpose, Mr. James Hill, 
 one of the Missionaries of the London Society, began 
 a course of lectures on the evidences of religion ; 
 
CALCUTTA. 485 
 
 and many of the students of the Hindoo College 
 attended. The subjects discussed were exclusively 
 religious, and were listened to with marked attention. 
 But no sooner did it reach the ears of the Managers 
 of the Anglo-Indian College that these lectures were 
 attended by some of the students, than that atten- 
 dance was prohibited by a public order ; as if Chris- 
 tianity were the only religion that ought not to have 
 a hearing. It was stated at the time, in excuse for 
 such of the managers of the College as were Euro- 
 peans, that they had signed the order of prohibition 
 with a great degree of reluctance, and only because 
 some of the parents of the students had required the 
 council to interfere ; but it was not easy to under- 
 stand how the interdicting of those Students from 
 listening to Christian missionaries, could be distin- 
 guished from an act of religious persecution. With 
 regard to the principle on which the Hindoo College 
 was carried on, it was stated by Archdeacon Corrie 
 in a letter to Mr. Sherer, that at the first interview 
 which the Archdeacon had with Lord William Ben- 
 tinck, he was led to observe to his Lordship that the 
 College was breeding up a race of Infidels and Phi- 
 losophers so called ; and that the first petition for a 
 Colonial council would probably come from thence. 
 
 The same subject forms a prominent portion of a 
 letter, in the following month, 
 
486 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " Calcutta, Nov. -4, 1830. 
 
 " I wish sometimes I could have an hour's conversation 
 with you, for I know not how to set about writing all you 
 would like to hear. Ram Mohun Roy is a passenger in the 
 Albion. It is said he is become a Fakeer, and does not 
 lose caste by this proceeding. He has not called on the 
 present Bishop. The Hindoo college is working the ruin 
 of caste; and, unless better principles be insinuated, the 
 ruin of British interests. Miss B. visited the college last 
 week, and examined one of the classes in history. She 
 asked about America, and was informed very accurately of 
 its form of government, with high commendations of the 
 limited power of the President ; and also of the office being 
 elective. On being asked if this had always been the con- 
 dition [of that country,] ' It was answered, " That they 
 were formerly a Colony of England, but that on being taxed 
 excessively, they had taken upon them the governing of 
 themselves, as," said the youth, " we shall one day do." To 
 the question, of what religion were the Americans ? 9 It 
 was answered, ' Protestant Christians generally, and that 
 Unitarianism was making rapid progress among them/ Mr. 
 Duff, the Scotch Missionary, goes a good deal into the 
 debating Societies, which these Bengalees have established 
 lately among themselves. Politics and religion are excluded 
 from the subjects of discussion, but when discoveries in 
 science or government happen to come up ; France is eulo- 
 gised unboundedly, and America ; but England, if referred 
 to, always depreciated. Thus our Rulers are preparing a 
 scourge for their own backs. ... I hope, too, the coun- 
 teracting influence is at work. Mr. Duff has a school of 
 upwards of 200, in the Chitpore road, in the house where 
 first the Anglo-Hindoo College was held. The Methodist 
 missionaries have established themselves in that street, a 
 little below the Nietta Bazaar, and have a school of 115 
 
CALCUTTA. 487 
 
 Portuguese boys, and also some girls ; and are collecting a 
 Congregation of that class. We have seventy boys at Mir- 
 zapore ; and now a regular congregation of upwards of thirty 
 Christians. Mrs. Wilson goes on as usual ; and a school is, 
 I hope, in a fair way of being permanently established on 
 the ruins of the Grammar School. It is called the ' High 
 school/ and has ninety scholars, country -born. A very 
 energetic master is at the head of it. A Mariners' Church 
 has been fitted up just behind Fairlie and Go's, house in the 
 Strand. The attendance of sailors has not yet been large, 
 but we hope the place is gaming attention." 
 
 Soon after the date of the foregoing Letter, the 
 Archdeacon was attacked by fever, which almost 
 incapacitated him for attending to any public duty. 
 The transition, from the hot to the cold season, was 
 this year so sudden as to cause great unhealthiness in 
 Calcutta. The Archdeacon complained, in his cor- 
 respondence, of feeling great debility, and an " in- 
 efficiency arising from lengthened residence in that 
 wasting climate." It was during this sickness that 
 the following memorandum was penned : 
 
 " Nov. 21, 1830. I have had much meditation of late 
 on the inward witness of the Spirit, as a part of Christian 
 experience which few cultivate as they ought. Besides the 
 acknowledging of the truth of God's word, there must be 
 an acquaintance with, and belief of its contents ; and the 
 experience of it as influencing our tempers and every action. 
 Without this latter, there can be no * assuring of our hearts 
 before him.' May I be enabled to realise this latter truth, 
 and persevere in seeking such realising views of God's mercy 
 in Christ, as shall enable me to say, * He loved me, and 
 gave Himself for me ! With this witness I shall be enabled 
 
488 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE, 
 
 to pass on the few years that seem to remain, with more 
 courage, decision, and usefulness." 
 
 It was not till the middle of January 1831, that 
 Archdeacon Corrie recovered some degree of health. 
 Then it was that he writes, 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " January 15, 1831. 
 
 " We are, through God's goodness, in our usual health 
 again. I had been ill since the beginning of November 
 with a cold, and for a time, with fever. The news from 
 France * has given occasion to balls and dinners, and 
 speeches at the Town-Hall here : may excesses be prevented, 
 and may the liberty obtained for Divine truth, be used for 
 extension through the whole continent of Europe. Doubt- 
 less, ' The time of the end is coming/ but what its distinct 
 features will be, I think the Scriptures do not define, except 
 as to the righteousness and peace that shall prevail. Here 
 truth advances with slow steps, but it is on the advance, 
 doubtless Missions are every where receiving addi- 
 tions to their converts, though you know how little as yet 
 the people can be said to be interested." 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 " February 24, 1831. 
 
 " Missionary work looks more encouraging than I have 
 ever known it here. The classes are adding to their numbers, 
 especially in the villages to the south and west of Calcutta : 
 at a village called Rass-poonjee twelve miles south east, 
 the Church Missionary Society has a school. I was there 
 on Monday last with our Missionary ladies. There are 
 about fifty children, and a new movement appears in sixteen 
 
 * Respecting the revolution which placed Louis Philippe on the 
 throne. 
 
CALCUTTA. 489 
 
 adults formed into an exercising school to learn to read. 
 The school-house was filled with people, who listened very 
 seriously, in several instances, with marks of approbation : 
 whilst, through a native Christian who understands English, 
 I set before them the fall of man, and the means of his re- 
 storation to God and happiness. 
 
 " Mrs. C. and I went to Burdwar last week. . . . We staid 
 a week with the Vs. Twenty-two of the European resi- 
 dents attended the communion on Sunday. Among them 
 your shipmate, M. S. who is judge there. A gratifying fact 
 was established from considerable observation, that not an 
 individual educated in the Mission-schools, has been brought 
 as a culprit before the magistrate there. The D's have also 
 120 girls in four schools. I was grieved to observe that 
 amongst these favourable appearances there are few in- 
 stances of conversion so deep as one could wish. The 
 natives see the temporal advantage of being under a sahib's 
 protection, and though sufferings connected with loss of 
 caste are, to a degree, unavoidable, other benefits accrue to 
 them. This is evidently favourable to the general diffusion 
 of Christian knowledge, but we need greatly, more of the 
 Holy Spirit's grace. This has set us on a union in prayer, 
 after the method proposed by Mr. Brown in 1802. I will 
 send you soon some of the ' proceedings." 
 
 " A newspaper called ' The Reformer," has been set on 
 foot by natives, in English, of which four (weekly) numbers 
 have appeared, which I will also send you. f The school- 
 master is abroad/ but, as I have stated before, the influence 
 at work in the ' Reformer/ and all in that connexion, is 
 anti-English, and Christian only, as it cannot help being 
 so.* But you will be glad to hear that a lecture on 
 ' Morals/ is proposed for the Hindoo College." 
 
 * Nothing could be worse than the state of the Native press about 
 this time. Besides papers published in English, there were nine 
 or ten in the Bengalee language, some of which contained the most 
 polluting language and sentiments. 
 
490 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Then after referring to some of the religiops 
 movements which have already been mentioned, the 
 Archdeacon adds, 
 
 " With all these favourable appearances, you will under- 
 stand that many perplexities arise in the detail of things. 
 The truth of that saying often appears ' that if Christianity 
 were not divine, its own friends would prove its ruin/ It 
 may not appear so manifest at home, but here, where the 
 contrast between truth and error is so marked, the errors of 
 those holding the truth work much evil. . . . Would that 
 we had some addition to the * moral strength,' as Lord 
 Wellesley used to call it, of our department ! What will 
 the new Charter produce ? He who knoweth the end from 
 the beginning, is well aware j and knoweth how to overrule 
 all to his own glory ! for a stronger faith to look within 
 the veil, and to credit what the Saviour saith both in respect 
 to one's self and the world at large ! I know not how it is 
 with you, but I cannot but feel that the evening of life is 
 drawing on ; and the expectation of escaping from these un- 
 certainties to the possession of eternal realities, is at times 
 welcome." 
 
 The " union in prayer," to which the Archdeacon 
 here refers, was the result of a meeting of Clergymen, 
 held at his suggestion, in the Old Church rooms in 
 Calcutta, on the 28th of the preceding month, " to 
 take into consideration the propriety of uniting in 
 prayer, and engaging others to do so, for the out- 
 pouring of the Holy Spirit." It seemed to himself, 
 and others conversant with India, that the state of 
 religion among professing Christians, and the widely 
 extended ignorance and error of heathen nations, 
 
CALCUTTA. 491 
 
 were such as to call forth the sympathies of all who 
 desired to further the prosperity of the Church of 
 Christ, and the conversion of the world. Considering, 
 however, that it is only by the Almighty power and 
 grace of God the Holy Ghost, that " the whole church 
 is governed and sanctified," and that the preaching of 
 the Gospel is in an age or country made effectual to 
 the conversion and salvation of those who hear, it 
 was agreed by the Archdeacon and his clerical 
 friends, to set apart individually a stated portion of 
 time for the purpose of praying God " the Father, 
 that for Christ's sake, He would pour His Spirit 
 upon all flesh. " They agreed, also, to engage 
 their congregations and friends, as much as possible, 
 to unite with them severally in prayer, at the same 
 stated time and for the same great object. The reso- 
 lutions agreed upon at the meeting were subscribed by 
 the Archdeacon and the other Clergymen, and were 
 embodied in a circular, in which also were pointed 
 out the special objects for which the influences of the 
 Holy Spirit should be sought. This circular seems 
 to have been reprinted, and made the subject of 
 supercilious animadversions in some of the Calcutta 
 newspapers. Nor was that matter for surprise ; 
 since persons who had deluded themselves with the 
 belief that science and merely secular education, 
 were alone sufficient to make man what God would 
 have him to be, could not be expected to understand 
 
492 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 and enter into the convictions of those who regard- 
 ing the grace and influence of the Holy Ghost to be 
 essential to the true civilization of the world, prayed 
 and laboured accordingly. 
 
 The allusion by the Archdeacon to the " errors of 
 those who held the truth/' was called forth by the 
 circumstance that some in India had been un- 
 settled by a Treatise on Faith, written by Mr. 
 Thomas Erskine, a Scotch advocate, and which had 
 recently reached Calcutta. This book, though of but 
 ephemeral existence, seems to have produced discus- 
 sion at the time, and excited in the Archdeacon 
 some fears lest it should have diverted the attention 
 of his friends from the great truths which accompany 
 salvation. His own reflections on Mr. Erskine's 
 opinions are contained in a memorandum, dated 
 
 "April 10, 1831. To-day I have attained fifty-four 
 years, and of these, twenty-nine spent in the ministry. In 
 review of the past, chiefly unprofitableness and unfaithful- 
 ness is to be seen. My own defects are certainly becoming 
 more apparent to myself : the fulness and freeness of the 
 Gospel become increasingly glorious, and nothing but full, 
 free, unconditional forgiveness of all sin, and justification 
 from all things, would meet my case. With reference to 
 the past year, I do hope some progress has been made. 
 Much enquiry has been stirred up by Erskine's view of the 
 Gospel : I have examined it with much anxiety, but see no 
 reason to change my former views on that subject. Pardon 
 is full and free to all who receive Christ, because life eternal 
 
CALCUTTA. 493 
 
 is in Him ; and whosoever receives Him cannot fail of life 
 eternal, yea, possesses it with Him. There may be some 
 occasion for Mr. E's charge against some for referring ex- 
 clusively to fruits as an evidence of faith. I think I have 
 met with some who, whilst they acknowledge justification to 
 be exclusively of faith, yet depend on works to justify their 
 faith ; and thus their dependence, after all, is on works. 
 Such, as far as I know myself, is not my feeling." 
 
 It has here to be stated that Bishop Turner had 
 quitted Calcutta at the end of September 1830, 
 with the intention of visiting the other Presidencies. 
 His Lordship had proceeded overland from Madras 
 to Bombay, and from thence had gone to Ceylon. 
 During his Visitation he had maintained a regular 
 correspondence with Archdeacon C. and seems now 
 to have been on his way back to Calcutta ; for the 
 Archdeacon writes, 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " Calcutta, April 80, 1831. 
 
 " Our kind Bishop is not yet returned, but we are expect- 
 ing him daily. He left Colombo on the 4th for Jaffna, &c. 
 to Madras ; and thence by sea hither. He is much out of 
 heart with Ceylon in everything but as respects Missionary 
 work ; and he says that the Church Missionary Society 
 has done, and is doing enough there, to answer all the 
 expenditure ever incurred by it. I am desiring him back 
 greatly, the times seeming to call for him here, for which 
 his wisdom and pious liberality will, I hope, be found just 
 suited." 
 
494 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Then follow some instructive particulars respecting 
 the Anglo-Hindoo College. 
 
 " The Hindoo college you knew when yet in embryo, and 
 your conclusion of an argument with H. M. is beginning to 
 be realized, f Well, well, build away, and some will come 
 after you who will use it in a proper manner.' The mode 
 proceeded on, has succeeded in detaching many of the 
 Hindoo youths from religion of every kind. In sentiment 
 this has appeared for three or four years, it now begins to 
 appear in practice. At the late East Indian dinner, sixteen 
 Hindoo lads had bought tickets to go, actually determining 
 to break through all restraints. This was however prevent- 
 ed ; Sir E. R., Mr. C., and J. Y. were the means of pre- 
 venting their young friends from doing this open violence to 
 Hindoo feeling ; but one youth of the Moterjee family has 
 left his home, and taken a house, determined to live 
 in European fashion. He was, also, about to marry a 
 young woman of Portuguese origin, one of the De Rozio 
 family, but this I am told is put off. The main mover in 
 the meeting among the Hindoos is D., the poet. Mr. H. 
 "W. became so convinced of the need of morals to the 
 Hindoo College system, that he proposed a moral philosophy 
 lecture, and D. as the lecturer. W. B., who is one of the 
 Committee of Public Education, let his colleagues, who 
 had consented, know the character of D. and it was agreed 
 best to postpone the appointment; and now D. is dismissed 
 from the Hindoo College on a charge, by respectable 
 Hindoos, of Atheism. He stoutly denied the charge ; but 
 they said, ' We see your works/ It is evident the English 
 I have named, are at their wit's end. The young men 
 say, they will no longer be guilty of the hypocrisy 
 of upholding Hindooism. Christianity they have been 
 warned against as an English prejudice ; and they seem to 
 hate Christianity and England heartily. Their advisers now 
 say, ( Wait for Ram Mohun Roy's return/ In the mean 
 
CALCUTTA. 495 
 
 time, some of the youths are gone to other schools. Up- 
 wards of fifty have left the Hindoo College, six are entered 
 at the High School. Mrs. Wilson has a party daily of from 
 ten to fifteen who come expressly to read the Scriptures with 
 her. One begged for an English Testament, Mrs. W. said, 
 ' You can understand Bengalee better/ but, said she, ' I dare 
 not take a Bengalee one home. An English one my friends 
 will not suspect, and I can read it at leisure. Two come 
 daily to Mr. Sandys at Mirzapore, professedly to be assisted 
 in preparing their lessons ; but they always also read the 
 Bible. They are not of the first in wealth ; that class seem 
 to a man opposed to every thing English. Not a movement 
 in favour of religion in any form is heard of. This has 
 arisen in a degree, from the part R. and his friends,* have 
 been and are playing. They complain as if they had lost 
 mighty privileges once in possession, and claim to be em- 
 ployed by the state, as a matter of right. This I think has 
 arisen from Government having withheld all patronage from 
 plans of Christian improvement. The little they are ad- 
 vanced above former days, is entirely through their own 
 exertions. Yet two thirds of them are raised above the 
 station their fathers held, and their pretensions are ridicu- 
 lous. With them, however, the enlightened Hindoos seem 
 disposed to make common cause. They can effect nothing 
 at present, but the impolicy, not to say the sin, of with- 
 holding Christian instruction is now beginning to appear." 
 
 In a letter to Mr. Sherer of a somewhat later date, 
 the Archdeacon mentions other incidents connected 
 with the Hindoo College, which may here be fitly 
 related. 
 
 " The Hindoo College," he writes, " has borne some 
 
 *. These were the Anglo-Indians, who, for some time past, had 
 been clamouring for political privileges. 
 
496 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 fruit, not agreeable to those who planted it. The young 
 men are many of them licentious to a degree. The more 
 moral of them are scoffers at all that is good. One very 
 clever youth, after feasting with his friends on beef, &c. 
 threw the bones into a neighbouring Brahmin's compound.* 
 The Brahmin and his friends attacked the convivial party, 
 and a sad. fracas ensued. One of the lads comes often to 
 me, and I am not without hopes of him." 
 
 Bishop Turner arrived in Calcutta on the 4th of 
 May 1831, but he was in a state of health, which 
 excited much apprehension among his friends. As 
 also, his health continued to decline after his return 
 to Calcutta, a voyage to Penang and New South 
 Wales was recommended, in the hope that his valu- 
 able life might be prolonged ; but the rapid decay of 
 the Bishop's strength rendered it necessary for him 
 to abandon all thoughts of leaving home. On the 
 29th of June a still further change for the worse took 
 place ; so that Archdeacon Corrie writes, 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 "July 4, 1831. 
 
 " I regret to say that our Bishop is in but a very in- 
 different state. He came back to us early in May unwell ; 
 and the debility has increased till hope of his continuance 
 
 * It will be remembered that animals of the ox-tribe are sacred 
 among the Hindoos ; so that whilst the " feasting on beef" manifes- 
 ted the greatest contempt for Hindooism on the part of the youths ; 
 no greater insult and profanation could have been inflicted on the 
 Brahmin than to have ox-bones thrown into his premises. 
 
CALCUTTA. 497 
 
 among us is well nigh taken away. His disease is some 
 internal disarrangement. This was excited into activity by 
 the fatigue and heat he had to endure whilst on his visitation 
 of the other Presidencies. He is dying, we fear, of debility, 
 with occasional paroxysms of short breathing. . . I do not 
 like to give up the hope of his living : though it would seem 
 unbrotherly under these circumstances, to let a ship go 
 without acquainting you with our state. To me the loss 
 would be the greatest I have experienced out of my own 
 family. The kindness and confidence with which he has 
 treated me, and the benefit I have derived from his conver- 
 sation, must ever be deeply felt. To the Indian Church 
 the loss will be greater than any yet suffered. He unites 
 the best qualities of his predecessors, with the knowledge 
 of the business of a clergyman, in the conducting of schools, 
 management of charities, &c. &c. Just now [three P. M.] 
 his medical attendant reports the Bishop worse. The Lord 
 be gracious to this land, and bring light out of this 
 darkness ! " 
 
 Within three days of the date of this letter, the 
 Indian church was deprived for the fourth time of its 
 chief Pastor, by the death of Bishop Turner. 
 Among the Archdeacon's papers is the following 
 account of the last illness of the Bishop. 
 
 "On Saturday evening, the 2nd of July, the Bishop 
 first spoke to me as if he were not to remain in India. 
 After our evening drive I accompanied him up stairs, and 
 he indicated a wish that I should sit down with him in the 
 drawing-room. ' He was going to Penang/ he said, ' and 
 if he did not recover there as he expected, should proceed 
 to New South Wales. He now had seen enough of the 
 Diocese to judge of the state of religion generally amongst 
 us. He thought the state as favourable as, under present 
 
 2 K 
 
498 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 circumstances, he could well expect. He judged too it 
 would be progressive. There is a sad deficiency of clergy, 
 but, notwithstanding, many active agents are at work : ' and 
 he alluded to several laymen, especially officers, of whom 
 he had spoken, as wisely and diligently attending to schools 
 in different places he had visited. ' That no difficulties 
 manifested themselves, at present, in the administration 
 of ecclesiastical affairs, and that he should leave India with- 
 out anxiety/ 
 
 " 2. The Bishop had intended to have crossed the river 
 next morning, in order to partake of the Lord's Supper, in 
 Bishop's College Chapel. I was afraid he might not be 
 able ; and had made arrangements for the duty at Barrack- 
 pore, in order to remain with him : as I had, indeed, before, 
 from his saying early in June, after he could not go to 
 church, 'these dull Sundays destroy me/ I had, there- 
 fore, remained at home two Sundays ; and though he said 
 nothing on the subject, I had the satisfaction to see that it 
 was agreeable to him. On the evening of the 2nd, the 
 Bishop said, ' he felt it would be too much for him to cross 
 the river ; ' and he gladly assented to my proposal to have 
 communion at home, after my return from morning sermon, 
 in the Old Church. Accordingly, about half-past-twelve, on 
 Sunday, the 3rd, the Bishop, Mrs. Corrie, and Miss Bird, 
 assembled in the drawing-room : preparations having been 
 previously made. It was a very solemn occasion. He was 
 able to kneel only whilst receiving the elements. After 
 communicating, Mrs. Corrie left the room, being much 
 moved, and unwilling to give him pain by shewing it. After 
 a short pause, the Bishop said, ' How many blessings have 
 we to be thankful for ? ' f I have often enjoyed these ordi- 
 nances in administering them, but a person must be in my 
 circumstances to feel the value of them/ ' I have growing 
 evidence that I know in whom I have trusted : ' and then 
 went on to contrast the uncertainty attending science, with 
 the certainty religion supplies. 'A little knowledge of 
 
CALCUTTA. 499 
 
 science/ he said, f makes us confident; but as we advance, 
 we feel less certainty ; whilst the more we advance in reli- 
 gious knowledge, the greater certainty we attain/ I here 
 left the room, and the Bishop continued in conversation with 
 Miss B. for some time respecting family matters. In the 
 evening, the Bishop retired, for the first time, before tea. 
 
 " 3. On Monday, he did not leave his room ; and his 
 medical attendant being now in the house, I merely saw 
 him twice, on going into his room to enquire after him. In 
 the evening he went out in the Tonjon, and spoke to me, on 
 the bank of the river, about a marriage which he had been 
 consulted upon ; but he was soon tired, and retired to his 
 room, without coming into the drawing-room. 
 
 et 4. On Tuesday, he did not leave his couch. I saw 
 him early : he was very unwell ; and his medical attendant 
 being constantly with him, I did not go into the room again 
 till about 4 P.M. He then requested me to make known to 
 Mr. Robertson of Bareilly, the state of weakness into which 
 it had pleased God to bring him. After which he said, ' he 
 enquired not after Mrs. Corrie, but he felt deeply the kind- 
 ness she had uniformly manifested.' ' He desired his kind 
 love to her ; and that she should be told he felt his obliga- 
 tion/ On my saying that, 'had he been able to come into 
 the drawing-room, she had hoped to see him in the evening, 
 and would be glad to come to his room : ' he said with emo- 
 tion, f he thought he would rather be spared/ 'He did 
 not,' he said, ' speak much to me on the state of the diocese ; 
 I knew it as well as he did, and in some respects better ; and 
 added, ' I say with truth, I feel no reluctance to leave things 
 as they are. There was nothing of importance claiming 
 immediate attention, and should any difficulty arise, you will 
 get over it/ 
 
 " The faithfulness of God to His word was referred to by 
 him ; and on my mentioning an expression of the late Rev. 
 D. Brown, on his death-bed, viz. ' The Lord's will is best. 
 His way is best. His time is best/ The Bishop added, 
 
 2 K 2 
 
500 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 r that he greatly needed the intercession of his friends, that 
 such might be his state of mind/ 
 
 " 5. In the night of the 5th, [the Bishop] being restless, 
 the doctor asked, ' if he would like me to come and sit be- 
 side him ? ' On his assenting, I was called ; I went to his 
 bed-side, he took me kindly by the hand and said, * he feared 
 he interrupted me.' He then began to say, ' how happy he 
 should be, could he speak to the natives in their own tongue ;' 
 and referred to his head-bearer. I offered to speak to him 
 in Hindoostanee ; but the Bishop said, 'not now, he is 
 fearfully untutored/ He spoke a good deal on subjects of 
 religion, connected with his own state ; of the insufficiency of 
 learning, talents, &c. &c., without the blessing of God; 
 how often God brings about great things by small means ; 
 and instruments we should not have thought of. After 
 about an hour, he asked me to pray with him ; then said, 
 ' he would try to compose himself to rest.' 
 
 <e 6. Wednesday, July 6th, was a day of intense and in- 
 cessant suffering, from difficulty of breathing. He seemed 
 unable to attend to any thing ; but on Miss B, going into the 
 room, he desired her to read to him a Psalm, and conversed 
 about a quarter of an hour on points which occurred in 
 reading. About 4 o'clock I went into his room : I observed, 
 that ' I feared he had had a trying day/ He said with 
 emphasis, ' Very.' 
 
 " On my saying, ' that when he felt able to attend, if he 
 would just express his wishes, I should be glad to wait upon 
 him for prayer :' he assented. He after some time observed, 
 in broken sentences, (for his articulation had become in- 
 distinct) ' That we do not arrange matters in religion suf- 
 ficiently for ourselves/ More I could not understand. In 
 order to keep up the train of thought, I said that ' our mercy 
 consists in that the covenant is ordered in all things and 
 sure/ He assented, and said, f but to those who were 
 orderly there might be more of joy and peace in believing/ 
 I said ' in great bodily distress, it seemed to me, there could 
 
CALCUTTA. 501 
 
 be little beside a child-like reliance on a father's care and 
 love/ He said, ' I have an assured hope : ' and added, 
 ( that we want God to do some great thing for us, that shall 
 prevent the necessity of humiliation, and closing with 
 Christ.' After this I read a hymn, ( Jesus the way, the 
 truth, the life/ He said, ' that one feeling was universal, it 
 pervaded all hearts/ In continuation I read the hymn, 
 ' This God is the God we adore ; ' and then prayed out of 
 the Visitation of the Sick, ending with the Lord's prayer, 
 and ' The grace of our Lord, &c.,' to which he added a fervent 
 ' Amen/ After a pause, the Bishop broke out in prayer : 
 ' thou God of all grace, stablish, strengthen, settle us. 
 Have mercy on all, that they may come to the knowledge of 
 the truth, and be saved. There is none other name given 
 by which they can be saved. Other foundation can no man 
 lay/ On his ceasing, I added, ' and this is a sure founda- 
 tion/ On which his feelings were much moved ; and the 
 doctor coming in, our conversation ended. 
 
 "In the evening, it was found that the Bishop's arti- 
 culation had failed. He spoke no more after the above 
 recorded prayer, expressing feelings amongst the most appro- 
 priate that could have occupied the thoughts of a dying 
 man. He manifested little, if any, consciousness, during 
 the remaining hours he lived j breathing the whole time 
 with great difficulty. About ten o'clock he was helped from 
 his bed to an easy chair, from which he did not again move ; 
 nor did he appear to sleep, or to get the least repose or 
 cessation from suffering. His appearance exhibited the 
 most perfect picture that can be conceived, of patient en- 
 durance. Not a word or a look indicated a wish or a want. 
 
 " 7. About half-past-six, he changed for death. I read the 
 Commendatory Prayer, and we watched for his departure. 
 About half-past-eight, another change came on to a state of 
 less suffering, but of more weakness ; and the lingering 
 spirit took its flight, at a quarter before ten on the morning 
 of the 7th of July/' 
 
502 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORR1E. 
 
 The Archdeacon appended the following note : 
 
 " I have not inserted the answers I made, on many of the 
 occasions here referred to. What is in the third person is 
 the substance of what was said ; and the words as nearly as I 
 could remember them. What are given as the Bishop's 
 words, were spoken as written/'* 
 
 Having watched over the death-bed of Bishop 
 Turner, there yet remained to the Archdeacon the 
 afflicting office of preaching the Funeral Sermon. 
 This he did on Sunday, July 10th; and one who 
 was present on that occasion related, that the preacher 
 was enabled to discharge " with firmness and strength 
 of voice, though with deep feeling," the mournful 
 duty which had devolved upon him. The estimate 
 which an almost brotherly intimacy with the de- 
 ceased enabled the Archdeacon to form of Bishop 
 Turner's worth, was thus summed up : 
 
 " We have left us, in the character of our departed Bis- 
 hop, an example of one who sought glory, honour, and 
 immortality, by patient continuance in well-doing. He 
 began where the scriptures teach us to begin with personal 
 religion. He had low thoughts of himself. He was seriously 
 affected with a sense of his frailties and unworthiness, and 
 rested his hope of salvation, only on the mercy of God in 
 Jesus Christ. He had attained, in a remarkable degree, 
 the spirit of self-controul ; so that he was to a considerable 
 extent a copy of the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, 
 whose word is " Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly. " 
 He took Revelation for his guide ; and whilst the Tri-une 
 
 * Some notices of Bishop Turner are collected in the Missionary 
 Register, for March and May 1832. 
 
CALCUTTA. 503 
 
 God of the Bible was the object of his adoration, the will 
 of God was the rule of his practice. 
 
 " In his peculiar office he came near to the apostolical 
 standard [given] in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. Of his 
 learning, and capacity for perpetuating an order of ministers 
 in the church, it would require one of a similar measure of 
 learning and piety to speak, but all could judge that as a 
 Bishop he was blameless and free from reproach. Moderate 
 in all his habits and pursuits. Disinterested in a high degree, 
 and free from all suspicion of the love of money. He was apt 
 to teach a true labourer in the word and doctrine sober 
 in judgment wise to solve difficulties of a compassion- 
 ate spirit and heartily desirous of men's eternal good. . . 
 The lively sense he had of his own responsibility rendered him 
 more keenly alive to such defects in any of those under his 
 authority, as might hinder their usefulness, or do injury to 
 the cause they had solemnly pledged themselves to serve. 
 He felt himself bound, therefore, when occasion arose, to 
 reprove and to rebuke 'with all authority/ An assured 
 hope that in being released from the body, he should be 
 with Christ, strengthened our departed Prelate to endure 
 protracted and intense bodily suffering with patience and 
 fortitude not to be surpassed ; till at length, being released 
 from this strife of nature, he entered into that eternal life to 
 which he had long aspired ! " 
 
 With reference to the death of the Bishop, Arch- 
 deacon Corrie also writes, 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER,, 
 
 " Aug. 6, 1831. 
 
 " At first my mind was more stunned, than by any loss 
 yet experienced. It seemed such a mark of divine with- 
 
504 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 drawing ; and yet the deceased would have argued the con- 
 trary. He used to say, that ' designs which took all at 
 once, seldom held a long course : * and I desire to draw 
 this inference, that seeing the Lord tries us, He will at 
 length establish us." 
 
 By the demise of Bishop Turner, the Archdeacon 
 had for the fourth time to administer the affairs of 
 the diocese. In the letter just quoted he adds : 
 
 " I am again Commissary for this See, and feel myself 
 adequate to the charge. The routine of duty is familiar to 
 me; and I can act with more decision from feeling my 
 ground." 
 
 At the same time he had to contend alone with 
 such difficulties as might occur, there being less of 
 co-operation oftentimes than would have been desi- 
 rable. The Archdeacon's observation on that point 
 in another letter is, that 
 
 te A Bishop has but to signify his will, and those who do 
 not like it, will not oppose it ; but with a mere Locum te- 
 nens, friends argue and opposers shew themselves. I do 
 what I can to carry friends with me, and overrule, as I am 
 able, objectors, or leave them behind. I feel as before and 
 more than ever, the undesirableness of power, beyond a 
 small measure. Not to recommend measures of emolument 
 &c., to Government, is to 'act unkindly ;' and to interfere to 
 prevent abuses is to be an ' enemy/ . . But in nothing have I 
 more to be thankful for, than in the strength given me to 
 bear these things ; persisting at the same time, in the mea- 
 sures I think right." 
 
 This kind of wear and tear of body and mind, 
 
CALCUTTA. 505 
 
 coupled with separation from his children and rela- 
 tives, seems to have very much tended to foster a 
 desire in the Archdeacon to leave India at the first 
 opportunity that might warrant such a step. His 
 feelings with regard to that subject, had indeed been 
 so frequently expressed, in his own correspondence, 
 and, also, in that of Mrs. Corrie with their children, 
 that his family fully expected that he would return 
 to England when the newly-appointed Bishop should 
 arrive in Calcutta. It was therefore, with reference 
 to this, that he writes 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 Calcutta, Oct. 22, 1831. 
 
 " I yesterday received a letter from Mr. Goode of Clap- 
 ham : he had seen you a few days before he wrote, and said 
 you were expecting that I might be on the way home. I 
 dare say I write very differently on the subject at different 
 times. To-day we have had rain, and the thermometer 
 being only 82, I feel active ; and after all, much of the 
 want of elasticity experienced, must perhaps be put to the 
 account of years. I know not whether you read Blackwood, 
 but the article t Christopher North taking a day's shooting/ 
 reminded me of much of the cause of my own ailments. 
 On buttoning on his gaiters and preparing for the walk, he 
 found his instep had lost something of its spring. This is 
 my case, and it would be vain to expect to regain that 
 spring, in any country or clime. . . . What I have sometimes 
 thought of, as to coming home, is to leave this about 
 January 1833; but circumstances may put it off to 1834, 
 even if life be spared. " 
 
506 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Then with reference to what was called the a Re- 
 form Bill," and the origin of the " Trinitarian 
 Bible Society," the Archdeacon observes : 
 
 " All affairs here appear flat, compared with the spirit- 
 stirring events that are occurring around you. I, on my 
 first voyage, attempted a Poem, beginning with something 
 about, ( Britain, the glory of all lands/ Parson got 
 hold of it, and by his well-deserved raillery cured me of the 
 only poetical fit, with which I was ever visited. But whe- 
 ther Britain is to continue the glory of all lands, appears 
 now to be doubtful. Well: we must look more at the 
 Church; of which 'glorious things' are still ' spoken.' 
 The part of it called the Church of England, is exposed 
 from within as well as from without. Captain Gordon's 
 proceedings, if persisted in, will throw the weight of the 
 Bible Society into the dissenting interest, by withdrawing 
 the wrong-heads in the church who adhere to him." 
 
 On the same subject the Archdeacon observes 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " We have heard with much concern of the proceedings 
 of Captain Gordon and his friends in the Bible Society : 
 to me it indicates the breaking up of the Society, and the 
 splitting of the religious world into small, powerless parties. 
 . . . How it grieves one to see men pass by all the political 
 patrons, the trafficking beneficiaries, &c, &c, and make this 
 ado about Socinian participation in giving away Bibles ! 
 The whole of their arguments go on the idea of the Bible 
 Society being the Church, than which nothing can be more 
 vague : not one act of church-membership is performed 
 by the Bible Society." 
 
CALCUTTA. 507 
 
 About the same date the Archdeacon writes 
 
 TO HIS SISTER. 
 
 " The sound of most of the controversies which occupy 
 you at home, reaches us here ; and I think there was some 
 reason for the accusation against many pious ministers, 
 who make sanctification almost the Saviour : whereas true 
 and effectual holiness arises from clear views of reconciliation 
 to God by Christ. Not theoretical views, but that 
 heart-felt sense of the preciousness of the Saviour, which 
 only those who experience it can understand, and which 
 every believer should seek to realize more and more. On the 
 other hand, we have an instance or two of young converts 
 entering into this view, so as to go beyond their experience, 
 and afterwards to become greatly perplexed. May we, 
 dearest sister, learn more and more of that expression, 
 ' The life I live. ... I live by the faith of the Son of 
 God?" 
 
 Among the important objects which engaged the 
 attention of the late Bishop Turner, was that of pro- 
 viding additional accommodation for public worship ; 
 and by his lordship's exertions in that respect, ar- 
 rangements had been made for building three additional 
 churches in and about Calcutta. One of these was 
 designed to be connected with the Free School ; so 
 as not only to enable the whole of the children in 
 that establishment to attend public worship on the 
 School premises, but, also, to serve for the accommo- 
 dation of the immediate neighbourhood in which the 
 
508 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORR1E. 
 
 School was situate. Many circumstances, however, 
 occurred after Bishop Turner's death to retard the 
 completion of the Free- School Church, but this 
 having been at length effected, the Church was 
 opened on Nov. 20, 1831, the Archdeacon preaching 
 on the occasion, from Matt, xviii. 11. The sermon 
 was afterwards printed ; and on mentioning this in 
 a letter to his brother, the Archdeacon observes : 
 
 " I know the Sermon is worth little but for local circum- 
 stances, and that I have had to contend with some cross- 
 grained spirits, since the Bishop's death, to get the Church 
 opened at all. The Sermon will, I hope, counteract their 
 misrepresentations with the public." 
 
 Some additional and more striking results of edu- 
 cation without religion, began now to attract atten- 
 tion. Those Hindoo philosophers, as they were 
 called, who boasted of their desire to rescue their 
 countrymen from ignorance and superstition, had 
 begun to take alarm at the freedom with which some 
 of the natives, who had been educated at the Hindoo 
 College, were attacking the Brahminical faith and 
 morals. They therefore, somewhat inconsistently, 
 resolved to hold no communication with any who 
 impugned the Hindoo system ; and went so far as 
 to procure the ejection from house and home, of the 
 native editor of a paper called " The Enquirer," 
 because he continued fearlessly to expose Hindooism. 
 On the other hand, the sceptical and infidel portion 
 
CALCUTTA. 509 
 
 of the Native community, avowed their sentiments 
 whenever occasion occurred, and acted out their edu- 
 cation without reserve. A curious incident, illustra- 
 tive of this state of mind occurred in the December 
 of 1831. A large importation of " Paine's Age of 
 Reason" had arrived from America for sale in Cal- 
 cutta, and a native bookseller, by way of experiment, 
 fixed the price of the book at one rupee. At first, a 
 few copies only were sold at this low price ; but the 
 work was found so exactly to fall in with the prin- 
 ciples and tastes of the young enlightened Baboos of 
 Calcutta, that at the end of five days the bookseller 
 had not a copy of Paine's blasphemy left, although 
 the price had been raised to as high as five rupees 
 the single copy. As was to be expected, moreover, 
 the same Hindoo liberalists, who persecuted such of 
 their native brethren as exposed the Brahminical su- 
 perstition, were ready enough to avail themselves 
 of an opportunity to shew their hostility to Christi- 
 anity. They accordingly had portions of the " Age 
 of Reason," translated into Bengalee, and published 
 in one of their newspapers ; calling upon the Chris- 
 tian missionaries at large, and on the Archdeacon by 
 name, to answer Paine's infidel lucubrations. Several, 
 however, of the most respectable of the Hindoos 
 in Calcutta, expressed their disapprobation of this 
 proceeding, and deprecated all notice of the pub- 
 lication. 
 
510 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORR1E. 
 
 At Christmas-tide the Archdeacon took part in 
 the admission of some native converts into the Church 
 of Christ. It was on the 26th of Dec. 1831, that 
 the Chapel at Mirzapore was filled with native 
 Christians, the children from St. James' and Infant 
 Schools, and the friends of missions, from Calcutta 
 and neighbourhood. Divine service commenced by 
 the Native Christians singing a Bengalee hymn ; 
 and during Morning Prayer, the Sacrament of bap- 
 tism was administered to ten native adults, and eight 
 native children. At this season, too, it was, that 
 there was an examination of the schools, and a dinner 
 provided for the native Christians and their children ; 
 of which the following lively account was given by 
 the Archdeacon 
 
 TO HIS DAUGHTERS. 
 
 " The Christians at the Church-Mission-house, dined all 
 together on Monday last. There were 190 who sat down 
 to dinner, as they report of the Lord Mayor's and other 
 such feasts ; and why may we not say so of this feast, though 
 they all sat on the ground ? They had, moreover, three 
 courses and a desert. Plantain leaves being placed, one 
 for each, with a little space between. They then seated 
 themselves, each behind this plate of Nature's manufacture. 
 Then came the cooks, and gave, one, a large spoonful of 
 rice, another, a portion of vegetable curry. (I should pre- 
 mise, there was rice enough for each, placed at once, and a 
 small portion of curry.) This latter being discussed, a 
 
CALCUTTA. 511 
 
 portion of meat-curry was then placed beside the remaining 
 rice, after this, sweet-meats, and then fruit. When all 
 were arranged, and ready to begin, Roop, the catechist, 
 said a grace ; rather too long, I thought, as, I dare say, 
 thought some of the hungry children. They seemed all 
 very happy. It was a day of thankfulness to many of us. 
 Ten years ago, there was not one Christian connected with 
 this Mission ; now, of these about one hundred and fifty 
 are connected with Krishnagur. Some of them residing in 
 the neighbouring villages, the remainder were guests, con- 
 nected with other Missions. All were feasted for about four 
 pounds, which your papa supplied. There were some English 
 friends, too, with Mr. Sandys. We all assembled in the 
 Chapel for worship at twelve o'clock, and it was quite 
 filled ; so that if things prosper, as we hope they will, the 
 Chapel must soon be enlarged/' 
 
 Except when occasions like these called the Arch- 
 deacon from home, his time was now chiefly spent 
 between Calcutta and Barrackpore. He appears, 
 too, to have continued the custom originated by the 
 late Bishop, of allowing any friends who might chuse 
 to attend his family- worship on Friday-evenings ; and 
 to many were those social meetings the means of in- 
 struction. Respecting himself, he observes in a memo- 
 randum, dated 
 
 " Barrackpore, April 22, 1832. 
 
 " On the 10th of this month, I completed 55 years. 
 Great mercies on the part of God, great ingratitude on my 
 part, appear in review. Such has been my history through- 
 out. I do not look on it as a thing of course, but as a 
 proof of the inveterate nature of human depravity ; and as 
 setting forth the unutterable condescension and love of God, 
 
512 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the Saviour. I would not have it continue ; whilst I am 
 sure if left to myself it will continue, and continuing must 
 exclude me from Heaven. My expectation, and my desire 
 is, to be saved from sin j and I thank God, through Jesus 
 Christ, that thus it will be. The prospect before me, if life 
 be spared, is full of anxiety. I feel very reluctant to quit 
 India. I had intended to have spent my life here ; but 
 that implied an useful life. My present appointment has 
 operated to make my defects more manifest. Who would 
 have thought, when I was glad of release from the duties 
 of the Presidency, (being from debility unable to perform 
 them,) that so much publicity would have followed ? Who 
 could have calculated on the Bishops being removed, one 
 after another ? This is the Lord's doing. If I have not 
 brought discredit on my religious profession, it is also of 
 Him. He has hid me in ' the secret of his pavilion ' : I 
 feel this most sensibly." 
 
 The Archdeacon's correspondence shews that the 
 anxiety here expressed respecting the future, was 
 much increased by the accounts which reached 
 India of that turbulent spirit, which now pervaded 
 England ; and which had been called forth and fos- 
 tered by unprincipled men ; who, in the absence of 
 arguments, derived from truth and righteousness, in 
 favour of their schemes of reform, did not scruple to 
 recommend the use of the brick-bat and the bludgeon. 
 Thus in writing 
 
CALCUTTA. 513 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " April 25, 1832. 
 
 " The overland news have reached us up to the 13th 
 January. Very troublous times seem coming over you. 
 May the Lord avert or guide the storm, as He surely will ! 
 But who may be swept away in its violence, who can say ? 
 What anxiety you must have experienced about Lucy during 
 the riots at Bristol ! And now again burnings have com- 
 menced in various parts. These things make the prospect 
 Englandwards very dreary, and add to the natural indeci- 
 sion of my mind as to what it may be right to do, respecting 
 having our children here, or going to them. Yet I expect 
 and confidently believe, that when the time comes our path 
 will be plain. " 
 
 And with reference to the same subject he writes 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " The rejection of the Reform Bill by the House of Lords, 
 seems very disastrous. I think they did their duty, but the 
 late promotions in the Church look as if the proverb were 
 about to be realized, ' Quern Deus vult perdere &c.' 
 What can result from the influence of such men but laxity 
 of doctrine and of practice, and changes in every depart- 
 ment ? Change may be required in some things, but they 
 should be men who fear God and reverence his word, who 
 make the changes. Well : the Church shall stand to which 
 we belong. The Rock, Christ, is not to be shaken by these 
 convulsions. Yet these troubles in Old England distress 
 me much, not only for the sake of the land of my fathers, 
 but as affecting the determination I shall be obliged to come 
 to, if spared a few months longer, as to return or not return 
 to you. Sometimes friends here say, I shall have the offer 
 
 2 L 
 
514 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 of becoming Bishop, or one of the Bishopricks of India. 
 This I do not myself think; or when the thought occurs, it 
 
 creates only fear lest the offer should be made Ever 
 
 since I left college, present duties have required present ex- 
 ertion ; and if I have any reputation for discretion, it is, 
 because like the owl, I have preserved silence on points 011 
 which I was ignorant. With these true thoughts of myself, 
 every occasion of publicity has brought me only secret humi- 
 liation ; with, at times, overflowing feelings of thank- 
 fulness to God, who ' out of the mouths of babes ordains 
 praise/ But now my secret desire is for privacy. This per- 
 haps, is at the bottom, after all, of that hankering I feel 
 after what I always called Home. Though England since 
 our father's death, presents no [particular] home to my 
 mind, the Island generally is home ; and should it be the will 
 of God that I come among you, a small circle will bound my 
 affections. And yet I should soon love all those whom my 
 brothers and sister love, and all who have shewn kindness to 
 the children of our love. But when I should be loosing my 
 cords and preparing to take down the earthly house of this 
 tabernacle, I may be in danger of becoming more attached 
 to the passing scene. So, after all, there is no safety but in 
 fearing always . 
 
 " All things here continue much as usual, except indeed, 
 that the great reductions in the army have led to the display 
 in several parts of the country of a disposition to plunder and 
 to insurrection. It is not, I apprehend, from dissatisfaction 
 with this more than with any other government, which 
 might have been in possession. But it is human nature un- 
 restrained by the outward or inward influence of Chris- 
 tianity : and our men in authority will not learn, how much 
 they owe to the Gospel, even as it respects this life, in re- 
 straining the evil passions of mankind. A small offering to 
 the idol, of any plunder gained, sanctifies the remainder to 
 the possessors : and now that so much country is left with- 
 out the presence of any military force, why should not the 
 
CALCUTTA. 515 
 
 natives help themselves to whatever is within reach ? This 
 is the spirit at work in much of this land." 
 
 Meanwhile the preaching of the gospel was not 
 without effect, for the Archdeacon was able to inform 
 
 MR. SHERER. 
 
 "July 7, 1832. 
 
 " In our mission this year, 108 have been added to the 
 Church, of whom seventy-two are adults ; and there is a 
 growing willingness in the natives to listen to the Gospel. 
 We have a converted Jew,* also, seeking the welfare of the 
 lost sheep of the house of Israel ; and Mr. Wolff is in the 
 Punjab on his way hither. He has been imprisoned, bastin- 
 doed, made to work as a slave, and scarcely reached Pesha- 
 war alive ; but now Runjeet Singh, hearing of his connec- 
 tion by marriage with the Governor General, has sent him a 
 guard of honour ; and he who was yesterday literally a beggar, 
 finds himself treated as a prince." 
 
 In the following month the Archdeacon had the 
 happiness to witness the baptism of one of those 
 native youths, who have been already mentioned in 
 connection with the Hindoo College in Calcutta ; t 
 and of whom several, by attending the lectures of 
 Mr. Duff and Mr. Hill, on the Evidences ofKeligion, 
 had been led into a belief of the truth of the Bible, 
 as a revelation from God. The youth in question 
 was baptised in the Old Church on the 26th of 
 August, and soon after became a student in Bishop's 
 
 * Mr. Samuel. t See above pp. 494, et seq. 
 
 2 L 2 
 
516 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 College. The decided preference, however, which 
 this youth and others evidenced for the Church of 
 England, seems to have occasioned much annoyance 
 to many, of whom better things might have been 
 hoped. 
 
 " The Baptists/' as the Archdeacon writes to his 
 sister, " did all they could to prejudice them [the native 
 youths] against us : so that when the youth referred to, 
 came to talk over the Baptismal service, all the usual objec- 
 tions were familiar to him ; but he was satisfied with the ex- 
 planations so often rendered of them. These," adds the 
 Archdeacon, " are little refreshments amidst much to depress 
 us : for the spirit which is abroad in England, is also 
 spreading here. Many are not only disposed to favour dis- 
 sent, but to discourage the Church. Here, where are no 
 tithes or exactions to complain of, we might expect to be let 
 alone. But no : we must be pulled down, if possible, from 
 the elevation we have gained. Our Governor General and his 
 Lady have done much towards this, by going alike nearly to 
 Church and meeting ; so Mr. J. Hill publishes a book to ex- 
 plain, as he professed, the principles of Independency, but it 
 is in reality a collection of the bitterest things which have 
 been uttered from time to time, against Establishments in 
 general, and the Church of England in particular. It has 
 however, answered his end with few or none ; whilst it has 
 exposed to many the bitterness they would not believe could 
 dwell under so meek an exterior." 
 
 So again the Archdeacon in writing to his brother 
 observes : 
 
 " Here we have no tithes, no collection of Church-dues, 
 to call forth ill feeling. We interfere in no way but in our 
 religious character, yet this offends." 
 
CALCUTTA. 517 
 
 It might truly be said that there was " much to 
 depress " the spirit of a Christian, when such persons 
 as Mr Hill professed to be, could have so carefully 
 treasured up, to be poured forth as occasion served, 
 " the bitterest things which had been uttered against 
 the Church of England ; " because such a proceeding 
 must have given reason for doubting the religious sin- 
 cerity of the parties themselves. (Phil. i. 15 ; 1 Cor. 
 xiii. 1 3.) Whatever evils might have been con- 
 nected with " establishments in general, and with the 
 Church of England in particular;" no person with truth 
 could charge those evils upon that Church in India. On 
 the contrary, it was impossible to overlook the extensive 
 good which our Church was at that moment effecting, 
 in every corner of the Eastern empire ; and that by 
 means of funds as unconnected with the State, as Mr. 
 Hill himself could have desired. If history and ex- 
 perience therefore, had not explained, that it was 
 Episcopacy and not Establishments that called forth 
 the sad exhibition of Independency of which the 
 Archdeacon complained, this outbreak of Mr. Hill 
 and his friends must have appeared most unac- 
 countable. The Archdeacon therefore, being fully 
 aware that the question to be decided was, ' ' The office 
 of the ministry, is it of Christ, or only by the suffrages 
 and allowance of the people ? " reprinted, (but without 
 any allusion to Mr. Hill's book,) Key's tract on the 
 three-fold ministry of the New Testament ; and as 
 
518 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 subsidiary to this tract, Dr. Mill printed Chillingworth 
 on the Apostolical institution of Episcopacy. Both 
 were eagerly read, and many who scarcely knew the 
 difference between the Church and dissent, had now 
 their eyes effectually opened. Amidst such causes 
 for sorrow, there were counterbalancing occasions for 
 rejoicing. In the letter to his sister already referred 
 to, the Archdeacon writes : 
 
 " I am not without fruit in my own sphere. Several 
 respectable Mahommedans have come most mornings, for 
 some months past, to read the scriptures with me. Two of 
 them were baptised about a month since, and two are to be 
 baptised to-morrow (Sep. 5.) and new enquirers are often 
 appearing; so that there seems a prospect of a native 
 Church being gathered from that class, in time." 
 
 The baptisms here spoken of as expected to occur, 
 took place in the mission-chapel at Mirzapore on the 
 5th of September. One of the parties baptised was 
 a young person of talent and great respectability, 
 who had gone through the usual course of education 
 at the Mahommedan College, with a view to his be- 
 coming a Molwee. The sacrament was administered 
 by the Archdeacon, who conducted the service in 
 Hindoostanee. After the baptism, he addressed the 
 European portion of the congregation, exhorting 
 them " to take heed, lest whilst the natives of India 
 were thus entering into the kingdom of God, they, 
 the professors of the Christian name, should come 
 short of everlasting life." 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ARRIVAL OF BISHOP WILSON. BAPTISM OF NA- 
 TIVES. ORDINATIONS VISITATION OF THE 
 
 UPPER PROVINCES. 
 
 THE Rev. Daniel Wilson had been consecrated to 
 the See of Calcutta early in this year, and was now 
 approaching the shores of India. It appears that 
 on his appointment to the See, Dr. Wilson had 
 written to Archdeacon Corrie to inform him of that 
 circumstance, and had kindly taken occasion to ex- 
 press a desire that the Archdeacon would for the 
 present continue his services in India. With refe- 
 rence to this estimable prelate the Archdeacon writes 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " Dr. Wilson has not yet arrived, but is daily expected. 
 I know no one more suitable to have been sent among us, 
 but our expectation must be from God alone. It would 
 cost me a severe pang were I told I should not be allowed 
 
520 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 to visit England again, yet the prospect of remaining here 
 is not painful to me ; and it is chiefly on our children's 
 account that I have thought of retiring. . . You are not 
 likely to know, unless I tell you, that Mr. Charles Grant 
 has written me a very kind letter, stating why I was not 
 called nome to be made Bishop. . . I am more than satis- 
 fied, for I desire not the office. I have felt a measure of 
 the responsibility attached to it ; experienced what it is to 
 be set on an high place ' as a mark for envy to shoot at ; ' 
 and above all, I know to a demonstration how much more 
 such men as the last, or the present Bishop can effect, 
 beyond my utmost ability." 
 
 That it might meet his lordship as soon as he 
 should arrive in India, the Archdeacon addressed the 
 following letter 
 
 TO THE BISHOP OF CALCUTTA. 
 
 " Oct. 2, 1832. 
 
 " The news of your appointment to India, reached this 
 country at the latter end of July, and caused thanksgivings 
 to ascend from many hearts. Your two kind letters did not 
 reach me till September 21, so that the time had passed for 
 addressing a letter to the Cape. This will, we hope, meet 
 you before the end of this month, on the Sibbald's entering 
 the River, and in good health, and without disaster on the 
 voyage. Our hearty congratulations are offered, and prayers 
 that your entrance in among us, may be ' in the fulness of 
 the blessing of the Gospel ! ' 
 
 " From what you are reported to have said at the Church 
 Missionary Society's anniversary meeting, it would appear 
 that you had been led to expect that arrears of business 
 await you, to be arranged : I am happy to say that not a 
 
CALCUTTA. 521 
 
 case, that I am aware of, is in arrear ; that though 
 much interesting business connected with our public insti- 
 tutions, will claim your attention, nothing in the way of 
 official arrangement remains for your decision. I am most 
 happy to observe your intention of endeavouring to preserve 
 health. Our former Bishops no doubt had the same 
 purpose, but they did not take advice from those more used 
 to the climate. I shall, please God we meet, explain to you 
 how both Bishops Heber and Turner brought on, inad- 
 vertently, their own end. There is nothing in the climate 
 to prevent most constitutions continuing, with care, to 
 enjoy good health. At the same time, it has appeared to 
 me that no particular age is more favorable than another ; 
 or that there is any such thing as becoming inured to the 
 climate, so as to bear exposure at certain times. Experience 
 teaches us to avoid certain situations and not to expose our- 
 selves [to the climate] at certain times, if we can avoid it ; 
 and this is all, in my opinion, that any one gains by long 
 residence here. All this will soon become familiar to you ; 
 and I have no doubt, under usual circumstances, you will 
 be able to go through all your duties with comfort. . . 
 
 " I shall say nothing of my own affairs, except that I was 
 not intending to leave the country this year ; and that it 
 will be my delight, as well as duty, to be assisting in every 
 way I can." 
 
 On the report reaching Calcutta that the " Sib- 
 bald " had arrived in the river, the Archdeacon, as 
 on like former occasions, obtained the use of one of 
 the government vessels, met the Bishop, and con- 
 veyed him to Calcutta. His lordship arrived there 
 on the 4th of November, and was installed on the 
 next day. 
 
 The Archdeacon was thus relieved from some of 
 
522 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 those anxieties which were connected with official 
 duties, but he was not without trials of a domestic 
 nature. The ship in which his wife had embarked 
 for England in the middle of December, was wrecked 
 off Coringa, on her passage to Madras, and the pas- 
 sengers only saved by taking to the long-boat. They 
 ultimately landed at Masulipatam, and the fatigue 
 and exposure to the cold which Mrs. Corrie and the 
 other passengers underwent, proved of no lasting 
 detriment to them ; but all their luggage was lost. 
 
 A letter addressed to his wife soon after her de- 
 parture from India will give some idea of the nature 
 of the Archdeacon's occupations at this time : 
 
 " January 6, 1833. 
 
 " The last few days have furnished increasing occupation. 
 On Wednesday I breakfasted with the Bishop, and arranged 
 with him for the examination of the candidates for Ordi- 
 nation. I then went to Da Costa, who has been too ill to 
 leave home, and corrected two proof sheets of Isaiah, in 
 Persian, and two of the New Testament in Hindoostanee. 
 
 1 returned home at two o'clock, when the Natives, who 
 read the Scriptures with me, occupied me till four. On 
 Thursday I was occupied nearly the whole of the day in 
 writing to G. on his offence ; and in the evening the Bishop 
 dined with your mother and I, and we talked over Church 
 affairs. On Friday, there was a meeting of the High School 
 managers, to appoint Lambrick pro-Urn, head, and young 
 Thompson second master. I then went to the examination, 
 of Native Schools at Mirzapore, the best by far we have 
 had : Dunsmore their superintendant. This kept me till 
 
 2 o'clock. I came home and found the candidates' papers 
 
CALCUTTA. 523 
 
 for my inspection, which by close application I got through 
 by dusk. I then went to A. S. to dinner at six, and from 
 thence to the town-hall, to the Bible Association general 
 meeting, at half past 7 o' clock, and home at ten. The 
 Bishop took the chair, Bannerjee spoke well, but too long. 
 Yesterday I wrote two public letters, and prepared notes of 
 an address which the Bishop wished me to make to the candi- 
 dates for Ordination, and their duties as they related to this 
 country. At four I went to the Molwee's, and conversed 
 awhile with about a dozen natives on John iii., and then 
 came home to dinner. Now for some fragments. A Moon- 
 shee is to be baptised on Wednesday, who many years ago 
 received a New Testament at Dacca. He cannot remem- 
 ber the date, but it was from the Chaplain who was 
 there before S. He has been reading this, and enquiring 
 at different places ; till at length, convinced of the divinity 
 of the Lord Jesus Chsist, he wishes to take up his Cross. 
 He appears more spiritual than the Molwee ; but you know 
 we must not too readily trust appearances. He has a wife, 
 who, he says, is persuaded also, and they have two chil- 
 dren. 
 
 " Past 2 o'clock We have been detained at the Cathedral 
 till now, and have had a most instructive discourse from the 
 Bishop, Acts xxii. The Ordination of two deacons and 
 seven priests altogether, is indeed a new sight in Calcutta. 
 The Cathedral was crowded, and the service full of interest. 
 At the Communion afterwards, one hundred and fifteen 
 attended. Many appeared deeply affected." 
 
 Mrs. Corrie having proceeded from Masulipatam 
 to Madras, the Archdeacon obtained leave to join 
 her there, with a view to arrange for her passage to 
 England by another ship. He was consequently 
 absent from Calcutta until the beginning of March. 
 On the 9th of that month he writes : 
 
524 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO HIS WIFE. 
 
 " I found things here of a mixed nature ; some pleasing, 
 some painful. Of the pleasing was the baptism of twenty- 
 five Hindoos in Mirzapore chapel, on the evening I arrived. 
 The Hindoostanee congregation much increased. A fine 
 youth of about eighteen, the son of an Englishman, but 
 abandoned by the father, has with his Mother, sought in- 
 struction. He is dressed as a Mahommedan. Another youth 
 of the same description, was confirmed, but I have not yet 
 seen him/' 
 
 Some particulars of the then state of society, which 
 the Archdeacon communicated in a letter to Mr. 
 Sherer, may not be omitted : 
 
 " March 30, 1833. 
 
 "You will learn from other sources the great distress 
 which prevails through the failure of the great houses here. 
 One point of retribution I cannot but think is observable in 
 the recoil of the Free-trade system. They were the men 
 who maintained the Hurkcaru and India Gazette, to vilify 
 the Company and to run down the Government ; and just in 
 proportion as they injured the interests of the Company, 
 their own were injured. . . Of public matters you will, also, 
 hear. We have now a newspaper at Cawnpore, at Meerut, 
 Agra, and Delhi. The Delhi paper has an article on the 
 misconceptions of the Natives, shewing how easily they are 
 led away by rumours, &c. ; which seems to point out the 
 impolicy of these very newspapers. The subject of Missions 
 is daily gaining ground ; yet opposition is at work under- 
 hand. Paine's ' Age of Reason ' has been circulated to a 
 large extent among the educated Hindoos; and a very plau- 
 sible work written here, but printed in England, entitled 
 ' Christianity of human origin/ has got considerable 
 currency." 
 
CALCUTTA. 525 
 
 It was during the March of this year that the 
 Archdeacon, among others, resigned his office of 
 governor of the Free- School in Calcutta. For a con- 
 siderable period the affairs of the school had been a 
 source of contention at the Presidency, in conse- 
 quence of a difference of opinion between the gover- 
 nors and the committee of that Institution, respecting 
 the management of the charity. It was therefore at 
 length agreed that the points at issue should be sub- 
 mitted to the arbitration of the Bishop, it being at 
 the same time understood that his lordship's award 
 should be final. One portion of the award was that 
 the governors and secretary of the school should 
 resign their office, in order thus to allow of such a 
 reconstruction of the government of the School as 
 might seem calculated to compose the existing dif- 
 ferences. The Bishop himself led the way, by re- 
 signing his office of Patron ; and the Archdeacon 
 readily followed so disinterested an example. 
 
 Soon after this, the Bishop of Calcutta decided 
 that the Archdeacon should make a visitation of the 
 Upper Provinces. An application was accordingly 
 made to government for the purpose of obtaining 
 travelling allowances for the occasion ; and early in 
 May an Order to that effect passed the Council. 
 Before leaving Calcutta the Archdeacon relates 
 
526 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO HIS WIFE. 
 
 " June 9, 1833. 
 
 " The subject of Infant-Schools is to be taken up by the 
 Bishop. Yesterday most of our friends among the Chaplains 
 breakfasted with him, and a meeting was resolved on, to be 
 called next Monday at the Bishop's. Lord and Lady W. 
 are full, also, of the subject, and are to give largely, &c. 
 A central school is to be built, and a Master and Mistress to 
 be sent for from England ; so that the little one on which 
 you bestowed so much care, and which Mr. U. let die a 
 kind of natural death, is to be succeeded by a magnificent 
 offspring (shall I call it ?) ; and Bishop Turner will yet speak 
 to the place in this way, though his name be forgotten. 
 A meeting, also, is called to forward steam-communication, 
 which has been taken up anew at Bombay ; and Lord W. 
 is, also, aiding individually ; and we are to have answers to 
 our Letters in four or five months, if not to have leave of 
 absence for six months, with permission to visit Clapham, 
 without loss of pay or batta. Such are the topics of the 
 day." 
 
 In the same letter the Archdeacon mentions an 
 occurrence which will not be read without interest : 
 
 " One of the youths who was to have been baptized on 
 Whit-sunday, was seized in the street, by his relatives, and 
 carried home to Bunhoogly. He had been there confined in 
 a room for fifteen days, threatened, and was to have had a 
 maddening potion administered to him, but for the cries 
 and entreaties of his mother, whose love for the fruit of her 
 womb prevailed over her superstition. The youth bribed a 
 servant to carry a letter to Bannerjee,* and he with young 
 
 * The Native Christian master of the Mirzapore school, and the 
 person who had formerly been ejected from house and home for editing 
 the Enquirer. 
 
CALCUTTA. 527 
 
 Henry R. went in a palanquin carriage on the Berhampore 
 road, on Sunday Evening the 2nd, when the lad escaped ; 
 fled to the appointed place of meeting, and, getting into the 
 carriage, was brought to Mirzapore. A rich uncle, one of 
 the Dutts, came on Friday last with a Brahmin, and tried to 
 coax the lad away again ; promising him all sorts of liberty, 
 and every thing, but leave to become a Christian. The youth 
 stedfastly refused. On this a complaint was lodged at the 
 Police office against Bannerjee, charging him with violently 
 carrying off the|lad, but they could not sustain the charge, and 
 the case was dismissed : and here the matter rests at present. 
 He is a very intelligent lad of sixteen, but short of his age. 
 I had an interesting conversation with him on Sunday even- 
 ing, too Jong to write to you, but the substance of it was 
 as follows : ' A full conviction of the truth of Christianity. 
 Its suitableness to mankind as revealing a Saviour, and the 
 lad's own individual need of pardon of sin, and of grace and 
 strength to bear his trials, and to obey God/ The poor 
 fellow was very feverish from the agitation he had gone 
 through. Mr. S. was preparing tea for him, and he slept in 
 one of S's room for security. How little we know of such 
 difficulties in the way of salvation ! Our ease and levity are 
 equal impediments, and perhaps sources of greater danger/' 
 
 The youth mentioned in the foregoing letter was 
 named Brijonaut Ghose, and had been educated at 
 the Hindoo College, but afterwards became a pupil 
 at the Mirzapore school, under Krishna Mohun 
 Bannerjee. There, it appears, he was in the habit of 
 conversing freely with his companions respecting the 
 follies of Hindooisnij and this having reached the 
 ears of his parents, they became apprehensive that 
 their son would embrace Christianity, and so forbade 
 
528 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 his attendance at the school. His absence was not 
 particularly noticed at the time ; but on his returning 
 again after some time had elapsed, he stated the 
 reason for his absence, and shewed a greater desire 
 for instruction in the great truths of revelation. The 
 opposition to his attending at Mirzapore, now be- 
 came more decided on the part of this youth's 
 parents : they took him to their home, confined him 
 to the house, and had him carefully watched for 
 several days. The youth, however, contrived to 
 escape, and instantly went to Mirzapore ; but as the 
 friends of that Institution were, for every reason, 
 anxious not to make converts by stratagem, it was 
 decided that a temporary residence should be pro- 
 vided for the youth, and a Brahmin provided to dress 
 his food, that he might not lose caste. But before 
 a residence could be obtained, the youth was again 
 captured by his relations, and subjected to the treat- 
 ment which the Archdeacon's letter relates. So 
 soon, therefore, as ever the youth found himself res- 
 cued from the unnatural violence of his parents, he 
 earnestly desired to be baptized. And as there was 
 no doubt respecting his fitness for baptism, so far as 
 concerned his knowledge of the Gospel, and the 
 sincerity of his faith in its promises, there seemed, 
 at first, to be no reason for disappointing his desire ; 
 especially as baptism would effect a complete separa- 
 tion of the youth from his relatives, and thus prove a 
 
CALCUTTA. 529 
 
 certain protection against their future persecution. 
 To prevent, however, any suspicion that so solemn 
 a rite had been hastily administered, or that the 
 Missionaries had acted from unworthy motives, it was 
 considered better that the baptism of the youth 
 should be deferred. But in the meanwhile the father 
 of the youth obtained a writ of Habeas Corpus from 
 the Supreme Court in Calcutta, calling upon Banner- 
 jee to produce Brijonaut Ghose, and to shew cause 
 why he was detained at Mirzapore or elsewhere. 
 Bannerjee, of course, appeared in Court with the 
 youth, and stated, through the Advocate General, 
 all the circumstances connected with the youth's 
 history. The Court, however, decided that the 
 parents were the natural guardians of their children, 
 and the youth was therefore ordered to be de- 
 livered up to his father. It was in vain that the youth 
 personally expressed his unwillingness to return home, 
 and alleged his dread of the repetition of the violence 
 which he had already experienced : the Court did 
 not feel called upon to interfere until the dreaded 
 violence had been actually offered ; and consequently 
 reiterated the order for the boy to be given up to 
 the father. The poor fellow was then seized hold of by 
 his father ; but it required considerable exertion to get 
 him out of court. He wept most bitterly, repeated 
 his appeals to the judges, seized hold of the table at 
 
 2 M 
 
530 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 which the barristers were seated, and was only 
 dragged away inch by inch. 
 
 This unusual scene gave rise, as it will be con- 
 cluded, to much discussion, and in its probable con- 
 sequences was of no ordinary importance : it oc- 
 curred on the day on which the Archdeacon left 
 Calcutta ; who in announcing his intended journey 
 to his brother, observes : 
 
 " My visitation out and home, will embrace a circle of 
 between 2000 and 3000 miles. I have no fear as to health ; 
 and for the rest, I have the word of truth, ' I will be with 
 thee in all places whithersoever I shall lead thee.' " 
 
 Full particulars of the Archdeacon's proceedings 
 are contained in his letters to the present Bishop of 
 Calcutta, and in his correspondence with Mrs. 
 Corrie : it is from both these sources that the fol- 
 lowing information is derived ; 
 
 " On the 13th July, 1833, 1 went to Chinsurah, and found 
 dear B. on the steps of the Church to receive me. Passed 
 a peaceful day on the 14th with him. Having been less at 
 ease for want of repose, I enjoyed Saturday as much bodily as 
 mentally. On Sunday morning I preached to the soldiers : 
 and in the evening B. ; there was a collection made both 
 times for the Church Missionary Society of about 100 Us. 
 The church in the evening was nearly as full as in the morn- 
 ing. Captain J. came up to see a friend, and passed an 
 hour on Sunday with me ; he breakfasted with us on Monday 
 morning ; and he and B. came on with me to Bandel. I 
 thought much of the many partings we have had in these 
 places. Beloved Mr. Brown came up with Martyn and 
 
SANTIPORE. 531 
 
 Parsons and me to Forsytes here in 1806 ; * and again 
 with Parsons and me in November of that year. M. and 
 Miss C. and I paid F. a visit here in 1812. Now where are 
 most of these ? Their place others fill. Yet the work of the 
 Lord goes forward ! 
 
 " I consider my journey now commenced. The weather is 
 favourable; the wind fair and steady till toward evening, 
 but not strong ; and very cloudy. 
 
 " Reached Santipore, July 16th, and expected to be at 
 Culna by breakfast time. Arrived at Culna by nine. Mr. 
 A. came down to the boat, and we afterward went up to the 
 Mission bungalow and staid till evening. Their mode of life 
 is just what people at home fancy of Missionary life in 
 India ; the house was clean and airy ; the children are kept 
 in such order as Christian children should be, playful yet 
 obedient. 
 
 " I was nearly a day sooner than was expected -, only two 
 of the four schools were sent for to be examined, and of them 
 only the first classes, and a few of the second. There were 
 forty-one boys : they read with great correctness the 6th 
 of St. Matthew : and generally gave correct explanations 
 from notes supplied to each school by Mr. A., explanatory 
 of what they read. They read with equal correctness 
 Ellerton's Dialogues, 5th Ch :, and are expert in their ex- 
 planations ; the whole of this book the boys had read ; it is 
 a great favourite among the scholars ; and a few days since 
 four youths, who had been educated in these schools, came 
 to Mr. A. and requested a copy of each of the Dialogues for 
 their private use. 
 
 " M. A. has a school of sixteen girls in one of the rooms 
 of the bungalow ; one of them a few months since was, with 
 her mother's consent, baptized. There is also an English 
 class of about thirty ; their proficiency was not so manifest. 
 The teacher is a Mahomedan, who learned English at some 
 school in the Chitpore road. Mr. A. speaks of a great and 
 * See above pp. 54, 55. 
 
 2 ii a 
 
532 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 favourable change in the respectable natives towards him. 
 This appears among other things, in some wealthy people, 
 who had set up a school in opposition to one of the mission 
 schools, having, after some conversation with him on Chris- 
 tianity, given up their school, and sent the boys to his. 
 Culna is a great mart for grain, so that tracts are carried 
 from this to many distant parts of the country, and Mr. A. 
 speaks of strangers, who come to the market, as desirous of 
 obtaining tracts to carry away with them. In the evening 
 twenty-one of the native Christians attended for worship. 
 Mr. A. leads the psalmody with his violin, just loud enough 
 to keep them in tune ; the effect was very pleasing. 
 
 " July 18th. We crossed the river, after leaving the 
 mission house, for freer air. Mr. A. came with me. It re- 
 minded me of our visit with the late Bishop, when he had 
 in like manner crossed the river with us. We spoke of him 
 with much affection, and especially of the good judgment 
 displayed in his remarks on Missionary operations. In the 
 night there was much rain; but yesterday the wind was 
 fair, and steady without rain, as far as Nuddea. I staid at 
 the mouth of the Jellinghee an hour, expecting that Mr. R. 
 might have come from Krishnaghur to the neighbouring 
 factory to meet me, as I had written to him about my plans 
 from Chinsurah. He was not come, nor is it of conse- 
 quence, as I could not have gone at that time to see the 
 Nuddea school. We proceeded very slowly , yet reached a 
 point near the factory with the upper-roomed house. There 
 was a fine plain covered with growing rice. A clever-looking 
 young brahmin, in part owner of the field, came up to 
 make salaam. I engaged him in conversation by setting 
 the young baboo to ask him questions ; no good seemed to 
 follow; but on the passage " Come unto me, all ye that 
 labour and are heavy laden,' 3 &c. being read, I observed, 
 that if the brahmin would admit, that sin is a burden, it 
 would make him uneasy ; so that I feared he would put 
 away the invitation. He became thoughtful, and left us a 
 
ON THE GANGES. 533 
 
 little seriously. The 18th passed rather uncomfortably. I 
 had called the raoonshee, and had just commenced reading 
 the 1st of Acts with him, when we began to move round 
 and round ! The river had made on both sides a deep in- 
 dent into the bank ; and the water was boiling like a 
 whirlpool. After some time the dandies made the side; 
 but the river ran a perfect sluice. I got on shore, and after 
 two or three trials the pinnace was dragged with much 
 difficulty out of this situation. But for a mile, the river 
 ran with like violence ; and I had to walk all that way ; the 
 day was clear and the heat great ; I had a chattah, and 
 walked no faster than the dandies, who were bending to the 
 earth almost in their endeavour to drag the pinnace on. I 
 abstained from water though exceedingly thirsty ; and only 
 moistened my mouth with a wet towel, and after an hour's 
 repose felt no inconvenience. The river still ran very 
 strong, and has been very tortuous since passing the 
 Jellinghee. About twelve a heavy fall of rain came on ; 
 the men fastened the pinnace slightly to the bank ; and all 
 came on board for shelter. This continued till three, when 
 we set off again, and a strong wind springing up, we made 
 head against the torrent. The rush through the water was 
 by no means pleasant ; but we were mercifully brought to a 
 quiet resting-place about half-past-six, P.M. ; the wind died 
 away and we had a cool refreshing night. During the day 
 at intervals, I had much conversation with the moonshee on 
 points of religion in which he is interested. We read also 
 two chapters of the Acts, and conversed much on the con- 
 tents. There is little expectation left of our reaching Ber- 
 hampore on the 20th, which I much regret. It is His plea- 
 sure, however, who is the God of Providence, as well as of 
 Grace. The river is now rising rapidly ; and as it has not 
 yet overflowed its banks, we have to contend against the 
 whole strength of the stream, especially at every turning. 
 On the 19th our progress was small. About eight A. M. 
 heavy rain came on, so as quite to obscure the horizon : 
 
534 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 this detained us till near noon. We tracked when the wind 
 lulled ; small rain fell till near four P. M., when the wind 
 rose, but not fair for us. At length at Devvan Gunge the 
 course became fair, when we fell again upon a whirlpool ; 
 but the wind carried us slowly through, and with some 
 exertion we reached a point near Cutwa. 
 
 1 ' I was here strongly reminded of my first visit in 1 806, 
 when I walked through the sun from Dewan Gunge to visit 
 Chamberlain.* The matted bungalow, his first wife's tomb, 
 visible as we sat at table, and the delicate little girl, the daugh- 
 ter of that wife, sitting by him, and his mourning for the 
 recent loss of his second wife, and the melancholy all these 
 circumstances cast upon our conversation, were vividly called 
 to my mind. Then his primitive mode of living, vegetable 
 curry, and spring water, gave me a feeling of veneration for his 
 character. I well remember too how in the evening Parson's 
 lively conversation cheered him and he came on the next 
 day with us to Plassey. At parting we sang Chamberlain's 
 much used hymn, " O'er the gloomy hills of darkness, &c." 
 I well remember the energy with which he used to sing. 
 He is now singing the 'new song ' in livelier strains, and his 
 work has not fallen to the ground. The moonshee could 
 not come on, on account of the rain. It is subject of much 
 regret to find myself on the evening of the 20th ten coss 
 from Berhampore by land, and not less than fifteen distant 
 by water. But I am not conscious of having lost an hour 
 since I left Chinsurah. If I could have foreseen the obsta- 
 cles, which have arisen from the winding course and 
 strength of the stream and failure of wind, I might have 
 passed without visiting Culna, but these reflections are now 
 in vain. May I but have wisdom and strength to improve 
 such opportunities as may present themselves at Ber- 
 hampore ! 
 
 " I arrived at Berhampore in the forenoon of the 22nd 
 
 * See Martyn's Letters aiid Journals. October 23rd, 1806, for one 
 or two notices which will illustrate what is here said. 
 
ARRIVAL AT BERHAMPORE. 535 
 
 July, and called on the chief military person and made 
 known my purpose of remaining over the following Sunday. 
 
 " On Tuesday forenoon I inspected with Col. T. the place 
 newly appropriated for divine service. It is fitted up with 
 pews for seventy or eighty of the upper classes, and with 
 benches for the private soldiers. It is supplied also with two 
 chandeliers of eighteen lights each, and abundance of wall 
 shades for evening service. 
 
 11 On Wednesday I examined all the classes in the regi- 
 ment school, consisting of sixty boys and forty-two girls. 
 The upper classes read their scripture lesson with distinctness 
 and propriety, and were pretty ready in Grossman's Cate- 
 chism : this was their chief attainment. In the regimental 
 library there are between 300 and 400 volumes of a miscel- 
 laneous kind ; few treating of religious subjects. To keep 
 up the library, sergeants subscribe four annas a month, cor- 
 porals and privates one. There are 213 subscribers. The 
 Christian Knowledge Society's library is confined chiefly to 
 the hospital. On Thursday forenoon I called on some of the 
 Civil servants, and on Friday visited the hospital, and read 
 to and exhorted the more dangerously sick. Mr. M. arrived 
 to-day ; but went at once, being very poorly, to Mr. P's 
 house, which is about two miles from the barracks. On 
 Saturday morning I made some preparation for the following 
 day. At half-past-six A. M. on Sunday, (the 28th of July) 
 the regiment was marched to church. There are in the 
 whole 700 men, of whom about half are Protestants, and 
 some of these being on duty, those who attend are very 
 sufficiently accommodated, which was by no means the case 
 in the place formerly used for their assembling. Mr. M. 
 was too unwell to assist, so that I had the morning service 
 on my hands, and the sacrament, of which notice had been 
 circulated : twenty persons attended. At half-past-three 
 p. M. about thirty convalescent out of the forty-two sick 
 assembled in the ward of the hospital. In the evening Mr. 
 M. read prayers. There were about 150 soldiers present; and 
 all the pews were occupied as in the morning. 
 
536 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " These are the principal events in the way of duty which 
 occupied me at Berhampore. A station school would be 
 very desirable for the many poor Christian children, uncon- 
 nected with the army ; but in the absence of a chaplain, and 
 from my own inability to endure the exertion, and indeed 
 from want of time, nothing was done towards such an ob- 
 ject. I had much pleasure in renewing acquaintance with 
 several I had known up the country ; but could benefit them 
 little, being always made unwell by the morning's exertion. 
 The wind has almost quite failed these two days, which ren- 
 ders the heat more oppressive. 
 
 " There is a mission here of the London Society. Mr. 
 H. has been at Berhampore several years, and is much res- 
 pected. The success among the natives has been very limi- 
 ted ; but he is very diligent in endeavouring to make the 
 truth known, preaching once or twice a day in their bazaars 
 and villages." 
 
 In a letter to Mrs. Corrie dated " on the Ganges," 
 August 1st. the Archdeacon, after having given a 
 detailed account of his equipments, &c. adds : 
 
 " Now for my companion. He is a baptized Hindoo, of 
 respectable, though not wealthy connections ; was educated 
 at Mr. Hare's school ; attended first Mr. Derosario, and 
 afterwards Mr. Duff: became a teacher in Mr. DufFs school, 
 and was finally baptized in the Scotch congregation. He is 
 now on the way to Futtyghur ; R. is Judge, and a pious 
 young doctor M. with him have established a school, and 
 wish for a native Christian teacher. Well : this youth, by 
 name, Gopy Nath Mundee, was recommended as a school- 
 master ; and to go with me, was thought by pious friends in 
 Calcutta, a favorable opportunity. A place in the baggage- 
 boat was assigned him, together with a learned Mahom- 
 medan enquirer, who will thus, I conclude, get a free passage 
 to the upper provinces. He is reputed wealthy, and asks 
 
ON THE GANGES. 537 
 
 nothing but a passage from me. The other youtlf finds the 
 pinnace more comfortable than the baggage-boat, (i. e. the 
 boat laden with scriptures and tracts, for I have no baggage) 
 and the second night he coolly proposed sleeping on my 
 couch in the outer cabin. This I told him would be incon- 
 venient to me, but that he might sleep in my palkee,* on 
 the top ; and there ever since has been his domicile. He is 
 up as soon as I am, and at first his want of acquaintance 
 with the peculiarities of our habits was trying to me, but I 
 had to deal with a Christian, and must not offend him. By 
 degrees we became intimate, and I begin to explain to ^him 
 our ideas of propriety. He is, I have reason to believe, a 
 Christian ; has taken my observations in good part, and now 
 I find little to interrupt my comfort, beside what the con- 
 stant presence of any except my beloved family would occa- 
 sion. I find him especially deficient in scripture knowledge, 
 and in doctrinal divinity. Hence, of late, every morning 
 exercise is a lecture on some point of scripture. We, to- 
 day, commence for morning-worship the Psalms 
 
 About ten the Molwee comes when he can ; and he has also 
 found out the comfort of the Pinnace ; so that he now comes 
 daily. He reads the scripture in Hindoostanee, with me 
 first, then he and the Baboo mutually instruct each other, 
 the Baboo learns Hisdoostanee from the Molwee, and the 
 latter English from the former : but here I am often ap- 
 pealed to by both. I must add that the Baboo (his age is 
 twenty) has begun in consequence of previous conversations, 
 to read the scriptures in Bengalee to the dandies. He offered 
 to instruct Ameer, f but he said tauntingly, ' no : I failed 
 once, and I'll have no more to do with it.' To-day we en- 
 tered the troublous Ganges. A squall came on soon after 
 we entered ; then a lull, which left us on a sand-bank in the 
 middle of the river." 
 
 In a letter to the same, dated Aug. 7th, he writes : 
 
 * Palanquin. t One of the attendants. 
 
538 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " Yesterday being very anxious respecting the objects of 
 my journey, I looked into Bishop Heber's journal ; and I 
 see more clearly what I have to do. His being a Bishop, 
 his lively conversations, and especially his coming to con- 
 firm, raised an interest wherever he went, which I can have 
 no pretension to expect. But at Berhampore, notwith- 
 standing my inability to go amongst the people privately, all 
 the station attended Divine service, and instead of ten or 
 twelve as usual at the Lord's Supper, twenty attended. For 
 this encouragement I feel thankful, and trust, as health re- 
 turns, I may at the station before me be the means of quick- 
 ening attention to the things which belong to salvation. 8th. 
 Stationary in a jungle, the weather cool, the night again 
 stormy, the wind still contrary. I had an interesting conver- 
 sation after breakfast with the Baboo, explaining to him the 
 subject of the annual Atonement and year of Jubilee of the 
 Israelites. We read the xvith and xxvth of Leviticus, and 
 the corresponding passages in the Hebrews. It is gratifying 
 to observe the pleasure these discourses give him, and truly, 
 
 Israel in ancient days 
 Not only had a view 
 Of Sinai in a blaze, 
 But saw the gospel too. 
 
 I have these few days been studying the Levitical Institu- 
 tions with renewed interest and benefit. 
 
 " August 9. Yesterday evening, about ten of the dan- 
 dies were led to sit down by us on the top of the Pinnace ; 
 and by keeping the Baboo to interpret what I said to them, 
 they were detained for an hour, conversing on the subject of 
 a mediator. By degrees they were led to see that Jesus was 
 more worthy than their prophet, and they appeared very 
 serious in their manner. 
 
 ' ' I have been engaged with the Molwee and Baboo in new 
 arranging the words in the Persian Litany, which is nearly 
 accomplished. In the evening, four of the dandies again 
 seated themselves near to us on the poop, and by degrees 
 
MONGHIR. 539 
 
 they were led again to the subject of a mediator, who could 
 pay our debt ef /sin, and procure for us pardon and accep- 
 tance with God." 
 
 " Reached Monghir on the 17th, in time to give notice 
 for divine service the next day. Mr. W., the Commissioner, 
 had returned home only the evening before. His return 
 was favorable, as he opened his house as on former occa- 
 sions, and at half past ten, all the Christians at the station 
 assembled. At Boglipore, there are not above twenty Chris- 
 tian residents ; at Monghir there are seventy or eighty, it 
 being a favorite station for invalids to take up their abode. 
 In reference to the country and climate, the station would be 
 one of the most desirable on this side of India, the opportu- 
 nities of doing good are many. On the opposite side of the 
 river, is the district of Purneah, where many Indigo Planters 
 are settled, and visits to that district at suitable seasons 
 might be made very profitable to the residents. Mr. W. 
 told me that those invalids who have families are gradually 
 leaving Monghir, in order to settle where their children can 
 have gratuitous, or cheap education. A Baptist Mission has 
 been established here many years. Their Hindoostanee 
 congregation consists of about sixty of all ages ; only fif- 
 teen of these adults have given up caste for Christianity ; the 
 remainder are of mixed race. Mr. L. who principally offici- 
 ates in Hindoostanee, has a chapel also near the large bazaar, 
 and, though he had no regard to the court-house when the 
 chapel was built, the suitors in the court attend in great 
 numbers. He has sometimes 400 hearers ; on Sunday last 
 about 150 were present. Mr. M. the other Missionary, in 
 conjunction with his brother-in-law, receives pupils, both 
 boys and girls. At this time they have twenty-one boys, 
 and eleven girls. These are most of the particulars which 
 will I think be interesting to you. On Monday morning 
 early, a wind from a favourable quarter sprang up, and carried 
 us round the fort, and we are proceeding not rapidly, but on 
 the whole favorably. This sudden change of wind prevented 
 
540 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 me from writing from Monghir. I hope to send this from 
 Patna by the end of the week. I have looked over the route 
 I have to take, with the respective distances of stations. I 
 shall send a sketch of the journey by land soon. 
 
 " Mr. L. mentioned that he some time ago met at Bog- 
 lipore, with one of the hill-men who understands Hindoos- 
 tanee; and wishing to know something of the hill language, 
 he engaged this man to teach him. After a time, he began 
 to attend seriously to the New Testament, which they read 
 together ; and he seems to have experienced a decided con- 
 version. This man is very anxious to impart the knowledge 
 of Christianity to the hill-men, and is preparing to return 
 as a missionary among them. He has been once, accom- 
 panied by a native Christian ; and on giving his people an 
 account of the new life on which he is entered, was not re- 
 jected, but invited to return and tell them more of this way. 
 
 " On Thursday the 22nd August, we arrived at Patna 
 about half past one P. M. As my stay would be short, 1 
 thought it better to remain in the boat. At that station I 
 found much to gratify, and to lead to expectation of 
 good, if proper means are devised. The Chaplain came to 
 see me on arriving, and I dined with him in the evening ; 
 the conversation was on subjects connected with our work. 
 He spoke of Wolffs visit here, and the impression it had 
 made on several ; his own mind was much stirred up to the 
 consideration of the spread of the Gospel. 
 
 " There is no appropriate place of worship at Patna. 
 Divine service once in the forenoon, in the court-house, is all 
 the public duty performed, there being no place fitted for 
 evening service. A gentleman who has an appointment in 
 the opium department maintains a boys' school of about 
 thirty scholars near his house, in which the Gospels are 
 read by the more forward boys. He entertains also a pious 
 Christian youth, educated by Mr. Wilkinson, who assembles 
 his servants and others for worship on Sundays. The col- 
 lector's lady has two boys' schools of about thirty each, and 
 
PATNA. 541 
 
 a girl's school in which about the same number are taught. 
 I examined the girl's school ; and besides the junior classes, 
 who are instructed in catechism, and elementary reading, 
 there were five who read fluently in any part of the four 
 gospels (Nagree character) : they repeated the ten Com- 
 mandments, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer, and gave as 
 good an account of the fall of man, the promise of a 
 Saviour, the life and sufferings of the Son of God, and the 
 purpose of his death, as most children in a Christian 
 school might be expected to do. These instructions are 
 given in a great measure by the collector's lady herself. 
 
 " When leaving Patna on Saturday morning the Church 
 missionary teacher brought a petition signed by about thirty 
 householders, Mahommedans, praying for a school. If an 
 efficient teacher could be supplied by any of the church 
 societies, here is a fine opening. The population is im- 
 mense, and several of the English residents at Patna would 
 willingly countenance the undertaking. I trust the matter 
 will not rest till a school be established. I was told by- 
 more than one, that since Mr. Wolff's conference with the 
 Mahommedans here, much attention has been manifested 
 by many of them to the subject of Christianity. Wolff's 
 chief disputant is very desirous of obtaining a work in 
 Persian or Hindoostanee on the evidences of Christianity, 
 to meet the enquiry excited among the natives. He fre- 
 quently comes to a friend in the opium department, and 
 converses on the subject. This gentleman obtained sub- 
 scriptions, and sent to Calcutta for copies of the Persian 
 Pentateuch, which have been read by the learned natives, 
 and many copies in Hindoostanee have been taken from the 
 catechist. He speaks of several respectable Mahomedans, 
 who occasionally attended the Sunday morning worship con- 
 ducted by the native Christian ; and the attention he meets 
 with generally, when he goes out to speak to the people and 
 distribute tracts, is very encouraging. Some of the families 
 
542 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 here meet on Thursday evenings, at each others' houses to 
 read a chapter, a sermon, and prayer. 
 
 "A scheme was on foot lately to commence a native col- 
 lege ; but funds are not forthcoming. 
 
 " On the 24th I came from Patna to Dinapore. On 
 arriving I received a very civil note from General O'H, and 
 soon after called upon him ; he kindly invited me to take 
 up my abode with him ; but I am engaged to Mr. R. At 
 Dinapore the chaplain labors almost beyond his strength. 
 On Sunday morning I preached to a large congregation 
 from the text Matt. xxv. 13. In the evening also the atten- 
 dance was good, and I preached again. Next day I was 
 very weary and staid at home, consulting with R. on some 
 alterations in the church, and on forming a Church Mis- 
 sionary Association. On Tuesday morning I examined the 
 regimental schools, consisting of forty two boys, and nearly 
 as many girls : and afterwards the station school of forty 
 one boys and girls of all ages and descriptions, as you may 
 judge from there being five sepoys among them, one Irish- 
 man also belonging to the artillery. We did not get home 
 till near ten, having commenced soon after six, both a good 
 deal fagged. Mr. S. from Patna, and Mr. L. the Commis- 
 sioner, had come up to see us. Wilkinson too^ was come 
 from Goruckpore for change of air. He has had a severe 
 illness, and the doctors say he must visit England in order 
 to complete recovery. I fear the change recommended is 
 quite necessary. His congregation amounts to 130, and he 
 speaks of his assistant as quite competent to the charge of 
 them, and worthy of confidence. If a new missionary 
 should arrive, he might go there to learn the language ; and 
 he could attend to the one English service on Saturday. I 
 trust some arrangement of the kind may be accomplished 
 should Mr. Wilkinson's departure be unavoidable. 
 
 " They lately lost a little boy of seven months who seems 
 to have been a very precious child : he was carried off in 
 twenty-four hours : there was no doctor in the station. 
 
CHUPRAH. 543 
 
 " On Wednesday at half past 6 A.M. we assembled in the 
 Baptistry, and formed a Church Missionary Association. 
 There were six officers present and many privates and others. 
 You will see the particulars in the Christian Intelligencer. 
 There are about 200 natives professing Christianity at 
 Dinapore. At present Mr. R. employs a pious Drummer, 
 an East Indian, who assembles them on Thursday evening j 
 from thirty to fifty attend. 
 
 " After breakfast on Wednesday I came away, being com- 
 mended to God in prayer. The wind blew fair and strong 
 and we reached Chuprah by night. S. and his wife are 
 at Chuprah at present. I wrote him a note, not intending 
 to go up, but he constrained me to promise to breakfast 
 with them the next day, which I did ; and the affection man- 
 ifested by them was very gratifying to me. 
 
 " On the 30th (August 1833,) the day was oppressively 
 hot, and the night exceedingly close, so that no relief could 
 be found any where. I rose weary to a degree. By 4 
 o'clock, it being full moon, I set the people off: and when 
 they were gone, I had a bathe on the deck, and never ex- 
 perienced the force of the expression so sensibly, As cold 
 water to a thirsty soul ; the refreshment was indescribable. 
 I thought the next morning to have had a similar enjoy- 
 ment; but the night was cool, and the morning breeze 
 made me shiver, and I was glad to escape from the water. 
 Such are the changes in this climate ! 
 
 " We could not make Buxar on Saturday : but Sunday, 
 Sept. 1st, we arrived at mid-day. At 4 p. M. I went to 
 Hindoostanee service, the catechist read the prayers : there 
 were twenty women and three men present, besides Mrs. M. 
 and her child ; she reads the Scriptures to the women, when 
 her husband goes on Missionary journies. But few of the 
 Europeans attend English service in the forenoon : and the 
 numbers in the Hindoostanee congregation are filled up as 
 its members are removed by death or otherwise. It is 
 reported that the station is to be abolished as a Government 
 
544 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 post. About twenty children, male and female, of European 
 invalids are taught to read and write by a sergeant, who 
 officiates as clerk, for which he has twelve rupees a month 
 from Government, and the children pay eight annas a 
 month. Their proficiency was very moderate. The mission 
 as far as I; could judge, languishes at this place, as at 
 Patna, for want of superintendence by an English Mission- 
 ary. A few of the old faces were there ; among them Mary 
 Caroll, an interesting character. She came to my boat this 
 morning, and enquired after Mem Sahib, and whether I 
 had taken the pension, and were going from the country, 
 as she heard. She said if Mem had been here, she should 
 have got some tea; so I gave her a tea-cup full to take 
 home with her. She is feeble and failing, but never misses 
 service, and responded cordially to my remarks on the end 
 of time, and the love of the Saviour in preparing a place 
 for his people. At 6 P.M. the little chapel was full for 
 English service, when I officiated to about eighty. 
 
 " After evening service I went across the river with M. S. 
 and the doctor, and enjoyed a cool refreshing night in his 
 quiet bungalow. This morning early (the 2nd) I came 
 over to the pinnace and had much conversation with M. 
 on the affairs of the Mission, and gave such advice as cir- 
 cumstances seemed to call for. I left him such books and 
 translations as I had brought and could spare, of which he 
 was in great need. I saw also an interesting young convert, 
 baptized three years ago at Lucknow by Mr. Bowley. His 
 answers to my questions, on his views of Christian truth, 
 were very satisfactory. As usual he is forsaken by his 
 Mahoinedan friends, a brother and mother. He teaches a 
 school here of fifteen Mahomedan boys, who receives Chris- 
 tian instruction from him. M. came over at 8 A. M. and 
 we went to breakfast with Colonel Bird. I feel as if my 
 visit here was very opportune. May the Lord, even our God, 
 grant his blessing, Amen ! I know not how I have omitted 
 to notice a shock of an earthquake which occurred on the 
 
GHAZEPORE. 545 
 
 night of the 26th August, between 11 and 12. The 
 motion continued for hours, and exceedingly alarmed the 
 whole country. At 20 minutes before 12 it was most 
 violent; when every window shook, and many houses 
 cracked : some of the native houses at Patna are thrown 
 down, and some European so damaged as to require being 
 rebuilt in part. No shock of so long continuance has oc- 
 curred in the memory of man. All were roused, and most 
 left their houses for the open air. I did not leave my cot ; 
 but Mr. R. came and stood by me for half an hour, occa- 
 sionally going to comfort his wife and mother. 
 
 " On the evening of September 3rd, a gale came as we 
 reached Ghazepore. It blew fresh all the night, but being 
 from the east we suffered nothing. Mr. T. kindly asked 
 me up ; and, after breakfasting with the Chaplain on the 
 4th, I came to his splendid abode. It rained hard all the 
 4th and 5th : in the night my cook and baggage- boats 
 were swamped at the ghaut opposite the mausoleum. All 
 the school-books and the Scriptures, which I was taking up 
 the country, are spoilt. Of my own I lost nothing ; but 
 am detained over Sunday to get another boat. I have 
 visited the school and shall preach on Sunday. 
 
 " On the morning of the 7th, I examined the regimental 
 school. There are above 100 boys and girls in one large 
 room : the greater part are boys, and the girls who attend 
 are of tender age. The exhibition was on a low scale in 
 scripture reading and catechism and accounts. The com- 
 manding officer told me he was aware of the comparatively 
 low attainments of the school-master sergeant ; but he had 
 no one of equally good conduct whom he could substitute, 
 and he thought good example of great importance to the 
 children. There are but few sick in hospital at present; 
 the chaplain told me he visited them weekly, and from cot 
 to cot. I had the whole service on the morning of the 8th, 
 Mrs. R. being unwell. In the evening I preached also, and 
 
 2 N 
 
546 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 the attendance was very considerable, as I was told is very 
 usually the case. 
 
 " I arrived at Benares about midday on the 10th ; and 
 on the llth early went to the Missionaries of the Church 
 Missionary Society to inspect the endowed school in the city. 
 There are 149 boys ; of these fifty receive instruction in 
 English. We began to examine them at six, and continued 
 engaged with them till nine. I enclose a list * of the boys, 
 exhibiting their progress ; and in respect of the English I 
 have much pleasure in reporting most favorably. The 
 pronunciation of the youths is better than I have found in 
 any other native school ; and the first class is really profi- 
 cient in the subjects enumerated opposite their names. A 
 box of books for schools entrusted to me by Lady W. Ben- 
 tinck, supplied some very useful rewards, and the youths 
 seemed much gratified with them. I regret that from the 
 extreme heat I was unable to attend equally to the other 
 department of the school. I merely enquired into the 
 nature of the instruction they are receiving. They all read 
 the scriptures in the languages they learn, and the Hindoos- 
 tanee teacher would not be satisfied without our waiting to 
 hear his class repeat a part of the Christian catechism in use. 
 The school is under the immediate charge of Mr. S., and 
 the Rev. Mr. Smith has till within the last month frequently 
 given instruction in the week. The Rev. Mr. Leupolt has 
 now undertaken that charge. 
 
 " On the morning of the 12th I visited the female school. 
 
 * From this list it appears, that the first class (of 9 boys) could 
 read, spell, and translate Goldsmith's History of England to p. 77, 
 and Scripture Lessons, on the History of Joseph to p. 14. They 
 committed to memory the 117th No. on Agriculture, and 248th No. 
 on Astronomy, of Blair's Preceptor. They worked exercises on the 
 14th Rule of Syntax of Lennie's Grammar ; the Rule of Three ; 
 1 3th Problem on the terrestrial globe of Goldsmith's Grammar of 
 Geography, and were committing to memory the 2nd part of Watts' 
 Catechism a second time. 
 
BENARES. 547 
 
 There are eighty in usual attendance ; but here I was from 
 the heat obliged to confine my attention to the first class. This 
 consists of eighteen, of whom thirteen were present. These 
 read in two places of St. Matthew's Gospel with readiness in 
 Hindee. They read also in Genesis, and in a small abridg- 
 ment of Scripture History. They answered questions on the 
 subjects they read intelligently, and shewed a fair acquain- 
 tance with the leading truths of revelation. They repeated 
 with accuracy the Scripture catechism in use, and finished 
 with singing together a Christian hymn. This it seems 
 they at first objected to learn ; but now they are fond of 
 this part of the school -exercises. Specimens of marking 
 both in English and Hindee were exhibited, which shew 
 much proficiency. 
 
 "Mr. Smith collected the scholars of the three Hindee 
 schools at the Mission premises : but from the excessive heat 
 I was able to attend to only one school. In this about 
 half the number, (fifteen) are reading portions of our 
 Scriptures j but the schools have not long been in operation, 
 and the proficiency of the boys was accordingly small. In 
 consequence of the detention at Ghazepore, I was unable to 
 give a Sunday both to Benares and Chunar. It was agreed 
 therefore that I should preach a Missionary Sermon at Be- 
 nares on Sunday. I went by land to Chunar and am happy 
 to say I found Mr. Bowley perfectly restored to health, and 
 capable of his usual labours, after having for several years 
 seemed decaying. There have been no additions of late to 
 the native congregation, though there have been several en- 
 quirers. Mr. Bowley is at present engaged in a correspon- 
 dence with the chief Molwee at Lucknow, who having, as he 
 concluded, discomfitted Mr. Wolff in argument, sent his 
 statements to Mr. Bowley, challenging him to answer them 
 if he could. It is remarkable that he heads his pamphlet 
 (not printed) Testimonies to Mohammed contained in the 
 Christian Scriptures ; literally, Glad tidings of Moham- 
 med from the Prophets and the Gospel; The misapplication 
 
 2 N 2 
 
548 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 of his quotations is glaring ; but the fact of our Scriptures 
 being read, though not quite new, is thus confirmed. 
 
 " On the morning of the 14th we visited the boys' and girls' 
 school ; in the former are above forty, and I was glad to find 
 that some fine lads, whom I saw here in 1830, have found 
 provision at the neighbouring stations as writers, &c. The 
 present school consists of rather small boys. In the girls' 
 school are upwards of sixty ; these are much attended to by 
 the lady of the Adjutant, and exhibited a very satisfactory 
 proficiency in Scripture knowledge and the Catechism ; be- 
 sides being well instructed in needle work. Mr. E. catechises 
 both boys and girls on Sunday mornings in Church before 
 divine service, when some of their friends are also present. 
 
 "The Church Missionary Association is in beneficial opera- 
 tion ; they raise funds for the support of (I think) three 
 readers of the Scriptures, and two native schools. On the 
 whole my mind is much set at rest on some points, respecting 
 the Mission at Chunar by this visit. The Lord grant his 
 blessing ! 
 
 " On Sunday, the 15th September I preached for the 
 Church Mission at Benares, and 156 Rs. were collected after 
 the sermon. This, considering that the Chaplain raises 
 about 130 Ks. monthly for the support of the native female 
 school, was beyond expectation. To faithful labours and 
 consistent character much of the success of the plans for 
 assisting the Mission, both here and at Chunar, is to be at- 
 tributed. The state of English society, both at Ghazepore 
 and Benares, is very favourable to Christian projects. 
 May God raise up, as in due time He no doubt will, suitable 
 instruments for extending the knowledge of His saving name ! 
 On Tuesday morning I passed an hour at sunrise with the 
 Missionary brethren in reading and prayer, and came away 
 to Juanpore in the evening, 
 
 " At this place is a pretty little Church in the Gothic style. 
 There are three principal residents, by whom chiefly the funds 
 have been raised. Lady William it seems kindly said to 
 
JAUNPORE. 549 
 
 Mr. B. at Allahabad, when told of this undertaking, that she 
 would pay for glazing the windows ; this has been done and 
 120 Rs. are owing, besides which 220 Rs. were due for 
 partial pewing. On Sunday, September 22nd, I officiated in 
 this pretty building. The advantage of having an appro- 
 priate place for divine service was never more manifest than 
 here. In the morning the whole Christian community 
 assembled, in number thirty-five ; of these fourteen remained 
 to partake of the Lord's Supper. In the evening there were 
 twenty present, and about this number usually assembled on 
 Sundays twice a day, when the judge, collector, and com- 
 manding officer officiate in turn, reading the service of the 
 Church, and a printed sermon. These three families meet 
 also for social worship at each other's houses on Thursday 
 evenings. There is a Catechist of the Church Missionary 
 Society at Jaunpore. His name is Mirza Yusuf Bukir, a 
 son of the celebrated traveller, Abu Talib Khan. This man 
 resided at Allahabad when Mr. W. Bird was there, and ob- 
 tained from him a New Testament In Persian, and occa- 
 sionally asked of Mr. Bird explanations of passages. This 
 led to his conversion. He now instructs the Christians con- 
 nected with the native regiment at Jaunpore, and reads the 
 scriptures to the servants of two families. Mr. Brown de- 
 rives assistance from him also in translating tracts for circula- 
 tion, when his public duties allow him any leisure, which is 
 seldom. I had the pleasure to baptize Mirza's wife on the 
 24th, after several years of refusal to receive the Christian 
 religion. This shews his perse verance*; and all the friends 
 at the station bear testimony to his consistent piety ; though 
 it is thought he has not sufficient employment where he Is, 
 and I wrote to Dr. C. at Patna on the subject of his being 
 employed there, to which Mirza perfectly agrees. A youth 
 taught in the Church Missionary school at Benares will, I 
 expect, be entertained in the native college at Jaunpore as a 
 teacher of English. It was at one time in contemplation to 
 have placed him in a school in connexion with the Church 
 
550 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Missionary Society ; but there not being sufficient funds at 
 disposal, it was determined to have English taught in the 
 native institution, for here, as every where, the people are 
 desirous of education in English. 
 
 " My bodily strength is considerably renewed ; but the con- 
 finement of the boat, equally with daivk travelling, has pre- 
 vented my deriving all the benefit I trust I may now hope 
 for, at least on reaching Cawnpore. I am preparing a dif- 
 ferent route to that which we talked of together. By the 
 one then proposed I could, if health held out, by scarcely 
 intermitting a day of travelling or visiting schools, reach 
 Bombay by the middle of March, and then, if a ship be 
 ready to sail, reach Calcutta by the end of April or early in 
 May. But unless duty called, Bombay would be out of my 
 way ; and I cannot but own that the spirit of enterprise has 
 much departed from me. I shall now propose to go from 
 Cawnpore to Saugor (not included in the former plan) ex- 
 pecting to be there the second Sunday in November; at 
 Mhow the first Sunday in December ; Neemuch the third 
 in December ; Nusreerabad at Christmas ; Agra the first or 
 second Sunday in January ; then Muttra, Delhi, Meerut, 
 Kurnaul, and to the snowy mountains during April, May 
 and till the middle of June ; return by Meerut, Fettyguhr, 
 and the Ganges, so as to reach Calcutta in July, or early in 
 August. This would not make my absence from Calcutta 
 above three months longer than in the former scheme, and 
 would keep me upon my own ground; and in the hills I 
 should have useful employment. But in the view of such a 
 journey I cannot but feel how appropriate the language of 
 the Apostle is, If the Lord will ? I do trust my resolves are 
 all formed in that spirit, and I often do feel that a reconciled 
 God is near at hand. If the Bishop could but make this 
 tour I should expect God would greatly bless his visits. I 
 find every where some who seem waiting for the kingdom of 
 God, and a few who love and live on the Gospel of our Sa- 
 viour. A marvellous change in public feeling has certainly 
 
ALLAHABAD. 551 
 
 taken place among the upper classes of our countrymen, in 
 respect of the disposition to favour good plans. It seems a 
 pity that their means of supporting such plans should be 
 shortened just now. I was expecting the society of a valued 
 young friend from Cawnpore to Mhow, when behold ! the 
 youth has found for himself a wife ; and the lady cannot 
 travel such long stages as I must make. I must therefore 
 proceed alone, with my own thoughts to keep me company. 
 I leave this, D.V. on Monday evening by land, having left 
 my pinnace here: I intend to stay over the heat of Tues- 
 day at a staging bungalow ; go forty miles to Futtypore, 
 where are Christian friends ; stay with them till Thursday 
 evening, and proceed to Cawnpore so as to arrive by Friday 
 to breakfast. 
 
 " On the 25th September, I arrived at Allahabad, and on 
 the 26th went to breakfast with the Chaplain ; and after- 
 wards with him visited and examined the school in the fort. 
 There are twenty boys and eight or ten girls receiving in- 
 struction : of these eight or ten are orphans, and their 
 schooling is paid for out of the sacramental and other collec- 
 tions : and also paper, pens, and books are supplied to the 
 school. The other children pay three and half Us. each a 
 month, as remuneration to the teachers. The proficiency of 
 the children was very moderate, except in the Church 
 Catechism, in which about twelve of them gave ready and 
 intelligent answers to questions. There, as at other stations, 
 the reward -books supplied to me by Lady William were 
 gladly received. On the 28th, I was unwell, and obliged to 
 lie by. On the 29th, towards evening I examined the native 
 girls' school, where several ladies of the station met me. 
 By the care of friends here a large compound close upon the 
 bazaar has been obtained, and a very commodious school- 
 room erected from funds raised on the spot. This was the 
 first time the school was used, nineteen girls were present, 
 all children of Mahomedans ! It is expected that the 
 number of children will not increase. Of those present ten 
 
552 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 read with fluency any part of the Hindoos tanee New Testa- 
 ment, and repeated correctly the Hindoostanee catechism in 
 use. The school is under the care of an officer's widow, 
 assisted by a poor woman, who teaches the lower classes. 
 
 " A catechist of the Church Missionary Society is also 
 stationed here, named David Batavia, originally from Ceylon. 
 He reads prayers with the Native Christians in the invalid 
 lines, amounting to from ten to fifteen ; and also to about 
 the same number of Christians of the same class in the fort. 
 He goes about from time to time distributing tracts, and 
 conversing with the natives about Christianity. His piety 
 and benevolence are admitted by all who know him, but no 
 extensive good has yet appeared to result from his labours. 
 He resides in a house which was given to the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society, by the Rev. Mr. Crauford, when he was 
 Chaplain here. The house is well situated for a Missionary's 
 residence. On Sunday morning we had Divine Service in 
 the garrison at six. There is now only one Company of 
 Artillery here, and of these many are Roman Catholics ; so 
 that only about forty were present : but the conductors and 
 others connected with the magazine, who with their families 
 reside in the fort, exceed sixty ; and with a few from can- 
 tonments made a congregation of about 100. I preached 
 in the morning, and in the evening at the circuit bungalow, 
 where upwards of thirty attended. The partition-wall in this 
 bungalow is about to be removed, when it will be much 
 more commodious for public worship than in its present state, 
 and it is expected more will attend. On Sunday evening 
 last those who came late could with difficulty be seated. 
 The situation of the ground about the fort is below the level 
 of the Ganges during the rains. The river is kept out by 
 an embankment, which was this year in danger of giving 
 way. The ground is thus low for a distance of about two 
 miles from the fort, where on a rising ground the Military 
 Cantonments and Civilians' houses are situated. No Church 
 could therefore be erected nearer than about two miles from 
 
FUTTYPORE. 553 
 
 the fort. A vacant space may there be found close to the 
 circuit bungalow, the nearest point to the fort. So that there 
 must always be two congregations at this station. Mr. R. 
 Bird has informed you of the numbers and growing impor- 
 tance of Allahabad ; as a Missionary station it is become 
 of very great importance. A numerous and wealthy popu- 
 lation reside in the bazars, engaged extensively in trade ; 
 and the town being at the junction of the rivers Ganges and 
 Jumna, will increase in proportion as the country is pros- 
 perous. The numbers who now resort to the Board of Re- 
 venue and to the Sudder Court will give opportunity of 
 circulating the glad tidings over all upper India ; and Mr. 
 L's experience at Monghir has led me to build much on this 
 resort of strangers. 
 
 te Futtypore, October 3rd. At this station there are only 
 four government servants ; and only one of them married. 
 The judge and doctor are old acquaintances of mine, and I 
 am staying a day to break the journey to Cawnpore, where I 
 hope to arrive to-morrow morning. A school is maintained 
 by these few residents here, the medical man giving a good 
 deal of his time to it, and also to a hospital where many sick 
 poor are attended to : the expense of this is also maintained 
 by friends on the spot. The population being to a con- 
 siderable extent Mohamedan, the school is not so well at- 
 tended as is desirable. I visited it this morning: there 
 were thirty boys present ; of these six have made some pro- 
 ficiency in English under a native, educated in the school at 
 Cawnpore. His proficiency is very moderate, and his 
 scholars accordingly come on slowly. They were reading 
 the 3rd chapter of St. Matthew, having with much patience 
 and good management been brought to read our Scriptures. 
 At first much opposition was made to their introduction. 
 They are aware, they say, that from reading these books 
 people become Christians. Here as every where the field is 
 open for Missionary labour. 
 
 " I have here met with an officer who has travelled the route 
 
554 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 I mentioned a few days since by Saugor to Mhow, Neemuch, 
 Nuseerabad, and Agra. I was apprehensive that there 
 might be dense jungle to pass through, and danger from 
 malaria ; but he tells me the country is pretty well cultivated, 
 and that there is no jungle to speak of; that the aspect of 
 the country, moreover, is interesting, much beyond these 
 level plains. I seem therefore fixed in that plan. I shall 
 be ready to leave Cawnpore, I conclude, by the last week in 
 October ; and will send before I proceed, a detailed account 
 of the progress I expect to make. 
 
 " I leave here the young Baboo who accompanied me, and 
 whose conduct has been uniformly Christian and correct. 
 
 " I arrived at Cawnpore on the morning of the 4th Octo- 
 ber. From the wish not to lose time, I had left my boat at 
 Allahabad and proceeded dawk, as I had to that place from 
 Benares, via Jaunpore. 
 
 " This mode of travelling made me very unwell, and pre- 
 vented for a whole week my taking so active a part as I 
 otherwise might have done. I was also prevented visiting 
 Lucknow, which I could have done only by dawk. I wrote 
 however to Mr. Greenwood for information. He also came 
 over for a day to Cawnpore, and represented his situation at 
 Lucknow as pleasant and his prospects as encouraging. He 
 receives every attention and aid which Christian kindness 
 can devise, from the chief authorities there. 
 
 " October 6. I attended Divine service at the church 
 bungalow, and stood up once more in Martyn's pulpit. The 
 place is a little enlarged, by adding the portion where the 
 communion-table stood, to the body of the building, and 
 adding another space to which the communion-table has 
 been removed : and also a small vestry. I was rather late 
 from the distance of Mr. Ws. bungalow, and this prevented 
 my mind, in going, from dwelling on the well-known scene, 
 and by-gone experience. The congregation was full and 
 attentive, and my mind a good deal solemnized by the ser- 
 vice. So that on returning, the remembrance of Martyn, 
 
CAWNPORE. 555 
 
 and the Sherwoods and Mary, with the occupations of that 
 period, came powerfully to my recollection, and I could not 
 prevent the tears from flowing rather plentifully. They 
 were not, however, tears of regret altogether, for joys de- 
 parted. A sense of much short-coming in duty mixed in 
 my feelings ; and the forgiving love of God, with the pros- 
 pect of all joining in thankful adoration in the realms of 
 bliss, greatly preponderated. I almost involuntarily began 
 to sing : 
 
 '* Thy mercy, my God, is the theme of my song." 
 
 " The two Chaplains at Cawnpore perform their public 
 service on Sundays at the riding-school of the Lancers, where 
 the horse and foot Artillery also attend, and at the church 
 bungalow, where H. M. Infantry regiment attends, and the 
 civil servants and other inhabitants of the station. This 
 duty the Chaplains take alternately. Evening service is 
 always held in the church bungalow at half an hour after 
 sun set ; and this duty the Chaplains divide between them. 
 Besides this there is an evening service on Tuesdays at the 
 Magazine, for the families connected with that department ; 
 on Wednesday evening in the small chapel on Mr. Ws pre- 
 mises, where many of the riding-school congregation attend, 
 and on Thursday evening in a large room near the Infantry 
 barracks. On Sunday evening also there is evening service 
 in the chapel of Mr. Ws premises. 
 
 " The attendance on these occasions is generally full, 
 especially at the church bungalow on Sunday evenings, 
 when a very considerable number of the upper classes, as 
 well as others, are regularly present. I officiated at all these 
 places, except the riding-school : being prevented by illness 
 from going out the Sunday I was at liberty for that service. 
 On Sunday, the 20th, I preached in the church bungalow in 
 behalf of the mission here, when 695 Rs. were collected and 
 100 Rs. sent afterwards, besides some blank tickets, which 
 would make the collection upwards of 1000 Rs. 
 
556 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " There is an establishment at Cawnpore called the Free 
 School, established and partly maintained by private contri- 
 butions ; and to which Government allows 400 Us. a month. 
 In this there are at present seventy-two children learning 
 English, of whom eighteen are Christians who are boarded 
 and clothed also from the funds. There is a Persian class, 
 and also a Sanscrit class. Those who learn English all learn 
 together according to their proficiency. Several native 
 youths have become qualified in this school for public offices, 
 and have obtained situations of considerable emolument. 
 
 " Connected with the mission are four schools, superin- 
 tended by different friends, who take an interest in them. 
 These have each an English class, as well as scholars who 
 learn Hindoostanee or Persian. About 250 of these boys 
 assembled in the church bungalow on the morning of the 
 12th. I was obliged to confine the examination to the Eng- 
 lish classes, which occupied us from sunrise till after nine. 
 The first class of the Free School boys had made the greatest 
 progress, and their pronunciation of English was very correct ; 
 but the best boys had been provided for in various ways 
 lately, so that those present had not advanced far. A few 
 of them had some knowledge of grammar, and could point 
 out with readiness the position of countries and remarkable 
 places on the globe. The boys of the magazine school were 
 next in proficiency, and a class in Hindoostanee read with 
 admirable accuracy and readiness portions in the Hindoos- 
 tanee New Testament, which they at the same time trans- 
 lated. The Rev. Mr. C. officiates in Hindoostanee at the 
 church bungalow, at 4 p. M. on Sundays and Thursdays. 
 I attended on one occasion ; there were six men and six 
 women, which constitute the chief of his regular congrega- 
 tion. A catechist, brought up by Mr. Bowley, has been sta- 
 tioned here about three years. He goes into the bazaar 
 almost daily to converse with his countrymen on the impor- 
 tant subject of religion. He is spoken of as maintaining a 
 steady Christian character. He officiates as clerk to Mr. C, 
 and reads the chapter, which Mr. C. expounds after prayers. 
 
CAWNPORE. 557 
 
 "I examined the school of H. M. 44th, which is in the 
 best condition by far of any school I have seen during this 
 journey : the general reading and knowledge of the English 
 language, the acquaintance with English history, and ac- 
 curacy in dates, the proficiency in geography and arithmetic 
 of the first class of the boys, consisting of seven, was 
 exceedingly pleasing. Three of them also read Hindoo- 
 stance. The first class of girls also were very well instructed, 
 and these classes, as well as the lower ones, were all well 
 acquainted with the Church Catechism. There were 100 of 
 both sexes. The school of the Lancers consists of about 
 seventy ; their proficiency was not so good, having been in- 
 terrupted by sickness. The mortality of this station has 
 been great this year, beyond most other seasons. The heat 
 both for intenseness and continuance has this year been 
 unusual. The register between July and September exhibits 
 a list of 224 buried ; The children of the regiments have 
 been carried off to a great amount. On account of this 
 sickness the duty of visiting the hospital came heavily upon 
 the chaplains, especially on Mr. W., as these visits were 
 mostly made during the day, when his colleague was unable 
 to go out in the heat. A considerable seriousness has been 
 wrought in the minds of the generality at the station by the 
 mortality around, in connection with the labors of the 
 chaplains. The attendance at the Lord's Table, one of the 
 Sundays I was there, amounted to 115, of whom ten were 
 native Christians ; and it was said not to be a large com- 
 munion. 
 
 " The collections on these occasions are liberal, beyond what 
 is found at most other stations. The subject of missions 
 for several years past has been brought frequently to the 
 notice of the congregation, and a box with two openings is 
 carried round to collect the offerings at the communion ; 
 one marked Missionary, the other Charitable. The col- 
 lection is usually about 200 Rs. and stated congregational 
 collections are also made. A charitable committee has been 
 
558 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 formed some time ; also a Missionary committee. The cha- 
 ritable committee relieves weekly between 400 and 500 
 poor : the Missionary committee have in hand now about 
 10,000 Us. 
 
 " It is not decided what kind of Missionary Institution 
 shall be established, or in what manner it is proposed to 
 conduct it. The want of schoolmasters qualified to teach 
 English is, however, becoming manifest, and any plan which 
 would supply this want would be deserving of warm sup- 
 port. It is not in the first instance a Missionary, so much 
 as a schoolmaster, that is called for in a variety of places at 
 this time : men who would teach grammatically on a small 
 allowance. The free-school at Cawnpore might serve as the 
 lower branch of such an establishment. At present, as soon 
 as qualified to earn from 20 Us. a month and upwards, the 
 scholars leave school. A plan must therefore be adopted to 
 retain promising youths till they become sufficiently in- 
 structed to instruct others. 
 
 " I was requested by the Chaplain to state particularly the 
 condition of the station libraries. During his Government, 
 Lord Hastings induced the Court of Directors to send out a 
 library to each station of European troops. These were 
 mostly supplied according to a list Lord Hastings himself 
 sent home, and are generally speaking of a useful tendency. 
 No additions have, however, been made to the list first sup- 
 plied, and some additional supplies are greatly needed. In 
 the Infantry regiment the commanding officer has encouraged 
 the resort of the soldiers to the reading room, and a consi- 
 derable spirit of reading and improvement prevails in H. M. 
 44th. The soldiers, assisted by the officers, have added, I 
 believe, to the Government stock ; and many of the soldiers' 
 wives have benefitted also by the Library : a circumstance 
 too unusual hitherto in the army. The appointment of 
 Librarian, and also the care of the books, was originally 
 assigned by Government to the Chaplains of stations, but 
 this order has not been properly attended to. 
 
BANDA. 559 
 
 " In the Cavalry Corps at Cawnpore, the public library 
 has not been encouraged, and on Government determining to 
 erect a new reading-room, the Chaplains were not consulted 
 as to the site or dimensions. The situation of the new 
 reading-room is not considered favorable for the resort of the 
 soldiers, and no less than 6000 Rs. have been expended, 
 when a room of half the cost would have equally answered 
 the purpose. If Government were to republish the order 
 placing the station libraries under the charge of the Chap- 
 lains, and to order that in all arrangements respecting the 
 libraries and schools and the rooms for them, the Chaplain 
 should be of the Committee, it would conduce greatly to 
 the efficiency of these institutions ; and if either from public 
 or private sources a few suitable books were from time to 
 time added to the existing stock, it would tend greatly to 
 keep up a spirit of reading among the soldiers." 
 
 From Cawnpore, the Archdeacon proceeded to 
 Ban da. He arrived at that place on the evening 
 of Saturday, Oct. 26, and on the Monday following 
 received letters from the Bishop of Calcutta, in- 
 forming him that it was the intention of the autho- 
 rities in England, to appoint him to the Bishopric 
 of Bombay, which an act passed this year for the 
 renewal of the East India Company's Charter, had 
 enabled his majesty, King William IV., to erect. 
 The directions of the Bishop also were, that the 
 Archdeacon should forthwith return to the presidency, 
 preparatory to his proceeding to England. The in- 
 telligence which the Bishop of Calcutta conveyed, 
 was altogether unexpected by the Archdeacon, and 
 occasioned him some embarrassment. The calls 
 
560 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 upon his pecuniary resources had of late been 
 many, what with the charges attendant on the edu- 
 cation of his children, and his wife's voyages to Eng- 
 land, added to some loss by the failure of a house 
 of agency. Unless, therefore, government should 
 provide for the expenses, which a voyage to England, 
 for consecration, would entail upon him, he could 
 scarcely avoid contracting some debt for the time ; 
 and that he felt would scarcely be right for him to 
 risk, at his period of life. These, and other con- 
 siderations which were likely to affect the future 
 welfare of his family, the Archdeacon candidly stated 
 to the Bishop of Calcutta in a letter from Banda, 
 in which he further observes : 
 
 " I turn my face toward Calcutta to-morrow, D.V. T had 
 reached just the border of my former local knowledge, and 
 should have been very unwilling to give up the prospect 
 before me had I proceeded much further. I had taken no 
 measures directly or indirectly towards the attainment of 
 the honor and responsibility in question ; and trust I may 
 hope that God will guide and second my poor endeavours to 
 serve the Church according to His will. If then I say I 
 turn toward Calcutta with some reluctance, it is merely lest 
 what I have stated should prevent my going to England. 
 If prevented going, the omission of visiting the remaining 
 stations would be in vain, and the loss sustained for no good 
 purpose. For, little as I feel capable of effecting, yet good 
 will I am persuaded follow these passing visits. 
 
 " Our Church goes on her way, doing what she can ; too 
 secure, perhaps, that her endeavors are generally known and 
 appreciated. Those who separate from us tell all they do, 
 
ALLAHABAD. 561 
 
 and seem sometimes to make much of little. To those at 
 a distance they however seem the only people at work, and 
 in consequence are applied to for books and for information 
 on missionary subjects, and for missionaries and school- 
 masters. Mr. D. for instance, has been applied to, to supply 
 a teacher at Allahabad ; and at Banda he was applied to in 
 the first instance to supply a teacher at Futtypore. In 
 visiting the stations, I see almost every one who is disposed 
 to take an interest in missions, schools, &c. They have 
 almost all been educated in Church-of-England principles 
 and modes of worship, and would all prefer receiving aid 
 from us, and remaining connected with the Establishment. 
 These visits bring them acquainted with what is doing among 
 their own friends. They will learn where to look for help, 
 such as they can in all respects approve. In this way 
 some, who were inclined to good, are led to come forward 
 openly, and the cause of truth and righteousness gathers 
 strength. The disposition to establish schools is increasing 
 everywhere ; and if half a dozen teachers could be got at once, 
 they might be set to work. With reference to this subject 
 the High School might become an important Institution, 
 and would be well employed in educating some of the best 
 boys with the expectation of being useful as school- 
 masters. 
 
 " I must travel to Allahabad by land, which will occupy 
 about ten days ; and then I shall hire a boat to proceed 
 downwards. A letter is ten days reaching Calcutta from 
 this ; so that a few lines, if you see cause for changing my 
 course, would meet me at Benares. I could even then re- 
 turn to Saugor by a more direct route, and pursue the plan 
 before intended with the loss of not more than a month. I 
 have made observations in my progress with reference to fu- 
 ture visitations, which I intend to commit to writing with a 
 view to aid in enabling to do more good/' 
 
 To the same prelate he writes : 
 2 o 
 
562 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " Nov. 12th, 1823, near Gazeepore. On arriving at 
 Benares yesterday morning, I found your favor of the 5th 
 inst. 
 
 " At Benares I was not less than 200 miles from the 
 point whence I returned ; I should therefore, had I delayed 
 at Benares, have been able to march straight to the hills, 
 without time to accomplish any thing at intermediate sta- 
 tions. I think therefore you will approve of my coming on 
 at once to Calcutta, as I am now doing. I could not have 
 borne so long a journey by dawk. I passed Sunday last at 
 Chunar, and took part of the duty with Mr. E. ; Mr. Smith 
 officiated twice at Benares. 
 
 " I am happy to state that Messrs. Knorpp and Leupolt 
 are such proficients in Hindoostanee, as already to be able 
 to undertake the duties of the native Christian Chapel/' 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 DELAY IN HIS NOMINATION TO THE BISHOPRIC. 
 
 NARROW ESCAPE FROM DEATH. SUMMONED TO 
 
 ENGLAND VISITS THE CAPE AND ST. HELENA 
 
 HIS CONSECRATION INTERVIEW WITH THE KING 
 ARRIVAL IN MADRAS VISIT TO TANJORE AND 
 TINNEVELLY. 
 
 THE Archdeacon arrived in Calcutta, from his vi- 
 sitation, on the 30th of November 1833. He there 
 learned, it seems, that his probable destination had 
 been changed ; for in writing to Mr. Sherer, he 
 observes 
 
 " You are aware of the intention of those in power, res- 
 pecting my being appointed to Madras. I have not sought, 
 and may therefore, I trust, receive the appointment as from 
 God, and expect Him to guide and uphold me in the duties 
 of it. To have gone home without so public a designation, 
 woul(J, in some sense, have been more agreeable to me ; ex- 
 pecting, as I must, to be often called before the public : but 
 to have "taken c sweet counsel ' once more with you and my 
 family would have been a great gratification. Should the 
 appointment take place here, it will be like taking a final adieu 
 of you all, as it respects the life that now is/' 
 
 202 
 
564 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 It appears, however, that for several months he 
 received no further communications on the subject of 
 the Bishopric. Thus he writes 
 
 TO HIS WIFE. 
 
 Feb. 6, 1834. 
 
 " I have received several letters from various quarters on 
 my rumoured preferment. In the mean time, I hear no 
 more on the subject. I am not, however, in the least anxious. 
 I am sure whatever be God's will must be best. I have no 
 reluctance to remain here." 
 
 The Archdeacon was now, in fact, on board a 
 pilot-schooner, cruising in the bay of Bengal, with 
 a view to recover himself from the effects of a bad 
 cold. From thence he writes 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " The renewal of the East India Company's Charter pro- 
 mises great and important changes for this country. They are 
 all intended by the framers of the Bill, without any regard to 
 religion in any form. How far God will overrule this pro- 
 ceeding in rulers professedly Christian, remains to be seen. 
 Certain it is that great changes have already taken place, 
 in both European and Native Society. In the latter, any 
 real good has been effected through God's blessing on 
 missionary exertions. To this, Government in former days 
 was opposed ; now it is not so : and we require only men 
 and support, to spread the Christian knowledge far and wide ; 
 and we do hope Divine Providence is favouring the purpose, 
 and will supply the means. As to our European Society, a 
 
CALCUTTA. 565 
 
 friend who was with us lately from Madras, says, that in all 
 the Society, chiefly mercantile, he came in contact with 
 whilst with me, he saw or heard nothing in general offensive 
 to Christian feeling. This from a stranger, and one capable 
 of judging, speaks well for Calcutta. Indeed, at this time, 
 every pulpit in Calcutta, and the adjoining stations, is sup- 
 plied with a faithful preacher ; and the example of our beloved 
 Bishop makes even the timid bold e to declare the whole 
 counsel of God.' " 
 
 TO HIS SISTER. 
 
 March 4, 1834. 
 
 " Before this reaches you, my destination will be fixed. 
 If not removed from this presidency, it is probable my resi- 
 dence henceforth will be at Agra, the seat of the new resi- 
 dency, as next in authority to the Bishop, who will continue 
 at Calcutta. In either case, the prospect of you and I meet- 
 ing again, is removed to a distance I do not like to let my 
 mind dwell upon. When I recur to Stoke, a thousand over- 
 powering recollections crowd upon me For myself, 
 
 my days have passed as a dream. I have had much enjoy- 
 ment, but seem not to have accomplished any one thing as I 
 might have done. I was beginning to anticipate much 
 enjoyment in the society of Sherer and my brothers, but 
 that seems to be deferred for a season, if it ever arrive. 
 The anxieties attendant on domestic life have been compara- 
 tively few. The loss of children I now contemplate as a 
 gracious appointment, fixing by a process at the time painful, 
 two olive-branches in the Paradise of God ; and if it please 
 God, that Eliza and the children reach me in safety, no earthly 
 care will more, I think disturb me. Yet I know cares 
 will arrive, but as my day is, strength will be vouchsafed/' 
 
 In the month following the date of the foregoing 
 letter, Archdeacon Corrie had a narrow escape from 
 
566 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 death by drowning. The circumstances attending 
 the danger to which he was exposed, are thus related 
 by himself in a letter 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " Calcutta, May 6, 1834. 
 
 " I may mention that on the 22nd ult. J. Jackson and I 
 set off to go to Ishipore, or the Government powder-mills. 
 Through the kindness of a friend in the Military Board, the 
 use of a house there had been assigned me, for two months, 
 near to our valued friend Major Powney ; and we were going 
 to take possession. We proceeded in a bholiah* with a 
 fair wind, and had reached opposite the grove, when an 
 alarm was given that the Bore f was coming in. John and 
 I had just time to get from under the cover, when, sure 
 enough ; a foaming breaker was close astern. The first wave 
 the boat surmounted, but then 'broaching to,' as sailors 
 say, the second wave turned her bottom upwards. John and 
 I and all the people, ten in number, were plunged into the 
 deep. I for some time could not rise, and swallowed a good 
 deal of water, when I providentially became involved in the 
 sail, by the aid of which I reached the surface; and my 
 servant (Wahid) who was swimming in search of me, pre- 
 sently seized my arm and drew me towards the boat, which 
 was floating up with the tide ; and by degrees I got upon her 
 keel. John had some difficulty also, in reaching the boat ; 
 and we were picked up by a friendly Indigo-planter, who 
 himself narrowly escaped. He gave me a blanket, which pre- 
 vented cold, and at Tittagur, we got from Mr. Bateman, at 
 
 * A row-boat covered at one end. 
 
 f The rush of the spring-tide up the river. The elevation of the 
 wave thus occasioned, is very considerable ; and the noise and ra- 
 pidity of the rush is appalling. 
 
CALCUTTA. 567 
 
 the Bishop's country-house, a change of clothes, and in the 
 evening we returned by land without suffering any incon- 
 venience whatever. The news somehow got abroad, and I 
 have received much sympathy, and more tokens of interest 
 in my fate than I expected. The danger was imminent, 
 but was over in a few minutes. " 
 
 In a memorandum penned on the day following 
 
 that on which this accident occurred, after reciting 
 
 the foregoing particulars respecting it, the Archdea- 
 con adds : 
 
 {f On finding myself below the flood the thought occurred, 
 ' Is my end come ? ' But I do not recollect that any ejacu- 
 lation or any cry for help escaped me. Afterward in Mr. P's 
 boat there appeared danger from the roughness of the 
 weather, when I did refer myself to God, to be disposed of 
 according to His will, without reservation. I have this morn- 
 ing before day, solemnly called my ways to remembrance 
 before God, and have solemnly ' received the Atonement,' if 
 I never received it before ; desiring to receive Christ as my 
 sanctification, as well as my righteousness ; having proof even 
 since this event, that unless He sanctify as well as justify 
 me, I shall remain unholy still." 
 
 During the month of July, Mrs. Corrie and her 
 daughters reached Calcutta in safety, and in the 
 meanwhile the Archdeacon had received directions to 
 proceed to England for consecration. He observed 
 in a letter addressed, on the 24th of June 
 
568 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " A few days since, I received from Mr. Grant an official 
 notice of my nomination as Bishop of Bombay, and desir- 
 ing me to come home for consecration at my earliest con- 
 venience. I have received a verbal consent from the 
 chiefs in authority here also, to send me home on service 
 with the same allowance I now have, till I enter on my new 
 appointment I will say nothing of the prospect be- 
 fore me, but that I feel rather depressed than elevated by it. 
 Bombay is as new to me as it would be to you, except that 
 I know what it is to bear this climate and people/' 
 
 It was found, however, that the Indian authorities 
 had no power to allow the Archdeacon to receive his 
 present stipend until he should enter on his new ap- 
 pointment. The reason indeed why the Government at 
 home could give no definite instructions until now, 
 respecting the Archdeacon's movements was, that 
 although the provisions of the new charter allowed 
 of his appointment to one of the additional bishop- 
 rics, it decided also that his stipend as Archdeacon 
 should thereupon cease, and that his allowance as 
 Bishop should not commence until he actually landed 
 in India, to exercise the duties of his office there. 
 But as under such circumstances he felt called upon 
 to decline the office, it was in contemplation to send 
 out a bishop from England who, in conjunction with 
 the bishop of Calcutta, should consecrate the third 
 bishop in India. The difficulty alluded to having 
 however been surmounted, the Archdeacon writes 
 
CALCUTTA. 569 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 "August 4, 1834. 
 
 " I am happy in the prospect of enjoying your society 
 for a season again. I think we shall correspond with more 
 intimate, though I scarcely conceive we can with warmer, 
 feeling than before. My heart has always clung to the idea 
 of brothers and sister as, next to wife and children, the 
 strongest tie to earth : and my visit home will, I am sure, 
 only strengthen this feeling. I wrote to H. in May, of my 
 expectation of coming home in September. Some rumours 
 had led me lately to conclude that I might be spared the 
 journey and voyage ; but last week I received a notification 
 from the Commissioners for Indian affairs, that His Majesty 
 has granted me a pension of j8800 a year, to be drawn only 
 when deriving no emolument from ecclesiastical preferment 
 in India. This we conclude Mr. Grant meant as a supply 
 for the expences of visiting England for consecration. It is 
 all he can do ; and the Court of Directors are altogether so 
 opposed to the increase of [the number of] Bishops, that 
 
 they will afford no aid whatever I expect to embark 
 
 in October. It was in October last that I was first in- 
 formed of the preferment intended for me, but till June last, 
 had no certainty : and now the difficulties by sea and land, 
 and especially the separation from family, render the pros- 
 pect far from cheering. I do not pretend to be insensible 
 to the distinction implied in being a bishop, though 
 heartily glad that no ' Lordship' is connected with it in 
 this instance.* I know Indian society well ; and know 
 that from the familiarity with which all in the service mix, 
 from the Ensign or Writer of six months standing, to the 
 General or grave Judge of the Circuit, that a man coming 
 
 * It was erroneously asserted at the time that the usual appel- 
 lation df courtesy was not to he assigned to the suffragan Bishops 
 of India. 
 
570 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 with a title is viewed with much jealousy : and unless, like 
 Heber, he make himself one with them, whilst every sentence 
 he utters proves his mental superiority, he will rather be 
 shunned than sought. As it is, whilst I seek not theirs* 
 but them, I may, as in time past, be permitted to do a 
 little good in my way." 
 
 Archdeacon Corrie had made every preparation 
 for proceeding to England, intending that Mrs. C. 
 and his daughters should remain in India ; but the 
 health of his wife began so decidedly to fail again, 
 that the medical men peremptorily decided that her 
 only human chance of recovery was from a voyage 
 to the Cape. This unforeseen domestic trial pre- 
 vented tbe Archdeacon from embarking so soon as 
 was originally arranged ; but on the 1 2th of No- 
 vember he quitted the shores of Bengal in the ship 
 "Exmouth." It pleased God to grant him a pros- 
 perous voyage to the Cape, where he arrived with 
 his family on the 13th of January 1835. After a 
 stay there of some days, the Archdeacon embarked 
 for England, taking with him his eldest daughter, 
 the rest of his family remaining at the Cape. In a 
 memorandum dated Feb. 13th. he remarks: 
 
 ee We left St. Helena yesterday evening about 7 o'clock, 
 and have thus far had a fair and favouring wind. On the 
 llth I went with Anna to visit Napoleon's grave. The spot 
 is sequestered, and might well attract his notice in life. He 
 used frequently to retire, and read under the trees which 
 now overshadow his tomb. Great was the kindness of the 
 English Government towards him ; but his restless mind 
 could take pleasure only in troubled scenes. He was a great 
 
VOYAGE TO ENGLAND. 57 1 
 
 instrument in breaking down old barriers to the progress of 
 Divine truth. May God in mercy supply the means of 
 establishing His truth, on the Continent of Europe and in 
 all the earth ! I received much civility from the Governor, 
 His Majesty's Commissioners and others. Only one Chaplain 
 in the island, and he sickly. The population is about 5,000. 
 There is a good deal doing in the way of schools. A Free- 
 school contains one hundred and twenty boys ; Plantation day- 
 school fifty-five boys, and twenty-two girls. Four evening 
 schools ninety-two : four girls' Day-schools, fifty-seven : Huts- 
 gate, twenty-six. In all, 512 children, of whom sixty-nine are 
 supported by Government, and sixty-eight boys, and twenty- 
 five girls by the Benevolent Society. There are about 
 300 Chinese settlers ; industrious, but ignorant. For these 
 a school-master is to be recommended by His Majesty's Com- 
 missioners. Mr. Brook, however, told me, that they have 
 families by the race of mixed blood, and that their children 
 go to school and become identified with their mother's class. 
 The labours of the Chaplain are too much for his health : 
 another is greatly needed." 
 
 On Tuesday April 7, the Archdeacon and his 
 daughter landed at Dover from the * Exmouth,' slept 
 at Canterbury, and proceeded the next day to Lon- 
 don, where he was cordially welcomed by Mrs, Wil- 
 berforce Bird, the daughter of his valued friend, the 
 late Rev. David Brown. He remarks in a memo- 
 randum, dated April 12th. 
 
 " I have been prospered hitherto in all my expectations. 
 I have endeavoured to pray for pardon and grace to guide 
 me all that I have aimed at hitherto, has succeeded. May 
 I be enabled to receive the good, so as not to be elated and 
 so grieve the Holy Spirit to leave me to darkness and cor- 
 ruption The views on the way to town were enliven- 
 
572 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 ing on all sides. Multitudes of small, most comfortable 
 dwellings, well deserving the name of ' The happy homes of 
 England ; ' besides the stately houses scattered up and down : 
 whilst increasing buildings at every place, indicate high 
 prosperity, and give an appearance of comfort that goes to 
 the heart. But comfort is inseparable from duty, and my 
 duty seems to call me away from these fair scenes to a 
 literally and spiritually, ' dry and barren land.' May God 
 but go With me, for he can open springs in the desert." 
 
 In obedience, therefore, to the calls of duty, the 
 Archdeacon did not consider himself at liberty to 
 remain in England longer than might be absolutely 
 necessary for accomplishing the object of his voyage. 
 Within a few days, therefore, of his arrival in Lon- 
 don, he waited upon the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 to receive his Grace's directions respecting such matters 
 as might be preliminary to consecration. The Mel- 
 bourne administration having, however, just at that 
 time returned to power, the unsettled state of things 
 consequent upon a change of Ministry, occasioned 
 some delay in the preparation of the official documents 
 connected with the defining of the boundaries &c. of the 
 diocese of Madras, to which see the Archdeacon had 
 ultimately been nominated. In the meanwhile, the 
 Archdeacon took occasion to communicate with the 
 Committees of the religious Societies in connection 
 with the Church ; and had the happiness to receive 
 from all, the assurance of their willingness to aid 
 him to the utmost of their power, in furthering his 
 plans for the good of his future diocese. All the time 
 
ENGLAND. 5?3 
 
 that was not taken up by such necessary occupations 
 as these, he spent with his surviving relations and 
 friends. His oldest and most valued friend, Mr. 
 Buckworth, he was not permitted again to meet on 
 earth ; for that servant of God died during the very 
 week, in which the Archdeacon reached the shores 
 of England. 
 
 It was whilst visiting his relatives that Archdeacon 
 Corrie writes 
 
 TO HIS WIFE. 
 
 " June 5, 1835. 
 
 " I have now to tell you that the Archbishop has fixed 
 Trinity Sunday, as the day for ray consecration. On the 
 14th instant, I expect, therefore, if the Lord will, to be 
 set apart as Bishop of Madras. This news I received yes- 
 terday ; and I awoke this morning with such an oppressive 
 feeling of the case, as to compel me to arise and pray for 
 relief. The Saviour's grace can render me even an instru- 
 ment of good; and in this consideration alone I find any 
 thing like repose/' 
 
 Before returning to London, the Archdeacon 
 visited Cambridge, and was there admitted to his 
 Doctor's degree, by royal mandate, on the llth of 
 June. He proceeded to London on the following day. 
 
 The day appointed for his consecration having ar- 
 rived, he was admitted to the episcopate by the 
 Archbishop, assisted by the Bishops of Lichfield, 
 Carlisle, and Bangor ; the preacher on the occasion 
 being the Kev. Josiah Pratt. In a memorandum, 
 
574 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 in which Dr. Corrie noted down the particulars of 
 the service in which he had been engaged, he re- 
 marks : 
 
 " I awoke in the morning at four o'clock, and set myself 
 to prayer. I then read in the Epistles to Timothy,* and the 
 Hebrews, with* a view to the service before me, and was 
 enabled to realize in a small degree the pardoning mercy of 
 God, and to hope for grace in all time to come. I then 
 asked for mercies suited to my apprehension of my present 
 state ; for relatives and friends ; and for the Church of God 
 at large. During the service at Lambeth, I entered with 
 some fixedness, into the sentiments expressed in the prayers ; 
 and intend to review them frequently, to bring my vows to 
 remembrance. When having the robes put on me, the 
 language of the Church in Isaiah came to my mind, and I 
 prayed to be clothed with the garments of Salvation, and the 
 robe of righteousness. 
 
 " Whilst standing before the table in my rochet, I thought 
 of Latimer, led to the stake in his long shirt ; and, I trust, 
 desired to be found faithful unto death. . . . On the whole, 
 I bless God for the grace vouchsafed to me this day, and 
 only desire that the impression may remain ; which past 
 experience teaches me will not be the case, unless Thou, 
 Lord, carry on that, I trust, Thou hast began. ' Forsake 
 not the work of Thine own hand/ for Jesus' sake, Amen 
 and Amen." 
 
 Soon after his consecration, Bishop Corrie remarks 
 in a letter to his wife, as he notes also in a memo- 
 randum : 
 
 " I am not yet reconciled to my change of signature. The 
 
 * Mr. Pratt, preached from 1 Tim. ii. 14 ; and the Sermon was 
 afterwards printed by the Archbishop's command. 
 
ENGLAND. 575 
 
 meaning of the change I understand to be, that those who 
 are appointed to rule in the church of Christ, take the 
 name of that portion of His body (He being Head and 
 Bridegroom of the Church) to which they are, in the 
 language of Scripture, ' married/ If my new name do not 
 remind me of allegiance, and tend in some degree, to bind 
 me to obedience, it will not operate as it ought to do. I 
 find, however, the same old nature still within me, and that 
 it changeth not with a name. May a new nature, as well as 
 a new name, be wrought in me ! " 
 
 On the 18th of June, the Bishop had, by special 
 appointment, a private audience of the king. The 
 account of this interview with King William IV. 
 was recorded at the time by Bishop Corrie, and is 
 too characteristic of that kind-hearted sovereign to 
 be omitted : 
 
 " I went to St. James' at four o'clock," observes the 
 Bishop, " and had an interview with the king alone. On 
 entering his closet, his Majesty came forward, offered his 
 hand which, kneeling on one knee, I kissed. He then de- 
 sired me to sit down ; and detained me about half an hour. 
 Asked, Where I was educated ? Where born ? How long 
 I had been in India ? My income ? Pension ? How long 
 I was going out for ? My motives in going ? Whether I 
 had any relatives, &c. Saying, amongst other things, 
 < that the Indian Bishops ought to have a house : that he did 
 not like the cutting down of salaries ; feared it would bring 
 back the old abuses ; expressed a high opinion of the Indian 
 servants of government, and much interest in the welfare of 
 India ; wished me health and strength to perform my 
 duties ; told me not to remain in India, if my health failed ; 
 and said he should be happy to hear of a Bishop's appoint- 
 ment to Bombay. He then most graciously dismissed me." 
 
576 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 On Friday the 18th, the Bishop attended the 
 Committee of the Society for the Propagation of the 
 Gospel. The Bishops of Lichfield and Bangor were 
 present ; and at the request of the meeting, the last- 
 named prelate drew up a resolution congratulatory 
 of Dr. C. on his appointment to Madras, and ex- 
 pressive of the good wishes of the society towards 
 him ; after which he took his leave. 
 
 The next day, the Bishop "and his daughter 
 went on board a steamer at the Tower-stairs and 
 joined the " Exmouth," which was then lying 
 in the Downs, and in which they had secured a pas- 
 sage to Madras. At four o'clock that evening, 
 the anchor was raised, and the ship got under sail for 
 her destination. During the following week, how- 
 ever, they did not make much way, for on the 26th 
 of June, the Bishop writes 
 
 TO HIS BEOTHER. 
 
 " Off Plymouth. 
 
 " The wind has been contrary, as you will conclude from 
 the date of this. It is still contrary, but having now sea- 
 room, the pilot is about to leave us. Farewell, then, to 
 England, probably for ever ; though I have no presentiment 
 or resolve on that head. And farewell to beloved relatives. 
 How happy are we in the prospect of dwelling together in the 
 ( city which hath foundations ! ' In this, surely, we who 
 have lately met are favoured ; and truly thankful am I for 
 this communion with you. 
 
 " We'll praise God for all that is past, 
 And trust Him for all that's to come." 
 
THE CAPE. 577 
 
 There were on board the Exmouth, several 
 passengers ; among whom were the Rev. M. Wil- 
 kinson and his family, returning to their missionary 
 labours in India. Besides passengers, were one 
 hundred recruits, with their officers, proceeding to 
 join H. M. 16th regiment of foot. On Sundays, as 
 the weather permitted, the Bishop was in the habit 
 of celebrating divine service on deck, and of ad- 
 mitting daily to family-prayer in his cabin, as many 
 as chose to attend ; whilst Mr. Wilkinson collected 
 from among the soldiers, a Bible-class of sixteen, 
 with whom he read the Scriptures every day. In 
 the evening of the 6th of September, the Exmouth 
 reached the Cape of Good Hope, where the Bishop 
 had the comfort of finding his wife's health greatly 
 recruited. As, also, the Chaplains at the Cape were 
 in expectation of Bishop Corrie's return, they had 
 prepared their young people for Confirmation, and 
 he accordingly administered that rite on the 12th of 
 September, to 150 candidates. On that day also, 
 his youngest daughter was married to Mr. George 
 Bird, of the Madras civil service. On the 13th, 
 the Bishop with his wife and daughter sailed from 
 Simon's bay, and reached Madras on the 24th of 
 October. On the same day, previously to landing, 
 he recorded the following memorandum : 
 
 (( After several days of very slow progress, we are now, 
 through God's goodness, in sight of Madras, but unable to 
 
 2 p 
 
578 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 go in, until the sea-breeze springs up. Uninterrupted 
 mercies have followed me through the voyage home and hi- 
 therto. Much favour has been shewn to me by many of the 
 excellent of the earth. Persons in authority have manifested 
 great civility. Supplies forthcoming in the most ready 
 manner, and from unlooked-for sources. I trust some 
 knowledge on various subjects has been acquired by me, and 
 some increased attention to the holy Scriptures. New duties 
 now await me, and the prospect often oppresses me, lest I fail. 
 Keep thy servant from presumptuous sins, and enable me to 
 walk humbly with thee. Let no elation, on account of 
 outward circumstances, find place in me ; nor depression on 
 account of conscious inefficiency, prevail to hinder me from 
 doing what I can ! May I be enabled to order my house- 
 hold in a becoming manner. Prepare my ways, Lord, 
 with those in authority ; and enable me to act in all things 
 as the servant of Jesus Christ ! " 
 
 Bishop Corrie having landed at Madras on Satur- 
 day Oct. 24, was installed at St. George's Church, 
 during the morning-service, on the following Wed- 
 nesday. Archdeacon Robinson officiated on the oc- 
 casion. For the first few weeks after his arrival in 
 Madras, the Bishop occupied himself almost exclu- 
 sively in making himself acquainted with the state 
 of things around him. Thus on the 15th of De- 
 cember, he writes 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " I have been taken up hitherto in exchanging visits of 
 civility. I have preached, indeed, in all the churches, of 
 
MADRAS. 579 
 
 which we have six in Madras, and one at the Mount, six 
 miles distant. I have, also, visited some of the schools, 
 and been making myself acquainted with the state of things 
 here as to religion. It is low enough with respect to the 
 descendants of Europeans. A district Visiting Society is 
 much on my mind, as a means of getting at individuals, in a 
 more direct way than has been attempted hitherto. I think 
 I begin to see my way in this matter ; but feel often much 
 oppressed. We have several good men amongst the Chap- 
 lains ; but I am not yet familiarly acquainted with them, 
 and our communications are consequently somewhat stiff. 
 
 " Madras is not at all like Calcutta ; we live in houses 
 surrounded by large gardens. Our's stands in between two 
 or three acres, and is quite private, though in the centre of 
 the place, and about three miles from the landing-place. 
 The surf which breaks on the shore all along the coast, is 
 constantly sounding, and at first attracted our notice ; but 
 it is now become a common thing. 
 
 <( The Missions in the south are in much confusion, in 
 Tanjore, from the caste question; in Tinnevelly from 
 Rhenius's separation. I am requested to visit them next 
 month." 
 
 The question of caste here alluded to, was in truth 
 none other in principle than that which troubled the 
 Church in the first ages, (Gal. ii. 3, &c.) and in 
 like manner had created divisions and heart-burnings 
 among the native Christians at Tanjore. Scarcely 
 had Bishop Corrie arrived in Madras, before he re- 
 ceived a long petition from some of the native priests, 
 native catechists, schoolmasters and other native 
 Christians in Tanjore and its vicinity, requesting, 
 among other things, that the injunctions left by the 
 
 2 P 2 
 
580 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Bishop of Calcutta respecting the total abolition of 
 caste, might be somewhat relaxed. It was with re- 
 ference to that circumstance, that the Bishop ad- 
 dressed the following letter to the senior native ca- 
 techist at Tanjore : 
 
 " Madras, Dec. 29, 1835. 
 
 " I lately received a letter in the Tamul language, which 
 has been translated for me, and purports to be from several 
 Christians, inhabitants of the villages over which you were 
 formerly Catechist. They express great regret on account 
 of your removal, and complain of those who are at present 
 placed by the Rev. Missionaries to instruct them. It is my 
 purpose, "if the Lord will/' to visit Tanjore about the mid- 
 dle of January, when I will endeavour to ascertain what is 
 the true character of the Catechists complained of, and will 
 take such measures respecting them as the case may require. 
 In the mean time, you will be so good as to make known this 
 my purpose to the parties who wrote the letter. I wish at 
 the same time, to beg of you, who have so long been a 
 teacher of the mercy of God to others, to consider anew 
 the question of caste. Can you hold it as a Christian prin- 
 ciple that God is a respecter of persons, and that those who 
 are high-born, can, on that account, claim to come first to 
 the table of the Lord ? No man of any caste, who is an 
 unbeliever, or an immoral person, or profane breaker of any 
 of the commandments of God, ought to be permitted to 
 come at all to the Lord's Supper ; and I am certain that 
 due respect will always be shewn to respectable Christians, 
 by true Christians who may be inferior to them in temporal 
 circumstances. But you will not, I think, wish to main- 
 tain that any one can claim precedence in spiritual things, 
 merely on account of natural birth or any outward distinc- 
 
MADRAS. 581 
 
 tion. I need not quote to you the scriptures?, that in the 
 Lord Jesus, " there is neither circumcision, nor uncircum- 
 cision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free ;" but " as many 
 as received Him, to them gives he power to become the sons 
 of God. " 
 
 " I pray God that you and others, who are leaders in the 
 Lord's army, may candidly consider this point in a purely 
 Christian view, and without reference to any past proceedings. 
 I desire to come among you as a peace-maker, and restore 
 harmony among you if I can. I greatly lament the dis- 
 tress which many, I hear, are suffering ; and if you, who 
 are leaders, will meet me in the spirit of Christian love, 
 some of the distress may be removed. Not only, therefore, 
 in regard to the purity of the Christian doctrine, but from 
 love, also, to your countrymen and fellow-christians, I hope 
 you will be for peace." 
 
 The separation of Mr. Rhenius at Tinnevelly, 
 from the Church mission at that place, had occurred 
 before Bishop Corrie reached Madras. It appears 
 that early in 1835, Mr. Rhenius had most unjus- 
 tifiably published a tract for the purpose of impugning 
 the government, ritual, and discipline, of the Church 
 of England, notwithstanding that he stood connected 
 as a missionary with the Church Missionary Society. 
 However painful it might therefore be, to that So- 
 ciety, to dissolve their connection with a person who 
 had for twenty years zealously laboured as a mis- 
 sionary, yet, under the circumstances of the case, 
 they felt bound in consistency, as conscientious 
 members of the Church of England, to declare that 
 the relationship which had hitherto subsisted between 
 
582 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Mr. Khenius and the Society was at an end. In this 
 decision Mr. Rhenius readily acquiesced, and quitted 
 Tinnevelly in June 1835, having previously delivered 
 over all the concerns of the Church-mission there, 
 to the Society's representative. Within a few 
 months, however, Mr. Ehenius thought proper to 
 return to Tinnevelly, at the invitation of some dis- 
 satisfied catechists ; and the natural consequence was, 
 that the whole mission at that place underwent a 
 change from a state of organization and peace, to a 
 scene of strife and disorder. It was with the hope 
 that some remedy might be suggested for this lamen- 
 table state of things, that the Bishop thought it of 
 importance that he should ascertain personally what 
 might be done for peace and order. 
 
 " I go," he observes, in a Letter to his brother, " at 
 much personal and pecuniary inconvenience. It will cost 
 me ^6100; but my instructions are called for, and I cannot 
 direct in the dark. I go with much fear and distrust of 
 myself; but by calm investigation, and taking no hasty 
 steps, I trust I may effect some good/' 
 
 In a memorandum which the Bishop made January 
 2, 1836, in the prospect of the journey, he states : 
 
 " I have examined the Madras Asylum, both male and 
 female ; and the high school at Vepery. Examined also, 
 the native girls' school of the Church Missionary Society. 
 In all of them a very considerable knowledge of Scripture is 
 found. I have received Mr. Hickey, as a Missionary to the 
 Portuguese con gregation of the Vepery Mission -, and am 
 
SADRAS. 583 
 
 endeavouring to bring about a district Visiting Society for 
 Black Town, and to have the Church-building fund confined 
 to this Diocese ; which seems agreeable to all I have met 
 with, who wish well to the object. I have taken steps 
 towards issuing marriage licences. In all this, there is all 
 the prosperity I could desire : yet never at one period have 
 my trials been so great. The experience of that Pope, who 
 is said to have doubted of his salvation, more and more, as 
 he advanced in the Orders of his Church, till having gained 
 the highest step, he utterly despaired, sickened and died, 
 has been much on my mind. . . . Frequently I awake in 
 the night with a feeling of dismay inexpressible, as to what 
 may be the end of myself, and in respect of the objects 
 contemplated by my office. Intending to visit Tanjore and 
 Tinnevelly, I am at a loss utterly how to proceed, or what 
 to attempt. I am indeed oppressed : Lord, undertake for 
 me. I will still thank God, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord ! 
 
 It was on the llth of January 1836, that Bishop 
 Corrie left Madras on his mission of peace. The 
 incidents connected with this journey are related in 
 the following correspondence with his wife and family, 
 or in occasional memoranda : 
 
 " Sadras, Jan. 12, 1836. I arrived here at 4 o'clock this 
 morning, just 11 hours after the Palkee left home, and this 
 included the passage of the river after I left you, and the 
 delay at the first stage of nearly half an hour. The bearers 
 therefore, travel faster here than in our country : they do 
 not change shoulders so often, but go generally a swinging 
 step, which is very uneasy. The road lay all the way 
 within sound of the surf, and here the Bungalow is not 
 above a gun-shot from the sea. There is one old fort, and 
 many descendants of Dutch, all very poor ; the Bungalow 
 
584 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 is in very nice order, and has accommodation for three 
 parties. A Colonel, his wife, and some children, with an 
 Ayah,* came in about 7 ; they have two rooms, and I one, 
 but we see nothing of each other. Notwithstanding the noise 
 of the bearers, and the jolting of the Palkee, I slept a good 
 deal, and had a nap after arriving, although a disturbed one. 
 Fish and eggs were provided for breakfast, and I am as 
 comfortable as I can be from home ; but I feel much a 
 stranger and very lonely. My thoughts are often with you 
 all, and heavy thoughts also arise as to the result of my 
 journey. The more the state of the Tanjore people is 
 enquired into, the more difficult it appears to deal with them. 
 Their teachers have countenanced much that is wrong among 
 them, by administering among them, without reproving 
 their errors ; from which they at length have concluded 
 themselves blameless ; and in looking over the list of charges 
 urged against them, many seem matters of choice, which 
 we all observe or not according to taste. May He in whom 
 alone is wisdom and strength, give me both to perceive and 
 to know what things I ought to stipulate for, and grace 
 faithfully to fulfil the same ; and may He ' turn the hearts 
 of the disobedient ' among them, ' to the wisdom of the 
 just !' 
 
 " Myaveram, Jan. 14. I arrived here at half past six, 
 and having changed my clothes and reposed a little, purpose 
 giving you a brief sketch of my journey thus far. I am in 
 the house of Sir Henry Montgomery, the deputy Collector of 
 Tanjore, but have not yet seen him or his lady. The whole 
 way I have come is, as to country, not only without interest 
 but very dreary ; partly I suppose, that being along shore, 
 the sea air is unfavourable to vegetation, The road was to 
 Sadras firm and good, after that to Pondicherry, partly 
 sandy, and partly lakes of water, and partly on the very 
 brink of the sea. Since leaving Cuddalore, at first sandy 
 * Native nurse. 
 
MYAVERAM. 585 
 
 and heavy, then stiff soil, but no made road ; and it took 
 twelve hours to travel about thirty-six miles. We crossed four 
 pretty broad rivers during last night ; two of them branches 
 of the Coleroon, a name renowned in OrmeV account of 
 Hindoostan, and which I little expected ever to behold. On 
 two of the rivers are ferry boats, provided by Government, 
 good and substantial ; but all the other boats I have been 
 obliged to use are both comparatively small and very fragile. 
 The water has nowhere been deep, though enough to give a 
 good ducking. The Coleroon even might have been passed 
 by wading, but the bearers professed fear of Alligators. 
 The song of the bearers continues the same all the way as 
 at Madras. 
 
 " One mode of adorning their temples, is peculiar to this 
 part of India. Near a Hindoo Pagoda on this side Sadras, I 
 observed a colossal figure of a man seated on a throne. For 
 a time I could not make out what it could be. Yesterday 
 morning, the same kind of figure presented itself with a 
 spearman on each side standing by it, and in front a huge 
 figure of a horse. Yesterday evening, passing near a shady 
 grove there seemed to be a row of tigers guarding the 
 entrance, which in the gloom of the twilight appeared at 
 first very formidable : and just before I reached my present 
 position, a row of elephants, and figures of men on horse- 
 back, seemed to guard the entrance to a temple ; and 
 behind were figures as of a flock of sheep. This is all I 
 have seen new on my way. This place is like a garden in 
 not quite a wilderness, for the country seems fertile, but 
 irregularly cultivated ; and a pretty lawn with a variety of 
 flowers in front, gives a lovely appearance, to my eye, which 
 has seen nothing like it since leaving Madras. I must not, 
 however, disparage Cuddalore; but it is an old regularly 
 formed town, with 300 European pensioners scattered about 
 it, besides the gentry, civil and military. I passed yesterday 
 from half past 9 till half past 4, gaining useful information 
 on missionary matters. Contrary to my former experience 
 
586 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 on this point. I sleep a good deal during the night, so as to 
 require no sleep during the day. 
 
 " Twelve o* clock. At breakfast, met Sir Henry and his 
 lady. They are nice young people, and both seem very 
 happy and intelligent. They have been here five years, quite 
 sequestered : he has been eleven years in the service, but 
 looks considerably younger, with fine speaking eyes. They 
 go home next year on furlough. They make me very wel- 
 come, and I have a nice apartment, all in the bungalow 
 style. Tanjore forty miles : I am to be driven part of the 
 way in the evening. The Christian Catechist, and some of 
 his people have been to see me ; about 600 young and old are 
 under Christian instruction. 
 
 " I am not yet half on my way ; the distance looks at times 
 dreary, and the old idea of dragging a lengthened chain, 
 applies a little to my case. May duty prevail as it ought, 
 and my chains will feel proportionably lighter ! Think of 
 me when on your knees ! 
 
 " Tanjore, January 17. Intending to proceed at bed- 
 time to Trichinopoly, I leave this for to-night's post ; as 
 otherwise several days would intervene before you hear 
 of me again the distance to Trichinopoly is thirty-six miles. 
 On Friday I had a busy day with the Missionaries, ascertain- 
 ing the number and state of their congregations, accounts of 
 their proceedings &c. Yesterday I was occupied almost the 
 whole day with the Nonconformists : at one time, and for 
 about two hours, the room was quite full of them. It was a 
 time of great anxiety to me, hearing their objections, and 
 answering them. The task was not difficult, but the point 
 I stood upon was the duty of attending the Lord's Supper, 
 without regard to who else might be present. I stated that 
 the bread represents our Lord's body, and the wine his 
 blood, which he offered on the cross for our redemption. In 
 communicating, we are to think only of the Saviour, whose 
 memorial is before us ; and in receiving the bread and wine, 
 we receive Christ as the author of our salvation. But if I re- 
 
TRICHINOPOLY. 587 
 
 fuse to receive the emblems of the Saviour because another 
 has partaken before me, I lose sight of the Saviour, and 
 treat the bread and wine as common food. This they could 
 not get over, and I am led to hope, most of them will yield 
 this point, and if so, I shall have to thank God for having 
 come. If not I have done what I could in this matter. 
 Through God's goodness I am quite well to-day and pre- 
 paring to preach in English at half-past ten ; and to attend 
 family service at four P. M. Evening. The congregation in 
 the morning was about fifty, besides many natives, who un- 
 derstand English. I have been addressing the native con- 
 gregation through Mr. Coombes : may a blessing follow from 
 above ! 
 
 " January 19th. I received yours of the 15th, yesterday, 
 at Trichinopoly, and sat down to answer it, but was in- 
 terrupted. I wrote you from Tanjore most of the particulars 
 of my visit there. There is nothing to see but the fruits of 
 Swartz's labours in two Churches, and the many called by the 
 name of Christ among the natives. Mr. Coombes is invaluable 
 there from his knowledge of Tamil, and the right spirit he 
 manifests. I arrived there yesterday morning soon after 
 six : every thing was done for my comfort. I went before 
 breakfast to the Church, which was near, and saw Heber's 
 grave, which will long render Trichinopoly a place of interest. 
 
 " Trichinopoly is a large station, with good roads about 
 it. Both at Tanjore, and there, the chief city is within the 
 Fort, which at Trichinopoly encompasses a pyramidical hill, 
 on the top of which is a house of imposing appearance, a 
 kind of monastery of Brahmins. I write this at a staging 
 bungalow, half way to Madura. I have here an invitation 
 from Mr. Blackburn the Judge of Madura ; and the Cutwal 
 has been ordered to shew me all attention. On arriving I 
 was saluted with the rattling of tom-toms, and four or five 
 native hautboys and the Tahsildar* came after breakfast to 
 wait upon me with like state. The bungalow stands in a 
 * Chief Native Revenue and Police Officer. 
 
588 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 valley surrounded by irregular hills, something like those 
 at Chunar. The climate is cool, and at night cold. The 
 cause of so much coolness in this latitude, must rise from 
 the sea on the east, and the ghauts on the west. I am now 
 forty miles from the sea, having been verging inland ever 
 since leaving Cuddalore. 
 
 " Madura, Wednesday morning. I arrived here at two 
 this morning, and have had some hours quiet sleep in a 
 fine upper room. I have not yet seen Mr. Blackburn, but 
 every thing around is in the most comfortable style of an 
 Indian Judge. The country all around is flat, with a con- 
 tinuation of irregular detached hills as yesterday. The night 
 travelling quite unhinges my frame, as the hand-writing 
 shews. I shall become more steady after a meal. This 
 place is worth describing, but the post goes to Madras at 
 eight, so I have not time. 
 
 " Jan. 21. I am now through God's goodness within 
 sixty miles of Palamcottah ; another night's run will, pro- 
 ceeding as I have done, bring me to my jonrney's end, out- 
 ward bound. I yesterday sent off a letter for you from 
 Madura. The collector, Mr. Blackburn, was as kind as 
 possible. He invited the other three civilians to tiffin. 
 There were two officers with a detachment, at some distance, 
 and four American missionaries whom I did not see. The 
 Judge has an infant, whom I am to baptize on my way back, 
 and there are children of writers, &c., desirous of the same. 
 None of our Bishops came so far south ; so that I am the first 
 who has visited these parts. Alas, how inadequate to meet 
 public expectation ! 
 
 " Mr. Blackburn's house is one of the best in the country. 
 To the south of it is a large sheet of water, and a small 
 island in the midst, with a truly picturesque temple upon 
 it. Madura is famous in Hindoo Mythology. A grand 
 festival is to be held on 1st February, when the idol will be 
 brought from the temple at some distance, and take a sail 
 on the lake and visit the summer-house on the island. 
 
MADURA. 589 
 
 About a lac of people generally collect on the occasion. I 
 have seen several temples, all in the style of Juggemauth 
 for size. 
 
 " At Madura, as at Trichinopoly, the temple is within 
 the fort, and the town is there. The country all along very 
 interesting, and the population very scanty. In the rains, 
 the face of the country must be covered with water, it is so 
 flat ; and now there are little streams and rills constantly 
 occurring. These are fed by the water from the hills to the 
 westward, and for six years the supply has been very scanty. 
 This year the rain has fallen plentifully, and crops of all 
 kind, but principally rice, are abundant. The people are 
 beginning to gather in the rice. They are at work in a 
 threshing-place close to the staging bungalow. I feel very 
 lonely to-day, though in much peace my mind has been 
 much with you all during the night. 
 
 " Palamcottah, Friday. At the end of my journey. I 
 now begin to look back, and the way seems not so long as 
 did the distance I have come. I was going on as usual, and 
 had fallen asleep when the Palkee was set down at two, and 
 I was told Mr. Tucker was come. He had kindly come out 
 about ten miles ; we returned about two miles, when the 
 whole body of catechists were standing on each side the way, 
 and received us with a song of praise. I got out and 
 thanked them for their congratulations, expressing my wishes 
 for their prosperity. We then came on a tumultuous caval- 
 cade, and reached the mission-house at twenty minutes past 
 four. Mr. Tucker prayed, and I went to rest for two hours. 
 We breakfasted at eight, after family worship. After that, 
 ten divisions of catechists and schoolmasters, came in rotar 
 tion to make salaam. They marched in, singing a verse of 
 praise. Flowers were scattered on my head, and gold and 
 silver stars; some of which I made Joseph gather, when all 
 were gone, to bring to Anna. The English residents have 
 been to see me also ; you know that bustle rather upsets 
 than gratifies me. My feelings have rather been blunted than 
 
590 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 pleased by all this ; and a feeling of my own utter worthless- 
 ness before God keeps me low, as also of unprofitableness 
 towards men. 
 
 " January 25th. My purpose is to stay here over Sun- 
 day next, to be at Madura on Tuesday; Trichinopoly on 
 Thursday ; and at Tanjore, till the Sunday evening following. 
 On the Monday, Mayaveram ; Tuesday, at Porto Nova ; 
 Wednesday at Cuddalore. Perhaps stay there till Monday 
 evening. Friday, at Sadras; and on Saturday, February 
 12th, at Dulce Domum. Such is my purpose : may God of 
 his goodness dispose accordingly ! 
 
 " Yesterday we had morning service in English, and in 
 the afternoon, in Tamil. I preached both times, the latter 
 you will judge, by an interpreter the native congregation 
 about 500. Mr. Rhenius's proceedings are of the most in- 
 jurious kind. He is either blinded by self-love, or most 
 miserably misinformed, which must be his own fault ; but 
 I have not time to-day for particulars. We are all going to 
 dine with Mr. and Mrs. Prendergast ; Mr. P. is also here. 
 Till this moment I have been occupied with about 200 
 catechists and school-masters." 
 
 The following remarks on the state of the Tinne- 
 velly Mission, occur among the Bishop's private 
 memoranda : 
 
 " Palamcottah, Jan. 28, 1836. 
 
 " I have been here now seven days, and have been en- 
 deavouring to form a distinct idea of the circumstances of 
 this Mission. It appears, that from the first, expectations 
 of redress of wrongs have been held out to such natives as 
 sought aid from the Missionaries. Hence a Vakeel * has 
 been employed at the charge of the mission, to ascertain 
 particulars of complaint, and to make repesentations accord- 
 ingly to the Tahsildars and in the cutchery f of the col- 
 
 * A kind of Law Agent, t Office. 
 
PALAMCOTTAH. 591 
 
 lector. And this practice has so increased, that Mr. Pettitt 
 is chiefly occupied in hearing and arranging the temporal 
 affairs of native applicants. The consequence has been that 
 whole villages, or the greater part of the inhabitants of some 
 villages, have " come over," as the expression is, at once, to 
 put themselves under Christian instruction ostensibly, but 
 at the same time, to enjoy the protection referred to. Of 
 the many thus reported, comparatively few have received 
 baptism. In one village of 600, only forty are baptized. 
 
 " On enquiring of the assembled inspecting Catechists to- 
 day, f How it came to pass, that of so many reported under 
 Christian instruction, for several years, so few were really 
 baptized?' the answer given was, e Partly from the in- 
 attention or bad example of the Catechists; partly, that 
 many being disappointed in their expectations of worldly be- 
 nefit, drew back to heathenism ; or, having obtained their 
 object, became satisfied, and were not desirous of baptism/ 
 
 " It appears that little or no distinction is observed in the 
 treatment of the baptized, and unbaptized. The Catechist 
 marries the unbaptized when called upon, and also the bap- 
 tized. In both cases a charm is put on the neck of the 
 female, instead of a ring on the finger. The same services 
 are observed at the burial of the baptized and unbaptized ; 
 except that in the former case, going to the house of the 
 deceased, and more ceremony is observed. Some do not use 
 the Church service over the unbaptized, but pray extempore. 
 Mr. Rhenius in the early part of his Mission, used the service 
 of the Church of England in baptism ; and confirmed some 
 young persons by the imposition of hands, as directed in our 
 Confirmation-service; but afterwards omitted our forms 
 altogether. 
 
 " The children of converts seem not to have been attended 
 to, after the Scripture rule. Some persons having families, 
 were reported, by a Catechist, as baptized seven years ago. 
 Their children, neither then, nor since baptized. It seems 
 that Mr. Khenius has sent to all his Catechists and School- 
 
592 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 masters to come and pay their respects to the Bishop ; and 
 accordingly a considerable number came after breakfast. 
 On Mr. Dent having called, I explained that I was the In- 
 spector of the Church of England's Missions ; and that they 
 having left it, what had I to do with them ? One very 
 plausibly answered, ' That they worshipped the same Lord, 
 and held the same faith, and preached the same Gospel as 
 before/ I asked if nothing was said in Scripture of the sin 
 of schism ? They answered, ' Yes.' I then said, ' Was there 
 no sin, that when one man in a village beat the drum to call 
 the people to prayers, another should beat the same drum ? 
 When one began to pray, another should begin to pray ? ' 
 They owned this was wrong ; but attempted to lay the 
 blame on the Church Missionary Society's catechists : but I 
 observed from the case of the young man who came before 
 me the other day, (a catechist of Mr. Rhenius') that he had 
 owned that he held public worship, at the same time with 
 the Church Missionary catechist. A long examination of 
 persons followed, which, with information before received, 
 led me to address the party as follows: ' That for fifteen 
 years past, the word of God had been made known, and 
 spread abroad in these parts by means of the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society. That many had become enlightened 
 with the light of life. That Mr. Rhenius had been supplied 
 during that time, with funds as a Missionary of the Church 
 Missionary Society. That having separated from the Society, 
 he left the place ; and that during his absence all was peace 
 in the mission. That the young man present, who wrote 
 the letter, stating that the congregations were wishing for 
 his return, admitted that he did not of his own know- 
 ledge write thus, but that the catechists, who signed the 
 letter, told him so. That some of the Head-men whose 
 names were affixed to the letter, told me, f that they knew 
 not that it was a letter of recal, but [thought it] only a 
 friendly letter of congratulation on his arrival at Arcot. 
 That one of the inspecting catechists (then present, and now 
 
PALAMCOTTAH. 593 
 
 in Mr. Rhenius' employment) had confessed having expressed 
 to Mr. Tucker his sorrow for having signed the letter to Mr. 
 Rhenius; and that he did not know that it was an invitation 
 to come back, having read only a part of it ; and was not 
 aware how bad a man David Pillay is : That a head-man 
 present, had confessed just now, that if Mr. Pettit would 
 have let him the land, and the palmyra-trees at Dohnavoor, 
 for the money he wished (viz. four Rs. instead of ten Rs.) 
 he would not have joined Mr. Rhenius : That several other 
 of Mr. Rhenius' people present, had owned [to] having been, 
 at different times, convicted of delinquencies : That Mr. 
 Rhenius had been told of the deceits practised upon him, but 
 he would not believe it of those who invited him back. 
 These things, in my presence, had been confessed by them : 
 but he had come back, and all this division had followed. 
 The Society would therefore never receive Mr. Rhenius' again. 
 That, for myself, I could not but grieve to think, how, in 
 this way, Satan had prevailed to hinder the success of the 
 gospel. That now the heathen laughed, and said. ' The 
 preachers of the Gospel of Peace, are quarrelling amongst 
 themselves.' That for those present, who by deceiving Mr, 
 Rhenius, and bringing him back, had been the occasion of 
 this evil, I should pray that God would give them repent- 
 ance, that they might seek the pardon of this their great sin, 
 and not finally perish among the unbelievers." 
 
 The Bishop adds : 
 
 "In one case of ninety-nine families, in two adjoining 
 villages, only three families are baptized ; and in some con- 
 gregations not an individual is baptized." 
 
 Two days after the date of this memorandum, the 
 Bishop prepared to leave Palamcottah. He writes 
 
 2 Q 
 
594 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO HIS WIFE. 
 
 " Jan. 30, 1836. 
 
 " My dawk is ordered for to-morrow evening, so that I 
 begin to think of myself as on my way home again. I 
 know not well whether any good has been accomplished by 
 my visit, except convincing the people that the Church Mis- 
 sionary Society will not abandon the mission. The agents of 
 Mr. R. had circulated far and wide that such would be the 
 case. There is no end to the falsehoods propagated by his 
 agents, and to which he gave indirect occasion. 
 
 ei I have seen nothing of the country around, but from just 
 a little evening's drive ; yet towards the west it is said to be 
 interesting as to scenery, being towards the Ghauts. I am 
 no hand at drawing, as you know, but this sketch will give 
 you some idea of this station/' 
 
 " Feb. 1, Stageing Bungalow. 
 
 " Fifty-two miles on the way to Madras, and in good 
 health. Thanks be to God ! The dreariness of this place 
 answers very well to my state of mind, and gives opportunity 
 for looking back. . . Mr. Feet and Mr. Bailey came over 
 from Travancore. 
 
 " After the Bishop of Calcutta had been there and had plain- 
 ly spoken out what reforms were considered necessary for the 
 clergy, the two Metrans collected a hasty synod of their 
 Church, and voted in a violent manner that they would have 
 no reform, nor anything further to do with tbe missionaries. 
 In consequence the labors of twenty years seem come to 
 nothing. It is now, I believe, intended that the mission- 
 aries shall teach and preach as opportunity offers. "If 
 any of the clergy reform, of which they have now some 
 hope, their way will be plain ; but it remains to be seen. 
 It had become necessary for Mr. Tucker to go over to see 
 the Resident, and consult with him as to the protection it 
 
VERULLY. 595 
 
 may be in his power, or be right for him to afford, to those 
 who may turn from their errors to the truth. Mr. T. will 
 not be above a week or ten days after me at Madras. 
 
 " Yesterday, I ordained John Devasagayam, priest. Mr. 
 Tucker preached, and Messrs. Blackman, Pettitt, Peet, and 
 Bailey, with Mr. Tucker, joined in the imposition of hands. 
 The service was all new to me ; I had to look out my places, 
 which took my attention too much off from the sentiments 
 expressed in the service. It was, however, on the whole a 
 day of seriousness, and I hope of blessing. John preached 
 in the evening in Tamil ; his text was appropriate, Ephesians 
 vi, 18, 19. I was told he gave a sketch of his training 
 under Dr. John, the colleague of good Dr. Rottler at Tran- 
 quebar; and related the circumstances of his conversion, 
 desired the congregation to pray for him, &c. 
 
 "After social prayer with the mission family and the 
 catechists, I came away at half-past-eight. I arrived 
 here, fifty-two miles, by nine this morning. By this you 
 will judge how well these bearers carry ; they go three before 
 and three behind, and their stages are generally about 
 twenty miles and sometimes thirty ; which they accomplish 
 without seeming at all distressed. To-morrow, D. v. I have 
 some children to baptize at Madura, and then onward in 
 the evening towards Trichinopoly, from whence I purpose 
 writing again." 
 
 " Verully Malay, Feb. 3, 1836.* 
 
 " I am to-day at a stageing Bungalow in the Tondeman's 
 country, the title of an independent prince who retains his 
 paternal inheritance independent of the Company, in name, 
 and he is wise enough to be quiet, collect his own revenue, 
 and live at peace with the lion. Yesterday, I sent off a 
 letter to your beloved mother from Madura, and which I 
 hope is before me ; but am not certain, as I have come on 
 pretty quick. I mentioned, in going from hence, a beautiful 
 
 * Addressed to his daughter. 
 2 Q 2 
 
596 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 lake with a very tasty summer-house, on an Island in the 
 middle of it, in front of the Collector's house at Madura. 
 Yesterday was the annual Festival of the Idol at Madura ; 
 a float, with a very splendid temple erected upon it, was 
 prepared on the lake. A gentleman present said it was like 
 the Chinese Temples erected in St. James's Park, when the 
 allied Sovereigns were in England. The Idol was brought 
 with great noise, and amidst a large concourse of people, 
 from the Temple in the fort, above a mile distant, and placed 
 on the float, which was then drawn by ropes, from the shore, 
 twice round the lake. After a rest, the float was drawn towards 
 the Island, where the Idol was to pass the evening, and the 
 Temple and the entire bank of the lake to be illuminated at 
 night. Vast crowds were going towards Madura, as I came 
 away, to see the illumination ; and all the Europeans were 
 to be at Mr. Blackburne's to view the sight. I felt no 
 inducement to stay. Colonel Maclean was there with the 
 Tondeman, as resident. Two American missionaries who 
 were settled at Madura, came to breakfast, and staid till 
 11 o'clock conversing on missionary subjects. They are 
 very self-denying and persevering in their labours : I was 
 much taken with them. Two others of their party were 
 gone to Ceylon for change, having lost their wives at 
 Madura, within three months of their landing. I baptized 
 a child of Mr. Hooper, the Judge, and saw the catechist 
 of the Propagation Society. There is a branch of the 
 Tanjore mission here, which has been much neglected of 
 late years, the Lord's Supper has not been administered 
 during two years past. I saw Mr. Rosen, the missionary of 
 that Society in Tinnevelly. His sphere of labour is about 20 
 miles distant from Palamcottah. He came hither to see me, 
 and brought me a statement of his mission. He is a Dane 
 by nation, and a good man, but is deaf and quite inadequate 
 to be alone. . . The people of Tanjore are in a deplorable 
 state of apathy, and want of spiritual life. I came away 
 from Madura before 5 P.M., and reached my halting-stage 
 
TRICHINOPOLY. 597 
 
 by five this morning, when the bearers being ready, I came 
 on hither, and am only 20 miles from Trichinopoly, I 
 expect to be there by nine this evening, and to enjoy a 
 comfortable bed at Mr. Blair's, which I rather anticipate ; 
 for three disturbed nights add considerably to the natural 
 tremulousness of my frame." 
 
 " Trichinopoly, Thursday morning. 
 
 " I arrived here last night just at gun-fire. Mrs. Blair 
 is, it seems, so much better as to have gone to the neigh- 
 bourhood for change of air, and Mr. B. is with her ; but 
 everything was ready for me here, and I was glad to go at 
 once to bed. This morning early, I was roused by the 
 sweet sound of e fairy-like music : ' though, to be sure, the 
 great drum rather dissipated the idea of fairies. The Euro- 
 pean barrack is, I find, near ; but the most joyous event, 
 is a letter this morning from Mr. Bainbridge, saying you 
 are all well." 
 
 TO HIS WIFE. 
 
 " Tanjore, Feb. 6, 1836. 
 
 " You will know, I passed the whole of Thursday and 
 yesterday, at Mr. Blair's at Trichinopoly ; he seems a very 
 valuable man. There are fifteen families or so, who meet 
 together on Tuesday evenings for religious improvement ; 
 and among the soldiers there is a Wesleyan, and a Church 
 of England Society. In the latter, there are several of the 
 officers of H. M. Regiment, who meet the men, and read 
 prayers and a sermon. Finding there were so many pious 
 people at the Station, I told the Chaplain we would have 
 service last night. Accordingly, at a quarter past 6, we 
 assembled in the church : there were not so few as 100 
 soldiers, and the church appeared filled, though not crowded, 
 with officers and their families. My text was Psalm cxxx. 4. 
 
598 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 A chair was placed for me by the Communion-table, upon 
 Heber's grave. I was tired in body, and could feel nothing 
 on any subject ; but it was a very solemn occasion to me, 
 that he, one of the flowers of human nature, should have 
 been cut down so seemingly prematurely, and I, a withered 
 stalk, left and put into his place. Surely God's ways are 
 not as man's ways ! From Heber all good of which man 
 is capable, might have been expected, whilst I can only say, 
 ' my desire is to the remembrance of Thy name/ He per- 
 fects strength in human weakness, and by things foolish in 
 the eye of carnal reason, humbles man's pride, and causes 
 it to be acknowledged that the f excellency of the power is 
 of Himself.' This is my only, but blessed be God ! my 
 sufficient consolation in my office. May God make manifest 
 his strength in my weakness ! 
 
 " Did I tell you I went one evening to the Fort at 
 Palamcottah, and had service with the few artillerymen ? 
 They seemed most attentive, and some of them much moved ; 
 and last Sunday some of them came to Church, though not 
 ordered, and knelt in prayer, and appeared very attentive. 
 Who knows but the arrow, shot at a venture, may fix a 
 saving conviction in them ? May it prove so ! " 
 
 " Tanjore, Feby. 7th, 1836. 
 
 " I have had a very fatiguing morning. At half-part seven 
 we went to Tamil service ; after morning prayer I preached 
 on the latter part of 1 Cor. xi. Mr. Coombes interpreting for 
 me. After service the Lord's Sapper was administered to 
 upwards of 200 Native Christians. Among them were three 
 of the hitherto nonconformists, the most intelligent of the 
 whole Christian community ; Pakianaden the native judge, 
 Warswasyanaden. the native priest; and Thomas, head 
 catechist. What effect their conformity will have on the 
 rest, remains to be seen ; but my object in coming hither at 
 this time seems gained. Thanks to God ! There is a dis- 
 position, I fear, to require personal apologies from them : if 
 
TANJORE. 599 
 
 this is done, more inconvenience will arise ; and surely we 
 should be content, if the principle of caste be yielded by them. 
 The service was not over till after eleven. I feel that if I 
 were to attend the afternoon-service, and preach as intended, I 
 should probably have fever; and, with the journey before me, 
 I remain at home all the afternoon, 
 
 " Monday. The country generally is uninteresting and 
 thinly peopled, but all last night we seemed passing through 
 a town : the fertility of the Tanjore country is proverbial. 
 Soon after day, we arrived at a village where all was bustle 
 and activity : it is their Idol festival. A car very much de- 
 corated, and much more in the style of a triumphal car than 
 any they have in the north, was being dragged through the 
 street, with frequent discharges of heavy pieces, or fireworks. 
 The bearers took me down a lane to avoid the crowd, or per- 
 haps that myferingee* presence might not offend the god. 
 I am staying over the day on the border of the Tanjore 
 country. In the evening cross the Coleroon, and shall reach 
 Porto Novo by nine or ten. Last night I slept very little 
 my thoughts were much with you. Sir H. Montgomery has 
 sent a peon t to attend me through each of the three stages 
 under him : this civility saves me trouble, and secures what 
 I may want. 
 
 te Tuesday. Porto Novo. This is a very interesting place, 
 close on the sea. I proceed to Cuddalore this evening and 
 from thence, to-morrow, go to Sadras. I shall not pro- 
 bably write again, as I shall be as soon at Madras as the post." 
 
 The Bishop reached Madras on the 12th of Feb- 
 ruary, but not without having suffered from the 
 fatigue inseparable from so long a journey. He con- 
 sidered himself, however, to have been amply com- 
 pensated for all the expence and exhaustion which he 
 
 * European. t Messenger servant. 
 
600 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 had encountered, since, if no other good should result, 
 his visit to Palamcottah and Tanjore had brought to 
 light the real state of the missions there. With re- 
 ference therefore to that subject, he writes 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " Madras, Feb. 17, 1836. 
 
 " We have many hundred Native Christians here, and in 
 the provinces to the southward, many thousands ; but they 
 
 are in a most deplorably low state as to true religion 
 
 In Tanjore, of nearly 5,000 professed Christians, scarcely one 
 is known to be spiritually-minded ; and in Tinnevelly, of the 
 10,000 reported Christians, very few indeed are really con- 
 verted to God. Of them all, not above 2,000 men, women 
 and children included, are baptized, though all are treated 
 as Christians. The old missions in that quarter are also in 
 a low state ; and in the most southern point 3,000 de- 
 scendants of the first converts have returned to heathenism, 
 and are more opposed to attempts at their conversion than 
 
 those who never heard of Christ Afflicting as is the 
 
 state of these people, there is no room for discouragement. 
 We must endeavour to do them good with more simplicity 
 and diligence. I have heard here of a very characteristic re- 
 mark of Bishop Turner. When asked what he thought of 
 the Tanjore Christians ? He answered, That he thought the 
 best way of dealing with them would be, to excommunicate 
 them all, and begin the work of conversion anew." 
 
 The causes which mainly contributed to this state 
 of things seem to have been, the worldly advantages 
 and protection connected with the profession of 
 Christianity in Southern India, and the want of a 
 
MADRAS. 601 
 
 sufficient number of competent missionaries. Worldly 
 advantages have always been found to call forth the 
 duplicity of the native character, and to lead them 
 for unworthy ends to place themselves under chris- 
 tian instruction.* In this case the number of self- 
 seekers seems to have been so great, that, with every 
 desire to do so, it became utterly impracticable for a 
 few missionaries to give adequate attention to every 
 individual native who might offer himself for instruc- 
 tion. The employment of, and trusting to, native cate- 
 chists became thus unavoidable, to a much greater ex- 
 tent than under different circumstances could have hap- 
 pened. Then, as these in their turn betrayed the confi- 
 dence placed in them, by practising as much deception 
 as the pretended catechumens could do ; and as 
 those who visited these localities on behalf of the 
 missionary societies, could in most cases hold inter- 
 course with the natives themselves, only through an 
 interpreter, the inspectors of the mission were the 
 more easily misled by outward appearances, and inter- 
 ested representations. It were doubtless no difficult 
 matter to suggest, that if a greater degree of caution 
 had been used in the first instance, on the part of 
 the missionaries, some of the evils which the Bishop 
 found in operation might have been prevented ; but 
 it is to be feared that the blame must ultimately rest 
 
 * See above pp. 404, 405. 
 
602 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 on that lukewarmness in Christians, which has never 
 yet supplied missionaries in numbers at all commen- 
 surate with the magnitude of the work to be done ; 
 nor funds adequate to the efficient support of the few 
 missionaries who have gone forth. 
 
CHAPTER XXL 
 
 CHURCH-BUILDING FUND SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR THE 
 IRISH CLERGY THE MADRAS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 
 MEMORIAL TO GOVERNMENT PRIMARY VISI- 
 TATION DEATH OF MRS. CORRIE ORDINATION 
 DEATH OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 ON the return of the Bishop from Tanjore and Tin- 
 nevelly, he took measures for securing that certain 
 subscriptions collected in Madras, toward the building 
 of churches, and which had hitherto been trans- 
 mitted to Calcutta, to the " fund for all India," 
 should henceforth be vested in Trustees, and be ap- 
 plied, under the direction of diocesan and local com- 
 mittees, exclusively to the wants of the presidency 
 of Madras. The Bishop, also, in addition to his 
 other occupations, preached every Wednesday af- 
 ternoon during Lent at the church in the Fort, and on 
 Friday evenings at the Cathedral. In a letter which 
 relates these circumstances, the Bishop also observes 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " April 5, 183G. 
 
 " A movement has lately taken place among the East 
 Indian community which indicates improvement. Arrange- 
 
604 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 ments are being attempted for establishing an Indian Mis- 
 sionary Society. One rule is to be, that no missionary en- 
 gaged by them shall receive above eighty Us. a month, and 
 as much less as may be. This, originating with themselves, 
 looks well, but nothing is yet settled, nor any formal an- 
 nouncement of the Society." 
 
 The provisional Committee, however, of this pro- 
 jected Indian Missionary Society, soon afterwards 
 issued an outline of their plan of operations, which 
 was of the so-called liberal dissenting caste. 
 
 As the story of the persecutions and sufferings of 
 the Irish clergy, had by this time reached India, it 
 is scarcely necessary to say that Bishop Corrie sym- 
 pathised deeply with those his brethren, in their 
 afflictions. Thus he writes 
 
 TO MR. SHERER. 
 
 " Madras, July 4, 1836. 
 
 " I was requested by some friends to call a meeting * to 
 consider on means for relieving the Irish Clergy. A failure 
 was predicted, but 300 were subscribed in the room, and 
 sent to the Archbishop of Armagh, by the last ship : 400 
 more have been since received by our treasurer ; and by the 
 end of the month we expect to receive in all 10,000 Rs. 
 
 The Bishop then goes on to state, that 
 
 " What seems of most importance to this place, is the 
 
 The meeting was held in the College Hall, at Madras, on the 
 6th of June. 
 
MADURA. 605 
 
 establishment of a Grammar school. About four years ago 
 I wrote, or authorised Mr. M. to write, for a master for the 
 Calcutta High School. Mr. M. and I, when I was at home, 
 talked over the subject of a master, and he renewed his en- 
 quiries, and found one. Amidst my many new avocations, 
 the subject had quite escaped me, till I received an official 
 notice from the High School Committee, that they did not 
 require a master, and should not receive the one engaged, nor 
 honour Mr. M's draft for his passage. At first I was in 
 trouble, but friends here viewed this refusal as providential 
 for Madras. The Bishop of Calcutta sent me 1000 Rs. to 
 pay the passage-money, on the young man's arrival in the 
 Juliana. He agreed to remain here, and we fulfilled all his 
 expectations from Calcutta. On the 1st inst. the school 
 commenced, near Mr. Tucker's Chapel, with thirty-three 
 pupils, and the prospect of not fewer than 100. But salaries 
 of all grades are lower here than in Calcutta ; and instead of 
 eight Us. for each boy, as there, we can only charge four 
 Rs. So that we shall have more to struggle with here. But 
 the work is, I trust, indeed of God, and will prosper. The 
 new Roman Catholic Bishop and his Chaplain, had opened a 
 school near where our's is, and had about forty boys, most 
 of them sons of Protestants, who will now come to us again." 
 
 The school here referred to, is that now called by 
 the Bishop's name, and was in fact, the resuscitation 
 of a school known as the " Parental Academy," but 
 which had been closed for nearly two years, in con- 
 sequence of the inability of the managing Committee 
 to meet with a suitable master. On its being 
 merged in the Madras Grammar School, the former 
 laws of the Academy were remodelled, and a general 
 outline of a course of instruction prescribed ; the 
 
606 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 whole being accomplished mainly at the suggestion 
 or by the assistance of the Bishop. 
 
 It was also about this time that the attention of Bis- 
 hop Corrie, was more particularly occupied by a desire 
 to aid in abating the hardship which Government im- 
 posed on the Christian servants of the Company, both 
 civil and military, by obliging them to attend at the 
 religious festivals of heathen and Mahommedans ; and, 
 in some instances, by calling upon them to present 
 offerings, and to do homage to senseless and impure 
 idols. Many had been the representations, to the 
 authorities in England, of the sinfulness connected 
 with this direct encouragement of idolatry, and the 
 violence which was thus done to the consciences and 
 feelings of the public servants of the Government ; 
 not to mention the inconsistency of a compulsory 
 attendance on an unchristian ceremonial, with that 
 toleration which Government professed to afford to all 
 their subjects in the East. Wearied out, as it would 
 appear, by the importunity of the aggrieved parties, 
 the Court of Directors, in a dispatch to the Indian 
 Governments early in 1833, ordered, among other 
 things 
 
 " That the interference of British functionaries in the in- 
 terior management of native temples ; in the customs, habits, 
 and religious proceedings of their priests and attendants ; in 
 the arrangement of their ceremonies, rites, and festivals ; and 
 generally, in the conduct of their interior economy, shall cease. 
 
 " That in all matters relating to their temples, their 
 
MADRAS. 60? 
 
 worship, their festivals, their religious practices, and their 
 ceremonial observances, our native subjects be entirely left 
 to themselves." 
 
 It might have been thought that a dispatch so 
 plain, and direct in prohibiting any further outrages 
 on the consciences of Christians, would have met 
 with the ready attention of the local Governments in 
 India ; but as regarded Madras, it does not appear 
 that a single step was taken to carry this positive 
 order into effect. After submitting, therefore, for 
 three years more to this unaccountable clinging of 
 Government to Mahommedanism and idolatry, it was 
 resolved by a numerous body of the clergy, civilians, 
 and military, under the presidency of Madras, to 
 address the local Government. Accordingly, a Me- 
 morial was drawn up, in which the evils complained of 
 were enumerated, and the recital of them corroborated 
 by documentary evidence ; and which concluded by 
 respectfully but earnestly praying, that the instructions 
 of the Court of Directors might be practically and 
 universally enforced. This document Bishop Corrie 
 was requested to forward to Government, but in the 
 first instance, he had thought it better, as a matter of 
 courtesy and good judgment, to submit a copy of it to 
 the Governor, in his private capacity ; and in doing so, 
 the Bishop pointed out to Sir F. Adam, in what res- 
 pects the relief prayed for might, as he thought, be 
 readily conceded. The Governor was at the time 
 
608 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 residing on the Nilgherries, but the Bishop's cour- 
 tesy was entirely thrown away, for no notice of 
 any kind was taken of his communication. In the 
 month of July, therefore, the Memorial was made 
 public, and signed by about 200 of our countrymen 
 of all ranks ; and on the 6th of August, the Bishop 
 forwarded the document to the Governor of Madras 
 in Council, accompanied by the following letter : 
 
 " I have the honour to transmit to your Excellency in 
 Council, at the request of those who have signed it, a Memo- 
 rial, together with the original signatures to it, enumerating 
 instances wherein those whose duty it is to engage in them, 
 feel themselves aggrieved by practices and orders which seem 
 to them contrary to the command of God ; thereby subject- 
 ing them to the painful alternative of violating the dictates 
 of their consciences, or incurring the displeasure of the 
 Government ; and praying, that the same toleration and ex- 
 emptions, which have been long granted to their Mahommedan 
 and heathen fellow subjects, may be extended to the Chris- 
 tian members of this Presidency. 
 
 " It is my duty to state, that I fully concur in every part 
 of the Memorial, and its prayer : and I earnestly hope, that 
 it may be thought fitting to concede the full measure of relief 
 prayed for ; and in respect to such part as rests alone with 
 the Government of India to grant, that your Excellency in 
 Council will be pleased to transmit the Memorial to the 
 Right Honorable the Governor General in Council, with your 
 powerful recommendation in its favour." 
 
 For a length of time this Memorial, like the 
 Bishop's former communication, was not honoured by 
 any reply. Certain rumours, however, were afloat, 
 to the effect, that angry feelings had been stirred up 
 
MADRAS. 609 
 
 in the mind of the Governor in Council. And this 
 proved to be the case : for (that the whole history 
 of this transaction may be brought together) it may 
 be stated, that early in October, the Bishop received 
 a letter from the Chief Secretary to the Government, 
 reproaching him in very unbecoming terms, for not 
 " using his influence to allay the zeal of overheated 
 minds;" and informing him that both the Memorial 
 and a copy of that letter had been forwarded to the 
 Governor-general. A communication like this could 
 have no other effect throughout India, than to produce 
 in all who knew the parties concerned, and retained 
 the feelings of gentlemen, a blush of shame for the 
 Governor in Council, and the government Secretary- 
 As regarded the insulted prelate, it had long been a 
 settled conviction in his mind, that to be truly 
 civilized a man must be truly a Christian ; his natural 
 disposition, therefore, disposed him to pass over this 
 uncalled-for rudeness, as being but a common-place 
 manifestation of that want of delicacy and refinement 
 which characterises every modification of heathenism. 
 But, holding as he did an official station in the coun- 
 try, it seemed to him that silence under such circum- 
 stances might be a compromise of the respect due 
 to his office ; and therefore, as soon as the Bishop 
 learnt that a copy of this letter to him had been 
 sent to Calcutta, he addressed the following 
 
 2 R 
 
610 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 TO THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD AUCKLAND. 
 
 " On my return to this Presidency a few days since, I 
 first learnt that the Right Hon. the Governor of Madras 
 in Council, had, together with a Memorial on the subject of 
 religious toleration, thought good to send to your Lordship 
 in Council, a copy of a letter dated October 11, addressed to 
 me, and which I had concluded was intended only for the 
 information of the Memorialists. In that letter the Governor 
 has been pleased to admonish me as to the duty my office 
 imposed upon me, with reference to the said Memorial. The 
 authority of Government to dictate to me as to the perform- 
 ance of my duties, I entirely deny. I hold myself free to 
 act on my own judgment, as to what is my duty ; and dif- 
 fering entirely as I do from the Right Hon. the Governor of 
 Madras in Council, both as to the propriety of granting the 
 toleration prayed for by the Memorialists, and as to the con- 
 sequence of deferring to grant the relief sought, I consider 
 myself to have strictly been within the line of my duty in 
 forwarding the Memorial to Government. 
 
 " On this point, however, I need not have troubled your 
 Lordship. 
 
 "My object is to call attention to the fact, that the 
 Memorial, which I am told I should have used my in- 
 fluence to suppress, was prepared and in circulation for ap- 
 proval or correction, at several of the principal stations of 
 this Presidency, when I arrived at Madras, in the latter end 
 of October, 1835. Copies had been printed for more ready 
 circulation, as I afterwards learnt ; and in March last, one of 
 those copies was put into my hands. Observing that 
 officers were employed on services in which I have never 
 known Europeans to be employed in the Bengal Presidency, 
 I took the liberty to forward privately, early in April last, the 
 copy of the Memorial sent me, to the Right Hon. the 
 Governor of Madras, then at the Neilgherries, concluding 
 
MADRAS. 611 
 
 that he had the power to grant relief to the military ; and 
 would, when he knew the pain the performance of those 
 duties inflicted, be disposed to take measures to remove the 
 occasion of complaint. Of this communication no notice 
 was taken. * 
 
 " I observe that some of the Calcutta newspapers accuse 
 the Memorialists of asking for more toleration than they are 
 willing to grant to others ; and similar opinions may be held 
 in other quarters. I therefore take the liberty, in the name 
 of all the clerical subscribers to the Memorial, expressly to 
 deny this ; and I am persuaded that I speak the sentiments 
 of the lay subscribers also on this point. If the firing a 
 salute on Christmas day be considered a claiming from the 
 natives a concession in favour of our religion, let the salute 
 be discontinued ; and if there be any other ceremony of our 
 religion, on which natives are required to attend (though I 
 know not of any) let compulsory attendance be forbidden. 
 
 " If the Memorialists have expressed themselves strongly 
 respecting the object of some of the ceremonies in which they 
 are liable to be called upon to take part, they express only 
 their own repugnance to be associated in such ceremonies, 
 without the slightest wish to impose restraint upon the 
 
 * The following was the communication here mentioned : tl The 
 accompanying [Memorial] was brought to me a few days since with 
 a request that I would join in a representation to Government on 
 the subject of its contents. I have always abstained from taking 
 part in such representations, being aware that Government may 
 have good reasons for measures, which the public cannot be ac- 
 quainted with ; and, in respect of interference with Pagodas, &c, I 
 have the fullest confidence that Government will pursue the course 
 which appears wise and proper. But with reference to the Chris- 
 tian military servants of the State, who are occasionally compelled 
 to do honour to the superstitions of the country, I am persuaded 
 you will not take amiss my bringing the case to your notice. I have 
 marked the statements in the printed paper which seem to require 
 relief, with the instances cited in the Appendix, assured that your 
 own benevolent regard for the feelings of the Christian soldiery will 
 bring them all the relief that is desirable." 
 
 2 R 2 
 
612 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 natives, or to interrupt them in the smallest degree in their 
 own observances. That Protestants may be exempted from 
 taking part in proceedings, which imply the violation of 
 their own peculiar principles, is the only desire of the Memo- 
 rialists. 
 
 In the hope that the information now conveyed may 
 reach your Lordship before the subject of the Memorial is 
 decided upon in Council, I have the honour &c." 
 
 This letter was dispatched to Calcutta toward the 
 end of November, and was courteously acknowledged 
 by Lord Auckland ; but before the official reply to 
 the Memorial was made public in Madras, and in 
 which the conduct of that Government to the 
 Bishop was faintly reprehended, the Bishop was be- 
 yond the reach of further insult. 
 
 On Friday, Aug. 26, 1836, Bishop Corrie held 
 his primary Visitation in the Cathedral at Madras. 
 The sermon on the occasion was preached by the 
 Bishop's examining Chaplain, the Rev. J. Tucker, 
 Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. The 
 Charge, after some preliminary notices of what had 
 been effected by those prelates who had previously 
 held Visitations in Madras, proceeded to touch upon 
 the subject of caste among the professedly Christian 
 natives. On this point the Bishop stated it to be his 
 decided opinion, that those who were engaged in mis- 
 sionary labours should require from all natives desirous 
 of baptism, an explicit avowal, that they regarded all 
 for whom Christ died as spiritually equal in Christ. 
 
MADRAS. 613 
 
 The Bishop adverted also to the subject of education, 
 and spoke of the necessity of uniting religious in- 
 struction with intellectual improvement. He strongly 
 recommended catechetical instruction, as a means of 
 great usefulness. As important auxiliaries to minis- 
 terial labours, he mentioned several Societies with 
 approbation ; and suggested with regard to Visiting 
 Societies, whether paid agency might not be bene- 
 ficially employed. 
 
 The Bishop then alluded to the prospects of 
 Christianity in India ; and whilst recognizing the 
 good feeling which prompted some persons to desire 
 that Christians of every denomination should unite 
 to spread the gospel among the heathen, he yet re- 
 garded such an union as impracticable. He noticed, 
 moreover, the subject of admitting persons into Holy 
 Orders, and expressed it to be his opinion that a 
 competent degree of learning should be found among 
 the general body of the clergy. Although there 
 might be circumstances under which a Bishop in 
 India would have to be content with a lower standard 
 of acquirements in candidates for the ministry, 
 yet, it was his opinion, that at the very least a 
 Bishop ought to demand a fair English educa- 
 tion, a thorough knowledge of history, chronology, 
 the prophetical parts of scripture, and of the evi- 
 dences by which the Bible is proved to be the word 
 of God ; besides a full acquaintance with the doc- 
 
614 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 trines of our Church, and a general knowledge of 
 the arguments by which its polity may be vindicated. 
 
 After referring to the age at which the Bishop 
 wished young persons to be presented for Confirma- 
 tion, and mentioning some arrangements and regu- 
 lations he hoped to establish respecting the celebra- 
 tion of marriages, the Bishop concluded his Charge 
 by putting his Clergy in mind of the great importance 
 of self-devotion to the work of their ministry. 
 
 With reference to this meeting of his clergy, the 
 Bishop observes in a memorandum, dated 
 
 " Aug. 30, 1836. On Friday last I held my first Visita- 
 tion. Preparing a Charge was a matter of much anxiety ; 
 especially as the Bishop of Calcutta had entered so minutely, 
 in his Charge of Dec. 1834, into all particulars connected with 
 ministerial duty, and with the circumstances of this country , 
 By God's goodness I accomplished my purpose, and must leave 
 the result to God. In the evening, the Clergy dined with me, 
 in number, including some catechists, twenty. I now desire 
 to consider what may be the proper objects of my journey to 
 the out-stations. 1st. The encouragement of the pious, by 
 preaching, conversation, and joining in religious exercises. 
 2nd. The examination of schools, and confirming the young, 
 and exhorting them, both before and after Confirmation. 
 3rd. By endeavouring to set right many points of litigation ; 
 and to establish, if possible, a good understanding between 
 Chaplains and military Commanders. There is at present 
 much irritation on that point ; and the Government is dis- 
 posed to act very arbitrarily towards Chaplains. In all these 
 attempts, may my sufficiency be of God, and His strength 
 perfected in my great weakness ! " 
 
 The day following the date of this memorandum, 
 
MADRAS. 615 
 
 the Bishop prepared to leave Madras for the purpose of 
 visiting some of the out-stations. The places he pur- 
 posed to visit were Wallajabad, Arnee, Arcott, Vel- 
 lore, to Bangalore ; thence to Bellary, Hyderabad, 
 Masulipatam, returning down the coast to the presi- 
 dency. The following notices of his visitation were 
 drawn up, after his return to Madras : 
 
 " I left Madras, accompanied by the venerable Archdeacon 
 Harper, on the evening of August 31st. Our first visit was 
 to Wallajabad. Every thing appeared well conducted in 
 this important Institution.* The youths, eighty-seven in 
 number, with the other members of the establishment, were 
 assembled for Divine service, and the orderly behaviour, and 
 cheerful appearance of the boys, manifested that Mr. Hall, 
 the sub-conductor in charge, deserves the good opinion 
 which has been entertained of him. He deserves also much 
 credit on account of his attention to the religious instruction 
 of the boys. 
 
 " All that seems wanting is a good school-master, with 
 leisure to the boys from their respective drills for two hours 
 each day, (which at present is not allowed) for receiving in- 
 struction in reading, writing, &c. with a small suitable library, 
 which might be supplied at very little expense. The good 
 to be effected by this institution has already begun to appear 
 in the young men already appointed to Corps. At Vellore 
 we found a set of the Wallajabad youths attached to the 
 25th N. T. of whose general good conduct the adjutant 
 spoke in high terms. Another set was at Bangalore, who 
 were also well spoken of, and from the 26th N. I. the adju- 
 tant writes, since my return to Madras, ' the sixteen drum- 
 mers and fifers, all protestants, from the depot at Wallaja- 
 
 * A school for country-born children, who received a Christian 
 education, and became fifers, &c. to the Company's Native troops. 
 The school was afterwards removed to Arcot. 
 
616 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 bad, are the most promising youths of the kind I have ever 
 yet seen. 
 
 " At Arnee there is no place of worship for the soldiers 
 to assemble in a temporary place erected by subscription of 
 the officers and privates, had lately been blown down. A 
 small building erected at the expense of the pious soldiers, 
 and capable of holding only 150 or 200 persons, was used 
 for the services connected with the Confirmation. The Chap- 
 lain of Arcot attends alternate Sundays, there being no house 
 at Arnee in which he can reside. He had been indefatigable 
 and successful in preparing candidates for Confirmation, of 
 whom seventy-one were confirmed ; several being rejected as 
 too young, and some because of unestablished moral habits. 
 Should a regiment be again stationed here, a suitable though 
 temporary building should be erected for public worship. 
 
 " A Temperance Society of about sixty members exists in 
 H. M. 41st Regiment. 
 
 " At Arcot, the church is small, but in good order. The 
 interior arrangements are not well done, so that much room 
 is lost. Thirty-two persons were confirmed, all East Indians, 
 including a few from Vellore. Here the care of the Chap- 
 lain, as at Arnee, appeared in the intelligence manifested by 
 the young people of Arcot^ beyond those of Vellore. At 
 Vellore, the whole Christian community attended Divine 
 Service on Tuesday, 6th September. The place used for 
 Divine service is part of an old palace, which requires being 
 better fitted up. A school, containing seventy-two children, 
 including a few natives, is supported by subscription, raised 
 at the station. At Vellore, is also a congregation of about 
 125 natives, including a few families of European pensioners, 
 who are attended to by a native Catechist of the Society for 
 the Propagation of the Gospel, and assemble in a small, but 
 neat chapel, belonging to that Society. 
 
 " A peon should be allowed here, to take care of the bury- 
 ing-ground, which was in a neglected state. 
 
 " At Bangalore, I remained from the Qth to the 20th 
 
BELLARY. 61? 
 
 September. During that time, I found that the schools 
 and hospitals of the different Corps, had been regularly 
 visited by the Chaplains. A Temperance Society is in exis- 
 tence, containing nearly 200 members. A charity-school for 
 boys, and another for girls, unconnected with the army, each 
 containing about twelve scholars, (who are boarded and 
 clothed also,) are supported by voluntary contributions. A 
 Friend-in-Need Society is also in operation, in which relief 
 is provided for sick natives, and money weekly disbursed in 
 small sums to the needy of that class. The Chaplains have 
 the superintendance of these institutions, assisted by a Com- 
 mittee of the resident gentlemen. 
 
 " The regular Sunday services are, one at seven, for one 
 of H. M. regiments, and the Artillery horse and foot with 
 the Christians connected with the native troops. At eleven, 
 a service in the barrack of the regiment, for those who may 
 not have attended in the morning at church and one ser- 
 vice at eleven in church, and at quarter past six in the even- 
 ing for the station generally. The attendance at these 
 voluntary services is better than at any station in India. 
 Ninety-eight persons were confirmed, and there were no less 
 than 104 communicants. 
 
 " From the inconvenient structure of a barrack-room, as 
 well as from the associations connected with it, much of the 
 benefit of Divine service is lost to the troops in the barracks. 
 I, therefore, at the desire of several of the residents, advo- 
 cated the erection of another* place of worship, in a situation 
 more convenient also for the Artillery and Dragoons ; and 
 received considerable support towards the attainment of that 
 end. A place should also be fitted up in the Fort, where 
 many Christians connected with the arsenal and public offices 
 reside, and where one of the Chaplains should officiate one 
 evening in the week. 
 
 * About 1000 rupees were, in consequence, collected toward 
 another building ; but it does not appear that since the Bishop's 
 time any Church has been erected there. 
 
618 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " A congregation of about forty native Christians assem- 
 ble in the church at nine on Sunday mornings, and are 
 ministered to by a catechist of the Society for the Propaga- 
 tion of the Gospel. 
 
 " I remained from 23rd Sep. to Oct. 3rd at Bellary. 
 This is a large and important field of labour for a clergyman, 
 but there has been no Chaplain here for about three years 
 past ; and one consequence appeared in the smaller number of 
 candidates, compared with the population, for Confirmation. 
 Of the fifty who were confirmed, about one half were uncon- 
 nected with the army. Beside the regimental school, which 
 is well conducted, a charity school of about forty children is 
 supported by voluntary contributions at the station, and a 
 Society is in operation for the relief of poor and sick natives. 
 About 150 rupees a month are expended in this way. Of 
 the soldiers of H. M. 55th, I found a few in communion 
 with the missionaries of the London Missionary Society at 
 Bellary, and about fifteen or twenty in connection with the 
 Wesleyan Methodists. Sixty-four persons attended the 
 communion on Sunday, October 2nd, of whom a considera- 
 ble number were from the private soldiers. 
 
 " Since my visit to Bellary, I learn that an officer of the 
 Brigadier General's Staff, reads prayers and a sermon in 
 church on Sunday mornings, and that the attendance is con- 
 siderable. The church at this station needs enlarging ; and 
 contributions in aid of the Church-building Fund were set 
 on foot to assist in meeting the necessary outlay. The pre- 
 sence of a Chaplain is greatly desired by the residents, and 
 Ghooty and Cuddapah in this district, should be visited by him. 
 
 " I remained at Hyderabad and stations dependent on it, 
 from Oct. 8 to the 25th. Beside the regimental school at 
 Secunderabad, a station school is maintained by subscription, 
 in which about forty boys, of whom seven are entirely main- 
 tained by the charity, are educated in English, Teloogoo, and 
 Hindoostanee also a large class of Teloogoo boys, and a 
 few Tamil boys. 
 
MASULIPATAM. 619 
 
 " At Bolaram, in a school, about fifty boys 3 Christians, 
 Mahommedans, and Hindoos, are instructed in English, and 
 nearly an equal number in Teloogoo ; the expences of which 
 are supplied partly by subscription, but chiefly by the Ni- 
 zam's Government. An English school of about twenty 
 boys is maintained at the Residency. The Scriptures, in 
 their respective languages, are read in all the classes. 
 
 " There are two services in church at Secunderabad on 
 Sundays. The church here, as at Bellary, is far too small 
 for the European congregation. A subscription in aid of the 
 Church-building Fund was commenced here. A congrega- 
 tion of native Christians also assemble in the church on Sun- 
 days at 9 A.M : a native Catechist reads prayers, and a pre- 
 pared sermon, in Tamil. This congregation consists of 
 about ninety members. 
 
 " A Society for the relief of poor natives is also in opera- 
 tion here. About forty sick are usually entertained at a 
 time till they get well ; and, in all, about 150 rupees a 
 month, expended on the indigent natives. On Wednesday, 
 the 16th October, 141 natives, including 16 native Chris- 
 tians, were confirmed ; and, on the following Sunday, 1 10 
 communicants attended at the Lord's Table. 
 
 " At this station, the services of a second Chaplain are 
 greatly required. Beside one of H. M. regiments, two com- 
 panies of Artillery, and the European details of a regiment 
 of Cavalry, and of four regiments of Native Infantry, with 
 their schools and hospitals, are to be attended to. In addi- 
 tion to which, the Christians connected with the Residency, 
 and some engaged in mercantile pursuits on the one hand, 
 and Bolaram with its 180 Christians, all Protestants, except 
 one family, on the other hand, should be visited on alternate 
 Sundays. 
 
 " Jaulna, also within this district, is a large station, 
 and should have a Chaplain appointed to it as soon as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 " At Masulipatam I remained from Oct. 26 till Nov. 8th. 
 
620 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 Here, as at Bellary, there has been no resident Chaplain for 
 several years. The school in the Pettah, founded by Dr. 
 Roy, is at a stand ; and no means of education are supplied 
 in the Fort, but by a very aged and nearly superannuated 
 pensioned sergeant. Prayers are read, and a sermon once on 
 Sundays, in the Fort Church by the Fort adjutant, and in 
 - the Pettah chapel by a Civil servant. 
 
 " The most urgent desire was expressed here, as at Bellary, 
 by the principal residents, for a resident Chaplain. 
 
 " On Friday, 4th of November, forty young persons were 
 confirmed, and en the 6th, upwards of forty attended the 
 Sacrament. A Chaplain is much needed here, not only on 
 account of the number of Protestants at the Station, but 
 also on account of the several out- stations in this, and neigh- 
 bouring districts. 
 
 "Passed Sunday, the 13th of November, at Nellore. 
 About sixty persons attended Divine Service in the Court 
 House, of whom fourteen remained to receive the Sacrament, 
 Returned to Madras on November 15th. 
 
 "The number of persons confirmed by me at the 
 different stations, amounts to 430; and since my return 
 to Madras, I have confirmed in the Cathedral 139,* and at 
 the Poonamalee 48, almost all of the newly- arrived 
 recruits, making a total of 617; of whom not above twenty 
 were native Christians. The remainder Europeans, or des- 
 cendants of Europeans. 
 
 " Archdeacon Harper rendered me the most efficient assis- 
 tance during my visitation, in inspecting the Registers, and 
 enquiring into the state of the Churches and burial-grounds 
 at the different Stations, as well as inspecting schools, and 
 visiting the sick in hospital. At Bellary and Masulipatam, 
 the labours of the Archdeacon were very heavy in examining 
 the candidates for Confirmation, and baptizing many chil- 
 dren, and attending several marriages. Without his aid, 
 
 * The Confirmation in the Cathedral was held on Wednesday, 
 Nov. 30 ; 1836. 
 
MADRAS. 621 
 
 my Visitation, imperfect as this my first essay may have 
 been, would have been far more defective. 
 
 "I have to acknowledge the most ready and obliging 
 attentions of all the Authorities, both civil and military, 
 with whom my duties brought me into connection. 
 
 " In general, I found at each station a considerable pre- 
 valence of true religious feeling and practice, especially 
 among the soldiers of His Majesty's regiments, and the 
 Artillery. Temperance Societies are found to be greatly 
 aiding towards the moral improvement of the army; and 
 though from human infirmity the pledge is too often broken, 
 yet many examples of improvement of character, and bene- 
 fit to health, appear connected with these Societies, and the 
 general good of society is forwarded by them. 
 
 " A farther proof of the prevalence of Christian principles, 
 is the existence of associations for the relief of the native 
 poor, connected with the several stations. I should have 
 noticed in its proper place an association of this kind at Masu- 
 lipatam also. I have known considerable sums contributed 
 at different stations, for the relief of native poor on particu- 
 lar emergencies ; but this permanent care for the native 
 poor, is a manifest improvement in European society. 
 
 " These associations have in every case I am acquainted 
 with, arisen under the care of a Clergyman, and supply 
 evidence of the benefit that might arise to the country 
 generally, were the Ecclesiastical Establishment properly 
 kept up. 
 
 " The deficiency in the number of Chaplains is greatly 
 felt, and deeply to be lamented. Not only are several large 
 stations without the means of grace, but smaller stations 
 are left without occasional visits of Chaplains, and whole 
 provinces without any appearance of regard by the Govern- 
 ment for their spiritual and eternal good. I would earnestly 
 request * the attention of the Honourable Court of Directors 
 to this most important subject. 
 
 * It is satisfactory to know that this request has been at- 
 tended to. 
 
622 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 " Sixteen Chaplains only are at their posts, and two are 
 sick (the Reverend Messrs. Cubitt and Grseme.) Besides 
 the stations now supplied, and those I have enumerated as 
 calling for Chaplains, formerly there was a Chaplain at each 
 of the following stations, Poonamatee, Chittoor, Vellore, 
 Tellicherry, and Palamcottah. The circumstances of most of 
 these stations are somewhat altered ; but connected with 
 each of them are other stations, which were visited occas- 
 sionally by the Chaplains, nearly all of which are now with- 
 out the ordinances of religion." 
 
 Besides the information which these notices convey 
 respecting the Bishop's proceedings on his Visitation, 
 many additional particulars of a more private nature 
 are contained in his correspondence with his wife and 
 relatives. In several of his letters, he complains of 
 having had to undergo excessive fatigue, and from 
 Secunderabad writes to Mrs. Corrie : 
 
 ' ' I am desired by Dr. Meikle to ' keep quiet ' for a day or 
 two. He says, I have been over-exerting myself, whilst my 
 feeling is that I do nothing to purpose. May God glorify 
 Himself in His very poor servant ! " 
 
 The fact was, that in travelling by dawk from the 
 banks of the Kistoor to Hyderabad, the journey was 
 performed chiefly in the night, and the Bishop's rest 
 was consequently disturbed at almost every stage, by 
 natives of rank, who came to pay tbeir respects to 
 him. When entreated by the Archdeacon to spare 
 himself, by declining these civilities, the Bishop's 
 usual reply was, " When these good people put 
 
MADRAS. 623 
 
 themselves to so much inconvenience on my account, 
 how can I do less than get out of my palankeen, 
 and exchange a kind word with them ? " In a 
 letter, however, which the Bishop on his return 
 to Madras wrote to Mr. Sherer, he observes, " I 
 must not, if spared, make again so hurried a 
 journey. Time is doing its work with me." Yet 
 very soon after this, all thought of his own health 
 was absorbed in his anxiety respecting that of his 
 wife, who had become so enfeebled as to render it 
 necessary that a sea-voyage should be attempted, 
 as the only human means likely to save her life. 
 But before arrangements could be made for carrying 
 this object into effect, she became suddenly worse ; 
 and after two or three days of suffering, died on the 
 21st of December 1836, in the hope of eternal life 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 The Bishop drew up, and printed for private cir- 
 culation, a short account of his wife's last illness. 
 There are contained in that account, passages of 
 much interest, but which cannot here be transcribed : 
 the substance of all is contained in a single sentence 
 of a memorandum, penned by the surviving mourner 
 himself, dated 
 
 " Dec. 24, 1836. When the likelihood of her departure 
 began to be manifest, the Saviour alone was her only ground 
 of hope towards God, and that hope sustained her in peace, 
 though there was nothing of triumph/' 
 
624 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 As regarded his own feelings in connection with 
 this heavy domestic trial, the Bishop adds : 
 
 " My feelings of loneliness are indescribable. All before 
 me appears blank ; I seem cut off from all earthly good. 
 All this I feel I deserve at the hand of God. He might 
 justly have cast me into the blackness of darkness for ever. 
 Just, therefore, art thou, Lord, in this dispensation which 
 has laid me so low. Teach me, Lord, to seek spiritual 
 improvement in it, and let it prove to me f loving cor- 
 rection ! ' " 
 
 With reference to this mournful event, the Bishop 
 also observes in the last letter which he lived to ad- 
 dress 
 
 TO HIS BROTHER. 
 
 " You cannot understand the change it [his wife's death] 
 has wrought in every circumstance of my life ; and how at 
 every turn a sense of loss is forced upon me. Yet you have 
 felt an aching void on the death of our own parents and 
 near connections, and can judge of the intensity of pain I at 
 times experience. I will not dwell longer on the subject. 
 I have everything which Christian faith and hope can supply, 
 as to the gain my wife has entered upon, but my own sense 
 of loss prevents, as yet, the consolation I might otherwise 
 
 The necessary occupations, however, connected 
 with his official duties, tended, in some measure, to 
 lessen the Bishop's keen sense of his bereavement. 
 Among those duties, not the least engrossing, was an 
 Ordination of which he had given notice, previously 
 
MADRAS. 
 
 625 
 
 to Mrs. Corrie's decease. The Ordination took 
 place on Sunday the 8th of January 1837. The 
 candidates who presented themselves for Holy Orders 
 were missionaries about to be employed by the So- 
 ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel three for 
 Deacon's Orders and three for Priest's. Respecting 
 these candidates the Bishop remarks, in the letter just 
 quoted, " both Mr. Tucker and the Archdeacon 
 were well satisfied with their attainments, as they 
 have just cause to be with their piety." The Bishop 
 himself preached the Ordination Sermon, from 
 Ephes. iv. 11, 12 ; and took occasion thence to point 
 out the existence of the ministry, as a distinctly-in- 
 stituted Office in the Church of God throughout 
 all time ; explaining, also, the object and end of that 
 Office, and the solemn responsibility attached to it. 
 
 It is stated by one who was present on the occa- 
 sion, that the Sermon was " marked by lucid simpli- 
 city, pathos, fervour, and power; mingled with 
 kindly feelings toward other bodies of professing 
 Christians." And as the opportunity for witnessing 
 the admission, at one time, of so many persons into 
 the Christian ministry, had never before occurred in 
 southern India, the Cathedral was crowded through- 
 out all its usual accommodations. 
 
 During this month, also, the attention of the 
 Bishop was a good deal occupied with the subject of 
 a new Church for St. Thome. In the preceding 
 
 2 s 
 
626 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 June he had addressed a letter to the Society for 
 promoting Christian Knowledge, stating that 
 
 "At St. Thome, the original European settlement in this 
 place, is an immense population of all classes ; Hindoos., 
 Mahommedans, Portuguese Christians, and very many 
 East Indians baptised in the Established Church, and many 
 connected with the Vepery congregation, distant four or 
 five miles. Bishop Turner, when here, supplied money to 
 purchase a piece of ground on which to erect a place of 
 worship : the purchase was made and the ground lies waste. 
 No further attempt has been made towards providing Chris- 
 tian instruction for those hundreds who are professedly of 
 our communion. " 
 
 He undertook, therefore, to ask the aid of the 
 Society above-mentioned, toward building a Church 
 for this spiritually-destitute population ; and was so 
 sanguine of the success of his application, that to- 
 ward the end of January, he visited St. Thome, 
 attended by the Archdeacon and the Eev. W. Tay- 
 lor, for the purpose of surveying the ground and 
 examining localities. He afterwards requested Mr. 
 Taylor to prepare the heading of a subscription-paper, 
 the first name appended to which the Bishop pur- 
 posed to be that of " A Friend/' with a subscrip- 
 tion of 1000 rupees; that " Friend" having placed 
 a considerable sum at the Bishop's disposal. Mean- 
 while, the Society in England entered most readily 
 into his views, contributing from their funds all the 
 sum he stated to be required : but intelligence of 
 that liberality was not destined to gladden his spirit, 
 
MADRAS. 627 
 
 for his earthly career was now fast drawing to a 
 close. 
 
 The Bishop, as has been observed, had complained 
 of great fatigue and exhaustion, when on his Visita- 
 tion ; but it appears that when at Hyderabad, in 
 October 1836, he had suffered also from a pain in the 
 head, which came on suddenly, and was so acute as to 
 oblige him to have recourse to medical advice. From 
 that time this pain never left him ; and the con- 
 stant and peculiar manner in which it affected him, 
 was only not much noticed because he attributed it 
 all to the anxiety of mind he had gone through, on 
 account of his wife. During several weeks, however, 
 the Bishop had been frequently observed to make 
 it a matter of supplication at family-prayer, that 
 himself and household u might be prepared for any 
 sudden or unexpected events which might await 
 them ; and might be, moreover, enabled to bear all 
 in a holy temper of mind.'* Nor did his petitions 
 prove to be unseasonable: for on Tuesday, January 
 31st, when on his way to the Fort, in company with 
 the Archdeacon, for the purpose of attending there 
 a meeting of the Committee of the Society for 
 propagating the Gospel, he was seized with an 
 unusual giddiness, which prevented him from reading 
 a paper he had in hand. On reaching the vestry of 
 the Fort church, he suffered very much from pain 
 in the head, and sickness, and was altogether so ill 
 
 2 S 2 
 
628 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRTE. 
 
 that the Archdeacon (who scarcely ever afterwards 
 left him) had him conveyed home, and medical aid 
 sent for. After leeches had been applied to the 
 head, the Bishop seemed to recover a little from 
 the state of stupor in which he was found to be on 
 first reaching his house ; but, except at intervals, 
 he was only partially conscious throughout the four 
 remaining days of his life. When, however, he 
 seemed to revive somewhat, he manifested great 
 pleasure at having passages of scripture read to him. 
 And even on Saturday Feb. 4th, (the day before he 
 died) when sight and consciousness were well nigh 
 gone, he yet indicated his cordial assent to different 
 texts of Scripture which his daughter repeated to 
 him. More particularly when she read Isaiah xii. " I 
 will say, O Lord, I will praise thee," &c. he asked 
 her to recite Cowper's paraphrase : 
 
 I will praise Thee every day 
 Now thine anger's turned away ; 
 Comfortable thoughts arise 
 From the bleeding sacrifice. 
 
 Here, in the fair gospel-field, 
 Wells of free salvation yield, 
 Streams of life, a plenteous store, 
 And my soul shall thirst no more. 
 
 Jesus is become at length 
 My salvation and my strength ; 
 And his praises shall prolong, 
 While I live, my pleasant song. 
 
 Praise ye, then, his glorious name 
 Publish his exalted fame ! 
 Still is work your praise exceeds 
 Excellent are all his deeds. 
 
MADRAS. 629 
 
 Raise again the joyful sound , 
 Let the nations roll it round ! 
 Zion shout, for this is He, 
 God the Saviour dwells in thee: 
 
 and himself repeated " From the bleeding sacrifice." 
 To the text " Behold the Lamb of God ; " &c. he 
 answered "Yes; "and on her adding "Him hath God 
 exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour ; " the Bishop re- 
 marked, " A Prince and a Saviour on all occasions." 
 At another time when his daughter read, " I am the 
 resurrection and the life ; " &c. he asked, " Believest 
 thou this ? " Then when 1 John iii. 2, had been 
 suggested to him, the dying prelate repeated several 
 times " We shall see Him as He is." The last 
 Scripture of which he seemed to be conscious, was 
 Rev. v. 1 3. " Blessing, and honour, and glory, 
 &c., be unto the Lamb for ever and ever ; " and in 
 this spirit of praise and thanksgiving he appears 
 to have passed into eternity, for his last words were, 
 "For ever," "For ever." And so this servant of 
 Christ entered into rest on the morning of Sunday, 
 Feb. 5, 1837, in the 59th year of his age. 
 
 The post-mortem examination of the body exhi- 
 bited a solid coagulum of blood, of the size of a 
 turkey's egg, situate on the right side of the brain, 
 in its substance. The situation and appearance of 
 the coagulum, when taken in connexion with the cir- 
 cumstance that the Bishop always felt the pain in the 
 
630 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 same spot, led the medical men to conclude that the 
 disease was of some standing: that it originated, in 
 fact, in the fatigue and anxiety connected with his 
 Visitation. 
 
 The remains of Bishop Corrie were interred in 
 the Cathedral burial-ground, on the evening of the 
 day of his death. The funeral procession was led by 
 the scholars of the Madras Grammar School, of which 
 the Bishop was Patron, and which had been so much 
 indebted to his fostering care. Then followed 
 Gericke's scholars, and the pupils of the Vepery 
 School ; and these were succeeded by a train of 
 Native Catechists. After them, and immediately 
 preceding the coffin, came the Archdeacon and 
 Clergy. The pall was borne by six gentlemen of 
 rank ; and the Governor of the Presidency followed 
 as Chief Mourner, supported by the Chief Justice, 
 and the Commander-in-Chief. The Bishop was 
 deposited by the side of Mrs. Corrie, and within a 
 few feet of the spot where, six weeks before, he had 
 stood a widowed mourner over his wife's remains. 
 
 On Monday, 6th February, the Governor in Coun- 
 cil issued an Order expressive of his sense of " the 
 respect which the unaffected piety, benevolence and 
 exemplary life " of the deceased Prelate " had univer- 
 sally inspired." This order appeared in the Govern- 
 ment Gazette on the 7th February ; * and, on the fol- 
 
 * See Appendix I. 
 
MADRAS. 631 
 
 lowing day, a public meeting, at which the Governor 
 presided, was held in the College Hall, for the pur- 
 pose of considering the most appropriate mode of 
 expressing the feelings with which the late Bishop 
 was regarded by the inhabitants of the Presidency. 
 This meeting resolved to set on foot a subscription, 
 in order to raise funds for erecting a monument in 
 the Cathedral to the Bishop's memory : and it was 
 further agreed that any surplus of the funds raised for 
 the monument should be devoted to the founding of 
 scholarships at the Grammar School, to be called 
 " Corrie Scholarships." * The Committee of the 
 Madras Grammar School now resolved also, that 
 their Institution should in future be designated 
 "Bishop Corrie's Grammar School." Funds having 
 accordingly been raised sufficient for the purposes 
 specified, a monument was executed by the skill and 
 good taste of Mr. Henry Weekes, which is now in 
 the Cathedral of Madras. 
 
 Nor were the Calcutta friends of the deceased 
 Bishop backward to testify their regard for his worth. 
 For at a public meeting, which was held on the 16th 
 March, in the Town Hall, Bishop Wilson being in 
 the chair, it was resolved to solicit subscriptions for 
 the purpose of erecting marble slabs, both in the old 
 Church and in the Cathedral, to the memory of the 
 deceased Prelate ; and for the purchase of a Portrait 
 
 * See Appendix II. 
 
632 MEMOIRS OF BISHOP CORRIE. 
 
 of him. It was, moreover, resolved to appropriate any 
 surplus funds derived from such subscriptions, to the 
 founding of scholarships in the Calcutta High School, 
 to be called " Bishop Corrie's Scholarships." * And 
 all these tokens of respect were in due time effected. 
 
 In Ceylon, also, a general meeting was called at 
 the King's house, Colombo, by His Excellency the 
 Governor, at which, subscriptions were entered into 
 for the purpose of erecting a monument to the 
 Bishop's memory in St. Peter's Church, Colombo, and 
 for founding scholarships, which should bear his name, 
 in the Grammar School at Madras. Both which 
 objects were accomplished.! 
 
 Thus terminated the earthly labours of the first 
 Bishop of Madras, after a brief but not unimportant 
 episcopate, if a judgment may be formed from the 
 amount of good effected, from the general gloom 
 which the Bishop's decease cast over the whole 
 Presidency, and the respect with which his memory 
 was cherished. To those who were intimately 
 acquainted with Bishop Corrie, it will not excite 
 surprise that his death should have called forth 
 all the public manifestations of sorrow and respect, 
 which have here been recited. For after making 
 every abatement for that human sinfulness and infir- 
 mity from which he was not exempt, there still 
 
 * See Appendix III. t See Appendix IV. 
 
MADRAS. 633 
 
 remained to him more than an ordinary share of 
 natural kindness of heart, benevolence of disposition, 
 and warmth of affection ; so that he could not but 
 be generally beloved. Nor will the reader of these 
 pages be disposed to question that Bishop Corrie will 
 long be remembered in India, as the man of God, 
 through whose instrumentality originated much of 
 the moral good which, since his time, has been 
 slowly spreading itself over that land of darkness and 
 superstition.* But chiefly, it is believed, will his 
 name be held in honour throughout our Eastern Em- 
 pire, as one of that small band of heroic spirits who, 
 in self-devotion to Christ and zeal for the extension 
 of the Redeemer's kingdom, manfully struggled 
 against difficulties and discouragements of which we 
 can form but an inadequate estimate : who never suf- 
 fered themselves to doubt but that the cause they had 
 by grace espoused would still go on and prosper, until 
 " at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and 
 every tongue confess that He is Lord, unto the glory 
 of God the Father." 
 
 * See Appendix V. 
 
CORRIGENDA. 
 
 Page 39 line 21, for enable, read unable. 
 
 48 5, at Chunar at Berhampore, read to Chunar to Berhampore. 
 
 59 33, for Scirptures, read Scriptures. 
 
 149 note Jounarain, Joy Narain. 
 
 176 Tumna, Jumna. 
 
 298 line 15, point, points. 
 
 304 21, exceeding, exceeding. 
 
 311 32, - Narian, Narain. 
 
 519 2, Culcutta, Calcutta. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 i. 
 
 The following notice appeared in the Government Gazette of 
 Feb. 7th, 1837 : 
 
 " With feelings of unfeigned sorrow, the Right Honorable the 
 Governor in Council, records the demise of the Right Rev. the 
 Lord Bishop of Madras. The Venerable Prelate expired at half 
 past three o'clock, on the morning of Sunday last. As a tribute 
 of respect to his memory, the flag of the garrison was hoisted 
 half-staff-high during the day, and on the funeral procession 
 leaving his Lordship's late residence, fifty-nine minute guns, cor- 
 responding with the age of the deceased, were fired from the 
 Fort battery. 
 
 " His Lordship's remains were attended to the grave by the 
 Right Honorable the Governor, the Judges of the Supreme Court, 
 His Excellency the Commander-in-chief, the members of 
 Council, all the principal civil and military functionaries at the 
 Presidency, and an immense concourse of all classes of the com- 
 munity ; desirous of manifesting the feeling of respect which the 
 unaffected piety, benevolence and exemplary conduct of the 
 Bishop, had universally inspired. 
 
 " Published by order of the Right Honourable the Governor 
 in Council. 
 
 " (Signed) H. Chamier, Chief Secretary." 
 
636 APPENDIX II. 
 
 II. 
 
 On Wednesday evening, Feb. 8th, 1837, a public meeting was 
 held at the College, for the purpose of considering the fittest 
 mode of testifying the regard and respect entertained for the 
 character of the late Bishop Come. 
 
 The Right Honourable the Governor in the chair. The 
 following resolutions were proposed and carried unanimously : 
 1st. That a subscription be entered into for the purpose of erect- 
 ing a monument in the Cathedral at Madras to the memory of 
 the Right Rev. the late Lord Bishop of the Diocese. 
 Proposed by Sir F. Adam. 
 Seconded by Sir. R. Comyn. 
 
 2nd. That after setting aside a sum sufficient to defray the ex- 
 pences of the monument, the residue form a fund for the en- 
 dowment of scholarships, to be called, " Bishop Corrie's scho- 
 larships," in Bishop Corrie's Grammar school. 
 
 Proposed by Sir P. Maitland. 
 
 Seconded by Mr. Sullivan. 
 
 3rd. That a Committee be formed for the purpose of carrying the 
 above resolutions into effect, and that it be composed of the 
 following gentlemen : Sir P. Maitland, Mr. Sullivan, the 
 Archdeacon, and Col. Cadell. 
 
 Proposed by Sir E. Gambier. 
 
 Seconded by 
 
 4th. That Messrs Arbuthnot and Co. be requested to undertake 
 the office of Treasurers. 
 
 Proposed by the Archdeacon. 
 Seconded by Captain Dalrymple. 
 
 5th. Thanks to the Chairman (for his kindness in taking the 
 chair and for his able conduct in it) having been proposed by 
 Brigadier General Doveton, and seconded by Colonel Waugh, 
 the meeting was dissolved. 
 
APPENDIX III. 637 
 
 III. 
 
 At a public Meeting of the friends of the late Bishop of Madras, 
 held at the Town Hall, [Calcutta] on March 16, 1837. 
 It was resolved, 
 
 1st. That this Meeting has heard with the deepest regret of the 
 demise of the Bishop of Madras, and consider it a duty which 
 they owe to the Church of which he was so distinguished a 
 member, to raise some token of regard to his character at this 
 Presidency, which was the scene of his arduous labours, and 
 his preeminent example for almost thirty years. 
 
 2nd. That Subscriptions be solicited for the purpose of erecting 
 a Marble Slab in the Old Church, near those of his revered 
 friends Brown, Martyn and Thomason, and a similar one in 
 the Cathedral ; and for painting a likeness of the late Bishop, 
 to be hung up in the Old Church Rooms. 
 
 3rd. That the surplus which may remain after defraying the 
 expenses of the Monuments and the Portrait, be appropriated 
 for the purpose of endowing Scholarships in the Calcutta High 
 School, to be called " Bishop Corrie's Scholarships," and that 
 especial regard be had in the nomination, to eventual prepa- 
 ration for Missionary labour. 
 
 4th. That a Committee be formed of the following Gentlemen, 
 to see these objects carried into effect, viz. to nominate the 
 Trustees for the above purposes. 
 
 The Venerable Archdeacon Dealtry, 
 
 Rev. H. Fisher, 
 
 H. M. Pigou, Esq. 
 
 Major G. Hutchinson, 
 
 John Dougal, Esq. 
 
 A. Beattie, Esq. 
 
 C. W. Brietzcke, Esq. 
 
 Rev. R. B. Boswell, Secretary. 
 
638 APPENDIX IV. 
 
 5th. That Messrs. Gisborne and Co. be appointed Treasurers, 
 and those who are friendly to the above design, be requested to 
 forward their Subscriptions to those Gentlemen as early as 
 possible. 
 
 Resolution of Committee on 6th April, 1 837. 
 
 The Committee, understanding that an excellent likeness of the 
 late Bishop is in the possession of his friends in England, 
 
 Resolved that the Secretary be authorised to write to the Rev. 
 George Corrie, of Catharine Hall, Cambridge, and request him to 
 obtain a copy of this likeness, executed in the best possible way, 
 and to have the same suitably framed and transmitted to India 
 with as little delay as possible. 
 
 IV. 
 
 At a General Meeting held at the King's house, Colombo, on 
 March the 3rd, and again by adjournment on March the 7th, 
 called by His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir R. W. Hor- 
 ton, Governor of Ceylon, who presided ; it was resolved, 
 
 1st. On the motion of the Rev. B. Bailey, seconded by C. E. 
 Layard, Esq. 
 
 That this Meeting cordially approves the objects contemplated 
 by the Madras Meeting as recorded in their first two Resolu- 
 tions. (See above p. 632.) 
 
 2nd. On the motion of J. Steuart, Esq. seconded by the Rev. 
 Joseph Marsh. 
 
 That the following gentlemen form a Committee, to corres- 
 pond with the Madras Committee, viz. 
 
 The Honourable Mr. Serjeant ROUGH, Chief Justice. 
 
 The Rev. B. BAILEY, Senior Colonial Chaplain. 
 
 The Rev. J. H. DE SARAM. 
 
 C. E. LAYARD, Esq. 
 and that the Rev. JOSEPH BAILEY, be Treasurer and Secretary. 
 
APPENDIX IV. 639 
 
 3rd. On the motion of C. E. Layard, Esq., seconded by the 
 Rev. J. Bailey. 
 
 That a plain marble Tablet to the Memory of the Right Rev. 
 DANIEL CORRIE, LL.D. Late Bishop of Madras and Ceylon, 
 be placed in St .Peter's Church, Colombo, at an expense not ex- 
 ceeding thirty pounds ; and that the balance of the subscrip- 
 tions raised in Ceylon, in excess of such sum, be transmitted 
 to the Madras Committee. 
 
 4th. On the motion of the Rev. J. H. De Saram, seconded by 
 the Rev. J. Marsh. 
 
 That the Secretary be requested to correspond with the Reve- 
 rend the Clergy at the out-stations of Galle, Kandy, Trinco- 
 malee, and Jaiftia, on the objects of this Meeting. 
 
 5th. On the motion of the Rev. B. Bailey, seconded by C. E. 
 Layard, Esq. 
 
 That the thanks of the Meeting be given to His Excellency 
 the Governor, for the information he has just given, [respect- 
 ing the proceedings in 1 825, connected with the founding of a 
 Singhalese Scholarship in Bishop's College, Calcutta] and that 
 he be requested to transmit any further information he may 
 obtain on the subject, to the members of the Committee, for 
 the regulation of their proceedings with respect to CORRIE' s 
 Scholarships. 
 
 6th. On the motion of J. Steuart, Esq., seconded by C. E. 
 Layard, Esq. 
 
 That the thanks of this Meeting be given to His Excellency 
 the Governor, for the interest he has taken in the general ob- 
 jects of this Meeting, and for his able conduct in the chair. 
 
G40 APPENDIX V. 
 
 Y. 
 
 The preceding pages bear sufficient testimony to the zeal and 
 activity of Bishop Corrie, in forwarding every plan for securing a 
 Christian education to the youth of India. But it is well known 
 among the deceased Prelate's friends, that he was in the habit of 
 translating and compiling school-books for the use of such Hin- 
 doostanee schools as more immediately came under his own 
 superintendance. It is a matter of regret that the many enquiries 
 which the Editors of these Memoirs have made, with a view to 
 obtaining a definite list of the books in question, have been but 
 partially successful. It may, however, be mentioned that besides 
 translating into Hindoostanee, Sellon's Abridgment of Scripture, 
 Watts' Catechism, The Assembly's Shorter Catechism, por- 
 tions of Milner's Church History, &c, the Bishop drew up in 
 English, " A general Outline of Ancient History," for the use 
 of the Hindoostanee youth. A third Edition of this " Out- 
 line" was going through the press at the time of the Bishop's 
 death ; and other Editions have since then been printed. Among 
 his papers was found, also, a manuscript translation into Hin- 
 doostanee of a brief Church History, by the Rev. E. Sims, 
 entitled " Christian Records." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LEONARD 8EELEY, THAMES DITTON, SURREY. 
 
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