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 A MEMOIR 
 
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 LONDON : JAMES NISBET AND CO., 21 BERNERS STREET.

 
 A MEMOIR 
 
 CAPTAIN W. THORNTON BATE, UN. 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. JOHN BAILLIE, 
 
 AUTHOR OF " MEMOIRS OF HEWITSOS," ETC. 
 
 'Dost thou live, man; dost thou live, or only breathe and labour?" 
 
 (OT&irb <C&it!on, 
 
 WITH LAEGE ADDITIONS. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 JAMES NISBET AND CO., 21 BERXERS STREET. 
 1862. 
 
 Cheap Edition.}
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 PRINTED BY BALUVNTYNE AND COMPAHY, 
 
 PAUL'S WORK.
 
 JOHN LABOUCHERE, ESQUIRE, 
 
 OF BROOME HALT, 
 
 MY DEAR SIR, 
 
 IT gives me great pleasure to inscribe this volume 
 to you. You know what it is to seek to glorify God amidst 
 the turmoil and harassments of contact with men in daily 
 life ; and you will be able to appreciate the trial and triumph 
 of faith recorded in these pages. The last occasion on which 
 the brave man spoke to his ship's compan}' two days before 
 his death he urged earnestly and affectionately upon them 
 these words : " Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, 
 serving the Lord." It was an epitome of his own brief but 
 not inglorious life. And, now that he has left us, does not 
 he seem, each moment, to whisper down into our ear 
 
 "Watch, watch the hour-glass of Time with the eyes 
 of an heir of Immortality ? " 
 
 May we have grace to follow him as he followed Christ 
 manfully and meekly fighting out life's great battle, and 
 looking for " that day " when each overcomer shall have his 
 crown ! Believe me, 
 
 Most truly yours, 
 
 THE AUTHOR
 
 " In the pettiness of life, note them seeds of grandeur."
 
 PREFATORY NOTE TO FIRST EDITION. 
 
 THE object of this MEMOIR is to shew, by a living example, 
 how a man may combine first-rate attainments in his 
 calling with the brightest graces of the Christian life. 
 Hedley Vicars and Havelock were not less brave soldiers 
 because they were not ashamed to confess Christ. And 
 it will be seen in these pages, how a SAILOR may unite 
 to professional capacity and to personal valour, the meek 
 and devoted service of a disciple of the Cross. To young 
 men especially the book is commended, in the hope that 
 it may stimulate some lagging steps and encourage some 
 fainting hearts. 
 
 The engravings (except the last) are from originals 
 sketched by Captain Bate. The portrait is from a pho- 
 tograph taken just previous to his last departure from 
 England. 
 
 Any profits arising from the present edition will be 
 given to aid the Mission-work in China and in Japan. 
 
 BROOK STREET, LONDON, 
 December 10, 1858.
 
 PREFATORY NOTE TO THIRD EDITION. 
 
 SINCE the publication of the previous editions, the author 
 has received from Australia a packet of letters addressed 
 at intervals by Captain Bate to an old Messmate, who, 
 after serving as his first lieutenant, settled in that colony. 
 These letters (along with some others also since received, 
 including several to Captain CoUinson, E.N.) are printed in 
 the present edition ; thus adding about fifty pages to the 
 matter previously printed. 
 
 LONDON, 1862.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A Scene in the Atlantic The Child Characteristics A Parallel 
 " Taking a Survey " The Cannon " Making Experiments " 
 Boarding-school The Footpads The Prayer and the Egg 
 Naval College Jokes and " No Jokes " " A Pickle " Birch 
 Law Collegians and Sailors Life in Earnest First Home 
 Afloat "John-Bull-looking Fellow" Coast of Africa Hazard- 
 ous Adventure Generous Heart " A Man Overboard " Noble 
 Deed The " Mids " " Sailing Excursion " The "Silver 
 Watch "The Middy's Desk" Curios " " Salt Junk " " On 
 Duty" "Every Inch a Sailor" A Stroke The Orphan- 
 Turning-point Another Father, ... Pp. 3-13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 A Parallel " Man's Chief End" The Cross Christ only The 
 Cadet's Arrival in England A Fellowship Decision for God 
 Chinese War Mate of the Blenheim Church in the Ship 
 The Prayer-meeting The " Blue-lights " " Swear not at all " 
 Assault on Canton The Breach Wounded Hair's-breadth 
 Escape " Not yet," . . . Pp. 14-19
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Ail Instinct and a Grace Nelson, Leonidas, Havelock Pleasing 
 God Growing in Grace The Survey "Natures" and 
 " Vocations " The War An Adventure Critical Position 
 An Old Fellowship A Blue-button Mandarin Hand-to-hand 
 Fight Capture Gallant Feat Generosity "Charmed Life" 
 Flag of Truce Close of the War, . . Pp. 20-29 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Heavenly Discipline Survey Privations Seamanship Hidden 
 Life "Alone, Alone" Growing Holiness Return to England 
 Fresh Trial" An Oversight "Patience Studies Wool- 
 wich Portsmouth Excelsior Home Affections Promotion 
 Royalist" A Wreck "Duty" Toil on ! " . Pp. 30-37 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Great Highway Eastern Archipelago Future Empire 
 Palawan Reefs " Most Difficult Waters "Incessant Labours 
 Civilisation Survey Natives Dangerous Navigation 
 "Stupendous Wall" Settlements Malays The Red Flag- 
 Visit to Chief " Palace " Aborigines Contour of Country 
 A Bivouac Peaks Station-pole Providences Coral Reef 
 Vessel Struck Serious Peril" Terrific Bumps "Saved 
 Hong-Kong A Meeting " Enterprise " The Legend Secret 
 of Peace" Not by Bread Alone," ... Pp. 38 -50 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Palawan The "Moving Island" "Coat of Mail" Native Charac- 
 teristics Scenery A Vulture and Snake Village A Native 
 Luxury Egg Hunting " Court-house " How they Punish 
 Retreat Handloom-weaving The Craft " Plunging " 
 Sail-splitting Night-watch The Emblem Live upon Mercy 
 .An Escape A Retrospect Thankfulness "An Unprofitable 
 Servant," Pp. 51-57
 
 CONTEXTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 " Give me to Drink" Small-pox on Board Unselfishness Illness 
 Letter to a Little Boy "Not for Worlds" Now Sir Ed- 
 ward Parry Prayer-union Motto Pirates Hair's-breadth 
 Escape " Look Death in the Face " A Reef Ship in Danger 
 Labuan Coal-measure Survey Scene on Shore A Night 
 in the Jungle " Reciprocated Duties "Friendly Sympathies 
 A Christmas Effusion "A Patch on your Back" A 
 "Father," Pp. 58-66 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A Test Lord's-day "A Delight " Conflagration Catastrophe 
 Natives Parleys" The Palace " Women " Too much 
 Frightened "Malay Infant School Feast Survey Harass- 
 ments Inner Life Preaching " Unworthy Instrument " 
 Discipline on Board " Captain of the Fort" "Oh God, how 
 good ! " The Craft Ordered Home The Voyage Arrival 
 Expectations Just Claims Neglect Not Cast Down 
 " Kindling Seeds " Reminiscence Ripening " Radiant 
 Crown," Pp. 67-85 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Way of Duty How to Settle it The Bittern Setting Out- 
 Last Glimpse Parting Words Intercession Coming Rest 
 Consolations Adieu to England Voyage Out Incidents 
 on Board Gibraltar Alexandria Suez " Man's Chief 
 End" Red Sea Aden " One of St Paul's Men" Point 
 de Galle Country Drive Penang Malacca Singapore 
 Old Shipmate " Best Gift" Opium Traffic Captains and 
 Shoals Hong-Kong Old Friends Loo-choo Mission 
 Chinese Characteristics German Missionary Takes Command 
 of Bittern, Pp. 86 105
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 "A Paltry Brig" "Not Seaworthy" Energy Method of Dis- 
 ciplineThe Gospel Daily Prayers" The Fellows Happy " 
 " Living Epistle " " A Secret Brightness " Offenders Power 
 of Kindness Scene in Hospital Whampoa Chinese Play 
 Obscenity Women Moral Degradation Dying Native A 
 Murder Chinese Crew Incident on Shore Starved to Death 
 The Cloud and the Silver Lining, . . Pp. 106-116 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Coming Rest Stormy Passage Quiet Interval Friendships " A 
 Sunbeam " Converse " Seasoned with Salt " Hedley Vicars 
 Contrast Self-accusings " A Lump of Sin " Gossipping 
 "Power of Money" Christ only "A Marvel" A True Friend 
 " Can't but Listen " Peace-maker A Reproof Missions 
 Courtesy A Rescue Love to Children "Happy in his Arms" 
 " A Jewel seldom Seen," . . . . Pp. 117-123 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Type of British Sailor Feat of Seamanship Cruise in Canton 
 River Field Culture " Execution-ground " Dimensions 
 Aceldama Revolting Spectacle Superstitions " Oblation to 
 the Moon " Night Scene Sailor Drowned Coffin " Thank 
 God for Peace!" Inundations Distress "Full of Christ" 
 Missionary Hospitals Dr Parker Dr Hobson -" Extermi- 
 nate " La Perouse Literary Examinations Degrees 
 Intense Heat A Surprise Henry Martyn A Problem 
 Prophecy "Blessed Hope" Its Sanctifying Power "Oh for 
 a harp!" Pp. 124-136 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A Parallel "Shady Side " Admiralty Injustice Ordered to 
 Tartary A Refuge " Closer than a Brother " " Gorgon- 
 visage " Neglect " No Kiss" Actseon Natives "Dodging"
 
 CONTENTS. Xiii 
 
 Kidnapping Lord's-day The " Anglo-Saxon " Outrage 
 Macao Roads Merchant Ships "No Rate" Chinese Fes- 
 tivities Excessive Heat Rebels Setting Out Man's Ways 
 and God's "End of the Lord," . . . Pp. 137-143 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Canton " Must make Fight first " A Lorcha Boarded Another 
 The " Arrow " British Colours Hauled Down Twelve Pri- 
 soners Reprisals Yeh Junk Burnt Forts Captured 
 Demands Yeh's Manifesto " Heads of Englishmen " Bom- 
 bardment Night Reconnoitre Escape Glass Shattered The 
 Breach" Waving a Flag " " The Sight left my Eyes " Ad- 
 miral's Summons Rejoinder Fresh Hostilities Bogue Forts 
 Command of River Native Proclamation " Sweep out every 
 Fragment " Conflagration Factories Destroyed Retreat 
 Characteristic Incident, Pp. 144-152 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Secret Glimpses " Consulate " Correspondence " In Tears " 
 "My poor Gallant Bitterns '" Whip Addie "Warning- 
 Proclamation " Our Heads" Excessive Cold " Organ-loft" 
 A Shift Entrenchment Bible Burnt Night Attacks 
 Howling Wind : Sympathies " God has a Reason " Land of 
 Beulah "The Harbingers" Child-like Faith Longings 
 Parallels" By Thy Love "Growing Attractiveness A Testi- 
 mony Idiosyncrasy Breadth of Soul " Greatest of Virtues " 
 -An Aspiration, Pp. 153-160 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 His Closing Year How Begun Self-denying Duty "All my 
 Springs in Thee "A Crisis Chinese Outrages A Tragedy- 
 Admiral's Anxieties Council of War Bate's Proposal 
 Appointed to Macao Fort Garrison Perilous Enterprise 
 Glimpses Privations "A Night in the Trenches" Hair's-
 
 XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 breadth Escapes Providential Care Night Attacks Gingalls 
 Rockets "A Young Lady of Forty-five" "Bully me most 
 Frightfully" "A Painted Savage" Fresh Attacks An Escape 
 "Too Conceited" A Broomstick Choice Dish The Mis- 
 sionary Daily Worship A Conversion "My dear little 
 Fellow "The Flag" Stupid Wooden Dolls," Pp. 161-179 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Gleam of Sunshine Promotion Congratulations Round-Robin 
 His one Aim Not a Stoic "Top of the Tree" "No 
 more Begging and Hunting" Secret of his Popularity Two 
 kinds of Praise "A Fragrant Perfume" Unselfishness 
 Glimpses Night Attacks " Subtle Enemy " Privations 
 Consolations Fatherly Discipline Quitting the Fort A Soul 
 Saved, Pp. 180-190 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 A Lull Indian Mutiny -War Suspended New Errand House of 
 Mourning A Grave "Tears of Sympathy" Forecasting 
 "World of Spirits" The Admiral Testimony An Emer- 
 gency " Transit " Total Wreck " Public Auction " " Gipsy 
 Life" Acteeon Takes the Command Wanted Interval 
 Glimpses A Rescue " Be Instant " " Prayed with them " 
 Conversation " God's All-sufficiency " Self-accusings 
 "Through much Tribulation" Who is Happiest? Christ's 
 Daily Cross Its Purpose " Victorious Trial " Heavenly 
 Teachings " Holy Light "" Eyes Indeed," , Pp. 191-198 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A Parallel " Asking Advice of God " Hostili ties Resumed 
 Last Sunday on Shore Presentiment " Sacrament again?" 
 " Safe in the Arms of Jesus " His Papers Private Cabin 
 Bible Study ^Esthetic Gift " Scripture Promises " Two 
 Texts Word in Season Fervent in Spirit A Reminiscence
 
 CONTENTS. XV 
 
 "Last Sermon" " Not Slothful in Business" Capacity for 
 Affairs "Leads the Advance" "Grand Conference" "Of 
 the Lord " Ultimatum Yeh " Eat Gold Dust" "Our 
 Allies " An Honoxir Mandarin " Aspen Leaf " Scene in 
 Cabin" Illustrated News "A Request" Sufficient for the 
 Day" "A Good Time Coming," . . . Pp. 199-211 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 A Longing " Live to Christ ! " Canton River A Death " Far 
 Happier " Crisis at Hand Floating Suburb" Pack-houses " 
 A Barrack "Clearing Out" A Reconnoissance Mapping 
 Scene on Heights " That Bastion ! " Plan of Assault 
 Proclamation Day of Rest Last Sunday Harassing Labours 
 "If I am Spared "" Unto my God" Bitter Pang "No 
 Doubts, no Fears ! " Farewell Words" My Pluck "A Con- 
 trast Coolness under Fire "Shield of Adamant" The Middy 
 Fatherliness " Turning-point of my Life" Altar-Coal 
 "Thy Lips," Pp. 212-219 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Storming of the City " Boom, Boom ! " Last Letter The Cabin 
 A Psalm "For our Comfort" "No Evil befall Thee" 
 Landing Reconnoitring Party " Such a Night ! " Shells 
 Conflagration Last Bivouac The Coxswain " Captain's 
 Knapsack " " Both Kneeling " The Advance A Village 
 Council of War The " Forlorn Hope"" Who shall Go ?" 
 A Volunteer The Death-Shot" With his Lord "" Martyr- 
 Soldier," ...... Pp. 220-226 
 
 n fflnnoriam. 
 
 "Too High a Price" The Admiral A Great Calamity " Faltering 
 Tongues" "Swimming Eyes" "Christian Hero" The 
 Middy The Fatal Spot The Corpse Heavenly Halo 
 "Peace Within" A Contrast "Malignant Hatred" The 
 "Happy Valley" Ruined Chapel The Burial " Sailor's
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Pall" "A Heaven Open" A Type "Not Unmanly Tears" 
 "How they Loved him !" "All Hong-Kong Mourns" The 
 Bishop Funeral Sermon "With Christ" "Far Better" 
 A Reminiscence " Duty-hours " Translation Monument 
 Epitaph, Pp. 227-233 
 
 LIST OF PLATES, 
 
 Portrait, to face Title-page. 
 
 A Native of Palawan, page 43 
 
 H.M.S. "Royalist "on a Reef, .... 47 
 
 Pursued by Pirates, .... 02 
 
 The Spot where he fell, .... 225
 
 MEMOIR 
 
 ** There is a light around his brow, 
 A holiness in those calm eyes, 
 Which tell, though earth may claim it now, 
 His spirit's home is in the skies." 
 
 " HE was one of those glorious men whom one so sel- 
 dom meets of rare mental powers, a fine commanding 
 person and manly face, at the same time with a bene- 
 volence, almost sweetness, of expression, that to see 
 him was to yearn to known him, and to know him was 
 to love him. The bishop read the funeral-service ; the 
 volleys were fired over the grave, and we looked for 
 the last time into the narrow home of the mortal 
 remains of the gallant fellow who, four days before, 
 had been on board my ship full of health and vigour. 
 Many a rough hand dashed away a tear on the day 
 that the beloved CAPTAIN BATE was taken to his last 
 home." 
 
 So wrote the commanding officer of her Majesty's 
 ship Surprise, on the fourth day of January 1858, 
 announcing to England the "irreparable loss" which
 
 2 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 she had sustained in the sudden removal of one of the 
 bravest of her sons. 
 
 " Not lost, but gone before," 
 
 he beckons other wayfarers to tread courageously in 
 his footprints. It is the purpose of this Memoir to 
 trace those footprints, and to stimulate the timid 
 traveller to loftier aspirations, to braver resolves, to a 
 calmer and more divine repose. 
 
 Lord Bacon has remarked, that "the winning of 
 honour is but the revealing of a man's virtue and 
 worth, without disadvantage." If ever the maxim was 
 verified, it was in the lamented officer whose sudden 
 removal too early for his country, though not too 
 early for himself has penetrated with a thrill of grief 
 so many hearts. " How can ye believe," said CHRIST, 
 " which receive honour one of another ? " That, indeed, 
 was honour with " disadvantage." But those big tear- 
 drops, wiped away by the rough hands of the British 
 sailors that day, as they laid their beloved Commander 
 to his rest in the foreigners' cemetery at Hong-Kong, 
 " revealed, without disadvantage," a virtue and a worth 
 which who would willingly let die ?
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " His eye is quick to observe, his memory storeth in secret, 
 His ear is greedy of knowledge, and his mind is plastic as soft wax." 
 
 IT was a beautiful summer morning in the great Atlantic, 
 when a tight little craft was sweeping, full sail, along 
 the shore of the island of Ascension. On board was a 
 young " mid " whose heart beat high in the hope of a 
 right joyous welcome ; for his father was Governor of 
 the island, and "Billy" loved and was loved with a 
 very peculiar affection. As they " hove to " before the 
 port, the flags in the harbour were observed to be 
 "half-mast." The day previous, the Governor had 
 been carried off by a fever ; and the heart-stricken 
 Middy was only in time to follow his father's corpse to 
 the grave. Poor, dear boy ! how he wept that evening, 
 as in a quiet shady spot he cast the farewell look on 
 the remains of his chief earthly stay ! That event had 
 an import which by and by we shall comprehend. 
 
 " Nature," says Bacon, " is often hidden, sometimes 
 overcome, seldom extinguished." One or two glimpses 
 will reveal to us the early bent of the subject of our 
 Memoir.
 
 4 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 It is told of Havelock, that, when about seven years 
 of age, he climbed a tree one day to get at a bird's nest, 
 and that, just as he had grasped it, the branch which 
 bore him snapped, and down he came, nest and all, with 
 a crash to the ground. " Were you not frightened," 
 inquired some one afterwards, " when you found your- 
 self tumbling through the branches?" No," said he; 
 " I had enough to do to think of the eggs ; for I thought 
 they would be sure to be smashed to pieces." And 
 who that knows the calm fearlessness of the hero of 
 Lucknow can fail to detect in the little incident that 
 which pointed to a future ? 
 
 At the age of five, Willie Bate would climb some 
 tree, and, perched on a high branch, would gaze all 
 around, as if he would gaze out his very soul. One day, 
 his nurse caught him in this position, and rated him 
 rather sharply. " Oh ! " replied the urchin, gravely, 
 " I was only taking a survey." Let us carry Avith us 
 this incident, and interpret in its light his future. 
 
 A year or two later, a favourite amusement was a 
 cannon of somewhat formidable dimensions. Twice 
 over, he burnt his eyebrows with it ! and not a Httle 
 was he aggrieved when at length, one day, he was 
 seriously threatened with the withdrawal of the dan- 
 gerous plaything. " What ! " said he, putting himself 
 into an attitude of importance, " I was making experi- 
 ments." This incident, also, we shall find, was not 
 without its future significance. 
 
 In his eighth year, Billy was visited with that sorest 
 of all calamities the loss of a wise and loving mother.
 
 EAELY CHARACTERISTICS. 5 
 
 Soon afterwards, he was sent to a boarding-school, 
 from which he would return once or twice a-year to 
 meet his little sisters. It was in the days of tedious 
 coach-journeys ; and on the way was a dreary heath, 
 which boyish fancies peopled with "footpads" and 
 other terrors. Billy, however, knew no fear. In 
 setting out, it was noticed that he invariably took with 
 him that same favourite cannon. "If the footpads," 
 he would say, "attack the coach / travel by, I am 
 determined to have a pop at them." 
 
 Like most other boys, he was fain to live "with- 
 out God." At breakfast, one morning, the family- 
 devotion was lengthened out a few minutes beyond 
 the allotted time. "Make haste," he was heard 
 whispering, rather restively, " and be done with that 
 prayer ; or my egg will be quite cold." 
 
 In his thirteenth year he was transferred from 
 school to the Royal Naval Qollege at Portsmouth, 
 attended at that time by some sixty or seventy naval 
 cadets. " During his two years' residence there," says 
 an intimate friend, " he was always among the fore- 
 most in all active boys' sports, and in practical jokes 
 played off upon the dockyard shipwrights or other 
 mechanics, such as putting slip-knots upon the stages 
 which they had erected to work from, throwing their 
 tools into the docks, painting parts of a ship white 
 which were intended to be black ; and, as these some- 
 times passed the limit at which jokes terminate and 
 'no jokes' commence, he was frequently in scrapes, 
 and was even deemed by some a pickle." And
 
 6 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 another surviving friend writes : "Whatever he under- 
 took, he threw his whole heart into it he was a 
 whole man to it for the time : it is not to be wondered 
 at, therefore, that, with his energy of character, he 
 should have been a leader in fun and in mischief; 
 indeed he was more than once on the point of being 
 ' expelled." 
 
 Strange scenes were enacted in those days within 
 that same college. The future middies were in the 
 charge of a very ancient captain in the navy, and of 
 a most motley group of old superannuated lieutenants 
 and Serjeants of marines, whose only discipline was 
 the rod, and whose stern voice was almost the only 
 sound which greeted the lads outside the class-rooms. 
 " Commit not," says one, 
 
 "Thy son to an hireling, nor wrench the young 
 
 heart's fibres : 
 In his helplessness leave him not alone, a stranger among strange 
 
 children, 
 
 Where affection longeth for thy love, counting the dreary hours; 
 "Where religion is made a terror, and innocence weepeth unheard ; 
 Where oppression grindeth without remedy, and cruelty de- 
 
 lighteth in smiting." 
 
 But such, alas ! was the doom of the inmates of the 
 Naval College ; and deeply did Willie's sensitive heart 
 feel the sore discipline. 
 
 Yet the young collegian owed to those two years 
 the first steady grasp which his mind had yet taken 
 of life's real business. It has been objected that 
 collegians are never so good sailors as those who have 
 gone direct to sea. Bate always looked back upon
 
 THE YOUNG MID. 7 
 
 that brief season as the' period when the cultivation 
 of his taste for drawing, as well as other studies, led 
 him to adopt that difficult and honourable branch of 
 his profession to which he dedicated with so distin- 
 guished success the chief years of his life. " He was 
 a high example," says an eminent naval officer, who 
 has survived him (Captain E. G. Fishbourne, RN.), 
 " of what a boy might become, who spent the first two 
 years of his apprenticeship at a college ; we do not 
 know that another system could have produced any 
 higher." 
 
 His first home afloat was the Isis, the flag-ship of 
 Eear- Admiral Warren ; and his destination was the 
 coast of Africa and the Cape. " I have this day," 
 wrote the captain to William's father from Sierra 
 Leone, "received your son on board from the For- 
 ester : he appears to be a nice, honest, John-Bull- 
 looking fellow: very much like yourself, but better 
 looking. You may be assured of my care of him on 
 his father's account." Even during the brief voyage 
 out in the Forester, so favourable was the captain's 
 impression of him, that he offered to take him at any 
 time, and gave his father " an elegant brace of pistols, 
 worth ten guineas, to present to him when he was 
 made Lieutenant." 
 
 Five years the young " mid " spent on that station, 
 his generous, frank, unselfish temperament marking 
 " Billy Bate " out as the general favourite, first in the 
 Isis, then in the Thalia, and latterly in the Trinculo 
 and in the Pelican.
 
 8 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 A brave fearless boy, he oftentimes faced dangers, 
 before which less resolute spirits would have quailed. 
 "Perhaps there is no place in the world," writes an 
 eye-witness, "where the 'rollers,' or breakers, are so 
 grand and imposing, as at the island of Ascension. 
 During the time they last, it is most dangerous to 
 venture on the sea in a boat ; and vessels are often in 
 the bay for days together without being able, except 
 by signal, to communicate with the shore. I well 
 remember, that one day, when the rollers were un- 
 usually high, we observed a boat coming from the 
 Admiral's ship, and making for the land. Who 
 could be the daring adventurer, thus to tempt the 
 perils of the deep ? A glass was instantly in request ; 
 and, with no little anxiety, we watched the progress 
 of the boat, tossed by the foaming, raging waves, as 
 they threatened each moment to overwhelm her. 
 Happily she reached the shore in safety ; and who 
 should be the first to laud but our joyous young 
 friend, William Bate, who knew no fear, and had 
 succeeded in getting a few volunteers to join him in 
 his perilous voyage? Though his father," adds our 
 informant, " upbraided that rash risk he had run, I am 
 sure he secretly admired the courageous spirit of his 
 brave and dauntless boy, who seemed thoroughly to 
 have enjoyed his hazardous adventure." 
 
 His fearless heart was as generous as it was brave. 
 " There are few," it has been said, 
 
 " Who deserve to have thy confidence ; 
 Yet weep not, for there are some, and some such live for thee."
 
 " A MAN OVEEBOAED !" 9 
 
 One day, the frigate was cruising in the Bight of Benin ; 
 and, as she swept along at eight knots an hour, suddenly 
 a shout was heard, " A man overboard ! " The place was 
 known to be infested by sharks ; and, just before, some 
 had been seen prowling about the ship. A paleness 
 gathered on some faces, as the man was seen struggling 
 in the waves ; but one bold spirit did not shrink. A 
 few moments, and Bate was in the waves at his side 
 seized the drowning man and succeeded in keep- 
 ing him above water until the boat reached them, when 
 both, nearly exhausted, were rescued. 
 
 Even on the most trifling little occasions of every- 
 day life, the kindliness of his generous soul would shew 
 itself. "As his father was Governor," says the same 
 eye-witness, "his occasional visits to the island gave 
 William a famous opportunity of shewing attention to 
 his messmates whenever the vessel came into harbour. 
 At those times his friends were never forgotten ; he 
 was invariably accompanied by some of them on shore ; 
 and those left on board were always supplied with a 
 host of good things. Frequently, very frequently, he 
 has come to our house with a cargo of nice stores for 
 his friends, such as jars of preserved ginger, foreign 
 fruits, and other dainties, which he had obtained for 
 them from his indulgent parent. One morning, in 
 particular, I remember him coming to us in ecstasies, 
 exclaiming, ' All right ! my father has at last granted 
 my request.' It was a fat young pig for the midship- 
 men's mess. 'But where will you keep him?' we en- 
 quired. ' Oh ! piggy/ he replied, with a hearty laugh,
 
 10 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 ' we '11 stow him away as a pet in a middy's chest, till 
 we require him for the table.' " 
 
 One of his adventures at this period was remem- 
 bered as " The Fishing Excursion." It was a birthday 
 or some gala- day, when he had obtained for a few of 
 his choice friends a holiday on shore. Early in the 
 morning, they started in a boat for " a group of rocks 
 round the point," where the rock-cod and black fish 
 abounded ; and, once there, they proceeded on an ex- 
 ploratory expedition to an unfrequented cove, a con- 
 siderable distance off, which had the character of being 
 infested with sharks. It was a strict order on board 
 that any absent boat should quit the shore before 
 sunset ; but evening came, the flags had been hauled 
 down, and still no tidings of the young fishermen. 
 Fears began to be entertained for their safety, and a 
 boat was just proceeding in search, when, as darkness 
 closed in, the hapless middies made their appearance ; 
 and in such a plight ! The boat had upset in the cove ; 
 and the youthful crew had narrowly escaped with their 
 lives. They had returned over the rocks by the sea- 
 shore, a long and difficult route ; and, besides having 
 lost some of their clothes, they were weary, hungry, and 
 worn. William, minus a shoe, and a silver watch 
 which he had got from his father, rather dreaded meet- 
 ing him ; but it was not in his frank and open nature 
 to conceal his faults, and on the very next morning he 
 hastened on shore and told him all, acknowledging 
 with sorrow his carelessness, and asking pardon for 
 himself and his companions.
 
 THE MIDDY'S LETTER. 11 
 
 The " silver watch " had a little history. It was the 
 first he had ever possessed ; and he had made an amus- 
 ing bargain with his father, that, if he would only give 
 it him, he should in return surrender to him " all the 
 prize-money he might make on the coast/' 
 
 Another day, we have a glimpse of the middy at his 
 desk. The Pelican was lying off the island, and his 
 father sent him word that a merchant-ship was on the 
 point of sailing for England and that he must prepare 
 his letters for home. Willie was forthwith on shore 
 with his desk. " After shewing us," writes a friend, 
 " a variety of his prized ' curios,' he produced sundry 
 sheets of letter-paper, all closely written, and each sheet 
 containing precisely the same news, word for word 
 alike, save the names, which were left to be filled in. 
 He then asked us to assist him in selecting the clearest 
 and best-written letter for his Grandmother, an espe- 
 cial favourite. This selection being made, 'My dear 
 Granny/ was inserted, and the letter folded and 
 addressed with great glee ; ' for/ said he, ' this way of 
 writing saves me a world of trouble/ " 
 
 That day, as he sat at his desk showing his " curios," 
 one in particular seemed to take his fancy exceedingly. 
 It was a little box, highly polished, having the appear- 
 ance of a dark reddish grained wood. "This," says 
 our informant, " he assured us was made of ' salt-junk/ 
 such as the sailors in days of scarcity used to get for 
 their provisions. Hard and tough indeed it was ; and 
 we looked rather incredulously on the little box, think- 
 ing our friend wished to play some joke on us ; but
 
 12 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 we afterwards ascertained that William was right, and 
 he heartily laughed at our want of faith. The box 
 was really made out of the salt-beef, which had been 
 compressed, dried, and hardened, so that it bore an 
 exact resemblance to coarse-grained wood." 
 
 But graver characteristics were already shewing 
 themselves. "William on shore for his holidays/' 
 says the same friend, " and William on shore on duty, 
 seemed two very different beings. Well do I remem- 
 ber how we used to smile at the air with which he 
 would pass our house when in the performance of her 
 Majesty's service, and would look round gravely and 
 say, ' I cannot speak to-day, for I am on duty.' " And 
 his father wrote : " Willie is every inch a sailor. He 
 is devoted to his work, and never spares any pains to 
 make himself acquainted with his duty." The charac- 
 teristic was to ripen, at a future day, into the grand 
 feature of his life. 
 
 It was on one of these periodical visits to the island, 
 that the heart of the young mid was stunned, as we 
 have seen, by the sad news that his revered and beloved 
 father had been suddenly snatched away. Fondly 
 attached to him, and clinging to him all the more 
 warmly that his island-home seemed like the loved 
 domestic hearth of Old England translated to the soli- 
 tudes of the mighty ocean, he was anticipating, that 
 morning, in high spirits, the old familiar welcome, 
 when, alas ! the orphaned boy stood weeping, before 
 night, at the side of his father's grave. " The blow," 
 says a surviving friend, " left on his affectionate heart
 
 THE TUENING POINT. 13 
 
 a deep but solemn impression, which may be con- 
 sidered the turning point in his career." 
 
 " Hush ! e'en now, thy FATHER, speaking, answers from the 
 
 heavenly land, 
 
 Tells thee how this deep affliction has proceeded from His hand. 
 Fear no more, for He is with thee ; check each murmur, and be 
 
 still ; 
 He shall shew thee how to suffer, how to do, His righteous will." 
 
 Yes, dear boy ! ANOTHER Father has taken thee by 
 the hand now.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 " A soul redeem'd demands a life of praise ; 
 Hence the complexion of his future days." 
 
 LADY HUNTINGDON, one evening, was on her way to 
 a brilliant assembly, when suddenly there darted into 
 her soul this word (committed to memory, years before, 
 in learning the Westminster Shorter Catechism) 
 " Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him 
 for ever." From that hour, her whole life revolved 
 round a new centre. The guilty, trembling sinner 
 hitherto occupied with her poor self gazed on the 
 face of Him who had died for her ; and as she gazed, 
 her conscience found peace, and her heart a satisfying 
 rest. Her whole future life became one " living sacri- 
 fice." 
 
 Into the future of William Bate the same main- 
 spring was now imported. Before, he had won all 
 hearts by his warm, affectionate, open, manly bearing ; 
 but now a new radiance was to be shed over all, at 
 once within and around him. "Love," it has been 
 said, "love to the Lord, alone is life;" that love was 
 now to brighten a path which had little else to light 
 it up.
 
 THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT. 1 5 
 
 Not many weeks after his father's death, the young 
 cadet arrived in England. Transferred to the Britannia, 
 he had found in one of his messmates just such a help 
 as he at that crisis needed. Henry Martyn, at a similar 
 stage of his inner life, met at Cambridge a friend who 
 "attempted to persuade him that he ought to attend 
 to reading, not for the praise of men, but for the glory 
 of God ;" and, for the first time, the conviction dawned 
 upon him that he must set out upon a new course. 
 The same gracious Lord provided for William Bate a 
 like friend in need. A veil rests over the details of 
 this fellowship ; but night after night, at stolen inter- 
 vals, did the two cadets "speak one to another" of 
 HIM who was becoming their all in all. And before 
 he again sailed from England, Bate had taken his 
 stand firmly and decisively on the Lord's side. " I see 
 no business in life," Martyn wrote one day in his 
 Diary, "but the work of Christ; neither do I desire 
 any employment to all eternity but His service. I am 
 a sinner saved by grace." The young sailor had now 
 made a like surrender ; and till the day he fell at 
 Canton amidst the tears of all his fellows, he served 
 loyally his heavenly King, " without fear and without 
 reproach." 
 
 Scarcely had he passed his examination for Lieu- 
 tenant, when war broke out with China ; and young 
 Bate was summoned to that field where he was to pass 
 the remaining thirteen years of his life, and where 
 also he was to finish his brief but bright career. On 
 the voyage out, he had the fellowship of a young offi-
 
 16 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 cer, who united with him in daily reading and prayer ; 
 and on reaching the Chinese waters, he was installed 
 as mate of the Blenheim, a line-of-battle ship of 74 
 guns. One of the officers has recorded in his Diary 
 this entry : " 1841, March 19. William Thornton 
 Bate exchanged into our ship from the Melville, 74. 
 We were rejoiced to find he was on the Lord's side ; 
 and he soon made one in our midst." 
 
 On board the Blenheim, in the fore-cockpit, was a 
 little cabin, dark, and narrow, and out of the way, in 
 which for eight months a small knot of gunroom- 
 officers gathered night after night to pray together and 
 to study the Scriptures. A subject was fixed previously 
 for each successive evening, such as the "Trinity," the 
 ."Personality and Divinity of the Holy Ghost," the 
 " Atonement ;" and for two hours, the little band of 
 disciples would interchange their pleasant communings. 
 Outside the cabin-door was the ship's prison, where the 
 oaths and ribaldry of the culprits in irons not seldom 
 disturbed the holy converse within : but only the more 
 thankful did it make them for that grace which had 
 made themselves to differ ; and often, often did it 
 teach them to lift their eyes upward with a fresh 
 intenseness of longing, and sing 
 
 " World of spirits ! bright and lovely, 
 Where the wearied find their rest ; 
 Where no sin, no danger enters, 
 Where no cruel foes molest." 
 
 The praying company went by the name of the 
 " blue-lights " the sail6r's version of " methodists " or
 
 THE CHUECH IN THE SHIP. 17 
 
 " new-lights " on shore. And no small trial of their 
 faith it cost them, to brave the sneer so often curling 
 upon the lip as they mingled with their scoffing mess- 
 mates. But "by these things men live." And by 
 these things William Bate, like the sapling-oak which 
 the rude blast only fixes more firmly in the soil, was 
 growing into a man of firmer nerve and of bolder and 
 more courageous faith. 
 
 One member of the little band had, not long before, 
 been a notorious swearer. Scarcely an hour or half- 
 hour passed without a volley of oaths. One morning 
 
 a sailor was performing some duty, and P swore 
 
 at him most fearfully. " My dear fellow ! " whispered 
 another officer, kindly touching him on the shoulder, 
 and in a tone of the gentlest tenderness, " swear not at 
 all ! " The arrow went straight to the swearer's heart ; 
 and before many weeks, the swearer's cabin was the 
 chosen place of prayer. He was the ship's "second 
 master ;" and after a year or two of a bright Christian 
 walk, he was called first of the little circle of con- 
 fessors to enter into the rest above. A survivor, re- 
 ferring to these fore-cockpit meetings, writes : " Truly 
 can I say, and I believe we all felt, that those seasons 
 were among the most happy and privileged of our 
 lives." 
 
 An occasion ere long arose, to test the certainty of 
 his Christian faith and hope. 
 
 The Blenheim had been lying some weeks off Canton, 
 when one morning all hands were ordered to " prepare 
 to assault the town." Situated on a plain which is
 
 18 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 swept on two sides by the river, and having in the rear 
 a considerable mountain called the White Cloud Moun- 
 tain, the city was commanded by certain forts occupy- 
 ing some three or four slightly elevated hills imme- 
 diately behind the town. The forts were occupied by 
 Tartar troops, whilst the city itself with its suburbs, 
 containing a population of a million souls, was pro- 
 tected by a wall twenty-five feet thick at the base. 
 Our own troops were a mere handful ; but, with the 
 courage natural to Englishmen, the command was 
 given to take the forts. The blue-jackets instantly 
 landed ; and, almost in the twinkling of an eye, they 
 were scaling the heights. Bate was among the first to 
 mount the breach ; and, just as he had reached the 
 summit, he was struck below the chin by a ball. In- 
 stantly his whole chest was covered with blood; and it 
 was thought the wound was mortal. But the gallant 
 fellow pushed on, pistol in hand ; and the next moment 
 his pistol was struck by another ball, which cut it in 
 two. A lieutenant and mate of the brigade were 
 killed; another officer lost his leg, and four other 
 officers were wounded. 
 
 The crisis was past. The " braves " fled in precipi- 
 tation. And the British force was in possession of the 
 fort, since known as the " Blue-jackets' Height." 
 
 Now at leisure to care for his wound, Bate proceeded 
 calmly to the surgeon, who found it was only a flesh- 
 wound. But twice that morning he had escaped death 
 by a hair's-breadth. He was "preserved in Christ 
 Jesus." Years afterwards he was to fall, mortally
 
 HAIR'S-BREADTH ESCAPE. 19 
 
 wounded, almost on that identical spot; but, mean- 
 while, God had a work to do in him and by him ; and 
 until that work was done, he was immortal 
 
 " Go, labour on ! 'tis not for nought, 
 All earthly loss is heavenly gain ! 
 Men heed thee not ! men praise thee not, 
 The Master praises ! what are men ? >!
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 " Teach me, my God and King, 
 
 In all things Thee to see; 
 And what I do in anything, 
 To do it as for Thee." 
 
 No two things more essentially differ than an instinct 
 and a grace. Nelson could proclaim the watchword, 
 " England expects every man to do his duty ! " Leoni- 
 das could point his heroic hand at Thermopylae to " the 
 eyes of all Greece ; " but Havelock, after a series of 
 victories, whose recital thrilled England's great heart 
 after a fashion it scarcely ever before had known, could 
 write " Away with vainglory ! Thanks to Almighty 
 God, who gave me the victory ! " Even without grace, 
 Bate would have been an earnest, steady officer ; but, 
 in the hard and often thankless task which awaited 
 him in coming years, he manfully faced all duty, count- 
 ing it his joy to please Him who had " called him unto 
 the fellowship of His Son." A shipmate, on his return 
 home, wrote : " Our dear friend Bate was quite well 
 shortly before I left, and, thank God, growing in 
 grace."
 
 THE SURVEY. 21 
 
 Before the affair of Canton, he had volunteered to 
 Captain Collinson to be his assistant for the survey of 
 the Chinese waters. The latter, having now obtained 
 the command of the Plover, at once secured Bate's ser- 
 vices. " His activity and energy/' writes Captain Col- 
 linson in some notes kindly prepared by him for this 
 Memoir, " were so conspicuous, that it was only by dint 
 of great importunity that Sir Thomas Herbert, who 
 had succeeded Sir F. Senhouse in the command of the 
 Blenheim, consented to lose his services, permitting 
 him to join my ship." And thus he entered on that 
 special line of service in which he was to spend his 
 remaining years, with a distinction which placed him 
 confessedly in the very front rank of his profession, 
 not even Sir F. Beaufort, the eminent head of the Hy- 
 drographic department of the Navy, occupying a more 
 distinguished place. 
 
 Writing from on board his new ship, he says, of date 
 October 30, 1S41 : " My very dear brother and sisters, 
 I ought first of all to tell you that I have been appointed 
 assistant to Captain Collinson, the surveyor of this ex- 
 pedition. It leaves me very little time ; for in this 
 hitherto unknown land all our time and attention are 
 occupied in making ourselves acquainted with it. Your 
 last letter was written the very day I was wounded at 
 the taking of Canton (May 26th). The others that you 
 speak of I have not as yet received ; but, alas ! we are 
 in the most out-of-the-way place you can imagine, 
 hard work, and as yet no results ; which makes the 
 war so tiresome ; a disposition of continued obstinacy
 
 22 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 on the part of the Chinese, so that they will not ran- 
 som the cities, and they have now stopped all commu- 
 nication with this province. How it will end is known 
 only to Him who is the Ruler of kings and princes ; 
 but may it be for the honour and glory of His own 
 kingdom ! China is now indeed open : its licentious- 
 ness and idolatry are, I trust, about to be invaded : and 
 from what we are taught and have learned of other 
 nations, China I trust is the next to be evangelised. 
 What a blessing it will be, if it is so ordained and our 
 highly- favoured country made still the instrument of 
 so good a work ! I have got a splendid commentary- 
 Bible, in one large volume, by Henry and Scott, by 
 which I trust the Holy Spirit will so enlighten my mind 
 that, by looking up to Jesus my only hope, I may attain 
 to that rest for which we all live." 
 
 He now had another brush with the "braves." His 
 ship was selected by the admiral to conduct the fleet 
 up the Chinese Sea, and, in the attack on Amoy, to 
 lead it into position. The place was defended by five 
 hundred guns ; but such was the panic of the enemy, 
 that the town was captured by the British without the 
 loss of a single man, some mandarins being so terror- 
 stricken as actually to lay violent hands on themselves 
 before the very eyes of the invaders. 
 
 " They are the happy men," it has been said, " whoso 
 natures sort with their vocations." It soon became 
 apparent that Bate was of this class. "Here," says 
 Collinson, referring to the commencement of surveying 
 operations after the fall of Amoy, " he received the first
 
 AN ADVENTUEE. 23 
 
 and only lesson in nautical surveying which I had ever 
 occasion to give him. Educated at the Naval College, 
 he had of course seen a theodolite; but he was not 
 practically acquainted with its use. We landed to- 
 gether at our first station ; and, putting up the theo- 
 dolite, I took a round of angles, he noting for me. I 
 then put the instrument out of gear let him level it, 
 take a few angles, and put it in the box he next was 
 ordered to take up a series of stations, so as to carry 
 out the triangulation round the bay ; and, on plotting 
 our work that night, I found at once I had obtained an 
 efficient and trustworthy assistant." 
 
 The war, however, was not yet ended ; and, wherever 
 there was a post of danger, there the young lieutenant 
 (promoted, llth October 1841, for his gallantry in 
 mounting the heights of Canton) was sure to be found. 
 One of his adventures is narrated by Captain Collinson 
 thus : " On the night after the capture of Chinhai, he 
 narrowly escaped with his life. The Plover, having 
 taken up a position inside the stakes, the Chinese in 
 the course of the night made an attempt to burn her. 
 He was sent to examine a junk drifting towards us, 
 when, on boarding her and lifting the hatches, the 
 flames suddenly burst out. Bate, the first to enter the 
 junk, stood for a moment alone ; for the boat's crew, 
 fearing an explosion, instantly shoved off. Their officer 
 made a leap back again, but was precipitated into the 
 water ; and not till after a critical struggle was he re- 
 covered." 
 
 Some months later, another adventure occurred. His
 
 24 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 ship had been despatched to the northern part of the 
 Chusan archipelago, to examine it preparatory to the 
 movement of the fleet. On their arrival, a party landed 
 by two boats in a shallow creek, and had proceeded 
 with all but the boat-keepers across a low level plain 
 towards a small isolated hill, when, leaving the others 
 at the foot, Bate and Collinson went to the summit to 
 look around. " Suddenly," writes the latter, " I per- 
 ceived him to run forward, at the same time drawing 
 his sword ; and I soon found he was chasing a China- 
 man who with sword and shield had been ensconced 
 on the summit, watching our proceedings. A horrid 
 shout, however, distracted our attention from the indi- 
 vidual ; and, on looking on the plain below, we found 
 the Chinese army drawn up in array to receive us. 
 Nothing remained but a sharp retreat to the boats, 
 from which we should have been cut off had it not 
 been for the determined face which Bate, in command 
 of the rear, maintained, keeping them in check by a 
 cool, well-directed fire." The next morning, twenty- 
 five in number, they went on shore ; and, in the course 
 of forty minutes, without a single casualty, dispersed 
 the Chinese forces, killing their leader and twenty 
 others, capturing their military chest, and setting fire 
 to their junks. " This success," Captain Collinson adds, 
 "was mainly owing to the prompt manner in which 
 Hall and Bate led their men along the plain." 
 
 That spring, he was privileged to enjoy once again 
 the old fellowship of the Blenheim. " Bate and Giles/' 
 wrote one of the little band of Christian brothers to a
 
 HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT. 25 
 
 fourth who by this time had returned to England, 
 " are on board the Plover, very happy and comfortable. 
 I spent the most of my time with them when at Ningpo 
 on leave for ten days in December. I thought of you, 
 and felt how sweet it was to mingle with those we 
 hope to dwell with for ever. Often, with delight, I 
 remember the happy evenings we spent together in this 
 retreat of mine an unspeakable privilege ! After you 
 left," he adds, " a great alteration took place : all were 
 scattered ; and soon I shall be left alone, dear Norman 
 to whom I am indebted more than I can repay being 
 promoted." 
 
 Some weeks elapsed ; and another illustrative in- 
 cident presented itself. It was at the assault on 
 Chapoo. "To the Plover," writes Captain Collinson, 
 " was assigned the office of covering the landing of the 
 troops ; and, on Sir H. Gough leaving the beach, he 
 accepted my tender of Lieutenant Bate's services as his 
 aide-de-camp to keep up communication with the rear. 
 Among the outward defences of the city were several 
 horse-shoe-shaped enclosures, whence the Chinese main- 
 tained a harassing fire. Supported by two men, Bate 
 made a rush at one of the enclosures, and was at 
 once involved in a hand-to-hand combat with the 
 officer commanding it a blue-button mandarin. In 
 the course of the struggle, both parties fell to the 
 ground; but Bate by his superior agility remained 
 uppermost, and succeeded in disarming his antagonist 
 and in making him prisoner." 
 
 A few minutes later, a fresh achievement meets us.
 
 26 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 The troops were now at the gates of the city, but with- 
 out any battering train or field-piece to force them 
 open. The commander, " apprehensive that the Chinese 
 might rally before any men could be brought to the 
 front/' was looking round on every side with anxiety, 
 not knowing what to do, when suddenly Bate was seen 
 sword in hand scaling the wall alone. The next 
 moment, he was on the summit ; the Chinese, suppos- 
 ing him to be the leader of a party, precipitately 
 abandoned the post ; and the brave fellow, coolly de- 
 scending on the other side, opened the gates to the 
 troops. 
 
 On the same occasion, another characteristic shewed 
 itself. Now within the city, the troops attacked a 
 joss-house occupied by a body of three hundred Tartars, 
 who had fled to it as their last refuge. Driven to 
 desperation, the Tartars resisted till the greater part of 
 them were killed. In the conflict, the 18th Royal Irish 
 lost their colonel and nine of their men ; and at last 
 they were so maddened, that, rushing upon the sur- 
 vivors and upon some prisoners whom they had taken 
 in the assault, they were about to massacre them in 
 cold blood, when Bate, coming up, and throwing him- 
 self betwixt them and their victims, saved the poor 
 creatures' lives. Among the rescued was the blue- 
 button mandarin, who had just been thirsting for his 
 blood. 
 
 It seemed as if he bore a charmed life. On the 
 capture of another town that summer, the naval 
 brigade was passing securely along one of the streets,
 
 NAKROW ESCAPE. 27 
 
 when a Tartar soldier came creeping up on all fours as 
 if severely wounded, and got close enough to take a 
 " pot-shot " at the officers heading the party. " Bate/' 
 says Captain Collinson, who was present, "narrowly 
 escaped the shot." 
 
 One morning, as he lay off Nankin in temporary 
 command of two of her Majesty's ships, a state-barge 
 put off from the shore, bearing a flag of truce. It was 
 an emissary from the governor, with a letter addressed 
 to the English, and containing proposals of peace. Up 
 to that hour, the "Brother of the Sun" had never 
 communicated with the "outside barbarian" except 
 through the most subordinate officials. Bate was thus 
 the first European to receive a direct overture from a 
 Chinese viceroy. 
 
 A few weeks later, he was honoured to navigate 
 down the river H.M.S. Blonde with the first instalment 
 of the Chinese ransom. From on board that ship, he 
 wrote, October 1, 1842, thus: "My beloved sisters, 
 having some spare time, it cannot be better employed 
 than in communicating a brother's most affectionate 
 love to those who are so constantly in his memory. 
 Knowing how much disappointed you all would be, on 
 the Blonde's arrival in Old England, not to have a line 
 from me, I take this opportunity in addition to the 
 
 many instructions already given to J , who will 
 
 relate all particulars, and answer the numerous ques- 
 tions so sure to be put to him about me. I am now 
 on board this ship, and have been for the last week, in 
 the capacity of a Pilot, having brought her down the
 
 28 MEMOIR OP CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 river from Nankin ; and I am too happy to tell you 
 that in the course of another week the whole of our 
 force will be clear of the Eiver. By my former letters, 
 you will have heard of my having had the fever ; but 
 I am now, I am thankful to say, quite recovered. In- 
 deed, our whole force have been very sickly ; and it is 
 a most providential thing that the Chinese made peace 
 when they did, for we never should have been able to 
 carry on the war in the state we are in at present. 
 
 " I think it probable," he adds, " that I shall remain 
 out here two years longer. The admiral has in more 
 than one instance shewn me a great deal of kindness, 
 and a disposition towards me which will benefit me 
 much. It is only for you, my dears, that I live ; and 
 for this alone I am glad to give you any tidings of 
 myself which I think may make you all happy ; and, 
 if I can only in a slight degree contribute to your com- 
 forts, and come anything near what that beloved one 
 (whom alas ! God has taken to Himself for a better 
 purpose) was, it will amply satisfy me. But again 
 I know, from your dear and interesting letters, that 
 you all three look, in a few short years and perhaps 
 hours only, through the merits of our Heavenly 
 Brother Jesus Christ, to be brought to that everlasting 
 habitation where comforts and all other earthly assist- 
 ance are neither wanted nor sought after. Be assured 
 that a knowledge of Jesus will in nowise unfit us, 
 whatever be our calling, for the many duties of this 
 life : indeed, I am thankful to say, that, the more I 
 am permitted to know of Him, the better adapted I am
 
 CHRISTIAN CHARACTERISTICS. 29 
 
 for my professional duties, a conscientious and faithful 
 discharge of which will carry all difficulties with ease 
 and satisfaction. And then, again, what a consolation 
 awaits you when called upon to leave this earthly 
 scene ! Instead of fearing, we ought rather to be glad, 
 to quit so sinful for so glorious a world; where we 
 confidently hope to meet those who have preceded us 
 but a short time. May you be constant in communion 
 with God and Jesus Christ your Saviour, being dead 
 to all the success of this world and to the reproaches 
 of men which bring us into a snare ! And let us 
 never," he concludes, referring to the recent death of a 
 Brother, "forget the chastisement of our Father, so 
 kindly inflicted upon us for our ultimate good, that 
 we may be led to our Heavenly Brother Jesus ; and 
 let us say, with thankfulness for it 'Before I was 
 afflicted, I went astray; but now have I kept Thy 
 word.'"
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 * With manifold instruction 
 
 The heirs of life are train'd, 
 Till, heaven's portals opening, 
 Their holy prize is gain'd. 
 
 " Oh ! keep me ever learning, 
 
 Subdued beneath Thy rod ; 
 Make me a better scholar, 
 But teach me still, my God ! " 
 
 " PKOSPEKITY," says Bacon, " is the blessing of the Old 
 Testament, adversity of the New, though the latter carry 
 the greater benediction and the clearer revelation of 
 God's favour." Bate had now cast in his lot decisively 
 with Christ ; and it seemed as if the Fatherly disci- 
 pline demanded not a little cross-bearing. 
 
 The war being over, the whole fleet were looking 
 for some signal recognition of his distinguished ser- 
 vices. "It was well known," writes Collinson, "that 
 Captain Kellett was on the eve of relinquishing his 
 command, to return home ; and Sir W. Parker, with 
 a just appreciation of Bate's merits, had announced 
 his intention to confer it upon him, the command of 
 such a vessel, well adapted to the purposes of the
 
 SEAMANSHIP. 31 
 
 survey, being regarded as the first instalment of the 
 reward which he had so justly earned. In this, how- 
 ever," adds the same officer, "we were doomed to 
 be disappointed. Instead of the Starling, an unhandy 
 little vessel was appropriated to the service. And 
 with one officer besides himself, and a crew of sixteen 
 men with but indifferent accommodation and 
 scarcely protected from the heat, he encountered for 
 three years the burning sun of a Chinese summer, and 
 the not less trying storm and tempest of the winter 
 months, so well known to those who have navigated, 
 the Formosa channel." 
 
 Manfully and without a murmur did he execute 
 this task. "The vast advantage," Captain Collinson 
 continues, "I received from his hearty co-operation 
 can never be effaced from my memory. With im- 
 plicit confidence in his judgment, I was relieved in a 
 great measure from the harassing anxiety caused by 
 the navigation of a craft which could be called neither 
 boat nor vessel, as well as by the possibility of attack 
 by pirates. Many instances of timely succour in 
 cases of need in the course of this service crowd on 
 my memory. I knew his eye was always on me; 
 and, if I was prevented by bad weather from rejoin- 
 ing my own vessel, I felt certain that I should be 
 picked up. One instance may suffice. We sailed from 
 Amoy ; and, the morning being fine, I left in a boat, to 
 put in the coast-line, while the two vessels proceeded 
 to sound the neighbourhood of the Merope shoals. 
 Shortly after noon, one of those sudden storms
 
 32 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 occurred with rain and thick haze, not only entirely 
 interrupting our operations, but compelling us to 
 beach the boat. Here we remained, thoroughly 
 drenched, without a chance of regaining the vessels, 
 and prepared to take up our quarters on the beach 
 for the night, when, through the mist, at scarcely a 
 cable's-length distance from the shore, the little 
 schooner was seen, scanning every nook and corner, 
 until the object of her search was found." 
 
 At length, the outline of the coast was completed, 
 the whole seaboard from the Chusan archipelago to 
 Hong-Kong being delineated with incredible labour 
 on " ninety-five sheets of drawing paper." " Nothing, 
 I believe," Collinson adds, " but a stern determination 
 to do his duty, and a warm affection for myself, 
 induced him to put up with the discomfort and 
 harassing toil of these years." 
 
 Picturing the hidden life of the tried cross-bearer, 
 a kindred spirit has written 
 
 " Alone, alone in the world alone, 
 
 Pacing the desert wild ; 
 Say, who is this unacknowledged one, 
 
 With aspect calm and mild ? 
 " Alone, alone on the earth alone, 
 
 His heart seems far away, 
 In spirit-worlds, to our gaze unknown, 
 
 Where other sunbeams play. 
 " Alone, alone in rough paths alone, 
 
 In pilgrim-garments now, 
 His eye discerneth a radiant crown, 
 Which soon shall deck his brow." * 
 
 * Snatches of Sacred Song. By the Author of " The Protoplast."
 
 HIDDEN LIFE. 33 
 
 Over the inner trials and triumphs of faith in those 
 years a veil rests ; but a friend who met him at 
 Amoy towards their close tells how he had gathered 
 upon his whole bearing and converse a fresh heaven- 
 liness, as if in the solitude of his quiet cabin he had 
 been drawn into a deepening intimacy with Him who 
 delights in the broken and contrite spirit. 
 
 In the spring of 1846, the Plover was ordered 
 home ; and Bate, declining the command of the 
 miserable little craft, which had been offered him by 
 Sir T. Cochrane with the view of pursuing the sur- 
 vey of the 'coast to the south and west of the Canton 
 river, returned, as the Plover's senior lieutenant, to 
 England. 
 
 But it was only to suffer a new disappointment of 
 his just hopes. " I naturally expected, on my arrival," 
 Captain Collinson writes, " that his meritorious services 
 during the war, combined with his indefatigable exer- 
 tions subsequently, would be duly and cordially ac- 
 knowledged. But I regret to say that this was not the 
 case. Under the pretext that he was ' a surveying 
 officer/ his claims were for a whole twelvemonth dis- 
 regarded." And another officer, who held a command 
 in the Chinese waters, writes : " Sir George Cock- 
 burn, who had been first sea-lord of the Admiralty 
 during the Chinese War, was requested to explain how 
 it was that Lieutenant Bate had not been promoted 
 equally with the first lieutenants of other ships en- 
 gaged. The reply was, that it was an oversight, and 
 that he felt that Lieutenant Bate ought to have been 
 c
 
 34 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 promoted for his conduct in scaling the walls of 
 Chapoo. He even gave him a letter to Sir Charles 
 Adam, then first sea-lord; and it was supported by 
 another from Sir William Parker, who had been com- 
 mander-in-chief during the war. But they were of no 
 avail The Admiralty never admit a mistake, and, 
 unless at the instance of powerful political friends, 
 never repair one, however unjust." 
 
 The neglect was very trying ; but he had learned to 
 " possess his soul in patience." Amidst man's coldness, 
 a voice from his Father in heaven seemed to whisper 
 to him 
 
 " Thou art praying, watching, waiting, yet it passeth not away ; 
 And there is not aught so sick'ning as a hope deferr'd each day : 
 Grace is pledged thee, grace sufficient, for thy deepest, longest 
 
 need; 
 Help when thou art feeling weakness, strength for every word 
 
 and deed." 
 
 The occasion was just one of those testing seasons 
 in a man's life, when he discovers practically what his 
 religion is worth to him. What some men on such 
 occasions achieve by the mere force of a strong will, 
 Bate owed to a calm repose in his God. Not sinking 
 into a mystic quietism, but putting forth his own 
 manly, steadfast faith ; he determined to make the best 
 of the enforced interval of rest by a course of severe 
 professional study, contentedly waiting until He who 
 ordereth all steps should open up his way. 
 
 Captain Collinson writes : " Instead of languishing 
 under the feeling that he had been unwarrantably
 
 CHARACTEEISTICS. 35 
 
 passed over, and that the reward for the services which 
 had made his commander a Captain and a Companion 
 of the Bath, was not extended to him who had served 
 as senior lieutenant throughout the same operations, 
 he diligently set to work to avail himself of the course 
 of instruction at the Naval College at Portsmouth." 
 
 His uniform aim was to master thoroughly whatever 
 he took in hand ; and therefore, whilst most other men 
 would have been content with the unusual measure of 
 attainments already reached, he who had now for five 
 or six years been conducting operations of the most 
 difficult nature, and with a success which had com- 
 manded the marked and almost enthusiastic approval 
 of every party who witnessed them, was not ashamed 
 to take his place once more in the class-room, first at 
 Woolwich and afterwards at the College just named, 
 during a space of nearly two years. 
 
 We have before us, as we write, no fewer than six 
 considerable manuscript volumes, embodying the re- 
 sults of his studies during those years. One of them 
 is marked, " Steam Factory at Woolwich," and relates 
 to a variety of problems on steam navigation, illus- 
 trated by a number of neat-handed sketches. The 
 other five were used at the College, and contain an 
 immense number of exercises on the " Application of 
 the Integral Calculus," on " Curvature," on " Forces," 
 on the " Method of Indeterminate Coefficients," on the 
 " Differential Calculus ; " besides a series on " Optics," 
 and another on " Astronomy." The general impression 
 conveyed by a perusal of the whole is that of a singular
 
 36 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 exactness and thoroughness. He went to the bottom 
 of everything, not content with a slip- shod, superficial 
 idea of things, but grasping every subject with a steady 
 hand. 
 
 There was also a warmth of affection about him, 
 coupled with an extreme simplicity of character, which 
 made him a perfect model of a friend and a brother. 
 " I have now arrived safe among my dear sisters," he 
 writes at this period to a bereaved relative, " and ex- 
 changed a life of health and activity for one of peace- 
 ful enjoyment with those from whom I have been so 
 long separated. Alas ! I wish I could have found no 
 change amongst your own dear circle. The affliction 
 is sore indeed to those who are left (that our family 
 can well tell you) ; but what a glorious meeting awaits 
 
 us ! J is up to the eyes in business, all on my 
 
 account, as she conceives my wardrobe not to be in 
 first-rate order after a seven years' cruise. They all 
 desire their kindest love." 
 
 At length, through the intervention of a friend who 
 happened to be in a position to wield some political 
 influence, he was promoted to the rank of Commander ; 
 and, some months later, he was selected by Sir F. 
 Beaufort to resume the survey in the China waters. 
 At once he proceeded overland, and took the command 
 of the Eoyalist, the vessel destined for this service. 
 
 It was only to meet a fresh disappointment. The 
 survey was one of peculiar danger, the particular coast 
 being so perilous that it used to be said of it, " You 
 have only to look over the side at any time, and you
 
 COMMAND OF H.M.S. EOYALIST. 37 
 
 will be sure to see a wreck." " And yet the craft as- 
 signed to him," says a naval officer already quoted, 
 "he found, on his arrival, to be herself little better 
 than a wreck. She was so full of vermin, too, that she 
 had to be sunk to rid her of them. And a crew he 
 had to cater, as he best might, among the reckless 
 runaways from the merchant-service." 
 
 But, nothing daunted, he once more set his face 
 bravely to the duty laid upon him. It was duty; and, 
 that settled, he meekly took up the cross, looking for 
 the verdict of another day, when the loving Master 
 above should pronounce the "Well done!" Mean- 
 while, amidst the solitudes of the coming years, he was 
 to overhear, by the fine ear of faith, more than once or 
 twice, the heavenly consolation 
 
 " Toil on, toil on ! Thou soon shalt find 
 
 For labour, rest ; for exile, home : 
 Soon shalt thou hear the Bridegroom's voice, 
 The midnight peal, ' Behold, I come.' "
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 His love is principle, and has its root 
 In reason, is judicious, manly, free." 
 
 IN the way towards the eastern coast of China (it has 
 been said) lie the fragments of a shivered continent. 
 Great spiral peninsulas stretch southwards ; and im- 
 mense islands, whose interiors are unknown to us, lie 
 about. Bordering although they do on the. highway of 
 commerce, some of them are as little known as the 
 fanciful regions of the ancient geographers. The micro- 
 cosm of a Peninsular and Oriental Steamer listens with 
 a half-credulity to stories of flying monkeys, and prodi- 
 gious serpents, and a population of cannibals, while the 
 vessel dashes through an archipelago of islands thickly 
 clad with tropical foliage and canopied with lofty palms. 
 The passengers are looking towards their point of desti- 
 nation, and spare few thoughts to the untamed regions 
 which lie upon their path. Yet they are skirting the 
 precincts of a future empire, which must at some not 
 very distant day take part in the world's history. It 
 cannot but happen that where coal and metal are 
 plentiful, where land is fabulously fruitful, and rain
 
 SURVEY PALAWAN. 39 
 
 and sunshine alternate through the year, that region 
 must be of great political and financial importance in 
 the hands of civilised possessors. All commerce round 
 the Cape, all communication by way of Egypt and the 
 Red Sea, must thread the narrow channels which 
 separate the fragments of this broken piece of earth. 
 It has all the elements of a great future, all the possi- 
 bilities of a vast empire. The age of romance is not 
 ended whilst the islands of the Eastern Archipelago 
 remain unexplored. 
 
 Of these islands, not the least important, from its 
 position, is Palawan. Extending 275 miles in length, 
 with an average breadth of 32 miles, and situated 
 betwixt the north of Borneo and the Philippines, its 
 coast presents to the trafficker on the great highway 
 of commerce a series of coral reefs which, until laid 
 down with the utmost exactness, must occasion the 
 most serious hindrance to a safe navigation. "Each 
 new report of the survey," Sir F. Beaufort wrote one 
 day to Bate, " shews us how immeasurably distant from 
 the truth our charts were." To "prosecute (as the 
 Hydvographer expressed it) the survey of these most 
 difficult waters," Bate was now to devote some of the 
 best years of his life. 
 
 In the month of April (J 850), he was off the north 
 end of the island, and entered on his trying task. As 
 the "observations" involved an incessant vigilance 
 from his own eye, his scrupulous sense of duty kept 
 him on one continuous stretch. The " private journal," 
 recording his daily routine, is in this respect one of
 
 40 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 the most striking documents we have ever seen. To 
 narrow souls which can see no glory save in the din of 
 arms or in the smoke of battle, such labours may 
 seem poor and inglorious ; but Bate confided, for the 
 real advancement of civilisation, less in bullets than in 
 the removal of all barriers to mutual confidence and 
 intercourse ; and therefore he did not grudge the toil 
 and harassments of these years. 
 
 One day, after "beating up through the channel 
 formed by the north-east side of Palawan and the 
 islands fronting it," he landed on "a small coral reef, 
 ten feet high," to obtain a bearing ; and, at night, on 
 one of the small islands, he bivouacked "under a blanket 
 on the beach." Whilst on the reef, he observed " within 
 pistol-shot" several whales, "both common and sperm;" 
 as many as twenty being counted in one day. On 
 shore, the island was "thickly wooded, and without 
 much jungle ; " and, in the course of a little stroll, 
 they came upon some hogs, besides observing, in the 
 distance, as darkness came on, " several small fires/' 
 
 Another day they " hove to and communicated with 
 a little place called Santa Monica," where they found 
 "about five-and-twenty houses, built iipon piles, after 
 the Malay fashion, and containing a population of forty 
 or fifty souls." Entering a building "situated on a 
 mound which made a conspicuous mark on the coast 
 line," they were astonished to observe at one extremity 
 " a figure of the Virgin Mary." The people were " a 
 sort of half-caste Manilla, nominally under the Spanish 
 flag, and paying annually to that government one
 
 A CORAL REEF. 41 
 
 dollar per man." Some pigs, fowls, and cocoa-nuts 
 were met with ; but the natives " shewed little desire 
 to part with them." 
 
 Some days later, in communicating with the shore, 
 the vessel " passed from twenty to fourteen fathoms ; " 
 and, "on heaving to, the next cast was ten," whilst, 
 "close in shore of that, the gig struck upon one fathom." 
 The same day, the cutter had traversed the coast a 
 considerable distance southward, and had found the 
 shore " fronted with coral reefs." The next afternoon, 
 in running for an anchorage, the vessel " grounded on 
 a reef, but bumped over it without holding/' And, a 
 day or two afterwards, the depth suddenly varied from 
 one hundred and fifty fathoms to twenty, and then to 
 nine ; " this great and sudden change occurring within 
 a distance of two or three cables, and when the vessel 
 had little more than steerage-way." "What a stu- 
 pendous wall," he adds, "upwards of six hundred 
 feet high !" The distance of this spot from the nearest 
 shore was " only three and a half miles." 
 
 Not unfrequently, " at points where from the nume- 
 rous reefs it would have been exceedingly hazardous 
 to venture in the ship," they organised little expeditions, 
 " with the pinnace and gig, and a week or two's pro- 
 visions ; " and on these occasions they encountered 
 often the most harassing labours in " climbing to the 
 summits of hills for the purpose of observations." In 
 one of his official letters, he alludes incidentally to 
 such occasions thus : " I forward a box containing 
 two mountain-barometers, which have received damage
 
 42 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 from the difficult ascents to some of the mountains up 
 which they were taken." 
 
 At various distances, averaging about fifteen miles, 
 along the coast, they found " small settlements, with a 
 population each of some hundred and fifty souls, speak- 
 ing a Spanish patois, and acknowledging allegiance to 
 that flag." They generally had selected a site " com- 
 manding the immediately neighbouring land and en- 
 closed in a kind of rude stockade." A small portion 
 of the ground was cleared, upon which they grew rice, 
 sweet potatoes, and tobacco, but little more than 
 sufficed for their own consumption. The people were 
 employed in collecting tortoise shells, bees' wax, and 
 trapang. A slight traffic was carried on with the con- 
 tiguous settlements by means of canoes, in the bows of 
 which a brass swivel or three-pound gun was generally 
 to be seen, to protect them from the Moroos, a piratical 
 tribe that made occasional incursions from the south- 
 ward in large bodies. " I imagine," he writes, " that 
 they are Bornean pirates, who carry on a systematic 
 course of plunder here as elsewhere ; for wherever we 
 have been, the people have invariably expressed them- 
 selves as continually labouring under anxiety from 
 them." 
 
 The houses were constructed of wood, and built upon 
 piles raised eight or ten feet from the ground. In the 
 rainy season they spoke of being visited by a sickness 
 somewhat resembling the cholera or black vomit. They 
 had no medical man ; and on the question being put 
 to the person administering the Government at Taiti
 
 TACT IN MANAGING MEN. 43 
 
 how he managed when taken ill, he carelessly replied, 
 " Oh ! God is my doctor." 
 
 Proceeding southward, they found the Spanish ele- 
 ment gradually disappear, until they came upon a 
 population of pure Malay. "They are remarkably 
 plain/' he says ; " and their expression of countenance 
 betokens a complete absence of intellectual endowments. 
 They make themselves, if possible, more hideous by 
 the constant application of the betel-nut. The hair is 
 long, and jet black ; the men allowing it to fall over 
 their shoulders and back which gives them a shocking 
 appearance and the women gathering it all into a knot 
 at the back of the head. The men's clothing consists 
 merely of the chawat ; but the person who styled him- 
 self the chief had on a Spanish shirt in addition. The 
 women's attire is a coloured cotton garment, passed 
 tightly round the waist and reaching to the knees. 
 Whilst some of the women are in figure most perfect, 
 others again present an unsightly spectacle, arising 
 from a scorbutic affection which prevails greatly, and 
 disfigures the whole frame. Stock," he adds, "is 
 plentiful, the people evidencing every desire to give 
 what little they possessed, each woman who visited the 
 ship bringing a fowl in her arms for a present." 
 
 Bate had a singular tact in managing men, his 
 ruling maxim being to treat even the rudest and 
 humblest with a respectful, considerate kindness. One 
 day, a boat's company was " in-shore " surveying, whilst 
 the ship was doing some work further off. As they 
 pulled along the coast, a party of armed natives was
 
 44 MEMOIB OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 observed on the beach. Directing their course close 
 to the shore, they displayed an English red ensign, 
 which, from its colour, the natives interpreted into a 
 symbol of determined hostility. A very reserved com- 
 munication, however, was effected, but sufficient to dis- 
 cover the source of the mistake. At once the visitors 
 yielded to their prejudices, and substituted always 
 afterwards for the obnoxious red a white ensign. 
 " This," says he, " won their confidence ; and a most 
 friendly intercourse ensued." 
 
 A visit was paid, one morning, to the Datoo or 
 Malay chief. His house lay about a mile in-shore, 
 and was approached by a pathway cut through a thick 
 jungle and crossed at several points by a meandering 
 stream of clear fresh water. "Emerging from the 
 jungle," he writes, "we opened into an extensive culti- 
 vated plain, upon which were growing rice, Indian 
 corn, water-melons, yams, and a variety of fruits and 
 vegetables, in full realisation of what we had hitherto 
 only been able to obtain glimpses of through our tele- 
 scopes. The Datoo's dwelling was a complete specimen 
 of the residence of a Malay chief. It was filled with 
 warlike weapons of every description, even a Tower 
 flint-lock musket. He and his people, who number 
 upwards of five thousand, are all Mohammedans." 
 
 He found also a few of the aborigines, who were 
 living on terms of amity with the people, some of them 
 even being in the service of the Datoo. The tribe 
 were at some distance in the mountains, in a state of 
 nudity, subsisting on hogs or whatever they could find,
 
 PALAWAN AND ITS PEOPLE. 45 
 
 and not molesting in any way their neighbours below. 
 The specimens he saw were "short and thick-set, 
 having an oval form of face but sharp features, and in 
 colour approaching the negro." They worshipped "a 
 plurality of gods." Their weapons were the "blow- 
 pipe," through which they "project, by condensing 
 their breath, small poisoned arrows ;" and also the 
 spear, and the kris ; and they were seldom to be seen 
 unaccompanied by either the one or the other. 
 
 The general aspect of the country, he describes thus : 
 "The whole island of Palawan is excessively moun- 
 tainous, the peaks attaining an elevation of several 
 thousand feet, and some of them disposed very capri- 
 ciously. Advancing northward, again, along a straight 
 line of coast in some parts and deep bays in others, the 
 land assumed a different look. The high mountain- 
 ranges, instead of sending their ridges and spires close 
 down to the sea, were generally fronted by extensive 
 tracts of low alluvial land; and the numerous light- 
 green patches, stretching away up the hills, and the 
 park-like scenery which bounded their bases, bore 
 testimony to the fact of our being in a very populous 
 district." 
 
 One afternoon on shore, " the peaks evidencing no 
 symptoms of shewing out," the surveying party pre- 
 pared to bivouac for the night. They " rigged a small 
 hurricane-house lighted a large pile of wood drew 
 up the boat and made all snug; then, supper over 
 and a few songs sung round the ' blazing hearth,' things 
 gradually subsided, and midnight found them all asleep
 
 46 MEMOIR OP CAPTAIN \V. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 except the man on the look-out." At one A.M. they 
 were roused by a blast of wind and rain from the north. 
 " I had to ' bout ship,' " he writes, " with my hurri- 
 cane-house ; and the men found good shelter by stow- 
 ing the canoe bottom uppermost. It rained till day- 
 light ; and, in our altered circumstances, we slept till 
 sunrise, when, just as it cleared off, the peaks all shewed 
 out quite plain, and, by eight o'clock, the necessary 
 observations for determining the position of the island 
 and carrying on the triangulation (or connexion) to the 
 south-westward were obtained." And he adds : " At 
 two P.M. I left the island, having first erected a station- 
 pole, and attached a bottle to the base of it, in which a 
 paper was placed, bearing the following notification : 
 ' H.M.S. Royalist, Commander W. T. Bate, Royal Navy, 
 visited the Island in the gig, and slept here on the night 
 of the 15th July 1850, and left July 16, having ob- 
 tained observations. All with thanks to a gracious and 
 good Providence. W. T. B/ " 
 
 Seldom a week passed without some marked mercy 
 from HIM who holds in His hand the winds and waves. 
 " When off a small inlet," he writes, recording one of 
 those interpositions, " we observed to sea-ward a strong 
 rippling which approached the ship rapidly, the wind 
 being light at the time. It came at right angles to the 
 shore, and would have swept the vessel into a critical 
 position ; but providentially at this juncture a three- 
 knot breeze sprang up, which enabled the vessel to 
 ' hold her own ' until the strength of it had passed. 
 The vessel," he adds, " was within its influence about
 
 FIXED ON A REEF. 47 
 
 ten minutes ; and its progressive rate may be estimated 
 at three to four miles an hour. It impinged upon the 
 shore, in a manner similar in effect to that of a wave 
 caused by a paddle- steamer." 
 
 Another day, when on their way to Labuan, they 
 were within two miles of its northern extremity, steer- 
 ing for an anchorage at five knots an hour, when sud- 
 denly the vessel " struck upon a rock not laid down in 
 any chart." It was low water at the time, and " the 
 ship's keel gave two bumps, and she passed clear." 
 
 It was after a brief sojourn that autumn at Singa- 
 pore, and when on his way back to Palawan " to ex- 
 amine and fix the positions of the various shoals fringing 
 that highway for all vessels adopting the eastern pas- 
 sage to China, when late in the north-east monsoon," 
 that an incident occurred which illustrated most strik- 
 ingly at once God's preserving care of him, and his 
 own able seamanship. 
 
 At dusk, one evening, as a heavy squall was about 
 to burst upon them, they were making all speed to get 
 hold of the land, and were already drawing over to the 
 Balaban shore, when suddenly breakers were reported 
 ahead, and the ship struck upon a coral reef. She 
 passed easily half her length over it, but fixed amid- 
 ships. The position was very critical. The night was 
 now intensely dark, and a swell was setting in from' 
 the north-west ; and the vessel bumped slightly. By 
 and by the tide left her perfectly quiet, though her 
 inclination was considerable ; but, at two in the morn- 
 ing, she became " quite lively," at times receiving some
 
 48 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 severe shocks. After an unsuccessful attempt to heave 
 her off, " she continued to thump violently during the 
 remainder of the night, occasionally unshipping and 
 reshipping the rudder." 
 
 As day broke, the tide commenced falling, and the 
 vessel bumped less violently, when, rather suddenly, 
 she " fell over to port, having four feet under the bow, 
 and eleven feet astern." All hands were now employed 
 to lighten her, " one party discharging ballast and de- 
 positing it very cleverly clear of the vessel's bows by 
 means of a shoot rigged from the forecastle, and which 
 received the name of the 'patent railroad;' others 
 constructing a raft of all the available spars for the 
 purpose of receiving the wet provisions and other heavy 
 articles ; whilst the remainder were variously employed 
 in starting water and clearing holds." 
 
 It was now low water, and the vessel had five feet 
 under her bow, and seven astern, having been relieved 
 to the extent of some five-and- twenty tons. As even- 
 ing came on and the tide again rose, she " gave some 
 terrific bumps ; " and the " stream anchor and chain 
 was kept at a fair strain, in order to start her, as the 
 swell came in, from the bed of broken coral which she 
 had made for herself." At one in the morning it was 
 high water, and " the chain was hove upon to move 
 her," but without success. At last, after two violent 
 shocks, she began to " rise and fall with the swell 
 without touching the ground ;" and, in another quarter 
 of an hour, she was riding in four fathoms, secured 
 head and stern. The next forenoon they picked up
 
 THE CABIN AND THE BIBLE. 49 
 
 twelve feet of her main keel, " the only damage sus- 
 tained in the misadventure." 
 
 Alluding to this scene, Captain Collinson writes : 
 " On one of the numerous coral reefs the vessel was 
 nearly lost, being saved solely by the admirable man- 
 ner in which her commander constructed a raft." 
 
 A few weeks afterwards, Bate was at Hong-Kong 
 for repairs, and met his friend in the Enterprise, on 
 his way to the Arctic Seas. " I had the pleasure on 
 that occasion," Captain Collinson adds, " of spending 
 six weeks with him. We sailed for Behring's Straits 
 on the 1st of April, and he accompanied me outside 
 the harbour some distance. A few days afterwards, 
 happening to look up, I found something written on 
 the beam overhead in the cabin. On examination, I 
 deciphered it thus 'Numb. VL 24-26 ; April 1st, 
 1851. W. T. B.' (The words are' The Lord bless 
 thee, and keep thee ! The Lord make His face shine 
 upon thee, and be gracious unto thee ! The Lord lift 
 up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace ! ') 
 I need not say that the inscription remained intact. 
 And, four years afterwards, I had the gratification of 
 shewing it .to him at Sheerness, and of telling him that 
 his prayer had been heard." 
 
 This incident, trifling in itself, is pregnant with 
 meaning. The lonely nights on those lonely shores 
 had been brightened by the lamp of God. Another 
 day will declare how, as he searched the Scriptures, 
 and " thought upon His name," the Lord registered 
 
 D
 
 50 MEMOIB OP CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 in His " book of remembrance " many a memorial of 
 his heavenly aspirations. And this it was, moreover, 
 which made him so calm and self-possessed in every 
 emergency : he feared his God, and he had no other 
 fear.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " Here unmolested, through whatever sign 
 The sun proceeds, I wander. Neither mist, 
 Nor sultry sky, . . checking me ; 
 Nor stranger intermeddling with my joy." 
 
 IN the course of the month of April, the Royalist was 
 again at Palawan. 
 
 One day, as they sailed along its western coast, a 
 white flag was observed upon the beach, and shortly 
 afterwards a canoe, with a similar banner, paddling 
 off towards them. On reaching the ship, the visitors 
 "went up her side;" and great was their amazement 
 at the " moving island," which at first sight they had 
 taken her for. Bate welcomed them, as he always 
 did, with kindness ; though it was not easy at first to 
 disabuse their minds of a certain suspicion of hosti- 
 lity which had been excited by the " clothes " on the 
 strangers' bodies, it being the custom of the natives 
 in a time of war to cover their nakedness with "a 
 coat of mail.''' One of the men had his head completely 
 shorn ; and the other had long black hair, with a 
 handkerchief bound round the head. Their dress
 
 52 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 consisted of trowsers and jacket, very similar in cut 
 to the Chinese, but not quite so loose ; and the mate- 
 rial was canvas and jean, instead of the common blue 
 cotton of China." Firmness rather than benevolence 
 was developed in the structure of their heads ; and 
 their eyes were exceedingly wide apart, causing an 
 apparent hollow in the temples. The "facial angle" 
 was acute, the features sharp, and the mouth very 
 large, with "an unenviable row of teeth stained with 
 betel-root." 
 
 Another day, they came in sight of a mountain 
 13,000 feet high, the summit quite barren, and the 
 rocks of a columnar form, one or two rising above the 
 general range in large pinnacles. The prevailing 
 feature of the coast was that of broken ranges of hills, 
 varying in moderate height, and fronted here and 
 there by sand-bays and rocky projections. Several 
 birds were observed flying about the ship ; and a 
 species of swallow flew on board, apparently quite 
 tame. A vulture, too, which had accompanied the 
 ship for some four-and-twenty hours, perched upon 
 the maintop-gallant-yard with a sea-snake in its 
 claws, and let it fall upon deck, but soon returned 
 with a second, which it also let go, though not until 
 it had very much mutilated it, every bone being sepa- 
 rated and its head perforated. 
 
 A morning or two later, they visited a village, lying 
 "in the bottom of a bay," and recognisable by "a 
 large building with a red roof, and a church-spire 
 rising from its south gable." The population num-
 
 A NATIVE LUXURY. 53 
 
 bered about five hundred ; and the place abounded 
 with pigs and fowls, besides several buffaloes. On 
 the margin of the beach stood "an old redoubt ;" and 
 the church appeared to have been originally a fortress, 
 having at its extremity a very old castellated tower. 
 The land was very fertile, and afforded great facility 
 for irrigation ; but they did not seem to get from it 
 more than a single crop in the year. 
 
 On another occasion, he set out in the gig, " to com- 
 plete the southern faces of some of the outer islands." 
 "The formation of the group," he writes, "is lime- 
 stone, rising quite perpendicularly from the sea, and 
 terminating in very sharp pinnacles. The sides of the 
 cliffs assume various colours ; and, with the num- 
 ber of caves and deep recesses occurring throughout, 
 together with the beautiful foliage shooting out in 
 every direction, the whole forms one of the most mag- 
 nificent sights I have ever seen in Nature ; some of 
 the cliffs, undermined by the sea to an extent of fifteen 
 or twenty feet, impending to an alarming degree when 
 viewed from a position immediately underneath them. 
 Among the various birds seen hovering about them, 
 is one resembling a swallow, whose nest is so eagerly 
 sought after, that it forms an extensive article of traffic 
 throughout the eastern archipelago. The natives move 
 about in very small canoes to collect it They go 
 under one of these impending cliffs, and with marvel- 
 lous dexterity ascend the face of them, crawling in 
 and out of the crevices in search of the nest. Nearly 
 every cliff bears traces of their assiduity in hunt-
 
 54 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, RN. 
 
 ing for this luxury ; for pieces of bamboo, with 
 long lines attached, may be seen, everywhere, thrust 
 into the rock for the purpose of facilitating their 
 ascent/' 
 
 Some weeks afterwards, he visited a village "very 
 prettily situated immediately under a high precipitous 
 limestone cliff full of caverns and crevices and inter- 
 spersed with beautiful sprigs of foliage." On landing, 
 they were met by " a square stockade, with four brass 
 guns one of four pounds calibre shewing through 
 ports about twenty feet from the ground," Immediately 
 in the rear was a large house, the residence of the chief ; 
 and, a little further back, the " Court-house/' which was 
 furnished with "stocks, a wooden shoe, and a terrible 
 six-tailed scourge made out of buffalo-hide," which 
 is administered by " laying the culprit prone with his 
 face to the ground, securing his ankles in the stocks, 
 and then inflicting on his bare posteriors as many as 
 twenty-five lashes." Still further to the rear was a 
 gallery, leading to a crevice immediately under a high 
 cliff; and, ascending a bamboo ladder, the party found 
 themselves in " a cavern in the side of the cliff fifty or 
 sixty feet from the ground" a place of refuge to 
 which the natives retreated on being surprised by an 
 enemy. Keturning to the village, they saw handlooms 
 and spinning-wheels, on which the women were manu- 
 facturing, from materials grown on the spot, fabrics 
 for home-use. 
 
 The miserable craft was a source of constant dis- 
 comfort. " In the strength of the squalls," he writes,
 
 NIGHT-WATCH THE EMBLEM. 55 
 
 one day, " the vessel remains moderately steady, occa- 
 sionally giving one or two heavy plunges ; but, imme- 
 diately the wind relaxes, she jumps and rolls about 
 tremendously. This was the case all last night, and 
 particularly when the wind came off the land." And, 
 another day : " Our sails are constantly splitting, and 
 the roping giving way. So little are our sails to be 
 trusted, in case we require them to extricate the ship 
 out from difficulties which are constantly to be appre- 
 hended, that it is a perpetual occasion of anxiety to 
 me." And, again, thus: "At 10.30, a most violent 
 squall burst upon us. It caught the vessel a little on 
 her broadside, and made her careen several degrees. 
 The night was dark ; and torrents of rain fell. Whilst 
 walking the deck, expecting every moment the cable 
 would part, how frequently did the thought of the 
 'anchor' as the beautiful emblem of 'hope' occur to 
 my mind ! " 
 
 It was thus he calmly reposed day by day in his 
 God. 
 
 " Holy teachings have been with thee, whisperings of the world to 
 
 come 
 Song of angels gleams of glory glimpses of thy heavenly home." 
 
 And new occasions were continually arising for ador- 
 ing the Lord's preserving care. 
 
 A party landed one afternoon on "Three-peaked 
 Island," to take observations. Ascending the peaks, 
 they found the rocks so steep and the footing so uncer- 
 tain, that, " to secure the safety of their lives as well 
 as of the instruments, he determined to have the boat's
 
 56 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 cable bent on to a palm-tree near the summit ; " and, 
 accordingly, a sailor proceeded upward with the rope, 
 the commander immediately behind, until it was pro- 
 perly made fast. " I was sitting," Bate writes, " on the 
 edge of the cliff about fifty feet in height, when sud- 
 denly the gig's crew from below called to me to ' take 
 care ;' for a heavy piece of rock, which had yielded to 
 the man's foot who was climbing above me, was com- 
 ing down by the run. With the caution, I received 
 upon my head a violent blow which cut it open. Provi- 
 dentially I had on a hat (helmet- shape) of considerable 
 thickness : otherwise, if not killed on the spot, I must 
 have been knocked senseless over the precipice." 
 
 A month elapsed ; and he writes : " At 1 P.M. to- 
 day, we saw Balaban peak ; and glad was I to behold 
 it We have now wellnigh got to the end of Palawan ; 
 and we may soon look forward to receiving our letters. 
 God's providential care has been singularly manifested 
 towards us. We have been preserved from many 
 dangers, seen and unseen. We have not lost one of our 
 number, either from accident or from sickness. And 
 our work has been attended with peculiar blessings. 
 Everything whereunto we have put our hand has pros- 
 pered ; and this, not by our own wisdom, but by the 
 grace of Him who has said, ' Commit thy works to the 
 Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established/ " 
 
 And, a week or two later, he adds : " It was this 
 day two years that I embarked on board the Peninsular 
 and Oriental steamer Kipon (Captain Moresby) at 
 Southampton for Hong-Kong, in order to take up my
 
 "AN UNPROFITABLE SERVANT." 57 
 
 present command. The time has passed rapidly ; and 
 many incidents, which will ever be fresh in my recol- 
 lection, have occurred in the period. My public duties, 
 I trust, have been discharged in a manner satisfactory 
 to those who entrusted me with the execution of them. 
 I wish I could say the same of my duties to my 
 Heavenly King. I am not conscious of ever giving 
 satisfaction ; for, even if I had done all, I should still 
 be an unprofitable servant."
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 " With all its caves, 
 
 Its hollow glens, its thickets, and its plains, 
 Unvisited by man." 
 
 IT is a touching thought which a living writer has 
 uttered 
 
 " Hark ! what is that voice I hear ? 
 Whose can be that prayer, 
 Daily sounding in mine ear, 
 Give me to drink ? 
 
 " May I ever recognise 
 Thee, in Thine, before mine eyes, 
 When their destitution cries, 
 Give me to drink ! 
 
 " May each suppliant at my door, 
 Shelterless, unclothed, or poor, 
 Vainly urge that prayer no more, 
 Give me to drink ! " 
 
 Bate's daily life was that thought translated into action. 
 In the spring of 1852, as the Royalist lay off Hong- 
 Kong undergoing repairs, the small-pox broke out on 
 board, to the great consternation of the ship's company. 
 The first seized was the clerk ; and, to prevent the 
 infection spreading amongst the crew, the captain
 
 SMALL-POX MEN IN TEARS. 59 
 
 actually had him removed into his own cabin ! He 
 had scarcely recovered, when Bate himself caught 
 the disease, and desired to be taken on shore to hos- 
 pital " The men," says an eye-witness, " were most of 
 them in tears, as our beloved commander was put into 
 the boat ; for he had every appearance of having it 
 severely." 
 
 To an old messmate he thus describes the attack : 
 " During the early stage, I became frequently more or 
 less delirious. My symptoms were very severe the 
 pox approaching a confluent form ; but, thank God ! 
 the protective power of the vaccination, which I had 
 received when an infant, operated most powerfully, and 
 mitigated the disease at the most dangerous period. I 
 took it almost immediately after Cave got well, and, I 
 think, the day he left my cabin. It is a fearful disease. 
 I had no conception of its malignity. The pustules 
 even appeared in my eyes, and under the hard skin of 
 the soles of my feet, which was most painful. How- 
 ever, I do indeed thank God for the visitation, and 
 would not have had it otherwise for worlds. It has 
 done me a great deal of spiritual good, I hope ; and I 
 do trust the sickness will be sanctified to me. The 
 kindness of my officers has been beyond all bounds ; 
 and the anxiety they evinced when I was first taken 
 ill and ultimately was obliged to be hoisted over the 
 side in my cot, brought forth tears which I was glad 
 to have recourse to my bedclothes to conceal from 
 them. I have been up now four days, but am still 
 very weak''
 
 60 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 A month or six weeks afterwards, he wrote to a 
 young relative in England: "I am sure you must 
 have come to the conclusion that I had quite forgotten 
 you. I have only just been mercifully raised up from 
 a bed of sickness, having had a severe attack of small- 
 pox. I am still very weak, and cannot write so long a 
 letter as you deserve or as I wish. Do you remember 
 our walks, wasps' nests, kite-flying, and all those happy 
 little amusements ? I do often ; and they bring, each of 
 them, many pleasing associations. We shall all be too 
 old and big to enjoy them again, I fear. I hope you 
 are all well. I hope you are thankful for the health 
 you enjoy. I feel my sickness has been a great bless- 
 ing to me ! and I would not have been without it for 
 worlds. I trust it has made me a better man, and led 
 me to consider more seriously how little we are pro- 
 fited if we gain the whole world and lose our own 
 souls ; for what is there in the world which we would 
 barter our souls for ? Let me entreat you to ' remem- 
 ber now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,' and not 
 to put it off, as many do, till a more convenient season. 
 God is better pleased when young people dedicate 
 themselves to Him, than He is when they only give 
 the mutilated fragments of old age to Him. God bless 
 you ! " 
 
 As he lay on his sick-bed, he had received from a 
 kindred spirit in England a letter which greatly com- 
 forted him. " You will see," wrote Sir Edward Parry, 
 " that I have taken a liberty with your name which I 
 venture to think you will excuse. Although the cur-
 
 SIR EDWAED PAEEY. 61 
 
 rent of life, and its necessary business, goes so fast as to 
 allow us little time for correspondence, we (at Haslar) 
 beg you to believe that we ever and very often think of 
 you with sentiments of affectionate esteem. As time 
 goes on, and eternity is nearer at hand, we cling more 
 closely to the ' little flock/ the ' household of faith,' the 
 faithful followers of a crucified and risen Redeemer. 
 May the Lord be ever with you to keep and bless you ! 
 I see, by the List, that two years and a half of the 
 Royalist's commission have expired, so that I trust it 
 may not be very long ere you bend your steps home- 
 ward. Lady Parry and all our Christian circle unite 
 with me in every good wish at this blessed season." 
 The enclosure was "a proposed Union for Prayer for 
 the promotion of Religion in Her Majesty's Navy," and 
 suggested " that every Sunday morning betwixt Seven 
 and Eleven the spiritual wants of the Navy should be 
 brought before the throne of grace, that all orders of 
 men in the Naval Service, from the highest to the 
 lowest, might be led to a serious concern for their souls, 
 and for the spiritual welfare of their fellow-men ; and 
 in particular that officers might entertain a just sense 
 of their high responsibility as regards the spiritual as 
 well as temporal interests of those over whom they are 
 placed, exercising a spirit of wisdom, justice, love, and 
 a sound mind." 
 
 So to live, was Bate's own unceasing aim. On the 
 fly-leaf of each of his Journals he had this motto : 
 
 " And is this all ? Can reason do no more, 
 Than bid me shun the deep, and dread the shore?
 
 62 MEMOIR OP CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 Sweet moralist ! Afloat on life's rough sea, 
 The Christian has an art unknown to thee : 
 He holds no parley with unmanly fears ; 
 Where Duty bids, he confidently steers, 
 Faces a thousand dangers at her call, 
 And, trusting in his God, surmounts them all." 
 
 And the motto was engraven on his very inmost heart. 
 " Quiet and retiring," says Captain Collinson, " his 
 charity was like his faith, ever working, but so silently 
 that you came upon it by accident." His godliness 
 was a part of himself a thing in him, and not need- 
 ing to be put on. We shall by and by see how legible 
 to all the " living epistle" at length became. 
 
 Scarcely had he again reached the old scene of his 
 labours, when an incident occurred which he used to 
 regard as one of his most hair's-breadth escapes. One 
 evening, some months afterwards, on revisiting the spot, 
 a little party was pulling ashore ; and Bate, recalling 
 the incident, and turning to an officer who in the in- 
 terval had joined them, said : " The gig had been 
 absent all the morning in the head of the bay (leaving 
 the ship to cruise), when, on her return, she was chased 
 by seven large prahms full of pirates, who had been 
 hidden amongst the mangrove bushes. All the ammu- 
 nition had become damp ; and the only resource was 
 to escape as quickly as possible. The prahms at last 
 were gradually stealing on the wearied crew, and, with 
 fierce shouts and yells, were making sure of their prey, 
 when most opportunely the Eoyalist hove in sight. 
 This caused them to put about ; and they were quickly 
 hidden amongst these islets." And he added, with a
 
 CHASED BY PIEATES. 63 
 
 peculiar emphasis : " Always live so, that, when death 
 approaches, you can look him in the face : then there 
 is nothing to fear." 
 
 A week or two later, he had an escape of another 
 kind. It was a squally morning, and their last cast 
 had given fifteen fathoms, when suddenly the vessel was 
 on the edge of a shoal, the depth now seven fathoms, 
 and " rocks distinctly visible under the bottom." With- 
 in a few cables of her lee-beam was the " light green 
 water, and the wind and swell setting her fast towards 
 it." Not a moment was to be lost. "Caught dead 
 upon the weather-side of a reef," the ship " lay like a 
 log upon the water." " Sail had to be made/' he writes, 
 " and way given to her before we could stay. There 
 was no room to wear, and every instant the rocks under 
 us looked nearer, the soundings also confirming it. By 
 God's providence, we skirted the very edge of the reef 
 without touching, and tacked. We soon deepened our 
 water; and thankful indeed we were for this deliverance 
 from a position eminently critical. Had we touched 
 the ground, our case would have been hopeless, as each 
 succeeding swell must have carried the vessel further 
 on, if it did not break us to pieces." 
 
 On his way, he had touched at Labuan, anchoring 
 off " Coal Point." Going on shore to examine the coal- 
 measure, he found a large quantity of coal stacked near 
 the jetty ; it " looked very good, resembling our New- 
 castle," with not quite so much gas, but in other re- 
 spects almost equalling it. Three hundred labourers 
 were employed at eightpence a-day, and they had dug
 
 G4 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 up 1080 tons during the last month. The Peninsular 
 and Oriental Company had made a contract to be sup- 
 plied with 400 tons monthly, the price twenty shillings 
 per ton. " I think," he writes, " it only wants a little 
 more energy on the part of the Eastern Archipelago 
 Company, or its agents, to make these mines a consi- 
 derable source of profit to themselves and advantageous 
 to the island generally." 
 
 The survey was vigorously prosecuted, notwithstand- 
 ing the incessant perils and harassments. " At eight 
 o'clock," he writes, for example, one day, "the dingy 
 was despatched to ascertain the practicability of land- 
 ing, as it was my intention to sleep on shore, so as to 
 be ready for the observations on the morrow. Soon 
 after, we landed all our gear, amidst an incessant rain, 
 and the sea breaking heavily. It was rather a labo- 
 rious task, having to wade with our traps through 
 water up to our waists over a very uneven coral bot- 
 tom." And, after getting " some good observations," 
 he adds : " At 7, just as we had finished dinner and 
 were about to make all snug for the night, the water 
 shewed symptoms of flowing as far as our tent. At 
 7.30 we were obliged to take everything out and deposit 
 them in the jungle near the fire. Frequent rain-squalls 
 were passing over ; and at last we were fairly driven 
 into the jungle by the tide. We sat in the jungle the 
 greater part of the night round a fire, with showers of 
 rain occasionally to refresh us." 
 
 Cowper, in one of his odes, writes
 
 A CHRISTMAS EFFUSION 65 
 
 " Who seek a friend should come disposed 
 To exhibit, in full bloom disclosed, 
 
 The graces and the beauties 
 That form the character he seeks, 
 For 'tis a union that bespeaks 
 Reciprocated duties." 
 
 Bate had the happy art of winning the affections of all 
 who were about him ; and he did it unconsciously by 
 his own warm, friendly sympathies. " Numerous were 
 the kindnesses," says a shipmate, referring to this 
 period, "which he never lost an opportunity of shewing 
 Avhenever a chance occurred. Even when a man was 
 reported to him, he gained him, by his good advice and 
 by his own consistent walk, to acknowledge his fault ; 
 and rarely was it repeated." 
 
 Christmas was always a merry day on board ; and, 
 that year, it produced an effusion which the reader 
 will not grudge to peruse in the full proportions of its 
 own rough Doric : 
 
 "SiR, An opportunity offering, which we have all been 
 anxiously waiting for, viz., (Christmas day) for expressing a 
 few of our sentiments, and deeming this the most propitious 
 time of the year, which, in accordance with the custom of our 
 good old ancient times, we are happy to say has been handed 
 down from our forefathers and has fortunately not degenerated, 
 but we trust in accordance with the rising generation, the 
 feelings have become more susceptible of the obligations we 
 owe for any acts of kindness shewn us, the kindly feelings 
 and good will of our superiors have been duly appreciated by 
 us all. It has been our lot to sail with many Captains, not 
 one of whom is fit to be a patch on your back. The fatherly 
 treatment we have always received from you whilst we have
 
 66 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 had the pleasure of serving under you, and which never can 
 be equalled, will always be remembered by us all. Although 
 many hardships, which necessarily belong to the duty we are 
 now engaged on, must be met with, it is greatly lessened 
 when we see that our noble, true-hearted, and ever-respected 
 Commander endures as much, and infinitely far greater, than 
 those, whose humble lot it is, whose heart and soul, goes with 
 these few lines. 
 
 " As another instance of your great goodness, which is, as 
 each succeeding morning dawns, brings forth fresh lustre to 
 the receding day, so is every fresh act of yours. 
 
 " The present that you have so handsomely made us, where- 
 with to cheer our Christmas board, is greatly appreciated by 
 us all. 
 
 " We beg the acceptance of the following trifle [a beautiful 
 filigree silver card-case of Chinese workmanship], as a slight 
 token for our regard and esteem. We earnestly hope you 
 will enjoy a merry and a happy Christmas, and a New Year 
 when it comes. May your health be good and your happiness 
 as great, the survey you are now employed on be soon and 
 satisfactorily finished, speedy promotion, and a happy return 
 to Bonny Old England, is the earnest wish of 
 
 The Ship's Company, one and all, 
 
 of 
 
 H. M. S. S. Royalist. 
 " CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, ESQ., 
 
 H. M. S. S. Royalist, 
 North-west Coast of Palawan."
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " I think not of to-morrow, 
 
 Its trial or its task ; 
 But still, with child-like spirit, 
 
 For present mercies ask ; 
 With each returning morning, 
 
 I cast old things away ; 
 Life's journey lies before me, 
 
 My prayer is for to-day." 
 
 " WE may judge," it has been said, " by our regard for 
 the Sabbath, whether eternity will be forced upon us." 
 Bate loved the Lord's-day. "Welcome another Sun- 
 day/' he writes. " With what pleasure do I look for- 
 ward to this day of rest ! What a merciful provision 
 it is ! ' The Sabbath was made for man ! ' I trust we 
 appreciate it ; for our six days are indeed spent labo- 
 riously, and we need rest for both mind and body." 
 And the usual record follows: "Performed divine 
 service on deck A.M. and P.M. The day passed off with 
 its accustomed quietness." He loved the Lord's-day, 
 because he loved the Lord Himself ; and, without 
 forcing his own way on others, they saw that fa felt it 
 'a delight."
 
 68 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 One day, a little party, consisting of an officer and four 
 men, went on shore to make observations. Ascend- 
 ing a conical hill some three hundred feet above the 
 level of the sea and denuded of foliage but covered 
 with long dry grass, they suddenly found themselves 
 pursued by a conflagration, which had been kindled by 
 the lighting of a pipe. So rapidly did the flames 
 spread, that the party, as a last resource, struck over 
 the brow to the left, threw themselves into a steep 
 gorge thickly clothed with jungle, and were carried to 
 the base of the hill. One poor fellow was overtaken 
 by the fire, and, after running through it till nature 
 was exhausted, fell and rolled over the burning embers 
 down the steep incline a distance of two hundred feet. 
 " With the exception," Bate writes, " of a small portion 
 of flannel, every particle of clothing was burnt off him ; 
 his feet, hands, and knees were lacerated and com- 
 pletely charred ; nearly the whole of the epidermis 
 was off the body ; and the limbs were literally baked 
 and quite stiff. The theodolite, which he was carrying, 
 must have been burnt off his back ; some of the strong 
 framework was broken, and only a few charred frag- 
 ments of the box were picked up. At 3.10 P.M. he 
 was brought on board, quite naked, but in full posses- 
 sion of his senses. He was very restless, jumping in 
 and out of bed, and at times suffering intense pain. 
 He could not be induced to take medicine, but drank 
 frequently of tea. At five he became more quiet, 
 turned upon his right side, and, fifty minutes after- 
 wards, died without a struggle. Poor fellow ! he was
 
 A CONFLAGKATION. 69 
 
 taken away suddenly, thus leaving another warning for 
 us to be ready." 
 
 Writing to an old brother-officer, he refers to this 
 affecting incident again thus : " The triangulation of 
 Palawan comes out beautifully. Our last cruise has 
 been very pleasant, and the time has passed away like 
 a span. It was, however, damped by a lamentable 
 accident, which terminated in the death of poor old 
 Fowler. Just to the westward of Malampaya Table, 
 there stands in prominent relief a barren conical hill, 
 excessively steep in ascent and about two hundred feet 
 above the water. I sent Calver to take a station on its 
 summit. He had ascended only two-thirds of the way 
 when the interpreter, Mr Peters, after lighting his pipe 
 at the base of the lull, inadvertently set fire to the 
 long grass. It spread so rapidly that it overtook 
 Calver and his party before they had time to see where 
 they could go to escape from it. They had no time 
 for deliberation, and consequently performed a most 
 desperate feat in throwing themselves over the cliff 
 into a gorge which was thickly clothed with jungle 
 and which providentially prevented them falling 
 further. Poor old Fowler was carrying the theodolite, 
 and was behind the others : the fire caught his clothes, 
 and, as if eager for more victims, passed on, leaving 
 its burning embers to complete his destruction. Poor 
 fellow ! he strove gallantly to the last, when, exhausted, 
 he dropped ; and a fall of upwards of ninety feet pro- 
 jected his body through the charred bushes on to the 
 beach, presenting to the panic-stricken boat-keepers a
 
 70 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 spectacle too horrible to relate. The body was per- 
 fectly naked and burnt most fearfully. Fragments of 
 the theodolite were picked up on the beach near where 
 he fell, the box being (with the exception of one side) 
 entirely consumed. He was brought off immediately, 
 in great pain. He was perfectly sensible when picked 
 up, and continued so to the last. 
 
 "Mr Peters," he continues, "on seeing the body emerge 
 from the jungle, and knowing that he had innocently 
 been the cause, and probably thinking the rest of the 
 party had met a similar fate, rushed frantically up and 
 down, and disappeared in the jungle, where we lost him 
 for twenty-four hours. As the reports were so con- 
 flicting as to the fate of Mr P., I weighed and beat up 
 to the spot, sending boats on ahead to search for him. 
 We also fired guns occasionally, to apprise him of the 
 proximity of the vessel. The next morning he was 
 found in a most miserable plight. His own account 
 was, that he recollected nothing from the time he saw 
 Fowler's body until he was awoke as it were by a 
 shower of rain in the morning, when he discovered 
 that he had fallen over a precipice and was held in 
 suspension by the thickness of the underwood. Fowler 
 struggled in violent pain for two hours after he was 
 brought on board. His cries were so great, that it was 
 thought advisable to rig a small place for him abaft ; 
 and, very soon after being brought there, he became 
 faint, and at last died without a pang. "VVe made a 
 coffin, and buried him at the base of the hill where 
 the accident occurred. It is a snug, pretty little spot ;
 
 A DEATH-SCENE. 71 
 
 and I can assure you none could tell the anguish of my 
 heart when the whole ship's company were assembled 
 in solemn silence round the grave to pay the last offices 
 of respect, and I for the first time had to read that 
 beautiful introduction to our Burial Service 'I am 
 the resurrection and the life ;' and I trust we all felt 
 on this occasion the force of that touching portion of 
 the 90th Psalm ' In the morning it is green and 
 groweth up, but in the evening it is cut down, dried 
 up, and withered/ We set about making a tablet to 
 put on the grave ; but, before it was completed, at five 
 P.M., it came on to blow from the westward, and we 
 were obliged for the safety of the vessel to weigh. 
 I shall (D. F.) put it up another time." 
 
 And he adds : " We had an excellent opportunity 
 of fixing the York breakers, and nearly fixed the ship 
 on them. I think we only escaped by half a cable. I 
 landed on the Half-moon Shoal in July, and just escaped 
 on board in my gig when it came on to blow furiously. 
 We were for eighteen hours hove-to under close-reefed 
 topsails, with a sea as high, if not higher, than that 
 which we experienced the first time we crossed the 
 China Sea. The position of the ship was a critical 
 one, and caused me no little anxiety." 
 
 In the intervals of the surveying operations, he used to 
 enjoy little parleys with the natives. One day, " accom- 
 panied by the doctor, the paymaster, and young Collin- 
 son,' he "visited a 'sultan.'" "The old gentleman," 
 he writes, " although suffering from rheumatism in his 
 legs, came out to meet me as we approached his home.
 
 72 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 A good shake of the hand followed ; and we were all 
 soon squatted inside the Palace. Seeing that I wore 
 my 'kilt' out of compliment to him, he immediately 
 sent for the Red Coat, and habited himself with it. It 
 had been carefully preserved, particularly the epaulettes, 
 which were wrapped up most elaborately, first in wool, 
 and then in no end of layers of cotton cloth. Being 
 provided with a good interpreter, I was able to get 
 some information about these people. They number 
 about five thousand. The Sultan has absolute power, 
 and inflicts the punishment of death in cases of adultery 
 or of theft. They have no punishments for minor 
 offences. The mortality is not great ; and the principal 
 malady appears to be dropsy, depending on disease of 
 the heart or lungs. I saw one poor creature in a 
 wretched state, suffering from the latter ; and yet he 
 had a large kris stuck on his sarong with all the air of 
 a warrior. Their sickly season is generally in July and 
 August. They sow their paddy in July, and reap in 
 January or February ; only one crop in the year. We 
 were told that a few months since they had been visited 
 by a fleet of pirates, who, however, had not committed 
 any act of violence. "We could not induce them to 
 shew us their women ; their excuse was, that they are 
 ' too much frightened at the white men.' The sultan 
 gave me an excellent specimen of a native sword and 
 shield his own, in fact, which he used, and which was 
 taken from his bed-side. We returned to the ship at 
 5 P.M. much pleased with our trip." 
 
 On another occasion, he visited a Malay "Infant-
 
 A MALAY INFANT-SCHOOL. 73 
 
 School." There were "some score of naked young 
 children going through their devotional and athletic, 
 exercises." The schoolmaster was dressed in the native 
 costume a striped blue shirt worn outside, and a very 
 short pair of drawers. He played the tom-tom ; whilst 
 the children finished off with the fandango. The mis- 
 tress wore the sarong of the Malays. Bate was so 
 pleased, that he asked them off to see the ship ; and, 
 next day, two canoes-full arrived, and had a grand 
 feast composed of plates of raisins, sugar, biscuits, and 
 tea to them unknown luxuries. After having satis- 
 fied their curiosity on board, they amused the crew 
 with their wild dances, wrestling, and sword-exercise, 
 and finished the evening with singing their vesper- 
 hymn. 
 
 During the two following years, he prosecuted his 
 labours with an untiring energy, and oftentimes under 
 the most harassing difficulties. " Went to bed dead- 
 tired," he writes, for example, one evening. " The heat 
 is very great ; and it is most trying work taking up 
 stations exposed to the sun without a breath of air." 
 Then, at other times, he would be out " observing the 
 stars/' and not retire to rest for three or four succes- 
 sive nights. And, worse than all, the wretched craft 
 was a constant vexation to him, especially if sickness 
 shewed itself. " With the number at present on the 
 sick-list," he says, on one occasion, " we can scarce find 
 a dry resting-place for them ; for such is the leaky 
 state of the vessel, that the lower deck is flooded in an 
 ordinary double-reef topsail breeze."
 
 74< MBMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 Meanwhile, he was growing, silently but steadily, in 
 grace. Too actively occupied in the realities of the 
 daily battle of life, he had no time and no heart to 
 " gauge feelings " or to " count frames." But an occa- 
 sional glimpse is given into the secret springs of his 
 inner life. Here is one : " Performed divine service 
 AM. and P.M. Preached from Ps. xxv. 7, on ' the sins 
 of our youth.' Crew attentive, and appeared to listen 
 with eagerness. May the Lord bless my feeble labours ! 
 Out of the most unworthy vessel He can get honour to 
 Himself; and I am sure He could not have chosen a 
 worse instrument. I trust we all appreciate the Sab- 
 bath. How needful the day of rest to a surveying 
 vessel ! " 
 
 Elsewhere in his journal are incidental illustrations 
 of his firm but considerate discipline. " To-day," he 
 writes, " I had to investigate seven charges which the 
 first lieutenant brought against Mr Fleming, the gun- 
 ner, for insubordination and violent language. He 
 pleaded guilty to all upon my explaining their nature, 
 and expressed much sorrow. I have given him some 
 little time to atone for the misconduct ; and, if I see 
 it genuine, I shall overlook it. He is a quiet kind of 
 man, but hot-tempered when put out." And another 
 day, he says : " I had another case of drunkenness 
 amongst the boys brought before me this morning. I 
 think this sin and many other offences would be less 
 frequent than they are, if the Admiralty allowed Cap- 
 tains to exercise their judgment in awarding punish- 
 ments for them. If judicious chastisement was allowed,
 
 INNER LIFE PEEACHING. 1~) 
 
 sins might be eradicated before they made head ; 
 whereas now they must be fully developed, to autho- 
 rise the commanding officer inflicting the only punish- 
 ment left for him, namely, flogging at the gun/' 
 
 Wherever he went, he left among the natives the 
 most favourable impression of his kindness. Arriving 
 one day at an island which he had visited the previous 
 year, he found the " captain of the fort " exceedingly 
 attentive and hospitable, and " very anxious to have an 
 English flag to display at his look-out tower whenever 
 an English ship should appear." And he adds " There 
 was certainly a marked difference in the people's con- 
 duct towards us this time. They appeared to have 
 such confidence in us, and treated us as if they felt 
 that we were really friends, and had given a substantial 
 proof of it by liberating two of their countrymen and 
 keeping them so long on board without making any 
 charge. One man said, ' Oh God, how good ! ' " 
 
 In a letter to Mr P , who had formerly been 
 
 his first lieutenant and who had now proceeded from 
 England to Australia and had settled there, we have 
 some interesting glimpses into Bate's daily life during 
 those years, as well as into his genial and warm-hearted 
 and loving nature. " I have received both your let- 
 ters," he writes, on board the Eoyalist, off Hong-Kong, 
 March 1, 1853, "the first commenced on board the 
 Chusan, and the second dated October 18, at William's 
 Town, which came to hand a few days since. And 
 now, old fellow, let me tell you how delighted I was 
 to hear that you were not only married, but also in a
 
 76 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 good situation in the land where all your hopes and 
 wishes are centred. Most sincerely do I congratulate 
 
 you, my dear P , on your happy union ; and oh, 
 
 what pleasure it would give me if I could only one fine 
 morning anchor the little vessel close off your offices ! 
 Would not I beat you up for a breakfast, if we arrived 
 early, although the quartern loaf is 2s. 6d. and the 
 three rooms 100 ? We should all be so delighted to 
 see you ; and I know that you would ' reciprocate ' (as 
 the Yankees say). I am going to office, 9 A.M., so this 
 is the first instalment of my letter. March 7, 6.30 A.M. 
 My Sunday routine here is Service on board, as usual ; 
 visit the mission, afternoon ; at four attend service at 
 the Cathedral ; dine with Captain Parker after (where 
 I always meet Price and Mackay) ; and then we ad- 
 journ to Mr Johnson's (American missionary's) prayer- 
 meeting. 
 
 " I must now," he proceeds, " begin to tell you some- 
 thing of our last cruise. From Hong- Kong we sailed 
 on the 9th of April for Palawan direct. For the 
 first three days, we had a strong north-easter, which 
 made nearly all hands sick. We anchored at length 
 off the north of Palawan, remaining a day to complete 
 the coast-line and to get a night at the stars. I then 
 pushed on (a boat in-shore all the time running another 
 line of soundings) for Ooloogan Bay, from which we 
 commenced the survey of the coast to the northwards, 
 and which you know was passed over when we first 
 went down. By the 1st of June, we returned to 
 Ooloogan Bay, having finished it all. We found some
 
 INCIDENTS. 77 
 
 beautiful anchorages amongst the islands, and it was 
 altogether a delightful trip. As the Admiral had pro- 
 mised a steamer, and I had arranged that Ooloogan 
 Bay should be the rendezvous, I buried a bottle with 
 intelligence of our whereabouts on Observatory Head 
 two feet north from the foot of the old tree, which still 
 bears your initials. We then pushed on to the south- 
 ward, sounding and filling up wherever it was wanted. 
 I had two beautiful star-nights, with my little tent 
 pitched on the southernmost rock immediately north 
 of Long Point, where you and I once met just before 
 returning to the ship one evening. Jogging on down 
 the coast, we went bump upon a coral patch with our 
 ' leading marks ' on. It was not far off Albion Head. 
 We remained hard and fast for six hours, and then 
 got off without damage. We had no sooner got into 
 the Bay than the S.W. breeze came on, and brought 
 with it that horrible swell which, you know so well, 
 gets up after a week's calm weather. The old Sultan 
 received me in his red coat, and asked for you : they 
 were very civil, and of course abused every one except 
 themselves for being pirates. I must now go to office. 
 God bless you and yours. To be continued." 
 
 He " continues " thus : " 8th, Night. I dined with 
 
 Mr T last evening, and talked a great deal about 
 
 you and yours. Spartan arrived to-day ; and Cleopatra 
 sails on Thursday morning for dear old England. 
 Kelsey and Strong go home in her. Miller and Hen- 
 derson will be the next to go ; and then we shall have 
 got rid of all the old hands. They were both very
 
 78 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 good men. But I must now revert to our trip. We 
 arrived at Labuan, and had an office at the Govern- 
 ment place, and passed a very pleasant month. We 
 stirred them up, and succeeded in getting a jetty built 
 by subscription: it runs out over the flat sand-bank 
 which extends opposite the Government offices. It is 
 now called the ' Eoyalist Pier/ After leaving Labuan, 
 we proceeded to Ooloogan Bay, having fixed the Royal 
 Captain and Bombay shoals on our way. From Ooloo- 
 gan we went direct to Malampaya Sound, and a more 
 magnificent harbour I do not think exists. We traced 
 the course of the pirates, and the spot where they were 
 concealed when they first came out upon us. I have 
 called it ' Pirates' Bay ; ' and a beautiful, snug little 
 anchorage it is. I regret, however, to tell you that 
 beside a lovely rivulet which disembogues on a sandy 
 beach in the head of it the remains of poor Tozer lie. 
 He died a few days after we arrived, from the effects 
 of excessive drinking when on liberty at Labuan." 
 
 A fortnight later, he proceeds : " March 25th. I 
 have been so intensely occupied about the charts and 
 observations, that I have not had a moment to spare. 
 I send them off by this mail. The survey of Malam- 
 paya Sound was most delightful, and we pitched our 
 tent on the very summit of Malampaya Table. It took 
 us two days to get up ; and such a scramble as we had 
 to reach the top ! We were literally walking (when on 
 the ridge) upon the trunks of trees ; and at the summit 
 we could not get terra firma on which to place the 
 theodolite. We remained up three days, in consequence
 
 AN ASCENT. 79 
 
 of the cloudiness of the weather, but succeeded at last in 
 getting a beautiful eye-sketch and a few good angles for 
 the triangulation of the Sound. We were so hard up for 
 water the first night, that I paid six dollars for a gallon 
 to make the men some tea. We took nine hands up and 
 all the officers who could be spared. The doctor could 
 not come on account of the sick. The height of the 
 mountain is about 3600 feet. We had the Governor 
 of Oai-tai and another officer as companions, and they 
 became most intimate afterwards, we (while the ship 
 was lying off Panbol) going over to visit them, and 
 they all returning it and sleeping on board. We laid 
 quite close off the stockade, and the natives used to 
 come in and out of the ship as if it had been their 
 home. The children used to come on board of an 
 evening to dance and sing. By the way, you should 
 have seen the figure our party cut after we came down 
 from the mountain. We never had washed or put on 
 a clean shirt up there ; and, what with the dirt mixed 
 with blood caused by the wood-leeches and brambles, 
 we were as filthy as we could well be. When stripped, 
 I looked as if I had been flogged fore and aft instead 
 of athwartships. The rest were nearly in the same 
 plight ; for we had to ascend on our bellies and de- 
 scend on our bottoms, it was so steep in some places. 
 Young Collinson, of course, was in his glory, and grin- 
 ning the whole time. Millman went nearly mad with 
 excitement ; and Jack swore it was the highest and 
 most difficult place any one ever tried to get up, and 
 made themselves out to be the most wonderful heroes
 
 80 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 when they returned The yarns they spun on the 
 lower deck were as ridiculous as they were exaggerated 
 and untrue." 
 
 And, some days later, he adds : " March 30. The 
 mail sailed on Monday, and with it I despatched all 
 my tracings. I shall be heartily glad when it is over. 
 I have made an official application to be ordered home 
 in the Royalist at the end of this year, as I expect the 
 reefs will be finished. I do not think I shall ever be 
 induced to take a surveying-ship again, it is too much 
 drag upon me, and leaves no time for more profitable 
 employment. I intended this to be a very long letter. 
 We are just off, and in such confusion ! Pray for us. 
 God bless you !" 
 
 The craft grew more and more wretched, until at 
 last, in July 1853, he received a despatch from the 
 Admiral anouncing the resolution of the Admiralty to 
 suspend for the present the survey of the China Sea, 
 and to sell the vessel or break her up. On arriving at 
 Hong-Kong, she was found capable of making the 
 voyage home ; and, after a month's handling by "Chinese 
 caulkers and European artificers/' she was on her way 
 with her commander and ship's company to England. 
 
 During a brief sojourn at Singapore on the way, he 
 wrote to his former messmate some hurried lines, 
 containing a few details, thus : " Jan. 15, 1854. My 
 beloved old P , We have just arrived from Hong- 
 Kong only eight days' passage. The mainmast was 
 found to be quite rotten ; and, as there was a little 
 difficulty in getting a spar to suit, I suggested that we
 
 " HOMEWARD- BOUND." 81 
 
 should take the foremast for the mainmast, and a line- 
 of-battle ship's maintopmast for a foremast, which 
 answers admirably, and I think the little vessel is all 
 the better for her masts being reduced. We left all 
 our guns but two, and that heavy pinnace, at Hong- 
 Kong. The latter stows snugly amidships, and we are 
 as comfortable as we possibly can be. The Admiral 
 was uncommonly kind, and has written a very flatter- 
 ing letter to the Admiralty about me. He gave us a 
 capital refit all new lower rigging from the Hercules' 
 gear. Our old rigging, when we came to strip it, was 
 found to be quite gone ; there was not a shroud which 
 was not stranded in the eye : fortunately we did not 
 fall in with very bad weather, or we must have lost 
 our masts. I wish we could have come down to your 
 part of the world before going home ; it would have 
 given us all the greatest possible pleasure, and I know, 
 old fellow, what your feelings would be on the occasion. 
 
 That fellow, Mr , whom you recollect I gave my 
 
 cabin up to when he had the small-pox, not only gave 
 me the disease (which he could not help), but has let 
 me in for a 21 bill. I think it is the height of in- 
 gratitude ; don't you ? God bless you, my dear fellow." 
 And at the top of the letter he writes "For we are 
 homeward bound, my boys, for we are homeward 
 bound." 
 
 On the passage he was constantly occupied with his 
 charts, reducing into shape and form the vast multi- 
 tude of " observations " which he had amassed during 
 the Survey. Now arrived at the "Scilly Light," he
 
 82 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, B.N. 
 
 addressed his old messmate, of date 23cZ May 185 4?, 
 thus: "The little vessel at last actually within 100 
 miles of old England ! ! ! Almost every day I have 
 
 said to myself ' I will begin a letter to P ;' and, 
 
 as usual with me, I have put it off until we are almost 
 in such a bustle as to prevent me writing to you at all. 
 Millman is hard at work opposite to me, copying all 
 my official letters, which also have been delayed to the 
 last moment. But you must not infer from this that 
 I have been idle ; quite the contrary, I assure you ; for 
 we have been able to work at the charts the greater 
 part of the voyage. Sailing from Singapore (where I 
 wrote to you last) on the 1 7th of January, we ran with 
 a fresh breeze through the Ehio Strait that night 
 rather anxious work, as it was pitch-dark, and the 
 vessel with all studding-sails going about eight knots. 
 Thanks, however, to the same Providence which has 
 watched over us so often before, we cleared, all dangers 
 and got well to sea by the following morning. Thence 
 we steered to pass through the Strait of Banca, running 
 over the positions of one or two reported dangers 
 without picking them up (which, by the way, did not 
 perplex me much, as we have had quite enough of 
 that sort of work), and entered the strait early in the 
 morning. Running through the strait with the most 
 delightful breeze and clear weather, we anchored just 
 at its southern entrance at ten the same night. Out 
 again at daylight, and arrived at Anger at noon the 
 next day. 
 
 " My dear P ," he continues, " you cannot ima-
 
 A LUXURY. 83 
 
 gine what an extraordinary feeling came over nie ; 
 running night after night, studding-sails 'low and aloft, 
 with actually a chart (upon which, however, only a 
 small amount of reliance could be placed) to go by ! ! 
 was something so unusual that I went to bed at night 
 with an idea that a feather-bed in Windsor Castle 
 could not be more secure ; and yet this is a sea which 
 causes so much anxiety to new-comers. It only shews 
 what creatures of habit we are. Well, as usual, all the 
 way down, we were promising ourselves what a de- 
 lightful little trip on shore we should have at Anger ; 
 and when we came to realise it, we found by far the 
 greatest pleasure had been in the anticipation, for a 
 more miserable, dull, stupid, but very pretty little hole 
 we agreed we had never seen before. There is no 
 hotel there now, and we actually went into the cocoa- 
 nut plantation on the left of the village, to lie down 
 and kill time whilst the vessel was watering, the pic-nic 
 coming off ultimately at my cabin-table. We sailed at 
 daylight the following morning for Mew Bay, where I 
 wanted to swing the ship, not having been able to do 
 it when at Singapore in consequence of a heavy ground- 
 swell which set into the Roads all the time we were 
 there. I suppose you know Mew Bay and the beauti- 
 ful waterfall? We had all the ship's company on 
 shore under it, to give themselves and clothes a good 
 cleansing before starting on our long sea-voyage to the 
 Cape, where fresh water would be a scarce article. 
 We were all in such high spirits : you would hear one 
 chap say his face and body covered with soap-su*!-,
 
 84 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 and giving an extra rub and blow as he uttered it ' I 
 say, Bill, you 'd better make the most of it ; you won't 
 get this this day fortnight ; ' and indeed they did not, 
 nor the officers either, for we were all at the time pre- 
 dicted upon three quarts. Having swung the ship, we 
 weighed, and took our departure from Java Head at 
 6 P.M. with a delightfully fresh S.E. trade and clear 
 weather. I shall never forget how free from anxiety 
 I went to bed that night, Avith cables unbent and no 
 breast-ropes in the chains ! ! separated from all coral 
 reefs by the island of Java, with the long rolling ocean- 
 swell deprived of its terrors in consequence/' 
 
 Suddenly interrupted in his narrative by the pressure 
 of occupation, we find him "sailing into Portsmouth 
 harbour under double-reefed topsails as much as the 
 vessel could carry, and running at once alongside the 
 jetty. We cleared off everything/' he writes to the 
 same friend, " and were paid off in one week after our 
 arrival, masts out and ballast stacked. The officers 
 said they had seldom seen a man-of-war pay off so 
 clean and well. We had not a man drunk. Every 
 person, from the Commander-in-chief downwards, who 
 saw the little vessel was very much pleased with her 
 appearance and cleanly condition. She certainly looked 
 well, and very clean." And thus ended an arduous 
 service of five years, nine months of every twelve of 
 which he had spent " out of the pale of civilisation." 
 
 On his arrival, he not unnaturally looked for a 
 prompt recognition of his great services. He had exe- 
 cuted an elaborate Hydrographic Survey of an island
 
 APJilVAL IN ENGLAND. 85 
 
 three hundred miles long, with its harbours and ad- 
 jacent waters, fixing all the mountains and prominent 
 hills visible from the sea. He had been " strongly re- 
 commended" for promotion by the successive Admirals 
 under whom he served, the last only withholding it 
 because he "believed it would certainly be given by 
 the home-authorities/' But " he returned to England," 
 says Captain Collinson, ".only again to be subjected 
 to official routine ; for, though highly commended by 
 the different Commanders-in-chief for the praiseworthy 
 manner in which he had performed the onerous duty 
 imposed on him, as well as for the admirable discipline 
 maintained in his vessel, he was told there was no pro- 
 motion for him except through the Hydrographer, who 
 has a captain's vacancy at his disposal every second 
 year/' 
 
 The neglect, however, did not cast him down. It 
 was noticed that in his absence a peculiar heavenliness 
 bad settled upon him, as if, whilst 
 
 " Walking by the sea, beneath the gentle stars," 
 
 not a few " kindling seeds " of holiness had " sprouted 
 within his soul." The writer well remembers that calm 
 and 'heavenly mien, and the unmurmuring patience of 
 his manly but meek spirit during those two dreary 
 years. He felt the neglect, and felt it bitterly ; but 
 the rod was in the hand of his Father in heaven, and 
 the discipline was quickly ripening him for the glory 
 he was so soon to enter.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " Thy tried and lonely spirit 
 
 Thirsts for the living God, 
 And pleads alone the merit 
 Of rich, redeeming blood. 
 
 " Take up a song of gladness 
 
 While smarting 'neath the rod; 
 Triumphant over sadness, 
 "Witness before thy God." 
 
 " WILL you, each of you, make it a special subject of 
 prayer for direction as to the course I should pursue ? 
 Then, come what will, I know it will be well." Such 
 were Bate's words to his sisters, on returning from the 
 Admiralty one afternoon in, January (1856), not a 
 little perplexed as to the way of duty. After occupying 
 many months in completing his charts and in compiling 
 sailing-directions for them, he had been allowed to ex- 
 change from the Surveying-department into the general 
 service, in the hope of working out more speedily his 
 promotion ; and, receiving soon afterwards a nomi- 
 nation to the Mariner in the West Indies, he had 
 gone down to Whitehall to take up his appointment,
 
 HOME-ENGAGEMENTS. 87 
 
 when a vacancy which had just occurred in the com- 
 mand of the Bittern a vessel of sixteen guns, sta- 
 tioned in the Chinese waters was unexpectedly offered 
 to him, with only two days to decide. Neither position 
 was at all such as he had a right to expect ; but, un- 
 willing to remain longer idle, he chose the Bittern, and 
 at once prepared to set out. 
 
 Before following him on his new and (as it proved) 
 his last expedition, we revert for a moment to the 
 months which he had spent in England since his re- 
 turn in the Royalist to Portsmouth. " After my arri- 
 val," we find him writing from London, in November 
 1855, to the same dear friend in Australia, "we were 
 paid off; Calver, Bullock, and myself were put on the 
 Fisgard's books ; but I was allowed to take rooms at 
 Mr Gillott's, 36 Strand, to get our work up. This 
 occupied us till the end of October. Calver and 
 Bullock were promoted on my recommendation im- 
 mediately they passed ; and I received a compli- 
 mentary letter on putting the charts into office. The 
 west coast of Palawan was done on one inch ; and, to 
 make the thing complete, and appear all in one, we 
 projected the east coast on the same sheets, and gave 
 the whole island in on the inch plan. It looked un- 
 commonly well when put together, the edge of the 
 bank of soundings all being included. Malampaya 
 Sound was done on three inches, and extended 'from 
 Bacuit to Wedge Island, an enormous but beautiful 
 plan, all so elaborately worked out. Separate plans 
 are also made, on a scale of two inches, of the coast
 
 88 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 to the southward (where, you recollect, all the islands 
 are) as far as Ooloogan Bay. Koyal Captain, Bombay, 
 Half-moon, and other shoals were laid down on four 
 inches, and put in their new positions on the triangu- 
 lation sheet (which was a long roll of paper), on the 
 scale of one-third of an inch, graduated in latitude 
 and longitude. Sketches also from various positions on 
 the edge of the bank were given in ; and, last of all, 
 the ' Sailing Directions, and General Description of 
 Palawan/ The latter is published in the new edition of 
 Horsburgh ; and, for the paper, the proprietors have 
 made me a present of the Work more civil than the 
 Admiralty have been. 
 
 " And now," he continues in the same letter, " as to 
 promotion. The Hydrographic Office and Admiralty 
 have arranged that there shall be one step given in the 
 year to the scientific branch of the service. Whether 
 it be a captain or commander, I don't know. Last 
 year, however, it was a captain's commission which was 
 given ; and it was bestowed on one of the old home- 
 surveyors. It remains to be seen what they will do 
 this year. The Hydrographer, who received me most 
 kindly, told me that, if it had been in his power, he 
 would have given me my commission the day I put 
 my charts into office. But look at his practice. The 
 Government might as well say (comparing small things 
 with great) to the young fellows in the Crimea who 
 have taken Sebastopol ' Yes, we admit you have done 
 your work well, and deserve promotion ; but there are 
 some old officers who have been serving a long time in
 
 HOME-THOUGHTS. 89 
 
 the depot at home, that must have the few vacancies 
 which are at our disposal.' If foreign surveyors are to 
 compete in standing with home ones, I must wait till 
 I am grey-headed. . However, if I do not get it this 
 year, 'Good-bye, H.O./ say I. I have already been 
 making applications for service in the general line, and 
 hope never more to have a word to say to the H.O. 
 
 Surveying-department. I wrote to W how useful 
 
 your quintant had been ; and he has, I believe, pur- 
 chased it. I only returned to London on Saturday, 
 after a five months' cruise, and don't know yet for 
 certain what he has given for it. It is difficult to get 
 them to move in any shape, the war absorbs all 
 attention, and fills every office with working material" 
 Referring to an " unfortunate affair " which a cap- 
 tain of a ship had had with his officers, he proceeds : 
 "I have only heard one side of the story (and that's 
 his), and am therefore not in a position to pass judg- 
 ment. At the same time, I cannot but believe, from 
 certain facts which were brought to my notice, that 
 nothing could justify certain particulars in their con- 
 duct. They quarrelled amongst themselves, and, in 
 the bitterness of their anger, appear to have lost all 
 
 self-respect. My dear P , they lacked the one 
 
 thing needful ; and that is the reason things went to 
 the extent they did. It is (I am as sure of it as that 
 I am now writing) as impossible for a body of human 
 beings to be boxed up together for one twelvemonth, 
 with no genuine religious principle to actuate their 
 every-day conduct (let alone thoughts), and not quarrel,
 
 90 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 as it is for a Chinaman to tell the truth, or for you 
 to love dishonesty. Bad as my example was in the 
 Royalist, there was a little religious principle in 
 thought, if not in action, which in the long run 
 
 leavened the viler part of my nature, Poor dear 
 
 was far above me in amiability of temper, and in the 
 other qualities which ennoble man : but then he had 
 not a religious man second in command, and there is 
 where I was more fortunate than he. I care not who 
 the man is. If he have no spirituality of mind, he is 
 not to be trusted when difficult questions arise. The 
 more I live in the world, the more convinced I am of 
 this. Look at the conduct of the noble and great of 
 the land ! ! Oh ! what littleness have some indeed I 
 may say, all displayed since the pressure of war has 
 been put upon them ! In proportion as we discharge 
 our duty faithfully as unto God, and not unto man, 
 so shall we find comfort when men speak ill of us. 
 
 was most anxious for a court-martial ; and I 
 
 urged it all I could, because reports so prejudicial to 
 his character had gone abroad, that I thought it neces- 
 sary and right that the whole truth, and nothing but 
 the truth, should be made public, in order either to 
 counteract or confirm them. Let every one stand or 
 fall by their own conduct,, whether they be brother, 
 father, sister, or mother I care not whom." 
 
 And he adds : " Is there any chance of yet coming 
 home ? I should very much like to meet you again, if 
 the Lord will It is a comfort to know and feel that 
 our pilgrimage here is in the hands of the Lord :
 
 " BEYOND THIS LIFE." 91 
 
 after all, it matters little whether we meet on earth, so 
 long as we are sure of being with each other through- 
 out the endless ages of eternity, our wives, our 
 families, our friends, all together, with nothing to in- 
 terrupt their happiness. M'Clure is knighted, and has 
 received 5 000. If I am not promoted at the end 
 of the year, I cut the H.O., and try for employment 
 in the regular line. I often wish I were married, and 
 quietly settled for life. It is all vanity and vexation of 
 spirit. If I had enough to keep a wife, I would throw 
 up my commission, and live quietly, making myself as 
 useful to my fellow-creatures as I could, God bless 
 
 you, my dear P ." And this postscript follows : 
 
 " I received such a nice letter from C , who is now 
 
 in the Sphinx. God has enlightened him with His 
 Holy Spirit, and he sees beyond this life." 
 
 Another day, about the same period, he addressed a 
 friend at home thus : " I hope you do not think, be- 
 cause I have not written to you before, that you have 
 not had my sympathy in your sufferings. I was indeed 
 sorry for your accident, but very, very thankful at the 
 same time, that you escaped as you did. It is a comfort 
 to feel that there is a ' why' and a ' wherefore' in all the 
 dispensations of God's providence, and that He doeth 
 all things well, however adverse they may appear at 
 the time. I thank God I dislocated my shoulder, 
 because it humbled me, and I feel it has done me 
 good." 
 
 In the month of January following he received the 
 appointment already named, and he lost no time in
 
 92 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 getting ready. It was the last glimpse which his 
 friends were to have of him ; and it almost seemed as 
 if a presentiment had taken possession of him that he 
 should " see their face no more." They remember now 
 a certain indescribable solemnity which marked those 
 parting hours. Not accustomed to say much, he yet 
 had a parting word for each. 
 
 " Thank for her kind message," he wrote to 
 
 one ; " I shall indeed esteem it a great privilege to be 
 remembered by her at the throne of grace ; and I do 
 pray she may never forget me in her supplications to 
 God, for no one needs more than I do God's grace to 
 walk uprightly in His commandments. If you will 
 do the same, I shall indeed feel grateful." 
 
 And to another : " But, after all, it does not much 
 matter whether we meet in this world or not. The 
 great end we must all have in view is a glorious union 
 hereafter, where that painful word ' Good-bye ' is 
 never heard, and where one's brains and wretched 
 body which we carry about with us here shall be no 
 longer subject to torment and disease." 
 
 And to a third, thus :" What a comfort, in this 
 your sad trial, to be able to recognise the hand of a 
 good and gracious Father ! However severe the chas- 
 tening may be, one thing I feel certain of, that you 
 will hereafter, if you do not in the fullest sense now, 
 thank God with all your heart and soul that He thus 
 visited you. You know you will. God bless you ! If 
 it be good for you, may you have a speedy recovery ! 
 and if not, may you realise what is far better than
 
 PAKTING WOKDS. 93 
 
 health that full and perfect measure of God's grace 
 which enables all to rejoice in tribulation ! " 
 
 These were no mere words of course. Uttered by 
 him, they meant much. He was administering from 
 the deep well-spring of his heart the consolations with 
 which he had himself been so richly comforted of God. 
 
 It was on a bright morning in the early spring that 
 he bade a last adieu to the shores of old England. 
 "Left Portsmouth," he writes, "by the 8.15 A.M. train 
 for Southampton ; at 9.50 were hauled into the fair- 
 way ; and, at 12, a small steam-tender left the dock 
 for the Avon with passengers. Went off; saw my 
 cabin ; and, after depositing my baggage, returned and 
 sauntered about the shore till the tender took her final 
 departure with the mails. Walked about the docks 
 
 w ith E d and P , and at 2.80 took my final 
 
 leave of the shore and of those dear to me." In his 
 sister's Bible, he marked the following texts : 1 Thess. 
 iv. 18; 2 Thess. iii. 1C; Numb. vi. 26. His last 
 words, on parting, were " PKAY FOR ME." 
 
 The voyage out was not very prolific of incidents ; 
 but we select from his diary a few wayfarer's notes, as 
 a specimen of his daily routine : 
 
 "Feb. 4, 1856. The mails being delivered over, 
 consisting of 873 boxes and 44 bags, we slipped the 
 buoy at 3.10 P.M. At 5.20 passed Hurst Castle : 5.47, 
 passed the Needles. 
 
 "Feb. 5. Average speed of the vessel, 9 and 10 
 knots ; making 26f revolutions. Noon : Heavy wes- 
 terly swell. The majority of the passengers below sea-
 
 94 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 sick : not a lady on deck. Midnight : Strong breeze 
 from the S.W. increasing together with the sea. Vessel 
 beginning to make all hands feel as if they wished they 
 had never put foot afloat. 
 
 "Feb. 6. Strong breeze all night. Inclined to 
 freshen ; although the barometer does not lead one to 
 apprehend a gale. Sea increasing. Passengers crawling 
 about in a miserable condition. The Companion seems 
 a favourite place for them to huddle together : they 
 get out of the wet there, and enjoy the fresh air at the 
 same time. Unfortunately for them, it is contrary to 
 the regulations in all ships for any one to monopolise 
 a thoroughfare. A notice was placed up somewhat 
 to that effect ; and the poor fellows had to seek, some 
 their beds, some anywhere, and some no doubt wished 
 they were overboard. Noon : Heavy sea from the S.W. 
 Ship pitching, and taking in much water over all. 
 Down masts and yards." 
 
 The day following, towards the afternoon, the weather 
 moderated, "to the great delight of the passengers," 
 who "were of opinion that no gale could have been 
 worse." And the next morning he writes : " Some 
 of the young passengers are walking six inches taller 
 already, having weathered 'one of the heaviest gales 
 that was ever known ; ' and he who has not once been 
 sea-sick is indeed a hero. For my own part, I am 
 uncommonly glad it is over. I was in bed all Wednes- 
 day, feeling wretchedly uncomfortable. One or two 
 of the ladies have appeared on deck ; but they have all 
 suffered very severely. At midnight, made Bayonue
 
 VOYAGE OUT. 95 
 
 Light. Moderate and fine. The Band plays for an 
 hour in the Saloon every evening." 
 
 On Feb. 11, the vessel anchored off Gibraltar. " The 
 steward," he says, "gave passes for a passage to and 
 from the shore, at the rate of 2d. for each person. 
 Visited the Galleries and a portion of the neutral 
 ground. Breakfasted at the hotel. Gibraltar derives 
 its name from the Moorish general by whom it was 
 captured in 711. It remained in possession of the 
 Moors till the fourteenth century, when the Spaniards 
 took it; but they lost it again in 1333, and retook it 
 1462. Sir George Rook captured the place on 24th 
 July 1704 ; since which time it has remained in pos- 
 session of the English, despite the various attempts on 
 the part of the French and Spaniards to wrest it from 
 them." 
 
 As they were neariug Malta, he wrote another old 
 brother officer, Feb. 14, thus : " These screw-ships 
 are horridly inconvenient vessels for writing in. They 
 vibrate fore and aft like a person with a fit of 'shakes.' 
 After leaving Ushant, we had a hard blow from the 
 S."\Y. which lasted four days. The vessel knocked 
 about terribly, and made me very ill for one day. We 
 arrived at Gibraltar on Monday the llth, and I had a 
 four hours' cruise over the place. The Galleries are 
 wonderful ; but, as for the rest of the place, I would 
 not live in it for 1000 a-year. It is not unlike 
 Hong-Kong, viewing a certain portion of it from sea- 
 ward, and, in the summer, must be quite equal to it 
 for heat. We expect to get into Malta to-morrow
 
 96 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 morning. Since entering the Mediterranean, we have 
 had the most lovely weather, the thermometer never 
 ranging higher than 65. The captain is a good 
 officer, and conducts the duties of the ship in a very 
 quiet, gentleman-like style. We are particularly for- 
 tunate in our passengers ; they appear to be a very 
 nice set ; the ladies even have not quarrelled. The 
 time passes very pleasantly and quickly." 
 
 We next find him off Alexandria: " Feb. 19. 
 Made the light (fixed bright light), the highest object 
 in the vicinity of the harbour, at a quarter before 
 midnight. The night was remarkably fine ; and the 
 moon and stars shone brilliantly. Closed the light, 
 and then hauled off under easy steam till daylight. 
 Shortly after daylight, the Pilot came off, and conducted 
 her safely to the anchorage at 7 o'clock. The passen- 
 gers had an early breakfast at half-past 7 ; immediately 
 after which we landed as best we could in boats be- 
 longing to the shore. An omnibus took us to the 
 Hotel d'Europe, near the S.E. angle of the Great 
 Square. And at 10.30 we started for the railway 
 station, which is about two miles out of the town." 
 
 In the Gulf of Suez, he writes : " Feb. 24. Ship 
 under all sail. Average speed from 10| to 11 knots; 
 revolutions from 26 to 27. Divine service was per- 
 formed in the saloon ; majority of passengers attended. 
 The Eev. Mr Ottley preached. Service in the saloon in 
 the evening : Mr H expounded a portion of Scrip- 
 ture. Lamentable to see how few of the passengers 
 attended." Then, Feb. 27, he says : "Passengers em-
 
 OVERLAND-EOUTE. 97 
 
 ployed variously. Eating, drinking, and sleeping ap- 
 pear to be their chief occupation." 
 
 Another day : " Feb. 29. At 4 A.M. we were off 
 Mecca. At 10, passed through the Strait of Babel- 
 mandeb. Between Babelinandeb and Aden the shore is 
 generally low, with a sandy level At the back is a 
 remarkable high range of mountains, the summit of 
 which is broken into sharp peaks of a curious configu- 
 ration. We could trace no signs of inhabitants, nor 
 of villages of any kind, on the shore. At 10 we 
 anchored in three fathoms, off the coaling settlement. 
 The Oriental had just arrived with the homeward- 
 bound passengers from India. She had one or two 
 cases of small-pox on board, which created a little 
 alarm amongst the passengers. The patients were 
 landed immediately and received into hospital. Sleep 
 was out of the question, all the ports being closed in 
 consequence of coaling, which was most suffocating." 
 
 And, the day following, he adds: "Breakfasted on 
 shore. As usual, the majority of the passengers started 
 off for the cantonment, while the remainder contented 
 themselves with lounging about the hotel. Aden is a 
 vile hole ; and, if they who are compelled to live in it 
 have no resources within themselves, they must pass 
 a miserable existence indeed. Aden, or 'Portus Ko- 
 manus,' as it was formerly called, was fortified by the 
 Turkish sultan, Solyman the Magnificent. It was 
 afterwards held by the Arab Sheikhs of the surround- 
 ing district, and subsequently fell into the hands of 
 the East India Company, having been taken by assault
 
 98 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 in 1839 by a combined naval and military force. We 
 weighed at 1.30 P.M." 
 
 A week later, he writes: "March 9. The fore- 
 noon was calm and sultry ; not a breath of air was 
 stirring except what the vessel created by her own 
 velocity. Divine service was performed on deck under 
 
 an awning. Mr preached. He certainly is not 
 
 one of St Paul's men. Several fishing-boats were 
 about ; and on one island was a small village, built 
 apparently of timber. Porpoises and gulls were very 
 numerous. The sea was like glass ; and at one time 
 we could not have had less than eight or ten islands 
 in view. By 4 P.M. we had passed well through 
 them." 
 
 And March 10: "Thermometer 85 throughout 
 the night ; and not a breath of wind to disturb the 
 glassy surface of the sea. Employed copying a letter 
 Mrs Wauchope gave me, being extracts from one Lady 
 Agnew wrote, giving an account of Annie Agnew's 
 illness and sweet deathbed. What a lovely testimony 
 did she give to the truth and power of God's Word ! 
 When thou passest through ' the valley of the shadow 
 of death,' 'I will be with thee.'" 
 
 Other two days brought him to Point de Galle. 
 " At daybreak," he writes, " we weighed, and steamed 
 into the bay. Depositing my chronometers on board 
 the Madras, I landed with Mrs Wauchope, Gibson, 
 and party. He went to the Mansion-house Hotel for 
 the purpose of taking breakfast ; but, while there, 
 Mr Stewart of the Peninsular and Oriental Company
 
 VOYAGE OUT. 99 
 
 prevailed on us to take a drive of four miles into the 
 country to a place called the Gardens, where he had 
 ordered breakfast to be laid in a deliciously cool bun- 
 galow situated on the summit of a hill commanding a 
 most delightful view of the surrounding country. We 
 returned at noon, and embarked all together, the 
 Bengal portion of our party coming on board to see 
 the accommodation the Madras afforded. At 2 P.M. 
 the two steamers weighed, and proceeded on their 
 voyage." 
 
 On March 19, he says: "At about 5 P.M. we 
 passed close to Pulo Perda, which is a round rocky 
 islet, about 200 feet above the sea, covered apparently 
 with guano, and not a vestige of vegetation visible. 
 It lies about eighty miles from Penang." And the 
 day following : " Soon after midnight, we saw the 
 island of Penang, bearing south-east. At 2 we re- 
 ceived a pilot ; and at 4.30 we anchored off the town. 
 The Bishop of Calcutta arrived this morning in the 
 Hooghly : he was saluted on landing. Wrote a hurried 
 
 letter to E d after breakfast, and then went on 
 
 shore to take a drive into the countiy. Sir Benson 
 Maxwell was sworn into office under a salute of guns. 
 He embarked for Singapore, to hold a conference with 
 the Governor relative to the new charter for organising 
 separate courts of judicature at Penang and Singapora 
 Received the China mail, and left the harbour at 
 
 1 P.M." 
 
 The next day, at dusk, they were off Malacca ; and, 
 the day following, at 11.30, they anchored at Singa-
 
 1 00 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 pore. He writes: "H.M.S. Encounter, just arrived 
 from Calcutta, was here ; also the American frigate 
 Macedonian, and French frigate Constantino, and a 
 small 14-gun brig. The two latter vessels were co- 
 operating with our squadron in the Gulf of Tartary 
 last year. Captain, or Commodore (for he had his 
 pendant flying), Montravel speaks English tolerably 
 well. He passed a high eulogium on the characters of 
 the British officers commanding the ships on the 
 Castries Bay expedition, and appeared to think there 
 was no blame attributable to Commodore Elliott in 
 not attacking the Eussian squadron on that occasion. 
 The Commander-in-chief's inactivity appeared to be 
 more the subject of censure. Dined in the country, 
 about three miles away, with Mr and Mrs Harvey, and 
 slept on board the steamer." 
 
 Before leaving Singapore, he was gladdened with 
 a letter from his old shipmate, resident at Victoria, 
 New South Wales, in answer to one from himself 
 before leaving England. We quote a few sentences as 
 illustrative of the character of his friendships : 
 "Your letter came in, about three hours since, while 
 we were at dinner. When we first opened the 
 parcel with your letter, and saw a book, I thought it 
 might possibly be the ' Eoyalist's Voyage,' or ' Account 
 of Palawan/ with the author's affectionate regards. 
 Is there any chance of such a work ? I can imagine 
 your feeling of satisfaction on seeing both coasts of 
 Palawan snugly on one sheet. I long to see them out. 
 You ask, my dear Bate, what is the most useful thing
 
 FRIENDSHIPS. 101 
 
 you can send your godchild, our dear boy. My wife 
 and I were both struck with your generous offer, and 
 agree that the most valuable gift we can suggest, and 
 which we are sure will be the most lasting in benefit 
 to the child, is, your fervent prayers to our heavenly 
 Father that he may be indeed His own child that he 
 may be lifted out of the mire of the flesh, and his feet 
 set upon the Eock of Ages his going established in 
 the narrow path, and the new song put into his mouth. 
 This is asking the most we could, yet in the confidence 
 we are not asking too much of you and yours. He 
 will be two years old, if he is permitted to continue 
 with us, on the 6th of April next chatters very 
 intelligibly and is just beginning to lisp his prayers 
 on his mother's knee. That is the most lovely sight 
 in nature. I wish you could enjoy it with me. I sup- 
 pose you have seen Lady Parry and her family since 
 dear Sir Edward's death." 
 
 On March 23, he sailed from Singapore for Hong- 
 Kong. "As Jardine's steamer, the Fiery Cross/' he 
 writes, "had arrived the previous evening, and was 
 about to leave for China immediately, we put all steam 
 up in this vessel, and managed, notwithstanding the 
 foul state of her bottom, to get 8^ knots and 22^ 
 revolutions. The Fiery Cross is said to be very fast ; 
 and great fears are entertained that she will be before 
 this vessel in the opium market. Both ships are loaded 
 with the drug. The Malwa, of Bombay production, is 
 said to fetch the most in the China market. The 
 Chinese themselves grow a little ; but, notwithstanding
 
 102 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 M. Hue's assertion to the contrary, it is inferior 
 to our Patna, which, I believe, is considered to be the 
 worst kind imported into China. We have a thousand 
 chests on board, the value of each one of which is four 
 hundred dollars when landed at Hong-Kong. The profit 
 must be enormous, when these are sold to the Chinese 
 at the rate of eight hundred dollars per chest, ah ! 
 and are caught up by them with the greatest avidity." 
 
 One or two little incidents are noted, as he proceeds: 
 " March 24. On examining the boxes of the Chinese 
 on board belonging to the ship, as much as 12,000 
 dollars were found amongst them. Freightage was 
 charged forthwith, at which they were a little aston- 
 ished." And, March 25 : " By our reckoning we 
 passed five miles from the Charlotte Bank about 4 
 o'clock. It is not a danger likely to bring a vessel up, 
 by all accounts ; although I believe the only authority 
 we have for this is Horsburgh. I know no person who 
 has actually run his ship over it ; though until closely 
 questioned, many say they have. When captains out 
 here tell you they have passed over shoals, as a general 
 rule never believe them." 
 
 Two days later, he writes : " They are so very 
 reluctant to spread the awnings on board this ship for 
 fear of being overtaken by the Fiery Cross, that by 
 12 o'clock the vessel becomes so heated throughout as 
 to make it next to impossible to sit down to do any- 
 thing requiring attention. Thus we pay, in discomfort, 
 for the small satisfaction of the chance of not being 
 outstript in our voyage by an opposition- vessel ! "
 
 LOO-CHOO AND ITS MISSION. 103 
 
 On March 80 : " We experienced a sudden change 
 this morning. At daylight, it blew fresh with drench- 
 ing rain and a head-sea, which made most of the 
 passengers feel very uncomfortable, myself among the 
 number. Several junks in sight, some of which we 
 passed very close to. At 6.30, we came to an anchor 
 off West Point, it being too dark to proceed further, 
 with the harbour so full of shipping. At 8, went on 
 board the Winchester in the guard-boat, to call upon 
 the Admiral Bittern not yet arrived, but expected 
 hourly." 
 
 "April ]. Called, during the day, on the Bishop 
 and some others of my old friends. Much to my 
 regret, I found the Eev. Mr Morton had, in conse- 
 quence of ill health, been obliged to abandon his post 
 at Loo-choo. He has been living for some months 
 with the Bishop, the French frigate Sybille having 
 kindly brought him over. How mysterious are the 
 ways of God ! Mr M. had just succeeded in accom- 
 plishing the language, and could speak fluently to the 
 natives : he felt his position on the island secure : the 
 Government had in a measure ceased to oppose him in 
 his mission-work : and yet, for some wise purpose 
 hereafter to be revealed to us, God sees fit to remove 
 him at the very moment when we thought everything 
 was going on so prosperously. He certainly looks 
 very unwell ; and medical men here say he ought not 
 to return to Loo-choo." "The Loo-chooian Govern- 
 ment has taken charge of the house and property be- 
 longing to the Mission ; and, on Mr Morton delivering
 
 104 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 it over to them, one of the agents expressed a wish 
 that he would soon return. Mr M. gave them to un- 
 derstand, that, if he himself did not, another missionary 
 would very shortly. The French Jesuits have now 
 entire charge of the spiritual welfare of the poor Loo- 
 chooians. This is very distressing ; but it is a comfort 
 to feel that God can accomplish His own purposes, 
 however strangely to us He may appear to go to work 
 about it." 
 
 " April 2. No Bittern yet ! A report is about, that 
 she is at Amoy. If she have a large convoy to bring 
 down, she will probably, by the dilatoriness of the 
 Chinese, be some days before she makes her appear- 
 ance. Walked to East Point. The population of 
 Hong-Kong and influx of inhabitants are increasing 
 rapidly. Houses are building in every direction ; but 
 more particularly in the district known as Typing-shan, 
 the scene of a terrible conflagration about two years 
 since, where poor Lieutenant Luff, K.A., lost his life, 
 and Lieutenant Wilson of the Engineers was so fright- 
 fully wounded and burnt. Met Captain Parker and 
 the Eev. J. Irwin, Colonial Chaplain, at dinner at the 
 Bishop's in the evening." 
 
 "April 5. Took a walk with Captain Parker, and 
 met at his house in the evening at dinner a German 
 missionary, Mr Lobchild. Mr L. related some most 
 interesting anecdotes relative to his mission. He lives 
 in a small village about forty miles north of this, en- 
 joying perfect security, although exposed at times to 
 some perils whilst interposing and mediating between
 
 TOOK COMMAND OF H.M.S. BITTEEN. 105 
 
 parties who are frequently at war with each other. 
 They have no less than eight stations, and I believe 
 number among them about five hundred converts. Mr 
 L. has about sixty in his district ; and he believes 
 them to be sincere. One great test, he says, is, when 
 they give up the worship of their ancestors, a custom 
 (Hue confirms this) to which, of all others, they are 
 most addicted, money-making perhaps excepted." 
 
 At length, on April 7, his ship arrived ; and, a day 
 or two afterwards, he took the command.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 * Oh ! check the reckless murmur ever rising still, 
 Which proves that Thine is not Thy servant's only will 
 I long for Thee, my Saviour ! Even in this dark day, 
 From Thee proceeds the only bright or cheering ray." 
 
 "LET me hear from you," wrote a friend to him, 
 " how ever you accepted the command of such a paltry 
 brig. But doubtless the Lord has directed you, and in 
 your present position you have His work to do. May 
 you have grace abundantly to accomplish His purposes!" 
 All his friends were chagrined and pained. " The ves- 
 sel," says an officer who held a command in the Chinese 
 waters, "had been so much damaged, that she was 
 really not sea-worthy." But Bate was not a man to 
 mope over his ill-treatment. He was in the place 
 where God had put him ; and he steadfastly set his 
 face to his work, caring only to approve himself to his 
 Master in heaven. 
 
 After docking at Whampoa, the Bittern was at 
 length put into repair ; and her commander gradually 
 communicated to the ship's company that high tone of 
 discipline which his firm hand and kind heart never
 
 SHIP-DISCIPLINE. 107 
 
 failed to impart. At first, if the men were allowed of 
 a Sunday afternoon to have a country ramble, they 
 "abused the indulgence by returning, more than half 
 of them, drunk ; " but a few weeks had not passed 
 when " all the liberty-men, with the exception of three, 
 came on board to time and quite sober." His method 
 of dealing with them is instructive. 
 
 On April 27, he writes : " Performed divine service 
 on deck. Commenced the plan of reading a sermon 
 (one of Mr Molyneux's short ones, ' Broken Bread ') to 
 the men. They don't quite understand what I am after. 
 I trust God will give me grace to continue it, and, as 
 soon as the vessel is a little more settled, to have daily 
 prayer also. I think their spiritual concerns have 
 been made subordinate to their temporal affairs." 
 
 And, a week or two later, he says : " Performed 
 divine service on the lower deck Head a sermon to 
 the men : 2d Chapter of Doddridge's ' Rise and Pro- 
 gress/ I wonder if any effect was produced. Some 
 appeared attentive ; others perfectly indifferent. 
 God ! I pray that Thy "Word, even when uttered by 
 such a vile instrument as Thou hast chosen, may go 
 forth with power to the hearts of my hearers, and that 
 it may not return unto Thee void, but that it may ac- 
 complish the work whereunto Thou hast sent it. Let 
 Thy Spirit do His full work, I pray Thee, amongst the 
 seamen and marines of this ship. Truly it may be said 
 that darkness covers the ship, and gross darkness her 
 company." 
 
 And, on Monday, May 1 9, he adds : " After quar-
 
 108 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, RN. 
 
 ters this morning, I told the ship's company it was my 
 intention to establish a custom of reading a portion of 
 Scripture, and offering up one or two prayers in public 
 acknowledgment of what we all ought individually to 
 feel the boundless goodness and merciful providence 
 of God. The announcement appeared to be well re- 
 ceived ; and I commenced forthwith by reading the 
 first chapter of John, and concluding with our Lord's 
 Prayer and the prayer used at sea. May God give me 
 grace and strength to continue this duty ! " 
 
 A blessing attended as it always does the work of 
 faith and of love. A few weeks afterwards, writing to 
 a friend in England respecting it, he says : " I have 
 established morning-prayers ; and on Sundays I am 
 told the attention of the men is more than it has ever 
 been before. I read a chapter in the Bible not a 
 long one every morning after divisions, and conclude 
 with the Lord's Prayer and one or two extempore 
 prayers. I think it answers well : the fellows are 
 happy ; and so am I." And he adds : " Last Sunday, 
 I commenced reading Molyneux's ' World to Come,' in 
 the hope the subject would interest both officers and 
 men. I purpose (D.V.) going through with it. I 
 spoke to my men about the Nightingale Fund ; and 
 they have one and all contributed two days' pay." 
 
 The truth is, his own daily walk was so transparently 
 holy, and his manly face so beamed with kindness, that 
 his men felt themselves unconsciously attracted to HIM 
 whose service their beloved commander so evidently 
 felt to be " perfect freedom." " The fellows are happy,
 
 "THE FELLOWS AEE HAPPY." 109 
 
 and so am I." Such is the secret of every endeavour 
 which has on it the stamp of God's approval. 
 
 " Go to, ye careless mockers, 
 Despise it as ye will, 
 There ia a truth and power 
 In Christ's religion still 
 No more ideal day-dreams 
 The true believer hath, 
 There is a secret brightness 
 Which shines around his path. 
 There is a life, and unction, 
 A vivid, holy joy, 
 A love within his bosom, 
 No waters can destroy ! " 
 
 Like Havelock, he combined with his anxiety for the 
 spiritual welfare of his men, a strict, unflinching disci- 
 pline. On the occasion already named, when three of 
 the "liberty-men" returned intoxicated, he writes: 
 "One of the three is a quartermaster, the oldest and 
 best sailor in the ship. This blackguard does all the 
 mischief. It is my intention to flog one of them to- 
 morrow." And the next day, accordingly, he records : 
 " Punished J. Wilson with a dozen strokes of the' cat.' " 
 
 And, a week or two later, he writes : " Read the 
 Articles of War, and took a ' good- conduct badge' away 
 from the boatswain's mate for drunkenness and insub- 
 ordination. He has been sixteen years in the service, 
 and had three stripes. I question if they are well 
 merited. He was one of the first men I saw lying 
 dead-drunk under Mr Cowper's shed on the Sunday 
 night when so many of the ship's company were in- 
 toxicated."
 
 110 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 And, two days later : " Sent an officer and party 
 with the master-at-arms of H.M.S. Nankin away early 
 this morning, to board the English ships lying in the 
 river, in search of deserters. None were found afloat ; 
 but on entering a boarding-house in Bamboo-town, 
 they surprised six of them, though they only succeeded 
 in capturing three. The remainder, leaving their 
 clothes behind, escaped into the country." 
 
 His discipline was not the arbitrary and repulsive 
 caprice of the martinet, but the calm and winning 
 considerateness of the Christian man. " One could see 
 in a moment," says a friend (the Rev. John Irwin, 
 M.A., Colonial Chaplain) whose hospitality he often 
 enjoyed at this period, " the remarkable attachment of 
 his officers and ship's company to him. He had in a 
 strong degree the power of attaching to him all who 
 were under his command, and of inspiring them with 
 confidence in him. I remember accompanying him in 
 a visit to the hospital-ship ; and, in going amongst the 
 sick, he recognised one or two of his former ship's 
 company who had been with him in the Royalist. I was 
 struck with the way in which they mutually greeted 
 each other as old friends, the eyes of the poor invalids 
 brightening up as they listened to his words of kind- 
 ness and consolation. 
 
 "From all quarters," adds the same friend, "there 
 were testimonies to his extraordinary consideration for 
 those under his command. He remarked to me one 
 day, that he always found kindness the most effectual 
 way of dealing with men of all classes and dispositions.
 
 OMNIPOTENCE OF KINDNESS. Ill 
 
 'We are sure,' said he, 'to do wrong what we do in 
 a passion. I once punished a man hastily and in a 
 passion, and I did wrong/ The circumstances were, 
 as I remember, that, returning on board the Royalist 
 at night, and one of the hands being reported by an 
 officer for insubordination, he had ordered him to be 
 punished on the spot, and afterwards he had reason to 
 believe that he had acted unjustly as well as hastily." 
 
 Another glimpse into his daily routine at this time 
 is given in a letter to his sisters, dated " H.M.S. Bit- 
 tern, Whampoa, June 1st (1850)," thus : " My dearest 
 Girls, The thermometer now whilst I am writing is 88^ ; 
 it is a dead calm ; and really I can scarcely muster 
 sufficient resolution and energy to go on with this letter 
 only I know, if I do not commence at once, affairs 
 will get worse instead of better. The hot season is 
 just commencing ; and if this be the earnest of what 
 we are to expect for the next three months, why, I 
 wish I was at the North Pole. Sleeping at night is 
 out of the question ; for, in addition to the heat, one 
 is obliged to be enveloped in mosquito-curtains to pre- 
 vent being eaten alive. I get up in the morning com- 
 pletely fatigued from my night's rest. I am delighted 
 
 to hear such good accounts of dear M . Thank 
 
 God for it. Mr H is an honest man to refund 
 
 without being asked : I suspect one half your London 
 tailors would have remained silent about it. I hear 
 the Admiral has recommended the Bittern to be sold 
 out here, and that the officers and ship's company 
 should go home in the Winchester. Since I last
 
 112 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 wrote, I had a visit from him. He is very kind ; and 
 I liked him much what little I saw of him. He left 
 it to myself whether I would go and lie off Canton or 
 remain at Whampoa. I preferred the latter place, as 
 it is much more healthy and a great deal cooler. At 
 Canton now the heat is insufferable, even in the fac- 
 tories ; on board ship it would be ten times worse. I 
 am positively dripping even now with perspiration. 
 
 "The Admiral," he continues, "sails on the llth for 
 the four ports. He will also visit Castries Bay, and 
 deliver over the prisoners of war to the Kussian autho- 
 rities at the Amour. If the Bittern had been sound, we 
 would probably have gone with him ; for he said to 
 me how much he felt the vessel being obliged to lay 
 up in the Canton River, having a Commander on board 
 her distinguished in the Surveying service or words 
 to that effect. It is not improbable I may come home 
 overland : however, you wiU know my fate before I do. 
 We are now busy painting and putting the vessel in 
 order : she is a beautiful thing a regular little man- 
 of-war. The ship's company are very good, on the 
 whole ; rather noisy, and some few inclined to drink. 
 However, with all the temptation laid in their way, 
 and thorough disorganisation consequent on docking, I 
 have been able, with the assistance of my first lieu- 
 tenant, to bring them round without much punish- 
 ment. You can't imagine how thin I am getting. I 
 never take any wine but Claret and Hock, and that 
 very seldom ; and, as for beer, I don 't think I have 
 drunk three bottles since I left England. I usually
 
 A MURDER CHINESE MORALITY. 113 
 
 go on shore for a walk about five P.M., I come on board 
 to a meat-tea at seven." And, after some further de- 
 tails, he closes characteristically, thus : " God bless 
 you, dears ! Ever your loving WILL." 
 
 Whilst waiting for the Admiral's orders respecting 
 his destination, he made occasional visits to the town 
 and neighbouring country. "This Whampoa," he 
 wrote one day, " is a detestable hole, abounding with 
 every species of villany and vice. There is a ' Sing- 
 song' or Chinese play going on, some two or three 
 times in the week. It attracts people from all parts of 
 the island, and some from the neighbouring shore. The 
 women appear to take peculiar delight in it. I believe 
 the actors generally wind up with some drama in which 
 the grossest obscenity is represented." And, another 
 day, he says : " The Chinese here are the greatest set 
 of rascals under the sun ; and the women are twice as 
 bad up to any amount of villany." 
 
 And, another day, he wrote : " Went on shore at 
 five this morning to take a walk ; and, returning along 
 the bank of the creek which separates Bamboo-town 
 from a village east of it, I discovered, at the entrance, 
 on the left bank, the body of a native lying upon his 
 belly, frightfully lacerated about the head and left arm 
 especially, groaning and at times writhing in agony. 
 The Chinese were standing round him, totally uncon- 
 cerned, the women laughing at his sufferings. The 
 man was quite insensible, except to pain. With some 
 difficulty, I procured a small litter, for which I pro- 
 mised to pay one dollar, and brought him alongside 
 H
 
 114 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 this vessel, with a view to procure surgical assistance 
 and perchance save a life which, alas ! appeared to be 
 fast ebbing. The unfortunate man was not stript of 
 any of his clothing ; but his knife had been taken from 
 the leathern sheath which he carried about his person. 
 By the time I reached the ship, his spirit had well-nigh 
 departed ; and the doctor's assistance was of no avail. 
 One or two convulsions of the throat and thorax, and 
 he was no more. He belonged to the Peninsular and 
 Oriental Steamer Chusan, now lying here. The vice- 
 consul, with a jury of three merchant-captains, held an 
 inquest on the body ; and I went on board the Alligator 
 to give my evidence respecting the discovery of the 
 unfortunate creature. I will be bound to say a woman 
 had, either directly or indirectly, something to do with 
 the murder." 
 
 A few days later, an incident occurred, which he 
 narrates thus : " The captain of a lorcha, flying Eng- 
 lish colours but owned by Chinese, came on board to 
 tell us that his life was in danger, being apprehensive 
 that the crew intended rising against his authority 
 when below the Bogue forts, for the purpose of plun- 
 dering the vessel of the six thousand dollars with which 
 she was partly laden, and of then taking her up the 
 coast on a piratical cruise. He had two Europeans on 
 board, picked up at Whampoa last night, whom he had 
 thought to get to protect him against the Chinese crew. 
 He, however, requested my interference in removing 
 them from the vessel this morning, as he had heard 
 they were not likely to fall into his views, but, on the
 
 NOT A GRUMBLER. 115 
 
 contrary, to assist these very persons in carrying out 
 their diabolical design and becoming participators in 
 the plunder. The captain was afraid to return to the 
 vessel ; and I allowed him to remain on board till the 
 evening, when he went off to Hong- Kong by the 6 P.M. 
 steamer. The lorcha remains close to us." 
 
 A little trip to Canton in the "whale-boat" gave 
 him another glimpse into Chinese life. " Walking on 
 shore this morning," he writes, " I discovered the body 
 of a Chinaman. He had not been long dead. He pre- 
 sented a most emaciated appearance, as if he had been 
 starved to death. I asked some Chinese to remove 
 the body ; but they would have nothing to do with it, 
 unless I paid them something." And, the next day : 
 "Walking on shore this evening, I saw a Chinaman 
 burying the body I discovered yesterday. He just laid 
 it under the surface of the ground, the mound barely 
 covering it." 
 
 On further trial, the vessel was found to be such a 
 wreck, that the Admiral referred to the authorities at 
 home the question of her thorough repair or of "sell- 
 ing her for whatever she would bring." Meanwhile, the 
 heat was so oppressive, and the cabins so close and 
 contracted, that at last it became " hardly endurable." 
 Bate, however, in spite of his self-accusings, was not a 
 grumbler ; nature and grace alike led him to look less 
 at the cloud than at its silver lining ; and so we have 
 him adding : " 1 often think, when I have grumbled 
 at the weather or about anything else, what a pity it is 
 I do not consider more what the effect would be upon
 
 116 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 me if matters were ten times worse. I would desire, 
 in order to correct my habit of complaining, to look at 
 the amount of misery and suffering around me, instead 
 of dwelling on an ideal joy and happiness. A due 
 consideration and contemplation of our present position 
 cannot fail to call forth our earnest gratitude to God 
 that He has made us what we are. For my own part, 
 I may with truth say, ' The lines have fallen to me in 
 pleasant places.' "
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 " ' Cast thy bread upon the waters/ 
 
 Sow in faith the little seed; 
 Oft an unseen blessing hallows 
 
 Some unthought-of word or deed. 
 God shall give thee sweet rejoicing, 
 
 After many gloomy days ; 
 And thine everlasting anthem 
 
 Shall declare the Master's praise." 
 
 THERE lay before him, during the succeeding year, a 
 season of rough conflict. He was to reach his quiet 
 haven, only after a stormy passage. 
 
 " A throne and crown await him, 
 Bought by his Surety's blood ; 
 An endless rest in heaven, 
 A portion hi his God." 
 
 And, meanwhile, to fit him to pass worthily onward to 
 his home, he was enjoying an interval of quiet fellow- 
 ship with more than one dear fellow-pilgrim. 
 
 "It was in the summer of 1856," writes a surviving 
 friend in China, " that we became acquainted. It did 
 not take long to learn to appreciate his lovely character 
 recommended at first sight to every one by the bright
 
 118 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 arid holy expression of his countenance ; which, like a 
 sunbeam, shed light and joyousness upon all around 
 him ; and soon our acquaintance ripened into intimate 
 friendship. Our Sundays, especially, were very happy 
 days ; for, after his own service on board ship, he often 
 joined us at church, and spent the remaining hours of 
 the day with us, when we enjoyed delightful converse. 
 That beautiful verse of Keble's Evening Hymn seemed 
 to me so applicable to him 
 
 ' When with dear friend sweet talk I hold, 
 And all the pleasures of life unfold, 
 Let not my heart within me burn, 
 Unless in all I THEE discern.' 
 
 Truly, with him this subject was ever uppermost. He 
 loved to dwell upon the preciousness of our Saviour's 
 promises, embracing them with childlike faith and 
 simplicity, and striving to win others to enjoy that 
 true happiness which those only know who love the 
 Lord, as he did, in sincerity and truth." 
 
 In conversation, one day, he alluded to Hedley 
 Vicars. "I have just/' said he, "been reading his 
 Memoir ; and I am quite disgusted with the contrast 
 of my own and of his character. What a noble fellow 
 he was, and what a poor wretched specimen of a 
 Christian man am I ! Why, yesterday/' he added, in 
 a tone of deep abasement, " I went to the hospital to 
 visit some of my sick men, there was one lying very 
 ill, and, because one or two doctors were present, 
 I actually had not courage to speak to that soul of 
 JESUS!"
 
 CONVERSATION HEDLEY VICARS. 119 
 
 Another day, he said " Oh ! if you only knew 
 what a lump of sin I carry about in my body, you 
 would indeed pity me and pray for me. I have been 
 thinking all this morning of that text, 'To me to live 
 is Christ, and to die is gain.' Would that I could 
 realise it every hour, every moment ! " 
 
 In society, his constant aim was to " minister grace 
 
 to the use of edifying." " In visiting ," he wrote, 
 
 on one occasion, to a friend, "mind you are not led 
 insensibly into gossip. We often ourselves are en- 
 trapped, and only become aware of our imprisonment 
 when we try to escape from it. Gossipping is an evil 
 to which we are all addicted ; and nothing mars the 
 Christian character more, especially in ladies. Don't 
 think, from this, I imagine you are a gossip : but we 
 are weak and sinful creatures, influenced more by the 
 smiles and frowns of the world than we are by our 
 Saviour's precepts. Few Christian people are loved in 
 this world except by their own brotherhood ; but, when 
 consistency marks their pilgrimage, they are always 
 respected." 
 
 And he added : " You will not, I know, think I am 
 
 judging the people of . Far be it from me ! I 
 
 believe, if I were one, I should be the vilest. But you 
 understand the power of money ; and they are all there 
 with the avowed purpose of gaining that power. I say, 
 therefore, it is an atmosphere in which your moral 
 health will not derive that benefit which I pray your 
 physical health may. Seek that society alone, which 
 recognises Christ as the Alpha and Omega."
 
 120 MEMOIB OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 " How few/' it has been said, 
 
 " There be among men who forget themselves for others ! 
 Verily the man is a marvel whom truth can write a friend." 
 
 "Many a person," writes another, "has said to me, 
 ' Dear Captain Bate is such a true friend ; he never 
 hesitates to point out what he thinks wrong, and yet 
 he does it in such a way that one cannot possibly take 
 offence, but rather feels grateful ; and then he so con- 
 sistently himself perseveres in the right course, that 
 one can't but listen to what he says.' " 
 
 Even on occasions where ordinary men shrink back 
 into silence, his gentle influence, so mild yet so firm, 
 few could resist. One day, he heard of a little difference 
 which had arisen between two mutual friends. He 
 went to the one in fault, and plainly pointed out to 
 him that he had done wrong, and, by no harsh reproof, 
 but by gentle persuasion, caused the friend to see his 
 error, and produced union between the two. " So had he 
 always," the same friend adds, " a word in season ; and 
 his good advice and counsel have been blest to many." 
 
 Another characteristic of his social converse is noted 
 by Mr Irwin, thus : " Unobtrusive in his religion and 
 piety, he never would allow them to be assailed in his 
 presence with impunity. On one occasion, a gentle- 
 man, who was sceptical as to the results of Missionary 
 enterprise, boldly expressed his conviction that the 
 professed converts were the worst classes of the popu- 
 lation, and declared his doubts whether a single real 
 convert had been made. Captain Bate felt indignant 
 at such an assertion, and rejoined, 'You might just as
 
 MISSIONS FELT INDIGNANT. 321 
 
 well question the truth of the Acts of the Apostles, or 
 the work of the apostles themselves.' " 
 Cowper says 
 
 " As similarity of mind, 
 Or something not to be defined, 
 
 First fixes your attention ; 
 So manners decent and polite, 
 The same we practised at first sight, 
 
 Must save it from declension." 
 
 " I remember," writes the friend already quoted, speak- 
 ing of his delicate sensitiveness to the feelings of 
 others, " during an argument in which he had become 
 much excited and rather annoyed at some remarks 
 that were made, he recollected that one lady present 
 was an invalid ; and immediately he went up to her 
 and apologised for having in his excitement talked so 
 loud and increased, as he feared, her headache. So 
 very gentle," his friend adds, " and courteous was he 
 always, and so ready to own himself in the wrong." 
 
 His warm heart was ever ready with its sympathies, 
 even for the most unworthy. One evening, during a 
 very severe storm of heavy rain, thunder, and lightning, 
 whilst sitting in his cabin, he heard cries of distress. 
 Immediately he rushed on deck ; and a gleam of light- 
 ning shewed that it proceeded from two Chinese 
 women, whose boat had upset, and who were being 
 carried by the force of the current down the river. 
 Instantly he gave orders for his boat to be lowered, 
 and, himself proceeding to the rescue, succeeded in 
 saving them from a watery grave. His kindness did 
 not end there, but he took the poor creatures to his
 
 1 22 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 ship, fed and clothed them, and afterwards restored 
 them to their homes. 
 
 The Lord Jesus, when He "dwelt amongst us," 
 seems to have drawn to Himself the hearts of children. 
 They were often about Him ; for their keen instinct 
 detected in Him a most gentle Friend. Bate possessed 
 this beautiful characteristic to a degree quite remark- 
 able. " He was wonderfully attached," says the friend 
 in China already quoted, " to my dear baby, his god- 
 child, and would nurse the little thing for hours, being 
 as gentle and kind to her as a woman ; and baby was 
 always happy with him." 
 
 " What happier recreation than a nurseling 
 " Its winning ways, its prattling tongue, its innocence and mirth ? " 
 
 On his last visit to that mother, an incident occurred 
 which she records thus : " I well remember how that 
 day he missed my baby, and had her brought to him. 
 Afterwards, whenever I offered to take her, he would 
 say, ' Oh ! let me keep her ; it is my last day here.' 
 And she was happy in his arms for hours." 
 
 No surer test anywhere of a man's real nature ! 
 
 " There is an atmosphere of happiness floating round that man, 
 Love is throned upon his heart." 
 
 A child discerns it in a moment ; and its decision 
 admits of no reversal. 
 
 And it was not only an infant that attracted him. 
 The child grew in years, not to outgrow his kindly 
 sympathies, but to find in him a loving and con- 
 descending friend.
 
 FONDNESS FOE CHILDKEN. 1 23 
 
 " The friendship of a child is the brightest gem set upon the circlet 
 
 of society, 
 A jewel worth a world of pains a jewel seldom seen." 
 
 "His fondness for children," says Mr Irwin, "was 
 quite singular. He noticed them entered into all 
 their little sports and ways and never seemed more 
 at home than when amusing them and making them 
 happy." One of the most notable of all his war-trophies 
 he gave as a present to a little boy.
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 "I travell'd on, seeing the hill, where lay 
 My expectation." 
 
 BATE was the very model of a British sailor. " I saw 
 him," says a naval officer, "bring the Bittern into 
 Hong-Kong one middle watch on a dark night, thread- 
 ing his way among the shipping, and anchoring her 
 close off the dock-yard in a position where few men in 
 broad daylight could so successfully have placed her, 
 and all without a whisper being heard." 
 
 The summer and autumn were spent in " cruising 
 about the Canton Eiver," partly to "protect British 
 interests/' and partly to " promote the health and dis- 
 cipline of the crew." For a mind of his temperament, 
 the occupation was monotonous and dreary enough ; 
 but events were soon to occur of a kind to test the 
 bravest heart and strongest arm. Meanwhile, we ac- 
 company him on his cruise, noting some occasional 
 incidents. 
 
 One day, he landed at Canton, and took a walk into 
 the neighbouring country. " Some of the Chinese," 
 he says, " were preparing the land for sowing the rice.
 
 " THE EXECUTION-GROUND." 125 
 
 I watched two men and three women at work for a 
 long time this morning. They were over their ankles 
 in mud, turning the ground over first with very broad 
 wooden spades, like the Irish ; then raking it ; and, 
 lastly, smoothing and levelling it by drawing over the 
 surface breadth-ways a long plank, weighted with mud 
 at one end, and pressed down by a man at the other. 
 The seed, which had just commenced to germinate, 
 was then strewed with the hand over the surface of the 
 mud and water, and so left. Others, again, were trans- 
 planting the young paddy made into bundles like 
 young leeks." 
 
 Another day he visited a scene of a different sort. 
 " I went," he writes, " this afternoon to the ' Execution- 
 ground,' accompanied by Messrs Johnson and Burney. 
 There had been no decapitations this morning ; and 
 the ground was saturated with water from the recent 
 rains. Took a rough sketch of the place, and mea- 
 sured its dimensions, which are as follows: Whole 
 length from gate to gate, in S.S.E. direction, 194 
 feet; width at the entrance, 18 feet; broadest part, 
 33 feet ; narrowest part, at the southern extremity, 15 
 feet 27,000 persons are said to have been put to 
 death in this enclosure during the last year. The area 
 of the ground on which these executions took place, 
 excluding the passage at the north end, is equal to 173 
 of an acre, or 27i% perches." 
 
 Another day, some weeks later, he visited this " field 
 of blood," on occasion of an execution. He writes : 
 " I went to the Execution-ground at ten this morning,
 
 126 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 accompanied by Mr Johnson, Mr Gordon Newton, and 
 Lieut. Chisholm of the Sybille, and witnessed, from 
 the roof of the carpenter's shop there, the decapita- 
 tion of upwards of eighty criminals ; one unfortunate 
 wretch was ' cut into a thousand pieces ' at the ' cross/ 
 A more revolting sight I never saw : there was neither 
 dignity nor solemnity in the ceremony ; and the ex- 
 treme sentence of the law was carried out in their 
 most ruffianly style." 
 
 As usual, the " habitations of cruelty " were found 
 to be redolent with the incense of the grossest super- 
 stition. A scene in honour of an "oblation to the 
 moon," he describes, on a subsequent occasion, thus : 
 " Pulled out on the river with Mr and Mrs Parkes. 
 The boats and houses were all illuminated, and had a 
 very striking appearance through the haze which hung 
 on the river. The moon was nearly full ; and, at the 
 close of the festivities, these illuminations, fireworks, 
 &c., are meant as an oblation to it. Every Chinaman 
 on this occasion considers it to be his duty to hoist a 
 light or lights, according to his means, at the highest 
 part of his residence ashore or afloat." 
 
 One morning, as the men were bathing, one of them 
 for a moment lost hold of the rope and sank. There 
 were several others just beside him ; but, as he " could 
 not swim a stroke," his disappearance was too sudden 
 for any of them to render assistance. " We sent the 
 jolly-boat/' Bate writes, "to seek for the body, and also 
 offered a reward of twenty dollars to any Chinaman 
 who should pick it up that night. The Chinese, stimu-
 
 "THANK GOD FOE PEACE ! " 127 
 
 lated by the offer of so large a reward, soon set to 
 work, and, two hours after he had sunk, brought the 
 corpse on board. There was not the slightest mark of 
 violence on him ; and from the placid look of his coun- 
 tenance and natural position of the hands and fingers, 
 I should suppose he was insensible at the moment he 
 disappeared." And, the next day, he adds : " The 
 Chinese did not bring the coffin on board till near four 
 o'clock, instead of ten A.M. as they promised. It was 
 plastered over with some black pigment. I believe the 
 man intends charging four dollars for it. The corpse 
 was placed on the dingy, and, towed by the cutter and 
 followed by the pinnace and gig, left the ship for the 
 burial-ground, just four-and-twenty hours after he had 
 gone from it in perfect health to bathe. The ship was 
 unusually quiet all the rest of the evening/' 
 
 Like all brave men, he was an ardent lover of peace. 
 " Thank God for peace ! " he wrote, one clay, on re- 
 ceiving the news from England of the conclusion of 
 the Kussian war. " We have not heard the conditions ; 
 but I have not the least doubt that under Lord 
 Palmerston's auspices they will be such as will be 
 deemed honourable to all parties. Nevertheless, we 
 feel our pride has been a little humbled. It will do 
 us no harm ; for there was far too much of the spirit 
 ' By the strength of my arm have I done it ; and 
 by my wisdom, for I am prudent.' The difference 
 betwixt a peace-establishment and that of twenty-two 
 months of war has cost the country 4(3,56-1,000 ! ! ! " 
 
 A week or two afterwards, he writes : " Rain ! rain !
 
 128 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 rain ! without cessation the whole day. Business was 
 carried on from house to house in boats and in chairs/' 
 And, the following day : " The forenoon was tolerably 
 fine ; but in the afternoon the rain came down as hard 
 as ever. Several houses have fallen down inside the 
 city walls ; and I hear that eight persons were buried 
 in the ruins of one of them. Rice has gone up con- 
 siderably in price ; and I fear there is much distress 
 throughout the country." 
 
 On August 7 (1856), we find him addressing a 
 friend in England thus : " I begin to think now that 
 this will be the last time I shall write from China ; for 
 the next mail will bring tidings of our fate. I suppose 
 we shall be all ordered home in the Winchester, and 
 the vessel be sold for what she will fetch out here. I 
 regret not to have the opportunity of bringing her 
 home ; for she is a beautiful brig, and in veiy good 
 man-of-war order. My friend Captain Parker leaves 
 by this mail for England, and I send the floss-silk by 
 him. I have been at Canton the last week ; but, owing 
 to the long continuance of very, very wet weather, have 
 been unable to move about there much. The whole 
 place at high-tide is inundated ; and, to go from one 
 house to another, a boat is necessary. We had to em- 
 bark at the first flat, immediately outside the Consulate- 
 verandah. It was most absurd to see me going shopping 
 for the silk I entered the shop door in a sun-pan ; 
 and, while the Chinaman who served me was up to his 
 middle in water, I was seated on the counter with my 
 feet upon two high stools. For two whole months we
 
 INCIDENTS OFF CANTON. 129 
 
 have had nothing but pouring rain. The rain-gauge 
 for the last month, July, shewed fifty-two inches. They 
 say they have not had so much wet for years and years. 
 Everything on board the Bittern is saturated with 
 damp. I fear there is much distress in store for the 
 poor Chinese. The rice-crops have been beaten down 
 with wind and rain, and now lie rotting on the ground. 
 Trade is almost at a stand- still here from the unsettled 
 state of the country. I have this instant heard that 
 all the crops have failed from drought. Is not this 
 strange ? The Admiral, Sir M. Seymour, is still in the 
 north. We all take to him very much. He is a straight- 
 forward, honest man, and, I believe, knows his work 
 thoroughly. I was away last night in my gig after 
 pirates, and did not get on board till three this 
 morning." 
 
 Another day, he writes : " Moored off Canton, 
 August 14. Performed divine service on board, and 
 then attended church on shore. Mr Gray is an ex- 
 tempore preacher ; very fluent and energetic ; doctrine 
 sound full of Christ. In the afternoon, the congrega- 
 tion was very small. Five persons were present at the 
 evening sermon, which commenced at five to-day. This 
 is very discouraging to Mr Gray, who, I believe, does 
 all in his power to bring them under the sweet influ- 
 ences of the gospel" 
 
 " A man is known," it has been said, " by the com- 
 pany he keeps." Bate never was on shore at any place 
 without at once seeking out the missionaries. " Visited," 
 he writes, one day, " Dr Parker's Chinese hospital An 
 I
 
 130 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 American gentleman, Dr Carr, ministers to the patients 
 in Dr Parker's absence. The establishment is open to 
 receive the sick every day ; and certain days are set 
 apart for operations. This morning, a man about 
 twenty-seven years of age was operated on for stone : 
 the calculus extracted was as large as a good-sized chest- 
 nut. The patient was put into an anaesthetic state, and 
 is now doing well. I saw a heart-rending case of dropsy 
 in a poor woman ; and several Chinese were operated 
 on by a native practitioner for entropium. Ulcers, 
 gun-shot wounds, and abscesses, were the principal 
 diseases which came under treatment this morning. 
 The hospital is very close, and, I regret to state, very 
 dirty so different from Dr Hobson's." 
 
 On another occasion, he writes : " Visited Dr Hob- 
 son's hospital It was opened by a native expounding 
 a portion of Scripture and finishing with a short prayer. 
 The patients then came in as fast as Dr Hobson could 
 attend to them. The chief diseases which came under 
 notice this morning were ulcers and tumours, and an 
 incipient case of leprosy. I left Dr H. pursuing his 
 labour of love at half -past eleven. The hall was then 
 full of applicants for relief." 
 
 Each day seemed to open a fresh glimpse into the 
 sanguinary disposition of the people. " Off Canton," 
 one morning, he has this entry : " Some of the dragon- 
 boats on the river sent against the rebels have banners 
 flying, with this inscription on them, ' Appointed by 
 his Lordship the Governor-General to exterminate ! ' 
 What La Pe'rouse says of the Chinese Government I
 
 CHINESE CHAEACTEEISTICS. 131 
 
 believe to be true, that it is ' the most unjust, the most 
 oppressive, and the most cowardly, in the world/ " 
 
 A brighter feature of Chinese life presented itself, 
 another day, thus : " The literary examinations are 
 also going on now in the city. 5200 candidates have 
 presented themselves for honours, out of whom about 
 seventy-five will be selected. The examinations, which 
 are exceedingly strict, and conducted in the most im- 
 partial manner, extend over a period of ten days. The 
 degree to be taken on this occasion is Kiu-jin, corre- 
 sponding to our ' Master of Arts/ The B.A. degree is 
 called Suci-tein." 
 
 The heat continued to be most oppressive. " In- 
 tensely hot all night," he writes ; " unable to sleep even 
 on deck with cot hanging to boom/' And, the day 
 following : " Night fearfully hot. Not a particle of 
 rest to be had. Got up more fatigued than when I 
 turned in." And, the day after : " Night frightfully 
 close : unable to catch a wink of sleep/' And, the 
 next : " This was the warmest night, I think, I 
 ever experienced. There was not a breath of wind 
 throughout it ; but at about five A.M. it suddenly be- 
 came overcast, and a fresh breeze from the N.E. sprang 
 up, which cooled the atmosphere, and at once relieved 
 us of that dreadful feeling of oppression induced by the 
 closeness of the night." 
 
 Another entry gives us a glimpse into the ship's 
 discipline. On September 15, he writes: "Went to 
 night-quarters at midnight ; all hands taken aback. 
 The first gun was fired in one minute and thirty
 
 132 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 seconds from the time I gave the order. Fired three 
 rounds, both broadsides ; and afterwards three rounds 
 from the port side ; which was done in two minutes 
 and forty seconds. The guns being secured, we manned 
 and armed ship ; first musket fired in one minute and 
 twenty seconds from the time of giving the alarm." 
 
 On the same day, writing to his old messmate, he 
 gives a little retrospect of his doings, thus : " H. M. S. 
 
 Bittern, off Canton. My dearly-beloved old P , 
 
 I am quite ashamed of myself for not having written 
 to you before ; but don't you suppose, because I have 
 not, that you and your dear wife are any the less 
 frequent in my recollection. I have served our dear 
 friend Hill in the same way. However, being a Chris- 
 tian man, I don't so much mind, because I know that 
 both he and you will exercise charity, and bear patiently 
 the faults of a brother. You see now how the 'old 
 Adam' comes out in me. You will naturally say, 
 ' That is just the reason he should not take advantage 
 of it.' I must now stop these explanations and ex- 
 cuses, and tell you a little of what I have been about 
 since I last wrote. I applied for a ship when the 
 charts were finished, and had some hopes of being sent 
 either to the Black Sea or to the Baltic ; but it was 
 willed otherwise, and I had to wait till near the termi- 
 nation of the war, when an appointment to the Mariner 
 was offered me. At this I was, of course, much dis- 
 gusted, and remonstrated, when another vacancy oc- 
 curred by Vansittart's promotion out of this vessel,
 
 A RETBOSPECT. 133 
 
 which was offered to me instead of the Mariner. As 
 the Bittern had only a few months to run, I accepted 
 her, and left by the overland on the 4th of February 
 for Hong-Kong, taking Calver, my old servant, with 
 me. I must tell you, by the by, that all chance of 
 promotion for the Palawan Survey, for at least three 
 years, was gone ; but they have made a regulation in 
 the H.O. that promotion shall go by seniority, one 
 to be given every year, a lieutenant and commander 
 alternately. Being comparatively young, and with 
 some of those old /iowie-surveyors before me, I thought 
 it best to cut the department, and get into the regular 
 line, where, perhaps, in one day I might get what 
 years of toil had failed to bring, or, at all events, when 
 I brought her home, if not before, I felt they could 
 not withhold my ' post ' step. I took command in 
 April at Hong-Kong, and had orders to proceed im- 
 mediately to Whampoa to be docked, she having got 
 on shore somewhere in the neighbourhood of Hai-tan. 
 When in dock, we found the damage she had sustained 
 to be so considerable, that the Admiral would not 
 undertake to pay out 1700 the amount it would 
 require to repair her without referring to the Ad- 
 miralty ; so I had orders to take guns, stores, &c., on 
 board, and lay in the river as ' guardo ' until instruc- 
 tions should arrive from home. This, as you can 
 imagine, was a terrible ' sell ' for me. I did not bargain 
 for so inactive a life as that of lying at Whampoa, 
 and with little or nothing to do but think of the in-
 
 134 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 tensity of the heat, the continual pouring of the rain, 
 the irritation caused by the biting of the mosquitoes, 
 and the entire absence of society. 
 
 "I, however, broke the monotony," he continues, 
 " and absorbed a little of the time by getting under 
 weigh, and taking a cruise down as far as the entrance 
 of the river ; and, before we returned, we were well into 
 the month of June. I then remained a little time in 
 Blenheim Reach, walking all over Dane's Island every 
 day, and, after thoroughly exhausting everything of in- 
 terest to me, came up here for a change ; and a very 
 agreeable change we find it, for there is a nice reading- 
 room to go to, and we see a little of social life into the 
 bargain. I like this man-of-war work better than 
 surveying. I am now quite a gentleman, with little or 
 nothing to do but look after my yacht; for a yacht 
 the Bittern really is. She is in beautiful order ; and 
 I don't think a ship on the station would touch her, 
 either in gunnery or aloft. We have an excellent 
 ship's company, and are all very comfortable. I went 
 to night-quarters the other night. Not a soul, even 
 the first lieutenant, knew a word about it ; and in one 
 minute thirty seconds from my coming on deck, and 
 bellowing out, suddenly, ' Quarters action on both 
 sides I' the first gun was fired ; and three rounds were 
 fired in two minutes thirty seconds. I am expecting 
 the mail now every day, which will decide our fate. I 
 fear poor briggy will be sold, and the crew ordered 
 home in the first man-of-war. This will suit me, as I 
 made arrangements to be in England in about a year
 
 pEOSPEcra 135 
 
 from the time I left. However, man's plans are often 
 set at nought ; and I feel it wrong to say, / have made 
 arrangements, &c. I sought God's guidance in my 
 appointment to this vessel, and I am quite content to 
 leave all to Him. This getting on shore may appear a 
 great drawback ; but who can tell that it may not ulti- 
 mately turn out for my good ? I believe it will" 
 
 And he adds : " I shall now revert to something a 
 little more interesting. I am ashamed to find that I 
 have taken up so much of my paper all about self. 
 How are you, my dear fellow, and your good wife and 
 family? I asked you, in my last letter, to tell me 
 honestly what I could send 'to my little godson which 
 would be really useful ; but you never answered me. 
 I shall turn round upon you and make it a grievance, 
 not having heard. If the Bittern be ordered home, 
 what would I not give to bring her down where you 
 
 are on my way ? I wonder, my dear P , if I ever 
 
 shall have the pleasure of making your dear wife's 
 acquaintance. It matters little, after all, whether I do 
 or not here below. I do pray, however, that by God's 
 grace we shall dwell together hereafter." 
 
 Henry Martyn once asked himself, "How shall I 
 hold heaven constantly in view?" Often, very often, 
 did Bate, during these months, urge upon his conscience 
 the same weighty inquiry. And the answer we have 
 in such records as the following : " Performed divine 
 service on board, and afterwards went to church on 
 shore. Received the sacrament the first time since 
 leaving England. Remained on board the whole day
 
 136 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 afterwards, studying Prophecy" Such studies con- 
 stantly occupied his mind ; and he found them emi- 
 nently conducive to holiness and to growth in grace. 
 Ever since he read the Scriptures for himself, he had 
 been struck with the prominence given to the Church's 
 " blessed hope ;" and it taught him to " wait for the 
 Son from heaven " with a very simple and lively faith. 
 " Oh for a well-tuned harp ! " an old confessor 
 used to cry, in some of his last and lonely hours. 
 Bate also was unconsciously nearing the heavenly rest; 
 and, as if already breathing its serene air, he would 
 take up his ditty and say 
 
 " For ever with the Lord ! 
 
 Amen, so let it be : 
 Life from the dead is in that word, 
 'Tis immortality. 
 
 " Here in the body pent, 
 
 Absent from Him I roam, 
 Yet nightly pitch my moving tent 
 A day's march nearer home. 
 
 " My Father's house on high, 
 
 Home of my soul, how near 
 At times to faith's transpiercing eye 
 Thy golden gates appear ! 
 
 " My thirsty spirit faints 
 
 To reach the land I love, 
 The bright inheritance of saints, 
 Jerusalem above."
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 " Go labour on ! 'tis not for nought ; 
 All earthly loss ie heavenly gain ! 
 Men heed thee not, men praise thee not ; 
 The MASTER praises ! what are men ? " 
 
 HAVELOCK a subaltern for three-and-twenty long years ! 
 Bate, likewise, was still doomed to the " shady side " of 
 official neglect. 
 
 Before leaving England, he had quitted the Survey- 
 ing-department to work out his promotion in the 
 regular service ; and, on this understanding, he had 
 accepted the insignificant command now held by him. 
 What, then, was his chagrin, to learn, by a private 
 letter that autumn, that, scarcely had his back been 
 turned and he was now out of reach on a distant sta- 
 tion, when the Admiralty, still withholding his justly 
 i earned promotion, had ostracised him by ordering him 
 for four dreary years to the inhospitable coasts of 
 Tartary ? " The Bittern, I hear," he writes, " is to be 
 sold, and her crew sent home ; and Sir C. Wood has 
 requested the Admiral to bear me on the flag-ship's 
 books until he sends out a steamer to enable me to
 
 138 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 proceed to Tartary on a Survey. This is too bad; 
 unless he sends my post-commission with her. I was 
 in hopes I had washed my hands clear of the H.O. 
 This the Hydrographer knows ; and it is hard to force 
 me into the service again, unless the .appointment be 
 accompanied by a Commission in recognition of my 
 past services in it." 
 
 Henry Martyn, on one occasion, when smarting 
 under a trying disappointment, wrote "In prayer I 
 had a most precious view of Christ as a. Friend that 
 sticketh closer than a brother." Bate, also, was not 
 without the same refuge. " However, it is our duty," 
 he characteristically adds, " to obey ; and I must hope 
 that it is all for the best, although it is hard to recon- 
 cile myself to it." 
 
 A month later, when the rumour had been finally 
 confirmed by his nomination to H.M.S. Actseon, he 
 again writes : " I am sure you have heard of my 
 great disappointment in finding myself 'hooked in' for 
 a four years' cruise in these seas, without their Lord- 
 ships ever consulting me whether I wished it or not 
 It has made me almost mad with vexation ; and, in- 
 deed, did I not know that the Lord ruleth, I should be 
 quite in despair. 
 
 England, England ! is it thus that thou recom- 
 pensest thy bravest and noblest sons ? Verily, it is 
 well for thee, if thy " Gorgon- visage of neglect " do 
 not turn their generous hearts into 
 "Hard, dead stone."
 
 DISAPPOINTMENTS AND CONSOLATIONS. 139 
 
 No misdeed so dishonours thy fair escutcheon as this 
 checking and chilling of thy children. 
 
 " It is a pang, keen only to the best, to be injured well-deserving, 
 And slumbering Neglect is injury ' Could ye not watch one 
 
 hour ? ' 
 
 When God himself complain'd, it was that none regarded, 
 And indifference bowed to the rebuke, Thou gavest me no kiss 
 
 when I came in." 
 
 Awaiting the arrival of the Act?eon, he cruised for 
 some weeks longer in the Canton-waters. 
 
 One evening, as he was walking on shore, he en- 
 countered an incident which he records thus : " Two 
 Chinese men appeared to be dodging me over the 
 hills." Doubtless, they were watching for an oppor- 
 tunity to waylay and murder him. It is one of the 
 revolting features of Chinese life. Since that time, in 
 the neighbourhood of Canton, an English surgeon, 
 walking alone one day, was kidnapped and decapitated; 
 and, in a few minutes, his headless corpse was hidden 
 in an extemporised grave. And, some days afterwards, 
 as two officers were sauntering along a quiet lane, they 
 observed some "braves," with matchlocks and large 
 knives, skulking behind, with the intention of killing 
 them : suddenly the strangers pulled out their re- 
 volvers, and the dastards precipitately tied; but, as 
 the officers passed along, they came upon two graves, 
 which some accomplices had dug in the road, obviously 
 to receive their decapitated bodies. 
 
 Another of his entries is as follows : " Performed
 
 140 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.K 
 
 divine service on deck. Kead to the ship's company 
 one of Mr MelvilTs Sermons (Gen. iii. 2, 3 : ' The mis- 
 representations of Eve/) Immediately after our own 
 service, I attended that of Mr Macey. He had a full 
 congregation, and preached very effectively. He had 
 an afternoon-service at five, at which there were about 
 twenty-five persons, including two ladies/' And, ten 
 days later, he adds : " Visited Mr Macey at the Bethel. 
 He returned this morning from Canton, having been 
 under medical treatment up there for the last five 
 days. The illness is, no doubt, to be ascribed to his 
 unremitting attention to a man who has for some time 
 past been lying in a very precarious state from a bad 
 disease in the worst possible form, and who died on 
 the 5th instant. The atmosphere of the man's cabin 
 was fetid to a degree." 
 
 Some days later, he says : " Walked on shore in the 
 evening. It was too hot to enjoy the walk over the 
 hills. I felt quite tired after going over them. The 
 heat prevents any rest at night, however tired you may 
 make yourself in the day." 
 
 And again : " Gathered a few Chinese names on 
 shore this evening, while conversing with some Chinese. 
 In the morning the captain of the Anglo-Saxon came 
 on board to complain of his men being drunk and 
 troublesome. Sent an officer and three marines to 
 quell the riot. Communicated with Mr Vice-consul 
 Bird verbally on the subject, and sent three of the 
 worst of them to jail The captain had his wife along-
 
 MERCHANT-SHIPS. 141 
 
 side in a boat, being compelled to resort thither owing 
 to the indecent language the men were using." 
 
 One day he visited the Macao Roads. "Waited," 
 he writes, " on the Governor, who is an officer in the 
 Portuguese navy, and speaks English well We then 
 put up at Mr Duddell's Hotel ; board and beds, three 
 dollars per day. Bittern weighed, and anchored in 3^ 
 fathoms off Macao at 3 P.M. Saluted the Portuguese 
 flag with 21 guns, which was returned with the same 
 number. The nature of the bottom off Macao is 
 exceedingly soft, so that vessels may anchor safely in 
 very little over their draught at low water. Some of 
 the ships touch at low water." 
 
 Another day, when off Whampoa, he says: "The 
 English ship Hibernia anchored for tide about two 
 miles below us. Mr Copeland, the master of her, sent 
 on board for Whampoa mean-time. He had ascertained 
 the error of his chronometer by our time-ball when at 
 Whampoa, and was now about to put to sea without a 
 rate but for the circumstance of falling in with us. 
 We gave him Whampoa mean-time by ball at six 
 o'clock. It is wonderful how indifferent some of the 
 captains of merchant-ships are ! putting to sea without 
 a rate for their watches ! a sea which, above all others, 
 requires the most careful attention in navigating it." 
 
 Anchored off Canton, he writes : " Performed 
 divine service. Very warm under the awnings. Went 
 on shore to church at the Factories. Mr Gray 
 preached a very good sermon. Remained on shore at
 
 14-2 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.K 
 
 Mr Parkes' until 5 P.M. service, and, after a stroll 
 round the Gardens, caine on board at 7." 
 
 The following day : " The weather now is exceed- 
 ingly hot. The northerly wind, blowing over the city, 
 makes the Factories almost unbearable. They say 
 September is the hottest month in the year from this 
 very cause. Several Imperial junks, filled with soldiers, 
 moving about the river. I imagine they are in at- 
 tendance on the Viceroy, who left this the other day 
 for Pekin. Nights very close and sultry. Mosquitoes 
 on the increase. 92 in my cabin the greater part of 
 the night." 
 
 And, three days after : "Yesterday was the hottest 
 day that has been registered at Whampoa for the last 
 twelve years ; and, as for this place, I think to-day is 
 about the warmest which has been experienced for 
 many summers. The temperature of the atmosphere 
 so closely approximates that of the body, that the 
 want of a cool medium to cany off the moisture from 
 the latter is felt as most depressing. Feeling very 
 unwell: this excessive heat causes great exhaustion 
 and loss of natural strength. It completely prostrates 
 me." 
 
 Five days later, he says : " Exercised port-watch at 
 quarters. They cleared for action and fired three 
 rounds in 2| minutes. Numerous boats, full of 
 Chinese troops, moving up the river into the Fatchan 
 creek There is a report that the Rebels are gaining 
 ground in every direction. Eice is getting very scarce^ 
 and the price rising daily. The insurgents are only
 
 LEAVING THE CANTON- WATEKS. 143 
 
 waiting for the rice-crops to ripen, to open the 
 campaign." 
 
 At last, orders arrived to take the old craft to Hong- 
 Kong to be broken up. On reaching it, he had a note 
 from Dr Hobson : " I am so sorry I did not know, in 
 time, of your leaving the Canton-waters, as I should 
 have liked to come on board and wish you good-bye. 
 If I don't see you before you sail for Tartary (cold and 
 dreary Tartary), I can only say, my best wishes will 
 attend you. May your survey be speedily and success- 
 fully performed ; your body and mind kept in health ; 
 and, above all, may your soul prosper and enjoy much 
 of the Divine presence and blessing in your northerly 
 expedition !" 
 
 Man proposes, but God disposes ; the sequel will 
 shew how. 
 
 " Mighty issues are impending, God alone can view the end ; 
 But unceasing blessings follow those who find in Him their Friend."
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 "We bid them listen quietly, as thankfully we tell 
 Of lives spent all unselfishly, of deeds of valour done." 
 
 " MUST make fight first ! " was the brief but emphatic 
 apophthegm in the mouth of the Chinaman, as sundry 
 hints more or less articulate had recently reached 
 him, of the foreigner's determination to open the gates 
 of Canton, and to enjoy a more unrestricted trade. 
 
 Not many days before Bate quitted the Canton- 
 waters, an incident had occurred, indicative of the 
 hostile intent of the native authorities. "A lorcha," 
 he writes, " anchored up here yesterday, and, in doing 
 so, fouled a mandarin boat : whereupon they boarded 
 the lorcha, and took one of the crew a prisoner until 
 reparation, for the damage alleged to have been done 
 in fouling, should be made. The owner of the lorcha 
 complained to the consul ; but, on finding that he had 
 no clearance-ticket from Hong-Kong or sailing-letter, 
 he refused to recognise her as a British vessel. I also 
 cautioned him, that, if he came in sight of the Bittern 
 having no colours or papers on board, I would seize 
 him."
 
 OUTRAGE ON BRITISH FLAG. 145 
 
 But a graver event followed. Early one morning in 
 October (1856), as a lorcha (the Arrow), bearing 
 the British flag, was lying quietly at anchor off Can- 
 ton, she was boarded by a Chinese officer and a party 
 of soldiers, who, notwithstanding the remonstrances of 
 the master (an Englishman), seized twelve of her crew, 
 bound and carried them away, and hauled down the 
 union-jack Instantly the outrage was brought to 
 the notice of Yeh, the Imperial Commissioner, by her 
 Majesty's consul, Mr Parkes, who required that the 
 twelve men should be returned by the same officer who 
 had carried them off that an apology should bo made 
 and, further, that an assurance should be given that 
 the British flag would in future be respected. After 
 much higgling, the twelve prisoners were sent back ; 
 but not in the public manner demanded, and all appear- 
 ance of an apology was pointedly evaded. The next step 
 was to seize an imperial junk ; but Yeh gave no sign 
 of yielding. The two steam-frigates were ordered to 
 Canton, to lie off the Factory; still without any re- 
 sult. And, at last, it was resolved both as a display 
 of power without the sacrifice of life, and as a proof of 
 our determination to enforce redress to seize the 
 defences of the city of Canton, "experience of the 
 Chinese character (as the Admiral remarked justly in 
 his despatch) having proved that moderation is con- 
 sidered by the officials only as an evidence of weakness." 
 
 Accordingly, the whole force proceeded towards the 
 city, capturing, on their way, several forts, including 
 one (Macao Fort) which we shall revisit in the sequel, 
 K
 
 146 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 and described by the Admiral as " a very strong posi- 
 tion on an island in the middle of the river, and 
 mounting eighty-six guns." The Viceroy obstinately 
 refusing reparation, a body of marines was landed to 
 protect the Factory; the Dutch Folly a fort with 
 fifty guns, on a small island opposite the city was 
 taken ; and another body of troops occupied the streets 
 in the rear of the town. 
 
 Once more an appeal was made to the Governor, 
 now with the additional demand that all foreigners 
 should have the same free access to the native autho- 
 rities and to the city as was enjoyed under treaty at 
 the other four ports. Yeh replied by issuing, under 
 his own seal, and by publicly placarding, a proclama- 
 tion offering a reward of thirty dollars for the head of 
 every Englishman. At the same time, nearly all the 
 Chinese servants quitted the Factory. And nothing 
 remained for our forces but a bombardment of the 
 town. 
 
 Within the old city, surrounded by a high wall, was 
 a large space of ground called the Yamun (or High 
 Commissioner's Compound), and containing his Excel- 
 lency's residence. Upon this a fire was opened, and 
 steadily kept up from mid-day till sunset, another 
 vessel shelling the native troops on the hills behind 
 Gough's Fort in the rear of the city. 
 
 The inhabitants in the vicinity had been warned by 
 our Admiral to remove their persons and their pro- 
 perty ; and during the whole of the succeeding night, 
 they were busily engaged in this operation. The
 
 MOUNTING THE BEEACH. 147 
 
 object now was to open a clear passage to the city- 
 wall ; and all the next day two 32-pounder guns, re- 
 moved for the purpose from the Encounter to the 
 Dutch Folly, maintained a raking fire, till at length, 
 towards evening, partly through the aid of the confla- 
 gration of a large mass of houses in the line of attack, 
 the wall opened to their view. 
 
 That night, amidst the stillness, an officer sallied 
 forth from the flag-ship to reconnoitre. The Chinese 
 were prowling about in every direction ; but the 
 stranger, with his life in his hand, quietly surveyed the 
 position, and returned at daybreak to report "the 
 practicability of a breach." It was Commander Bate, 
 who had been placed on the books of the flag-ship 
 until the Actseon should arrive from England. 
 
 In the course of the morning, a storming party was 
 formed ; and Bate volunteered to lead it in person. 
 In the interval, as he stood on the bridge of H.M.S. 
 Barracouta, surveying the position and placing the 
 ships, a grape-shot smashed his glass and slightly 
 wounded his hand. But, nothing daunted, he put 
 himself at the head of the attacking party mounted 
 the breach seized a Chinaman's flag waved it with 
 a cheer and in a few moments the whole party was 
 on the parapet in possession of the wall The parapet 
 bristled with loaded guns ; but the " braves " fled the 
 gate was blown to pieces by a couple of charges of 
 gunpowder the main body of the assailants entered 
 and the day was ended by a visit of inspection by the 
 Admiral to "the house and premises of the High
 
 148 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, B.N. 
 
 Commissioner," the whole force retiring at sunset, and 
 the object of the assault, which was to convince Yeh 
 that they had power to enter the city, having been 
 fully accomplished. 
 
 "The way," writes the Admiral in his official de- 
 spatch, "was most gallantly shewn by Commander 
 Bate, whom I observed alone waving an ensign on the 
 top of the breach." 
 
 The Colonial Chaplain of Hong-Kong, the Eev. J. 
 Irwin, referring to the same scene, writes : " I went 
 up to Canton at the time of the first bombardment of 
 the city and of the entrance into the Yamun. All had 
 done their duty gallantly ; but Captain Bate was 
 singled out as most conspicuous for his coolness and 
 bravery. One officer said to me, 'The sight left my 
 eyes, when I saw Captain Bate standing alone on the 
 breach amidst a shower of balls and a cloud of dust.' 
 The only other officer or man who came up for some 
 time was Mr Johnson, late Master of the Bittern. It 
 v,-as not rashness which placed him in this exposed 
 situation; but he knew the locality better than the 
 other officers, and so got the start of them." And Mr 
 Irwin adds : " His great coolness and self-possession 
 in danger were frequently remarked. From his won- 
 derful escapes, both on this occasion, and in leading 
 the Barracouta when the spy-glass which he held in 
 his hand was shattered by a grape-shot, it was said, 
 ' The bullet was not cast which would kill Bate.' " 
 
 And another friend, also then resident in China, 
 writes, in allusion to this occasion, thus : " Our be-
 
 SIGNAL BliAVEKY. 149 
 
 loved Captain Bate's Christian graces now shone 
 brighter and brighter, and proved to the world that the 
 best men are indeed the bravest. He never flinched 
 in any moment of danger ; for he knew upon whom 
 his hope was set, and dreaded not any evil" 
 
 Still Yeh did not yield. "The city of Canton," 
 wrote the Admiral to him, "is at my mercy. You 
 have it in your power to terminate a state of affairs 
 so likely to lead to the most serious calamities. The 
 deliberation with which I have so far proceeded must 
 have satisfied you of my reluctance to visit the conse- 
 quences of your acts upon the inhabitants of Canton. 
 But should you persist in your present policy, you will 
 be responsible for the result, and will learn, when too 
 late, that we have the power to execute what we un- 
 dertake." The only rejoinder was an offensive evasion, 
 charging the "barbarians" with the blame of the 
 rupture, and carefully avoiding the subject of their 
 demands. 
 
 The fire was re-opened from a 68-pounder mounted 
 in the Dutch Folly, being principally directed at a 
 fortification crowning a hill in the rear of the city, 
 hitherto considered impregnable ; and, although at 
 extreme range, several shells burst within the works, 
 "the effects of which," says the Admiral, "must have un- 
 deceived the authorities as to their supposed security 
 in that position/' Another day, a fleet of three- and- 
 twenty war-junks, collected under the guns of the 
 French Folly, were attacked and demolished, Bate 
 with his accustomed skill and bravery leading the ships
 
 1 50 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 through the narrow channel in the face of a battery of 
 one hundred and fifty guns. The fort itself was taken, 
 after " an animated fire sustained by the Chinese with 
 great spirit for at least thirty-five minutes/' 
 
 The next step was to take possession of the Bogue 
 Forts. The Admiral sent a summons to the chief 
 mandarin to deliver them up "until the Viceroy's 
 conduct could be submitted to the Emperor." " No," 
 replied the mandarin, on the expiry of an hour, "I 
 cannot : I should lose my head ; and I must therefore 
 fight." The forts were fully manned, having upwards 
 of two hundred mounted guns ; and the troops stood 
 to them for an hour, till the enemy entered the em- 
 brasures. At that moment, the mandarins made their 
 escape in boats waiting to receive them, their unfor- 
 tunate followers rushing into the water until they were 
 assured of their safety by the efforts made to save 
 them. 
 
 A few days later, the capture of another series of 
 forts, "on the opposite side of the Bogue entrance, 
 and mounting two hundred and ten guns," completed 
 the operations. And the command of the river was 
 now in the " barbarians' " hands. 
 
 Might not the population of the city (it was thought) 
 begin to feel the inconvenience of such an occupation 
 of their Eiver, and coerce the Governor into submis- 
 sion? 
 
 The Admiral had mistaken his man. A week or two 
 passed ; and Yeh issued another proclamation. " Since 
 I have taken charge of my office," said he, addressing
 
 YEH FUKTHER HOSTILITIES. 151 
 
 the soldiers and people, "you have looked upon me as 
 your father, and I have looked upon you as my children. 
 Four years ago, the rebels arose in several hundreds of 
 thousands, and you ventured with united strength to 
 resist them, which was very meritorious, not leaving 
 a fragment of their remains. Now they have again 
 raised disturbances, attacking our heavenly dynasty, 
 destroying forts, burning the ships, and making war 
 on the city. The anxiety on this account has entered 
 into my very bones and marrow ; and your united 
 wrath, too, has been aroused. Now I have received 
 the Imperial commands ' firmly to hold and resolutely 
 to fight and maintain the war from the public Treasury 
 to blockade the river and sea and to sweep out 
 every fragment.' " 
 
 It was determined to await the arrival of reinforce- 
 ments from England. 
 
 Meanwhile, a secret project was on foot, to burn all 
 the foreign factories. At last, one night, in the middle 
 of December, a conflagration burst forth simultaneously 
 at different points, aided by combustibles, fire-balls, 
 and rockets, thrown from the suburbs. The fire com- 
 menced an hour before midnight ; and, in spite of 
 every effort to arrest it, it raged till every house was 
 destroyed, except one, which was forthwith gutted by 
 the Chinese. The boat-house and church, being de- 
 tached from the factories, were untouched, and became 
 the quarters of our force on shore. 
 
 In that " retreat " we shall have another glimpse of 
 Bate, and of the movements of his inner life.
 
 152 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 We conclude the chapter with an incident of this 
 period, illustrative of that singular tenderness of heart 
 which, brave as he was in action and firm in duty, he 
 never failed to manifest. 
 
 It was after the cannonade of the Bogue Forts. The 
 batteries had been silenced, and he was landing with 
 a party to seize the place. As they proceeded, he 
 halted for a moment, and charged them " not on any 
 account to fire on the flying Chinese after they had 
 evacuated the fort." Scarcely, however, had they 
 entered, when one of our fellows fired ; and the ball 
 took effect on the face of a Chinaman, carrying off 
 the nose and front part of the face. " I never," said 
 he to a friend afterwards, "saw such a sight, as the 
 poor creature stretched out his arms in an imploring 
 attitude." "He assisted himself," writes the same 
 friend, " to convey him for surgical assistance ; but he 
 was soon beyond the reach of human aid. 'I was 
 strongly tempted/ he added, 'to cut down the fellow 
 who thus wantonly took away life.' "
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 " Can there be solitude, my God, with Thee so near? 
 Can I, in Thy glad presence, know distress or fear ? 
 In joy or woe, in life or death, my prayer shall be, 
 My Shelter, Shepherd, King ! I would be found in Thee." 
 
 BEFOEE joining him for a moment in the " organ- 
 loft/' we obtain some secret glimpses of him during 
 the events of the preceding weeks. These will now be 
 understood in the light of the narrative recorded in the 
 preceding chapter. 
 
 On November 14, writing from the " British Con- 
 sulate, Canton," to a young friend at Hong-Kong, he 
 says : " When I returned, very late last night, with 
 the Admiral from the taking of the Bogue Forts, my 
 sleepy head was wound-up by reading your nice chatty 
 letter. It was such a pleasure to get it ; for I had had 
 no news of any kind since Monday last, the day we 
 sailed to take the forts. It is quite true that I had my 
 glass cut in two and bent double by a shot whilst on 
 the bridge of the Barracouta. I also received a slight 
 contusion of the arm at the same time. Thank God, 
 those poor missionaries are safe ! How is Mr Y ?
 
 154; MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 You tell me, by the last report, he was still living. I 
 have a flag for you, one of my ' trophies of war/ so I 
 hope you will value it. I wish this affair was over ; I 
 am sick and tired of taking forts, and seeing poor 
 wretched Chinamen knocked over. We are very happy 
 up here. The Chinese threaten us with an attack 
 every night ; and yesterday, in broad daylight, they 
 tried to blow up the Niger." 
 
 Another day, he writes: "Yesterday morning, we 
 had a smart brush with some war-junks and a fort. I 
 was on board the Barracouta, and never felt the shot 
 flying about my ears so plentifully before. The Chinese 
 made an effort last night to set fire to the ships, but, 
 of course, failed. Poor creatures ! I wish they would 
 give in." 
 
 And again : " I am just off to sink a large junk at 
 the entrance of a creek, from which they have been 
 annoying us with fire-rafts or gun-boats." 
 
 One day he was visited by a friend from Hong- 
 Kong, the Colonial Chaplain, who writes : " When I 
 saw him at Canton, he was just about to go down to 
 Whampoa to attend the funeral of the marines who 
 had fallen. All of them, I think, belonged to the 
 Bittern, He was in tears, and said, ' It makes me sad 
 to think that the loss has fallen on my poor fellows/ " 
 
 Himself alluding to this on the following day, he 
 says : " I went off to Whampoa yesterday to bury my 
 poor gallant Bitterns, almost the only men who fell at 
 the assault. Poor fellows ! ! after four years and a 
 half's hard service, too !"
 
 GLIMPSES CORRESPONDENCE. 155 
 
 In the same letter, referring to a child of the family, 
 he playfully adds : " ' Whip ' Addie for me. Tell your 
 aunt I will try and get a Tartar whip for her out of 
 the Imperial Commissioner's house, instead of an Eng- 
 lish one which I promised her." 
 
 Some days later, he again writes from the " Con- 
 sulate : " " When I have five minutes to spare, I must 
 take advantage of it to answer your welcome letter. 
 On Thursday, we took the French Folly, with the 
 loss, thank God, of only one killed, and two or three 
 wounded. Some little casualties, however, occurred 
 afterwards, whilst blowing up and demolishing the 
 
 batteries. Tell I have a nice little matchlock 
 
 for him, which I will send down the first good oppor- 
 tunity. I have also a rocket-arrow for him, as a speci- 
 men of a Chinese lethal weapon. The affair was very 
 well done. The fort was in our possession at 7.15 A.M., 
 and about noon it was no more. 
 
 " Poor Captain Cowper's accident," he continues, in 
 the same letter, " was most melancholy ! was it not ? 
 It occurred the day before we took the fort. Poor 
 fellow ! he was all ready to embark the following 
 morning with implements to blow up the French 
 Folly. I pray God it may be sanctified to us all up 
 here ; and may we remember, that in the midst of life 
 we are in death ! 
 
 " In the French Folly," he proceeds, " we found a 
 proclamation offering one hundred dollars for our 
 heads, and something higher if taken alive. A reality 
 has been given, I am sorry to say, to these proclama-
 
 156 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E,N. 
 
 tions by the murder of two of our men, who foolishly 
 went into a village opposite Macao Fort, for the pur- 
 pose of getting some vegetables. The rascals managed 
 to get the head of the marine ; the blue-jacket took to 
 the water, and was drowned. The Barracouta floated 
 down this morning, and is now burning the village." 
 
 And he adds : " I am glad you achieved the trip to 
 the top of Victoria Peak. I would give anything for 
 a stretch up there. We get plenty of exercise here, 
 but not exactly of the right kind. The weather is 
 getting severe, and I must attribute this wretched 
 scrawl to desperately cold fingers ; I can hardly feel 
 my pen. I hope to be at Hong-Kong shortly; I want 
 to come down to see iny gallant Bitterns off in the 
 Winchester. We have now ' quiet nights in the 
 trenches/ The Chinese keep us alive now and then 
 by throwing rockets, and firing a gingall occasion- 
 ally." 
 
 We now follow him to the " organ-loft." Writing 
 to a friend in England, December 27, he says : " The 
 night the last mail started (this day fortnight), the 
 Chinese burned us out of house and home, the only 
 buildings not destroyed by their fire being the church 
 and boat-house. All hands are living the best way 
 they can. The Consul and I have taken up our quar- 
 ters in the organ-loft of the church. The Admiral and 
 suite are on board the Niger, so terribly crammed, that 
 the captains have to sleep under a kind of canvas 
 hurricane-house fitted up on deck ; and the marines, 
 small-arm men, and a company of the 59th Regiment,
 
 " OEGAN-LOFT " PEIVATIONS. 1 57 
 
 rough it out in the club-house, and under tents in the 
 garden. We have entrenched ourselves just in the 
 rear of the ruins of the factories, by throwing a line 
 of defence across the centre of the gardens, taking in 
 the church. "We expect an attack to-night. God bless 
 and watch over you all ! 
 
 "P.S. My old favourite Bible was burned, with 
 several other books, when the Factories were destroyed. 
 You must send me out one." 
 
 Two days later, he again writes to his friend at 
 Hong-Kong, still dating from the " Organ-loft, in the 
 Church at Canton :" "I am quite alarmed to see the 
 date of your welcome letter. Since the receipt of it, 
 however, I have not been particularly well. I hurt 
 my back jumping across a ditch once ; and the cold 
 getting at it whilst sleeping in the open air all night 
 so completely floored me, that I was obliged to go for 
 a cruise in the Barracouta. It is not all right yet : 
 and I have a splitting headache into the bargain. I 
 have been very busy," he adds, " making a plan of our 
 position for the Admiral, to send home by this bi- 
 monthly. We were all on the tiptoe of expectation 
 last nit- lit for an attack I wish I had a Victoria Peak 
 about twice its height to run up every morning 
 before breakfast. We are regularly imprisoned in this 
 place ; exercise is out of the question. The rats are 
 very plentiful in the organ-loft here at night ; and the 
 cold wind howls through the church with the most 
 dismal tone. I hope you all spent a merry Christmas ; 
 mine was not much so, as I was laid up with my back"
 
 158 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 During the occupation of the mainland, he regularly 
 conducted the worship of the troops. And, with 
 
 "A heart at leisure from itself," 
 
 he found moments to spare even for distant sufferers. 
 
 " My love to yourself and to dear ," he wrote, at 
 
 the close of the year, to a bereaved friend in England ; 
 "I wish you both, with all sincerity, the choicest of 
 God's blessings on the coming year. All for the best, 
 
 dear . It is a great change. A few years more, 
 
 and it will appear as a tale that is told ; and the chas- 
 tisement will be seen, more strikingly than now, in all 
 its merciful bearings, for God has a reason in thus 
 dealing with you." 
 
 Before another year expired, he was himself to be 
 with his Lord ; and it seemed as if already he was 
 breathing the air of the land of Beulah. 
 
 " The harbingers are come. See, see their mark ! " 
 
 At the close of the letter just quoted, he adds : 
 "May the Lord direct me in all things!" Day by 
 day, he leaned more simply and confidingly on HIM. 
 Like the Hebrew warrior in one of his hours of soli- 
 tariness, he could say " God, Thou art my God ; 
 early will I seek Thee : my soul thirsteth for Thee, my 
 flesh longeth for Thee, in a dry and thirsty land where 
 no water is ; to see Thy power and Thy glory." And, 
 like another lowly saint, also deeply tried, but through 
 grace " more than conqueror : " 
 
 " I love my God ; but with no love of mine, 
 For I have none to give :
 
 WINNING ATTRACTIVENESS. 159 
 
 I love thee, Lord ; but all the love is Thine, 
 For by Thy love I live." 
 
 And a new attractiveness seemed to gather on him, 
 in the eyes of all his fellows. Some Christians there 
 are, so uncouth, so perverse, so angular, that, the longer 
 you know them, " the more arduous it is to love them." 
 How Bate unconsciously drew other hearts to him, we 
 may gather from the words of a brother-officer who was 
 constantly with him in those closing months. " Thrice 
 happy," says he, " those who belonged to him I I count 
 it all honour, and am proud to feel, that I was in any 
 way so nearly attached to him. I knew, by intimate 
 intercourse in public and in private, the nobility of 
 that mind, in which an unworthy thought or motive of 
 action never dwelt. He faithfully reproved, when ife 
 was needed ; but he was the truest and stanchest of 
 friends. And I loved him with all my heart. The 
 good officer ; the thorough seaman ; the perfect gentle- 
 man ; the Christian ; zealous in his profession ; devoted 
 to his country ; worthiest in the social circle ; the faith- 
 ful and consistent disciple of his Saviour, whose light 
 so shone before men, that men saw his good works, and 
 glorified God in him ! But the idiosyncrasy of his nature 
 that peculiar characteristic which so distinguished 
 him from, and placed him above, his fellows was the 
 breadth and enlargement of his mind, which could not 
 harbour a little thought in his own breast, nor be con- 
 tent to let one rest in the breast of another. And, 
 doubtless, it was that charity," he adds, " which suf- 
 fereth long and is kind, which vaunteth not itself,
 
 160 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh 
 no evil, beareth all things, hopeth all things, believeth 
 all things, endureth all things that greatest of virtues, 
 charity, which guided all his actions. God give me 
 grace and ability to follow in his steps, if haply I may 
 find a place near him before the throne 1"
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 " King of glory, King of peace, 
 
 I will love Thee : 
 
 And, that love may never cease, 
 
 I will move Thee. 
 
 "Seven whole days, not one in seven, 
 
 I will praise Thee : 
 In my heart, though not in heaven, 
 I can raise Thee." 
 
 WE now enter on Bate's closing year ; and it found 
 him in his wonted pathway of self-denying duty. 
 
 " Ye are told of God's deep love : they that believe will love Hun : 
 They that love Him will obey : and obedience hath its blessing." 
 
 Such was, more and more, the spring of Bate's daily 
 life ; and it made him happy and contented even in 
 the hardest service. An example at once of his manly 
 energy and of his generous self-sacrifice we are now to 
 record. 
 
 The conflagration of the Factories had inspired the 
 
 Chinese with fresh courage ; and the decision of the 
 
 Admiral to postpone all active measures of reprisal till 
 
 the arrival of reinforcements from home had been con- 
 
 L
 
 162 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 strued into a proof of weakness and of fear. Accord- 
 ingly, one night, a small postal steamer had been 
 attacked betwixt Canton and the Bogue Forts by a 
 large fleet of " Mandarin junks ; " the pilot and one of 
 the crew had been killed, and two others wounded ; a 
 lorcha which she was towing, laden with a rich cargo 
 from the Canton warehouses, had been captured ; and 
 the steamer itself had narrowly escaped the same fate. 
 Some days later, another postal steamer, while on her 
 way from Canton, had been cut off by a party of natives, 
 who were on board as passengers for Hong-Kong, but 
 who proved to be emissaries of the Chinese Govern- 
 ment, hired to perform the tragedy ; all on board had 
 been murdered, with the exception of some native pas- 
 sengers ; and the vessel itself had then been run ashore 
 and burnt. At Hong-Kong, too, a diabolical scheme 
 had been concocted, to poison the foreign community 
 by mixing their bread with arsenic, and had been de- 
 feated only by the largeness of the quantity of the 
 poison, which immediately betrayed its presence. At- 
 tempts, moreover, of the most daring kind had been 
 made, almost nightly, to blow up and burn our men-of- 
 war. In short, it seemed as if Yeh's threat to " expel 
 the barbarian " was about to be carried into successful 
 execution. And so difficult a task did it appear for 
 our force to maintain its position, that the Admiral, 
 after burning the western suburbs of the city, at length 
 had proposed to withdraw from the river. 
 
 A council of war was assembled ; and there seemed no 
 alternative but to retire. Bate was there; and, feeling
 
 MACAO FORT OFFER TO HOLD IT. 163 
 
 strongly how unwise it would be to give the Chinese 
 even the semblance of a victory, he volunteered to 
 fortify and to hold the Macao Fort, at whatever per- 
 sonal risk and discomfort. The offer was accepted; 
 and, whilst the Garden was evacuated, and the church 
 and boat-house were immediately burnt by the Chinese, 
 he received from the Admiral a force of three hundred 
 men, and proceeded to the fort, resolved to keep open 
 the river, despite any efforts of the Chinese to block 
 it up. 
 
 The task was one demanding not a little both of 
 energy and of patient endurance. A few days previous, 
 whilst the Admiral still lay off Canton with several 
 ships-of-war, an attempt had been made of the most 
 resolute kind to gain possession of the fort. Towards 
 midnight, and at " a dead low neap tide," when none 
 of our vessels could encounter the " passage " so as to 
 render any effective help, a large squadron of war-junks 
 had suddenly approached below the battery ; and so 
 well planned was the attack, that, not until the flag- 
 ship had been obliged to stand for some hours on the 
 defensive, and the rise of the tide had warned the 
 Chinese that they must retire into the shallows to avoid 
 our fire, had the little garrison been relieved. But Bate 
 was not daunted ; and, therefore, though the with- 
 drawal of the force from Canton left the fort "the 
 advanced position," he boldly set his face to the enter- 
 prise, and, with a band of three hundred men, took up 
 his post on the little island. 
 
 Our first glimpse of him in this " Patmos " is in a
 
 164 MEMOIB OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 letter to a friend in England, dated "February 12, 
 1857." "I am sure," says he, "you have heard all 
 that is of interest concerning our movements in this 
 quarter. Since we have been compelled to retire from 
 immediately before Canton for want of an adequate 
 force to attack and to keep open our exclusive line of 
 river-communication, I have had the honour of com- 
 manding this our advanced and most important posi- 
 tion. It is not a very luxurious one ; for, besides being 
 at times hard up for something to eat and drink, we 
 are annoyed nearly every night watching, and in some 
 instances repelling, the attacks which the Chinese make 
 on the fort. You will hardly believe it when I tell 
 you, that for four months I have not taken off my 
 clothes to turn into bed ; and the luxury of a pair of 
 sheets is almost beyond my recollection." 
 
 The day following, he gives to the wife of the Con- 
 sul some interesting details of his fort-life, thus : 
 " Macao Fort, or, Advanced Position before Canton, 
 February 13, 1857. My dear Mrs Parkes, I would 
 rather you charged me with being a great bore in in- 
 flicting another of my wretched scrawls upon you, than 
 with that of ingratitude in neglecting to give you my 
 warmest thanks for all your kindness. The Barra- 
 couta's arrival last Saturday night was most acceptable 
 to our famishing garrison, and the comforts you kindly 
 forwarded by her most truly so to myself. When 
 writing for a few needles, I did not expect such a nice 
 useful little housewife as that you made me. Sunday 
 was the first day we had tasted meat for a long time ;
 
 LIFE IN THE FOET. 165 
 
 and, although you know I do not care very much what 
 I get in the eating line, I enjoyed the delicious mutton 
 you sent me on that day most heartily, and drank both 
 your good healths, to myself, after it. The Siamese 
 coffee, of which Captain Holland and myself enjoy a 
 cup every morning, is excellent. I like you to tell me 
 that our position here must be maintained ; and you 
 may depend upon it, with God's help, the command 
 shall be obeyed. I complain that it is so seldom you 
 see ladies interest themselves in these matters, involving 
 as they do the happiness or the misery of a large por- 
 tion of their fellow-creatures, that, when I do find one, 
 it always gives me good heart. I send you a rough 
 sketch of the interior of the ' Governor's ' quarters, with 
 references. I don't know whether you have my taste 
 for these kind of sketches. We are all very happy up 
 here, all sorts of sky-larking going on in the evening ; 
 and generally at nine or ten o'clock the Chinese excite 
 a little interest by firing gingalls at us. Sometimes 
 we deign to reply with a ten-inch shell from one of the 
 mortars ; but this, as a general rule, is too expensive, 
 and so we deal with them with Minie rifles only. The 
 59th, with the exception of thirty-five men and an 
 officer (a volunteer to remain), return to protect you, 
 as I find we can do with a less garrison. I wish you 
 would come up and inspect our 'posts.' Do you re- 
 collect going the rounds one night at the Factories ? 
 Our mess is most absurd ! an Irish officer of the 59th 
 kindly undertakes to look after it. Since the Barra- 
 couta's arrival, the table has been groaning with viands,
 
 ] 66 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 morning, noon, and night ; no economy ; and probably 
 in a day or two we shall be half starved again. In the 
 absence of a good will to climb, a game of quoits is 
 our favourite amusement ; also jumping, leap-frog, &c. 
 
 " We are now/' he continues, " very busy throwing 
 up an outwork, to receive another long 32-pounder. 
 We shall, when it is finished, have three in position, 
 besides two howitzers (1 2-pounders), all looking to- 
 wards Canton. You know we are now left entirely 
 to ourselves no ship near us which is an excellent 
 thing, not only because it makes us keep a sharper 
 look-out, but because it frees another vessel to attack 
 these rascals lounging about the creeks on the river, 
 and lessens the chance of their blocking us in which 
 causes much anxiety to our good old chief. When we 
 were demolishing the church furniture the night before 
 leaving the Factory-gardens, for the double purpose of 
 feeding our watch-fires, and of not allowing it to fall 
 into the hands of the Chinese, I saved the velvet off 
 the pulpit for you, thinking you would like some relic 
 of the place. I hope you have looked at my glass ? 
 Is it not a monument of God's mercy ? " 
 
 And he adds : " I must tell you, that I have estab- 
 lished prayers every morning in the fort. Poor 
 fellows ! many of them know not God, and, I fear, 
 care very little about religion ; but, as God has pro- 
 mised that His Word shall not return to Him void, 
 who knows but that a great blessing may be the result? 
 I pray the Lord may take you under His special pro- 
 tection."
 
 PROSPECTS. 167 
 
 To the Consul be wrote by the same mail : " Our 
 dear Admiral was here for a long time yesterday. He 
 told me of the Government having approved of your 
 proceedings up to the 15th October. This I never for 
 a moment doubted ; and now they must and will ap- 
 prove all that has followed. Taking a retrospective 
 view of everything, I see nothing to regret: no one 
 step would I undo ; and I congratulate you, my good 
 fellow, on the prominent part you have taken through- 
 out. We have everything to be thankful for, and much 
 to encourage us to future exertion. Mr Yeh's nose 
 will be brought to the grindstone yet. He perhaps is 
 not aware what a big rod there is in pickle for him ; 
 and I would not mind giving the first dozen with 
 it. The Admiral was much pleased with the attrac- 
 tions, &c., of the fort. I told him we were quite capable 
 of taking care of ourselves, and wanted no ship near 
 us. So Encounter is released, and another steamer 
 is available to operate on the river and keep open our 
 communications. There is no doubt, with God's help, 
 we will hold on now till reinforcements arrive. We 
 are very busy extending the earth-work of our 32- 
 pounder (56 cwt.) one gun battery, to receive another of 
 similar calibre on a traversing carriage, both pointing 
 ' forward,' i.e., to Canton. When this is finished, my 
 heart will rejoice. I heard of the Imperial rescript ; 
 what childish rubbish, to be sure ! 
 
 " On Saturday last," he proceeds, in the same letter, 
 " I sent Captain Boyle with one hundred marines on a 
 reconnoitring expedition. He fell in with the enemy,
 
 168 MEMOIE OP CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 and, after a little skirmishing with them, brought his 
 men off without a casualty. Wherever you go now, 
 you are sure to fall in with some soldiers. They en- 
 tertained us last night by firing a few gingall shot into 
 the fort from the eastern side of the river, from the 
 village where the marine was murdered ; and, a few 
 days ago, they made a most ridiculous attack upon 
 the fort, I suppose from the hillock immediately over 
 it. We condescended to give them a few 6-pounder 
 shot in return for their noble exertions. The rascals 
 attacked the fort again last night, firing several gingall 
 shot at us. I wanted to try our ten-inch mortar, and 
 availed myself of the opportunity thus afforded. A 
 shell went through the roof of one of the houses, and 
 burst inside, the crash of which we heard distinctly. 
 After this, we turned in quietly for the night. I re- 
 gard these attacks, if they are worthy of being digni- 
 fied by the name, as the greatest possible benefit to the 
 fort. It not only improves the men in their exercise, 
 but it points out our deficiencies/' 
 
 A week or two later, he writes to another friend, 
 thus : " We seldom get a night's rest, from the Chinese 
 attacking us so frequently. From nine P.M. to half- 
 past eleven, they are pretty sure to open fire on the 
 fort from positions on either side of the river, taken up 
 sometimes inland, at other times in row-boats at various 
 distances, where our guns cannot tell with effect, for 
 no country affords better shelter or greater facilities for 
 carrying on operations against a fort situate as this is, 
 than that immediately around us. Thanks, however,
 
 MACAO FORT INCIDENTS. 169 
 
 to a merciful Providence and to good mud-walls, they 
 have only succeeded in killing three of our men as yet; 
 and as for capturing the fort, I will, with God's help 
 (the italics are Captain Bate's), hold it against all China. 
 The Chinese are a most contemptible enemy, as long 
 only as we are active ; but immediately we cease, they 
 commence with their mode of warfare, which is illus- 
 trated in their burning of the Factories, in the 'Queen' 
 and ' Thistle ' tragedies, in the atrocious poisoning case, 
 and in their recent acts of assassination and of cutting 
 off unarmed parties ; besides burning and blowing up 
 all they can get at. In fact, it is a subtle enemy we 
 have to deal with an enemy whose cowardice in the 
 field is only equalled by the abominable atrocities they 
 commit out of it. We are anxiously waiting for rein- 
 forcements, to enable us to advance against Canton. 
 Delays are dangerous. We must attack in good earnest, 
 less as a measure of retaliation than of defence ; for if 
 we do not attack them, they will attack us. I have 
 rather a heterogeneous kind of garrison under my com- 
 mand, consisting of sailors, marines, and part of the 
 59th Kegiment, making a total of about three hundred 
 men. It is the advanced position ; and having no 
 ships to support us, we are liable to be assailed on all 
 sides." 
 
 To his friend Captain Collinson, R.N., he communi- 
 cates certain authentic details respecting the resolution 
 to occupy the fort, which reveal some characteristic 
 features of the man : " Advanced Position before 
 Canton, Macao Fort, March 6, 1857. My dear Col-
 
 170 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 linson, Very many thanks for your letter of the 2d 
 January, and the kind congratulations from all your 
 party, especially those of your dear mother, with her 
 nice little note. I send her in return which, when 
 she has finished with it, she can hand over to the As- 
 sociation a sketch of the interior of the room in which 
 I am now writing. It is a small house, about nine 
 feet square on the battlement immediately over the 
 gateway a kind of look-out house, which you know 
 full well are always to be seen over the entrance of 
 their forts. It is rather an exposed position ; but it 
 commands a good view of what is going on, and you 
 have the advantage of being always at hand. In fact, 
 it is the best house for the Governor, although perhaps 
 the worst in the fort for comfort. I am sorry to say 
 we have been obliged to retire from before Canton 
 i. e., give up the Dutch Fort and Factory-gardens. 
 This was a measure, of course, we all regretted ; but it 
 was one of expediency, and indeed necessary, on ac- 
 count of not having a sufficient number of ships to 
 keep open our extensive line of River-communication 
 threatened, as it was, to be blocked up in four places. 
 We were also menaced in several parts of our line by 
 formidable flotillas, each division amounting to upwards 
 of one hundred junks, besides row-boats such a force 
 as we never saw in the last war : and, what was more 
 embarrassing, Hong-Kong was threatened, and the 
 community turned immediately to the Admiral for 
 naval protection. 
 
 " The Admiral, accordingly," he continues, " before
 
 ALONE IN COUNCIL OF WAE. 171 
 
 quitting the Factories, determined on a retrograde move- 
 ment as far as the Bogue Forts a measure in which 
 he received the unanimous support of the Commodore 
 and Captains (whom he admitted to his council), with 
 the exception of myself. They recommended it on the 
 grounds that it was impossible to guard so many points 
 in the river, each of which could not be left without 
 two vessels, on account of the daily increasing flotillas 
 under organisation, and that some dark night we should 
 find a portion of our squadron blocked in ; that by re- 
 tiring as far as the Bogue, all these vessels would be 
 available to hunt up the enemy, and in the event (as 
 was anticipated) of difficulties arising at our northern 
 ports, we were in a position to give them support. 
 Against this array of rank and opinion, I, a solitary 
 Commander, urged the Admiral to hold on at all haz- 
 ards, on the ground that if we once abandoned the 
 river, the Chinese would be so elated at having driven 
 the barbarians out, that the immense resources they 
 have at their command would immediately be put into 
 requisition to keep us so (and we know too well how 
 effectually they can ' block up '), that not a vessel of 
 any draught would be able to approach within fifteen 
 or twenty miles of Canton. Thus the force which the 
 Government send out to act against the city will be 
 absorbed (especially in the summer months) before 
 they get a glimpse of the walls of it. And with re- 
 spect to our worst apprehensions for the safety of our 
 Colony and Northern Ports, the very fact of our being 
 beaten here would precipitate the crisis elsewhere
 
 172 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 that, in fact, our holding on before Canton is the safest 
 guarantee for peace at the other ports. The Admiral 
 quite agreed with me; but still he was so painfully 
 anxious about the safety of his ships, and the possible 
 contingency of being blocked in before twenty-four 
 hours elapsed, that we made what would have been a 
 most undignified retreat, had we not been obliged to 
 stop at this fort to embark the garrison, &c. I was 
 living on board the Niger with the Admiral ; and at 
 breakfast (while the boats were on shore getting the 
 guns off, and Cochrane had just sent a message to say 
 that everything would be off and the fort vacated by ten 
 that morning) the Admiral put the oft-repeated ques- 
 tion to me, knowing that I differed from all the others 
 ' What do you think ?' I replied that I was still of 
 the same opinion, and that I would only be too happy 
 to hold the fort till reinforcements arrived from Eng- 
 land. Fowler, the Flag-lieutenant, who supported my 
 counsel from first to last, urged him to adopt it 'at 
 all events,' he said, ' till you hear again, sir, from 
 Hong-Kong.' Happily, at this juncture, the Barra- 
 couta was reported from Hong-Kong. The Admiral 
 immediately countermanded the order to evacuate 
 much to poor Cochrane's disgust, who had been all the 
 morning hard at work getting the guns, &c., down to 
 the boats threw in a garrison of three hundred men, 
 and honoured me with the command ; and here he has 
 kept me ever since." 
 
 And he proceeds: "Hong-Kong is flourishing. The 
 river, and ships guarding it, are intact. Our northern
 
 A EETEOSPECT. 173 
 
 ports are in a state of perfect quiescence. Reinforce- 
 ments have begun to arrive ; and the General Com- 
 manding-in-chief has only to come to Macao Fort, and 
 he is within half-an-hour's pull of the city of Canton. 
 This may appear to you a little egotistical ; but it is a 
 plain statement of facts, and that is why I have told 
 you. Now, do, pray, let me know whether you think 
 my advice was good. I can assure you I felt a deep 
 responsibility in giving it, standing alone against the 
 opinions of all the other Captains, and at a time when 
 affairs, I must confess, looked anything but prosperous. 
 Being left now entirely to ourselves, my attention has 
 been occupied in strengthening the defences of the fort. 
 We mount seven 56-cwt. long 32-pounders, besides 
 howitzers and field-pieces and a ten-and-an-eighth- 
 inch mortar. The Chinese are constantly firing into 
 the fort ; and for the last three nights we have been 
 kept up till midnight, replying to their fire. They 
 generally commence about nine or half-past nine, by 
 firing round-shot, gingalls, and rockets, from positions 
 taken up in the creeks or well inland on either side of 
 the river, affording good shelter from our guns. Last 
 night, they concentrated far heavier fire on the fort 
 than I have yet seen ; but, thanks to a kind Providence 
 and our good mud-walls, beyond opening a little day- 
 light into the roofs of our huts, knocking a sentinel's 
 cap off his head, slightly wounding the Captain of 
 Marines, and grazing one or two others, no damage 
 was done. I always hold our fire, in the hope of in- 
 ducing their row-boats to approach nearer ; for it is a
 
 174 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.K 
 
 hundred chances to one that you hit them, dispersed 
 over so large a tract of country, and with the shelter 
 which you know Chinese ground is so capable of afford- 
 ing. Their rockets are formidable, and very different 
 from those in use last war. These go clean through 
 the roof of a house ; and one penetrated six inches in 
 the Encounter's side. I wish you could see us in one 
 of these attacks. I can only compare it to the battles 
 in Eochester Gardens the shot whizzing about one's 
 ears. It is very exciting; and their guns make a 
 terrible noise in a calm, dark night. Sometimes they 
 commence at two in the morning ; and just at day- 
 dawn is a favourite time to fire a salvo and cut. What 
 with the practice I had on board the Bittern, and the 
 intimate acquaintance I have made with these splendid 
 56-cwt. long 32-pounders, and my attachment to the 
 ten-inch mortar, I quite look down on a theodolite. It 
 is not about angles you must talk to me now . my 
 pets are fuzees, bursters, range-boards, &c. ; and if I 
 want to soar into the more intellectual part of it, the 
 
 favourite toy is x = vLilJ-- z ; where r equals the range 
 
 in yards, and . z the amount of fuze composition con- 
 sumed in one second. In fact, the old Actseon had 
 better keep away, unless she have some 56-cwt. 9 ft. 
 6 in. 32-pounders on board. I rejoice to see she only 
 sailed on the 18th of December from Madeira ; so that 
 it will be good two months yet, I hope, before I am 
 compelled to labour for that nasty H.O. 
 
 " I saw your letter," he adds, " in the Times. It is
 
 MACAO FOKT HARASSING LABOURS. 175 
 
 shameful that another expedition is not sent out, now 
 that the limits are so clearly circumscribed. March 
 10. The Admiral came up yesterday, and inspected 
 the fort at quarters. He expressed himself so pleased, 
 and paid me the highest compliment I ever received 
 from any commander-ill chief ; thanking me, also, for 
 all I have done. This is gratifying. God bless you 
 all ; and, with much love to all your home-circle, ever, 
 my dear friend, affectionately yours, W. T. BATE." 
 
 The occupation continued to entail upon him the 
 most harassing and exhausting labours. "These 
 wretched Chinese," he writes to a friend in Hong- 
 Kong, " try to annoy us nearly every night by firing 
 gingalls at the fort. Last night, at about ten o'clock, 
 I was walking up and down the parapet, grumbling to 
 myself first about the Actseon, and then at not hearing 
 from one of the inmates of St Paul's, when whiz came 
 a gingall-ball into the bank, not half-a-dozen yards 
 from me ; and then a desultory fire was kept up for 
 about three-quarters of an hour afterwards. We did 
 condescend to take notice this time, because some of 
 their shot fell very close ; and we administered a cor- 
 rection out of an eight-inch mortar, which I imagine 
 must have had a good deal of opium in its composition, 
 as it had the effect of sending them to sleep for the re- 
 mainder of the night !" 
 
 In the same playful mood, he refers to another 
 
 matter, thus : " What makes Mr L think I am 
 
 going to be married ? Please tell him from me, there 
 is no such good fortune in store. The Admiralty take
 
 176 MEMOIE OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 care of that. No ! I am afraid I am destined to be 
 an old bachelor against my will, or, if I live to return 
 home in the Actaeon bald and gray-headed, will have 
 to put up with some young lady of forty-five, with a 
 shrivelled-up neck and long hatchet-features, who will 
 insist on appropriating a certain article of my attire, 
 and bully me most frightfully. If I could get home 
 now, tell him, whilst only half my head is gray, I might 
 stand some chance of securing peace and quietness in 
 my old age. We are quite out of the pale of civilisation 
 here, not a ship near us ; so, you must make allow- 
 ances, if you see me like a painted savage when I re- 
 turn to Hong-Kong. I must put this to one side 
 now, as I see no chance of sending it. ' Dieu vous 
 be'nisse !'" 
 
 Then, after an interval, he says : " How time has 
 slipped by ! Look at the date of this ! ! ! I might 
 have consumed no end of your good cakes all this time. 
 A report was current, some days ago, that the fort was 
 to be attacked, the truth of which we had the pleasure 
 of realising both last night and the night before. The 
 rascals commenced each night at half-past nine, by 
 firing round-shot, gingalls, and rockets, from positions 
 taken up either in the creeks or well inland on either 
 side of the river, affording good shelter from our guns. 
 Last night, they concentrated a heavier fire on the fort 
 than I have seen yet, and kept it up two hours and a 
 half. " Shot and rockets were whizzing about in all 
 directions : happily, however, beyond opening a little 
 daylight into the roof of a house here and there, knock-
 
 CHINESE STKATEGY. 177 
 
 ing a sentinel's cap off his head, and sending a rocket 
 so close to the Captain of Marines, that the back- 
 fire from it went down his back inside his clothes, 
 scarifying the person a little ; no particular damage was 
 done, although there were two or three very narrow 
 escapes. I always hold our fire as much as possible, 
 in the hope of bringing their row-boats closer ; besides, 
 it makes them too conceited, if we return it often. My 
 men play the game in daylight. I am satisfied now 
 that the best weapon to fight these fellows with is a 
 good broomstick. I suppose they will try it again to- 
 night. No opportunity yet of sending to Hong-Kong ; 
 so I shall put this on one side for another week or ten 
 days." 
 
 The day following, he writes : "As usual, the 
 Chinese gave us two hours' amusement last night. 
 Their shot and rockets came flying about the fort in 
 all directions ; but, most providentially, not a soul was 
 hurt. One man had a rocket through his trowsers. 
 How we all escaped so well, a gracious Providence 
 only knows. They fired uncommonly well ; every shot 
 either hit the fort, or passed in good direction right 
 over it. I can't write any more to-day." 
 
 The next morning : " No attack last night ; but 
 three shots were fired at the fort at daybreak. I had 
 half a mind to try a rat for breakfast this morning. 
 Very hungry and nothing to eat." 
 
 The Sunday passed ; and, the day after, he writes : 
 " I received your welcome letters to-day ; and truly 
 delighted was I to hear such good accounts of 
 
 M
 
 178 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 My grumbling was all turned into praise. In the for- 
 mer part of this letter I told you I did not believe you 
 had not written ; and you see I was right. I hope to be 
 able to get down soon, to be present at the christening 
 of my little god-child. As to your going home, I shall 
 believe it when I see you off in the steamer. For a 
 wonder we had 'a quiet night in the trenches' last 
 night, not even a rocket discharged at us." 
 
 During the occupation, he conducted the worship of 
 the garrison, and with great fervour and unction. 
 " The dreary months," says a friend then in China, 
 " which he passed in command of the fort a position 
 of difficulty and considerable danger he turned into 
 a time of improvement to himself and others. Instead 
 of being discontented at the many privations to which 
 he was exposed, he was always cheerful, and encourag- 
 ing those around him to be so. He instituted daily 
 prayer in the fort a blessing which, though not at 
 first appreciated, was the means of leading many to 
 think more seriously, and had a most beneficial effect. 
 Of the seed thus scattered none can tell how abundant 
 may be the harvest." 
 
 One other glimpse presents itself, and one eminently 
 characteristic. " My dearest little fellow/' he writes to 
 a youthful relative in England, " I am so pleased that 
 you have got the multiplication-table all off and at 
 your fingers' ends, and also with the very nice drawings 
 you sent me, that I have preserved the flag which I 
 captured on the walls of Canton as a present for you. 
 It shall be sent home by the first favourable oppor-
 
 MACAO FOET DAILY PEAYEE. 179 
 
 tunity. The Chinese try every night to take this fort ; 
 but I think it will be a long time before they succeed, 
 especially when we put all our strength in GOD, while 
 they put theirs in stupid wooden dolls, which can 
 neither see, hear, nor speak."
 
 CHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 "So I saw that despondency was death, and flung my burdens 
 
 from me, 
 
 And, lighten'd by that effort, I was raised above the world ; 
 Yea, in the strangeness of my vision, I seem'd to soar on wings, 
 And the names they call'd my wings were Cheerfulness and 
 Wisdom." 
 
 THAT spring a gleam of sunshine fell upon his shady 
 path. " Purity of motive," it has been said, 
 
 " And nobility of mind, shall rarely condescend 
 To prove its rights, and prate of wrongs, or evidence its worth to 
 others." 
 
 And calmly and steadily he had laboured on, not 
 moved by man's neglect. But now it seemed as if the 
 way was to be smoother and less rugged. " Most cor- 
 dially do I congratulate you, my dear Bate," wrote Mr 
 Parkes, the British Consul, alluding to the intelligence 
 of his promotion to the rank of Captain in acknowledg- 
 ment of his recent brilliant achievement in mounting 
 the breach on the walls of Canton, " on the good news 
 for yourself brought by this mail. You have got your 
 post, I am told ; and the value of it is, that it has been
 
 PROMOTION CONGRATULATIONS. 181 
 
 thoroughly deserved. I have not heard how it will 
 affect you whether the Surveying or Home is in pros- 
 pect ; but you will be guided as is best for you by One 
 who will be near you, for you seek to find Him. Sir 
 John, who has just come in, tells me to present his 
 congratulations, which, from whatever quarter they 
 may come, will, you may depend upon it, be sincere." 
 
 The Consul's congratulations were only the key- 
 note of the joy which pervaded the whole fleet. "This 
 is to certify to Captain Bate, R.N.," was the char- 
 acteristic round-robin which emanated from one little 
 knot of friends, "that his health was this day drunk 
 in Committee, and all further success wished to him 
 by his very faithful friends, THOMAS WADE, W. WOOD- 
 GATE, HAERY L. PARKES. 
 
 " P.S. Hurrah for the right man in his right place. 
 T. W." 
 
 Another friend, the captain of the flag-ship, wrote : 
 "No fellow feels more pleasure at congratulating 
 you on your promotion than (no man deserves it 
 more), yours, W. K. H." And another : " Among the 
 many congratulations you will receive, I feel sure that 
 none are more sincere than mine. The only satisfac- 
 tory intelligence received by this mail is the promotion 
 of yourself, whom we all love and respect." And one 
 other : " Let me offer my most sincere congratula- 
 tions that you are at last made Captain ; and, though 
 we all expected it, yet none the less pleasure doe% it 
 give to see your claims thus acknowledged." 
 
 Bate lived for a nobler end than to court men's
 
 182 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 praises ; his one aim was to approve himself to his 
 Master in heaven. Yet 
 
 "There is a blameless love of fame, springing from desire of 
 justice, 
 
 When a man hath featly won and fairly claim'd his honours ; 
 
 And then fame cometh as encouragement to the inward con- 
 sciousness of merit, 
 
 Gladdening by the kindliness and thanks, wherewithal his labours 
 are rewarded." 
 
 Bate was not a stoic ; and he did not pretend to be 
 indifferent either to the honour thus tardily awarded 
 to him, or to the warm sympathy which it evoked 
 from all around him. " The happy intelligence of my 
 promotion," he wrote, from the Macao Fort, "has 
 reached me by last mail. I say happy, because one 
 feels thankful to get to the top of the tree, and take 
 rest. My advancement now is certain ; for I will get 
 pushed upwards nolens volens, and no exertion on my 
 part will either facilitate or retard me getting my 
 ' Flag,' please God to spare me. And, moreover, I am, 
 so to speak, independent of the Admiralty ; no more 
 begging and hunting up interest to get forward, or 
 even to get what is justly due to you. Thank the 
 Lord for His goodness ! And I trust I should have 
 thanked Him just the same, if He had thought fit to 
 withhold it." 
 
 And, a few days later, to another friend : " I am 
 most thankful for your letter written on Christmas- 
 day, conveying as it does the assurance of the interest 
 you still take in me, and also the kind congratulations 
 of all the dear ones around you. Most warmly and
 
 WHAT MEN THOUGHT OF HIM. 183 
 
 promptly do I respond to the prayer that you may all 
 live, with God's blessing, to meet, not only next Christ- 
 mas, but for many that are to come." 
 A poet writes, 
 
 " How beautiful thy feet, and full of grace thy coming, 
 O better kind companion, that art well for either world ! 
 His eyes are ray'd with peacefulness, and wisdom waiteth on his 
 
 tongue; 
 
 Seek him out, cherish him well, walking in the halo of his in- 
 fluence : 
 For he shall be fragrance to thy soul, as a garden of sweet lilies." 
 
 Such was Bate among his fellows. "I certainly," 
 writes the Colonial Chaplain, already quoted, "never 
 knew any one who seemed to be such a general 
 favourite. All classes and all grades spoke well of 
 him. In his own profession, and amongst the mili- 
 tary, there was the same estimate. I had the pleasure 
 of knowing intimately many of all ranks in both pro- 
 fessions, and never met one who did not speak of him 
 in the very highest terms." This explains the rare cor- 
 diality with which his promotion was hailed through- 
 out the whole force. Each one felt almost as if it were 
 a personal honour to himself. We shall learn imme- 
 diately how strikingly the same feeling shewed itself 
 on an occasion greatly different. 
 
 What was the secret of this respectful affection 
 which he enjoyed ? 
 
 Bacon distinguishes two kinds of praise. " If it 
 be from the common people," he says, " it is com- 
 monly false and naught, and rather followeth vain 
 persons than virtuous ; but if persons of quality and
 
 184 MEMOIB OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 judgment concur, then it is (as the Scripture saith) 
 ' like a fragrant perfume/ it filleth all round about, 
 and will not easily away." Bate's popularity was of 
 this latter kind ; and the source of it is indicated by 
 his friend Mr Irwin thus : " This general appreciation 
 of him was, I think, owing not simply to his rare 
 merit and worth, but to his still rarer manly, open- 
 hearted character, and unaffected humility and unself- 
 ishness." 
 
 We note these things, not to glorify the man, but 
 to point other eyes to the pattern of generous self- 
 sacrifice which Bate exhibited so strikingly. Not 
 every officer is gifted with his clear head, and firm 
 hand, and eagie-eye ; but who may not aim to follow 
 him in that " strong-springed," lofty nobleness of mo- 
 tive and of aim which was graven, as with one of 
 heaven's own sunbeams, upon his every action and his 
 every word ? 
 
 Week after week, amidst many hardships and pri- 
 vations, he continued to hold the fort. " Your letters," 
 the Consul wrote to him one day, " were most truly 
 welcome ; and glad indeed were we to see that you are 
 so well able to sustain yourself, both in cheerfulness 
 and in strength, in your most trying and irksome 
 position ; and still more delighted were we to notice 
 the hope you hold out to us that you may be able to 
 obtain a short relief, and do us the great good which 
 your presence among us, though for a very short space 
 of time, would afford. I can well understand, however, 
 that you would be slow to leave in the hands of any
 
 " THE BULWAKK." 185 
 
 one the important position you hold, and which is not 
 only the bulwark I might say almost the sole one 
 of our present safety, but the key to all our future 
 operations." 
 
 And another friend wrote : " The pleasures of 
 Macao Fort must now be exhausted, and I confess my- 
 self I should prefer my ship to your berth. If you can 
 spare time to write a few lines, I should be very glad 
 to know how you all fared the night they opened such 
 a confounded fire upon you. I was then at Powder 
 Island, and could count four or five flashes a minute." 
 
 Some further glimpses he himself gives us at inter- 
 vals. Writing to Colonel Maclean, R.A., Commandant 
 at Carshalton, he says : " I was delighted to receive 
 your letter of the 8th January, and sincerely do I 
 thank you for your kind congratulations. Our dear 
 old Admiral is a fine fellow, and glad was I to be of 
 use to him in all the operations he felt it his duty to 
 undertake against this obstinate Commissioner, Mr 
 ' Yeh.' Since we were compelled to retire from imme- 
 diately before Canton, I have had the honour of com- 
 manding this our advanced and most important posi- 
 tion. I have rather a heterogeneous garrison, being 
 composed of sailors, marines, and part of H.M. 59th 
 Regiment, which at first amounted to three hundred 
 men, but now only to two hundred and thirty. The 
 Chinese taking advantage of our isolated position, 
 for we have no ships to support us, they being all em- 
 ployed in keeping open our extensive line of river- 
 communication, which the Chinese have threatened to
 
 1 86 MEMOIE OP CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 block up with stone-junks in one or two places, we 
 get attacked nearly every night. They open fire gen- 
 erally about nine o'clock, with guns in small row-boats, 
 and with gingalls and rockets, from positions taken up 
 on either side of the river in the creeks and behind the 
 bunds and ridges of land, which, as you know full well, 
 afford admirable shelter from our guns. If the night 
 be dark, the rascals send up light-balls, and illumine 
 the fort, for the row-boats to direct their fire. Pro- 
 videntially, we have only had three men hit, although 
 their fire is admirable, not a shot missing. I always 
 hold our fire, in the hope of bringing the boats out 
 from their cover, and inducing them, if possible, to 
 approach nearer ; but this they are too wide-awake to 
 do. We have now been so long inactive, that it gives 
 them great pluck ; for they put it down to this, that 
 either we are afraid, or we have not power to attack.'' 
 
 And, in the same letter, he adds : " I was greatly 
 disgusted at being appointed to the Actseon without 
 being even asked whether I liked it or not. I detest 
 the Surveying-service, and, in taking command of the 
 Bittern, was in hopes I had washed my hands clear of 
 it. However, all is for the best. I was under the 
 impression you had given up all idea of sending your 
 boy into the navy, and that you had placed his name 
 on the list for an artilleryman. You will get nothing- 
 out of P R ; but I admire his honesty in 
 
 telling you, in the straightforward way he did, that 
 he could not serve you so very different from their 
 Lordships' usual policy. I hear the Actseon is quite
 
 THE PLAXK-BED. ] 87 
 
 full. Things would have been different, had I been in 
 England when she fitted out. I should like very much 
 to have your boy with me, if you can make interest to 
 get him into the service. Fishbourne, also, wants to 
 get a nephew into the Actaeon ; but I fear there is 
 considerable difficulty in getting boys into the navy, 
 particularly as we are on the reduction-tack'' 
 
 In another letter, in anticipation of a visit to Hong- 
 Kong, he says : " If I do come, you must promise not 
 to make me keep watch; for a comfortable 'all night in' 
 between a pair of clean sheets will be quite a novelty 
 as well as a treat to me. I have not taken my clothes 
 off to go to bed since I was last at Hong-Kong, just 
 
 before the Factories were burnt. Tell I hope he 
 
 keeps his pistol in better order now, or the Chinese 
 might storm the college, in his watch, with impunity. 
 The cake you sent is particularly good in the middle of 
 the day, and much more wholesome than the dust and 
 dirt which abound in this domain of mine. I am de- 
 lighted to hear the colony is quiet ; and I trust, please 
 
 God, it will continue so. Say to and , I shall 
 
 be very glad if they will honour me with a visit at Macao 
 Fort. I can't promise them much in the shape of luxu- 
 ries. It really was very clever of little Addie. What 
 a retentive memory the child must have ! How is baby- 
 boy ? Now really I cannot write any more rubbish. 
 I must go to .* I am so sleepy; and, just as one 
 
 * Here he inserts a hieroglyphic for a bed, in the shape of a 
 transverse section of a series of planks laid in the most original 
 fashion possible, and giving the idea of the utmost discomfort. 
 For four or five months, he had no other.
 
 188 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 is going off into a slumber, probably bang will go a 
 gun, or fire will come a rocket ! My house, which is 
 nine feet square, is rather in an exposed position, being 
 situate on the top of the battlement immediately over 
 the gateway, the walls of which are one China-brick 
 thick, and quite pervious to gingalls or rockets. When 
 you come, however, I will put some sand-bags round 
 it. God bless you ! Good night." 
 
 And, to an afflicted friend in England, he writes : 
 " How mysterious are the ways of God in His dealings 
 with either nations, families, or individuals ! but may 
 you and all who are in affliction take comfort from 
 this, that a time is fast approaching when all that now 
 seems dark and mysterious to us will be clear and 
 bright ! And with what wonder and gratitude shall 
 we_look back on all the dealings of a tender Father, 
 who knew from the beginning what amount of dis- 
 cipline was necessary for us ! So that we may join 
 with the Psalmist in saying, ' Thou which hast shewed 
 me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, 
 and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the 
 earth/ and may 'forget our misery, and remember it 
 as waters pass away.' But I fear I am irritating what 
 I would fain soothe. 
 
 ' Oh for a heart magnanimous to know 
 Thy worth, poor world, and let thee go ! '" 
 
 The relative to whom these solacing words were 
 addressed, was himself quickly removed ; and to his 
 bereaved widow Bate wrote : " Your own affectionate 
 heart will tell you that I have no wish whatever to re-
 
 A WORD TO THE MOUENEE. 189 
 
 call the painful incidents of the past, or in any way to 
 be the cause of adding one pang to the anguish you 
 have all suffered : yet I cannot allow this mail to leave 
 without expressing my sincere and heartfelt sympathy 
 in the deep affliction in which it has pleased an all- 
 wise Providence to plunge you: and, although not 
 feeling the loss as intensely as yourselves, believe me, 
 the blow was, nevertheless, a very severe one ; but never 
 can / forget the fatherly care of that dear uncle whose 
 death we now so much deplore. My prayer is, dearest 
 aunt, that you have all received comfort from that one 
 source whence alone it is to be drawn even from HIM 
 who indeed was sent to bind up the broken-hearted 
 and to comfort all that mourn." 
 
 One other glimpse we have of him in the fort : 
 "We have not been able," he writes, "to take any 
 walks yet ; and now I fear I shall have to leave with- 
 out doing so, as I expect the Coromandel over every 
 hour, to drag me away from this charming place. The 
 poor Raleigh is still hard and fast ! I do hope she 
 will be got off; but it is~an herculean task/' And he 
 adds this postscript : " I am afraid Mrs Parker will 
 not allow me to take baby to the fort. Is it not a 
 great shame of her ? " 
 
 Events now occurred, which induced the Admiral to 
 abandon a position which, for the last five months, had 
 been maintained at so much hazard. And Bate, though 
 deeply regretting the step a regret which the subse- 
 quent operations amply justified quitted a spot which, 
 with all its perils and privations, had been lighted up
 
 190 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 into a bright sunshine, for himself and for others, by 
 that "godliness with contentment," which, anywhere, 
 
 " Be the pillars of felicity." 
 
 An event had illustrated that dreary season, which, 
 though little accounted of in human annals, is noted 
 by the recording angel in heaven. " One instance I 
 know" writes a friend then in China, referring to his 
 missionary efforts among the men under his command, 
 "of a soul being thus brought from darkness to light 
 to a saving knowledge of his Saviour." Memories 
 like these will live, when all others have perished. In 
 the archives of Eternity it is written, " This man was 
 born there/'
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 " Still, my Master, Thou requirest 
 
 Service here a little while ; 
 Help me, then, to work with patience, 
 Cheer me by Thy love and smile." 
 
 IT was the middle of summer, and the first reinforce- 
 ments from England had already reached the Chinese 
 waters, when all hearts were startled by the outbreak of 
 the Indian revolt. " China can wait India presses," 
 was the spontaneous decision abroad and at home : the 
 troops were ordered to Calcutta ; and Yeh was respited 
 for six months. At their close, Captain Bate was to 
 "finish his course ;" and meanwhile, 
 
 " He went zealously forward, God blessing his faith." 
 
 Scarcely had he quitted the Macao Fort, and repaired 
 to Hong-Kong for a few weeks to recruit his health, 
 which had begun to suffer from the incessant watching 
 and protracted confinement, when he was suddenly 
 summoned on a fresh errand. 
 
 In the brief interval spent at Hong-Kong, he had 
 brightened by his heaven-lit presence a bereaved 
 mourner's home. " In the hour of trial and of sorrow,"
 
 392 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 writes the Colonial Chaplain, " I found him one of those 
 whose friendship and sympathy were a solace. Little 
 did I think, as he wept tears of affection and of grief 
 over the remains of my beloved wife, and assisted with 
 his own hands in depositing them in the grave, that so 
 short a time would elapse ere he was himself to find a 
 resting-place near hers, in the same hope of the resur- 
 rection to eternal life." 
 
 Like the Master, he had " the tongue of the learned " 
 to "speak a word in season to him that was weary ;" 
 and his own joyous hope gave a. peculiar edge to his 
 words of tender sympathy. " I hope," he wrote, a few 
 days afterwards to a member of the sorrowing family, 
 "you experience that consolation which a firm trust in 
 God, alone, can impart to His afflicted children. You 
 have my prayers, poor and feeble as they are." These 
 were not the hackneyed phrases of a withered, dead 
 Phariseeism, they were fresh, living distillations from 
 the springing well of his full heart. His own departure 
 was to be unheralded by any note of warning ; and it 
 seemed as if already he was unconsciously catching the 
 symphonies of the place of rest and of joy. 
 
 " World of spirits ! bright and lovely, 
 
 Where the wearied find their rest ; 
 Where no sin, no danger enters, 
 
 Where no cruel foes molest. 
 Oh ! it is not all such darkness ; 
 
 Beams of light break forth for me, 
 Once again my hope rekindles, 
 
 And I long to be set free." 
 
 One day, the Admiral remarked to Mr Irwin
 
 SYMPATHY A WRECK. 193 
 
 " Wherever duty is to be done, or difficulty or danger 
 to be met, there your friend Captain Bate is to be 
 found."* An emergency had just presented itself; 
 and Sir M. Seymour despatched him to meet it. 
 
 " I am suddenly ordered off," he writes, in the letter 
 last quoted, "to Singapore and the Straits of Banca, 
 and am all in confusion. I leave in the Inflexible at 
 four." 
 
 And, some days afterwards, "On board H.M.S. 
 Inflexible on her way from Hong-Kong to Singa- 
 pore," he writes, to a friend in England, thus : " You 
 doubtless will be surprised to see whence this is dated. 
 The mail arrived last Wednesday, and brought intelli- 
 gence that the Himalaya had been on shore that 
 the Transit was a total wreck in the Straits of 
 Banca and that the Actseon also had been on shore 
 in that locality and knocked part of her main and 
 nearly all of her false keel away. The Admiral de- 
 spatched me, at three hours' notice, with orders to pro- 
 ceed to the wreck and see what could be done with the 
 troops, stores, &c. ; the former to be sent to Calcutta 
 without delay. The Actseon and Dove had also been 
 sent to the assistance of the Transit. We expect to 
 arrive at Singapore the day after to-morrow, where 
 probably I shall find my ship. When the affair of the 
 Transit is over, I am to return to Hong-Kong to accom- 
 pany the Admiral and Lord Elgin to the Gulf of Pechili 
 
 *In a letter to a relative, dated "Hong-Kong, July 10, 1857," 
 he incidentally remarks" To use the Admiral's own expression, 
 ' I can't do without you, Bate : ' but this entre nous." 
 
 N
 
 194 MEM01E OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 in September. All this, of course, is contingent on 
 Indian affairs, which at present look rather gloomy." 
 
 Two months later, from " H.M.S. Inflexible, one 
 hundred miles from Hong-Kong," he writes : " My 
 last letter to you was written on board this vessel 
 when about the same distance from Singapore as we 
 are now from Hong-Kong. I was then on my way to 
 join, as I supposed, the Actseon ; but, much to niy 
 disappointment, I found that she had left for Hong- 
 Kong just four days previously to my arrival How- 
 ever, as I had business relative to the unfortunate 
 Transit, I did not so much care about missing her, 
 and proceeded immediately to Banca, the scene of the 
 disaster. We arrived on the 2d August, and found the 
 people encamped on shore in a bay, about a quarter 
 of a mile from the wreck The Transit was stiff in 
 the position in which she first settled clown after strik- 
 ing, her bows thirty feet out of water, and stern in nine 
 fathoms, in fact the very reverse of the picture the 
 ' News ' had of her some months ago. As I had full 
 authority from the Admiral to act with regard to the 
 disposal of the vessel in the way I considered most 
 advisable, I at once made up my mind to put the old 
 craft up to public auction just as she stood, with all 
 the stores that were under water, everything having 
 previously been recovered which could be got up. The 
 vessel's back is broken ; and the damage she has other- 
 wise sustained does not make it worth any one's while 
 to attempt to save her. 
 
 " I walked across the island by a jungle-path," he
 
 TAKES COMMAND OF THE ACTION. 195 
 
 continues, " to visit the Dutch authorities ; and, as 
 they have been so very kind to our shipwrecked people 
 from first to last, I paid them a great compliment by 
 requesting them to take charge of the wreck in our 
 absence as I had orders to bring all the people away 
 till she was sold or otherwise disposed of. They 
 willingly accepted the charge ; and, after making a 
 survey of the place, we left on the 5th for Singapore, 
 the poor Transit's people being right glad to ex- 
 change their gipsy-life in the jungle for the clean, 
 wholesome deck of a man-of-war. We have lost one 
 poor fellow from fever ; and our upper deck is turned 
 into an hospital, for the accommodation of several 
 men, who, now that the excitement is over, tumble 
 into the doctor's list at a rapid rate." 
 
 And he adds : " I published a notice, which per- 
 haps Mr ' Punch ' will get hold of, that the vessel will 
 be sold by public auction on the 10th of Sept. ; and, 
 whether the Admiralty approve of it or not, I believe 
 it to be a providential thing she is lost ; for all hands 
 agree that she would have foundered at sea, in the next 
 gale of wind she encountered." 
 
 Ten days later, he subjoins this postscript : 
 " August 28. On my arrival at Hong- Kong, I found 
 my ship, the Actseon, in harbour ; and I took the 
 command on Friday, the 21st." 
 
 He must now have sailed for Tartary, to pass, upon 
 its inhospitable shores, an exile of four years ; but 
 Canton was still to be taken, and Bate could not yet 
 be spared. Accordingly, he was directed to cruise in
 
 196 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN Vf. T. BATE, E.K 
 
 the Chinese waters, until the operations against the 
 city could be begun. Some occasional glimpses into 
 his inner life in those months reveal a gradual ripening 
 for the glory which he was so soon to enter. 
 
 One day, at Macao, during a fearful typhoon, hear- 
 ing that a small brig had been disabled, and was in 
 distress, he went out to her relief, and arrived just in 
 time to prevent her becoming a prey to pirates who 
 were hovering around her. " He seized the opportu- 
 nity," writes a friend in China, already quoted, " to 
 speak seriously to the master and mate of the ship, 
 whom he heard swearing pointed out how merciful 
 God had been in delivering them from so great danger 
 and, after talking to them very earnestly about 
 Christ, he knelt down and prayed with them." 
 
 Another day, in conversation, a friend remarked 
 that the believer, though relying fully on God's pro- 
 mises, often forgot them at the right time, but that 
 there was one precious truth on which the soul, how- 
 ever tempted, could cast itself, as on a sure resting- 
 place, " Because I live, ye shall live also," adding, 
 that, when fears and doubts oppressed, and the dark- 
 ness was so thick that no ray of light could penetrate 
 it, this promise of Christ was sufficient, and more 
 than sufficient. " Yes," said Captain Bate, " it is quite 
 true ; but I prefer such a truth as ' Jehovah-jireh ' 
 God all-sufficient ; for, in the application of a parti- 
 cular promise, I am afraid that I may sometimes be 
 mistaken, but in simply depending on God's all-suffi- 
 ciency, I never can."
 
 CONVERSATION CHRISTIAN CHARACTERISTICS. 197 
 
 A week or two afterwards, in conversation with the 
 same friend, he was deploring deeply his " evil heart 
 of unbelief/' his " body of sin and death," his short- 
 comings, and the slenderness of his attainments " so 
 far beneath what they might be consistently with his 
 privileges and his experience." "But the Christian 
 life," interposed his friend; " is a struggle a race a 
 conflict ; and, remember, that, if you are so continually 
 harassed by sins of infirmity, the great apostle of the 
 Gentiles was the same." " Yes," Bate replied, " we 
 must through much tribulation enter the kingdom." 
 And, after a few moments, he added : " I am sure 
 those are happiest, not who escape trials the most, but 
 who are enabled to bear them the best." 
 
 On the same occasion, the conversation taking 
 another turn, some one remarked, that Christ was 
 Himself "made perfect through suffering" that He 
 "learned obedience by the things which He suffered" 
 that He himself took up a daily cross, and that we 
 could not be exempted from it. " I have often won- 
 dered," said Bate, " why Christ should take up the 
 daily cross, seeing He was already perfect. Was it, 
 that those long nights of prayer so often recorded, 
 that patient endurance of the contradiction of sinners 
 against Himself, had the effect of raising the human 
 element in Him beyond the glory of its original inno- 
 cence and purity?" 
 
 And, another day, returning to the same subject, he 
 said : " It is indeed a great mystery a depth which 
 we cannot fathom : but don't you think, that, inas-
 
 198 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN TV. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 much as virtue tried and triumphant ranks far higher 
 than innocence, it must have been necessary that Christ, 
 if He was to possess our nature in its utmost perfection, 
 should possess it in a state of victorious trial ? " 
 Oowper writes 
 
 " If His word once teach us shoot a ray 
 Through all the heart's dark chambers, and reveal 
 Truths undiscern'd but by that holy light, 
 Then all is plain. Philosophy, baptized 
 In the pure fountain of eternal love, 
 Has eyes indeed." 
 
 Who does not feel, on reading those thoughts of Bate's, 
 on a theme so transcendental, that he has been walk- 
 ing in God's own living light, and, in that light, " sees 
 light"? 
 
 And it was not a barren dogma, but a felt reality, 
 vividly graven on his heart by the finger of the Cross- 
 bearer. Those tedious and weary hours, which he had 
 passed so uncomplainingly, were spent at the feet of 
 Him who " spake as never man spake." And who 
 ever sat there in vain ? 
 
 " Thou teachest much by chastening 
 
 For old, besetting sin ; 
 By pain, by want, by weakness, 
 
 By ceaseless discipline. 
 Thou teachest by temptations, 
 
 By weary vigils kept, 
 By deep and earnest conflicts, 
 
 By troubled slumbers slept"
 
 CHAPTEK XIX. 
 
 " Tnist in God, to strengthen man; be bold, for He doth help." 
 
 ONE Christmas-day, during the memorable defence of 
 Jellalabad, the "illustrious garrison" was assembled 
 on parade, when a well-known voice gave the word 
 " Let us pray ! " It was Havelock, leading the army's 
 thanksgivings to God, who " had in His mercy enabled 
 them to complete the fortifications necessary for their 
 protection." Bate, also, was not ashamed to be known 
 to take everything to the feet of Jesus. " His judg- 
 ment," writes an officer of the fleet, " was most accu- 
 rate, as events always proved ; and the secret of it was, 
 as he has told me, his constant habit of asking advice, 
 in everything, of God." 
 
 " Experience had declared too well his mind was built of water ; 
 And so renouncing strength in self, he had fix'd his faith in God." 
 
 Towards the end of the year, the expedition now 
 at liberty from the pressure of the Indian crisis pre- 
 pared to storm Canton. The Emperor did not dare to 
 make peace till the city had been taken; and Yeh, 
 knowing that its surrender would be ruin to himself
 
 200 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 and his family, did not dare to give it up, determining 
 "rather to blow the whole place into the air." There 
 was, therefore, no alternative but to strike a decisive 
 blow. Accordingly, at the end of November, the fleet 
 was ordered up the Canton Eiver ; and Bate, in the. 
 Actseon, proceeded to join the force. 
 
 His last Sunday on shore was spent at Hong-Kong ; 
 and it almost seemed as if a presentiment had taken 
 hold upon him that he should, ere long, 
 
 " Speed, emancipate, to where the stars are suns." 
 
 "That day," writes a survivor who knew him inti- 
 mately (the wife of Mr Parkes, the Consul), "he was 
 with us, at a mutual friend's house, where we both 
 were guests. He received the sacrament with us ; 
 and, on leaving church, he took hold of my hand, and 
 said 'I wonder whether we shall ever receive the 
 sacrament together again?' During our walk, that 
 afternoon, he spoke much of the uncertainty of life, 
 and remarked, that, in going to Canton, he felt he 
 ought to remember this especially ; ' but,' he added, 
 emphatically and with a sweet smile, 'I know I am 
 safe in the arms of my Saviour, in life or in death.' " 
 
 The presentiment shewed itself in another little 
 incident. " When he was ordered up by the Admiral 
 for service at Canton/' writes the Colonial Chaplain, 
 " he gave me his instructions and papers, to be kept in 
 my iron- safe; adding, 'If anything should befall me, 
 deliver these into the hands of the Admiral.' "
 
 CONVERSATION CHARACTERISTICS. 201 
 
 The day before he sailed, we have a glimpse of him, 
 in his cabin, in the Actaeon, at his favourite occupation 
 studying the Scriptures. 
 
 Havelock devoted two hours, every morning, even 
 in his busiest days, to quiet meditation over the 
 Word. "The walls and trees of my orchard, could 
 they speak," said Bishop Eidley, " would bear witness, 
 that there I learned by heart almost all the Epistles, 
 of which study I shall carry the sweet savour with 
 me to heaven." Bate, too, loved his Bible ; and many 
 a quiet hour was given to its holy teachings. 
 
 That morning, there was breakfasting with him a 
 friend who had come to bid him farewell. When 
 breakfast was over, they took up the Scriptures, and 
 read and prayed together. Peter's denial presented 
 itself. "A noble character!" Bate observed; "and, 
 perhaps, he never loved his Lord more intensely than 
 when weeping over his denial of Him." 
 
 A little afterwards, they came upon Herod the 
 tetrarch and the dark scene in the fourteenth of St 
 Matthew. " Why," remarked Bate, " did Herod speak 
 respecting Jesus to his servants ? Was it, that Joanna, 
 his steward's wife, had been healed by Him, and had 
 followed Him and ministered to Him, and then that 
 probably the ' servants ' would thus know more about 
 Him than any of the nobles of the land ? " His friend 
 now inquired if he had seen " Blunt's Undesigned Co- 
 incidences," adding, that this incident was mentioned 
 in it as a striking example of " coincidence without a
 
 202 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 design/' thus proving incidentally the truth of the 
 Gospel-narrative. " No," said he, " I have never seen 
 it, but these things interest me greatly." 
 A poet writes, 
 
 " The Bible only stands neglected there, 
 Though that of all most worthy of his care ; 
 And, like an infant troublesome awake, 
 Is left to sleep for peace and quiet sake." 
 
 Not thus did Bate treat the Word. "His perfect 
 equanimity," writes a surviving friend, who knew 
 him well (Captain Collinson, RN., C.B.), "was the 
 result of a continual study of the Holy Scriptures/' 
 When he fell at Canton mortally wounded, there was 
 found in his pocket, all stained with blood, a little 
 book of "Scripture-promises," with these two texts 
 hastily marked, evidently that very morning "We 
 know, that, if our earthly house of this tabernacle 
 were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house 
 not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ; " and, 
 " Through God we shall do valiantly." " That field of 
 promise," says the same poet, 
 
 " How it flings abroad 
 Its odour o'er the Christian's thorny road ' 
 The soul, reposing on assured relief, 
 Feels herself happy amidst all her grief, 
 Forgets her labour as she toils along, 
 Weeps tears of joy, and bursts into a song." 
 
 Few understood the secret ; but not often has the light 
 shining in the lively oracles transfigured a daily walk 
 into a brighter " living epistle." than was seen in the 
 brave officer whose brilliant apotheosis we are about
 
 CHRISTIAN JOY LOVE OF THE BIBLE. 203 
 
 to record. "His holy, consistent life," says a friend 
 who parted with him for the last time that day before 
 sailing for Hong-Kong, " contrasted so strongly with 
 the world! His bright, joyous face, was such an 
 index of his noble character ! None could gaze upon 
 it without seeing he enjoyed a peace which nothing 
 could take away. And he was so fervent in spirit, 
 serving the Lord." 
 
 A sailor of the Actseon, one day, not long after his 
 captain's death, wiping away with his sleeve the tear 
 from his weather-beaten cheek, said "I never will 
 forget the last sermon he preached to us. It was from 
 the text, ' Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, 
 serving the Lord/ ' 
 
 It was now to be seen, once more, how a Christian 
 could deport himself in life's most tiying crisis. 
 
 " I hear," wrote an old shipmate to him, that autumn, 
 " that you are indispensable to the Admiral." Sey- 
 mour knew what stuff he was made of ; and he was 
 not the man not to give him his right place. 
 
 On November 25, " On board H.M.S. Actaeon, four 
 miles from Canton," Bate writes to a friend in Eng- 
 land, thus : " We are now really mooring towards 
 Canton. I came up here on Monday, and am now 
 busily employed lightening the ship, to get her over a 
 barrier which obstructs the passage about four miles 
 below Canton. I believe I am to have the honour of 
 leading the advance when we go up, as I know the 
 river so welL I have had rather an anxious night : 
 the junk alongside, with all our provisions and shot in
 
 201 MEMOIB OP CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.X. 
 
 her, sprang a leak, and we have been obliged to ' pump 
 all night.' I see the gunboat for the mail is coming- 
 down, so I must close. God bless you ! " 
 
 And again, thus : " Those who have the conduct of 
 affairs appear to think the occupation of the city the 
 most serious and difficult part of the undertaking. 
 Report says the Chinese are preparing all sorts of devil- 
 ment, in the shape of pitfalls, mud-traps, &c. &c., and 
 that they will not give up the city without a desperate 
 ' stand.' " 
 
 Some days later, he addresses his old messmate, for 
 the last time, thus : " H.M.S. Actseon, off Macao 
 
 Fort, Canton River, Dec. 4, 1857. My dear P , 
 
 On my return to Hong-Kong from the Straits of 
 Banca, I found this ship. I have no heart for survey- 
 ing ; and I must seek the Lord for guidance and 
 counsel to determine whether I shall remain after the 
 Chinese affair is finished. I never forget my dear little 
 godson in my prayers ; but you know how feeble they 
 are, and at times how distasteful they must be to an 
 all-seeing God, who examines the heart to see whether 
 the expression of the lips coincides. I have established 
 morning prayers on board, which I pray may be ac- 
 cepted and blessed to the ship's company. I always 
 do it after divisions, when the men are, as a matter of 
 mundane duty, assembled. If I called them up spe- 
 cially for prayers, I don't think they would like it so 
 well ; besides which, the officers are on deck, and they 
 are, as it were, caught by this arrangement. What 
 think you? I like my officers very much. I must
 
 WHO IS THE BEST OFFICER ? 205 
 
 now tell you something about our doings on this river. 
 The Plenipotentiaries of the four Powers are now at 
 Macao, discussing, I believe, what we are to do with 
 Canton. 1 think I told you that I had orders to con- 
 sider ray surveying instructions as subordinate to those 
 I might receive from the Admiral for the conduct of 
 the war. He has kept me on purpose for it ; and I 
 have now the honour to be the advanced ship in the 
 expedition, being at anchor close off my old place, 
 Macao Fort. We were to have made an advance last 
 week ; but as the last division of marines had not ar- 
 rived, it was put a stop to by Lord Elgin. I had some 
 difficulty in getting this ship (drawing 17 ft 3 in.) 
 over the barrier. "We lightened her 15 inches, and took 
 a night spring-tide to cross, the passage being lit up 
 with red and white lights. She came over beautifully, 
 just scraping the stones. I believe I am to have the 
 honour of leading the advance. How I wish the war 
 was over ! and, although I push for Actseon to be in 
 the front, and have managed as yet to keep her so, I 
 am no lover of the work. People have a strange no- 
 tion that Christianity and work are incompatible. My 
 great desire is to prove this to be erroneous ; and if 
 God bless my labours, I look upon it as a mark of His 
 approbation. I wish the world to see that the Chris- 
 tian officer is the best officer, ready for anything. It 
 appears to me to be a principle little understood, 
 though acknowledged in a general way, that religion 
 arms the heart and steels it in the day of battle to 
 meet all foes and to be dismayed at no dangers ; for
 
 206 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 he who has Christ feels that for him to live is 
 Christ to die, gain ; and whatever success attends 
 him, is sanctified to him, and the glory of God is 
 demonstrated. 
 
 " How glad I shall be," he continues, repeating once 
 again a yearning of his gentle heart, which seemed to 
 be deepening in intensity as it was on the eve of being 
 dashed for ever from him, " to get quietly settled down 
 in a nice little cottage, with a still nicer little wife. I 
 don't expect ever to be an Admiral ; and, if I am, I 
 shall be too old to serve with advantage to my country. 
 I had much better be rearing little ones to take my 
 place. Do you not think so ?" 
 
 And he adds : " I think we shall be making an 
 advance on Canton soon now, perhaps next week. 
 We are only waiting for the Plenipotentiary to say, 
 ' Go/ Our dear old chief is beloved by every one. He 
 is such a gentleman, and does things in such a quiet 
 way. May the Lord bless us and prosper you in all 
 your undertakings ! Pray for me always ; for I have 
 much need of grace to walk a consistent life/' 
 
 The same day he sends a message to his old friend's 
 wife, thus : " We are now very busy preparing for an 
 attack on Canton. Actaeon is at present the advanced 
 ship, and, with our heavenly Father's will and blessing 
 attending our feeble labours, will, I trust, keep so. I 
 do hate and abhor war ; but, as it is a necessary 
 scourge, and one which God inflicts on us for wiser 
 purposes than we can tell (for we see only ' through a 
 glass darkly *), I like to shew the world that the Chris-
 
 " GKAND CONFERENCE." 207 
 
 tian officer can be foremost in his country's cause ; for 
 surely, if our religion is anything, it ought to give us 
 courage in the hour of danger. Have you read the 
 Life of Hedley Vicars ? What a noble man ! After 
 the perusal of it, it makes one feel frightfully humble. 
 How short we come of his bright standard ! " 
 
 And, on Dec. 8, also " On board the Actaeon," he 
 writes : " I am commencing this, some time before 
 the mail leaves ; for I expect to be so very busy, in a 
 few days, that I shall hardly have time to write. Our 
 forces are nearly all out, the Adelaide having arrived 
 with detachments. The Princess Charlotte, Blen- 
 heim, and Sans Pareil, are expected hourly ; the 
 French are all ready ; and we are now only waiting for 
 the Plenipotentiary to say, ' Go on.' They have had a 
 grand conference at Macao. Of the result no one 
 knows, except that it is agreed that the French take 
 part. This I am rather sorry for : we ought to have 
 taken Canton ourselves, and then invited France to go 
 on with us. However, He who rules the destiny of 
 nations directs also the counsels of the Plenipoten- 
 tiaries : so, come what it will, it is of the Lord. He 
 ' creates good ' and He ' creates evil : ' we see only 
 ' through a glass darkly ; ' but the true light will be 
 revealed to us hereafter." 
 
 Two 'days later, he continues : " Dec. 10. I have 
 just been inundated with a lot of Frenchmen diplo- 
 matic and executive who have come to the front to 
 ' makes see figure.' To-morrow we go up to Canton 
 in two gun-boats, with a flag of truce, to deliver the
 
 208 MEMOIK OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, ILK 
 
 ' ultimatum ; ' and on Monday we advance, for the 
 purpose of taking possession of part of the Island of 
 Honan, and of mounting the wall by the south side of 
 the city, pending Mr Yeh's reply. If he do not con- 
 cede our demands in a given period (ten days), the 
 combined forces of England and of France attack the 
 city. The inhabitants have been warned to take such 
 steps as they think advisable, under the circumstances, 
 to save their lives and property. 
 
 " As the mail/' he proceeds in the same letter, " does 
 not leave this part of the river till Sunday afternoon, 
 I have to give you an account of the proceedings which 
 come off to-morrow. I don't think Yeh will yield. He 
 cannot concede our demands without ruin to him- 
 self or family. The old fellow might get over the 
 difficulty by eating gold-dust ; perhaps he will do so. 
 I have forwarded ' our allies,' with a copy of my sur- 
 veys. The French officers dined with me yesterday ; 
 and I breakfasted with them to-day, after which I re- 
 ceived a 'Memo' from the Admiral, nominating me as 
 the officer to go to Canton (with the Chinese secretary) 
 to deliver Lord Elgin's and the French minister's 
 'ultimatum/ This is an honour I confess I did not 
 expect." 
 
 The day following he writes to Captain Collinson : 
 " Here we are, two miles in advance of all the squadron. 
 To get here, I had to lighten the vessel fifteen inches, 
 and, at the top of the highest night spring-tide, scrape 
 her over the barrier. To-morrow we go up off Canton 
 with a flag of truce to deliver Lord Elgin's and the
 
 " ENGLAND'S SONS DEGENERATING ! " 209 
 
 French minister's ultimatum, which, if old Yeh do not 
 accept within ten days, we attack the city. I hope to 
 get Actseon right off the place, and our dear old 
 Admiral allows me to take her just where I think 
 proper. On Monday we advance, and occupy all the 
 approaches to Canton, the marines taking possession of 
 that part of Honan facing the Factories, pending Mr 
 Commissioner Yeh's reply. Gold-leaf now is his only 
 recourse, if he wish to die honourably, as they call it." 
 And he adds : " What noble fellows we have in 
 India ! Talk of England's sons degenerating ! Not 
 while there is a Havelock or a Salkeld left. Those are 
 the fellows who deserve victory." 
 
 And, three days later, he says : " We went up off 
 the city in two gun-boats, one French and one English, 
 each towing a gig with the flag of truce flying. When 
 near the appointed spot, a mandarin's boat met us, to 
 which we pulled and delivered the 'ultimatum.' The 
 poor fellow quivered like an aspen-leaf. I made a 
 good reconnoissance of the place, and found they had 
 made little or no preparations for defence, at least on 
 the river, all the forts being in the same ruined state 
 as when we left them, now nearly twelve months ago. 
 The river is not even blocked up ; and there is plenty 
 of water for the Actseon to go up at high water. 
 After delivering the letter, we returned to our advanced 
 position off Macao Fort." 
 
 And he adds : " We shall advance to occupy only, 
 on Monday. Yesterday, my cabin was in a sad slate 
 of confusion : I had Mr Wade, the Chinese Secretary, 
 o
 
 210 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 staying with me ; and my friend Parkes had just 
 arrived ; they were both busy interpreting, whilst the 
 Chinese block-cutter was grinding away at the types in 
 the fore-cabin. I send you a copy of the ' ultimatum,' 
 which has been produced in my cabin : the English of 
 it you will see in the ' Illustrated News/ and also a 
 picture of Yeh and of his old father, which I allowed 
 the ' Correspondent ' to copy from those hanging up in 
 my cabin. I am writing this in great haste. May 
 God bless and preserve us all, and may He spare me to 
 meet you before many more Christmas-days pass !" 
 
 An affecting postscript follows : " I really do not 
 think I can go on with this horrid surveying, after the 
 war is over. Do, dear ones, all of you make it a sub- 
 ject of prayer, that I may be guided by Infinite Wisdom 
 in the matter. I do not wish to give up my prospects 
 in the service; but I find this incessant surveying 
 such a terrible drag and tie to me ! However, before 
 I decide, I must let events develop themselves a little. 
 ' Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.' Yours in 
 much affection." 
 
 Yes, brother ! thy future is arranged for thee by One 
 whom thou wilt never have to regret that thou hast 
 loved or served too well. Thou passest into the din of 
 mortal strife with little before thee of this world's sun- 
 shine ; but a better sun will ere long rise upon thee 
 a sun which shall never set. 
 
 " To go where God may lead thee, 
 To live for Christ alone,
 
 A GOOD TIME COMING. 211 
 
 To run thy race unburden'd, 
 
 The goal thy Father's throne; 
 To view by faith the promise, 
 
 While earthly hopes decay, 
 To serve the Lord with gladness, 
 
 Be this thy work to-day ! "
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 " JESU is in my heart; His sacred name is deeply carved there." 
 
 " How I wish I could live to Christ ! But carrying 
 about, as I do, this 'body of sin ' I can hardly realise 
 that ' to die is gain/ although I know that ' to depart 
 and to be with Christ is far better' than remaining 
 here. We must, however, all wait, until the Lord has 
 done with us." So wrote Bate, about the middle of 
 December, as he was still moving up the Canton river, 
 on his way to storm the city. 
 
 He has communed with One whose converse sweet 
 
 Has been of the Invisible and True ; he expects 
 
 Nought less than an eternal rest above. 
 
 This hope it is which makes earth's sorrows ' light,' 
 
 Which gives the ' weight ' to glory yet unseen ; 
 
 This cheers him on his solitary road, 
 
 When dearest ones have left him for the grave; 
 
 This bids him smile at pain, and welcome death." 
 
 He learned that day of a friend's departure. " I am 
 deeply grieved," he writes, " to hear of Colonel Lugard's 
 death, although I believe he is far happier : but our 
 loss is indeed a great one. May our heavenly Father
 
 STORMING OF CANTON INCIDENTS. 213 
 
 be with each one of us, and preserve us from all 
 danger !" 
 
 The crisis was now approaching. "We are now," 
 he wrote, a day or two later, "only two and a half 
 miles from the city. The Highflier is about three 
 miles astern of me ; my old friend is all right. The 
 Admiral is expected hourly." 
 
 At last, on a dark, drizzling night it was Satur- 
 day, the 19th of December the Actseon anchored 
 in the very centre of a vast mass of floating struc- 
 tures inhabited by an hundred thousand people. As 
 the morning dawned, there was "a flutter and a 
 panic among the dwellers on the water ;" and the 
 floating suburb, tier by tier, gradually melted away. 
 Within three hundred yards of Yeh's yamun, the 
 fleet lay moored in mid-stream, awaiting the expiry 
 of the period of respite accorded by the Ambassador's 
 proclamation. 
 
 Lining the shore, to the extent of half a mile, was 
 a series of strongly-built brick " packhouses," each 
 some two hundred feet in length, and one hundred in 
 breadth, the roof thirty feet high, and supported by 
 rows of square brick pillars. They were all open ; and, 
 before many hours, the largest of them was occupied 
 by a battalion of marines. Beds of junk-matting were 
 made up along the sides ; arms and accoutrements 
 were hung upon the walls and pillars ; and in the 
 centre-area the men were " squatting or lolling round 
 their cooking fires, and frizzling their rations." 
 
 The owners, meanwhile, were clearing out from the
 
 214 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 other warehouses their bales of cotton and their boxes 
 of tea ; for, up to the last moment, they had neglected 
 the warning given them in the proclamation. A 
 thousand coolies filled the narrow lane into which 
 the doorways opened ; and, protected by an English 
 guard, the people were hastening away with their 
 chattels, evidently feeling that the war was not with 
 the population but only with their despotic governor. 
 
 A day or two afterwards, there was a reconnoissance, 
 "to get a near view of the forts to the north of the 
 city." The Admiral was there, and the General, and 
 a large body of the allied force, with Captain Bate to 
 map the country, and another officer to " take plans of 
 the fortifications." " It was a beautiful breezy walk," 
 says an eye-witness, " over a mile and a half of undu- 
 lating country. We were now in front of the forts, 
 which rise before us in extended panoramic view, 
 stretching along a spur of the White Cloud mountain. 
 Little parties of red-coats and blue-jackets were posted 
 on different hills, to prevent our being cut off, and 
 ready to support each other, whilst the reconnoitring 
 party climbed the nearest elevations, where, within 
 eighteen hundred yards of Gough's Fort, and within 
 fifteen hundred yards of a heavily armed bastion, the 
 chiefs took a survey through their glasses of the 
 heights to be climbed. We are within range of all 
 these guns, and tremendous in size they are. There 
 are some fellows in that bastion, training a gun to bear 
 upon us ; and we expect, every moment, to see the 
 puff of smoke. It was a rapid affair that recon-
 
 STORMING OF CANTON A EECONNOISSANCE. 215 
 
 noissance. We returned as swiftly as we came, and 
 were back in our quarters by six o'clock." 
 
 Two days later, another reconnoissance revealed the 
 approaches of the eastern side of the city. At day- 
 light the party struck inland over low hills covered with 
 graves, and, crossing a paved causeway leading towards 
 the town, hastened on over dry, hard fields of paddy, 
 until they reached an eminence distant eight hundred 
 yards from the east gate, and about as far from the 
 eastern fort outside the city. The wall was hidden by 
 intervening trees ; but the fort was distinctly visible, 
 and here was to be the route of the storming party at 
 the assault. Over the wall was the northern half 
 of the city, with no narrow streets, and containing the 
 public offices and pleasure-grounds and the great 
 yamuns. The fort had only to be taken " at a rush ; " 
 and from that position the wall must be breached or 
 escaladed. The reconnoitring party were back to 
 breakfast at eleven, having accomplished chiefly 
 through Bate's masterly dispositions "a most satis- 
 factory survey." 
 
 That afternoon, a fresh proclamation was issued, 
 and distributed all along the Canton shore, announcing 
 that Yeh had rejected the terms offered, and that, if 
 the city were not surrendered within forty-eight hours, 
 it would be bombarded and stormed. The people 
 were warned to " clear out ; " for the city must be 
 taken and Yeh compelled to yield. 
 
 It was Saturday night; and the period of reprieve 
 had expired without any symptom of submission. The
 
 216 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 Sunday was observed as a day of rest, and one further 
 opportunity given to the authorities to avert the im- 
 pending catastrophe. "We open fire to-morrow at 
 daybreak," Bate wrote, that day, to a relative in 
 England ; " and at noon I leave with the Admiral 
 (being attached to his Staff), for the assault of the city 
 the following morning. I have been so intensely 
 occupied since we arrived off Canton, having the whole 
 charge of placing the ships, and making plans for I 
 don't know how many different departments. I never 
 spent such a Christmas-day. I went to bed wearied 
 in mind and in body." 
 
 Amidst the quiet, that evening, the brave man felt 
 a fresh pang at the prospect of his future service. 
 " Shall I," he wrote, " give up the Actseon or not, after 
 this affair is over, if (the italics are Captain Bate's) I 
 am spared to see it through ? We must hold counsel 
 of God. I wish very much to serve ; but I am sick of 
 this surveying. I have no energy for it now. Do, 
 dear fellow, let me know your views. Perhaps I had 
 better hold on, till I see my way clearer. As for work- 
 ing as I did in Palawan, 1 11 not do it ; it is of no use. 
 I will do my work conscientiously, as unto my God and 
 not unto man ; and, if they are not satisfied, I don't care." 
 
 Ah ! thy country should have spared thee, in this 
 hour, that bitter pang. 
 
 " Generous and righteous is thy grief." 
 
 But, 
 
 " Count thou this for comfort 
 Another world can compensate for all ;
 
 HIS LAST SABBATH. 217 
 
 The daily martyrdom of patience shall not be wanting of 
 
 reward ; 
 Duty is a prickly shrub ; but its flower will be happiness and 
 
 glory." 
 
 It was his last Sabbath in this vale of tears, and it 
 did not pass without leaving a blessing behind it. " I 
 feel," were his words in a brief parting note to a friend 
 that night, " that for me indeed ' to die is gain ; ' but 
 I cannot say, ' To me to live is Christ/ for I feel how 
 little I can do for Him. Yet I have that full trust in 
 the finished work of the Saviour, that I have no doubts, 
 no fears/' 
 
 " day most calm, most bright ! 
 Thy torch doth shew the way." 
 
 Such literally was that day to him. Before another 
 Sabbath dawned, he was to be with his Lord for ever. 
 A survivor of the ship's company remembers how 
 earnestly he spoke to them that morning from the 
 Scriptures, urging them most solemnly to lose not a 
 moment in "fleeing from the wrath to come," and 
 affectionately commending them to the grace and 
 loving-kindness of the " Friend of sinners." Like 
 Baxter of Kidderminster, 
 
 " He 'd preach as a dying man to dying men ; " 
 
 and such preaching is not soon forgotten. 
 
 A week or two previous, an officer was talking to 
 a friend (the Times " Special Correspondent ") about 
 him. " My pluck," said he, " is quite a different thing 
 from Bate's. I go ahead, because I never think of
 
 218 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 danger. Bate is always ready for a desperate service, 
 because he is always prepared for death." 
 
 "He'd learn'd to yield all praises unto Him who made him 
 
 strong, 
 Who form'd him goodly armour, and who bore him through the 
 
 strife, 
 Who cheer'd him on to victory with some guardian-angel's 
 
 song, 
 Who gave to Faith the vision of the glorious crown of life." 
 
 A few days after that Sunday, another officer wrote : 
 " For coolness under fire no man ever excelled him, 
 and few have been his equal. I see him now, stand- 
 ing on the ramparts at Macao Fort, with his broad 
 chest fronting the rockets and gingalls discharged at 
 us from the river-banks, as unconcerned as if God had 
 placed a shield of adamant betwixt himself and the 
 enemy. Ah ! / have learnt a valuable lesson from 
 him/' 
 
 On the Saturday, a characteristic incident had oc- 
 curred on board with one of his " mids." " That after- 
 noon," writes the middy, " he looked at my accounts, 
 as it was nearly the end of the quarter ; and he said, 
 ' I see I must let you have the money (o, 4s.) which 
 I lent you, till next quarter ; ' and when I said, ' Thank 
 you, sir,' he said, ' Oh, I am not quite ruined yet ; and 
 I would sooner let you have a pound or two more than 
 that you should draw an extra bill.' He then said, 
 ' Now, you must pay everything ; and as your next 
 quarter's bill will be a heavy one, you can pay me 
 then.' " The incident is trifling ; but it indicates, not 
 uncertainly, the generous heart of the man, and his
 
 A MIDDY LAST INTERVIEW. 219 
 
 wise, fatherly treatment of the youths under his com- 
 mand. 
 
 When Bate fell, the young mid wrote to his mother : 
 " Captain Bate's death, I am nearly sure, is the 
 turning-point of my life." 
 
 It was no ordinary man whose daily walk thus told 
 on a gay, thoughtless middy. 
 
 " Behold, what fire is in his eye, what fervour on his cheek ! 
 Upon whose lips the mystic bee hath dropp'd the honey of 
 
 persuasion, 
 Whose heart and tongue have been touch' d, as of old, by the 
 
 live-coal from off the altar, 
 How wide the spreading of his peace 1 "
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 " He look'd 
 
 Beyond the present to a distant world, 
 Where martyrs serve their God with ceaseless love." 
 
 IT was a brilliant morning in the end of December 
 (the 28th, 1 857), and a city of a million of souls had 
 scarce awoke from its slumbers, when " boom ! boom ! 
 boom ! " went our broadsides, and all Canton trembled. 
 
 On board the Actseon, that morning, Captain Bate 
 wrote : " We opened our fire at daybreak ; and every 
 now and then the guns make my pen jump again on 
 the paper. You must excuse this very hurried and 
 short letter. I am just going off with the Admiral for 
 the landing-place, which is about two miles to the 
 eastward of the city. We stop out all night, and 
 advance early in the morning. God abundantly bless 
 you ! Ever yours." 
 
 Later in the day, at " 1 0.80 A.M.," he hastily added : 
 " You will see more about this affair in the papers, 
 than I can tell you now, I am so pressed for time. 
 The bombardment is going on. City on fire in four 
 places. Troops preparing to land."
 
 THE CABIN LAST SCENE. 221 
 
 Before landing, he secured a few moments' privacy 
 the last he was to enjoy. Sitting alone in his cabin, 
 with the Bible open before him, he spoke with his 
 Father in heaven. " I fear," he had just written, as 
 he marked the wild, thoughtless excitement around 
 him, " that our poor fellows are sadly forgetful of all 
 God's benefits." It was remarked that he was himself 
 unusually grave that morning. Death, 
 
 " The stern and silent usher, 
 Leading to the judgment for Eternity," 
 
 was hovering too near, in those volleys of guns and 
 rollings of musketry, not to awe into a deep thought- 
 fulness a spirit like his. And yet 
 
 " The dread was drown'd in joy." 
 
 Calm and self-possessed, and as if craving in that hour 
 the fellowship of a kindred spirit, he called to him one 
 of his ship's company, and they read together the 
 ninety-first Psalm. Then, hastily adding to the half- 
 finished letter on his cabin-table the words, " Read the 
 ninety-first Psalm for our comfort" (the italics are 
 Captain Bate's), he sallied forth to the post of action. 
 
 How characteristic of the man the reading of that 
 Psalm ! " Thou shalt not be afraid," it said, " for the 
 terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day." 
 And again " He shall cover thee with His feathers, 
 and under His wings shalt thou trust." And yet 
 again "Because thou hast made the Lord, which is 
 my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation ; there 
 shall no evil befall thee." No, the promise of his
 
 222 MEMOIB OF CAPTAIN \Y. T. BATE, K.N. 
 
 Father could not fail It was " no evil " to remain in 
 this vale of tears a little longer, if any work remained 
 for him to do, or any grace to be brightened ; and it 
 was " no evil," to " depart," if already he were ripe for 
 the glory. 
 
 " 'Twas joy to think thus far his race was run, 
 So many toils and dangers safely o'er 
 His heart was fainting for his Father's land, 
 His long-sought home seem'd nearer every hour." 
 
 And so he went out that day "comforted," to meet 
 duty as became him. 
 
 At mid-day, he landed with the Admiral. The 
 shells and round-shot were sweeping the wall of a fort 
 (Gough Fort) on the heights ; and Bate's party pro- 
 ceeded in another direction to reconnoitre. Before 
 them lay a fort (Lin), which, as they approached, 
 seemed to be deserted, when suddenly the lower em- 
 brasure was unmasked, and three heavy guns and a 
 host of gingalls opened a galling fire. A village was 
 at hand ; and, under cover of its huts, the reconnoitring 
 party, now supported by a body of artillery and of the 
 59th "Regiment, brought the Enfield rifle to bear with 
 such effect upon the Chinese gunners in the embrasures, 
 that they could no longer stand to their guns. At 
 length, some nine-pounder field-pieces were got into 
 position ; the place was battered and shelled ; and, as 
 a storming column were advancing to seize the fort, 
 the "braves," after firing a parting volley, evacuated 
 the embrasures and disappeared, an English and 
 French flag waving the next moment on the wall.
 
 LAST BIVOUAC. 223 
 
 The afternoon was spent in desultory skirmishings 
 on the neighbouring hills, preparatory to the grand 
 assault of the morrow. Then came the night (says 
 an eye-witness) and such a night ! The ships 
 almost ceased firing ; but the city soon became like a 
 plain of fire. At first, it appeared as though the be- 
 siegers were bent upon reducing the city to ashes ; 
 but the destruction was not without a plan. There 
 was a great blaze at the north-west angle, where was 
 situated the Chinese guard-house, surmounting the 
 gate. Shells and rockets were poured in volleys upon 
 this structure ; and it soon became a sheet of flame. 
 By constant showers of rockets, the flame was led up 
 and down the city-wall ; and, in an incredibly short 
 time, the long, thin line of fire shot high into the 
 heavens, and then subsided into a smouldering smoke. 
 The flames did not spread inwards, the object being to 
 clear away, from the three spots marked out for the 
 triple assault, a line of old houses which leant against 
 the inner side of the wall, and afforded cover to those 
 gingalls whence all our great losses, in affairs with the 
 Chinese, have arisen. 
 
 Meanwhile, we have a glimpse of Bate in his last 
 bivouac. " In the evening," writes his coxswain, who, 
 with three more of his boat's crew, had accompanied 
 him on shore, " I made the Captain's bed with straw, 
 and the Admiral's, and mine, and the boat's crew's, 
 I opened the Captain's knapsack, and gave him bis 
 night-clothes, and the Bible and Prayer-book ; and he 
 read prayers and a chapter in the Bible to me alongside
 
 224 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 of him ; and then we had a little talk together, and 
 he lay down, and so did I. The next morning I got 
 up at three, and made some tea ; and I had some, and 
 my boat's erew. At half-past four, I roused the Cap- 
 tain, and he had a cup of tea. I opened his knapsack, 
 And gave him his Bible and Prayer-book ; and he read 
 prayers to me, both kneeling. He got up and washed ; 
 and away he went with the Admiral. I packed up all 
 our things, and put them on my back ; and I and my 
 boat's crew started after him, the Captain, Admiral, 
 and several other officers leading the way, and the 
 blue-jackets and marines following." 
 
 As the day began to dawn, the rocket-practice 
 gave place to a steady fire from a mortar-battery ; 
 and Bate's little party, now joined by the General and 
 his staff, proceeded in the direction of the city-wall. 
 The point of assault was some two hundred yards 
 distant from the north-east gate ; and they advanced, 
 in the face of a running fire from the Chinese stationed 
 all along the embrasures. 
 
 Arrived within about one hundred yards of the spot, 
 they found themselves in a small village, having in 
 front a huge tree, whose foliage hid it from the people 
 on the wall To the right, and separated from the 
 village and the tree by a wide footway, was a little 
 mud-built cottage, whose white- washed wall made it a 
 conspicuous object in the morning sun. The cottage 
 was entered by the Admiral and the General, accom- 
 panied by Bate and the other officers of their staffs. 
 In a hasty reconnoitre, they found, some dozen yards
 
 if.
 
 THE CKISIS THE FATAL SHOT. 225 
 
 in advance, a ditch or gorge forty or fifty yards broad. 
 In the intervening space was a low earthen fence, sur- 
 mounted by bunches of high reeds, which interrupted 
 the view of the spot where the scaling-ladders were to 
 be placed to mount the broken embrasures. "All 
 around/' says an eye-witness (Times' Correspondent), 
 " hurtled a storm of balls and rockets from the wall ; 
 and no one could cross to the edge of the ditch without 
 imminent danger." Yet some one must run the 
 gauntlet, if the ladders were to be set for the escalade. 
 One man, there, was always ready. He had been 
 girding himself, that morning, for such a crisis as 
 this ; and it found him prompt to act. " Who can 
 tell," he had more than once asked himself, since the 
 little party left the bivouac, 
 
 " ' The trials and temptations corning within the coming hour?"' 
 
 Suddenly a " trial " had come ; and not a moment was 
 to be lost in deciding. " Captain Bate/' says the same 
 eye-witness, "at once volunteered to go." As he 
 rushed across the open patch, to look into the ditch, all 
 eyes followed him, and more than one heart throbbed. 
 
 " He standeth a target-like Sebastian, and the arrows whistle near 
 
 him ; 
 Who knoweth when he may be hit ? for great is the company of 
 
 archers. 
 Every breath is burden'd with a bidding." 
 
 The " bidding " came. " Our Captain," says his cox- 
 swain, who was at his side, " was in the act of taking 
 the distance from the ground to the top of the wall 
 with his sextant, when a shot from a gingall struck 
 P
 
 226 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 him in the right breast. He fell straight on the 
 ground, and never moved afterwards. I asked him 
 several questions ; but he could not speak." 
 
 In half an hour, he had ceased to breathe : his spirit 
 had gone upward, to be with his dear Lord. 
 
 It was on the twenty-ninth day of December, and 
 in his seven-and-thirtieth year. 
 
 " ' No evil shall befall thee.' 
 
 Bleat parting words ! 
 I hear the echo of their music now ; 
 Still he lives ; for near Christ's burning throne 
 His spirit dwells, and tastes eternal joy : 
 Undaunted martyr-soldier ! " 
 
 In the Eoman catacombs, a monumental tablet was 
 found bearing this epitaph, " In Christ. In the time 
 of the Emperor Adrian : Marius, a young officer ; he 
 had lived long enough ; at length he rested in peace." 
 Like him, our dear brother had " lived long enough." 
 For this, it is not necessary to live to the season of gray 
 hairs. A man may live long in a little time. Bate 
 was taken in the heyday of nature's strength, " his 
 eye not dimmed, nor his natural force abated ; " but 
 it was not too soon no, it was not, for he had won 
 an unfading crown. 
 
 " Thou shalt watch no more, lingering, disappointed of thy hope : 
 Thy soul is alight with love, glory, praise and immortality."
 
 Sl^emoriam, 
 
 " The seed and dormant chrysalis bursting into energy and glory." 
 
 " I yearn for realms where fancy shall be fill'd, and the ecstacies of 
 
 freedom shall be felt, 
 
 And the soul reign gloriously, risen to its royal destinies : 
 I look to recognise again, through the beautiful mask of their per- 
 fection, 
 
 The dear familiar faces I have somewhile loved on earth : 
 I long to talk with grateful tongue of storms and perils past, 
 And praise the mighty Pilot that hath steer'd us through the 
 rapids." 
 
 " CANTON is taken/' wrote a resident in China ; " but 
 too high a price has been paid for it, in the fall of such 
 a man as our dear Captain Bate." 
 
 "Our success," said the Admiral, in his official 
 despatch, "has been damped by a great calamity, in 
 the death of Captain William Thornton Bate. The sad 
 event has thrown a gloom over the whole force." 
 
 " Men spoke of him," wrote one of his lieutenants, 
 " with faltering tongues and swimming eyes. The loss
 
 228 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, B.N. 
 
 was felt felt by all, by men and officers, by the 
 highest and the lowest." 
 
 "I was with him," wrote Mr Wade, the Chinese 
 Secretary, " a minute before he was shot. Every one 
 admits our success dearly purchased at such a cost. 
 No man was more loved and appreciated, from the 
 Admiral down." 
 
 " Captain Bate," said the Hong-Kong Register, " as 
 usual, ever forward where duty called, was volunteer- 
 ing to place the scaling ladders when he was shot from 
 the wall through the stomach. He died, as he had 
 lived, a Christian hero, with the sounds of victory 
 ringing in his ears." 
 
 " You people at home," wrote one of his mids, " can- 
 not imagine (not even his sisters) how universally dear 
 Captain Bate was loved and respected, from the Ad- 
 miral down to the youngest boy in the fleet. This is 
 without exaggeration ; for I really never knew any 
 man who enjoyed a more well-deserved affection and 
 popularity. His officers and men have lost a kind 
 friend and a patient adviser, who never tired of doing 
 good, who entered into all their pleasures, and assisted 
 them to the utmost of his power in all their difficulties. 
 He was firmness itself, but so kind withal, that his most 
 severe reproof was better received, and better attended 
 to, than most men's praises. 
 
 ' All felt his loss ; his virtues we'd tried ; 
 And knew not how we loved him till he died.' " 
 
 We return for a moment to the fatal spot. " When 
 I found the Captain was gone," says his coxswain, 
 " the four of us carried him to a fort which we had
 
 IN MEMOKIAM OBSEQUIES. 229 
 
 taken, and laid him down. I remained by him till 
 two in the afternoon, when a party of blue-jackets 
 came from the city to carry him to the landing-place, 
 and a body of marines to guard us. I and my boat's 
 crew had to carry him over hills and valleys ; we were 
 all very tired ; we got on board that night at eleven ; 
 we hoisted him, and then put him down in the cabin." 
 
 That noble countenance seemed to beam, even in 
 death, with a certain heavenly halo. " Not a feature," 
 says his lieutenant, " shewed sign or symptom of mor- 
 tal agony ; the calm, serene expression gave unerring 
 indication of the peace within when his spirit, released 
 from its trammels, had found rest from its labours in 
 the presence of his God and Saviour. How striking a 
 contrast this presented, when compared with those of 
 the poor Chinese, on whose faces was depicted the in- 
 tensity of malignant hatred, can only be remembered, 
 not expressed or described." 
 
 At sunset, on the closing day of eighteen hundred 
 and fifty-seven, his remains were committed to the 
 grave in the cemetery at Hong-Kong. " Not a fold 
 of his dress," writes an eye-witness, an officer of the 
 fleet, "had been displaced. The doctor had placed 
 him in his coffin in the dress in which he fell Nor 
 had any change at the last marred that peaceful ex- 
 pression which sat on his benign and benevolent coun- 
 tenance, whereon were stamped and sealed the virtues 
 of his brave and manly soul. A retired spot in the 
 grave-yard of the ' Happy Valley,' near Dr Gutzlaff 
 and by the ruins of the little chapel, was selected by 
 the Bishop, who performed the last offices for his friend."
 
 230 MEM01E OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, E.N. 
 
 The funeral is described by another officer of the 
 fleet, thus : " It was the most affecting sight I have 
 ever seen. At three in the afternoon all the boats 
 assembled near the Dove, and formed two lines ; and 
 as there were several foreign men-of-war at Hong- 
 Kong, and nearly all their officers and boats attended, 
 they made two long lines. The afternoon was lovely, 
 the magnificent bay like a polished mirror. All the 
 ships in the harbour had their flags half-mast, and of 
 course all the boats. The Tribune's barge had her 
 band on board, and towed a cutter with the body , 
 the coffin raised well above the gunwale, and the 
 sailor's pall (the union-jack) drooping gracefully over 
 coffin and boat : then another cutter, with the remains 
 of the poor little ' mid/ As they left the Dove, the 
 Tribune commenced firing minute-guns ; the barge 
 and cutter passed down between the two lines of boats, 
 pulling very slowly ; the band played the ' Dead March 
 in Saul,' those glorious notes floating over the face of 
 the waters not broken by a ripple, and the calm only 
 disturbed every now and then by the roar of the 
 minute-guns, which would reverberate and echo for 
 a few seconds and remind one that the profession of 
 him we mourned was that of arms ; and then again 
 that exquisite music would swell, touching the very 
 chords of the heart, and saying to us (at least to me), 
 ' There is a heaven open for the Christian warrior ; he 
 is passing from the din of war, from the turmoil of 
 this life, to a new life, a new world, where there is no 
 more death, no more war;' and who could help feeling
 
 IN MEMORIAL THE BUKIAL. 231 
 
 that this solemn scene was typical of what had taken 
 place ? " 
 
 And the same eye-witness adds : " We formed in 
 two lines after the boats with the bodies. All the 
 marines and troops had fallen in, to receive and join 
 the procession on shore. The pall-bearers were Major 
 Casolet ; Captain Dew, RN. ; Captain Bell, U.S. 
 Navy ; Captain Fabius, Dutch Navy ; Captain Edgell, 
 RN. ; Colonel Caine, Lieutenant- Governor : one hun- 
 dred marines and soldiers, with one hundred blue- 
 jackets, followed, and nearly the whole of the inhabi- 
 tants of Hong-Kong." 
 
 "The scene/' says another eye-witness, "was pain- 
 ful and mournful to a degree; and the not unmanly 
 tear of sorrow fell unrestrainable from the eye of not 
 a few of whom it might be said, 'Behold how they 
 loved him ! ' The Governor, and his many friends, 
 followed the chief mourners in the solemn procession ; 
 whilst the road was lined with other civilians, who 
 stood with uncovered heads while passed the mortal 
 remains of ' that heroic man, for whom all Hong-Kong 
 mourns/ " 
 
 On the following Sunday, in St John's Cathedral, 
 the Bishop gave vent to the grief which was weighing 
 on so many hearts. "The loss which we have sus- 
 tained," he said, " is the loss of no common man. Pri- 
 vate intercourse of the most confidential kind, during 
 an intimate acquaintance of more than twelve years, 
 revealed to me in no common measure the excellent 
 qualities of the friend in whose death, not only the
 
 232 MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN W. T. BATE, R.N. 
 
 service, but the whole foreign community in China, 
 have experienced a heavy calamity. It is a blessed 
 solace, amid the more than ordinary mourning caused 
 by this melancholy event, to be privileged to cherish 
 no doubt as to that state of glorious immortality into 
 which our departed friend has entered. He fell in the 
 service of his Queen and country. He has been taken 
 earlier to his reward. He has received from the King 
 of kings the highest promotion which a glorified spirit 
 can receive. He is now singing the new song in the 
 courts of paradise. He is now with that Saviour whom 
 he long served on earth. He has departed and is with 
 Christ, which is far better." 
 
 Six months afterwards, a friend in Hong-Kong 
 wrote : "I often visit his last resting-place a quiet, 
 peaceful spot, and there, recalling his words of tender 
 counsel, pray that I may more closely follow in his 
 footsteps." 
 
 About the same date, wrote another : " His friends 
 have made that quiet green mound a sweet spot, by sur- 
 rounding it with the choicest and most delicate shrubs." 
 
 And another, in some simple lines, "dedicated to 
 the ward-room, officers of H.M.S. Actaeon," embalms 
 his fragrant memory thus : 
 
 " Busy, Death, thou art ! thou and the Brave 
 Have form'd a fast alliance. Forth from our midst, 
 Daily some victim goes to thy embrace ; 
 Whilst thou relentest not. 
 
 Yet one ah ! ONE 
 
 Loved for his honour and his Christian heart, 
 The Hero, and the man has gone to rest ;
 
 
 IN MEMOEIAM THE MONUMENT. 233 
 
 Pass'd through thy portals, Death, and smiled at thee, 
 
 For he fear'd not thy terrors. 
 
 Many a sailor on the pathless deep, 
 
 Whene'er he nears the coast of treacherous shoals, 
 
 Will bless the name and memory of him 
 
 Whose toil and science charted out their track. 
 
 Not on the couch where lingering sickness lies, 
 
 Not by decay of old and honour'd age, 
 
 He pass'd to glory; but, in the duty-hour 
 
 Where England's chieftains are at all times found 
 
 Beneath the battlement before the foe 
 
 There sigh'd he out a brave and glorious life." 
 
 A monument to his memory has since been erected 
 on a conspicuous site adjoining the cathedral. " You 
 can see it plainly," says a correspondent, writing on 
 board H.M.S. Princess Charlotte, off Hong-Kong, of 
 date November 30, 1861, "through one of the doors, 
 as you sit in one of the front seats opposite the pulpit, 
 and it is a sermon." 
 
 On the tablet at the grave in the cemetery is the 
 following : 
 
 " ' The Christian parleys with no unmanly fears ; 
 Where duty calls, he confidently steers ; 
 Faces a thousand dangers at its call, 
 And, trusting to his God, surmounts them all.' 
 
 ' When a man's ways please the Lord, He maketh even hia 
 enemies to be at peace with him.' 
 
 WILLIAM THORXTON BATE, RN., 
 
 FELL AT CANTON, 
 
 DECEMBER 29, 1857. 
 
 CAPTAIN H.M. SURVEYING VESSELS ACTION AND DOVE." 
 
 BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
 
 JAMES NISBET AND CO.'S 
 
 RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 MEMORIALS of the REV. JOSEPH SORTAIN, B.A., of 
 
 Trinity College, Dublin. By his WIDOW. Post Svo, 7s. 6d. cloth. 
 " This is a charming biography. . . . The whole volume is replete with varied 
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 THE LIFE and LETTERS of JOHN ANGELL JAMES, 
 
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 with a truth, candour, and graphic skill, which give it a very honourable placo 
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 LIFE-WORK : or, The Link .and the Rivet. By L. N. R., 
 
 Author of "The Book and its Story," and "The Missing Link." Crown 
 
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 Its Import, History, Present State, and Reformation. By the Rev. EDWARD 
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 "Marked in an equal degree by unaffected piety and strong common sense; 
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 MEMOIR of the LIFE and BRIEF MINISTRY of the Rev. 
 
 DAVID SANDEMAN, Missionary to China. By the Rev. ANDREW A. 
 
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 SCENES of LIFE, Historical and Biographical, chiefly from 
 
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 THE GRAPES of ESHCOL ; or, Gleanings from the Land 
 
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 THE ROMANCE of NATURAL HISTORY. By P. H. 
 
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 "This is a charming book. . . . This romance of natural history will be one of 
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 TRUE MANHOOD : Its Nature, Foundation, and Develop- 
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 EVENINGS with JOHN BUNYAN ; or, The Dream Inter- 
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 DAVID, KING of ISRAEL. The Divine Plan and Lessons 
 
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 By the Author of " Tales and Sketches of Christian Life," &c. 16mo, 2s. 6d. 
 
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 minds of children more powerful than any book of the kind we know ; and it 
 leaves the most distinct intellectual and moral impressions on the mind. And it 
 is intensely wise and religious, without a dull didactic word." Nonconformist.
 
 RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 MEMOIRS of the LIFE of JAMES WILSON, Esq., F.R.S.E., 
 
 M.W.S., of WoodviUe. By JAMES HAMILTON, D.D., F.L.S. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d. 
 
 cloth. 
 
 "Dr Hamilton's book is one of the most satisfactory of its kind which it has 
 been our fortune to meet with one of those which most happily achieve the true 
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 conviction that James Wilson, whom we never saw, is as well known to us, intus 
 et in cute, as if he had been one of our personal acquaintances." Spectator. 
 
 THE OMNIPOTENCE of LOVING-KINDNESS : Being a 
 
 Narrative of the Results of a Lady's Seven Months' Work among the Fallen 
 
 in Glasgow. Crown Svo, 3s. 6d. cloth. 
 
 "The title of this book almost claims for it a favourable notice. We are glad, 
 however, to say that its pages, more than its title, deserve this at our hands. " 
 Scottish Press. 
 
 HELEN DUNDAS; or, The Pastor's Wife. By ZAIDA. 
 
 With a Preface by the Author of "Haste to the Eescue." Crown Svo, 
 2s. Gd. cloth. 
 
 "This is an exceedingly pretty, well-written tale. Its object, much better 
 achieved than that of many a more pretentious volume, is to exhibit the pastor's 
 wife as a true 'helpmeet' to her husband." Dublin Christian Examiner. 
 
 HELP HEAVENWARD : Words of Strength and Heart- 
 cheer to Ziou's Travellers. By the Rev. OCTAVIUS WINSLOW, D.D. 18mo, 
 Js. 6d. cloth. 
 "This pleasant little book reads like a prose poem. It is replete with sound, 
 
 searching, practical remark, conveyed in the winning and affectionate spirit, and 
 
 with the luxuriant richness of phraseology by which the author is characterised." 
 
 Scottish Guardian. 
 
 THE SONG of CHRIST'S FLOCK in the TWENTY- 
 THIRD PSALM. By JOHN STOUOHTON, Author of "Lights of the World," 
 "Spiritual Heroes," &c. Crown Svo, 5s. cloth. 
 
 " Mr Stoughton's volume may be earnestly and warmly recommended. . . . 
 Its chaste piety will make it deservedly acceptable to a large class of readers. 
 Looked at with the purpose of the writer, we know of no recent volume of reli- 
 gious meditation which is likely to be more profitably read or pleasantly remem- 
 bered. It is a cheerful and harmonious rendering of David's celebrated psalm " 
 Daily Newt. 
 
 THE PENITENT'S PRAYER. A Practical Exposition of 
 
 the Fifty-first Psalm. By the Rev. THOMAS ALEXANDER, M.A., Chelsea. 
 Crown Svo, 3s. 6d. cloth. 
 
 " Mr Alexander gives its a literal translation of his own, very accurate, with an 
 analysis and explanation, in which some pithy things are drawn from old divines. 
 The body of the exposition follows, and the whole is wound up by a number of 
 other metrical translations, making the book all that can be desired for the plea- 
 sure and profit of readers who unite taste with religious feeling or desire. Of the 
 exposition itself we cannot speak too highly. It is soundly evangelical and deep- 
 ly impressive. The stylo is peculiarly lucid and terse ; every sentence eontaius a 
 thought, and every line a sentence." The Patriot. 
 
 THE LIFE of the REV. RICHARD KNILL, of St Peters- 
 
 burgh. With Selections from his Reminiscences, Journals, and Correspond- 
 ence; and a Review of his Character by the late Kev. JOHN ANGELI, JAMES. 
 By CHARLES M. BIRHELL. With Portrait Crown Svo, 4s. 6d. cloth. Also, 
 a Cheaper Edition, 'Js. 6d. cloth limp. 
 "An excellent biography of an admirable man." Record. 
 
 " Mr Knill was no ordinary man, and to write his biography was a duty due 
 both to his character and to his services. Mr Birrell has discharged this work with 
 fair ability and good judgment. . . . Mr James's Review is au elaborate, discrimi- 
 nating, and suggestive performance." Daily A'etci.
 
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 QUARLES' EMBLEMS. With entirely New Illustrations, 
 
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 " Each artist has done his task well the borders, which are Mr Rogers' share, 
 are in almost all cases exquisitely fine and fanciful, and admirably drawn " 
 Athenaeum. 
 
 EXPOSITIONS of the CARTOONS of RAPHAEL. By 
 
 RICHARD HENRY SMITH, Jun. Illustrated by Photographs, printed by 
 Messrs Negretti and Zambra. 8vo, 8s. 6d. cloth elegant. 
 
 " The handsome book now before us, containing a photograph of each of the 
 cartoons, with Mr Smith's very thoughtful and tasteful comments upon them, 
 will serve to perpetuate and to improve the salutary as well as gratifying impres- 
 sions which a view of those grand paintings must create." Daily New*. 
 
 SERMONS on the PARABLES of SCRIPTURE, Addressed 
 
 to a Village Congregation. By the Rev. ARTHUR ROBERTS, 11. A.. Rector 
 of Woodrising, Author of "Village Sermons," &c. Crown 8vo, 5s. cloth. 
 " An excellent volume of sound, practical instruction, well adapted for family 
 reading." British and Foreign Evangelical Review. 
 
 SERMONS on the BOOK of JOB. By the late Rev. 
 
 GEORGE WAGNER, Incumbent of St Stephen's Church, Brighton. Crown 
 
 8vo, 5s. cloth. 
 
 ' ' There is no attempt at subtle logic, or rhetorical eloquence, or learned criticism ; 
 but there is what is better than either a plain and forcible exhibition of scrip- 
 tural truth brought home to human hearts." Evangelical Christendom. 
 
 HOME LIGHT; or, The LIFE and LETTERS of MARIA 
 
 CHOWNE, Wife of the Rev. William Marsh, D.D., of Beckenham. By her 
 Son, the Rev. W. TILSON MARSH, M.A. of Oriel College, and Incumbent of 
 St Leonard's-on-Sea. Crown Svo, 5s. cloth. 
 " Her letters are the best reflections of her cultivated mind and loving heart, as 
 
 well as of the genial piety which diffused its fragrant odour over all her works. 
 
 We heartily recommend it to the notice of our readers." Record. 
 
 A MEMOIR of the late ROBERT NESBIT, Missionary of 
 
 the Free Church of Scotland, Bombay. By the Rev. J. MURRAY MITCHELL. 
 
 Crown 8vo, 6s. cloth. 
 
 " The memoir of such a man as Robert Nesbit must be valuable to the Church, 
 and we are glad that the task of publishing his remains was undertaken by a 
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 LIFE in the SPIRIT : A Memoir of the Rev. ALEXANDER 
 
 ANDERSON, A.M. By the Rev. NORMAN L. WALKER. With Preface by 
 
 Principal CUNNINGHAM, D.D. Crown Svo, 3s. 6d. cloth. 
 
 "The peculiar and pre-eminent value of the biography is, that it exhibits in 
 practical embodiment and working the theory of conversion which excludes, and 
 that which embraces, the Atonement. ... We have said enough, we think, to 
 convey to our readers some conception of the value and importance of Mr Walker's 
 work. We very earnestly commend it to them for perusal and study." The 
 Witnegt. 
 
 CHRIST and HIS CHURCH in the BOOK of PSALMS. 
 
 By the Rev. ANDREW A. BONAR, Author of " Memoirs of M'Cheyne," " Com- 
 mentary on Leviticus," &c. Demy Svo, 10s. 6d. cloth. 
 
 " There is a soundness in the work, because the writer admits an historical and 
 literal meaning, as adapted for general usefulness, while he responds to the voice 
 of the church in all ages by admitting that the Holy Spirit intended to teach all 
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 above many similar attempts to illustrate these devout compositions." Clerical 
 Journal.
 
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 THE PUBLIC SPEAKER, and HOW to MAKE ONE. 
 
 By a CAMBRIDGE MAN. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d. cloth. 
 
 " Preachers cannot fail to be benefited by a candid perusal of this treatise." 
 Clerical Journal. 
 
 " There are a great many very sensible hints hi this little book, which young 
 men may study with advantage." Church of England Magazine. 
 
 AN EXPOSITION of the SECOND EPISTLE to the 
 
 CORINTHIANS. By CHARLES HODGE, D.D., Author of "A Commentary 
 
 on the Epistle to the Romans." Post 8vo, 5s. cloth. 
 " We are inclined to prefer this volume to any other which we have seen from 
 
 his pen The verbal criticisms, though numerous, are brief and to the 
 
 point, never wearisome, or pedantic, or needless Dr Hodge has produced 
 
 a volume of great interest and value." Baptist Magazine. 
 
 THE UNSEEN. By WILLIAM LANDELS, Minister of Regent's 
 
 Park Chapel. Small crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth. 
 
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 as an able and vigorous, a full and impressive, setting forth of the leading features 
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 gelical Review. 
 
 THE PERSON and WORK of the HOLY SPIRIT: 
 
 Being Sermons recently Preached in London by Fifteen Clergymen of the 
 Church of England. With Special Reference to a Revival of Religion hi the 
 Church of God. With a Preface by the Rev. EMILIUS BAYLEY. Small crown 
 Svo, 3s. 6d. cloth. 
 
 " We heartily thank their distinguished authors for then* praiseworthy and, we 
 trust, not unfruitful efforts, to promote the study of the Spirit's agency, and a 
 sound, because a spiritual, revival of religion." Scottith Prest. 
 
 THE PRECIOUS THINGS of GOD. By OCTAVIUS WINS- 
 LOW, D.D. Foolscap Svo, 5s. cloth. 
 
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 nion, in his hours of devotion and meditative retirement, of the experienced and 
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 tended it to be, a book cheering solitude, soothing grief, and dispelling doubt, 
 depression, and gloom." Newt of the Churches. 
 
 REMARKABLE ANSWERS to PRAYER. By JOHN RICH- 
 
 ARDSON PHILLIPS. Small crown Svo, 3s. 6<1. clo:h. 
 
 " This is a delightful work on a subject of vital interest to every Christian. Its 
 narratives are of a striking and interesting character." Bann-r of Ulster. 
 
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 Times. 
 
 THE EVANGELISTS and the MISHNA; or, Illustrations 
 
 of the Four Gospels, Drawn from Jewish Traditions. By the Rev. THOMAS 
 ROBINSON. Demy Svo, 7s. 6d. cloth. 
 
 " We thank Mr Robinson tor this valuable contribution." Clerical Journal. 
 " We welcome the volume before us as indicating a return, on the part of mo- 
 dern commentators, to a more correct appreciation of the value of Jewish tradition 
 in Scriptural exposition." Baptist Magazine. 
 
 THE HIGHER CHRISTIAN LIFE. By Rev. W. E. 
 
 BOARDMAN. Edited, with a Preface, including Notices of the Reviv;ils, by 
 the Author of "Memorials of Captain Hedley Vicars," and "English Hearts 
 and English Hands." Crown Svo, 3s. 6d. cloth. 
 " There is a freshness and force hi the work which pleases us much, and we 
 
 think it is calculated to do much good among professing Christians The 
 
 Preface extends to more than forty pages, and contains a rapid sketch, inu-r- 
 spersed with facts, of the gracious revival which is now spreading so auspiciously 
 through the Churches." Evangelical Christendom.
 
 JAMES NISBET AND CO/S RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 THE TITLES of JEHOVAH : A Series of Lectures Preached 
 
 in Porttnan Chapel, Baker Street, during Lent 1858 ; to which are added, 
 Six Lectures cm the Christian Race, Preached during Lent 1857. By the 
 Rev. J. W. REEVE, M.A. Small crown 8vo, 5s. cloth. 
 
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 tion or superstructure." Record. 
 
 THE THREE WAKINGS, with HYMNS and SONGS. 
 
 By the Author of "The Voice of Christian Life in Song," "Tales and 
 Sketches of Christian Life," &c. &c. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. cloth. 
 " All of these poems mark an author of considerable ability, while many of 
 them are full of great beauty and feeling. Indeed, taken as a whole, the volume 
 will bear comparison with the works of those who have acquired a high reputation 
 in the world of poetic literature " St James's Chronicle. 
 
 " A very delightful volume of poems is that entitled ' The Three Wakings.' 
 The pulse of poetic beauty throbs among its pages." Critic. 
 " It will interest and delight the cultivated reader." Evangelical Magazine. 
 
 HYMNS of the CHURCH MILITANT. Compiled by the 
 
 Author of " The Wide, Wide World," &c. ISmo, 6s. cloth antique. 
 " It contains about five hundred sacred songs, admirably chosen from the 
 writers of almost every age and country. As a gift book to a Christian friend we 
 can hardly imagine anything more appropriate than this." Baptist Magazine. 
 
 THE GOSPEL according to MARK EXPLAINED. By 
 
 JOSEPH ADDISON ALEXANDER, D.D., Princeton. Post 8vo, 7s. 6d. 
 " The work is minute and full, but characterised by compression of matter and 
 
 conciseness of statement A sound theologian and an accurate grammarian, 
 
 he exhibits the advantages of the combination and well-balanced action of the 
 exegetical and doctrinal tendencies, by which at once a check is put on critical 
 trifling, and the tyranny of dogma is kept from overriding the canons of criti- 
 cism." Witness. 
 
 HYMNS of FAITH and HOPE. By HORATIUS BONAR, 
 
 D.D. Fcap 8vo, 5s. cloth. 
 
 " There is great sweetness both of sentiment and of versification in many of 
 these devotional hymns." Evangelical Christendom. 
 
 " A volume of hymns which glow with poetry and piety combined. Many of 
 them have found their way to many circles, and are greatly appreciated." London 
 Monthly Review. 
 
 THE LAND of the FORUM and the VATICAN; or, 
 
 Thoughts and Sketches during an Easter Pilgrimage to Rome. By MEW- 
 MAN HALL, LL.B. Small crown 8vo, 6s. cloth. 
 
 " This book will be read with much interest by all, and will amply repay the 
 time and trouble bestowed on it. The controversialist will find in it much to 
 startle and amaze his practised eye, and will, moreover, receive hints not entirely 
 useless in his special pursuits. We rise from its perusal with pleasure and profit." 
 Witness. 
 
 THE VOICE of CHRISTIAN LIFE in MANY LANDS 
 
 and AGES; Sketches of Hymns and Hymn- Writers. By the Author of 
 "Sketches of Christian Life," &c. Small crown 8vo, 5s. cloth antique. 
 " Hymnology is not an easy subject on which to write a popular book, yet the 
 author has made the attempt and succeeded. Its plan is partly literary, partly 
 historical, and partly biographical. The style is lively and picturesque, and free 
 from all reproach of dulness. The hymns are well chosen, and translated with 
 care and fidelity. The biographical sketches are clear and vivid, and shew consi- 
 derable insight into individual character. We can hear lily recommend this unpre- 
 tending book to those who have an interest in its subject." Guardian.
 
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