i^X^v^? Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/bishopamongstbanOOburyrich A BISHOP AMONGST BANANAS i V^ k I-1 s ^ ^Yp, i • ^ t ^ ^H m^ Wh\ ^^^BH ^^^p The Right Rev. Herbert Bury, D.D. A BISHOP AMONGST BANANAS BY THE RIGHT REV. HERBERT BURY, D.D. LATKLV P VOURAS AN'.' AND KOW or NOK(UfcHN ANU CENTRAL BUROPB. LOOKING UP London Wells Gardner, Darton & Co., Ltd. 3 & 4, Paternoster Buildings, E.G. l.vkBKRT h A BISHOP AMONGST BANANAS BY THE RIGHT REV. HERBERT BURY, D.D. LATELY BISHOP OF BRITISH HONDURAS AND CENTRAL AMERICA AND NOW OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE. " LOOKING UP London Wells Gardner, Darton & Co., Ltd. 3 & 4, Paternoster Buildings, E.G. TO ARTHUR FOLEY Lord Bishop of London WHOSE FRIENDSHIP AND BROTHERLY SYMPATHY AND COUNSEL, AMID THE SCENES AND CIRCUMSTANCES HERE DESCRIBED, HAVE BEEN A HELP AND INSPIRATION TO ME SUCH AS I SHALL NEVER BE ABLE TO EXPRESS IN WORDS H. B. LCADEMT or ACirJC COAST HISTORY FuLHAM Palace, S.W. lOth September, 191 1, My dear Bishop, I readily accept the Dedication of your book, for I am only thankful that I have had this privilege of being allowed to help you in your work by such advice and sympathy as I could give. You know how fully I have trusted your judgment all through this very trying Mission, both in accepting the office, and resigning it when you thought the right time had come for you to do so. I believe that you were sent there to do a particular thing at that particular time, which few but you would have attempted, and which has stimulated and directed Church work in that country of bananas in a way which will very soon be plainly seen and last for many a long day. I hope the book will be widely read, and gain in- creased interest and support for the work, which I know you will hold dear, and help in every way you can, as long as you live. Yours affectionately, A. F. London. PREFACE My time of service in Central America can hardly be called an episcopate in the ordinary sense of the word. With no home, no centre of work, no abode of any kind, but always moving on from place to place in a huge jurisdic- tion, I have had to fulfil what I may more fitly call an episcopal mission. It will be abundantly clear from the following pages that the Bishop of British Honduras ought to be a man, under ordinary circumstances, of between thirty and forty, but three years ago it was important that he should be one of both age and experience, if he was to obtain a hearing from those, both at home and abroad, whose consent and approval would have to be obtained if certain very necessary rearrangements in the work were ever to be carried out. It was from the special character of the work, therefore, that at the call of my revered Primate, the Archbishop of the West Indies, and of the vii Preface Provincial Synod, I consented to undertake it, although I had declined, when elected unani- mously to another Diocese, where all was in good order, four years before. I think I may venture to say that the special work I was called upon to do has been done, and " in far less time than could possibly have been expected," my Primate has more than once kindly and reassuringly told me ; and though I cannot say more at present, I am hoping that in a few months, perhaps even less, its results will be officially and publicly made known, both in our own country and in the United States. It will ever be a disappointment to me that I could not pay a farewell visitation to my Diocese, but though I have touched — as is right — with a light hand upon certain privations and exposures to which one was subjected both in 1909 and 1 9 10, yet they have had their effect, as one is no longer young, and I was warned by the medical authorities I can best trust, that if I did return the probability would be that I should be incapacitated from any other work in the future. As all was duly arranged, therefore, and the Preface way made clear for a younger man to take up the work, and have a home, and a centre of work, and other advantages such as of necessity had been denied to me, after consultation with the Arch- bishop and the bishops of the Province assembled in full Synod, I decided to resign, and it was finally arranged that I should do so in the July of this year. I feel that this personal explanation is neces- sary to those who read my book and see how keen and full of interest I have been, and still am, with respect to the work described, and who may wonder, therefore, why one's connection with it has been so short. I shall always thank God for having been called to it, and shall ever con- tinue keenly interested in it and help it all I can, and shall always regard the clergy and laity I have known in connection with it as close per- sonal friends. The illustrations are printed from photographs which I have taken myself, except my own por- traits at the beginning of the book, reproduced by permission of Messrs. Russell and Co., the coach-house dining-room in Jamaica, and the illus- b ix Preface trations to the chapter on the Panama Canal which have been furnished to me by friends in the States. I am indebted to the friendly Editor of The Treasury for having enabled me to give some of these experiences and incidents in the pages of his excellent magazine, and thus interest many people in the work both in our own country and the United States. And I cannot refrain from adding to my preface the following extract from Ex- President Roose- velt's kind letter accepting the dedication of the American edition : ** I took a very keen interest in your experiences in that unique diocese of yours, and I am glad that we are to have not only an account of these experiences, but a knowledge of your ideas as to what is the right type of work to be done under such strange conditions. It is a work both interesting and difficult, a work which only a thoroughly competent as well as a devoted and disinterested worker can do ; but a work of supreme value when rightly done. As an Ameri- can, I feel a very real sense of gratitude to you, Preface because we Americans are more deeply concerned In Central American problems and affairs than the people of any other country, even your own. Moreover, I am touched by the cordial sympathy of your interest in what we of this country have been doing on the Panama Canal Zone. My dear Bishop, I am able to testify, from my own knowledge, to the value of the work you did in Central America, from the standpoint of Chris- tianity and civilization, and I wish all possible success to your book and to you yourself" CONTENTS CHAPTER PACE I. A Unique Diocese . ... 11. My First River Expedition. III. In A Schooner Amongst the Cays IV. The Consecration of a Bush Church . V. Amongst the Bananas VI. Earthquakes and Volcanoes VII. "Floods, Landslides and Wash-outs" . VIII. On the Way to Panama IX. Beautiful Guatemala X. The Perils of Nicaragua . XI. Costa Rica . . ... XII. Easter Day at Panama XIII. The Greatest Engineering Enterprise in the World . ... XIV. White and Black . ... XV. The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica XVI. A Few Words to Laymen . xin I i6 32 46 61 79 93 107 123 137 154 167 182 196 212 226 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Frontispiece. The Rt. Rev. Herbert Bury, d.d. CHAPTER In the Bananas. In Church. The Rectory at the Cayo. A fallen Tree across a River. Tobacco Cay. Blessing the Schooner, at the Cay. Returning from the Consecration. The Church built for ^50, at its Consecration. Making a light Railway through the Bananas. The part already made. Carved work nearer view. A Guatemala Church. On a push-car. Leaving the Landslide. My first coloured wedding. A Service on board. List of Illustrations CHAPTER A View in Guatemala. " Muy cansada." Along the River. A.. With Indians in Guatemala. Making a Swamp into a Town. Over the River in a cradle. ,,.. Entrance to Canal. XII. Steam Shovel at work. Watching our boat go by on the old River. Alll. -jpj^g Bishop, the Rev. P. B. Simpson and some of his people. XIV. The Archbishop and his Coach-house home. Receiving the Bishop. With Englishmen on a Banana-boat coming home. "LOOKING UP." As I stood one mornings accordmg to custom^ at the door of Ofie of my timber churches in Costa Rica^ to say good-bye to the people after the Early Celebration^ before leaving them for that year, a tall^ strong negro came out^ leading his little boy of seven by the hand. When he afid I had expressed our mutual good- will in the usual " God bless you " a7id " God speed " heglaficed down at his little son, who at once, looking timidly up at me as he did so, recited a text, " Early in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, a?id will look up." It was a text I had taken weeks before at their Children's Service, a?id the father wished his bishop to see that one small person out of the con- gregation remembered what had been said. But I place the ificident here because it will always be to me typical and emblematic. Whenever I am thinking of the future of the dark race, I shall see again that little blackface tur?ied wistfully up into mine, and I shall feel that it is thus that the negro race is " looking up " into the face of the white race all over the world to-day, and especially in our great Empire^-^^ looking up " to us for example and leadership and responsibility fulfilled, for sym- pathy, friendliness and inspi7-ation ; and if I can awaken such feelings in my readers where they do not exist, or strengthen ajid deepen them where they do, then these pages will not have been written in vain, though many of them have been penned with great effort, and amid the scenes and incidents, the perils and vicissitudes they are meant to describe. A BISHOP AMONGST BANANAS CHAPTER I A UNIQUE DIOCESE I MUST, at the very beginning, carefully describe my Diocese ! That is certain ! It will not do to have any one reading on and all the time think- ing, as one of my clerical friends, a Canon and Rural Dean, admitted to me a short time ago, he had always thought " that British Honduras is an island." Neither should I like any to be saying to them- selves, " I am not sure where these places are, though I know they are somewhere south of the Isthmus of Panama"; and that has often been said to me, also, with other vague and uncertain surmises. It is quite extraordinary to think how com- pletely we Englishmen have lost all touch with 8 A Unique Diocese Central America and knowledge of its position ; for in the Elizabethan age I suppose it was as well known and as full of keen interest to us in this country, with so many of our best and most adventurous spirits going to and fro, as it is to the people of the United States to-day. No one, however, with us seems to know any- thing at all about it or where it is. Sometimes when I have mentioned it I have seen a look as blank and uncertain come over the face as if I had spoken of some place as remote as the middle of the Great Sahara. A great Church Dignitary, who has been most warmly interested in my work from the first, startled me very much at the end of my first Visitation, when I was describing it in his presence, by taking down an atlas and saying, '* Show me where your Diocese is before we go any further, for I must own that I am very hazy about it." I must try, therefore, to anticipate such a per- fectly reasonable request on the part of those I want to interest in the work, and will therefore in this first chapter describe it as fully and care- fully as I can, for it is indeed **A unique Diocese." The jurisdiction extends from the southern boundaries of Mexico — that great and prosperous Republic — down to the Isthmus of Panama, A Unique Diocese stopping short by about five miles of the Canal which the Americans are making there. It consists of British Honduras and the Spanish Republics of Guatemala, Spanish Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. It has a coast line of from looo to 1200 miles, but I should hesitate to go into exact figures as to this, or as to the area or the population, for it is at present unsurveyed. A very few words of description will, I think, explain the situation. British Honduras is an ordinary British Colony about the size of Wales, with but a small popula- tion of about 40,000, of whom 2 per cent only are white and the rest black — the negro descen- dants of the slaves of other days. It is for the most part entirely unsurveyed and unexplored, and consists of tropical forest ever luxuriantly growing, and so impenetrable that every foot of one's advance into it would have to be made by cutting one's way with axe and sword. Mountains as high as and higher than Snowdon can be seen not far away from the coast, but I have never yet met or heard of any one who has been there. The Colony remains for the most part quite un- known. This was the original Diocese. During the last ten years, however, a great development has taken place. The six Spanish 3 A Unique Diocese Republics I have mentioned possess some of the most fertile soil in the world and especially suit- able for the cultivation of fruit, and, particularly along the coast, for the banana ; and great tracts of country in Spanish Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama — and far down beyond the Isthmus — have been acquired and are being used for this purpose by the United Fruit Company of Boston and New York. But when they began their operations, the labour question, as all through the Tropics, was for them a serious one, for the natives of the countries, descendants of the old Spanish con- querors and colonists and the aboriginal Indians, a mixed race of course, were already employed in coffee growing, etc., and could not furnish, even if they had been willing to work on the banana plantations, anything like the large num- bers of labourers required, as the demand for them steadily increases year by year. Recourse was had therefore, at this juncture, to our British West Indies so conveniently near, Jamaica being only three days away from the southern border of the Republic of Panama ; and thousands of West Indian negroes, especially Jamaicans, are now at work for the Company, and are continually coming and going throughout 4 A Unique Diocese the year. These negro labourers are our own fellow-subjects, and a very great number of them are our own fellow Churchmen, and they are very loyal and persistent In character. It Is good to see one of our Jamaicans draw himself up and say, "I'm a British subject!" — sometimes he Inadvertently says ** object," but his meaning is the same, — full of intense self- respect as he does so. And it is no mere figure of speech either, as those find out who take an undue advantage of him. He has a very disagreeable way of turn- ing up, under those circumstances, at the British Consul's office or at the British Legation, if there is one, and claiming his rights in a manner ex- tremely disconcerting to the foreigner who has been attempting an injustice. And those who know our Civil Service will be sure that he always finds himself "backed up " when his claim is a just one. And the negro is just as persistent — I should say that persistence, though some call it obstinacy, is one of his leading characteristics — in claim- ing the rights and privileges to which he feels he is entitled as a member of the Church of England. He will have them if It is at all possible to get them, a determination entirely to his credit. 5 A Unique Diocese My predecessor therefore, Bishop Ormsby, found before he had been long settled down in the comparatively small see of British Honduras some sixteen years ago, that he had **to enlarge his borders " so as to take these negroes in. The Diocese was extended in consequence far beyond what was first intended for it, and by an Order in Council in 1894 it was made to include Guate- mala, Spanish Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica; and again in 1895 it was pushed still further and made to reach to the Magdalena river, far south of the Isthmus of Panama. When the United States, however, bought not only the property of the old French Company, but the adjacent land itself, as I have more fully explained in a later chapter, an act of Cession took place to the American Church and the southern boundary of the Diocese was with- drawn to a line five miles north of the Isthmus Canal. The position therefore is this, that the Diocese consists of the Colony of British Honduras, in size resembling Wales, and worked much as any other Diocese in the West Indies is worked ; but in addition it includes the Central American Republics, into which the Bishop goes, without in any way interfering with the people of the 6 A Unique Diocese country or their clergy, for they are all Roman Catholics, in order that he may provide for the spiritual needs of the imported labourers who are our fellow subjects and fellow Churchmen. This is an object with which I cannot but think that my readers will find themselves for the most part in full sympathy. It would be a very hard thing for those loyal Churchmen, black though they be, when practically driven away from their own homes by industrial pressure — in Jamaica a negro labourer has is. a day and in Central America 5s. — to find them- selves on the vast banana plantations to which they go, without any of the means of grace or opportunities of entering into the duties and responsibilities of public Christian life. Think of them coming to such places, with a very low standard of morality all round them, drinking, lust, gambling and practical heathenism on every side — for the Roman Catholic Church is at its weakest and worst in that part of the world, I have been told by some of its own clergy there — and with nothing and no one to help them ; no church to go to, no clergy to teach them and conduct their worship, give them the Sacraments, marry, visit, and advise them, — it would be a terrible position. 7 A Unique Diocese Thirty-five years ago, at the end of my first year at Oxford, I had to go and live for the greater part of two years in that same hemisphere, only lower down, for health s sake, and during that time on the cattle ranch, where I was then a guest, every one of us had fifty miles to go to the nearest church, fifty miles before we could have a service of any kind conducted by a clergyman, or receive the Holy Communion. Nor did any clergyman during that time ever pay us a visit. I feel, therefore, that I do know a litde of what it means in a man's life, and especially in the life of a young man, to have neither Church nor Parson within reach, and I can only say how thankful I am that our English Church has not left, and does not mean to leave, our negroes in Central America, so far away from their own home, in that desolate and unhappy condition. The country I have now described I do not hesitate to say is one of the most interesting, romantic, adventurous and beautiful in the whole world. It is the country to which we were always taken in thrilling stories of the Spanish Main, in the ardent days of boyhood, the land which we associate with the names of Columbus, Cortes, Pizarro, Alvarado, Sir Francis Drake and other British heroes. It was the scene of 8 In the Bananas. In Church. A Unique Diocese the noble efforts and self-denying labours and really great achievements of Las Casas, the great Apostle of the Indies. There is no more beautiful country on the face of the earth, with its tropical forests and rivers such as Kingsley describes in his chapter, The Banks of the Meta, in Westward Ho / with magnificent flowers, fruits, butterflies and birds, its fearsome-looking volcanic peaks towering up to the height of 13,000 feet, and great lakes and wide lagoons. There are still most interesting survivals of the old races, as in the Indians of Guatemala, their pottery, gold and silver orna- ments, their idols and ruined temples. No more magnificent churches have ever been built than those placed here by the early Jesuits and other Orders, and their ecclesiastical treasures in the shape of sacred vessels and vestments, missals and carvings of the choicest wood and stone, are still to be seen, and many more no doubt are waiting to be discovered. But these countries have orovernments some of which it would be simple flattery to describe even as mediaeval, so unblushing are they in their cor- ruption and oppression ; though they certainly give a great flavour of romance and mystery, a spice of the adventurous, to life within their own c 9 A Unique Diocese borders for those who, like one's self, have felt quite safe comparatively, knowing that the British Minister is a strong man and will stand no nonsense. But all kinds of strange stories are always coming to one's knowledge, and one knows that one is surrounded by spies in some of the worst of the countries, as one travels along the railway — when there is one — or over a lonely road upon a mule, or seated at a table in inn or hotel where the servant who hands one's food is probably in the pay of the Government. I could give some thrilling instances of what I am saying, but one has to think of the possibilities of the future, and so it is best to give neither instances nor names. Ever since the first extension of the Diocese it has been impossible for the bishop to have any real centre or home. Belize is of course the capital of the Colony, with its cathedral and cathedral parish ; the Synod meets there, and the Standing Committee and Corporate Body hold their meetings there, but it is near the northern boundary of the jurisdiction and the great bulk of the clergy can never go there, and so the bishop has not been able to live there either. He can in fact, while things remain as they are, lO A Unique Diocese have no home at all, though he may try and make an attempt at a centre, for if he visits every station and all his clergy once a year he must be ever on the move. I have travelled over the country I have described in almost every kind of way in which one can travel, in big liners and small steamships, as many of the stations are on the coast, in schooners, sloops, gasoline launches and river steamers, in large and small canoes, in every kind of ship, I often say, except an airship, on railway trains and trolleys and carriages, upon horseback and muleback, and, though not often, on foot ; and as I think of it all, I can only say again that I feel sure there is no more attractively beautiful or excitingly adventurous country in the whole world. I have some hope that I am leaving the next bishop a place that he can call a Home and from which he can make his annual Visitation in sec- tions, returning after each one to rest and **get over it " ; and no doubt this will be far better than going steadily through it all from beginning to end and taking the greater part of the year, but I feel that a certain part of the romance will be gone. There can be a real spirit of enthralling romance in spiritual life and work, and both II A Unique Diocese St. Paul and Las Casas must have had it ; and I can't help feeling very happy that a taste of it has come into my experiences also, and I humbly thank God for it, as one thinks how many better men than one's self have to be content with " the trivial round, the common task," and know no change nor variety of work. I shall never cease to remember with keenest interest of retrospect my arrival with my son three years ago, when I first reached the capital of my Diocese. It is a very bad harbour, and steamers have to anchor far out and unload into launches and small boats, and so the Governor's barge was kindly sent out for us. It was the loveliest of mornings ; the sun was shining in a cloudless sky upon a sea of tur- quoise blue, and as we steamed over the shallows, there before us was Belize, all white buildings and green palms, ** rising," as an American writer has truly said, ** like another Venice from the sea." As we drew near there came into sight a great gathering of folk of all ages filling up the fore- shore — all black, of course, but in white and many- coloured raiment. All the shades of the rain- bow were there. One could see nothing more picturesque, and I don't suppose I shall ever see 12 A Unique Diocese such a sight again. ** It is like the landing of Columbus ! " said my son. It was Belize's reception of its new bishop. How grave and serious those dark faces looked, wondering what sort of a bishop they were going to have! The Standing Committee, the Dean and Archdeacon, had all come out to meet me, and the reception seemed as if it were going to be a very solemn and serious matter, out of all character with place and people and surroundings ; so I took off my bishop's hat, the only time I have ever had it on when in my Diocese, waved it in the air, and cried out, *' Good morn- ing ! " '* How kind in you all to come and meet me like this!" ** I'm so glad to see you!" and all the cheery and friendly things I could think of; and, at once, as by magic, all those grave and serious looks had vanished, and brilliant flashing smiles and sparkling eyes and rows of shining teeth had taken their place. Willing hands were stretched out on all sides to help one ashore, and if one had had a hundred hands they would all have been seized and eagerly shaken. All wished to bid one welcome in this way and to shake hands. " Did you get him. Ma'am ? " said one dusky matron to another. ** Oh, yes. Ma'am, I got him good ! " and so on. 13 A Unique Diocese Then we all moved on through the little lanes and along the roads of what has been called "the cleanest and prettiest town In the West Indies" to the Cathedral, where with most kind forethought they had prepared a Service, feeling sure one would wish to go there first of all to give thanks to God for one's safe arrival, and pray that His grace, guidance, and blessing might be given from the first to the work. Of course. It was Impossible for that great crowd to get Inside the Cathedral, the large parish church of St. John's which has stood there nearly a hundred years, and has many touching memorials of the past upon its walls ; but that makes no difference on great occasions, for the huge doors and large window spaces stand wide open to let in the fresh air, and it Is as easy to see and hear outside as in, and sometimes even better, so great numbers that day stood outside in the large churchyard and entered heartily into the service. It began with a Processional Hymn, and as I stood there with my Archdeacon on one side and my son on the other, in the Governor's pew at the top of the nave, and watched the choir men and boys passing up into their places, their black faces above their white surplices and violet A Unique Diocese cassocks reminding me what a new life was beginning for me ; and then, as I sang the well- known words, and looked over the huge con- gregation, all black faces on every side, and out into the churchyard to meet the eager expressions of those who were standing there ; — although one was full of the devotion of the Thanksgiving Service we were offering to the Great Eternal, I found myself thinking also : " Well, whatever my Episcopate in the Providence of God may be, it will be as far away from the commonplace and conventional as anything can be, or I'm very much mistaken." I feel sure that any one who will patiently and thoughtfully go with me through these pages will feel that was a true premonition of what was to come, and that it was not as presumptuous as perhaps some might be disposed at first sight to think, to head my opening chapter **A Unique Diocese." 15 CHAPTER II MY FIRST RIVER EXPEDITION We have no roads in British Honduras! The chief means of communication in the interior, as one proceeds from the coast, are the rivers ; and as Belize, with its two well-worked parishes of St. John's, under Canon Davies, who has lately undertaken it, and St. Mary's, under Archdeacon Murray, now in his twenty-second year of service, does not differ from an ordinary town at home as to methods of working and results, I will take my readers with me therefore for a river expedition. Let us take the Rio Viejo, or Old River. I give its Spanish name because, as the Spanish- speaking country of Guatemala is close at hand, many names are expressed in that language along the rivers, and many of the labourers are of that nationality, though the prevailing language throughout the Diocese, of course, is English. We will go in a little gasoline launch, with i6 The Rectory at the Cayo. M_~H 38?** ''9jtZ' JT '-'^^ j2& / / / ,^.-^ I^^^^^^^^^^h^Hmb^ mis^ ^ --T- A FALLEN TREE ACROSS A RIVER. My First River Expedition a permanent wooden canopy overhead as a pro- tection from the sun, and a space for ourselves, just sufficient for two people to sit by day, and have a little canvas camp table for food, and to contain their little camp beds by night. We have a crew of four : the captain who steers, an engineer, a cook, and an odd boy. We don't propose to give the cook anything to do, though the men will need him, for we our- selves take a travelling basket in which there is a kettle for our tea, and a saucepan to boil eggs, and knives and forks and plates, etc. etc. We pack cooked food also into little enamel receptacles which fit easily inside the basket, and so are quite complete. Just a word or two about the food, for it is always the same : eggs, cold roasted fowls, bread, and Bartley's tinned pears. And I dare say some of my readers may be thinking, " And they do themselves pretty well, too"; but I can only say that there are fowls and fowls, and that the fowls of British Honduras must be very fair athletes from a very early age, if one is to judge from the strength of their steel- like muscles when they are killed and cooked. Often one has had to press one's hardest with one's knife upon the breast of the creature, only to see the flesh spring back into its place again, like D 17 My First River Expedition indlarubber, when one has taken the knife away. Still, one can get on very fairly well with pears and eggs and bread, which are all good, and bear with composure another roast fowl, sure to appear as the piece de resistance upon one's host's table when we arrive at our destination. How delightful those river expeditions are to recall ! We go swiftly up stream, making a re- freshing breeze all the time as we meet the air, the banks full of interest and variety on either side, and stopping now and then to see some interesting form of life — for my son is an ardent naturalist — or to deliver something brought up by the crew for friends they know. It is my own boat for the time being, as I have had to hire or charter it at my own expense, or otherwise some twenty-six or twenty-eight people would have been forced into that space which, when our own little camp beds were put up side by side at night, left no further room ! This hardly seems to be credible, I know, but the proprietors told me that it would be so if I went as a passenger. '' We would take you for nothing, Bishop," they said, **as an ordinary passenger, but as Churchmen we advise you not to go, for you have not the least idea what it will be like." I took their advice and hired the boat at i8 My First River Expedition considerable expense, and when later on I saw the twenty-eight people, men, women and chil- dren, and their dogs and parrots and parcels and bags, which were going up in her on the boat's next trip, I could only feel thankful I had done so. Later still, on the Nicaraguan coast, I was to learn what it means to be in an open boat upon the sea, with so many crowded together that it is impossible to sit, lie, walk, stand, sleep or eat with anything approaching convenience, and in which there is no provision whatever made for the ordinary decencies and necessities of life. We go on steadily, up towards the Guatemala frontier, along our winding river, sometimes through miles of mangrove on either hand (the tendrils of which come down into the river, and then, taking root, again grow upwards), butter- flies and brilliantly coloured birds fluttering through their branches ; and, as the country opens out a little, pretty houses painted in different shades of red and green, white predominating, with negroes now and then coming to the banks to see us pass by. It is full of interest and variety, this first river journey. Canoes, or doreys, as they are called when of the "dug-out" order, with picturesque 19 My First River Expedition occupants, laden with fruit or household stuff, are always meeting us or being overtaken, for the paddle is no match for our little gas engine. At times we come to shallows, where even our very flat-bottomed boat has to be carefully steered lest she gets aground, and sometimes we come to rapids where the engine is not enough, and strong poles have to help us along ; but one never gets tired of looking out on either hand. At last the night comes on, and our beds have to be put together and rugs drawn up and we go to rest. The moon is up — we have had to reckon upon that, or travelling by night would have been impossible — and the last we see before going to sleep is as beautiful as it would be if seen by day, though colour now is gone and all is black or silver-white. Such is a river journey, and in due time we arrive at our destination, El Cayo — eight miles from the frontier, and a place which will be im- portant some day if the Colony gets its due development. There is a large gathering of folk to meet us. A doctor friend had lent us his house, but it only contained two beds, we found, and we had to send off the willing boys, who had carried up our belongings, to borrow the various things which were needed to complete even a 20 My First River Expedition very elementary manage ; and speeding off in all directions they soon returned with the chairs, table, and fresh water and other things required. Our food we were to have with a Barbadian, a sidesman of the Church, and his kindly and hospitable wife. It may be occurring to my reader's mind, **Why didn't they stay with the clergyman, I wonder, or at least go there for their meals.**" But here is the rectory, which shall speak for itself It rather recalls the historic minutes of a certain Colonial Diocese which, when being read, con- tained the entry, **A grant was made to the bishop for j^20 to provide a palace " ; but humble as it looks, the Rev. William Hope and his wife have lived there with their eight children for many years, and have brought them up as well, I venture to think, as sons and daughters are brought up in any rectory or vicarage at home. Mrs. Hope especially is a noble woman, a perfect heroine, and I cannot attempt to express the respect and regard I feel for women such as she is, who in lonely parts of the Empire all over the world to-day, are year after year doing their work in the home, church, school and station, with nothing at all to redeem what so many would feel the deadly monotony of it all, except 21 My First River Expedition the one ever-sweetening and supporting thought, " It is my duty." It had long been an understood thing at El Cayo that, when it was known that the bishop had arrived, a Confirmation would follow that night without further notice. In many stations, as soon as one Confirmation is over they begin to have instruction for another, and so in a sense they are always prepared. In the afternoon I went to look at the church and shall never forget it. It was in a perfect "slough of despond" — with mud round about it on every side. Boards were laid down with a certain amount of fore- sight, but I should imagine it would be difficult to keep upon them at night, and, as a matter of fact, I had to mount a horse just before seven o'clock and go plunging through that thick and clinging mud in a way that reminded me of how mares are made to tread similar mud for brick making in Argentina. It was badly situated, that little church, and it was a meagre little building in itself, used for church, school, social gatherings, everything, though a great deal better, of course, than nothing. In the afternoon I paid calls upon some of the people, the District Commissioner and others, and then came the Confirmation at seven o'clock. 22 My First River Expedition When the plunging steed aforesaid had delivered us in turn at the steps of the church, we robed in a tiny little space at the west end of the church, and then hurried out so that the little black boys could go in and put on their rags which went by the name of surplices. We sat down, to wait, on boxes which had contained kerosene, just out- side, and looked at the little handful of children evidently full of curiosity, and the few candidates on the front seats, who made up all the congre- gation. At this moment good Mr. Hope came up and said indignantly : ** Just think, Bishop, one of my best candidates, a married woman, has sent me word that she can't come, as she has to put the children to bed ! " I don't think I have ever felt more dejected in my life at the prospects of a Service than I did that night when going up the centre of that little shanty church singing *' Onward, Christian Sol- diers." But you never can tell ! All the candidates but two, I found, were there, and the church had filled up — was crowded, indeed — when I began the first address. There was no mis- taking the spiritual earnestness that soon made itself felt in that little eager gathering, and I have never felt more moved in pleading for the 23 My First River Expedition great neglected Sacrament of Holy Eucharist, than I did that night in the second address to the newly confirmed and those who were present with them. I noted one old negress particularly, frail and feeble and almost crippled with rheumatism, as she made her way in, coming rather late, and moving with difficulty up to one of the front seats with the candidates, sinking down with evident satisfaction and relief With what devout interest she followed that service! how eagerly she listened to the message as embodied in the invitation, to be repeated again in the early morning, " Come unto Me, all ye that travail " ! That eager face 1 shall not soon forget, and I was to hear of it again. At the early Celebration she was there again, and all the confirmed, and many others with them. It was a goodly gathering, and one to rejoice the heart. " Do you think," I said to my host as I sat at breakfast in his little hut, **that there were many there who had not been before for any length of time ? " " I'm sure of it," he said ; " and one man, I know, had not been to Communion for fourteen years." And then he added hesitatingly and shyly, ** And that man, Bishop, was myself!" 24 My First River Expedition We at once grasped hands across the table, and I spoke my few words of congratulation and good cheer. It was most encouraging, and as I finished breakfast I said to myself, " I'll go round now and see what my friend is like who wouldn't come because she was putting her children to bed." Just outside a girl of seventeen came up to me, eager and almost breathless, and looking very ill, and at once began : " Oh, Bishop, I'm so sorry. I was to be con- firmed last night, but I was down with fever and could not get up, but I've come this morning." ** How far, my child ? " I said. ** Three miles," she answered. Under the hot sun, with the fever on her, she had toiled painfully along the river-side lest she should miss her Confirma- tion ! "Come with me," I said. "Of course I'll confirm you, and gladly." And then, going on, I reached the little abode of that over-solicitous mother of the night before. How little one can judge by what one hears ! She began at once : "Oh, Bishop, I'm so glad to see you ! I ought to have come last night, but I have an old mother, crippled and feeble, and who hasn't long to live, and who had set her s 25 My First River Expedition heart on coming to hear you and be at the Con- firmation. One of us would have had to stop at home and take care of the children, for they can't be left, and as every neighbour wanted to be there I thought I ought to give way. I hope you'll think I did right, for you don't know what those services have been to my old mother." I did know, for I had already seen that *'old mother's face" in Church, and one entered very thoughtfully upon the confirmation of her dauorhter. In the afternoon a young man of twenty-two came to see me, having heard far away in the woods that there was a Confirmation, and who, I could see, had had little or no instruction ; but the leading and direct question, '* Why do you want to be confirmed ? " brought such a straight and earnest answer, that I thought it quite worth while to give up the greater part of the afternoon to his instruction, and at Evensong, he also pro- fessed Christ before men "in the presence of God and of that congregation." These are the incidental experiences of a bishop in a Diocese like mine, where occasional and individual Confirmations are quite as interest- ing and encouraging as the usual and ordinary Services. 26 My First River Expedition And so the time at the Cayo passes away — business, receptions, committees, services, special calls, and so on. One gets a ride in a marvellous forest high above the river, one's steed taking sudden leaps in noticing dangers such as snakes unnoticed by one's self, but causing imminent peril from branches overhead, and on coming to an open space dashing across at an exhilarating gallop. Then the chief landowner decides that he will give me land in a better position, away from that appalling mud, and bordering upon the future main road, for a new church, and thank- fully I help him to measure off the space. Since then I have got the money required — ^300 — and long ago those rags of my first night's Service have been replaced by red cas- socks — a black face looks so odd above a black one, and it charms the negro boys to feel that they are attired like the boys of Westminster Abbey — and new white surplices, and all other kinds of additions and improvements have been added to the little church. One has much to be thankful for since that first episcopal visit ! The District Commissioner appeared just after the marking off of the land, and proposed that I should accompany him on an expedition to the Guatemala frontier only eight miles away, but 27 My First River Expedition I found it would take eight hours because of the mud, and had to decline. Instead, I had to pay a sick visit which is worth remembering. ** There are two men down with fever, Bishop, and the doctor" (we were occupying his house) '* is far away. Will you come and see them ? " Off we went to a little hut where the two negroes were lying upon their beds, in opposite corners, very weak and evi- dently in great pain. One was a fine, strongly- built fellow, and the other less robust, but both of them greeted me with very wistful and rather hopeless looks. I talked to them and cheered them up, and then gave them my usual remedies in such cases, phenacetin to lessen the tempera- ture and relieve the throbbing headache, and then tabloids of quinine to be taken regularly after about three hours to tone and brace up. When I went in next day the strong fellow was up and smiling. *' Before the door had closed almost. Bishop, I was asleep, and when I woke up my headache had gone, and I began to take the quinine, and now the fever is all gone to-day." I turned to the other, and he too said cheerfully, *'And I'm better too"; but I saw through the effort and felt it was a serious case, and so, after consulting his mates, decided 28 My First River Expedition to take him down the river with us that night. His gratitude was very touching, and having chartered the boat and being able to do what one liked with it, we were able to take him with us, for he would certainly have died if left. His friends carried him to the boat, and we took every care of him and got him into the hospital at Belize, where he had a long time of it, but eventually recovered ; and a year later, when I was again at the Cathedral for a Con- firmation, he was one of those upon whom I had to "lay hands." It is a great thing to feel that one has had the privilege of saving a fellow creature's life. When we left El Cayo it was as picturesque a sight as one could ever wish to see. The moon was at the full, a small band had escorted us down, the people were gathered together, nearly all in white, their usual dress for going to church, standing on a great bluff above the river. Our little boat looked very pretty with its hurricane lamps all brightly burning. Even the sick man on his spring mattress, which we had been able to supply, was full of interest and animation, and all kinds of salutations and "Good-byes" and *' God bless yous " were exchanged as we first 29 My First River Expedition shot up the river past the bluff in order to turn, and then went swiftly down, this time greatly helped by the stream ; and soon El Cayo had faded from our view. We talked over our stirring experiences (and it was that night I determined that I must write a book like this), and then our little camp beds were unpacked, put together and set up, our rugs drawn over us, and by ten o'clock we were fast asleep. One sleeps soundly in the tropics in the open air in a river or coasting boat, but we were not destined to do so that night. About half-past one we were roused by a startling crash, and I found myself sitting up, covered with the wood of the broken canopy overhead, wondering what had happened. A great flare went up from the little gas engine, and then went out. From the river came the panting of a man swimming for his life, for it swarmed with alligators. We had suddenly smashed into a tree which had fallen across the river since we had passed up, and which a slight mist above the water had prevented our captain from seeing. Its branches had swept our sleeping cook in his hammock straight into the river, and it was his effort to regain the boat we had heard. The shock had 30 My First River Expedition destroyed the engine and injured our wooden canopy, but mercifully no further harm was done. With a similar experience, a little later, three people lost their lives, so we have ever since felt devoutly thankful for our own escape. The negro mechanics on these boats are most handy men, and it was astonishing how ours was able to repair that hopeless-looking engine and so enable us in a few hours to go on, and reach Belize again only a very little later than our expected time. This is a fair sample of an episcopal visit to a lonely station, just as one would go up the New River also, though it is narrower than the Old. There, however, the steamer simply rips its way in places through the foliage, strewing its deck with leaves and branches, up to lonely Orange Walk, where the Rev. F. E. Smith and his devoted wife — and a large family — live and do just the same good work with nothing to keep them up but that simple wish to do their duty which one met with at El Cayo. 31 CHAPTER III IN A SCHOONER AMONGST THE CAYS Let us now go for an expedition of special interest, in a small schooner, amongst those cays, or small islands, which are dotted about the waters of British Honduras, within that great reef which extends in a long line down the coast, though some eighteen or twenty miles away, and forms a great protection to the small craft of the men who live by fishing and catching turtle. As in our river expedition we charter the boat, but this time at a very moderate rate, £i a day. It is a delightful little schooner of some thirty tons, and with a crew of four again. Alec Swazey the captain, and Tom Gill and his two brothers. Alec and Tom had built the boat themselves at their own little cay, and are justly proud of it. They call it Le Dernier — the last built — which I thought a very futile name, but have not been able to suggest another as yet, for all the names of boats are registered, whether great or small, which are sailed beneath the British flag, and it 32 Tobacco Cav. Blessing the schooner, at the Cay. In a Schooner amongst the Cays is very difficult indeed to get a good name, which has not been used before. I wanted Hope, or Fair Hope, or Good Hope, for special reasons, but all three were already in use, and so our schooner remains Le Dernier for the present. One's outfit is just as it was before, with the exception of the camp beds now left behind. There is a cabin in the Dernier with two bunks, and so this time we take mattresses to put in them, chairs and tables as before, and of course the travelling basket duly replenished with cold roast fowls, bread and pears, and other good things. It was delightful to set out for an ex- pedition over the sea, which was to be indefinite, in a sense, with no time fixed for our return, and feeling at liberty to keep our clean and bright little craft till our work was done. The Governor — Sir Eric Swayne — took us off in his barge, coming himself to inspect our boat. He is an ardent sailor, and subsequently built a sloop which surpassed our Dernier, and in which I have enjoyed a sail or two with the keenest pleasure. He was very pleased with our little boat, and wished he was coming with us ; and certainly the auspices were good that bright, clear sunny morning as we drew up our anchor, though a black and horrible - looking triangular F 33 In a Schooner amongst the Cays fin moving slowly past us, just standing clear of the water but not showing the shark himself, relentless and ill-omened looking, reminded us that we were launching forth upon a perilous deep. But what a change from the gas engine of a little river launch, and its vibrating movement and pungent smells, to the quiet, graceful, sweep- ing, swan-like movement of our schooner as it glides over the sea, almost noiselessly except for the little rippling swish of the waters parted by our bows ! We sweep grandly on for a time with the Coxcomb Mountains on our right, stretching away into the unknown interior, the sea quite gay with other craft, the shores of richest green, cocoanut palms, bananas, mangrove — all different in shade, but always green. The wind drops a little, and we have to begin to tack, taking large sweeps as we do so. A red cross flag — St. George's — with a mitre in one corner, is flying at our mainmast and is intended to announce that the boat is engaged for an episcopal visitation. Such days are indeed a renewal of one's youth, and the air one breathes seems to be a veritable elixir of life, and again and again I shall have to say of them that they will " never be forgotten," and I mean just what 34 In a Schooner amongst the Cays I thus say. It will be impossible while memory holds good to forget either the days themselves or their indelible impressions. It will not be possible to describe at length the places to which one went for Confirmations and other Services. Space would not permit. I will therefore describe two only, one upon the sea and the other on the mainland, and from what one says of these two an idea can be formed of what one found and experienced in other places. Tobacco Cay is a little island of white sand measuring about six acres, and some ten or twelve miles from the mainland. Six hundred cocoanut palms grow upon it and cover it com- pletely over, coming down to the very waters edge and giving it the appearance, as one draws near, of a beautiful green bouquet held up above the waves. Not till one draws quite close does one see the white sandy edge of the shore, even with the water — a few high waves apparently would sweep clean over it — and under the palms the few houses and the little school church, all of timber and painted white, raised high up on strong wooden posts to keep things dry in case of high water or flood. There are some sixty or seventy people, men, women and children, here altogether, and any 35 In a Schooner amongst the Cays one who wants to live the simple life could hardly do better than try it at Tobacco Cay. It seemed to me an ideal community. Here on the island our four men lived — we visited their families — and here they had built their little boat only a very short time before, and ours was its first charter. It was early in the morning when we arrived, and our crew told us we need take no food ashore, as they would have made every hospitable preparation for our recep- tion, so we gave them all our bread and the remaining roast fowl, and landed. I remembered as I was doing this that it was a somewhat incautious "burning of our ships," but put the thought aside as unjust to our worthy islanders, and forgot all about it. But I was to remember later. In a little station like this one has a school- master who is also a licensed lay reader, and he teaches and conducts services in a school church, and has the clergyman from the mainland to come over from time to time during the week, and give a special service and Celebration of Holy Communion. They are a simple, quite clean and straight living people — all black, of course — and "follow the sea" for a livelihood, either by fishing or 36 In a Schooner amongst the Cays catching the small turtle which give us " tortoise- shell." I have a beautiful shell, all complete above and below, with a wonderful polish put upon it by an English firm, hanging up before me in my study in England, caught in these waters and sent me by my former crew. Their " shell " they sell, of course, in Belize ; fish they eat when fresh, and dry quantities in the sun for use in time of stress and storm, and as I went about exploring I found a large quantity hung up to dry on a kind of clothes line, the smell of which was rather strong. The lay reader, a very fine, capable and modest young fellow, took me everywhere, and helped me to make calls and see everything ; but as it drew near to noon we began to feel those pangs of hunger which are only to be really known by those who are just living on the very bare necessaries of life ; and so I at last took courage, and inquired, ** Mr. C , will there be any food for us ? " '* Food ! " he said in a startled way — ** food ! " ** Yes,'* I said more firmly, "food, for we have none aboard, and I should be very thankful for a meal, however simple." "Well," he rejoined, " I'm afraid we shall have nothing for you. Bishop, till to-night." 37 In a Schooner amongst the Cays '*And what are you going to give us then?" I asked, thinking perhaps we might last out for something really satisfying. " It will only be a little light pastry and ice- cream, Tm afraid," was his reply. I could hardly believe my ears — 'Might pastry and ice-cream" on that small and lonely island! But it was perfecdy true. They had sent to the mainland for half a hundredweight of ice — only half of it survived the journey — and were mak- ing little cocoanut tarts as well, so that they could have a first-class '* Jce-cream Social " in honour of the Bishop s visit. Of course it was impossible one should wait, and so I proposed that, like St. Peter, we should "go a-fishing." What an afternoon that was in our frail canoe ! We looked over its sides deep down into what seemed infinities of ultramarine, gem - like, clear, still water of palest green it seemed at one moment, and then, as the light changed, of faintest glittering blue. It was fascinating and astonishing, and in a sense alarm- ing, for one realized what a shark could do if it understood, and chose to come under and upset our light canoe as it danced upon the water. We saw strange forms moving below as we gazed down ; great fishes came and quietly ate off our 38 In a Schooner amongst the Cays bait, avoiding the hook. My son pulled up a strange creature shaped like a fish, stout and bulky, but all shell, like mother-of-pearl, with great goggle eyes looking indignant reproach. We were told it was poisonous to touch, and it was skilfully unhooked and put back. But at last we were rewarded by a beautiful large fish called amberjack being caught, which Tom Gill pronounced to be good to eat. We at once put back to our little cay, and twenty minutes were sufficient to roast it, and see it upon the table. In the evening we had our Service with every- body present — eager, reverent, attentive, — and notice and invitation given for Holy Communion next day. Then, somewhat late, our " Ice-cream Social " followed, in the open air, of course, under the cocoanut palms, followed by speeches of wel- come and goodwill. Paper lanterns lit up the scene, the murmur of the sea, so close at hand, accompanied our voices. It was a little idyll of simplicity and good feeling — a little picture of ** Brethren dwelling together in unity " such as I have seldom seen before, and probably shall never see again. A little wooden house had been lent us, and so we slept ashore that night with doors and 39 In a Schooner amongst the Cays windows wide open, the wind blowing almost fiercely over us, but giving us good and refresh- ing sleep until the dawn. We had two Celebra- tions : one for the convenience of an old sick creature after the seven o'clock Service, and forty received Communion out of that small population of between sixty and seventy men, women, and children, and of course all our crew. After breakfast I blessed the little schooner for them, as this had not yet been done ; the people all gathered together on the shore full of interest and attention. It was with a feeling of real regret that we sailed away later in the day from Tobacco Cay, the people sitting on the roots of their cocoanut palms about the landing- place and singing rather sadly, *' God be with you till we meet again." The whole visit showed us the dark race at its best — their low, rich voices, their quiet, dignified movements, their refined and courteous bearing to one another, for our negroes always impress me at such times with their very good manners — all seemed to blend in with the quiet life they lead in the shade of their ever-waving palms upon the cay. Next we passed on over a calm sea, with much tacking to be done, to Stann Creek, with its Rector, the Rev. Henry Cooke, who had come 40 In a Schooner amongst the Cays to fetch us, on board. He had been there, an Englishman and his wife and children, for seven years without a change, though since then, I am glad to say, he has been moved to a cooler place, four thousand feet above the level of the sea, at San Jos6, the capital of Costa Rica. Stann Creek will in time be a very important place if our Colony of British Honduras gets its due and full development. It is only a few hours from Belize, but has good water in which even liners can come up alongside the pier and discharge passengers and cargo, and — it has a railway ! This has been a very important enterprise, and I cannot help thinking that the Government will find themselves well repaid in the future for their foresight in making it. I will give the rest of the chapter to the railway, and ask the reader to picture to himself the Confirmation, Holy Com- munion, and other Services — we were there over a Sunday — going on just as I have already de- scribed, our crew coming ashore to attend them, though we were not sleeping on board ourselves. On the Monday we started off to inspect the little railway — to be completed for the present in twenty-five miles — on a trolley. Of all the modes of travel which have fallen to my lot, for pure en- joyment, give me a trolley ! Two or three stalwart G 41 In a Schooner amongst the Cays negroes work a pumping arrangement ; there is support for the back, and one goes gliding through the fresh, pure air, as the motion of the car stirs it to a breeze, with a delicious sense of freedom as different as possible from the confinement of a rail- way carriage. On through the tropical forest one went, with brilliant birds and butterflies and flowers on every side. A large tiger-cat came bounding out from our left, and after running along for a little while with a perfectly indescrib- able grace, bounded again into the forest on the right, a suggestion of the wild and savage life with which we were surrounded. We passed over rails laid upon marble, for when the engineer and constructor were wonder- ing how they would be able to lay a firm track for the metals across the swamps, they found a small hill of marble quite close to their projected line, which only had to be hewn out and carried away. I went to see it, and gazed in astonishment at this strange upheaval of pure white stone (covered partly over with maidenhair and hart's tongue- shaped ferns and flowers) which had been found so opportunely. We were under the care of Mr. Boyle, the engineer of the railway, a most capable and well- 42 In a Schooner amongst the Cays informed man and most hospitable host. He ex- plained all the difficulties they had to encounter in the construction of even that small line — a bridge had just been swept away by a flood and replaced. At Railhead we saw all the clearing of the tropical forest going on, the weird steam- shovel at work, and all the interesting things connected with railway construction under such circumstances. Walking away clear of everything and taking me with him, he turned to me and said, '* And now, Bishop, you have been further into the interior of British Honduras in this part than any living man." So little is known of the country as yet ! We are hoping great things from that railway. Already stations are being formed along its course and the forest cleared. Roads will be made, though the rapid growth will always be a hindrance to their maintenance, and land will be let out on easy terms by the Government for banana and maize cultivation, and other forms of agriculture. I hope the possibilities will soon begin to attract some of our steadiest and most thrifty Jamaicans from the Central American plantations down the coast with the prospect it holds out of their being able to get little places of their own. 43 In a Schooner amongst the Cays The Government intends also to help them by buying their small supplies of produce, and selling them themselves to the Fruit Company ; which will be a very great boon to them, and a great encouragement, at any rate at the start. British Honduras is very fortunate in having a really public-spirited Governor in Sir Eric Swayne, whose one great object in life, whether his policy vexes or pleases, is the good of his Colony. I have a great regard and respect for him, and also for Mr. Collet, the Colonial Secre- tary, and owe them much for their great kindness, hospitality and unvarying friendliness. May the British Honduras Railway be a great success, and all that it is expected to be ! "^ After our stay at Stann Creek was over, the night came, at length, on which we had to bid goodbye to our crew. It was to us a sad part- ing. We had really grown quite attached to them, and they apparently to us. I shall often think of those nights beneath the stars when I would begin to talk first with the brother who was steering ; then the others would join us, and all would question and comment in their rich, deep, low voices, as we talked about religion * I have had to put the illustrations of this railway, partly made and in the making, in Chapter V. 44 In a Schooner amongst the Cays and the spiritual life, with a naturalness and freedom and simplicity which I have never yet known in my own countrymen. Everything connected with that expedition will ever be de- lightful to recall, but especially those wonderful nights and earnest conversations under the stars amongst the cays. 45 CHAPTER IV THE CONSECRATION OF A BUSH CHURCH Some days in life are never to be forgotten ! One day in the early part of this year will rank amongst such days for some of us, who live and work on the shores of the great Gulf of Hon- duras, near the Caribbean Sea. It was between four and five o'clock that morning, February 1 7, while it was yet dark, that we were splashing the sleep out of our eyes in our cold baths at Monkey River, on the coast of British Honduras, and soon after, just as the day was breaking, we were gliding swiftly in a dorey, or dug-out canoe, down the coast to Punta Negra, some twelve miles away. I and my son, the Rev. P. B. Simpson, and three of his people formed the party, and we were the guests while the other four paddled our large and comfortable craft over the rippling waves. A young Creole, Solomon, lithe and slender as a panther, stood upon the bow, now paddling and now poling — for it was often shallow ; next 46 Thk Church built for ^^50, at its Consecration. Returning from the Consecration. The Consecration of a Bush Church him came Mr. Simpson, one of the best dorey men on the coast ; next him '* Dode," a Creole with a little of the Carib in him ; we were placed next, and in the stern sat another Creole, Adol- phus. The four sent the dorey swiftly along, the fish shooting^ out of the sea and throuorh the air in all directions as we went. Then came the sunrise, and the most wonderful tints following it, and in due course we were at our destination. Punta Negra is one of the most delightful places I have ever seen. It is a small collection of timber and wattle-houses at a very stormy point on the British Honduras coast, but is a quiet and peaceful little place in itself When- ever I have been there the clean white sand, and the waving cocoanut palms overhead, the blue sky and sapphire sea, with the pure fresh air blowing in from the sea, have made one feel that it was like some litde corner in the Garden of Eden. The lives of the people there are as clean and wholesome as their surroundings. ** There are no nasty vices lurking in the shade here," said Mr. Simpson to me when I went there with him for the first time from Monkey River, where he is Rector ; '* no bad habits and things to find out. All is just as you think it to be, when you see 47 The Consecration of a Bush Church them assembled to welcome you, in their white attire." Last year I had a Confirmation in this place — three young fellows just going out in life, to begin fishing for shell — and the little timber-room that did duty for church and school could not hold the people. It was then that Mr. Simpson asked if I could help him to a Bush Church, and the result has been a wonderful little building which holds a hundred people. It is built of ** cabbage," which seems to me a most unsuitable and unworthy name to give to the wood which one gets from the trunk of the royal palm, and which is so very splendid for its purpose, in resisting both the effects of the weather and the attacks of insects. The frame, of course, is of ordinary ** lumber," and it is raised well above the ground on tall uprights ; it has good windows, is well floored and prettily painted, and has a grand roof of palm-leaf thatch — far the best to have at that part of the coast — and without the benches and all the other necessary fittings it cost only ;^50. It is expected to last at least from fifteen to twenty years, and, if carefully repaired, will probably last a great deal longer. Of course, the people themselves, 48 The Consecration of a Bush Church including the Rector, have worked hard at the erection of their new church, but still the actual technical labour is included in the cost above mentioned. It is a most dainty and attractive little build- ing, and it was very touching to see the thankful and innocent pride with which the people looked on as I made my first inspection of it after my landing. It was to them a cathedral ! "How wonderful it is ! " " It's grand ! " " What a place ! " " Splendid ! " with deep breaths to emphasize the words, one heard on all sides ; and certainly it did look very attractive in the morning light, especially the interior, which was fitted up with gifts from friends at home, and linen, etc., from the guild of my former London parish. A large red cross rises from one of the gables. Nothing was wanting ! And that perfect day ! I shall never forget it, following immediately upon a wet and dull one ; but as I spoke of it to little groups of women they replied at once, and in a most matter-of-fact tone, " Yes, it is. Bishop ; but we have been praying for it for weeks " — to them a full and sufficient explana- tion. The people of Punta Negra are cocoanut growers and fisher folk for the most part. A n 49 The Consecration of a Bush Church *' cocoanut walk " is quite profitable if properly tended, each tree yielding a profit of about four or five shillings a year, as cocoanut oil is in ever-increasing demand ; but the Punta Negrans have but a few palms each, and are not on the way to fortune yet. Fish is very abundant, and the Caribs and others live principally upon it, with the yams and other vegetables and roots they grow. Eggs and fowls now and then, with turtle occasionally, are their only other dishes. As soon as we had made all the necessary pre- parations the Consecration followed, everyone — man, woman and child — who could possibly get there being present. The Rev. P. B. Simpson led the way, then my son, bearing the pastoral staff, and I followed, pronouncing the " Peace be to this House of God" as we entered, all then joining in our Processional Psalm, " The earth is the Lord's and they that dwell therein." It seemed as if all beautiful influences from the world of Nature entered with us to assist at that Consecration service ! A Creole gathering for Divine service is always picturesque. Everyone, of both sexes, tries to come in white ; the women like to have a bit of colour also and the men a flower if it is a special service ; and they love to worship. One 50 The Consecration of a Bush Church can't have too many hymns, they can't have too much to do, and the Sermon can't be too long, especially if it has any interesting reference to the occasion. It was a most reverent and beautiful service, and we all realized that day, I think, the solemn presence of Him Who, "though the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain Him, much less that house which we had builded," yet is ever ** in the midst of those gathered together in His Name," and continually fulfils His promise, when worshipped in spirit and in truth, and in the place where His Name is placed, to "come unto us and bless us." Every communicant in the place and neigh- bourhood received the Holy Communion at that service, and I verily believe that that litde church will be more and more consecrated, as the years go on, by the prayers and worship of its simple people. The accompanying photograph was taken just after the service, and before we all went our different ways to breakfast. In the afternoon we had an opportunity of seeing what the coast is like a little further down, and all three went for a six miles' walk, to visit Blue Bight, or " Little home," as it is called by some. The tropical sun was very fierce, and we 51 The Consecration of a Bush Church were bathed in perspiration, but the fresh air blowing in from the sea kept one feeling cool, and it was delightful to sit at the end of our walk, and rest and chat in the hut of some old Creoles who had lived there practically all their lives. The articles of furniture were very few, the floor was white sand — "a carpet which never needs shaking to get the dust out of it," I remarked, which brought tremendous laughter from those simple folk. They had nothing to offer in the way of refreshment except a fresh cocoanut or two, from which we drank the water ; but we could desire nothing better, and the whole scene was one of simple, clean, honest life and domestic duty and peace. We must try to give them a little place of worship in time. It is far for the old people to go up to Punta Negra, though they were all there that day, of course, and at present they have their services, when they can get them, in the house we visited. In the evening at Punta Negra, once more, we had our Confirmation, with all the same people there. Everyone present was there to share in the service, not to look on ! In the ** short space for silent supplication " one felt that everyone was saying **Come, Holy Ghost," and that every 52 The Consecration of a Bush Church soul was " inspired " that night with new desires of service. All this made one feel the reality and beauty of the prayer after the Confirmation, as it brings out the ministrations of the whole Body of Christ, in the act and person of the bishop, when he says, " upon whom after the example of Thy Holy Apostles we have now laid our hands." The service ended about half-past eight, and one stood at the door shaking hands with those warm-hearted people, receiving their " God bless you. Bishop ! " and " A safe passage back ! " and laying a hand of blessing on the little children's heads as they were carried past by their mothers, fast asleep ; and then we all turned our thoughts to our return. We had been looking forward to it all day — our return over the sea by moonlight when the wind had dropped — but, unfortunately, it had not dropped, and was blowing half a gale, and return was impossible until it had ceased, and we must wait. There were no spare beds in Punta Negra, though there were a few forms and a canvas trestle arrangement, facetiously called a cot, which fell to me. My son and I elected to sleep out of doors by the sea, I on the cot and he on forms, under the cocoanuts. We were reminded, when 53 The Consecration of a Bush Church a great nut came crashing down and bruised my elbow, that we must be careful in such a place. If it had been my head I might not have been writing these lines. But we rested well on our rough couches, muffling up our heads when the mosquitoes became too numerous and too attentive, and snatched some sleep ere we were roused, just before five, with the welcome news that the wind had changed. Soon we were launching our dorey through the heavy surf, and then speeding back to Monkey River, gazing at the wonders of another golden sunrise out of an opal sea! Monkey River is a characteristic little bit of British Honduras, and gives me the opportunity of describing a little station on the coast and offering my tribute to a good man's work there, though I fear he will be very cross with me should he ever read these pages. The Rector in question went out to British Honduras at the age of twenty-three, and is now, I believe, about thirty-seven, and has never, as far as I know, had a holiday all the time, nor desires one. He has stuck to his work and kept to Monkey River, though he was once transferred, for a short time, to what would be considered a far more agreeable place, but on the first 54 The Consecration of a Bush Church possible opportunity hastened back to Monkey River. This is his day. In the early morning he sees his people on their temporal concerns, giving them advice and information, signing papers, and so on. At nine o'clock he goes into school, held on the ground-floor of his large Rectory in a room which has to do duty for church also, the altar being curtained off, and there he teaches some eighty or ninety children from nine to four with an interval at mid-day for a meal. In the short time which follows, as it grows suddenly dark immediately after six o'clock he has to do his visiting and other pastoral work. He can have no leisure at all, and when I have been with him I have been very much exercised both as to the food he ate and the time he got for sleep. Sundays he has for church, and week nights also, and there are four places, to my knowledge, where he gives services and visits his people. These are all of the labouring class, fisher folk, banana and cocoanut growers and the like, and they form his only society, as they have done for years. He is their trusted friend and con- stant companion, and though their conversational powers must be strictly limited by the surround- 55 The Consecration of a Bush Church ings of their very simple lives, he remains in all his tastes and development and interest just what one would have expected an educated man to be if he had had all the advantages and resources of our modern civilization, instead of the many and serious deficiencies of Monkey River. I have never seen the ''simple life" lived as it is in that Rectory by the sea, and never been more conscious of its effect and power. Who would not back up such a man, and thank God for him and for others like him all over the Mission Field of our Anglican Communion to-day ? I have not ventured to lift the veil of his daily life because I think him entirely and altogether exceptional (and therefore I hope he will pardon me for not respecting his dislike of publicity, as he will certainly think I ought to have done), but because I look upon him as typical of some of our best men whose work is often only really known and understood and appreciated by their bishops in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and every part of the Empire, as well as in the vast area covered by the work of our daughter Church in the United States of America. It will always be a sad thought to me, now that I have been called to other work, that there is little or no probability of my ever seeing 5^ The Consecration of a Bush Church Monkey River or Punta Negra again, but I shall ever take and show, as opportunity offers, the very keenest interest in the work Mr. Simpson is carrying on there, as indeed one will in other parts of the Diocese, as well. There is now a little Rectory at Punta Negra. I believe Mr. Simpson was a little concerned, his people were greatly shocked, at his bishop having to sleep out in the open, on the Consecration day of their little church, and so he set to work and built a little Rectory, which like the church itself cost another ;^50. Imagine a church and Rectory for ;^ioo! This Rectory was to be my abode on my next visit, and though I shall probably never see it I can picture it exactly in that pure air on the white sand, the cocoanut palms above it, and the beautiful sea washing the shore close to where it stands. And the church too, so near at hand. I must add an encouraging experience about that as I conclude this chapter. It was on February 17 of last year, it may have been noticed, that I consecrated it, and then it was thought to be commodious enough for all purposes, for every- one who could get there from far and near was present that day, and all were comfortably seated. But this year, on my return from Jamaica, I had » 57 The Consecration of a Bush Church a letter from the Rector saying that the church was now too small and would have to be enlarged, and he was preparing to set about it at once, and had already sent to the Standing Committee of the Diocese for permission to begin, giving them a rough sketch of his plans. He didn't say where the money was to come from, and I knew that he himself must have drawn upon his own resources for the little Punta Negra Rectory — my clergy as a rule had about ;^i50 a year, and that in a country where wages are rather high and food dear — his people too were all poor enough, and therefore I could not help wondering how he was going to provide the money. Nor was I greatly surprised when, in his next letter, he briefly said that the Standing Committee had refused him permission, in accordance with the Canons of the Diocese, as he had no funds, which of course was quite the correct thing to do. But I was just beginning my last round of sermons and meetings on behalf of the Diocese, and I determined to start with the Punta Negra enlargement. The following Sunday, accordingly, in a little country church not far from London, I made my appeal. At the end of the morning sermon, I took my 58 The Consecration of a Bush Church congregation out in thought to the white sands of Punta Negra and those clean-living people, and told them of that miserable little shanty in which I had my first Confirmation, which would not hold twenty people, all the rest having to stand outside, a place of which I said to them : " Hardly any of you here would think it good enough to use as a bicycle-shed, and they have had to use it for years as a church." Next I told them of the ;^50 church and how it was built and equipped, and how much it was appreciated. '* And now," I went on, " it needs enlargement, but at what cost I don't know, for the Rector does not mention it, and indeed does not beg at all ; but if a church only cost ;^50 to build, I should imagine it could be enlarged for £2^. I hope I may get a good help towards that amount to-day." The people were all interested, but I did not ex- pect a very large collection, and when it was spread out on the vestry table before me while I was un- robing it did not look much, and I had to share it with the S.P.G. My share, as a matter of fact, came to ;^5 for the two services when it was all reckoned up. But then came our little surprise ! Just as the amount for the morning collection had been entered into the vestry book, a young man 59 The Consecration of a Bush Church came in from the church with the offertory -bags in his hand, which he had been taking away, and holding up a tiny scrap of paper — **This," he said, ** I found sticking out of one of the bags as I was putting them away. I don't know if it matters." I took it and opened it out, and read — ** I shall be happy to give the £2^ required," and the name of a parishioner followed. The enlargement was secured at the first appeal, and I don't knov when I wrote a note with greater pleasure than I did next day when sending out a cheque for the amount required to the Rector of Monkey River. 60 Making a Light Railway through the Bananas. Thk part already made. CHAPTER V AMONGST THE BANANAS The coat-of-arms of the Diocese shows four banana leaves, one in each corner, and an open Bible in the centre ; and the motto underneath is, " Hoy, no Manana," which translated from Spanish to English is, *' To-day, not to-morrow." I do not know who is responsible for it, curious heraldry as it seems to be, but it is certainly very appropriate and to the point, if we come to examine it in detail. The curse of Spain, and of every Spanish colony, is represented by that one word in the motto, " Maiiana." It is always "To-morrow" when you want to get a thing done, and you get exasperatingly tired of hearing the word. The native idea of ordinary duties is " Never do to- day what can be put off till to-morrow," and so the motto just reverses this and says, ** To-day, not to-morrow." The open Bible does certainly, in the next place, seem to stand not only for the Gospel of 6i Amongst the Bananas our Lord, but for that moral law of God, the plain acceptance of which is the great need in every part of the jurisdiction. And then there are the banana leaves, not very well drawn, typifying the life's work of the great majority of those who were formerly my people. Hence the heading of the chapter and the title of this book, for my work and experience have indeed been "amongst the bananas." It is hardly too much to say that the banana has brought about a real revolution in the world of labour in Jamaica and Central America in the present generation. I myself can quite well remember the time when it was hardly ever seen in our own country, except when brought there by travellers coming from abroad, who could, I was told, thirty-five years ago get sixpence apiece for them. I never saw, or tasted, the fruit until I arrived at the Cape de Verde Islands on my first sea voyage, in 1875. What a difference since then ! On February 4, this year, when leaving Jamaica for New York, I saw that a whole bunch, containing from 200 to 250 bananas, was selling at from 6d. to gd. ; and when one reflects that this would, even at that price, with planters profit included, realize, if sold wholesale in the States or the British Isles, 62 Amongst the Bananas from 4/- to 5/-, or retail as much as 10/-, one can see that there is still "a fortune in bananas." Some would not even hesitate to say *'a gold mine." The banana is grown from a sucker which, when planted in the ground, produces a full- cfrown bunch in about nine months, and so entirely differs from either rubber or the cocoa- nut, which require from five to six years before they begin to yield to a profit. On paper, worked out according to the most careful calculations, there is a fortune in cocoanut growing just now, when the demand for cocoa- nut oil so far exceeds the supply ; but the tree can only be grown well near the sea, and is usually very much exposed to the terrible cyclones of the tropics, and there could hardly be a more disheartening experience for young planters than to have their whole cocoanut walk utterly destroyed, just when it had begun to bear, and know that they have to begin all over again and wait another five years. It is for this reason that I speak of the profits of cocoanut growing ''on paper." But to return to our bananas. " The romance of wheat," it has been said,"^ is commonplace * Palmer in Central America and its Problems. 63 Amongst the Bananas beside this as an industry in its larger sense. This one is more recent than steel, and its growth more rapid." (He might have added oil as well.) "Twenty years ago the United States ate 5,000,000 bunches in a year, ten years ago 15,000,000, but in 1909 the quantity had risen to 60,000,000! . . . The Caribbean Islands share the bounty. Jamaica, her sugar plantations in ruins, was saved from economic despair by the banana trade. England has trebled her con- sumption in the last five years. Germany and France are beginning to receive importations in quantity." The banana trade, however, could never have had this tremendous expansion if enterprising minds had not recognized their opportunity and determined to launch out into big schemes and have special vessels built to carry the fruit. A bunch of bananas is cut down with a great piece of the stem running through it, full of sap, and therefore goes on ripening if the fruit is still green. It is never left to ripen on the tree, even if not intended for export, but will be hung up on the verandah, or some other convenient place, the fruit being broken off as required. The vessels for the export trade are fitted up with refrigerating plants which keep the tem- 64 Amongst the Bananas perature down to 48 degrees Fahrenheit, and which bring their 45,000 bunches, or more, into Bristol or Manchester, after a sixteen or seven- teen days' trip, with sometimes less than 5000 ripe, and all the rest still green. On passing the Fastnet Rock, to the south of Ireland, the number of bunches "ripe or turning " is telegraphed, and, long before the vessel is in dock, these are sold off first to the merchants, as being ready for immediate consumption. The United States, with the ports of New York, Boston, and New Orleans, provide markets easily reached from Jamaica and Central America in about four or five days. *' But isn't it very unhealthy," I am sometimes asked, ** in that climate in the lowlands, with malarial fever and other ailments so common ? " But in reply one has to answer at once that by taking precautions against mosquitoes, and avoid- ing the use of alcohol as much as possible, one would find the banana plantations as healthy as one could desire. I judge from the experiences of my clergy, who have worked on year after year without a holiday, and kept in good health. Screening the whole house — that is, filling every window and door space and the verandah with fine copper netting — is effectual for keeping out K 65 Amongst the Bananas the mosquito, and renders the net unnecessary for the beds. It gives one a sense of being shut in, but still one eats, reads, dresses, etc., in comfort, and escapes fever. But I believe the use of stimulants to be especially bad in the tropics, though I know many people will disagree with me. I avoided them entirely myself, and my son also, and we never had an attack of fever. Sometimes a kind host would be especially press- ing, and say, '* Whatever you do elsewhere, you must take a little whiskey here in the Tropics if you want to keep well, and you are sure to get fever if you don't." As a set-off to this, I may mention that in Nicaragua we had the representative of the Standard Oil Trust travelling with us for a little time, and in the course of conversation and com- paring notes together, he told me that he had travelled in those Central American Republics for the last eighteen years, as a life-long tee- totaller, and been in very unhealthy places where food, etc., were of the worst, and had never once had fever. Also, that he had usually had a man with him to help him with his luggage, etc., and had never had one who was not a whiskey drinker, and never had one who was not often down with fever. Amongst the Bananas It is not wise, of course, to attach too much importance to such experiences, but I should say the tropics are the worst of places for the habitual use of stimulants. There is always a reaction afterwards, I suppose, and germs and infected water or bites would always find their best oppor- tunities at such a time. Everyone who has lived in those parts knows also what the effect of alcohol is in exciting the passions and impair- ing the moral sense. It is almost a truism, by this time, to say that there would practically be no one in the prisons if it were not for drink. The same is true of many of the hospital wards, and of the " bad lots " one has to encounter from time to time. Drink is the invariable explana- tion, and especially, I repeat, in the Tropics. And now for a little about one's work among the bananas. Naturally the reader will find a good deal about Confirmation in this book, for it is the joy of a missionary bishop's life in the earlier years of his episcopate, as giving him entirely new experiences in the spiritual and ministerial life, and giving him entirely new rela- tions with his fellow men of all classes. With a mystical being like the negro no one will be surprised to read that my Confirmations have been most moving experiences. There 67 Amongst the Bananas have been times when I can only say that the great timber church, with its huge window spaces open to the night air, filled with an eager and attentive congregation, as many outside as in, ready to respond to any spiritual appeal, has seemed just to be the place where one might hope to hear the sound as of a " rushing mighty wind," and feel that the Holy Spirit had filled the whole place where we were met together ! I remember once going into a little timber structure — very dilapidated and tumble-down it was — where we had had a most moving and impressive Confirmation, only an hour or two before, and sitting down to think it all over. It was empty now ; the rough seats were in disorder, with a few hymn-books lying about ; there were the strips of white and red cotton, which had adorned the rough wooden stand from which I had spoken, texts of cut paper, faded flowers here and there — all seemed so piteously poor and unworthy now — and yet in that place so short a time before we had all been lifted up by faith and devotion into Communion with the Great Eternal, in the most moving and affecting way. "Truly," I said to myself as I looked about after the first flat feeling had been got over, '' it does not require much in the way of material 68 Amongst the Bananas things to enable a devout soul to feel 'This is none other but the House of God, and this is the Gate of Heaven."* Confirmation and Communion are very real experiences to the negro. As far as I am able to judge they will not come to those services as a mere matter of form, or because it is expected of them ; and especially, one is thankful to think, is this the case when there is anything very seriously wrong. One day, for instance, in a little church in Costa Rica, I confirmed a mother and her son together. She was a most refined, well-bred woman, with particularly good manners, and later in the day when I happened to meet her, I asked, rather thoughtlessly I am afraid, for I ought to have guessed : " How is it that you haven't been confirmed before, Mrs. D , for you have always been a Churchwoman, I believe } '* She hesitated a little, and then said rather wistfully — " Well, you see, Bishop, I was only married last year." And her son was fifteen. At another place in Guatemala, after a very early Celebration, where they had not had one for at least a year, as I stood at the entrance 69 Amongst the Bananas saying "Good-bye" to the people as they came out, for I had to make an early start, a woman who had been very reverent and attentive, but had not communicated, came out, and so I questioned — '* You didn't receive with us ? " ** No," she answered, ** I'm not married to my man, and have not been confirmed, but I'm going to be now and as soon as I can, and if God spares us you shall lay hands on me, Bishop, the next time you come." The Sacraments of the Church mean much to people like these, who are determined to make their lives correspond when they venture to approach them. I could fill my chapter with the most touching and instructive incidents of this character, if space would permit, to the great credit of the candidates, young, middle-aged and old, whom it has been my privilege to know and to confirm. There are two serious charges which one hears continually brought against the negro. He is said to be lazy, and a thief. I would like to deal with these two serious accusations in turn, speak- ing, it must always be kindly remembered, only from my own experience, and giving the opinions I have formed in consequence. 70 Amongst the Bananas "Your negro is born tired, isn't he?" I was once asked by a man whose own profession didn't call for any particular exertions, or at any rate did not produce them. He had a remarkably easy life himself, and yet he didn't scruple to ask that slighting question. " Born tired ! " I said indignantly. " Do you know what life on a banana plantation is like, and loading up at the quay ? " He listened as I told him at length. "And," I added, *'the United Fruit Company is a sound business concern, and one of the most successful, and when I tell you that they pay their ordinary labourers in most of our planta- tions £(> a month, with other privileges, you may conclude that the men who are paid those wages have to ' step lively ' and earn them." " Born tired," indeed ! I don't know any class of labourers in the world who could bear the burden and heat of the day as the negro does in Central America, a life all bed and work, often losing his Sabbath altogether when the vessel has to be ready to clear the landing- place on the Monday. And as I think of them as I have seen them, cutting and loading, plant- ing and clearing, carrying their loads along the wharf in all weathers, ** wet or shine," but especi- 71 Amongst the Bananas ally as I recall them in those breakdowns on the line, and such emergencies as I have described in the chapter on "Slides, Floods, and Washouts," working to clear the line, carrying heavy loads, nearly up to their middles in the mud as they struggle across the slide, putting forth every fraction of their great strength, drenched with rain, but always smiling, cheerful, jocular and happy, I feel that I can hardly repudiate suffi- ciently forcibly enough that flippant expression of being- ''born tired." Then with respect to his dishonesty. If I were to deal with this charge properly and fully, I should have to write a book on ** Mysticism and Morality." As it is, I can hardly hope to convince my own countrymen, for I shall have to be brief and I shall have to make admissions. The negro does very readily help himself to certain things that are not his own. How shall I persuade my reader that this is not stealing, or that taking and thieving are not the same things ? There is a difference to the negro mind. In Jamaica just now, for instance, there is a very popular post card showing a young negro on his way to church on Sunday morning, dressed in his best, prayer book in hand, but, as he passes a bunch of bananas hanging temptingly by the 72 Amongst the Bananas wayside, he is saying to it, " I tief you to-night, please God." I am sure that could easily hap- pen, but that he would have said *'take," not ** tief" or thieve. Fowls, fruit, eggs and the like are God's gifts for all ; if, therefore, he is hungry and needs them, he takes them. I'm not defend- ing the point of view, but explaining it. An old negro I knew carried off a prayer book after a service, and yet it was marked on the back ** Not to be taken away." When remonstrated with for stealing it, he indignantly answered, ** Stealing! I'm no thief! It was marked outside that it was not to be taken away, I saw, but it is a good book, and God's book, and so I took it." Perhaps the following will even more astonish the ordinary Western reader who feels that there can be no distinction possible for right-minded people between taking and thieving. A West Indian woman, not in my Diocese, who had taken a duck on the Saturday morning, was visited by her Rector the same evening and told that he had heard of the theft, and had come to forbid her to go to Communion next day, as he knew she meant to do. Her indignation was extreme. She called in the neighbours, whose intelligent sympathy she knew she could rely upon, and told her story. ^ 73 Amongst the Bananas ** A duck ! " she repeated with fine sarcasm. •* A duck ! Think of his coming and talking to me about taking a duck, when my mind was full of my Communion ! What's a duck to come be- tween me and my Maker, at a time like that ! " I can hardly hope that an ordinary reader will think her anything but an old humbug ; but the discerning ones will look a little deeper beneath the surface, I think, and see that there is some- thing very solid to build upon in a nature that wants touch with the spiritual at all, and feel also that the distinction between taking and thieving marks a stage on the upward course of pro- gress. I can truly say that all through my journeyings, when my baggage consisted always of at least ten pieces, I never once locked up a bag or a box. I left things about continually, of a par- ticularly tempting and attractive character to the dark race ; I never slept in a room of which the doors and windows were not wide open, and I never had one single article of any kind stolen. I do not consider that the negro is as dishonest — taking food excepted — as some other races I have known, and when he is dishonest there is a real sting in his proverbial remark, " Negro man steal a quatty (about ijd.), buckra man (white) 74 Amongst the Bananas steal a hundred pounds." This proverb is some- times varied by " Buckra man steal the whole estate." Our people amongst the bananas live very simply as to food and lodging, for in my Diocese they used to save and send home large sums for their families and relations in Jamaica. Their little homes of timber and corrugated iron con- tained, as a rule, a box for clothing, a table, a chair or two, a bed, a shelf for china, knives and forks, etc., and a few texts and pictures, without frames, upon the walls, and nothing more in those with which I myself am most familiar. Very little food and of the simplest is the rule. Yams, rice, plantains, bananas, bread, very little fish or meat, fill up their bill of fare. A banquet at a wedding, when great efforts to be profuse are made, only provides apples and oranges as extras, cakes and jelly, and possibly ice-cream. Extravagance in food is a thing unknown in my experience. But they simply love to be well and smartly dressed, and show excellent taste. White mus- lins and laces, and ribbons of the paler shades, and large hats with bright flowers are affected by the one sex ; well-cut black clothes with white waistcoats, bright ties, and even silk hats and IS Amongst the Bananas brown boots can be produced by the other on great occasions, though, with their remarkably good figures, they always look best in a com- plete suit of white drill, with hat and boots to match. All the members of a church are expected to contribute regularly to its support and towards the stipend of their priest or catechist, and according to definite rules laid down in the canons of the Diocese, quite apart from collec- tions at the services. It is best always for people to have to make real efforts and sacrifices for their church, and nothing can be worse than relying upon the grants of some Home Societies. At one place — Cahuita in Costa Rica — after the Confirmation and other services were over, I was asked to preside over a meeting in the church, summoned to discuss what means should be taken for its repair, of which I must say it stood badly in need. " Let's do it ourselves," someone said as soon as I had opened the proceedings. "Til give so much timber." *' And ril give the same," said another. **And I'll give so many yards of corrugated iron for roofing," said another. *' And I so many pounds of nails." 76 Amongst the Bananas " I can't give anything at all," came from a sturdy-looking man in a corner, "but I'll put in some work." **And I'll give a dollar or two," said a girl beside him. And so it went on. There was no difficulty. The work of repair was soon assured, and I could not help thinking of a similar scene in old Jewish history, when the "king rejoiced because the people offered willingly." And Cahuita has no grant from any Society ! Religion is very real to the negro. He likes his little home, when he has one for the first time, to be blessed ; the mothers bring their little ones to church, when the Bishop comes, that he too "may lay his hands upon them and bless them." They do greatly need, as I have tried to make it clear, more backbone, fibre and grit in character, those people of ours amongst the bananas ; but they have loyal hearts and devout and affection- ate temperaments, and though a great deal more is needed for what we have learnt to prize as high character than love and reverence, yet they are a very good foundation upon which to work, and I greatly doubt if anything worth calling high character can ever be reached without love and reverence as its foundation. There are many questions already suggesting 77 Amongst the Bananas themselves at the end of this chapter to the minds of some of my readers, I feel sure, if, even so far in the book, they have begun to read a little between the lines of what I have written. If so, I would suggest that they pursue their inquiry, and read Booker Washington's Story of the Negro, Du Bois' Soul of the Black People, Sir Harry Johnston's last book ; but especially would I recommend the Archbishop of the West Indies' article in Mankind and the Church, edited by Bishop Montgomery, and containing a series of short papers by a number of Bishops of our Church on the contributions made by different races to our common Christianity. 78 ^^^ MMr^ j>Ni^^ - ^Hm W4 Ijjgl A Guatemala Church. Carved work, nearer view. CHAPTER VI EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES Central America is the land of earthquakes and volcanoes ! The latter help to make its scenery amongst the most magnificent in the world, but the former make parts of it very terrible places in which to live! I gained my first experience of what an earthquake can do when I first visited Antigua, the ancient capital of Guatemala, early in the year 1909. It would be difficult to recall a more instructive and delightful experience. We left — my son and I and a friend — the City of Guatemala one evening about four, mounted on mules, with a ** boy " in attendance, and rode on steadily for many miles over roads upon which there was hardly one bit of level ground the whole way, and containing vast holes in which our whole company could have camped for the night, and over which our mules had to leap and spring rather than canter. Just after sunset we passed through the ancient Indian village of Mixco, where the people seemed 79 Earthquakes and Volcanoes much astonished at the time chosen for our journey, as we were passing out from the feeble lights of the village into complete darkness ; but our friend and guide knew what he was about, and led the way up the side of the mountain which rises above Mixco. None but mules could have made that climb in the dark. Sure- footed beasts as they are, they stumbled about amid the stones and the rough, uneven ground, and made false steps, and took wrong turns now and then, but one gave them the rein freely — and wisely — and in due time we were on the top of the range ; and then our guide bade us turn and look below. It was for this we had come ! Far, far down in that great void beneath, and at vast distance, twinkled the diamond lights of Guatemala City, which we had left hours before. There it was, a great cluster of lights in the midst of utter and complete darkness, and in the most perfect stillness, and we were breathing in the nippingly cold air as we rested ! We could hardly believe it was the Tropics ! It was a unique experience. The descent, on the other side of the range, was an even more trying experience ; but we toiled on, turning in at a little tienda about nine to eat our sandwiches in the one room it contained, where 80 Earthquakes and Volcanoes children were lying on the mud floor covered with rugs and already fast asleep, and one feeble and guttering candle was our only light. Then we passed strange, weird-looking horsemen, who gave us curt '' buena noche'' as they went by; and about midnight we were riding through Antigua, under the light of the moon, which had now risen. There can be nothing like Antigua in the world, and there can be no time so impressive for a first view of it as the moonlight. Sixty very fine churches once graced this ancient capital! Its cathedral even now, in its pathetic ruins, is the largest church in Central America. The abbey of the Recollection must have been magnificent, one can plainly see ; and there were other fine buildings in and about this beautiful city. Alvarado's Palace was here, and the Dona Sul lived and died here. It must have been a glorious place ! The ruins remain just as they were left when the earthquake utterly destroyed it about 140 years ago, with the solitary exception of the church of the Merced, which was least injured and most easily repaired. We rode slowly through this extraordinarily in- teresting city under the light of the midnight moon, and then the ineffaceable impression was M 81 Earthquakes and Volcanoes made upon me — I had not then seen Jamaica — of what an earthquake can do ! One cannot but be thankful that they removed the capital to a safer place ; though when the next earthquake comes to Antigua, as it probably will, there will still be great loss of life, for although they have not rebuilt the city as a whole, yet there are now great numbers of people living there. But earthquakes have come home to me with even more appalling horror and impressiveness since that visit to Antigua. In March, 1910, after leaving Guatemala, I came down the coast for a visit to the Isthmus of Panama and for a round of Confirmations, etc., in Costa Rica. After these duties were over, I went up for my first visit into the interior, and I remember writing to a friend in England the night before I left : '* To-morrow I am going up to Cartago, the old capital of Costa Rica. It has been twice destroyed by earthquake, and they say the third is about due." I little thought how true my words were to be. No one quite knew when those two last de- structions had taken place ; some were even doubtful whether there had been earthquakes there at all ; and on arrival I found Cartago a most attractive place to live in. It was far 82 Earthquakes and Volcanoes the healthiest place in my vast Diocese, with a beautiful climate, cool and fresh. It was nearly 5000 feet above the level of the sea, and, in colouring and form, the surrounding country reminded one of Scotland, for though a great volcano, Irazu, towered up above the little city, rising to a height of about 12,000 feet, I never saw the summit quite clear of mist, and riding over its lower slopes, therefore, was just like riding over Scotch moors and mountain sides. I had no church there, but one of my clergy, the Rev. W. S. Cooper, who works amongst the banana plantations far down below, made his home there for the sake of his wife and children, and I have had services, confirmation, etc., in the chief room of his little house. There was a very small English-speaking community there, in the midst of about 8000 of a Spanish popula- tion, and the whole place was making rapid progress. There was a good railway station, telegraph, telephone, electric light, two quite fair hotels, good doctors, etc. The American tourists who go to see Panama came in great numbers to Cartago on their way back to the States, and Mr. Carnegie had been instrumental in the build- ing of the Peace Palace there at a cost of from ;^40,ooo to ;^50,ooo, so that peace conferences 83 Earthquakes and Volcanoes might meet there and arbitration courts be held. A new parish church, like a small cathedral, was already half built, and similar efforts were being made for the improvement of the city. ** It will be the capital again, never fear," said the sanguine and venturesome. Cartago seemed to have a future ! But, alas ! On May 4, at 6.50 p.m., in eighteen seconds, it ceased to be. It was utterly and entirely destroyed by earth- quake ! It was late that terrible night when the news reached San Jose, the present capital, about three-quarters of an hour's distance away by rail, that Cartago was probably partially de- stroyed, as neither telegraphic nor telephonic communication could be established ; but, late as as it was, expeditions of succour were at once organized. The President of the Republic, and doctors and others, set out about midnight in a special train, while two others, one of them representing the local Spanish newspaper, went on horse- back by road, hoping for the help of the moon. The horsemen were the more fortunate of the two parties, for about five miles from Cartago the train came to a standstill, as there was a 84 Earthquakes and Volcanoes chasm in the track and the rails were gone, the great shock having reached even to that distance ! The President and his accompanying friends and helpers had to finish their journey on foot, and a toilsome experience it would be, as those can well imagine who have stumbled along a railway track in the dark ; but they persevered, and eventually arrived at the scene of desolation. The two horsemen, however, arrived before them, and have since given a terrible and graphic account of their experiences. As they drew near to the place they constantly heard the same cry, "Cartago does not exist! Cartago is utterly destroyed ! Cartago has been blotted out ! " and as they entered the ill-fated city it was only to hear moans, and cries of pain, and weeping and groans from the injured and bereaved on all sides. A woman with dishevelled hair like some mad creature dashed up to them shrieking, " 'Tis the judgment of God upon us all ! The judgment of God!" No one will ever know, I suppose, the actual loss of life, for many bodies will never be re- covered from the debris ; but it was very terrible, and they buried over eight hundred in the first two days ! Mr. Cooper, the clergyman I have already 85 Earthquakes and Volcanoes mentioned as living there, had a remarkable escape. His work is down below amongst the banana plantations, on what is called *' the old line," and on sea level, but he himself and his family lived up in Cartago for health's sake. Mercifully his wife and children were staying at one of the stations nearer the coast, but he had come up to the city on Wednesday evening to be ready for the Thursday evening service. ** I had been sitting in my study," he writes, " waiting until I thought the mail had been distributed, and I could go to the post office and get my letters due that evening. I left the study, and just as my hand touched the handle of the front door the first shock came." A turn of that handle and he was in the open air and safe. His house, like so many others in Cartago, was built of adobe, or sun-dried bricks, and those buildings suffered most, as they seemed not so much to fall in as to settle down in one flat heap of separated earth, just as was the case when St. Mark's Campanile fell in the Piazza at Venice some seven or eight years ago. It is impossible to describe the scene of desolation presented by a place like Cartago, immediately after such a visitation, so as to convey any true idea of the reality to those who 86 Earthquakes and Volcanoes have never seen the results of an earthquake. One simply cannot realize what that dread quarter of a minute brought to pass. " It baffled description," wrote the Spanish re- porters, who usually have a great command alike of expressive substantives and qualifying adjec- tives when engaged either in descriptive writing or in conversation. And one can well believe it ! That scene of horror, from which even the moon seemed to veil its face, we are told, behind the heavy clouds of midnight, can never be adequately described, and it is best not to attempt it. Perhaps I have said quite enough to make my readers understand what an anxiety it must always be for bishop and clergy to work in such a vast jurisdiction as that, and in every part of which it is necessary to pray in the Litany ** From plague, pestilence, famine and earth- quake. Good Lord deliver us." Not one of our English-speaking community, as far as we have been able to learn, was killed, and for this one feels very thankful ; but as one thinks of the terribly sudden destruction of so many of those amongst whom one was passing to and fro such a short time ago, and who were so full of work and interest and expectation, one wonders how Cartago could ever have been re- 87 Earthquakes and Volcanoes built after being twice destroyed, or how so many thousands of people could be content to live there. Even now they are preparing to build it once again ! These awful convulsions of Nature are always regarded by many as Divine visitations, and they undoubtedly bring people living in sin to repent- ance. The Spanish clergy who survived were busily engaged in marrying those who had been living in concubinage before, passers-by being called upon to act as witnesses and the ceremony performed in the open air. It was just the same, I am told, in Jamaica after the earthquake of 1907, and it is said that three hundred couples were married, within the first two or three days after the calamity, who had been living together without the marriage tie before it took place. The invariable impression made upon great numbers, when they first experience that sickening feeling of peril and deadly fear which the earth- quake brings with it in its first moments, and the ground is quivering beneath their feet, houses falling about their ears, and awful and terrifying sounds are heard in all directions, is that the Judgment Day is come. A great meteor passed over the city as all its buildings came crashing down, and the dread sounds of destruction and 88 Earthquakes and Volcanoes shrieks of fear and anguish went up together. It is not to be wondered at that such an event is felt to be no ordinary convulsion of Nature, but a very real and awful Visitation. The shock was felt nearly one hundred miles away down at the port on the Atlantic side, and, as telegraph and telephone messages soon followed, relief parties were quickly sent up to the sufferers, and wireless messages — aerograms they are now called — were despatched over the Caribbean Sea bringing steamers hurrying to shore, to place their doctors and other helpers, and their stores also at the disposal of those who were directing the operations. The wounded were carried to San Jos6, the new capital, and schools and other buildings, including our own little church there, were freely offered as temporary hospitals. Many were pro- vided with tents. Everything was done which could be done, and subscriptions poured in from Costa Rican capitalists and others, and collec- tions were organized throughout the States. If a great calamity has been experienced in Central America, a strong feeling of sympathy has filled the hearts of all who have heard it, and all will be done which can be done, and well done too. N 89 Earthquakes and Volcanoes The news reached this country just as our King's death was being made known, and the small paragraph in a corner of the newspapers on that sad day attracted no attention. I am sure that if it had been reported under ordinary circum- stances, and English readers had realized what a calamity it was, occurring in the very midst of an English bishop's jurisdiction, where needs are great and resources scanty in the extreme, it would have excited just as much interest and sympathy as it has done elsewhere. It is greatly to be regretted, I think, that Cartago is to be rebuilt, for the slope of a volcano, still active, can be no place for a city. Whatever may be thought of Divine visitations, it seems to me as clear as the day that the God of Nature has shown us as plainly as we can ever be shown that such places are not suitable for human habi- tation ! The volcanoes of Costa Rica, especially Irazu above Cartago, and Poas just beyond San Jose, and Turri Alba, a little further down near the coast, are most beautiful and magnificent moun- tains, and give a very special feature to the scenery, but it is not right or wise to place im- portant cities at their base. Who can ever forget, having once read it. Sir 90 Earthquakes and Volcanoes Frederick Treves chapter headed " The City that Was" in his Cradle of the Deep} It is a masterpiece of descriptive English, and in its quite simple account of the instantaneous destruc- tion of St. Pierre in Martinique, a few years ago, shows us the criminal folly of those who rebuild cities so destroyed. It can only be that they say to themselves, "It is not likely that another will come in our lifetime," a most cynical and revolting kind of selfishness. The two most impressive volcanoes I have seen are Fuego and Agua, Fire and Water, over 12,000 feet, in Guatemala. They rise up like huge pyramids just above the Antigua I have already mentioned, and are of singular and ex- traordinary beauty in early morning and at sunset. Antigua has not been rebuilt as a city, but there are many people living there again, and yet those great volcanoes tower up above them in a most menacing way, ready when the time comes to send out once more their deadly streams, the one of fire and the other of water. The most fearsome mountain in Guatemala, perhaps, is Santa Marta. It rises up to nearly 13,000 feet, and is seen almost from base to summit as one sails down the Pacific, having had at one time a real peak ; but at its last eruption, for 91 Earthquakes and Volcanoes it is an active volcano still, it tore away one side of this peak in an awful discharge of earth and water ; and the white ragged appearance of the broken cone has a curiously affrighting effect as one looks at it, and pictures to oneself what one's fears would often be if one had to live anywhere in its immediate neighbourhood. Those people may well feel very thankful, whose lot falls to them to live in a land without either volcanoes or earthquakes. 92 On a push car. Leaving the Landslide. CHAPTER VII " FLOODS, LANDSLIDES AND WASH-OUTS" In Central America, on the Atlantic side, there are only two railways into the interior. One, in Guatemala, runs up a distance of about 1 80 miles from Port Barrios to Guatemala City, the capital, and the other runs up from Port Limon to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, a distance of a little less than 100 miles. It would be difficult to do justice to the scenery through which these railways pass, to anyone who does not know the Tropics. At first they run through miles and miles of banana plantations, and then, leaving these behind and below, they rise gradu- ally up to some thousands of feet, passing along the banks of rivers, where alligators lie basking in the sun, along the sides of mountains, through great cuttings, and over, in Guatemala, great sandy plains where the cactus grows to an extra- ordinary height, and strange trees, all flowers and no leaves, present dazzling masses of colour. I wish space permitted me to describe at length 93 " Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs 55 the interest and beauty, the colour and charm, of the country through which the railway to Guate- mala City passes, and the romance which seems to invest the picturesque Indians who come to sell fruit, eggs, and cooked fowl at the different stop- ping places, taking one's thoughts back to the Spanish Conquista and the days of Alvarado. When we were going up to the City last Feb- ruary the full moon was rising just as the sun had set, and as we were then above the lower mountains, looking down upon their summits, we could also look upwards, still having some distance to rise, and see the glittering lights of the city, far up above us, like a great magnificent cluster of diamonds in the moonlight. It was glorious ! But this is to be a description of floods, slides, and wash-outs ! These two railways, as I have said, run along the banks of rivers and amongst mountains, climbing along their sides, indeed, in places, and it is not difficult to imagine how pre- carious their situation must be in times of flood. We have heard all our lives of "tropical rain," but it must be experienced to be realized. The rainy season in Central America is at the close of the year, and as I spent last November and December there I got my experience of a tropical 94 ^^ Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs" downpour again and again. I had a round of Confirmations, in which I had to depend upon the kindness of the different *' Mandadores," or managers, of the various banana plantations, to send me about on trolleys and give me hospitality for the night. It was invariably raining, and it may be truly said in the Tropics ** It never rains but it pours." I have lain awake, all through the night, utterly unable to sleep, listening to the roar with which the rain was falling upon the corrugated iron roof of the house in which we were staying. I have never seen such rain or imagined it before ! Yet all through those Con- firmations, to their credit be it said, my Jamaican candidates always turned up in due course if we gave them time, and, though it was often pitiable enough to see them struggling through the mud, they always came in their Confirmation dresses. We were often without much in the way of a congregation, but were never without our candi- dates, and the service was often all the more impressive from the discomforts that had to be borne to get to it. We had missionary meetings, the consecration of one church and laying the foundation-stone of another, as well as the Con- firmations, during that wet November, and just got them over in time to start off back for San 95 " Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs " ]os6 towards the end of the month and ex- perience what heavy rains bring with them. It was November the 24th when we set off on our return journey, and that night we were invited to dine with the British Consul in San Josd It was the American Thanksgiving day, when a turkey always graces the board, and that is a great event to those who as a rule are living on bad food ; but there was no turkey for us that day. We had to go dinnerless and supperless to rest ! We noticed when we entered the car at Rio Hondo that there was hardly a passenger in it, but attached no importance to this until we began to notice the water along the line and the swollen rivers. Then we began to hear remarks about slides and wash-outs, and then came our ex- periences ! First we were brought up at a place where a bridge over a small stream had been swept away, and we were told they were going to make a temporary one ; but this proved impossible, and as the down train had come and stopped some little distance away on the other side, we had to "tranship," or change trains. It is not pleasant to turn out, carrying all you can, in pouring rain, slipping about in the mud, as you spring from stone to stone, fording a creek, and doing your 96 " Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs " best to help a woman who may be just behind you, and get your luggage across also. There is no one to help on these occasions. Everyone must look after himself and give a helping hand where he can. In time, however, we got the exchange made and our train moved on, but alas ! not for long ! Between Lomas and Peralto we came across a large "slide," as a fall of rock and earth is called when it comes down upon and over the track. Our minds misgave us and our spirits sank as we looked at it and saw its extent, though the Jamaicans were working away at it in pouring rain, soaked through, of course, to the skin. It was growing late and we were only about half-way, so we were not surprised to be told that the men had knocked off work and that we should have to stop where we were all night. The river was foaming along just below us ! We were perilously near the edge, and couldn't help remembering that the last train which stopped there after a similar "slide" was found in the river next morning. We had seen the stack of the locomotive rising just above the water when we had gone up once before, and a very forlorn object it was! It was not a cheerful prospect, but we were soon relieved to hear that the train o 97 " Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs " had to be backed down to a safer place further away from the river, but we had to spend the night, lying as best as we could upon the seats, having been fortunate enough to get a tiny box of sardines and a few cream crackers to be shared among four. We had nothing to drink. It was a glorious night. The moon came out after the rain had ceased, the fire-flies were every- where, and all the sounds of tropical night were about us. With the dawn the men came back on trolleys and began working again with a will. Dynamite was used largely, and all was done which was possible, but it was getting near noon before space could be cleared, enough to let us pass. The engine was at the end of the train, and I held my breath as it shaved past a place where another slide was just ready to come ; and I believe it did come just after we had passed, as we found later in the day that the line was again blocked in the same place. We were able to get some food about one, and went on again immediately, only to be brought up before long by a ** wash-out " which had swept away the earth from under the rails. That was put right, however, in a few hours, and late at night we reached San Jos6, glad to have had 98 " Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs " the experience ; but a bridge swept away, a land- slide, and a wash-out are quite excitement enough for one journey ! It was, however, when we left Costa Rica at the end of 1 910 that we had our chief experience of what landslides can do. On December 27th we left San Jose by the early train, a troop of friends coming to see us off and load us with fruit and food for the journey, for which we had cause to be thankful before we reached the coast. It had been raining for days down below, we had heard, and we had fore- bodings ; but still we hoped for the best. At Cartago, less than an hour away, and just before the line begins to descend, we heard rumours of " eighteen slides on ahead," and nearly everyone left the train ; but we kept our places, for the train dispatcher at San Jos6, a great friend of ours, had said as we left, ** Bishop, I'll get you through if it is possible," and all that trying day he was as good as his word. Wires were received at station after station as we drew near, with *' Get the Bishop through if it is possible." At length we came down to perfectly terrific rain, and more definite information about the slides, and then the conductor came to me and 99 " Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs " said, "I've had a wire to tell me to take the train back. You'd better return with me." "Con- ductor," I said, "I can't! Everybody has said * Good-bye,' I can't go back." He pulled his cap about in a puzzled way, and went into the station-room again, only to receive one of the telegrams, **Get the Bishop through if possible ! Tell him there is a big hill to climb where the first slide is." So, good man as he was, he un- hitched a baggage car and took us down to the edge of the slide. It lay across and above the track in the most hopeless way, and looked as if it would take weeks to remove, and " the big hill " rose up above. That was a climb to re- member ! I had my dispatch boxes, and my son his natural history specimens in a huge tin. The rain descended in torrents, the perspiration poured from us, we slipped about in the mud, and fell from time to time, but ever kept strug- gling on amid tropical beauties in foliage, flower and tree which not even the storm of falling rain and our own discomforts and exhaustion could prevent our admiring. A most glorious tree, towering upwards like some great monarch of the woods, with lace-like tendrils descending to the ground from every branch, crowned the top, and one could only regret that so few could ever lOO " Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs " see its beauty in that lonely place, as one stopped to gaze at it, and draw breath before descending on the other side. Going down is usually worse than going up, and so we found it ; but, slipping, stumbling, sliding, struggling on, we at last reached the level, where a trolley was waiting for us on the other side of the slide. Then our luggage had to be brought across, and distressing enough it was to see the willing Jamaicans struggling across that slide, sinking up to their thighs in mud, the rain ever pouring down, and manfully keeping the bags safe above their heads. Half an hour's run or less brought us to another station, and to the information that another great slide was on ahead, but this time with no suc- couring hill to befriend us, and that we must stay the night. It is best to draw a veil over what followed when we had tried to eat a little food and turned in. To sleep six in a room of small dimensions, and on extemporized couches, with companions whose ideas of cleanliness are not ones own, with one of them in delirium at times from fever brought on by injuries sustained in a recent rail- way accident, does not give much inclination for sleep, especially when one is uncertain as to how lOI " Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs " long one will have to stop there. (My excellent clergyman for that neighbourhood was hung up in that very place eleven days a short time later.) But the longest night comes to an end, and we were up with daylight and glad again to have recourse to our supplies of food from San Josd. Once more we had a trolley and were off by lo a.m. The slide was over the track, as we had been told, but we were able to cross it and get another trolley, and by trolleys and other means we got from place to place by patience and perse- verance and down to the coast again. An hour from Limon our spirits began to sink once more, as we found we were entering water, and on going to the platform outside we found a steady stream breaking menacingly over the track, which was **herringboned" at that particular place to provide for such a contingency. The country, deep in the flood, had a most dreary look, and forlorn little groups of live creatures, such as fowls and goats, appeared in boxes and little lumber erections above the water, depressing one's spirits tremendously as one thought of the steamer which was to leave Limon that night and take us, we hoped, down the coast to Bocas del Toro. We feared we should never reach it in time. 1 02 " Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs '' But the water that day was merciful — next day it was impassable — and did not rise to the level of our engine fires, and we got safely to Limon, to find that our friend the train -dispatcher's wires had come there also, " The Bishop is to be got through if possible ; hold the boat till he comes." It was with very thankful hearts that we went on board, just having got out in time. We heard later that a bridge went just after we had crossed it, and the water was over the track for days, and that the line did not take anyone through for some weeks. Bocas del Toro is our one station in the Republic of Panama, and a little over a hundred miles from the Isthmus itself. It is a place of growing importance, and is being very prettily laid out in gardens and avenues. The United Fruit Company have made it, as they have also made Port Limon. It was a pleasure to be welcomed there by the Rector, a Barbadian, and to see sunshine once more, and be driven round the place by one of the members of his committee in a smart buggy which he had just had out from Jamaica in order that he might thus supplement his wages as a carpenter. We had a good hearty service during the morning, at which I baptized the Rector's little 103 " Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs " son and heir, the Communicants of the place being his godfathers and godmothers, and the earhest part of the day quickly passed in the bright and sunny weather. But, alas ! by two o'clock it began to cloud over, and soon the rain was falling in torrents, in a particularly hopeless sort of way which made us feel sure, as it proved, that it would never cease that day. It poured on drearily and dis- mally all the afternoon, and by 5 o'clock the whole place was under water, steadily rising. "You won't have the Confirmation, will you, Bishop? I fear no one will come," said the little Rector. '* Let us wait and see," was my reply. At about six o'clock he went across to the church, and came back in great excitement to tell me that three men were already there, one of whom had come eight miles across the lagoon in a canoe, battling every foot of the way against the storm, and the other two had walked twelve miles in the rain ! '* Then," I said, ** I shall con- firm them and have the service if not another person comes." Soon we heard that others were dribbling in one by one. We then had to get to church, and there was no buggy available, so we had to take off shoes and stockings and roll up our trousers well above 104 ^^ Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs" the knees and wade to the church, taking dry towels and things to put on. The church was quite a sight ! The candidates had had to come through the water as we had done, and had to change their wet things for dry. Still, all were cheerful ! No one grumbled ! "It was God's weather, and God's weather can't spoil God's work." Twenty-two out of the forty candidates were there, and though the congrega- tion was a small one, yet the Confirmation, with the baptism of one of the candidates preceding it, was one of the most impressive and helpful I have ever taken, and sent one back to the Rectory in a very thankful and appreciative frame of mind, as one thought of those earnest and simple folks braving the elements. Next day I crossed the lagoon to Changui- nola for another Confirmation, but there, alas ! the greater number of the candidates were kept back by the swollen river carrying down trunks of trees, etc. Their canoes could not be risked. It was again a very impressive service, some of those present being moved to tears. As we returned in our little toy train we recrossed a wooden bridge, which we learnt afterwards was swept away shortly after we had passed over it. Next day their Rector thought it was going to P 105 ^^ Floods, Landslides, and Wash-outs" be fine, and that he might get together the rest of his candidates ; but it poured worse than ever, and only one came ; but though we were but *'two or three gathered together," it was a ser- vice to remember. Next day our vessel had to leave. It was the last day of the year, and one was thankful, though looking forward to many things, to say good-bye to others, and amongst them to " floods, slides, and wash-outs." 1 06 My first coloured wedding. A Service on Board. CHAPTER VIII SERVICES AT SEA It would be difficult to picture a more animated scene than that which is presented by the after- deck of a Hamburg and American liner every Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning, just be- fore it is time to start from Jamaica to Colon. " All the world is looking towards Colon." At one time there was no more ill-omened word in Europe — and especially in France — than *' Panama." It stood for national disaster and calamity, and for many had meant utter and irretrievable ruin. This is only twenty years ago, and now, since the United States acquired the assets of the old French company and leased that strip of territory which is known as the " Canal Zone," and entered upon one of the greatest engineering enterprises ever yet at- tempted, the old ill-starred word ** Panama " has been quite forgotten, and " Colon," so full of hope and daring, has taken its place. Colon and Panama, perhaps it may be neces- 107 Services at Sea sary to explain, are the two ports, one on the Atlantic and the other on the Pacific, between which the Americans are making the canal across the isthmus. Nowhere has the attractiveness of the new work been felt more keenly or widely than in the island of Jamaica. There are 33,000 men at work now on the Canal Zone, chiefly West Indians and almost entirely Jamaicans, and week by week they are passing over from Kings- ton to Colon. I was on my way in October, 1909, to my Diocese of British Honduras, which extends from Mexico to the Canal Zone, having taken Jamaica on the way, so as to spend a few days with the Archbishop of the West Indies, who lives in Kingston, and who is the Primate of my province, and on Sunday morning, the 24th, was standing upon the saloon deck of the S , looking down upon the after-deck ; and I thought to myself that I had never seen anything more interesting and picturesque in all my life. A large awning was spread above the deck and protected everything and everybody from the fierce heat of the morning sun, and underneath there was gradually being heaped up the most extraordinary collection of personal property and " household eods " imao^Inable. The scene was full of colour io8 Services at Sea and interest, unique in character. The light- hearted Jamaicans were swarming everywhere, like ants about their ant-hill, as friends on shore handed over the side, and those on board received and stowed away, pathetic little bundles con- taining all that some poor creature possessed, imposing tin boxes and portmanteaux, pillows, beds, chairs, cooking vessels, garments, fruit, flowers, sugar-cane, an endless stream flowing over the side of the vessel. Shrieks, shouts, laughter, cries to attract attention, resounded on all sides. It was a scene of the wildest excitement, a dense, struggling mass of humanity! And yet there was no confusion ; no one was cross or out of temper ; there was no selfish pushing others out of the way, so common in an ordinary crowd. Everyone was polite, gentle, and considerate. Our Jamaican negroes have very good manners, not only in their own island, but all through Central America, where they work in such great numbers on the banana plantations of the five republics. I knew them well, and it interested me profoundly to see them now setting out from home, some of them for the Zone and some of them to claim acquaintance with me later, no doubt, in my own jurisdiction. 109 Services at Sea As soon as we were at sea, and I had given them time to settle down, I went down amongst them for a chat and to propose a service. Everything was now neatly arranged and in order, for their two days and nights at sea had to be spent just where they had put down their belongings when coming on board. Chairs, beds, boxes were all placed so that their owners could sit and rest and eat by day and sleep, or rest, by night. They were just deck passengers. To me, personally, it all seemed quite luxurious, as I thought of my own ex- periences in the miserable little gasoline launches in which I had had to travel on the Nicaraguan coast ; and they were perfectly contented. " We are all so happy. Bishop," they assure me, and the shining smile, only seen on the faces of the dark race, enforce the words. ** That's quite right," I answer cheerily, **and so you ought to be. We carry our happiness with us, we don't leave it behind, do we, if it is the real thing ? " And then I propose the service. Four stal- wart negroes are the churchwardens, and they very soon clear a place as well as they can, right in the sun's eye, of course, and get the people together. Hymn-books are scarce, ex- cept "Sankey's," about which unfortunately I have to plead ignorance, and so I line out a no Services at Sea verse at a time, and we begin with *' As pants the hart," and have a very simple service of prayers with a lesson. It is a service under difficulties, for it has been raining and the deck is streaming, and they have begun to clear out cinders and ashes from the stokeholes, and the clouds of steam used to expedite matters come pouring over us. There are some Spaniards at a little distance, who have just left Cuba to ** try their luck " on the Zone, and they are loud in their disputation and wrang- ling ; but our worship goes steadily, and earnestly, and enthusiastically on. We sing ** Through all the changing scenes of life," '* Thou art the Way, by Thee alone," and, of course, " Eternal Father, strong to save," and I preach from the Epistle, which might have been specially chosen for them : ** See that ye walk circumspectly." The women, with their children and the young girls, all seated or reclining amongst the household stuff, the old men with grey beards and mous- taches on their dark faces, the fine young fellows, of superb physique, standing all round me, listen with the deepest attention as I plead with them, as earnestly as I know how, for this " walking circumspectly," of which St. Paul speaks and of which he was such a grand example himself. Ill Services at Sea It IS a moving sight, this picturesque crowd going forth to a new life, our own fellow subjects, our own fellow Churchmen most of them ; and as one speaks to them, in the name of Christ, ask- ing them to be faithful to their early training, to country, Church, and God, the quivering lips, the intense straining gaze as they listen, and here and there a tear, tell how the appeal goes home. The Blessing brings the service to a close, and one cannot but thank God for such an opportunity. When this service was over I thoupfht I should have no other that day, for we were on board a German liner, I and my son being the only Englishmen on board ; but, as I left the saloon after luncheon, the captain, who had had to be asked to give his permission for the Jamaican service, asked, a little shyly, *' Bishop, do you think you could give us a little service to-night in the smoking-room ? I and the officers and others will be sure to come." Needless to say I accept such a hospitable offer with great alacrity and many grateful expressions ! And he was as good as his word. At eight o'clock he and his officers came, big, thoughtful, capable-looking Germans, with some Americans on their way to the Zone, a hard-headed, virile- 112 Services at Sea looking set, enough in these days to gladden the heart of any bishop to whom they were willing to listen for half an hour, and with whom they were willing to join in Sunday evening worship. We had prayers, standing after the German Lutheran custom ; the General Confession, Absolution, and Lord's Prayer were singularly impressive said thus ; the Gospel for the day was our lesson, and then the prayers for Even- song fitly followed ; and I am sure, though it was the smoking-room of the ship, all felt the appro- priateness of the prayer of St. Chrysostom, with its " where two or three are g^athered too^ether in Thy Name." I preached to them from the Gospel for the day, the parable of the marriage feast. There was, of course, the undying teaching power of these divine stories to be acknowledged by way of beginning, and then the grand illustration which the parable gives us of the ideal life now given to the world, and which is treated with such carelessness and neglect as so many hurry on, absorbed in business, "one to his farm and another to his merchandise." Never was a simple illustration better devised to appeal to men in this part of the world, in the presence of this great banana cultivation, this huge Q 113 Services at Sea development of German and American com- merce and enterprise ; and my Jamaicans, earlier in the day, gave me no more attentive hearing than these busy, capable men of the world, as I set before them the ideal — the "Vision" so eloquently put before the Church Congress three weeks before — and then the simple Gospel of the wedding garment, or putting on of the Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom we not only aim at the ideal, but in Him and through Him hope to attain. The Blessing concluded the service, but it did not seem at all incongruous, and it certainly was not meant to be so, when the strong and clever- looking American doctor rose at once, and in a few simple words expressed the thanks of all present for the service which they had had, and the words which had been spoken to them. And so ended a typical Sunday of one's life just then, for there was little that was conven- tional in that diocese of Central America, and every day was full of interest and opportunity. Few English readers who travel in Europe only can picture the tremendous energy, activity and interest called out by what is going on at Panama. There is a constant stream of going and coming between Colon and Kingston, composed 114 Services at Sea of the labourers who go there for work, and return either disappointed or satisfied with what they have earned. Then there is the official and professional class, exceptionally large owing to the exceptional character of the work, constandy coming and going between Colon and the States ; and finally there is the tourist class from all countries. The very keenest interest is taken by the educated classes in the United States in the problems of Central America and the Panama canal zone, as is evidenced now by the number of books, pamphlets and articles written within the last twelve months, and the large number of beautiful and well-equipped vessels engaged in the passenger service, which is constantly being increased year by year. Those which are best adapted for tourists, fitted up with every comfort and luxury, are the banana boats of the United Fruit Company, upon so many of which I have ever been a very welcome and grateful guest. No one would imagine when they are return- ing after their holiday in Columbia or at Panama, visiting Costa Rica and Guatemala also it may be, as every opportunity and facility is offered, that there are some 45,000 or 50,000 bunches of bananas stowed away in the capacious 115 Services at Sea holds below, and that they furnish nearly all the profit of the trip. The dining-rooms, reading and drawing-rooms are fitted up in the best taste, light and French in character, in keeping with the brilliance of the sunlight and the gaiety suggested and promoted by the pure air and glorious colours on sea and land. The state-rooms are all unusually large, and some are as spacious and as well fitted up as one's bedroom on shore, and as well equipped with every appliance and comfort ; and every room on board used by passengers is supplied with electric light and fans. Every year sees these liners rise higher above the water, and so there are windows to most rooms, and not portholes any longer, looking out upon the decks, and doors and windows alike can stand open all the night if there is no rain or wind. Upper and lower decks stretch the whole length and breadth of the ship, and one feels able to go for country walks by way of exercise. There can hardly be more sumptuous travel- ling, even in these luxurious days, than that which is afforded to those going to and fro between New York, New Orleans and Panama. ii6 Services at Sea On these vessels also when Sunday has come there has always been the invitation to hold a service. My last was on the Santa Marta in February, on its way from Colon to New York by way of Kingston and the Bahamas. We had it in the saloon, captain, officers and nearly every one on board being present. It is a delightful thing to find in the tropics how people of all creeds, and of no creed at all, will cheerfully join in the same service, and how very general is the knowledge of certain well-known hymns, such as " O God our Help" and ** Rock of Ages" and ** Jesu, Lover of my Soul." Amongst those on the Santa Marta that morn- ing were Unitarians and Agnostics, who declared themselves to me afterwards, and gave one much to think of in the conversations we had as we tramped the deck together. One preaches, of course, on these occasions, sermons suitable to circumstances and people, and on board the Santa Marta they appreciated the straight talk they had had so much that a deputation came on Sunday afternoon to ask if I would have a Missionary Meeting in the evening and tell them about my own work, and have a collection for it. It had come from the captain and the doctor, and was an opportunity not to be lost, and with 117 Services at Sea a good map which I had with me and a crowded saloon, I had as good a meeting and as en- couraging collection as I ever remember. That was not all. On the next night I was asked to speak again on the Panama Canal, an interest to every passenger, and as I have always remembered that it was said of Kingsley that he could preach as good a sermon on ** Broom- handles " as many clergy could preach from the most suggestive of texts, one welcomes every such opportunity, for in some way or another it is possible to convey to one s audience, whatever the subject of one's lecture or address, something of what one considers to be the chief aims and ideals of a true life. It is strange too to notice how quickly circum- stances and opportunities can change. I was on another great liner a little later this year, with a huge number of passengers, first, second and steerage, and as soon as the captain saw me come on board he marked me with a disapproving eye, and determined that I should have no service on his ship when Sunday came. He told me later that he had once asked a bishop to have a service and been refused, and so had said to himself, '' Never again." He kept quite clear of me for two whole days, but late at ii8 Services at Sea night on the second he came to me very much upset, and with a sad little story to tell. A young fellow, who ought never to have been taken aboard at all, in an advanced stage of consumption, had just died. He was only twenty-six, with no friends or relations on board, though there was someone who knew him as an acquaintance. "Will you take the service to-morrow at eleven, Bishop, if you please?" " But that's the captain's office, is it not, in a death at sea.'*" " I know it is, but I can never take that service ; it upsets me altogether. Will you be so kind ? " Of course there could be but one answer. It was my first burial at sea. All who could possibly attend were there, and it is impossible to describe the impressive and affecting character of that simple service in which one committed to the deep the body of one who had died so young, and whose arrival was being so anxiously expected by friends at home. At once it seemed to put one in touch with all on board. We were united, it seemed, immediately, by those noble words of our simple burial office in a common sense of sympathy, and a deep consciousness 119 Services at Sea of the seriousness of life and the solemnity of death. There was no question now with the good captain whether I should be permitted to do anything on Sunday. He took me into his confidence and told me his past experience, and how in consequence he had determined never to let anyone take a service again on Sunday but himself, and that crew and stewards all knew that he never allowed clergy to officiate, whatever their denomination, but — ** I can't keep to that now, can I, Bishop, after that funeral service ? " "Well," said I, ''suppose, captain, you take the service on Sunday as usual. It think it is a grand thing for the captain to do it and give such an example to laymen on board ; and, as everyone will expect it now, and it would be wrong to lose such an opportunity, I will take the sermon." His brow cleared at once, and that was how we arranged it. The saloon was crowded to its utmost capacity, all classes being allowed to come, and with such an object lesson as we had just had, so short a time before, and the hymn ** Days and moments quickly flying" — the cap- tain's choice — the eager looks and tearful faces 120 Services at Sea on all sides assured one how wrong it would have been to lose such an opportunity. I venture to assure any clergy who may read these pages, that if they will only persevere, when there are these unconventional opportunities of taking a short service, or saying a few words by way of address or sermon, or asking if there are any who would like a Celebration of Holy Com- munion, when meeting a few English-speaking people on travels or a holiday, they will be more than encouraged by the result, and will often have crreat cause to be thankful. This is what passed between the captain and the clergyman I have mentioned, according to his version of the encounter, which, if true, will speak for itself, and I have since heard it de/cfided : ** I see you are a clergyman," said the captain. *' Yes ! " was the answer. ** Will you take a service to-morrow for us ? " ** Not much, captain, thank you, I'm on my holiday." It was probably very thoughtlessly said, but I think he would have been sorry if he could have known how the story would be told again and again, as I have not the very least doubt it will be as long as the captain lives. He was R 121 Services at Sea not ill, but in the prime of life and in excellent spirits — but " on his holiday ! " Services on board ship on the road to Panama, and coming away from it, will always be remem- bered amongst my most encouraging and helpful experiences. Some of the greatest festivals of the Church's year for me in the last three years have been spent at sea, and often the service has been on the deck of the ship where **seas and floods" seemed to *' bless the Lord and to praise and magnify Him for ever." Last year, on Easter Day, on board a small banana boat, where we had stokers, crew, and officers for the morning service, and I had given them Psalm cvii. instead of those appointed for the day itself, just as it ended a whale came up alongside, frisked and played about, and then dived out of sight, in striking illustration of the words we had just said, *' They that go down to the sea in ships and occupy their business in great waters, these men see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep." 122 %-^fc^- 'r ^ u '^ '^nl^Q mim- IB A VIEW IN Guatemala. MUY CANSADA." CHAPTER IX GUATEMALA Guatemala is, without an exception, one of the most beautiful, adventurous and romantic coun- tries I have ever visited. I have been there time after time, and I have liked it and admired its beauties more and more, and especially its modern capital, Guatemala City. This is what a modern American writer says about it. " No city that I have ever seen has a finer situa- tion, with its climate of eternal spring, five thou- sand feet above the sea, surrounded by Alban hills, under silver clouds that are ever rolling and tumbling, and which has no more population than it had a hundred years ago, when Chicago was a swamp. It is a country of the gods, fit home for the aboriginal civilization of a continent. Had it had anything like a fair chance, the Ger- mans that take well-to-do Americans on winter cruises would pass by the islands of the Caribbean. Our tourists would be seeing the beauties of Lake Atitlan, taking horseback rides on fine roads, 123 Guatemala lounging on the verandahs of hotels in the deli- cious sunshine, or ascending the heights to catch a glimpse of the Pacific, as a misty floor merging into the sky." It is really a country " where every prospect pleases and only man is vile," for Guatemala is abominably governed and terribly oppressed. Like Nicaragua, it has had a Dictator President for nearly a dozen years, who, having got himself into power by more or less constitutional means, violates the constitution in keeping himself there. Oppression and misrule meet one everywhere. I am told that before one can engage a humble peon for about threepence a day one has to pay twice that amount to the local official, and so on through all ranks up to the highest of all, where the richest merchant in the country will be prob- ably asked to oblige the Government with a loan, and if he declines, be put into prison on some paltry pretext until he is more amenable. The richest man in Guatemala has been in prison in this way seven times, and one of those in authority boldly said that if they wanted all his money the only plan would be to kill him. This would probably be done and without any scruple, were he not a man whose death would be heard of outside Guatemala. 124 Guatemala It would be a compliment, as I once said to ex- President Roosevelt, to call the Government of such a place Mediaeval. " Yes," he said at once ; " such methods as you describe are Mediaeval Byzantine." I am sorely puzzled to account for the apathy with which the United States regard the terrible conditions which obtain in some of these Re- publics, and at their very doors, when, I am convinced, Washington has nothing to do but instruct her ministers to be peremptory in ten- dering advice that it is not well for presidents to violate the constitutions of their country and set the rules of modern civilization at defiance, and that revolutions will not be viewed with favour. Moral force is all that a strong power need use in those countries, and as moral force got rid of Zelaya from Nicaragua last year, so, if employed by the United States Minister, acting by the definite instructions of his Government, I am sure the same results would follow in other places. This country alone of the six republics still possesses its Indian inhabitants, and of the same type, appearance and dress as those found by the Spanish conquerors under Alvarado. Prob- ably it was Las Casas, the Apostle of the Indies, who saved the Guatemala Indians as he saved 125 Guatemala so many others from wholesale massacre, but at any rate they are there still, the labouring people of the country, and literally ''hewers of wood and drawers of water" and carriers of heavy burdens. They are always at work, carrying or doing something, always in a hurry, running along at a little dog trot, and always sad and sorrowful. Again and again when I have met some hunted- looking creature groaning under a great load at the foot of a hill, as I have been coming down, and have said compassionately, " Pobre cito, muy cansado ? " he has replied wearily, '* Si, si, Senor, muy cansado," (Poor fellow, are you not very tired ? Yes, yes, sir, very tired). I have felt that that was the cry of an oppressed race going up every day to the Great Eternal, and I think it must be with the old result, *' Shall I not visit for these things ? Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this ? " Down on the banana plantations in the low- lands my Jamaican negroes are heavily worked, but they are properly paid and righteously treated by their employers, and always smiling, and always seeming to say "We're so happy! " But up above and all through that misgoverned country there is always that *' Muy cansado, muy cansado." Guatemala represents such terrible and such 126 Guatemala needless oppression, for if Cabrera, the president, would only let his country develop on right lines, and let justice and righteous dealing guide his own counsels, he would have far greater wealth than he has now, and every good man's praise. At present he is execrated, and dare not leave the house he lives in lest he should be shot ; and though he has millions, no doubt, he can have no enjoyment from them but the thought of their possession. We have work going on for the labourers on the banana plantations I have described, and which extend from the port, Barrios, for nearly sixty miles along the line which leads to the capital far away amongst the mountains above. There is a British community, and a number of English-speaking Germans and Americans, who form quite a fair congregation at our little church in the city itself, under a rector whom I institu- ted last year. This was his first experience when he went out into the plaza soon after his arrival. He had stopped to look on at the movements of some of the president's Indian soldiers, when one of them stepped up and struck him in the chest with the butt-end of his rifle, another threw a stone at him, and another spat in his face ! Since 127 Guatemda then he has lived all this down and been very kindly received by the president himself, who promised him help towards obtaining land for a church. There can be no question that the president is able enough and competent and strong, or he would never have been able to keep his position so long, and at one time it seemed almost as if he were a man with ideals, for he launched out into great educational schemes. Perhaps, however, the attempts upon his life have embittered him, and possibly he may not know all that is done in his name, but he has a splendid opportunity, if he would only take it, of being the saviour and not the oppressor of his country. Even now, as one writes, it may not be too late for him to play the man and really govern his people in truth and equity. In connection with the educational schemes, which once were his, he built a wonderfully beau- tiful classic structure somewhat like a Doric temple, and called it "The Temple of Minerva," and in connection with it established a " Feast of Minerva " to be held every 20th of October, and in which school children and their teachers take part. It stands in a great open place, and is of very chaste and severe simplicity, looking wonderfully impressive, and not at all out of 128 Guatemala harmony with its surroundings, but singularly in keeping with the attractive capital and its rich colouring, surrounded by hills, and with the great volcanoes of Agua and Fuego towering up like pyramids in the distance. Near this beautiful structure of pure white, which carries one off to thoughts of ancient Greece, is a very modern arrangement of a most interest- ing and instructive character. It is known as ** The map." Everyone kept saying, on one's first arrival in the city, "Have you seen the map ?'* but I was little prepared for what we were to see when we found it. Within a circular wall, coming up sufficiently high for one to lean one's hands upon it, and covering a good large space of ground, is built up an ingenious reproduction of the whole country of Guatemala, showing its mountains, rivers, lakes, coast, cities, villages and railway. There is water in lake, river and sea, and the great volcanoes stand some five feet high, proportion and colours being carefully reproduced and giving one a most convincing sense of understanding what Guatemala is like, and seeing its extraordin- ary beauty and magnificence of scenery vividly and faithfully reproduced. A large platform of open ironwork, reached by s 129 Guatemala two staircases, rises by the side of it, from which one can look down into its inaccessible valleys and the craters of its terrible volcanoes. I don't think '* the like of it is to be found in any country," and yet nothing could be devised more interesting and instructive for every country to possess. It is in the open air, and men, women and children can easily earn from it what their beautiful country is like. Coffee and bananas are the great articles of export, and though a banana plantation with its tender shades of green is a very beautiful sight, a coffee finca with the flowers in full bloom is even more attractive, especially as it is usually found with its beauty enhanced by mountain scenery, while the banana is cultivated in the low rich ground near the sea, where the more frequent and heavy rains are favourable to its cultivation. I shall not soon forget my first evening amongst the Guatemala bananas. I was due at a small station called Viginia for a Confirmation, and arrived late and in the dark. Word had been sent on that I should hold the Confirmation, how- ever late my arrival, if they would only wait. As soon as we could, therefore, we hurried off from the little station, where we had been put down, to the place where the candidates and their friends were patiently waiting, singing hymns, to 130 Guatemala fill up their time. We had only the dim light of a hurricane-lamp to guide us through the trees, and, in the first little gully we had to cross, a deadly snake suddenly started up and caused no small sensation in our party. It was safely dis- patched, however, and we congratulated ourselves on our escape. Any of us might have stepped upon it, and received its venomous bite. A few minutes later and we were in the little shelter where we had to robe, and I had just put on my cassock when, close to my feet, there came up another through the matting, also of the deadly kind ; but that also was safely killed before it could get out of the place. Two snakes of that kind, within a quarter of an hour, are decidedly an experience. What a Confirmation it was that night, in a little place formed by posts driven into the ground and palm branches and corrugated zinc above! They were an earnest lot of people, their black faces glowing with eager interest, in the dim candle light, as I gave my addresses, and pleaded also for the service next morning. In but a short time, comparatively, we were gathered together again in the same place at 4.45 a.m. for Holy Communion, so as to have the Celebration before the day's work began, and the greater number Guatemala present were men, some of whom, I learnt from the manager afterwards, were the best and most reliable men he had in his division. The religious men ought always to be admittedly the best men, and it was delightful to me to be told that day that it was so on that great banana planta- tion, and that those who were there in the early morning, before the dawn, '* to wait upon the Lord and renew their strength," were known all through the working day which followed as men of industry and high character determined to '* quit themselves like men and be strong." Care must be taken on the readers part to distinguish, in these chapters on the Central American part of my work, between the people of the country and the Jamaican negroes imported into it by the United Fruit Company for their work. It is with the latter alone, as our own fellow- subjects and fellow Churchmen, that I and my clergy have anything directly and officially to do. The people of the Spanish republics are usually the descendants of the old Spanish conquerors and colonists and the aborigines they found there — a mixed race ; and it is the same all though South America with the exception of Brazil, where the original race is now mixed with Portuguese instead of Spanish. 132 Guatemala In Guatemala alone, as far as my experience goes, the pure-blooded Indians still remain the great majority of the population, and are, as in all the other countries, Roman Catholics, with their own Bishops and clergy. It is not for us, of course, to interfere with the work of another Church, and especially in another country, which has never known any other form of Christianity, but one can't help feeling a deep interest in people whose religion seems only nominal, and sometimes worse even than that. The Indians of Guate- mala, I am convinced, cling still to their ancient superstitions, and have their little idols still, amongst the images of their Christian saints. The last day or two in every year are even now kept in honour of ** The old God." It is saddening to hear of the low state of Christianity professed and practised in these countries. A very well known American Roman Catholic priest there told me that the Church was fast losing its hold upon the people. "We are the slaves of the people," he said with great energy; "they neither obey our teaching nor support our work. Here, for instance, they do not give me as much in a week's collections as will pay for the lights and incense on the Sunday, and they do just as they Guatemala like, whatever I can say." And he was in charge of one of the largest and most interesting churches in the country. "Why do you stay here?" I asked. *' Out of respect for the Bishop," he at once replied, **and because I have my own resources to live upon, and can work without their support. What would become of this great country parish and its stations if I left them ? " No clergy are ever allowed to appear in any public place in Guatemala in their robes, and usually do not even wear the dress of the clergy if travelling. When I was leaving the country the last time, a taking young man with Homburg hat, blue tie, light gloves, smart clothes and cane, came up with extended hand to meet me, and seeing uncertainty as to his identity in my expres- sion as I took it, he exclaimed reproachfully — "What, have you forgotten poor Fr. al- ready?" It was the genial, kindly and friendly Priest who had been so extremely communicative, only a short time before ! He bitterly criticized the Government policy, which had made it illegal for the Church to give any education, and spoke of the prospects of religion in Guatemala and other Latin countries in most despairing tones. One thing which has both pained and surprised 134 Guatemala me in Central America is the fatal course which the Roman Catholic clergy are pursuing in practically discouraging the marriage tie. They charge such high fees that the ordinary working people can't afford to pay them, and so do with- out the ceremony. A gentleman I knew in one of these countries had a very steady young gardener, and was very much scandalized at finding that he had taken a young woman to keep house with him, and had not married her ; but on questioning him he learnt the reason. It would have taken two or three months' wages to pay the fees, and he felt he could not afford it ! In another country I was told that when a wedding party passes, if they are working people, the cry on all sides is, "How can they possibly afford it ? How well off they must be ! " The percentage of illegitimate births in these coun- tries is said to fluctuate between 50 and 70 per cent. It is difficult to understand how any Christian, whatever his Church may be, can fail to see that our whole social system is without a true foundation when not based upon the stability of Christian marriage and the sanctity of a Chris- tian home. I was thankful to find, at the first Synod I 135 Guatemala held in British Honduras, a resolution brought for- ward, and carried, to abolish fees at marriages. A great number of the laity in Central America are profoundly dissatisfied with the low state of morality and deplorable superstition which characterize so many of their countrymen — clerical and lay alike — and it is very difficult to know how to advise them, for good and thought- ful men may help their own Church far more by staying in it than getting out of it, and Rome's splendid organization, and power of inspiring devoted service in her members, make it always possible to imagine the time coming when some great reforming spiritual influence, springing up within her fold and keeping there, refusing to be cast out, shall sweep throughout her whole length and breadth, with such results as the world has not only not yet seen, but not even imagined. If one feels grieved to the heart, in countries like Guatemala, by what one sees in the form of that which, if it is not censorious to say so, impresses one as a dead religion, it is because one feels it might all be so entirely different. Guatemala waits ! It has everything that a country needs — climate, resources, scenery, a hard- working and industrious people — everything! But it waits for what it has never yet had as far as we can ever know, for — a fair opportunity ! 136 Along the River. With Indians in Guatemala. CHAPTER X THE PERILS OF NICARAGUA I HAVE often had occasion to say that if ever I find myself in a position of special difficulty and discomfort while travelling, at home or abroad, having to put up with poor food and lodging and real hardships in one's personal surroundings, I shall only have to say to myself " Nicaragua " and the whole outlook will seem to change ! ** We touched bottom," in more senses than one, in Nicaragua! There was a time when Great Britain counted for something in Nicaragua, and exercised some little influence in its affairs, especially in the neighbourhood now known as the Mosquito Coast, on the Atlantic side, which we helped to settle in the Forties of the last century ; but we withdrew, and Nicaragua took possession of the whole country in i860, and the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, which soon followed, secured our non- interference in the years to come. The two Atlantic ports bear witness to this T 137 / The Perils of Nicaragua in still being called by their English names of *'Greytown" and " Bluefields," though the former is also as well known by its Spanish title of **San Juan del Norte." It was at this place that the Nicaraguan Canal would, if it had ever been made, have entered the Atlantic. Nicaragua is a terrible country to live in, or even to visit, although it must always attract attention from the outside world by the beauty of its scenery and the magnificence of its re- sources. We went there from Costa Rica early in 1909, setting out at night in a wretched little gasoline launch owned by Government and called the Santa Rosa. For a wonder beds were provided, stuck up in a curious way just above the engine, and though we were tired enough to lie down and rest upon them, as there was no other place upon which we could even sit for a few minutes, we had bitter cause to regret our incautiousness, for it took us some time to get over the unkind treatment we experienced from the other tiny occupants of those brief resting-places for the night. About 7.0 a.m. we were crossing the well- known and dreaded Colorado bar, and doing it very well, to our great relief, though the masts of a little craft which had lately failed in getting 138 The Perils of Nicaragua over, standing up forlornly above the waters as we passed, were not a cheerful sight. At the mouth of the Colorado we were put out, and taken up by a curious high paddle-wheeled kind of floating platform, which they called "a river steamer." We had never seen anything at all like it before, but it was built up in two storeys, and really was quite comfortable, giving us grand views of the wide and beautiful river. The banks were a marvel of luxuriant foliage, the great trees soaring up above them, with tendrils and climbing plants hanging from their branches. ** Isn t it a glorious sight .'^" I exclaimed, un- able to restrain myself, to one or two men stand- ing near, one of them the American Consul for the coast. " Well," he said slowly, judicially casting his eyes from one side to the other, " I don't know so much about that. Bishop, for it appears to me that there ain't a dollar on either bank ! " He meant the trees could not be cut down and sold for lumber ! We travelled up that broad river, stopping once at a sandbank so that the crew could land and try to dig up alligators' eggs, as a quantity of those fearsome reptiles plunged from it into the water at our approach, until we reached 139 The Perils of Nicaragua La junta, or The junction, the place where the river Del Norte joined the Colorado. There we disembarked the large canoe which the clergy- man at Greytown had sent to the south of the Colorado for me, and were paddled down by the men he had sent with it, and then hospitably received by himself and comfortably lodged for a few days. Greytown is said to be the second wettest place in the world, the other being a village in the Himalayas, where they have, I believe, about 128 inches in the year. Yet it does not seem to be a damp place, for though I have felt the whole house quiver to its very foundations under the weight of the water descending furiously upon it, the white sand of the place seems to swallow all up and leave no trace. Our clergyman there, the Rev. D. H. Miller, is a Jamaican negro, of pure blood, and has been there four years without a change. It is a diffi- cult and dangerous place to reach, and I am sure that no coloured man should ever be left in such a place, and under such circumstances, and for such a length of time. No coloured clergy can, as yet, I am convinced, minister fully to their own countrymen in lonely places without the companionship and help and sympathy of white 140 The Perils of Nicaragua clergy within reach, without deteriorating, unless they are unusually strong and earnest men. It is one of the misfortunes of the Central American part of our work that a good bit of it has to be done by coloured clergy in lonely stations. Greytown is a fast declining place. Every- thing is full of suggestions of what has been, of hopes and plans unfulfilled, of work begun, never to be finished and completed. Engines, dredgers, cranes, etc., broken and rusted, tell their dismal story, as similar appliances used to do at Panama when the French scheme was abandoned. All is different there now, and per- haps — who can say i^ — the Nicaraguan Canal may be taken up again in years to come, but it does not seem to be a very likely thing to expect. The Revolution of last year broke out at Grey- town and impoverished the place still further, so that everything seems to be against it. After a few days there for Confirmation, other services, and meetings of Committee, talks with Mr. Miller, calls on the people, etc., we left on a Saturday in a little gasoline launch once more, having to go over the Greytown bar, and the Colorado bar also, to get a little cargo, and then cross the latter again, and so up the coast to Bluefields. 141 The Perils of Nicaragua It was a day of perils. We crossed the ever- shifting Greytown bar in safety, and immediately had a breakdown of our little engine. That kind of thing is always happening, and unfortunate engineers are always having to execute repairs while tossing about helplessly on an open and often stormy sea. What would have been our lot if the breakdown had come a few minutes earlier, while we were actually crossing the bar, is much more easily imagined than described. We continued our way, and crossed the Colo- rado bar, also in safety, but in a tremendous swirl of sea, one man, at my elbow, remarking, as we did so : *' Its one vast grave, Bishop, taking its toll of victims every year ! " And then we took on cargo at the mouth of the river, and some four or five survivors of a schooner recently swamped in a squall. They were a bad lot we heard afterwards, and had shamefully left the women and children aboard with them to drown, refusing to lend them any assistance. We did not know this, however, and felt in a glow of charitable kindly feeling as we took them aboard. With them and our cargo we faced the terrible bar once more, for the third time, and for us it had certainly nearly been 142 The Perils of Nicaragua the last. It proved that we were drawing five feet, and the soundings, as we went over, showed the depth of water rushing across to be only four feet. Any reader will know what that meant. I have often wondered how we escaped death that day. The place was swarming with sharks, and a great sea running. I can only think that the high wind behind us, and the violence of the waves, dashed our boat from side to side, and so kept the keel continually twisted out of the way at critical times ; but I shall never forget the sicken- ing thuds with which we did crash down upon that bar again and again, the wind just sweeping us on and preventing us from sticking fast ; nor shall I ever forget either the deep thankfulness with which I realized that we were over and out at sea. The shipwrecked crowd we had taken on board, such a short time before, gazed with eyes almost starting out of their heads at the waves from which they seemed to be destined to have only such a brief respite. Conscience, I should imagine, must have been speaking somewhat insistently in those few moments of suspense. We were in Bluefields next day, a Sunday, and as usual I had my three full services. The morning congregation had already assembled H3 The Perils of Nicaragua when we arrived, unshaven, unkempt, unwashed and travel-stained, but they waited patiently, sing- ing hymns until we were ready, and then gave us a most hearty service, and the most eager atten- tion to what was said to them in the sermon. The church was filled with children in the afternoon, and again with a huge congregation in the evening. All were West Indian negroes with the exception of a few Indians and one or two white people, for the work is the same there under the Rev. H. N. Vaz as in the other parts of Central America, though the United Fruit Company has no plantations, cocoanuts being the great industry. On the Wednesday we had our Confirmation, the great event here, as in other places, of an Episcopal visit. There were a good number of candidates and a perfectly overwhelming congre- gation, almost as many people being gathered together outside as there were inside. Three of the Moravian clergy responded to my invitation, attended, took part in the Processional Hymn, and sat within the rails. They had never seen the Anglican service before, and were deeply im- pressed with what they felt to be its truly primitive and spiritual character. It was a touching sight to see the great body 144 The Perils of Nicaragua of people gathered outside, as we passed the large open door of our church on the way to the vestry when all was over, and I longed to go out and conduct another service for them, or at least give them the Benediction ; but this would have been contrary to Nicaraguan law, and I might have found myself in prison, that night, or very unceremoniously bundled out of the country: for uncivil and vexatious legal hindrances had been interposed to prevent my coming in at all on the previous Sunday morning, and I did not want a repetition ! The next day I took a memorable expedition. Corn Island is situated some sixty miles from the mainland, and, though such a short distance away, is very difficult of approach. It sometimes takes weeks to go and return. The Caribbean Sea there is swept by awful cyclones, and sailing boats alone are available. But I was most fortunate. The Moravians had just built a good steam sloop, and were wondering how they could get authority to use it from the corrupt local official. When they heard of my need, they offered me its use, if I would bear the expense of the journey, and get the Governor's permission. I therefore waited upon His Excellency, a sensual- looking insolent ruffian with a huge diamond on u 145 The Perils of Nicaragua his finger ; and after playing me some time, lolling about on a couch, he said he thought I might rely upon his permit if I made my arrangements and called next day. All this I did, and though I called and was refused a sight of him, and was disrespectfully kept waiting and ignored, to bring me to that due humility so becoming to a foreigner in Nicaraguan eyes, in the end I got my permit, and went down to my sloop. And there was the explanation of the permission being granted at all without a heavy bribe — a policeman in disgrace waiting to be taken over into banishment, another having to be brought back in his place ! I had to take him, of course, and could not refuse. On another occasion, on coming to the boat I had chartered, for my own use and return after a Visitation, I found two smugglers and a couple of officers in possession, and though I did not relish the prospect of the journey, the officers looking even more forbidding than their prisoners, there was no redress, and I had to take them with me. However, the journey to Corn Island had no untoward feature, although we saw our prisoner get Into a safe corner, as he thought, and then carefully moisten the dispatches which told of his 146 The Perils of Nicaragua misdeeds, read them attentively, smile, and stick them up again. He afterwards presented them to the Governor of the island, while I was looking on, with a most guileless expression, as who should say, '* I wonder what these are about ! " It was a beautiful passage over a calm sea, though the sun shone down with terrific power, and the sloop had no cabin, nor a seat. We had to •* stick it out," lying on the hatches or sitting on pieces of wood put across the corners of the stern. It was rather alarming also to see the engineer pouring his gasoline into the receptacle for his fuel, and, when he had too much, throwing the remainder upon the wooden flooring, which was smoking with heat. One spark, and there would have been a terrible conflagration, in which we should have ceased to be. On arrival we were met by a large party to carry bags and bring us horses, and soon were winding amongst the cocoanut palms under the moonlight for a long ride round to the other side of the island, unapproachable for a sloop or boat of any kind in the night. We were utterly worn out when we arrived, and our clergyman, the Rev. William Trott, came out to meet us. He was living in great discomfort, for his people, I H7 The Perils of Nicaragua found, were unable or unwilling to pay a proper contribution towards his maintenance. "For long," he said, ** I have not had more than five shillings a week to live on, and no one has come in to cook, clean, or wash for me." He was a negro of very gentlemanlike address and of very good style, and it grieved me to see the miserable condition in which he was living. There was nothing one could call furniture in his house, and I and my son had to sleep on two broken-down canvas " cots " and wash in a bucket standing upon a couple of boxes. Nor did the Corn Islanders treat their bishop any better than their priest. We heard a tremendous talking in the kitchen, where a number of them were gathered together, and fondly imagined we and Mr. Trott were to have a banquet for once, for we were tired and hungry and it was late, and it was long since our break- fast of coffee and omelette ; but when, with great parade, a table ready laid was borne in triumphantly from the kitchen, it contained three poached eggs, some rough cake, a little rice, and some dirty water, for four hungry men, as Mr. Vaz was with us. No entreaties could bring any addition to this fare, except some green cocoanuts knocked down from the trees to give us a substitute for 148 The Perils of Nicaragua the dirty water. I felt the more indignant when next morning, on learning that Mr. Vaz was likely to be a purchaser, fowls and eggs were brought in abundance and sold quite cheaply. That night I really thought, on getting into my precarious " cot," that an earthquake had come, as it gave such a horrible sway to and fro. Sleep was a difficulty, and almost impossible. Next day we had Holy Communion and Con- firmation, a meeting of the Committee, and then I assembled the congregation to see if I could learn why they were starving their clergyman. I could get no answer to my questions. *'You could have shared your produce with him, could you not ? " '* Couldn't you women have washed for him, cleaned up his rooms, cooked for him, even if you are poor ? " " Why didn't you help him, as he has no wifei^" etc. etc. To all my questions I could get no answer, and so had to say : " Then I must take him away to the mainland as soon as I can, for I won't have him starved to death." They burst into tears, and when I had left promised to do better; but things went on just 149 The Perils of Nicaragua the same, and I have since removed him to Guatemala. I have mentioned this because it is so different from what I have found elsewhere, and shows how important it is for a Missionary bishop to acquaint himself personally with every nook and corner of his work, however difficult it may be to get there. I left Corn Island with no regrets. They will be for a time under a catechist with occasional visits from Mr. Vaz for Celebrations ; and perhaps in the near future it may be well to try again whether they will help adequately towards the support of a resident priest. We were back again in Bluefields in about thirty-two hours, establishing a record, for such a thing as a visit to Corn Island and a return the next day had never been known on that coast before. On the following Sunday I attended a Mora- vian Confirmation officially, wearing my robes, delivering an address, and giving the Benedic- tion, all in the spirit suggested at the last Pan- Anglican Conference in 1908. The service was long, but very instructive and interesting. It was conducted by Dr. Reichel, the superinten- dent of the Mission, which has been carried on upon the Mosquito Coast for the last sixty years, 150 The Perils of Nicaragua and has done a really splendid work. The can- didates were all adults, and had had a long preparation, and were evidently very much in earnest. There was no laying-on of hands, but the officiating minister held his hands over them all, collectively, as he prayed, at one part of the service. The confirming part appeared to con- sist of reciting a text, carefully selected, I be- lieve, for each one, over every candidate in turn, and then giving the hand to help them up from the kneeling position to their seats. That Sunday night there was a fire! We were roused at 2 a.m. by the loud ringing of our own church bell, and, hastily dressing, hurried with everyone else to the place, where a great store was utterly given over to the fiercest flames. It was an awful sight, and had there been the very least wind that night all Bluefields would have gone, and our church and rectory, and all the fine and expensive buildings of the Moravian Mission would have been lost. The fire was in the midst of other buildings, and everything in the town was timber. It was a merciful de- liverance ! Our departure from Nicaragua, like our en- trance into it, was characteristic of its miseries and perils. I had chartered a boat to take us The Perils of Nicaragua down to Costa Rica, and with the Moravian missionary, Dr. Reichel and his daughter, Mr. Darling, a traveller, and my son, we were just enough to fill it ; but the trading company, which had charged us the full cost of the boat, put men, women and children into it for Greytown until we were twenty-eight in number ! We had no redress, for we could not refuse to go, as we had no other way of escape ; but it was a terrible experience. There were no provisions for the ordinary decencies of life on that open boat, no room to eat, walk, stand, sit, or lie. In the night, when I was twisted in amongst others, the little coloured captain came and touched me and said : *' Bishop, come down to my bed below, it hurts me to see you like this." But I had to say : ** No, captain, thank you, it's the fortune of war, and I won t rob you of your bed." If I had been disposed to do so I should have hardly dared to face it, for I know that night his little berth must have been a furnace ! We lay still under the stars, and wondered what we should do if it rained, or there was a storm. Next day they were all put off at Grey- town, and then we could move about and have 152 The Perils of Nicaragua some food, though even then there was only just room for the five of us. Nicaragua was at this time groaning under the tyranny of one of the most rascally of presidents, Zelaya by name, who was openly saying : ** I ridicule Germany, I laugh at the United States, and I spit upon England ! " But the revolution which began at Greytown soon after we left, and extended itself to Blue- fields, ended by sending him flying from the country, and I only wish that Germany, the United States, and England would repay him for his insults by bringing him to book for the abominable misrule, cruelty and extortion which he has so long and successfully practised, and which has made beautiful and productive Nicar- agua the terrible place to live and travel in which we found it. Just as this book is going to press I learn that Bluefields has had another fire, and this time been destroyed ! 153 CHAPTER XI COSTA RICA Costa Rica is the most '* modern" of all the Central American republics. It lacks the charm and romance of Guatemala, it has none of its special colour or bold magnificence of mountain and lake scenery, but it is a most beautiful country all the same, and has just those glorious views, as one reaches higher ground, which one sees stretching away far down below from the lower summits which command the upper valley of the Rhone. But, as I have said, it is delightfully modern, and in a very welcome sense. There are no spies bending malign looks upon one on entering the train for the capital, scowling and evil-looking as they draw near and ask you to write your name in full in their little book, as in Guatemala. The people at the stations as we pass along are cheerful and smiling. There are no revolutions to be feared here, we learn, on reaching San Jos^ about an hour's '54 MHI fefl^ 1 .tfii^Hflll ^■-T viiiife^Sa ^ -» ■ ^ Family, and to keep the service for Holy Communion un- changed. I am sure it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to induce him to give 171 Easter Day at Panama them up. Other sensible little acts of wise toler- ance and conciliation the Archdeacon extended to our Jamaicans in the early days of his work and life among them, and there can be no doubt that he has gained them as few others in his Church could have expected to do in such a short time and under peculiarly difficult circum- stances. It would do the heart of our English Church- men good to hear his unstinted and ungrudging testimony to the remarkable work the Church of England has done both on the Isthmus and in Jamaica, to which island he has the good sense to see that we are mainly indebted for what is encouraging in the religious work at Panama and Colon. He had a large body of lay readers and can- didates for Holy Orders, who met together, once a month, for a Celebration of Holy Communion and religious instruction and discussion, and — which is a matter of tremendous moment to an American — they sat down to breakfast together. When I was there, six clergymen were at work instead of the two who had hardly known how to compass it before, and three new churches had been built in the same number of years. There are many other things which I could speak of, did 172 Easter Day at Panama space permit, in connection with the Archdeacon's administration. It affords me very great satis- faction to give my grateful and appreciative recognition of a good man's work. I especially rejoice that our Jamaicans found in him such a sympathetic friend, for they really love their Church, and felt keenly a great change being made in their services. The wife of a very important official on the Zone, and herself a Roman Catholic, though married to a Church- man, said to me, ** I go to my own church, of course, in the morning and with my husband in the evening, and I certainly think the West Indians are the most religious people on the Zone." Just before I arrived a whole congregation of Methodists, with their minister, sought admission to the Church, and he became a candidate for Holy Orders, and I was told that a Baptist con- gregation and their minister in another place were about to do the same. I cannot help thinking that it was the tact, sympathy, and large-heartedness of the Archdeacon which had made them come to such a unanimous deci- sion to secure more corporate unity in that small sphere. My first services were those of Good Friday, 173 Easter Day at Panama and I shall not soon forget them. I had never in my life seen such solid blocks of men, in a mixed congregation, as those present at the Three Hours in St. Paul's, Panama, nor have I ever heard such an irresistible volume of sound in the singing of hymns. In the evening, at seven, I preached to them myself, and again the church was full to its utmost capacity, a most moving and inspiring service ; and as I stood at the door shaking hands with them all, and giving and receiving many a fervent ** God bless you ! " — for was I not the Bishop of the Mother Diocese and expected not to show myself a stranger ? — I thought the congregation streaming out would never end. Let me now describe Easter Day and what is meant by "hustling." Before six I had to be up for the first Celebration at Ancon, which I took myself at seven, and another followed at eight, after which there was only just time to get away and snatch a morsel of food before the Choral Celebration at ten, at which I had to preach and after it hold a Confirmation. This took us on past one p.m., and again one had to snatch a morsel of food on the way down to Panama for two p.m., when I had to dedicate a lectern and other gifts, hold another Confirmation, and preach another sermon. Evensong followed, but 174 Easter Day at Panama I had to leave at ** Nunc dimlttis" and take the train to Colon, where I arrived just in time for the evening service, at which I preached and held my third Confirmation. What a service it was ! The church was crowded to the doors, and great numbers of people, gathered together about the entrances and under the window spaces — all open, of course — gave the most breathless and devout attention both to the sermon and the specially impressive parts of the Confirmation. It was a most spiritual and uplifting experience for us all. There was what is called ** Advanced ritual," and very elaborate ceremonial ; but there was nothing fussy and disturbing or distracting about it. All the numerous servers and choristers were most devout and attentive, the singing was un- usually congregational, and "hearty" in character; the great crowded congregation of black and white were all mixed up together, for it was hopeless to expect to keep special places for any one that night ; and altogether it was real "Worship," and all was done *' decently and in order." It was nine p.m. before I drew breath that day after starting before six a.m., and I feel that I shall know now what an American means if he is prescribing services for me, and adds, " But we 175 Easter Day at Panama shall have to hustle to get through." Few bishops, I fancy, can say, either, that they have confirmed in the morning on the Pacific Coast, and on the Atlantic in the evening. I have only mentioned the services in the churches at which I was present myself on that never-to-be-forgotten Easter Day, but the others on the Zone were equally crowded, and (one hesitates to speak of it, but still it was public action on their part) I heard with great thank- fulness that all the members of the Canal Commission were present at Divine Service, and I think I am right in saying at the Holy Communion. There is a perfect army of young Americans at work, in different capacities, in connection with the great work of the Canal, and great care has been shown in promoting a true social life among them, and under good and wholesome conditions. Bad characters are very summarily dealt with, if found upon American territory, for the Governor, Colonel Goethles, is quite a despot in his way and is given the power. Games and sports are promoted indoors and out, but the unique feature of the Canal Zone is the provision by Govern- ment of six immense Young Men's Christian Association club houses at convenient centres, 176 Easter Day at Panama with everything that such institutions need to make them thoroughly efficient for their purposes of recreation and instruction. They have a membership, I believe, of about 10,000. The quarters for the young men are extremely well equipped, and quite worthy of those engaged upon a great national work, but one cannot feel thankful enough for these great Y.M.C.A. insti- tutions, as one thinks of the influence they must exercise upon so many thousands, constantly coming and going, of the very flower of American manhood at one of the most important times in life. They cost the Government of the United States some ;^5o,ooo a year, I believe, and I am told that when President Taft applied for the grant to Congress, and objections were quite naturally urged against making a national grant for what might be called religious work, he at once said that the matter was a vital one and that, without the grant tor the purpose lor which he was apply- ing, he could not be answerable for the moral condition of the Canal Zone. This was very plain speaking, and the grant was, I am told, at once made. There is one important matter upon which I must now touch as I conclude, and that is colour. 2 A 177 Easter Day at Panama I believe that God, in His Providence, has given at the Isthmus the opportunity for an object- lesson on colour which may be of the greatest value to the whole United States of America, and especially to the Protestant Episcopal Church — our own daughter Church. Few people in England know how serious is this question of colour. In British Honduras itself and in the British West Indies it does not arise at all. We all worship together, receive Communion together, and meet together socially without restraint, black and white and coloured — that is to say, the mixed race. In Central America, however, far the largest part of my jurisdiction, fourteen times the size of the little colony of British Honduras, and where the Ameri- cans are the great employers of labour and have their own countrymen in all their offices and superintending departments, a very different state of things obtains. They will not come into the same church with black or coloured people, nor even dream of accepting the ministrations of coloured clergy, nor allow them as guests in their hotels. Time and again when a clergyman, unable to put me up himself, has asked an American to do so, he has been at once asked, *' Has the Bishop 178 Easter Day at Panama any colour?" and, if he had had to own that I had the least trace of it, I should have been refused hospitality. If I received one of my coloured clergy at the hotel where I happened to be stay- ing, when in Central America, for a business inter- view, I couldn't ask him to stop for breakfast or any other meal. He would not be allowed to sit down with me, even if we had a table apart. But it is when one finds that the white will not worship with either black or coloured people, and yet are Christians and Churchmen themselves, that one feels rather hopelessly how serious the problem is, especially when one hears able and earnest and really spiritually-minded clergy, as I have done, defend this refusal to worship to- gether. But I cannot help feeling a bit hopeful, as I think of the Canal Zone, of the traditions which our English Church has laid down there, and which Archdeacon Bryan has so fearlessly fol- lowed ; and this touching little incident happened in my presence on Easter morning. As I sat in the Sacrarium at Ancon at the lo a.m. service, listening to the first lesson and looking down the church, crowded entirely with Americans, I saw through the wire-screened door a Jamaican negro in full dress coming down the hillside. He 179 Easter Day at Panama wore a white drill suit, had on a white straw hat, carried a white umbrella, and had a bright flower in his coat. Altogether he looked very smart and pleased with himself. Seeing the church, he came up the steps, opened the wire doors, and stepped in. At once, after a look round, instinctively, he stepped out again. The congregation was entirely white, and filled every place — and he was black ! But after a moment or two, with that persist- ence which always distinguishes the negro, he stepped in again, and I looked on, fascinated and much moved, wondering what was going to happen, for I knew that no negro had ever been in that church before or was expected to come. I dreaded his being turned out, for I knew that my morning's worship would be spoiled if he were. At this juncture an American looked up and saw him, and immediately went out and brought back a chair, and our darkey friend sat down ! It was a most tremendous relief to me to have him there, and at the end of my sermon I ventured, though with some little doubt as to my right to do so in a church not my own, to plead for common worship for black and white, without entering into the social question at all, and for a common Eucharist. 1 80 Easter Day at Panama Thus to bring the two races together in sympathy on the American Continent was, I told them, a more important, though similar, work to that of bringing the two great oceans together. They listened very attentively, though I felt the atmo- sphere was somewhat electric, and I had the unutterable relief and happiness of hearing next day that a leading official, and himself a Southerner — the feeling is stronger, of course, in the Southern States — had met the Archdeacon and had said to him, though he had *' questioned the right of the Bishop to speak to them on such a subject," that he was wondering " whether he might not after all be right in saying that Americans had much to learn from the West Indians as well as the West Indians from them, and therefore he would advise him to set aside some seats in the church for coloured peopled I have emphasized this, but only those who know what a terrible thing colour can be in hindering Christ's work, will know what it meant to me to hear those words spoken by such a man and in such a place, and how often they have helped me when praying God to bless the work of His Church there, and how, as I write them now, they make me place among my happiest recollections my ** Easter Day at Panama." i8i CHAPTER XIII THE GREATEST ENGINEERING ENTER- PRISE IN THE WORLD It is a mere truism to speak of the work upon which the Americans have entered in the con- struction of the Panama Canal as " The greatest engineering enterprise in the world." It is easily first among such works of construc- tion ! But there are so many things connected with it, both of national and international interest, so many possibilities of good and evil, of national benefit and advantage, and of calamity and disaster, bound up with it, that all who have had the opportunity of visiting and inspecting it will watch its progress with the very deepest interest, and even after its completion, with many of us, that interest will not be free from grave anxiety. When I first visited the Canal to spend Easter in 1909, I made the acquaintance of four out of the five members of the Canal Commission, and was most hospitably entertained by them. I was taken over the railway by Colonel Goethles 182 Watching our boat go by on the old river. The Bishop, the Rev, P. B. Simpson, and some of his people. Greatest Engineering Enterprise in his own car — he is the Governor of the Canal Zone — and had the whole work care- fully explained to me. Admiral Rousseau, another Commissioner, showed me the work in great detail upon map and plan, Colonel Hodges, the most recently appointed of the Commis- sioners, took me all through the workings on a little motor-car. Colonel Gorgas, of world- wide fame, told me much about his great work of sanitation on the Isthmus, which has been even more remarkable and successful than his famous " cleaning up ** of Havana after the Cuban war, and, finally, I have been presented with the last report of the work, full of maps, illustrations, plans, statistics, and descriptions, a compendious work of some four inches thick- ness. I have also visited the place again since then, and each time all my previous impressions have been confirmed. Special opportunities have therefore been afforded me for writing this article, which I here very thankfully acknowledge. To understand what is being aimed at, and whence danger and calamity may arise, it is necessary to know the French, as well as the American scheme. The French company — *' La Compagnle Uni- verselle du Canal Interoc6anique" — was formed 183 Greatest Engineering Enterprise in 1 88 1 to enable M. de Lesseps to have the same triumph at Panama as he had had at the Isthmus of Suez, and the aim was as simple in the one case as in the other. An ocean level canal was to be made from Colon on the Atlantic to Panama on the Pacific Ocean, a distance of some forty- nine miles. A deep wide channel was to be made, without locks or dams, and as indestructible as anything of the kind could be. It was not to be spoken of as merely a canal, but as the '* Straits of Panama." This was the aim ! It was a colossal undertaking, for the two oceans were of different levels ; there was a great mountain at Culebra some fifteen miles from Panama, which would have to be cut through (" The Culebra Cut " it is now called), the climate was held to make the place one of the un- healthiest in the world, and imported labour would be a terrible difficulty and anxiety. All these conditions had to be duly taken into con- sideration, and made it, even to the French, one of the greatest engineering enterprises ever un- dertaken ; but still the aim was a very simple one, and the result, if attained, would have been simple also, without any complications, and the canal would be such an addition to the natural waterways of the world that it could be truly 184 Greatest Engineering Enterprise spoken of, as I have already said, as ** The Straits of Panama." The Americans, however, have undertaken a very different piece of work, although they have followed the same track for their canal as in the French scheme, and used such assets as their purchase of the rights and possessions of the French company gave them, as far as they could. The French undertaking spelled disaster and calamity for the whole length and breadth of France, although it only lasted seven years, from 1 88 1 to 1888. Millions and millions of francs were contributed to the work by the peasants and small proprietors which were thought to have been entirely lost, and it was not until 1904, when the American Government took up the work and gave ;^8, 000,000 for the French rights and possessions, that any of this money came back to the unfortunate investors. "Panama" will long be a word of evil omen in France. But this this is the American scheme. They have determined to avoid an ocean level canal and the consequent deep excavation which would be required for it. Above Colon on the Atlantic side, and nearly seven miles away, a large lake is to be made by building a huge dam i|- miles long, 500 yards wide at the bottom, and 1 1 5 feet 2 B 185 Greatest Engineering Enterprise high, and impounding the waters of the Chagres river, the hilly character of the ground above being favourable to the formation of the lake, with the aid of the huge dam just mentioned. Ships will be raised to the level of this great inland lake from the Atlantic, by means of three immense locks, and then they will proceed over its waters, following a prescribed course, till they come to the ** Culebra Cut," where they enter upon a canal 300 feet wide, and of the same level as the lake. At Pedro Miguel — some eight miles away — they will descend, by locks, 30 feet to another small lake nearly a mile long, over which they will steam to Miraflores and again descend by locks to tide level, and finally pass along a channel 500 feet wide and eight miles long to deep water in the Bay of Panama. It must be perfectly plain from the foregoing description how much will depend upon mechanical efficiency and artificial conditions when the actual traffic and business of the canal are going on, after all the work has been completed, and how little will serve to put it out of order — and perhaps at a very critical time in American history — or even totally destroy the work as a whole. For instance, the Chagres river is depended 186 Greatest Engineering Enterprise upon for the whole water supply, and those who know it, cannot but regard it as a very weird and uncertain factor in the question of the stability of the great lake and channel. Then that part of the Continent is continu- ally visited by earthquakes. I have already described in Chapter VI the havoc which was wrought by one at Cartago, in my own Diocese, not very far away, when a whole city was destroyed in a quarter of a minute. There is also the possibility of what one or two con- certed explosions of dynamite would do in the destruction of the locks at Gatun. In days to come, even more than now, an aeroplane, or iarship, rising from the battleship of an enemy could easily drop the necessary charges of ex- plosives at the vulnerable places, with the most terrible of consequences, if part of the American Fleet happened to be passing through the Canal at the time. No Japanese would shrink from losing his life in carrying out such a deed, or even attempting it, if Japan were at war with the States. There are many authorities in the States who view the present scheme with very great disquiet and anxiety, and it was pointed out in the Times last year by M. P. Bunau-Vanilla, who was con- 187 Greatest Engineering Enterprise nected with the French undertaking, that the dangers from earthquakes and dynamite were very real, but would not in any way have affected an ocean level canal, except as they would affect any of the other works of Nature. However, the whole matter has been no doubt very care- fully considered by the American Government, from every point of view, and they have un- questionably counted the cost very carefully, and will, humanly speaking, ''see it through," regard- ing the national reputation now as involved in its completion ; and those who know it can only look on at the work with very great interest, admiration, and sympathy, and hope for its final triumph and success. Its main purpose, of course, is strategical, for as it seems likely to cost in all nearly ;^ 100,000,000, it can hardly be expected to be financially re- munerative. It will be remembered that the Oregon had to steam all the way round the Horn from the Pacific when urgently needed in the war with Cuba. What a difference if it could have just slipped through the Canal to Colon, only four days from Cuba, instead of having to circumnavigate a whole Continent! It was felt to be necessary for a Power with a coast upon two oceans to provide against such a contingency 188 Greatest Engineering Enterprise occurring again, and far-seeing people then knew the United States would undertake the comple- tion of the Canal. It is for strategical purposes, therefore, and though it seemed to take many people by sur- prise, yet it was only what was to be expected, as the logical outcome of the whole scheme, when President Taft announced in 1910 that he intended to ask Congress for ;^400,ooo for the fortification of the Canal. It is expected that it will be ready to be opened some time in the year 191 5. My Diocese of British Honduras and Central America formerly included the Isthmus of Panama, and went down beyond it to the Magdalena river, as I have already said, but before acquiring the plant and rights of the French Company, the Americans bought — technically leased — five miles on either side of the projected Canal for the sum of ;^2,ooo,ooo, and that ten miles by forty- five miles of the Isthmus is now known as the Canal Zone. There was at that time a good deal of Church work going on, with churches at Colon, Culebra, and Panama, as the labourers were imported negroes from the West Indies, and were our own fellow subjects, and in great part our own fellow 189 Greatest Engineering Enterprise Churchmen, but, of course, it became necessary to approach the American Episcopal Church when It became American territory, and about five years ago that strip of land, and down to the Magdalena river, was ceded to them, and has been worked hitherto by the Presiding Bishop (Missouri) issuing a commission first to the Bishop of Washington, and then, at his death, to the Bishop of Cuba, to include the Zone in his jurisdiction. When one has been accustomed to hear and think of the Isthmus as one of the plague spots of the world (for during the French occupation the workers ''died like flies," it has been said, from yellow fever and malaria, and there were ** more graves than trees " to be seen there, even in that land of rapid growth) an actual visit to the place is nothing less than a revelation ! The country is most beautiful, and I shall never forget my first evening at Ancon, just above the Pacific outlet for the Canal. It re- minded one of Monte Carlo, with Panama jutting out below into the ocean, just as Monaco comes out into the Mediterranean, and the colour of the water was of the same deep and glorious blue, but Ancon had the beautiful mountains of Colom- bia rising up in the distance, kindled up into all 190 Greatest Engineering Enterprise kinds of rich and glowing colours by the setting sun. The air was fresh and cool, and in no part of the Isthmus have I ever found myself, either by night or day, unable to get into a place where one could feel the breeze blowing refreshingly over from one ocean or the other. There is moisture in the air without question, and a good deal of it, for every well -equipped house has its drying-room, but the air is always in motion, and I have never felt less of what one may call ''stuffy " heat in the tropics than on the Isthmus of Panama ! Then, to add to the interest of one's first visit to the place, there is the character of the work. There are over 30,000 men at work in a com- paratively small space. Many places are like ant hills, in the ceaseless activity which they present, as one sweeps past in a motor-car upon the rails. The huge steam shovels — ninety- five tons — at work, suspended from their gigantic cranes, have an uncanny look, as they come swiftly forward, take out a great mass of earth and rock, biting it off, so to speak, and im- mediately return and load it into one of the great waggons of a long train standing near. They move so quickly, and, as it were, so re- morselessly, and do their work of destruction so 191 Greatest Engineering Enterprise completely and irretrievably, that it is difficult not to regard them as possessing a weird kind of consciousness and intelligence ! When the great long train is loaded up, it moves off to the place, where it is to be un- loaded (the dam is being built up out of the debris), and then the sides of the waggons fall down, and a huge spade is drawn swiftly, by a great cable attached to a steam engine, along the whole train, and the contents of the waggons are turned out before you even know what is going to be done. Everything that is modern and thoroughly efficient is in use in every part of the work, and there cannot be anything more interesting in connection with such an enter- prise in any part of the world, or more instructive. In addition to the 30,000 labourers, for the most part negroes from the West Indies, with a comparatively small number of Spaniards from Europe, who are said to be excellent, there is a perfect army of young men from the States for the various departments required by the official, medical and technical character of the work. I should say they represent the very pick of United States efficiency, and they are certainly very well treated and cared for. The houses and huge establishments which 192 Greatest Engineering Enterprise one calls "Quarters," and the four huge Y.M.C.A. Club buildings, though of timber, of course, are the very best of their kind, and thoroughly up to date. Bath-rooms and every kind of convenience required for health and cleanliness are abundantly supplied, and the well-equipped Stores, continu- ally replenished by means of an excellent steam- ship service between Colon and New Orleans, afford one not only all the necessaries of life but every comfort and luxury one is ever tempted to desire there. There can be few places where more is done for those engaged in a great undertaking than on the Canal Zone, and I have never yet seen a work where, as far as one can judge, it has been more the wish and intention of those re- sponsible to do the thing thoroughly. The utmost care is taken to keep the place morally wholesome and clean, and as the Gover- nor appears to be clothed with really absolute and despotic authority, he takes care to keep all the undesirables at a distance. This, of course, is not easy, but I am assured that there are a number of officials always on the look-out, and that bad characters, as soon as known, are at once "fired," a very expressive term for being effectually got rid of and sent off. 2 C 193 Greatest Engineering Enterprise It was a great pleasure to me to meet Colonel Gorgas, the medical member of the Canal Com- mission, under whose superintendence the work of " cleaning up " has been so effectually done, and yellow fever completely banished, and malarial fever brought down to a very low margin, compared with other days. There are quite magnificent hospitals at Colon and A neon, with all modern appliances, and splendid staffs of both doctors and nurses. All the houses are "screened," that is, covered outside with wire gauze, to keep out the mosquitoes, and stagnant water is carefully kerosened all over the Isthmus, so that, as the mosquito deposits its eggs upon the surface of water only, they may be prevented from incubating. In this way the yellow fever mosquito has been extirpated and the disease banished, and the malarial fever mosquito is in a fair way to be exterminated as well, though, of course, with the heavy tropical rains fresh stagnant pools are always being formed, and have to be carefully watched. Colon and Panama have both been rejuvenated, from a sanitary point of view, and altogether I can imagine Panama becoming just the place for a rest cure, and taking its place as one of the health resorts of the world. 194 Greatest Engineering Enterprise This enterprise — and I know of no other of anything like the same magnitude of which it can be said — has aimed from the first at pro- moting (i) the efficiency of those engaged in it, (2) their physical well-being, and (3) their moral and spiritual good. No one ought to deteriorate there ! On the contrary, I can imagine a young man going there, and perhaps being a little bit ** slack" in character, but returning to the United States, when his work is done, more efficient, better in health, and braced up in his moral tone, and this, I know I am right in saying, was President Roosevelt's aim when he determined that the Canal should be acquired. It is most interesting to go and see how, as it has been said, the Americans are " making the dirt fly at Panama," but to me it has been of the very greatest interest to see how that is being done, and done very thoroughly and encourag- ingly, in a sense of which the inventor of that phrase probably never even dreamed. 19s CHAPTER XIV WHITE AND BLACK I APPROACH this chapter with great diffidence and hesitation, and doubted whether it was wise to include it in such a book at all ; but I don't see how I can leave it out, as it is impossible to spend even a short time in the United States, and especially in the Southern ones, much less to fulfil even a brief episcopate in such a Diocese as mine, without forming some ideas of one's own about Colour. The Colour Line was the title of a book put into my hands by one of the most respected and efficient of the clergy in New Orleans when I was leaving that city for the first time, and it was a revelation to me of what White could feel towards Black, although I had had the following experience just before. A clergyman who had formerly been working in the West Indies and thought he would like to return to it, had sought work in my Diocese, and I asked him to come up from San Francisco 196 white and Black where he was and meet me in a certain Southern city for an interview. I had given him the name of one of the rectors there who had offered to be of any use that he could to me, in case he arrived before me. He did arrive before me, and went straight to this rector, who found him comfortable quarters, and told me on his arrival that he was soon coming on to see me. " I have asked him to luncheon with us at the " naming a well-known restaurant, ** and you will be able to talk to him at leisure," he added. As soon as he had said this I seemed to remember at once that I had heard something about the man who was coming to meet me having a little colour, and so I said : " You know he has some colour, of course ? " ** Oh, no, he hasn't. I've seen him, and he's as white and English as you and me," was his reply. " Well, that may be so, but I don't think I can possibly be mistaken, and as soon as he arrives I'll ask him," I answered. I did so, and found that his grandfather or his grandmother had been coloured, though he did not show the least trace of it himself. My host 197 White and Black had to withdraw his invitation, which he did without hurting the other man's feeHngs; for if he hadn't, and it had transpired that he had taken into that restaurant a man who had even the least trace of colour in him, he wouldn't have been allowed to go there himself again, and it would have affected him in other social ways as well. Knowing all this I was in honour bound, in introducing the clergyman to him and asking his good offices on his behalf, to let him know the truth. But this incident, and The Colour Line which I was asked to read in New Orleans, gave me much to think of before I ever set foot in my Diocese. Then at Panama and in Jamaica I again found much material for thought, and I suppose one will go on thinking of it all one's life, but, if it is not presumptuous to say so, I am firmly convinced already that the colour line is not a rational line nor a religious one. This is what Sir Sydney Olivier says in his most interestinor and instructive book on White Capital and Coloured Labour: **The colour line is not a rational line, the logic neither of words nor facts will uphold it. If adopted it infallibly aggravates the virus of the colour problem, and the more it is ignored the more is that virus accentuated"; and again: **The civilization and 198 White and Black morality of the Jamaican negro are not high, but he is on a markedly different level from his grandfather the plantation slave, and his great- grandfather the African savage. The negro of Jamaica has been so far raised, so much freedom of a civic nature between the races has been made tolerable, by the continuous application to the race of the theory of humanity and equality; equality, that is, in the essential sense of endow- ment in the Infinite, a share, however obscure and undeveloped, in the inheritance of what we call the soul. Evangelical Christianity, most democratic of doctrines, and educational effort, inspired and sustained by a personal conviction and recognition that, whatever the superficial distinctions, there was fundamental community and an equal claim in the Black with the White to share, according to personal capacity and development, in all the inheritance of humanity — these chiefly have created the conditions that have done what has been done for the negro in the land of his exile. Emancipation, education, identical justice, perfect equality in the Law Courts and under the Constitution, whatever the law of the Constitution might be, these take away the sting of race difference, and if there is race inferiority it is not burdened with an arti- 199 White and Black ficial handicap. Negroes are now indisputably the equals of the white men in categories in which one hundred years ago their masters would have confidently argued that they were naturally incapable of attaining equality." I commend these weighty words of Sir Sydney Olivier, who has had a very wide experience of the subject of which he writes, is now Governor of Jamaica, after being Colonial Secretary there years ago, and came to England this year to attend the Coronation as a representative of the whole province of the West Indies. We have our colour problem already looming up, and threatening to be a very serious one, in South Africa, and it is well for us all to see what the colour line has done for the United States in producing what is admittedly their most grave social peril to-day, and what the careful avoiding of it has done for the West Indian Islands, and especially for the prosperous, beautiful, and con- tented island of Jamaica, where Coronation Day was kept this year by white and black together with a loyalty, enthusiasm, and sincerity such as were exceeded, even if equalled, in no other part of the British Empire! What constitutes race inferiority ? I submit that it is an evident absence of the power to 200 White and Black persist in contact with other races, and an inability to assimilate what is best in them and work out one's own development. Let anyone consider the negros physical strength and his power to live and work in any climate in the world except that of extreme cold, the marvellous way in which he has assimilated our British civilization in our colonies, not putting it on as a kind of veneer but making it his own. Let them consider especially the way in which he has taken our Christianity and given it that fervour and mystical sense which our own so often lacks ; and let them take the best samples of all this, and not the worst, which one ought to do in all cases where one wants to form anything worth calling a reliable opinion, and then look forward and think whether there is not a real future for such a race. I believe in choosing the best specimens when I want to sample and judge ! At a very early service one day amongst the bananas in Guatemala, when looking over the congregation at those parts of the service where one faces them, my eyes rested from time to time upon as perfect a specimen of young manhood as I have ever seen. He was kneeling straight up, a young man of about twenty-six, of such 2 D 20I White and Black superb physique and symmetry that even his rough working clothes couldn't conceal them. There were two or three other young men near him, and all were deeply and reverently attentive to the service. Afterwards I stood outside saying good-bye to them all as they came out of the little shack where our Celebration had been held, for I had to be away on my journey before seven o'clock. Amongst others, the young fellow I have mentioned came out and waited for his few words. *' You're a fine fellow ! " I said, laying my hand on his shoulder. ** Yes," he said, smiling back with a boyish kind of acceptance of what he felt to be a friendly remark. **Yes, you certainly are," I continued, '*and I can't help wondering whether you are as strong in spirit and character, as I see you are in body?" He looked at me steadily for a moment or two with the same frank and youthful expression, and then said confidently : " I think I am. Bishop." It was not a reply that one had expected, and yet it struck me as quite sincere, so after asking his name, with a word or two of good will I let him and his friends go off to work. 202 White and Black While at coffee with the manager of the division I took the opportunity to ask for information. "What sort of man is B ?" I asked, naming my friend. " B ? " he said. " Do you know him? have you just seen him ? I can only say, Bishop, that he is a white man through and through, black as he is. Why, he's one of my best foremen, though the other three, friends of his and good men too, are of much the same calibre. You should see them at their work, axe in hand ; it does one good to see such strength as theirs. And then they are so reliable, straight, and industrious, I can trust them all the time when good work has to be done, and responsible men are wanted for it." And so he ran on, warmly and enthusiastically giving honour to whom honour is due, and, American as he was, determined to let his judg- ment and sense of just appreciation speak, and not that race prejudice from which so many of his countrymen, if they have to work amongst the negro race, find it difficult to keep themselves free. A race which can produce such specimens as B and his friends, and send them into church at half-past four in the morning for religious 203 White and Black duties, earnest and devout, and then to do a day's work which earns unstinted and yet discriminat- ing praise, cannot but have a real place in the progress of humanity. The question for us to answer, and a very responsible one it is too, is whether we will help or hinder them in attaining it. To go back to my " Foreword " at the beginning of the book, they are '* looking up " to us for inspiration, example, leadership, bracing, strong but very real sympathy, and my hope and prayer is that we of the British Empire are not going to disappoint that wistful upward look. I do not know a really competent and ex- perienced authority who does not write in the same spirit of appreciation as I have sought to show all through this book, and especially in this chapter. There are many things, such as educa- tion, political power, and especially inter-marriage, one would like to speak of, but of course space does not admit of it ; but if I refer those who are already interested in these subjects to Sir Sydney Olivier's little book, published for a shilling by the Independent Labour Party at 32, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, E.C., and ask them to read, especially carefully, the chapter on '* Short Views and Long Views on White and Black," I am sure 204 White and Black that they will consider that I have done them a very real service. And now I will do as he has done, and take a very lengthy extract with which to fidy end this chapter. It is from an article on '* Race Questions and Prejudices," by Professor Josiah Royce, of Harvard University, in the International Journal of Ethics for April, 1 906. There can be little question in impartial minds of the real significance and value of such explicit testimony, coming as it does from such a source : — " How can the white man and the negro, once forced, as they are in our South, to live side by side, best learn to live with a minimum of friction, with a maximum of co-operation ? I have long learned from my Southern friends that this end can only be attained by a firm, and by a very constant and explicit, insistence upon keeping the negro in his proper place, as a social inferior — who, then, as an inferior, should, of course, be treated humanely, but who must first be clearly and unmistakably taught where he belongs. I have observed that the pedagogical methods which my Southern friends of late years have found it their duty to use, to this end, are methods such as still keep awake a good deal of very lively and intense irritation, in the minds not only of the pupils but also of the teachers. 205 White and Black " Must such increase of race-hatred first come, in order that later, whenever the negro has fully learned his lesson, and aspires no more beyond his station, peace may later come ? Well, con- cerning just this matter I lately learned what was to me, in my experience, a new lesson. I have had occasion three times, in recent summers, to visit British West Indies, Jamaica, and Trinidad, at a time when few tourists were there. Upon visiting Jamaica I first went round the coast of the island, visiting its various ports. I then went inland, and walked for miles over its admirable country roads. I discussed its condition with men of various occupations. I read some of its official literature. I then consulted with a new interest its history. I watched its negroes in various places, and talked with some of them, too. I have since collected such further information as I had time to collect regarding its life, as various authorities have discussed the topic, and this is the result : — ** Jamaica has a population of surely not more than 14,000 or 15,000 whites, mostly English. Its black population considerably exceeds 600,000. Its mulatto population, of various shades, numbers, at the very least, some 40,000 or 50,000. Its plantation life, in the days before emancipation, was much sadder and severer, by common account, than ours in the South ever was. Both the period of emancipation and the immediately following 206 White and Black period were of a very discouraging type. In the sixties of the last century there was one very unfortunate insurrection. The economic history of the island has also been in many ways unlucky even to the present day. Here, then, are certainly conditions which in some respects are decidedly such as would seem to tend towards a lasting state of general irritation, such as would make, you might suppose, race- questions acute. More- over, the population, being a tropical one, has serious moral burdens to contend with of the sort that result from the known influences of such climates upon human character in the men of all races. " And yet, despite all these disadvantages, to-day^ whatever the problems of Jaynaica, whatever its defects, our own present Southern race-problem in the forms which ive know best, simply does not exist. There is no public controversy about social race equality or superiority. Neither a white man nor a white woman feels insecure in moving about freely amongst the black popula- tion anywhere on the island. " The negro is, on the whole, neither painfully obtrusive in his public manners, nor in need of being sharply kept in his place. Within the circles of the black population itself there is meanwhile a decidedly rich social differentiation. There are negroes in Government service, negroes in the professions, negroes who are fairly pros- 207 White and Black perous peasant proprietors, and there are also the poor peasants ; there are the thriftless, the poor in the towns — yes, as in any tropical country, the beggars. In Kingston and in some other towns there is a small class of negroes who are distinctly criminal. On the whole, however, the negro and coloured population, taken in the mass, are orderly, law-abiding, contented, still back- ward in their education, but apparently advancing. They are generally loyal to the Government. The best of them are aspiring, in their own way, and wholesomely self-conscious. Yet there is no doubt whatever that English white men are the essential controllers of the destiny of the country. But these English whites, few as they are, control the country at present with extraordi- narily little friction, and wholly without those painful emotions, those insistent complaints and anxieties, which at present are so prominent in the minds of many of our own Southern brethren. Life in Jamaica is not ideal. . . . But the negro race-question, in our present American sense of that term, seems to be substantially solved. " And how is this brouo^ht about ? '* I answer, by the simplest means in the world — the simplest, that is, for Englishmen — viz. : by English administration, and by English reti- cence. When once the sad period of emancipation and of subsequent occasional disorder was passed, 208 White and Black the Englishman did in Jamaica what he had so often and so well done elsewhere. He organized his colony ; he established good local courts, which gained by square treatment the confidence of the blacks. The judges of such courts were Englishmen. The English ruler also provided a good country constabulary, in which native blacks also found service, and in which they could exercise authority over other blacks. Black men, in other words, were trained, under English management, of course, to police black men. A sound civil service was also organized ; and, in that, educated negroes found in due time their place, while the chief of each branch of the ser- vice were or are, in the main, Englishmen. The excise and the health services, both of which are very highly developed, have brought the law near to the life of the humblest negro, in ways which he sometimes finds, of course, restraining, but which he also frequently finds beneficent. Hence he is accustomed to the law ; he sees its ministers often, and often, too, as men of his own race ; and in the main, he is fond of order, and so is respectful towards the established ways of society. The Jamaica negro is described by those who know him as especially fond of bringing his petty quarrels and personal grievances into court. He is litigious just as he is vivacious. But this confidence in the law is just what the courts have encouraged. That is one way, in fact, to deal 2 E 209 White and Black with the too forward and strident negro. En- courage him to air his grievances in court, listen to him patiently, and fine him when he deserves fines. That is a truly English type of social pedagogy. It works in the direction of making the negro a conscious helper toward good social order. "Administration, I say, has done the larger half of the work of solving Jamaica's race- problem. Administration has filled the island with good roads, has reduced to a minimum the tropical diseases by means of an excellent health- service, has taught the population loyalty and order, has led them some steps already on the long road *up from slavery,' has given them, in many cases, the true self-respect of those who themselves officially co-operate in the work of the law, and it has done this without any such result as our Southern friends nowadays conceive when they think of what is called ' negro domina- tion.' Administration has allayed ancient irrita- tions. It has gone far to offset the serious economic and tropical troubles from which Jamaica meanwhile suffers. **Yes, the work has been done by administra- tion — and by reticence. You well know that in dealing, as an individual, with other individuals, trouble is seldom made by the fact that you are actually the superior of another man in any respect. The trouble comes when you tell the other man too stridently that you are his superior. 2IO White and Black Be my superior quietly, simply showing your superiority in your deeds, and very likely I shall love you for the very fact of your superiority. For we all love our leaders. But tell me that I am your inferior, and then perhaps I may grow boyish, and may throw stones. Well, it is so with races. Grant then that yours is the superior race. Then you can afford to say little about that subject in your public dealings with the backward race. Superiority is best shown by good deeds and by few boasts." 211 CHAPTER XV THE REBUILT CHURCHES OF JAMAICA Few of the calamities which have fallen unex- pectedly upon a Diocese can be compared with the earthquake at Jamaica some four and a half years ago. In 1903 a terrible cyclone had swept through the island, leaving damaged churches and rectories and other disasters in its train ; by the end of 1906 the clergy and laity were just beginning to feel that they had almost recovered from the blow, though repairs and restorations were not even then paid for ; and early in 1 907 the earthquake came ! No living being who passed through that awful time will ever forget it, though some, whose nerves can never recover from the shock, will no doubt wish they could. It was early in the afternoon, while the Agricultural conference, which had brought so many distinguished visitors to Kingston, was in full session, that, without any warning, the whole city was laid in ruins in a few moments. The whole place was almost 212 RiAhix i.Nc; THK Bi^iioi'. With Englishmen on a Banana boat coming homp:. The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica immediately kindled up into a most appalling conflagration, the origin of which has never been quite satisfactorily explained and accounted for, amid a darkness as of midniofht as the dust from the falling buildings filled the air. Truly there is nothing in nature so fearsome and destructive as an earthquake ! This was on January 14, 1907, just when the diocese was beginning to breathe again after its 1903 cyclone, and as soon as the magnitude of the catastrophe was realized both by clergy and laity, both as to things secular and ecclesiastical, a feeling very close akin to despair seemed to come over every one in the island in those first few days. But every one agrees in Jamaica that they were all lifted up from despair to hope, and at once encouraged to begin and do what they could to recover even from such a complete and frightful visitation, by the ability, courage, faith, and earnestness of one man, and that was the Bishop of the Diocese and Archbishop of the Province. Jamaica can never attempt to repay the debt it owes to him. When the earthquake came with such over- whelming suddenness it was his voice ringing through the Conference Hall, asking them to be calm, which had prevented a panic and, no 213 The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica doubt, saved many valuable lives, for there was more danger in the streets than under a roof; and it was there outside that Sir James Fergus- son lost his life. That call to his fellow-men was prophetic, and it was the same all through ! The Archbishop was everywhere and everything. He, like most other people there, had lost all. Bishop's Lodge was a heap of debris, the wooden coach-house alone remained standing, but his Grace hastily decided that here he must live and administer, and at once set out to examine into the damage done. It is well known how he made an inspec- tion of the smoking ruins of what had once been Kingston, examined into, and had reports of, all his ruined churches and rectories, called to- gether a committee of all classes and religions to act for the public safety, and had written a letter to the Times within an incredibly short time after the disaster. Since then he has worked steadily and devotedly and unremittingly to re- pair it. It was through his representation that the Home Government made a large contribution, and granted a huge loan, to help the Colony to its feet once more, and through the confidence felt in him, that from the Pan-Anglican Thank- 214 The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica offering, and friends in England, no less a sum than ;^30,ooo was given for the rebuilding of the churches. The result of all this is a beauti- ful tropical city, risen phcenix-like from the ashes and wreckage of old Kingston, and twelve new churches, rectories, and other diocesan buildings restored and rebuilt — in four years ! It is significant of the spirit in which all this has been done that Bishop's Lodge has been finished last, and that the coach-house and small rooms hastily built up on the site of the old stables have been considered quite sufficient for his Grace until within a few days of his reception of the Bishops and other visitors, who joined him at his own express and pressing invitation, for the consecration of the churches — now hap- pily both rebuilt and free from debt — and the other services arranged to be in keeping with an occasion so historic and eventful and interesting in the annals of Jamaica. I had the happiness of being one of those bishops, and went out towards the end of December, with the Bishop of St. Albans, who was invited to go as representing the Home Church, and who took with him a letter of greeting and congratulation from the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Rev. E. H. (now Canon) Pearce, Vicar of 215 The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica Christ Church, Newgate Street, and Commissary in England for the Archbishop of the West Indies, followed us in a few days ; and early in January we were joined by the Bishops of North Carolina and Toronto, representing the American and Canadian Churches, the Bishop of Trinidad and his chaplain, the Rev. Canon Tree, the Bishop Elect of Antigua — Canon Hutson — and Archdeacon Bryan from the Isthmus of Panama. With the Archbishop and his coadjutor. Bishop Joscelyn, we were eight Bishops in all for the principal services, an unprecedented experience for the Church In Jamaica. All writers of experience agree with the author of Tom Cringle s Log — one of the best sea stories ever written — in expressing their appreciation of "the magnificent Island of Jamaica." It is most beautiful, whether seen, as I saw it first, from the sea, coming upon it after leaving Hayti, with the sun shining upon its exquisite green mountains, after rain, the water, washing its shores, gem-like in sparkle and colour, or seen as one drives far inland amongst its winding valleys, where the great peaks of the Blue Mountains rise up to a height of some 7000 feet, with every tropical tree and palm and fern and flower clothing and adorn- ing their beautiful slopes and rugged boulders. It 216 The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica is the loveliest island I have ever seen, with a most interesting and attractive people, and his Grace had chosen the best time in all the year — January and February — for our visit. Every one who went to lend a helping hand to this distant part of our communion would, I feel sure, return to his own work far more than repaid for the services, valuable as they were, which he had rendered. Let me now try and describe a few character- istic and special services, for it is impossible to speak of all, and so give English readers some small idea at least of what was done. There was, for instance, the Consecration of Kingston Parish Church, the destruction of which had been overwhelming. Soon after 5 a.m. we had to be up that day, January i8, as there was much to arrange, and many had long distances to come, and the service, like most of the others, had to begin at 7.30 a.m., by which time it is as bright and hot in Jamaica as on an English summer midday. By 7.20 the long pro- cession, which had robed and been marshalled at a convenient place some distance away, was in motion, headed by Cross-bearer and marked by banners here and there, and consisting of choris- ters, servers, some of whom were Chinese, in 2 F 217 The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica red cassocks, clergy, bishops and their chaplains, beadles, church-wardens and committee men : the archbishop entering the church last of all, preceded by the archiepiscopal cross, his scarlet train borne by two servers attired like the rest, the Bishop of St. Albans immediately preceding him, attended by Mr. Pearce. It was a very stately sight, this procession, as it passed through the streets, the singing led by a cornet, and it enabled great numbers of people to feel, in seeing it, that they were not altogether excluded from the service, for the church itself could not contain even a small part of the great numbers who would have liked to attend. As the Archbishop passed inside the great doors he paused and gave the Pax salutation — " Peace be to this House, from God our Heavenly Father. Peace be to this House, from His Son, Who is our peace. Peace be to this House, from the Holy Ghost the Comforter" — and then the long procession passed in, singing Psalm xxiv., ** The earth is the Lord's," etc., and those who had composed it filed off to the different places allotted them. The service of Consecration followed in the usual way, together with a very short form of Matins and the Holy Communion, only a small number being allowed to communi- 218 The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica cate representatively, though the vast con- gregation, of course, remained to the end. The Bishop of St. Albans preached a most eloquent sermon on the calamities, and the darker and difficult sides of nature, and the extra- ordinary ways in which they are overruled for good, in the Providence of God. It was heard with the deepest attention by the large congregation, which included the Governor and Lady Olivier, with Captain Robertson in attendance. A most impressive feature in the service was the offering of what is now called " The Earthquake Prayer," and which is always used on the Sunday nearest to its anniversary, January 14, and which contains a very touching remembrance of those who in such numbers came that day " to a sudden and fearful end." The Bishop of St. Albans was the celebrant, and the service lasted very nearly three hours. This is a fair description of the rule followed at the Consecration of all the other churches both in Kingston and the country places, nothing being omitted which could lend dignity and helpfulness to the occasion, the visiting Bishops and clergy taking it in turn to celebrate and to preach, and in every service having some portion of it allotted to them, so that all could 219 The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica feel they had taken a part, the archbishop him- self, of course, always being the consecrating bishop. On January 15, in the Cathedral at Spanish Town, the old church of St. I ago de la Vega, full of beautiful monuments and stored with old Jamaica associations, the new Bishop of Antigua was consecrated, and he can never lose, I should think, the uplift and inspiration of that glorious service, rendered by those who had never had the consecration of a Bishop take place in any church of theirs before. Amongst other privileges accorded to me was the preaching of the Ordination Sermon at the parish church, a week after its consecration, to six most earnest candidates for the Diaconate and Priesthood, and a large congregation as reverent and attentive as any preacher in this world could ever desire to have. Three bishops took part in the Ordination of every priest then set apart, and other special features made it a day which I am sure will be, not only for myself, but for very many there present, ever associated with the happiest and most sacred of memories. There were other very striking features of this visit of bishops and others to Jamaica, which, if time permitted, one would like to speak of, for 220 The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica nothing was ever omitted, as I have said, which could lend either dignity or usefulness to the occasion. There were also great gatherings of men, and a huge missionary meeting, etc. etc., but one remarkable thing to remember with thank- fulness is, that not one single disappointment, mishap or misunderstanding, or hindrance from weather, took place from first to last ; and one thing which greatly pleased his Grace was to be assured, by those whose judgment he could fully trust, that the services were not at all too elaborate and ornate on the one hand, nor on the other did they lack any single thing that could lend real stateliness and impressiveness to Church cere- monial. It is not fitting here to speak of the spiritual influence which we feel convinced was exercised all the time by those whose one earnest desire was to help on the work and cause of Christ, but none of us who were there for that great object will ever doubt that God gave us a great blessing. " Such a three weeks has never been known before by the Church in Jamaica" was the oft- repeated and grateful opinion expressed on every side, and though he put forward the visiting bishops and others, on all occasions, only keeping necessary official duties for himself, yet the 221 The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica strong, simple, and earnest spirituality of Jamaica's archbishop was always the dominating influence on all occasions, just as it had been in making all the plans and arrangements so long before, just as it will be in seeking to make the good done a real and permanent gain to the Church's work. His Grace is so thoughtful and so human. Here is an instance. Early in the proceedings we were all met together at a place called High- gate, for the Consecration of a country church. All the visitors were there, and we had all taken part — the sermon having been preached by the Bishop of North Carolina in an inimitable characteristic and telling American style. When all was over and the Blessing given, the Arch- bishop stepped up to the altar rail, and looking over the crowded church, said : "I'm going to do an unusual thing, but one which I think is right under present circumstances, and one which you will all be glad to have me do. I know you have been looking at these our visitors as they have been taking part in our services and wondering which is which, and who is this and who is that. Well ! I'm going to tell you." It was perfectly delightful to see the look of satisfaction and relief which came over such faces of 222 The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica the congregation as one could see. *' Now this," he said, taking the astonished Bishop by the hand and leading him forward, **is the Bishop of St. Albans, who is well known and honoured and respected in England for his," etc. etc. " And this," making a sign to him to rise, "is the Assistant Bishop of Toronto, well known for his thirty-eight years of service amongst the Canadian Indians of Mackenzie River," etc. etc. " The Bishop who preached to you was Bishop Cheshire, of North Carolina," etc. etc. And so he went through the whole number of us, each of us rising in turn and facing the congregation. It was all perfectly reverent and becoming to the place, though most unconventional, and it would make all the difference then and afterwards to those simple country folk, who had come, many of them long distances, to know and remember who those were who had taken part in a service the like of which in all probability none of them will ever see again. It was all so thoroughly right, human, orderly, and Christian ; and yet all would agree that "no one but his Grace would have thought of it," and that, no doubt, might have been said continually through his Episcopate of over thirty years, and explains why it is, as I ventured to say at a public gathering after the 223 The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica consecration of Kingston parish church, ''with- out a parallel in several important respects in the history of our Anglican colonial mission field." The work of the Church in Jamaica is full of promise and hope. There are a hundred clergy under the Archbishop and his coadjutor, Bishop Joscelyne ; the people are interested and prosper- ing, the good roads and railway communication enable the clergy to come easily to Kingston for the annual Synod, held in the month of February, and on other diocesan occasions. They are all very friendly and brotherly, and, as far as one can judge, wonderfully free from party and parochial prejudice. All points to a good future for the church. The island, too, is looking forward. There was a time when, as the sugar industry declined, it seemed as if Jamaica's tide of prosperity was ebbing fast, but the remarkable rise of the banana to favour and the island's fertility have changed all that, and though finance must still be for some years a great worry and anxiety to those in authority and in responsible positions, yet one can- not but feel very hopeful as one thinks of things as they are and as they may be when the Panama Canal is open some three years from now, and realizes that Jamaica lies straight in the course of 224 The Rebuilt Churches of Jamaica those who pass from there to any of the great countries of the north. One cannot but hope that the life of the Arch- bishop may long be spared to serve his country and his Church. His career recalls that of some of the great Churchmen of the past — statesmen and princes of the Church — but he will never have to reproach himself in the sad and pathetic words of our great Cardinal. With him it has ever been "his country and his Lord," and the feeling of all classes and creeds in the island was perfectly expressed by the Jamaica Times in its first issue after our services began. At the foot of an excellent portrait of his Grace, was printed "Our Archbishop — a great Citizen and a great Churchman." 2G 225 CHAPTER XVI A FEW WORDS TO LAYMEN I AM venturing to add a few words to my lay- readers on the very trite and ordinary subject of church-going — a duty I have come to regard as one of the greatest importance, with the most far-reaching of consequences, and especially so in the days in which we are living. Wherever and whenever I have had oppor- tunity in the last two years, I have made the appeal with which I am going to conclude now : '' Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is." In all my wanderings over the world's surface during the last thirty-five years, and they have taken me far and wide, I have come to the pro- found conviction that there is no social tie so strong, so cordial and so permanent, as that which grows up between those who regularly worship together. I can conceive of no influence which will unite all sorts and conditions of men, high and low, rich and poor, which can be com- 226 A Few Words to Laymen pared with common prayer together and a common Eucharist. And yet how is this duty coming to be more and more regarded ? This is my experience ! When I have been staying, in the course of my work in the Diocese, with some fellow countryman of my own, and we have got really to know each other and could talk quite freely, he has, again and again and in place after place, said to me the same thing, expressed somewhat like this : " Will you forgive me, Bishop, if I tell you how surprised I feel that you and your clergy, with all your experience of man and manners in many lands, attach such importance to going to church! I'm not an irreligious man, but I find I can worship far better out in the open, in touch with nature, than I can in a hot and stuffy church, with a service which very often jars every nerve. I hope you won't mind my being thus frank and straight, and telling you that I don't quite see the good of it, and don't feel that I get any good from it." Such plain and straightforward speech between laity and clergy is ever to be welcomed and prized ; for it ever gives one valuable oppor- tunities of explanation. For surely the reply to such a question, for a 227 A Few Words to Laymen churchman who understands not only his rights but his duties, is an obvious one. Do we ever approach the great duties of our life on that plane of thought at all ? Considering what we are to get out of them ! Do we teach loyalty, patriotism, faithfulness to home ties and institutions, home, school, the old firm, the old regiment or mess, kith and kin or native land, because there is some good to be got out of it ? Are we to drop anything, or any one, as we go on in life, when there is nothing more to be got out of them ? Or are we not, on the other hand, continually being reminded that for a true man there is something far higher than getting, and that is giving, and that it is the greatness of our being, the splendour of our manhood, that we have so much that we can give to our fellow man. This heresy, for I can call it nothing else, of ** getting good" out of the duties of our religion is imbibed very young ! One Sunday afternoon, years ago, when I was chaplain to the Blind School in my former parish of St. Pauls, Avenue Road, and I had gone in to superintend the Sunday-school teaching as usual, one of the teachers called me to her side and said : 228 A Few Words to Laymen "Vicar, I can't get the boys to attend to their lessons to-day, however I try ; they are so inatten- tive and careless, and they 2£/z7/talk." " What are they talking about ? " said I, sitting down beside them. " About church, and the services, and their being compelled to go. They say, when they're grown up they'll never go to church, and so on." "How's that, boys?" I asked. " Why won't you go to church when you're men ? " They were silent, but the teacher supplied their answer. " They say they don't feel that they get any good," she said. "Well," I went on, "I'm sorry that you don't feel that you get any good, boys, but do you think that's what we go to church for, to feel that we get some good ? When we were there this morn- ing, and I was reading out that address, with which the service begins, what did I say were the first reasons for coming ? " They were boys of about ten, and I shall not soon forget the wistful look upon their faces as they turned their sightless eyes towards me — while I was feeling, myself, as I looked at them, that the one gift of sight alone was enough to make a man go down on his knees and thank 229 A Few Words to Laymen God every day he lived — and then, after I had started them with : '**When we assemble and meet together,'" they continued in their boyish trebles : " * To render thanks for the great benefits we have received at His hands, to set forth His most worthy praise.' *' ''Very well," I interrupted, ** those are the chief reasons for church-going, you see, boys, for they are put first. Now, do you mean to tell me that when you are grown men and look back at your days at this splendid school, one of the very best in all London, where you have been so well taught and prepared to hold your own in the battle of life, and earn your own living and be independent of the help and charity of others as self-respecting men, notwithstanding your own affliction, and when God will have given you, as I know He will by that time, many other helps and blessings, you'll * never go to church,' and * render thanks for the great benefits you have received at His hands ' ? I think better things of you than that, boys." And I left them to think it over. That is how I should now put it before my readers in all the simplicity of our earliest teach- ing, given to many at their mother's knee, '' My 230 A Few Words to Laymen duty to God is to worship Him and give Him thanks ; " and if we could all keep it well in mind, I know what a tremendous difference it would make in the character of our congregations all over the world, as Sunday after Sunday comes round. We don't go to church primarily '* to get good," but "to give thanks." Then again, I have frequently had another experience, which I will also venture to give in this concluding chapter, knowing as I do that it is the common experience of my brethren the clergy, both at home and abroad. A man will tell me : ** I make no profession. Bishop, though I'm not an irreligious man and say my prayers, but I've seen so much inconsistency and humbug, so much formality and hypocrisy, that I'm deter- mined to keep out of it altogether, and so I make no profession at all now, and I don't go to church, but I hope you'll not misunderstand me and think I've no religion at all. I'm a Christian in my own way." My answer to all this, for Christians, is : *' Can we shuffle out of our corporate responsi- bilities in any such selfish way as that? If Christ came into the world, not only to save our souls, but to put us in right relations with our fellow 231 A Few Words to Laymen man, and so founded His Church, can any one stand apart, either in a superior or careless and thoughtless kind of way, from the efforts made in his neighbourhood to realize this, in that Church's services ? " It seems to me a thing impossible ! However simple the effort and the result, however im- perfect and poor the witness, yet it is a right effort and it is a witness, and our duty is to throw in our lot with it and give our witness also and join in with our fellow man in his endeavours, however inadequate they may be, not only to "feel after God, if haply he might find Him," but "feel after if haply he may find," at the same time, his true relation to man ; and thus, if my "duty to God is to worship and give Him thanks," the duty which comes immediately after it, to my fellow man, is to worship with him. I truly wish I could transfer to paper the depth of emotion and the strength of conviction with which I am writing these concluding words, the clearness of vision with which I seem to see a "new Heaven and a new earth" if we could and would just convert that real Christian belief of which I am sure there is so much amongst us, real, heartfelt and sincere, into corporate life and activity, realized first, as it must be in this sense, 232 A Few Words to Laymen in joint and public worship, and then going into, and influencing, all the other relations of our social life. "The orreater includes the less," and if we were but united in the highest of all interests, our spiritual beliefs and experiences, then surely greater unity would follow in all the rest. Could anything be graver and more disquieting than the social life of every Christian civilization in every part of the world to-day? Unrest, uncertainty, discontent, distrust, even hostility, mark the relations of class and class ! Every newspaper is full of it as we read it. Is there no message for these times then when we take up the New Testament and read of " Love for the brotherhood," "• Fellowship in the Gospel," ** A multitude of one heart and one soul," etc. etc., and read at the same time that it was not the Christian Faith alone, but Christian worship and united prayer which brought all this about, in a social life that was full of great social inequalities, far worse than anything we have to-day ! And yet we have the same dreary story from every part of the Empire, and from all parts of the world, at home and abroad ! At home in almost every parish there is a falling off in church 2H 233 A Few Words to Laymen attendance ; on the Continent of Europe I have already learnt that it is the same in every chap- laincy; and from the Mission-field there comes the continual lament that our countrymen, as soon as they get abroad, can apparently let all their religious duties simply fall away from them. I wonder if older men in the colonies and at home realize their own influence when they attend church ! I have seen, for instance, a young fellow come to a service abroad, evidently after some neglect, and as soon as he had settled down in his place looked nervously round to see if there were many other men there. And when he sees, at such a time, men older than himself, whom he perceives at once to be worthy of respect, and to whom he can look up, ladies who remind him of his mother at home, and other good women he knows, and as he joins in the old familiar hymns, and listens to the Scripture lessons he has heard so often before, and the words of the preacher touch a chord here and there of which he has not been conscious for some time, who can say what an experience of that kind may mean at perhaps the very crisis of a young life ? Our merchants abroad, our ambassadors, mini- sters, members of legations, and consuls, our governors and other officials, our judges and 234 A. Few Words to Laymen other professional men have no idea, I fear, of the tremendous influence for good they are exer- cising in the community in which they live, when it is known on all sides that they "regularly attend church," and their lives correspond. / know, and all clergy know, what a strengthening it is of all their best efforts to do our work, and how deeply grateful we all are for having such perfectly invaluable support. The Christian religion to me is an impossibility unless it is realized and lived practically in its corporate sense, and I do not see how that cor- porate sense can ever be realized except in the way I have tried to describe. We are baptized in infancy that, amongst other things, we may realize our corporate life and responsibilities as soon as we are able to learn them, and from that time onwards we are meant to learn in the unity of the church of our baptism our responsibilities and duties to our fellow man in all brotherly sympathy. It is just that sympathy and responsible know- ledge which are lacking between the different classes of the community to-day, and constitute the very gravest social peril our race has ever yet known ; and though it is significant enough that ''The Church" was not even considered or A Few Words to Laymen even thought about in the social war of August 191 1, I do not think it is yet too late for its clergy and laity to use their opportunity. I do not think for one single moment that public worship or common prayer would be the panacea needed for all our social ills, nor do I question that there are as good men outside a church as there are in it, whenever a service is held. Yet still I feel that such common spiritual action as united worship, if only sincere, is and has ever been a social force for good of the very highest character. It impresses upon us the great and grave responsibility which must ever attend upon privilege and possessions and abilities, and inculcates that sense of stewardship and duty which cannot fail to have their result in a social life worth the name, a true social life of which some of us are always thinking, and for which we are often praying, and of which some who read these pages, may yet see the ** day break, and the shadows," now so dark and brooding over it, ** flee away." " I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundandy." 236 From Wells Gardner, Darton & Co/s Catalogue A VOLUME OF REMINISCENCES BY CANON HORSLEY, ENTITLED: ** I Remember.*' Memories of a "Sky Pilot" in the Prison and the Slum. By John William Horsley, Hon. Canon of Soulh- wark. Cloth, 7s. 6d. net. " An exceptional biography," — Morning Post. " Not only interesting, but stimulating and suggestive." — Daily Telegraph. Jim Davis. 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