THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 n
 
 RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 TWELVE YEARS' RESIDENCE 
 
 (AS A MISSIONARY PKIBST) 
 
 VIZ. : FEOM JULY 1863 TO JUNE 1875, 
 
 WESTERN DISTRICT OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, 
 SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 kttjj from fiis $prarg. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. JAMES O'HAIRE. 
 
 DUBLIN: 
 M. H. GILL & SON, 50 TIPPER SACKVILLE-STREET. 
 
 1877.
 
 BY M. II. (ill.I. AND SON, 50 UPPER SACKVILLE STUEET, DUBLIN.
 
 TO THE 
 
 CATHOLICS OF THE WESTEEN DISTEICT OF THE 
 CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, 
 
 TO WHOSE SPIRITUAL WELFARE THE TWELVE FIRST YEARS OF HI8 
 
 MINISTRY WERE DEVOTED, 
 
 AND FROM WHOM HE HAS RECEIVED SO MANY 
 PROOFS OF KINDNESS AND FRIENDSHIP, 
 
 THESE RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 &re HBrticatrt, 
 
 AS A TOKEN OF AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE, 
 BY 
 
 JAMES O'HAIRE.

 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 A LETTER TO CATHOLICS AND OTHERS 
 
 INTERESTED IN THE MISSIONS, &c., OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 DEAR FELLOW- CATHOLICS AND FRIKNDS, May I hope 
 that your perusal of A Glance at Ireland's Apostle and 
 Ireland's Faith has given you satisfaction. If so, I shall 
 look forward with greater confidence to your patronage 
 of my next book, for which I respectfully solicit your 
 utmost support and interest. 
 
 I am preparing for the Press, " Recollections of Twelve 
 Years' Residence as a Missionary Priest in the Western 
 District of the Cape of Good Hope/' to be published in six 
 distinct parts of about one hundred pages each, demy 8vo, 
 well printed, and on good paper. These parts will be sold 
 at one shilling each. 
 
 The matter, chiefly selected from my South African 
 Diary, will give : 
 
 1st. General information respecting South Africa its 
 scenery, climate, manners and people illustrated by 
 anecdotes. 
 
 2ndly. Missionary life in South Africa, written from 
 experience, with numerous incidents and anecdotes. 
 
 3rdly. A brief review of the history of Catholic Missions 
 at the Cape, their present position and future prospects. 
 
 4thly. A sketch of the interesting and edifying lives of
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the two first Bishops of the Western Yicariate, viz. : 
 Right Rev. Dr. Griffith, and Right Rev. v Thomas 
 Grimley. 
 
 These subjects will be embraced in the entire series, 
 though not treated in distinctive continuity. Each part, 
 however, will be complete in itself. 
 
 The following will be the contents of part the first : 
 
 1st. My departure from Ireland for the Cape. 
 
 2ndly. A full account of a voyage from England to 
 the Cape of Good Hope, with an historical and general 
 description of Madeira, Canary Islands, and St. Helena. 
 
 3rdly. Arrival in Cape Town, first impressions, de- 
 scription of the town, its inhabitants and institutions ; the 
 Catholic Church and Education. 
 
 4thly. Description of the suburbs of Cape Town ? with 
 anecdotes relating to my first circular visit. 
 
 Sthly. The climate of South Africa ; health of its in- 
 habitants ; account of the cruel " smelling out system " 
 practised among the Kaffirs ; various superstitions noticed. 
 
 6thly. Music, vocal and instrumental, Dancing, Balls, a 
 Hottentot musical band, description of Hottentot dances, 
 and of a Bushman dance, &c. ; the efforts of Catholic 
 Missionaries of South Africa in relation to the Divine art 
 of sacred music ; exertions of the late Bishop Grimley in 
 advancing the love and practice of sacred music. 
 
 7thly. The state of morals in South Africa ; murder, 
 theft, chastity, temperance ; the exertions of the Catholic 
 Church for the advancement of temperance, and the ener- 
 getic part taken by the late Bishop in promoting this 
 virtue. 
 
 The thick mist of ignorance that hangs before European 
 vision in reference even to the colonies of the Cape and 
 Natal, justifies a clear and truthful statement regarding
 
 INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 the Cape of Good Hope and South. Africa generally, hence 
 I shall try to meet the wishes of those who desire to know 
 whether South Africa is a howling wilderness, a land of 
 poverty, a depository of snakes, a receptacle of baboons, 
 jackals, tigers, and savages ; or, a country blessed by a 
 most healthy climate, ornamented with charming scenery, 
 rich in fertility and in vast treasures of mineral wealth. 
 
 To those who desire to know the state of morals, the 
 reward of industry, the chances of success in life, and for 
 what classes, answers will be given in these forthcoming 
 " Recollections." 
 
 As emigration to the Cape is now slowly progressing, 
 and as the demand for certain classes of immigrants is 
 daily increasing, the subject becomes more interesting. I 
 have met in Europe during the past few months many 
 tradesmen and labourers, who have been deterred from 
 venturing out by the dread of the sea voyage of seven 
 thousand miles ; hence, in the first and sixth parts of my 
 "Recollections" I have undertaken to supply the most ample 
 information on the subject of a voyage to and from the 
 Cape ; at the same time, I have endeavoured to render the 
 description amusing by the introduction of anecdotes. 
 
 Before setting out for the Cape myself in 1863, some 
 tried to terrify me by representing it as a place where 
 lions and tigers prowl and growl, and where one is in 
 hourly danger of finding a snake coiled around his body. 
 There are many in England and Ireland who still enter- 
 tain these ideas ; their thirst for knowledge will be 
 sufficiently slaked in the " Recollections." 
 
 The various peculiarities, physical formation, and moral 
 character of the South African tribes cannot fail to be 
 interesting, to those especially who have never dwelt in 
 the land of the Blacks. These matters will be briefly
 
 4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 treated in the " Recollections" The past, the present, and 
 the future of Catholic missions in South Africa is a \most 
 engrossing subject one well worthy the attention of the 
 Catholic world one too that requires to be taken up at 
 once with zeal and energy. I shall not dare to say " now 
 or never," but I will confidently state that delay in this 
 matter is now peculiarly dangerous. There are in South 
 Africa at least twenty million of heathens waiting for the 
 Catholic missionary to preach to them Christ crucified. 
 
 If a sketch of the lives of the two first Bishops of the 
 Western Province of the Cape was to be omitted from my 
 Diary I would appear like " a stranger in Jerusalem." A 
 Catholic cannot have resided a month in South Africa 
 without partaking of the precious fruits of their labours. 
 The first, Dr. Griffith, a priest of the Archdiocese of 
 Dublin, was well known and respected in Ireland. He 
 was known at the Cape as a profound scholar, a polished 
 gentleman, a pious priest, a zealous bishop, the apostle, in 
 truth, of South Africa. On the occasion of his consecra- 
 tion by the late Most Rev. Archbishop Murray, in the 
 Church of St. Andrew, Westland Row, Dublin, the 
 preacher, Yery Rev. P. Macnamara, turning to the con- 
 secrating prelate, said, " I congratulate your Grace this 
 day, in the name of the whole Church,, on this last great 
 proof of your zeal to advance the interests of religion by 
 promoting the glory of God and the salvation of His 
 creatures ; the prelate whom you have this day introduced 
 into the high places of the sanctuary, is one trained up 
 under your own eye, imbued largely with your spirit, who 
 has been long an honour and an ornament to the venerable 
 body of your clergy a clergy foremost in virtue and in 
 talent, as they are first in rank amongst the priesthood of 
 Ireland. It must be a subject of gratulation to them to
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 behold the accession to the hierarchy of a priest so amiable 
 and so gifted, one whose blameless life, whose long and 
 active labours, whose singular eloquence, ever devoted to 
 the service of the poor and destitute of the earth, embraced 
 within the circle of its advocacy the whole range of human 
 misery one whom so rare a combination of excellencies 
 long since pointed out to your Grace's discrimination as 
 eminently fitted to undertake the high, the holy, and 
 arduous duties to which he has been this day consecrated." 
 The second Bishop, Dr. Griniley, also of the Archdiocese 
 of Dublin, was well known to the people of Skerries, where 
 he was born and spent his early years ; of Balbriggan 
 and St. Paul's, Dublin, where he officiated ; to. the Rev. 
 Directors and Students of Castleknock Seminary, and 
 Maynooth College, where he was educated and ordained ; 
 he was, in fact, known throughout Ireland, and afterwards 
 at the Cape of Good Hope. As Bishop, his transcendent 
 virtues fitted him for the kingdom, which I trust he now 
 enjoys, as the reward of hard labour freely and joyfully 
 undergone for God. I will presume upon giving in this 
 notice extracts from certain letters of the late good Bishop, 
 which may serve to show the intimacy which existed 
 between the Right Rev. Prelate and myself, and therefore 
 serve as a sufficient apology for my attempt to sketch his 
 life in connexion with South Africa. These letters were 
 addressed to me previous to my departure for the Cape, and 
 so do not enter into my South African Diary, but they will 
 serve here to enable my readers to form some idea of that 
 splendid character which I mean to represent in these 
 "Recollections of Twelve Years spent in SoutJi Africa."
 
 6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IEISH COLLEGE, PAEIS, 
 
 February 19th, 186\. 
 
 MY DEAR CHILD IN CHRIST, I thought of writing to 
 you from London, but there I was perpetually occupied. 
 I had to be waiting on the Under- Secretary for the 
 Colonies, to find out from him how matters stand at the 
 Cape. He received me most kindly, and promised (of his 
 own accord) to give me a letter of introduction to Sir 
 George Grey. For support we must look to the local 
 Government at Cape Town. Sunday was a beautiful day 
 in London, but I could not even get five minutes in the 
 open air. Early in the morning I celebrated in St. 
 George's Cathedral, assisted at Pontifical High Mass, and 
 was permitted to carry the Most Holy in procession around 
 the church. I was asked to preach in the evening ; I 
 could not refuse the good Bishop of Southwark. I had 
 then to keep within doors to make my preparation for a 
 London audience. Thank God, I have reason to know 
 that His blessing descended on my poor words. You will 
 not be surprised to find that the Bishop of Antigona, and 
 Vicar- Apostolic of the Western district of the Cape of 
 Good Hope, was tempted to a little pride, when you learn 
 that the Speaker of the House of Commons gave me special 
 permission to sit during the debates in the House on last 
 Friday night in the Lords' Gallery, and strange to say, 
 the Protestant Bishop of Cork came and sat beside me ; 
 and yet more strange, this same Bishop was preaching in 
 St. Paul's Cathedral on Sunday evening while I was 
 preaching in St. George's. 
 
 What would you have thought, on Friday evening in 
 the British House of Commons, had you seen a member 
 walk up to poor me, and before all present kneel and kiss 
 ray ring. This member was Sir George Bowyer, the
 
 INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 member for Dundalk. As you wish a long letter, I tell 
 you all these incidents. 
 
 I arrived in Paris last night in good health. 
 
 I have, thanks to God, great prospects before me. I 
 intend to have an interview with the Emperor Napoleon 
 to ask him for aid for St. Helena.* 
 
 I trust I shall make every exertion for our dear 
 mission. 
 
 I am in great hopes of securing a most holy student in 
 this college to accompany me to the Cape. 
 
 I need not tell you how anxious I continue to be 
 
 about ; they are my great concern, but your 
 
 diligence, with God's all-powerful grace, will guard the 
 feet of the young from every danger. I do not know yet 
 what day I shall start for Rome. I see an evident 
 opportunity of serving our mission here, and I do not 
 like to let it pass by. Write to me to the Irish College, 
 Rome. I shall be most anxious to hear from you, for, 
 strange to say, the farther the distance that separates us 
 the wider my poor heart expands towards you. 
 
 With the best wishes, 
 I remain, 
 Ever yours in Christ, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Mr. JAKES O'HAIEE, 
 All Hallows' College, Dublin. 
 
 * I may mention that an interview took place between the Bishop 
 and Napoleon, and the result was a present of 200 for the Cape Mission. 
 On a subsequent occasion, very soon before the recent war, the late 
 Emperor sent a very fine altar-piece, an oil painting of the Crucifixion, 
 for the Cathedral in Cape Town. It hangs over the high altar.
 
 8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IEISH COLLEGE, ROME, 
 
 March 20th, 1861. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your kind letter was awaiting me 
 on my arrival in Eome. I have seen Cardinal Barnabo, 
 who gave me two free places in Propaganda. As all 
 expenses will be there defrayed, I think it is better to 
 send those who are in the greatest need. I would not 
 
 wish to disturb from All Hallows ; but yet, you 
 
 know, the heavy expense that will devolve on me 
 supplying all wants. However, as no one will be sent 
 before September, we have abundance of time to deliberate. 
 I have become a beggar on a large scale ; I have petitioned 
 Propaganda for a little library for the use of our mission. 
 I shall get it. I am asking for vestments and chalices. 
 I do not know what chance I shall have in that line. I 
 am getting a great many beads and medals and relics. I 
 have the pleasure of telling you that the Pope has been 
 most kind to me ; he presented me with a magnificent 
 silver medal. 
 
 In fact I never felt more at home in my whole lifetime 
 than I do now. There is only one drawback, I have not 
 succeeded in getting any priest to accompany me ; this is 
 a great trial. Perhaps it is God's most holy will that our 
 mission should be the fruit of the evening school of St. 
 Paul's, in Dublin. I know not the cause of my failure in 
 this regard ; every other thing I put my hand to prospers, 
 but may it please His Divine Majesty to send me even 
 one to accompany me. I do not see any prospect ; ask 
 St. Joseph to pray. I was told in Paris at the house of the 
 Propagation of the Faith, that there are only five thousand 
 Catholics in our Vicariate, whilst there are forty-two 
 thousand Protestants, and fifty-seven thousand infidels. 
 If I could get two priests with me, we would labour to
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 prepare new missions. Let us follow the advice of our 
 Blessed Lord : " Rogate ergo Dominum messis ut mittat 
 operarios in messem suam." 
 
 Time presses on me, so that I fear to commence writing 
 about all I saw in Rome ; if I did I should not know 
 where to stop. 
 
 I hope you are all in good health, and that our young 
 friends are giving you every satisfaction. 
 
 I will not leave this before Wednesday in Easter week. 
 
 May God bless you, my dear child. 
 
 I remain, as ever, your affectionate 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Mr. JAMES O'HAIBE, 
 All Hallows' College, Dublin. 
 
 ST. MABY'S, CAPE TOWN, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, 
 October IQth, 1861. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I was somewhat disappointed at not 
 receiving a letter from you by last mail. We are 
 expecting a mail from England every hour ; but I fear I 
 shall have to be on board ship for Mossel Bay before I 
 can receive a letter from you by the expected mail, 
 
 I am going this evening or to-morrow to the District 
 of George, about three hundred miles from this city. I 
 am going to open a new church at a place called Oud- 
 thoorn. I think it will take me nearly a month to 
 discharge my duties in that district, 
 
 I returned on Monday night from an excursion of 373 
 miles. If you could see your poor Bishop a part of the 
 time, you would see him sitting on a rock in the side of a 
 mountain hearing confessions; and if you could get a
 
 10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 peep at his stomach, you would see it sometimes very 
 empty. I had an immense journey to travel, and during 
 the entire time I did not see a Catholic church or Catholic 
 school. In every town I found a Dutch Reformed Church 
 and a Church of England ; but, alas ! the only true 
 Church was nowhere. It is true I found a few Catholics 
 in every town, but what will become of them without a 
 pastor ? and, again, where am I to get means to support 
 priests ? Do not think I am despairing of ultimate success ; 
 no, God is always with His Church, and with His 
 blessing we must succeed. The Catholics of Cape Town 
 are very generous, but they are not rich. I asked them 
 to enable me to open two schools on a respectable scale, 
 and in a few weeks they handed in 300. I have weekly 
 collectors through the city who bring in about 10 per 
 week. I have written for nuns. I hope in God I may 
 get them. I am most anxious to send one of my priests 
 who understands the Spanish and Portuguese languages 
 to South America to collect funds for new churches. I 
 am certain, with God's grace, that if I had a church in 
 each town, I should have a flourishing mission after some 
 time. I have purchased two Erven, that is about one 
 acre of ground, in a town called Malmesbury, for 103. 
 I expect, please God, to lay the foundation stone of the 
 church on New Year's Day. I wish I had two more 
 priests ; I could get glorious work for them. 
 
 I have opened a new mission at a town called Wynburgh. 
 This is the mission for labour. 
 
 I hope you are enjoying good health, and that all my 
 students are well. Remember me most affectionately to 
 them. Tell every one of my students that from my 
 experience of a foreign mission, I would say, that a 
 student, who would not strive to be a saint in college,
 
 INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 should never join a foreign mission. Give my kindest 
 respects to Dr. Bennett and Dr. Conroy. 
 
 And believe me to remain your ever affectionate 
 Bishop, 
 
 f T. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Mr. JAMES O'HAIEE, 
 All Hallows' College, Dublin. 
 
 ST. MABT'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 March 18th, 1862. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I have your esteemed favour of the 
 30th January. I need not assure you with what anxiety 
 I read all your letters. During the last month I was in 
 great trepidation, and am still. This poor mission is 
 threatened with half destruction. We have a bill for 
 1500, which is really not due. The case is now in the 
 hands of lawyers. May God help me. The cross is 
 pressing heavily on me. Our means here are just able to 
 support us. If the case go against us it will be 
 lamentable. 
 
 Again, my trust in this world lay in the Propagation 
 of the Faith. Now, since I came to Africa I received 
 50. What is 50 for an immense mission like this ; I 
 gave it away in one day for Malmesbury church. I have 
 not got one farthing from a mission fund. We have got 
 no such fund. If the Propagation do not help me I 
 cannot do anything. I have written, but without good 
 results. 
 
 I am now beginning to get frightened about my 
 financial affairs. If the Propagation gave me 1000 per 
 annum I could, with God's grace, do wonders ; but, alas ! 
 I can only grieve over what I cannot help. After your
 
 12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ordination in Ireland, you can take some time for 
 collecting for this mission. I will write a letter for you, 
 which could be inserted in the papers. You can then pay 
 for yourself and your young band of missioners. Please 
 present my kindest regards to Very Rev. Dr. Bennett, 
 Dr. Barry, Dr. Conroy, Father M'Devitt, and Father 
 Rooney. May God grant that I may have better news 
 for you in my next letter. 
 
 I am, my dear James, yours most truly, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Mr. JAMES O'HAIBE, 
 All Hallows' College, Dublin. 
 
 ST. MABY'-S, CAPE TOWN, 
 Oct. 15th, 1862. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I am sending several letters to you 
 for my good friends the priests to aid you in your exer- 
 tions for religion in this Vicariate, 
 
 I have just returned from visiting a large portion of 
 this Vicariate, and lamentable to say, although I was 
 going from town to town for eighteen days, I never met a 
 priest or church, I mean a Catholic church, Alas ! heresy 
 has her churches in every town, but Catholicity is almost 
 unknown. In one village in one day I baptized four 
 adults, two blacks, one Africander, and one young Scotch- 
 man. Oh! when shall I get means to erect a small 
 church in every village ? If I had the means to establish 
 missions, thousands would become members of our holy 
 faith. In Worcester a Dutchwoman said to me, " If you 
 erect a church here, myself and three children will 
 attend it."
 
 INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 Oh ! labour then, dear James, with the zeal of an 
 Apostle, for this really foreign mission. 
 
 I did not return from my visitation until midnight last 
 night, and I have only a few days to write fifty letters, so 
 you will excuse me for not saying more. 
 
 I have now the entire property of the mission without 
 even 50 incumbrance, so the difficulties, which seemed 
 mountains, gradually disappear. Write every mail to me. 
 I am purchasing a Freemasons' Lodge to convert it into a 
 church. 
 
 You can mention in your addresses for aid, that I inevit- 
 ably find that in places where Catholics reside without a 
 priest or church, indifferentism sets in, their children grow 
 up without religion, and become an easy prey to the 
 proselytizer, and let me tell you we have in this colony 
 the most strenuous exertions of proselytism to repel. 
 I remain, yours truly, 
 
 f THOMAS GRTMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES OTlAiBE, 
 AD Hallows' College, Dublin. 
 
 P.S. Publish the enclosed appeal. f T. G. 
 
 "AN APPEAL TO THE CATHOLICS OF IRELAND TO AID AX 
 IRISH BISHOP IN CULTIVATING A DISTANT PORTION OF 
 OUR LORD'S VINEYARD. 
 
 " CATHOLIC FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN, From the shores of 
 South Africa, I appeal to you for aid. I am well aware of 
 the many claims on your generosity, but long experience 
 has convinced me your charity is not confined to the limits 
 of our own dear land. Many of our countrymen are re- 
 siding in South Africa, hundreds of miles away from priest 
 and church, deprived not only while in health, but in the
 
 14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 awful hour of death, of the consolations of religion and 
 the graces of the Sacraments. I have met in this Vjcariate 
 children of Irish parents lost to our holy religion, because 
 their parents resided in places where there was no priest, 
 no school. Those, then, who contribute to this mission 
 will be assisting me to bring back, if possible, those who 
 are gone from me, and in preventing hundreds from losing 
 their holy faith. It often occurs in this Vicariate that the 
 Catholic when dying cries out for a priest to adminster to 
 him the last Sacraments ; but, alas, he cries out in vain ; 
 there is no priest within hundreds of miles of him. Oh, 
 that I had the means of supporting a few priests in distant 
 districts. Alas ! I have not ; hence I apply to those who 
 can aid me. I shall offer up the Most Holy Sacrifice of 
 the Mass for all our benefactors, and my good priests will 
 most heartily do the same. 
 
 " The Rev. James O'Haire, who is about to proceed to 
 this mission, is hereby authorized to collect funds for 
 the purpose of advancing the interests of our holy faith 
 in South Africa. May those who assist the work of God 
 receive an eternal recompense in the mansions of ever- 
 lasting bliss. 
 
 " f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 "Si. MAEY'S, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFEICA." 
 
 I am, dearly beloved Catholics and friends, 
 Yours most faithfully, 
 
 JAMES O'HAIRE, CHAPLAIN. 
 
 ST. MAEY'S ABBEY, 
 
 EAST BEEGHOLT, SUFFOLK, ENGLAND. 
 
 NOTE. The above letter may be seen in the Appendi.r 
 to "A Glance at Ireland's Apostle and Ireland's Faith" 
 just published.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 I SHOULD never be able to obliterate from my mind, even 
 if I would, the remembrance of the 6th of June 1863, 
 the day on which I left the land of my birth and of my 
 deepest love Ireland for the country of my adoption 
 South Africa. In Dublin I had been born, reared, 
 educated, and ordained, and no marvel therefore that 1 
 felt my heart's tenderest affections painfully rent when 
 the moment came to bid farewell to Erin. However, I 
 had made the choice and I did not regret it. I was 
 accompanied in the train from Dublin to Kingstown by 
 about 150 friends, amongst whom were several dis- 
 tinguished clergymen. Arrived on the pier, a terrible 
 trial awaited me a sword of sorrow must now pierce my 
 inmost heart as I say adieu to my aged father, then in his 
 85th year. Take him with me I could not, for I knew 
 not where or how I might be located in the colony, and 
 yet to leave him behind at so advanced an age was 
 extremely painful to me, especially as he had not even 
 one relative in Ireland ; my mother, brothers, and sisters 
 being all dead. My anguish was therefore unutterable, 
 as I clasped his hand in mine, it might be for the last 
 time, and kissed him repeatedly as the burning tears 
 rolled down his aged cheeks. However, the words of our
 
 16 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 beloved Lord gave me comfort promising as they do an 
 eternal recompense to those who leave all things to v follow 
 Him. 
 
 In a few moments the Holyhead steamer cleared out of 
 harbour, as I stood upon the deck acknowledging the fare- 
 well greetings of my friends, and giving one last lingering 
 look of consuming love upon my dear old parent who stood 
 with head uncovered, while his grey locks floated in the 
 wind. 
 
 A few hours more and I was separated from all that I 
 held dear in my native land. 
 
 Now I come to the voyage, and as many persons take 
 an interest in reading of sea- voyages, I will give a some- 
 what lengthy, though I hope not tiresome, description of 
 a voyage to the Cape, which extends over 7000 miles of 
 ocean. During the voyage I kept a diary, which upon 
 arrival at the Cape I cast into the form of a letter, and 
 addressed to Mr. John Harnett, then a student at All 
 Hallows' Missionary College, and now Very Rev. Canon, 
 at the Cathedral, Nottingham. This letter I now insert 
 as the description written at the time. I will place side 
 by side with it a letter addressed by the Right Rev. Dr. 
 Grimley to me, being a description of his voyage over the 
 same waters. Taken together, the two letters may be 
 considered to give a sufficiently faithful notion of a voyage 
 to the Cape. 
 
 SAINT MARY'S, CAPETOWN, CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, 
 July 20th, 1863. 
 
 DEAR MR. HARNETT, Thanks for ever to Him whom 
 " the winds and waves obey," we have been safely wafted 
 to the shores of South Africa, after no very ordinary 
 perils, in one of which our ship was almost threatened
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 17 
 
 with destruction. I now stand, therefore, upon the soil of 
 my dear adopted country, after a voyage which, although 
 it had its pleasures and still recalls some joyous recollec- 
 tions, was, nevertheless, not free from those fears and 
 dangers incident to a journey by sea. Thousands of 
 miles now separate me from those whom I love so well, 
 and an ocean of immense dimensions rolls between us, but 
 need I say that neither distance nor sea can sever or cool 
 the deeply rooted affection which I entertain towards my 
 beloved fellow-countrymen ! The golden chain of holy 
 charity which binds Catholic to Catholic unites us, and 
 the spirit of true nationality, founded upon religious 
 principles, draws me still closer to my country. Many a 
 burning tear of gratitude has stood upon my cheek since 
 I quitted poor old Catholic Ireland, while my heart still 
 throbs with a fervent desire for her welfare, and my 
 hands, I trust, shall ever be raised beseeching the God of 
 all mercies to bless her children with boundless and 
 eternal benedictions. Still I must not suffer myself to be 
 misunderstood : I do not regret having come to Africa. 
 No, the great longings of my heart led me to this country. 
 I rejoice that I have lived to set my foot within its 
 boundaries, and bent in humble adoration before the 
 Creator and Redeemer of all men, humbly beg that I may 
 be allowed to take even the least part in bringing the 
 light of Divine faith to those whom I am now delighted 
 to call " my brethren." At some subsequent, but, I hope, 
 not far distant period, I shall do myself the happiness of 
 addressing a letter to you on the general state of Africa 
 social, political, and religious, but more particularly, on 
 her condition relative to the knowledge of God, in which 
 she is, alas ! awfully deficient. Eighty millions of her 
 children are buried in the lowest depths of ignorance and
 
 18 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 barbarity, so low, that some speak of Africa as a country 
 beyond redemption, beyond civilization ; but, whatever 
 may be said of her intellectual capacities or moral attain- 
 ments, I do believe that since God has created the 
 African for the same end for which other men have been 
 brought into existence, so the light of truth and the 
 message of salvation can be introduced to the heart of 
 Caffre, Hottentot, or Negro, of whatever caste, and all 
 Africa made to know that there is but one God, and He 
 Great, Omnipotent, Eternal ! But this is not to be the 
 subject of my present letter. I must reserve my thoughts 
 and words for the future, and content myself by giving 
 you now what I suppose you are anxious to have an 
 account of my voyage. In this, however, I must not be 
 tedious I will not attempt to give you anything like a 
 complete diary, but will merely narrate the principal 
 facts ; for, after all, there is a monotony and a dryness 
 too, mixed up with a voyage, which baffles and prevents 
 interesting description, except under peculiar circum- 
 stances, so that unless where there is a sort of special 
 interest, one cannot be induced to pore over pages on such 
 a subject. For several days after leaving Southampton, 
 the swelling sea and consequent excessive motion of the 
 ship caused not only in me but nearly all the passengers, 
 that nausea and disrelish for everything, which is the 
 appendage to, and, I might say, nearly the complement of 
 sea-sickness. But that there was more in store for us we 
 realized nearly to our cost on Tuesday, the 9th of June. 
 The morning, and indeed the whole of that day, I shall 
 never forget. I was sitting on deck in a pretty fair 
 hour, reciting my office, when dark clouds came rolling 
 from a westerly direction, frowning upon the mighty 
 deep, and covering the canopy of the skies with a shade
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 19 
 
 of mourning. The gale soon disclosed itself, and bursting 
 from its hiding place beneath the clouds, roared with all 
 its might over the deep ; the sea at the time by no 
 means unruffled, and therefore easily worked up until it 
 dashed its foaming billows to the skies, and the waves 
 rolled mountains high ; the wind increasing in fury, 
 continued unmitigated for nearly sixteen hours. In the 
 evening the hatchways were closed down, and every 
 possible precaution taken for the general and individual 
 safety of all ; one of our lifeboats was carried away, but 
 no other injury of moment was sustained. The prudence 
 and skill of the captain, the energy of the sailors, and the 
 self-possession of the passengers, were all alike worthy of 
 admiration. The ship (" Briton ") is an excellent vessel ; 
 she braved the storm nobly. You will probably ask what 
 were my feelings during the gale, to which I answer : 
 The fear I suffered was very great in the beginning, but 
 gradually I endeavoured to reconcile my mind to what 
 seemed the impending common lot a watery grave. 
 Fortunately, the whole was of short duration, for on 
 Wednesday the weather became beautiful, and thus 
 brought hope and consolation to all. There was one 
 thought present to my mind during the gale which I 
 cannot bear to conceal ffom you it was the difficulty of 
 realizing to oneself, in a proper manner in the hour of 
 danger, the many awful ideas connected with the future 
 state. To place oneself in spirit before the terrible judg- 
 ment of God, and contemplate the sentence of everlasting 
 life or eternal death, is not as easy as some imagine. 
 Alas ! for the folly of those who live a reckless life, 
 neglect prayer and sacraments, live from day to day, 
 taking the world as it comes, and indulging in all its 
 pleasures, in the vain hope that time will be given for
 
 20 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 repentance a little before death ! But who has promised 
 time ? and who has a certainty of grace so strong as will 
 be necessary at death ? This is a problem which we must 
 leave the wicked and impenitent man to solve ; but to him 
 who considereth it appears quite clear that he who lives 
 as justly in life as poor frail nature will permit, has 
 enough to do in the awful hour of death to excite in 
 himself contrition, faith, hope, and love of God, all of 
 which are necessary for eternal life. To be obliged to 
 undergo the work of examining and arousing a conscience 
 long dormant, to make a confession of a long life ill spent, 
 to go back to the past, to examine the present, to con- 
 template the future oh ! this is truly too much when a 
 man stands on the brink of eternity. But this is a 
 digression from the subject of my letter ; I therefore 
 return to speak of our voyage. You will be surprised to 
 learn that among the passengers, numbering about fifty, 
 there was not a single Catholic except my two young 
 friends, Messrs. Keough and Gaffney, who accompanied 
 me from Dublin ; these, with the second steward and one 
 sailor, formed my congregation. Moreover, I was placed 
 in the same cabin with the only Protestant clergyman on 
 board, who was on his way from Trinity College, Dublin, 
 to St. Helena. In justice, however, I am bound to say 
 that all on board treated me with every mark of respect. 
 According to an arrangement made at setting out, my 
 companions were to have travelled with me in the same 
 cabin ; however, the cabin marked out for us, which was 
 not my selection, but that of the Company's agent, was so 
 inconvenient, that I was obliged to leave it; it was at the 
 very end of the ship, and therefore more liable to motion ; 
 it was near the screw, which caused an exceedingly 
 tremulous sensation ; hence it happened that I was
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 21 
 
 removed to the cabin of the Protestant clergyman, which 
 was about the best in the ship ; my companions were by 
 this means separated from me, but not far, being in the 
 next cabin. I had, therefore, every facility for visiting 
 my young friends. I occupied about six hours each day 
 in the study of theology, rubrics, and music, which left 
 me little time to spare. "With respect to our devotions, 
 we were deprived of the inestimable advantage of holy 
 Mass ; each evening I recited the Rosary of our Blessed 
 Lady, and on Sunday met my little congregation of four, 
 to read appropriate prayers, and give a short instruction ; 
 and thus, I hope that, though small in number, we were 
 great in faith. But you can form to yourself no adequate 
 notion of my pain at being deprived of the sacramental 
 presence of our dear Lord for so long a time. My heart 
 panted and my soul longed after the beauty of God's 
 house, which is, indeed and in truth, not the architectural 
 grandeur or magnificent painting, but the real presence of 
 Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Oh ! what a happiness, 
 what an honour, what a godlike and heavenly elevation, 
 to stand at the altar, to gaze upon the unspotted Host, to 
 speak with the Immaculate Lamb, to handle, as did the 
 Holy Virgin, the Saviour of men, to tinge one's lips and 
 purple one's tongue with the blood of Jesus, and, in fine, 
 to receive into one's soul the Lord of the living and the 
 dead ! On the day previous to setting sail, I celebrated 
 Mass in the church of St. Joseph, Southampton, where I 
 experienced great kindness at the hands of the Rev. Mr. 
 Mount. From that day till after my arrival in Cape Town, I 
 could not offer the holy mysteries. The festival of dear 
 St. Aloysius, with that of St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter 
 and Paul, and the Visitation of the B.V. Mary, passed, 
 and there was no Mass. I fled, however, to the church. in.
 
 22 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 spirit, and felt as though I could gaze upon the altar of 
 St. Paul's. The decorations of the sacred edifice seemed to 
 my poor longing soul grander than ever, the lights to 
 shine with unusual brilliancy, and the choir to chant the 
 praises of the Almighty with feelings of ecstatic love. 
 Then, in the evening, I would transport myself in thought 
 to my Alma Mater All Hallows' College that I might 
 receive Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and there, 
 kneeling in the midst of those good and pious students who 
 adorn by their virtues that holy institution, I dared to 
 cast my eyes upon the sacred tabernacle, surrounded by 
 countless lights, emblematic of the presence of the " lux 
 mundi" while the deacon, trembling with holy fear, 
 placed on a throne the blessed remonstrance, containing 
 the Holy of Holies. Oh ! it appeared to me as if the 
 rays of Jesus' love darted from the Blessed Sacrament in 
 burning rays, piercing the loving hearts of the dear 
 young Levites, who, in return, raised their eyes, dimmed 
 with tears of sweet affection, to catch a glimpse of their 
 loving Redeemer, and then, bending in humble adoration, 
 joined with the angelic choirs in chanting the " Salutaris 
 Hostia." These thoughts fed my imagination ; but never 
 did I feel so affected as when I thought of All Hallows' 
 College. O blessed walls ! sacred retreat ! I would 
 say, how have I been torn from thy protection ? Thou 
 art my Alma Mater, my dear mother ; from thy flowing 
 breasts I drank the milk of knowledge, whatever I 
 possess, and at thy neck I fondly hung as a child in the 
 embraces of a tender parent, whilst thou didst impart to 
 me that strength which will, I hope, enable me to walk in 
 the path of thy many children. Oh ! let me look on thee, 
 dear All Hallows', object of my respect, veneration, 
 gratitude, love, and hope ! Wonder of the world, pride of
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 23 
 
 Catholic Ireland, anchor of the foreign missions ! Pardon 
 me, dear Mr. Harnett, for this apparent enthusiasm ; could 
 I speak as I feel, I should say great things of All Hallows'. 
 I try to speak as my heart feels, and if I detain you by 
 digression, forgive and find not fault, but attribute my 
 warmth to a feeling which I cannot restrain. I am filled 
 to overflowing with admiration for the " Irish Propa- 
 ganda," and find relief only in crying out from those 
 distant shores " Hail, College of. All Hallows', offspring 
 of the ardent zeal, undying faith, and transcendent charity 
 of the children of St. Patrick ! " As to our voyage, I 
 may now proceed to inform you, that from the gale to the 
 crossing of the Line, the only interesting thing that 
 occurred was a grand sunset ; it was grand indeed. I 
 regret that my power of description is so poor ; otherwise 
 I should endeavour to describe it to you, in order to make 
 my letter more varied and interesting. I never witnessed 
 the like before, and I heard those who had travelled much 
 say that they had never seen a grander sunset. Just a 
 word on the subject. The evening was beautifully calm ; 
 it was the 20th of June, at about six o'clock. The intense, 
 or rather oppressive heat was counteracted by a gentle 
 breeze, which, stealing through the heated atmosphere, 
 was extremely grateful -to the passengers. Some were 
 reading, others playing all were enjoying the refresh- 
 ing and welcome air ; while three little children pranced 
 about, striving to touch the riggings as they danced to 
 and fro in all the gaiety and innocence of childhood. 
 Suddenly, and indeed unexpectedly, a magnificent rainbow 
 rose before us, so brilliant in its colours as to excite 
 the admiration of all. But lo ! in a moment, on the 
 opposite view, appeared the setting sun, beautiful as it 
 began to descend on the horizon, but immensely grand as
 
 24 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 it sank below. The very recollection fills me with delight, 
 as my mind recalls that day. Those only whp have 
 witnessed a sunset at sea can appreciate its beauty. Who 
 shall paint the golden clouds, the silver beds, the rich and 
 varied colours, the universal brightness of the atmosphere, 
 the pictures of cities, and fountains, and men which the 
 Heavens conspired to shadow forth, to enhance the 
 grandeur of the scene ? It seemed to me that if the sky 
 which I beheld was to be the canopy of the Heavenly 
 Jerusalem, I could gaze upon it for eternity ; but oh ! no ; 
 the eye hath seen this, whereas the eye hath not seen, nor 
 even the heart conceived, the grandeur of the kingdom of 
 the living God, Amidst all the clouds that adorned the 
 firmament there was one which had a peculiar charm for 
 me. I was singularly struck with the golden streams ; I 
 looked with delight upon the silver spangles, and witnessed 
 with wonder the varied blue ; but there was one cloud in 
 the distance upon which I feasted my eyes. You may accuse 
 me of prejudice or too great love of country if you will, 
 but still I must tell you it was a green cloud. I thought it 
 spoke to me of Ireland, and whispered across the deep 
 
 " There's not in this wide world a valley so sweet." 
 A crowd of thoughts rushed to my imagination, and the 
 history of my country opened before me, as I thought of 
 her glories and her trials. The day in which she shone to 
 the world as the star of the sea, when she threw the sacred 
 mantle of her protection over the literary world, and pre- 
 served the sacred torch of science in her own dear land 
 from the withering blast of evil influences ; then, again, I 
 thought of her trials, her bitter, bitter persecution, in 
 which her anointed ministers washed their stoles in 
 the Blood of the Lamb, and her children yielded their 
 lives to God in testimony of their faith. While my
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 25 
 
 body rocked in the ocean cradle, my mind fixed itself still 
 more on Ireland, and as here and there in the sunset a 
 crimson cloud appeared, I thought still more deeply of my 
 country, and of the efforts made to roh her of her only 
 everlasting treasure her faith. But, blessed be God ! 
 she triumphed ; the thought consoled my heart, now that 
 I am far away. Yes, Ireland has proved that faith is not 
 the creature of man's invention, and that the Church of 
 Christ is not to be put down by human power ; she soars 
 above the earth, and, like the eagle in his heavenward 
 flight, fixes an undazzled eye upon the bright sun of 
 truth itself. I should have mentioned to you that we had 
 on board the new Governor of St. Helena, Sir Charles 
 Elliott, with his family, and hence we called at the island 
 on our way out. It is not usual to call at St. Helena, even 
 when there are passengers, till the return of the steamer. 
 In the present case an exception was made. I should tell 
 you that from the crossing of the Line to St. Helena, we 
 had a continual swell, which, together with gusts and 
 squalls, rendered the passage very unpleasant. On the 
 morning of the 2nd of July, two of our sails were torn 
 away. In proportion as we approached the island, our 
 anxiety to behold land became very great. It was now 
 twenty- six days since we had seen land, and every hour 
 seemed a day till we should arrive at any portion of 
 terra firma. On the morning of the 3rd of July, at half- 
 past twelve o'clock, we reached St. Helena, but were 
 obliged to wait till five o'clock in the morning to go on 
 shore. I walked about the island till eight o'clock, in 
 company with Messrs. Keough and Gaffney. In so short 
 a time we were able to see very little ; but from what I 
 saw and heard I may give you the following few parti- 
 culars : Before speaking of the island, I may observe to
 
 26 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 you that we admired the Governor, Sir Charles Elliott, 
 exceedingly. He seems eminently qualified to fill the 
 position to which he has been appointed. His conde- 
 scension and familiarity, blended with wisdom and 
 prudence, gained him general respect. He told me that 
 it would afford him great pleasure to render service to 
 Dr. Grimley, whose acquaintance, with that of Father 
 Brown, chaplain to the island, he would be happy to make. 
 As to the island, I may begin by observing that it was 
 discovered by Admiral Joas, a Portuguese, on St. Helena's 
 Day, 1502 ; from this circumstance it takes its name. 
 The greatest extent of the island, E.N.E. and W.S.W., is 
 about ten miles, by six in breadth. The capital, James- 
 town, is situated in latitude 1565'S., longitude 5 45' 20" W. 
 The surface contains nearly thirty thousand acres of pas- 
 turage and garden grounds. The highest mountain stands 
 2692 feet above the level of the sea. The population is 
 about seven thousand, chiefly coloured. The number of 
 Roman Catholics is not quite four hundred, including the 
 military body, which is the staff of Catholicity on the 
 island. Protestantism is predominant. There is even a 
 bishop for St. Helena ; the sects are numerous. There are 
 very many churches. The Catholic chapel is small, and 
 has more the appearance of an ordinary cottage than a 
 place of worship. The coloured people have rather a 
 degraded and heart-broken appearance. They seem like 
 the remnant of a ruined race deploring the destruction of 
 their fathers. The poor people live principally on rice 
 and fish. The country seats are very grand and the 
 moneyed people comfortable, but the poor appear very 
 destitute. Wages for labourers are about three and six- 
 pence per day, but provisions are so high as to render that 
 sum barely sufficient to drag on a miserable life. The
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 27 
 
 impositions practised upon strangers landing there are by 
 no means small ; ten of our passengers were charged two 
 shillings per cup, for coffee without sugar or milk. At a 
 future time, I hope to be able to give a complete account 
 of St. Helena. On the evening of the 4th, a circumstance 
 occurred which I suppose will surprise you, as it aston- 
 ished me. I shall preface it by informing you that during 
 the voyage it became necessary for me " to give a reason 
 of the hope that is in me " many times. No day passed 
 on which I had not occasion to explain some point of 
 Catholic doctrine, or wipe away the stain caused by some 
 ill-founded prejudice. At the same time, I should observe 
 that the passengers were persons of respectability and 
 education you could scarcely meet in the same number a 
 greater amount of intelligence. Yet, where is the man out- 
 side the Church who has not received some false impression 
 relative to our doctrines and practices ? It gave me extreme 
 pleasure, therefore, to find that I had an opportunity of 
 representing the truth, and exposing some of the foul calum- 
 nies which creep insidiously into the education of even the 
 most impartial and liberal-minded men. I was waited 
 upon by two of the first-class passengers on the evening of 
 the 4th, with a request from the officers and passengers 
 that I would deliver a ' lecture on the following day 
 (Sunday). Seeing that there could be nothing contrary 
 to Catholic discipline in my compliance, I consented. My 
 own chapel the fore cabin was, of course, the place of 
 lecture ; and, as I had my own little Catholic congregation 
 to instruct, I could see no reason to refuse Protestants or 
 others admission . Eight o'clock on the evening of the 5th 
 was appointed. The cabin was crowded. Officers, first 
 and second-class passengers, with servants and sailors, 
 were in attendance. The audience listened with great
 
 28 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 attention and respect. On the following Sunday many 
 came again to be present at the short instructions wjhich I 
 gave to my little flock at half- past ten o'clock A.M. My 
 letter is already of such a length that I shall say nothing 
 of a second gale which we experienced near the Cape, but 
 will content myself by informing you that we landed on 
 the 16th, the Feast of Mount Carmel, after a very severe 
 and tedious voyage. I and my young friends, Messrs. 
 Keough and Gaffney, were received by Dr. Grimley with 
 all that kindness and good nature so peculiarly his lord- 
 ship's. I refrain from telling you my feelings on arriving 
 here : of my joy and gratitude. I intend to write to you 
 next month. I am living at the bishop's residence, as 
 happy as my heart could wish. Cape Town is a very 
 pretty place. I am very much pleased with all I have seen. 
 I am sure, with God's blessing, I shall be happy. 
 Yours in Christ, 
 
 JAMES O'HAIRE. 
 
 Mr. JOHN HAENETT, 
 All Hallows' College, Dublin, Ireland. 
 
 ON BOARD THE SHIP " DANE," 
 July 15, 1861. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, 
 
 My heart becomes full and the tears burst into my eyes, 
 as I take up my pen to write to you, and through you to 
 my dear children, who, being now seven thousand miles 
 separated from me, seem to be seven thousand times 
 dearer to me than ever. I am yet rocked in this ocean 
 cradle, in consequence of head winds which have prevailed 
 since we left the Bay of Biscay : but as I intend to give 
 you a minute description of my voyage, I will begin with 
 my embarkation at Southampton, at twelve o'clock noon.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 29 
 
 on the 5th June. As the ship left port the rain fell in 
 torrents, which naturally cast a gloom over the passengers, 
 but in a short time the sun burst through those watery 
 clouds which shrouded him from our view, and compen- 
 sated us for our gloomy hour by casting upon us the 
 warmth of his own sweet smile. Our good ship glided 
 along the English coast towards Plymouth, which we 
 reached at nine o'clock on the following morning. 
 As we were not to take our final departure until five 
 o'clock that evening, I took the opportunity of going on 
 shore. I visited the Catholic church, and also the cele- 
 brated dockyards of Devonport. I was accompanied by 
 my dear students, Rev. Edward Quaid and Mr. Augustine 
 O'Reilly. "We made, in Plymouth, several purchases of 
 good Catholic books. Having embarked in time, we dined 
 and heard the cannon fire, our ship was underway, steer- 
 ing on her far distant voyage. The wind was most favour- 
 able, and the weather most beautiful. On the next day we 
 found ourselves in the Bay of Biscay ; I was not sick for 
 an instant. Right merrily we glided along. On Sunday 
 evening at six o'clock we were opposite Cape Finisterre. 
 On Monday, the 9th of June, we found ourselves opposite 
 the Portuguese coast the wind was now ahead, and the 
 sun very warm. On "Wednesday, the 12th of June, we 
 were opposite Gibraltar : the day was very fine. On the 
 next day we got in sight of the group of islands called the 
 Three Sisters, and in the distance we could plainly dis- 
 cern the island of Madeira. In the afternoon we sailed 
 very close to Madeira could easily see houses on the 
 island. On the following day, Friday, we could see in the 
 distance the Canary Islands. At six o'clock in the 
 evening we could perceive Tenerifie, with its snow cap. 
 The peak of Teneriffe is 12,000 feet above the sea. We
 
 30 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 now found ourselves opposite the coast of Morocco, Africa, 
 but not in view. I may here mention that, finding myself 
 surrounded by Protestants, captain, officers, and first-class 
 passengers, I did not like to ask for any public place to 
 celebrate the Most Holy Sacrifice, for up to this period I 
 managed to have Mass in my own little cabin, when to 
 my surprise, Captain Hoffirnan, who commands this ship, 
 most kindly offered to give me the use of the quarter deck 
 for Mass. This privilege was highly valued by me, as I 
 could not expect such a favour. I may here notice that 
 the plan I marked out for myself and students has 
 succeeded admirably. It was to keep away from all parties 
 on board to be kind to all but to be familiar with none. 
 Indeed our time was so regulated that little remained for 
 strangers. We had theology class every day, we have 
 had even two classes a day : this was close work, but 
 it was necessary, that Mr. Quaid may be able to enter 
 immediately on the glorious work of the ministry. After 
 our evening studies Mr. O'Reilly visited our Catholic 
 second-class passengers, and recited with them the Rosary 
 of the Blessed Virgin ; he then joined Mr. Quaid and 
 myself in addressing our good Mother in the same time- 
 honoured form of prayer. Pardon me for this digression 
 from my diary. Now to return. It was rather a singular 
 circumstance that on the 18th of June we found ourselves 
 in the 18th deg. North lat. and 18th deg. "West long. In 
 the evening of that day we were greatly amused, looking 
 at a great number of flying fish skipping over the surface 
 of the deep. One of them did us the honour of coming on 
 board : it was the size of a large herring : it has two 
 handsome wings. On Wednesday, the 19th June, we saw 
 Cape Yercle and a considerable portion of the coast of 
 Senegambia. You may be certain that I looked with
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 31 
 
 intense interest on the African shore, and said from my 
 heart, Deo gratias. From the time we left England up to 
 the present moment, we had only one storm : this was a 
 tornado which gathered around us on the morning of the 
 20th June, accompanied with terrific rain ; it raged for 
 two hours : the sea became awfully agitated, and cast 
 around us its foaming spray. Looking on the mountain 
 waves, you would immediately rememher the words of the 
 Royal Psalmist " Elevaverunt flumina Domine, eleva- 
 verunt flumina vocem suam, elevaverunt flumina fluctus 
 suos, a vocibus aquarum multarum, mirabiles elationes 
 maris, mirabilis in altis Dominus." Do not imagine that 
 we were in any danger, no the captain expects such storms 
 in this latitude, and observing the tempest coming, lowers 
 all the sails, and lets the good ship float over the raging 
 billows. After two hours' terrific blowing, a calm ensued, 
 yet the rest of the day was anything but agreeable for the 
 passengers, as the hot air which floated over to us from 
 the coast of Guinea bore with it anything but an agreeable 
 fragrance. 
 
 I will pass over many little incidents, until I come to 
 the crossing of the Line. This was the great event of the 
 voyage, and so I shall describe it to you in detail. On the 
 evening of the 25th June a trumpet was sounded from the 
 prow of the ship, announcing the approach of the imperial 
 monarch of the s.ea, Neptune, accompanied by his lady. 
 Neptune, dressed in the most fantastic garb, with trident 
 in hand, stood on the prow, called on the captain, asked 
 where he was from, where he was bound for, and how fared 
 his sons, the jolly tars. After receiving answers to his 
 interrogatories, he mounted his steed, having behind him 
 her majesty. The appearance of the steed was certainly 
 most amusing. Imagine two tars in a bent position, unus
 
 32 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 post unum, with a large rug over them, and projecting 
 from the foremost an imitation head of a horse. Qn this 
 steed Neptune mounted at the prow, and behind him his 
 better half. Her majesty appeared very uncomfortable ; 
 her steed being very restive attracted the attention of 
 Neptune, who, not understanding her jolting to be invol- 
 untary, would occasionally turn around and give her 
 practical proofs of his displeasure. Neptune, preceded by 
 his sons the tars, one of them carrying on his head an 
 illuminated globe, rode to the quarter-deck, and addressed 
 his new subjects those who were for the first time cross- 
 ing the Line. After his address he announced he would 
 take his departure for the evening, and on the morrow 
 would again visit the good ship. To indicate his depar- 
 ture a burning tar-barrel was thrown overboard. On the 
 following day at two o'clock, Neptune, accompanied by 
 his spouse, appeared at the prow. Preceded by all the 
 jolly tars, Neptune rode to the cabin, called on several 
 passengers, who never before crossed the Line, that he 
 might formally register them as his own subjects. This 
 process of registration is worthy of notice. There was 
 previously prepared in the forepart of the ship a large 
 bath, in depth about four feet. This bath was about five 
 feet beneath the platform on which Neptune's throne was 
 erected. A seat was placed near the monarch for each 
 neophyte to sit on, while one of the imperial ministers 
 tarred over the face of the new subject, and another, with 
 an iron hoop, performed the rough operation of shaving. 
 While this was going on, Neptune would pat on the head 
 and playfully pull the hair of his young son. Without 
 enjoying the luxury of a clean shave, the new subject was 
 thrown head-over-heels into the bath below, in which 
 stood, awaiting the descent, two aged sons of Neptune, to
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 33 
 
 roll him in their native element. The greatest excitement 
 prevailed at the last ablution the subject bejng a genius. 
 As soon as he was tossed down into the water, Neptune, 
 his wife, and the barbers threw themselves in after him ; 
 the dashing, kicking, and splashing that followed can be 
 more easily imagined than described. You have heard the 
 custom that all the males who cross the Line for the first 
 time must pass through this ordeal. Such is a time- 
 honoured custom, which is but an innocent amusement, 
 and a great relief amid the monotonous routine of a long 
 voyage. The politeness of those about me preserved me 
 from this rough play, and no one thought of putting a 
 hand on the Bishop ; and, through respect for the cloth, 
 my two students were also exempt. -You will now natu- 
 rally ask me was the weather very warm while I was 
 crossing the Line. It was warm, but not excessively so : 
 by putting on light clothing, I cannot say I felt it. The 
 motion of the ship created a pleasant current of air. I can 
 tell you at present the weather is anything but warm, so 
 that for the last few mornings I could not read my office 
 on deck. We are now within 180 miles of Capo Town. I 
 need not assure you that I am anxious to see the land of 
 my adoption and the people to whom I am to announce 
 the Words of Life. I am most happy to inform you that 
 the Rev. Mr. Quaid and Mr. O'Reilly enjoy excellent 
 health and spirits. They have generously put their hands 
 to the plough, and I can assure you they have never looked 
 back. They have been my greatest consolation on this 
 voyage. God has something good in store for the Cape 
 Mission. Will you kindly present my warmest regards 
 to my esteemed friends, Very Ilev. Mgr. Woodlock, Dr. 
 Bennett, Dr. Conroy, and the other professors of dear All 
 Hallows'. All Hallows' College has many happy reini-
 
 34 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 niscences for me. May the richest graces of Heaven fall 
 upon it and upon all those who subscribe to its funds I 
 "WTiat an honour to Ireland is All Hallows' ! It is the 
 greatest, the most glorious monument of the faith and 
 charity of Catholic Ireland. Were it not for All Hallows', 
 what would become of the foreign missions ? I have 
 formed the resolution of making a memento in every Mass 
 I shall offer for All Hallows' College, and for all those 
 who shall aid it. Assure my dear students of my un- 
 ceasing anxiety for their best interests. May you all 
 prove yourselves worthy of the holy vocation to which God 
 has called you, is the constant and fervent prayer of 
 Your ever affectionate Bishop, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Mr. JAMES O'HAIBE, 
 All Hallcws' College.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE sun shone out with peculiar brilliancy, shooting his 
 rays into the limpid waters of Table Bay. Not a ripple 
 appeared on the surface, which as far as the eye could 
 reach was as one vast sheet of polished glass. The 
 atmosphere was delicious, with a gentle breeze stealing 
 under the ship's awning to fan the joyous passengers ; 
 who, while exchanging expressions of congratulations, 
 passed to and fro on the deck, as the "Briton" steamed 
 into the waters of Table Bay, and cast her anchor on the 
 morning of the 16th July 1863. 
 
 Table Mountain, which in the distance appears almost 
 perpendicular, stands facing the mariner like a huge wall 
 of solid rock, 3582 feet in height, having at its feet 
 Cape Town, which extends from the sea beach to the base' 
 of the giant mountain. 
 
 The port-captain boarded us, and, after the usual in- 
 terrogatories, we cast anchor at 11.45 a.m. Boats, manned 
 by Malays and Portuguese, were in readiness to convey the 
 but too eager passengers to terra firma. There was a 
 general rush to the ship's ladder, and in twenty minutes 
 every passenger was ashore. At that time ships were 
 obliged to anchor in the Bay, often at great risk and 
 inconvenience both to the vessel and her passengers. 
 Since that time, however, the docks have been constructed, 
 with immense benefit to shipping and comfort to those 
 landing. 
 
 The Rev. Augustine O'Reilly, then of St. Mary's
 
 36 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Cathedral, Cape Town, now secretary to the Archbishop 
 of Toronto, came on board to welcome me, and to conduct 
 me to that home in which I resided about seven years, 
 and which now recalls so many grateful reminiscences, 
 and at the same time so many recollections pregnant with 
 poignant grief. 
 
 The first interview with the Bishop, the Eight Rev. 
 Dr. Grimley, whom I had not seen for several years, was 
 as affectionate as the meeting between mutual friends is 
 wont to be. We had been warmly attached to each other 
 from the year in which, as Father Grimley, he had been 
 appointed to St. Paul's, Dublin. I received my pre- 
 paratory education in St. Paul's Ecclesiastical Academy, 
 founded and presided over by him. Such indeed was our 
 intimacy for several years previous to my going to 
 college, that we were almost inseparable. 
 
 The first day was spent chiefly in the Bishop's com- 
 pany. I had the pleasure to present him with a cheque for 
 200, and also a large case of sacred vessels and vest- 
 , ments, which had been kindly given me by generous 
 friends in Ireland. 
 
 For the first week I did not enter upon my duties, but 
 spent each day in visiting Cape Town and its institutions, 
 and this at once leads me to give you some description 
 of Cape Town. 
 
 I must confess that the appearance of the town and its 
 inhabitants took me by agreeable surprise. "While in 
 Europe I was accustomed to connect the ideas of huts, 
 savages, and wild animals with all South Africa ; but now 
 the scales, so to speak, fell from my eyes, and my vision 
 rested upon a scene that charmed me, principally because 
 it was unexpected. 
 
 As to its inhabitants, Cape Town is certainty as cosmo-
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 37 
 
 politan in its character as any city you could find. The 
 population of only 30,000, is a collection of every 
 nationality on earth. I doubt if any one country of 
 Europe is unrepresented; there America, Australia, 
 Oceanica, and Asia yield their, contributions. In colour 
 the variety is not less remarkable, from the purest white 
 to the deepest black. The Irish element is considerable, 
 numbering, I suppose, about 6000. The Malays, who in 
 religion are Mahometan, are strongly represented, and are 
 an exceedingly industrious and well-behaved people. 
 There are corrupt remnants of many African tribes, such as 
 Hottentot, Caffir, Koranna, and Bushman, but I doubt if 
 any of them are pure, except, perhaps, the Caffir. It is 
 astonishing to witness the peace and harmony that pre- 
 vail where men of every nation, tongue and opinion are 
 gathered together. 
 
 As to dress, it is carried even to extravagance. These 
 blacks, who belong to a degraded class, scarcely can be 
 said to dress at all, but the educated blacks are very neat 
 and clean. The Malays, especially the women, dress 
 gorgeously, the richest silks and satins of every hue are 
 paraded by them on festival days ; and, then, as to the 
 white population, their tastes are by no means low : 
 young tradesmen and clerks, shop girls and servants spend 
 nearly all their earnings on dress, therefore the display of 
 jewellery and fashionable attire is, shall I say it, pic- 
 turesque. The ideas of rudeness and vulgarity which I 
 had so long associated in my mind with the Cape Colony, 
 were certainly dissipated during my first week in Cape 
 Town, and have never since returned. 
 
 The town itself is seen to best advantage from a higb 
 and pretty mountain pass, called the Kloof Road (the 
 word Kloof means a pass through a mountain range or
 
 38 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 between two ranges of mountains, generally the bed of a 
 river) which teems with luxuriant foliage, and gives a 
 commanding and distinct view of the city and bay. The 
 plan of the town is perfectly unique ; the streets run in 
 regular lines parallel to, or at right angles, with the beach 
 and mountain base. There are very many commodious 
 and well-built stores, with handsomely ornamented front- 
 age, good dwelling-houses, neat villas, public institutions, 
 churches, promenades, gardens, &c., &c. 
 
 To convey a still more accurate notion of this metropolis 
 of South Africa, I will enumerate some of the leading 
 institutions, which will serve to exhibit Cape Town in any- 
 thing but a barbarous light. 
 
 First, as to Churches, the spires of which, rising above 
 the town, convey the idea that as religion and civilization 
 go hand-in-hand you are entering a civilized country 
 when you set your foot on Cape Town soil. Christians of 
 the Lutheran, Calvinistic, Anglican, and "Wesleyan 
 schools have their ecclesiastical edifices ; and, moreover, the 
 black Christians have churches distinct from the whites. 
 You have High, Low, Broad, Liberal, and Orthodox 
 sects. 
 
 So that in South Africa, as elsewhere, Protestantism, 
 with its characteristic pliancy, accommodates itself to all 
 customers, and guarantees itself a genuine article to every 
 comer. It contracts to suit the taste of the narrowest 
 mind, or expands to meet the most elastic religious theorist. 
 Yet, I will say, that in spite of this diversity in belief, there 
 is comparatively little of that rampant bigotry and puri- 
 tannical cant that you meet with, ad nauseam, in many 
 European and American cities. I am sorry that I cannot 
 praise the architectural taste of Protestantism in the colony. 
 The churches are little better than burlesques upon
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 39 
 
 ecclesiastical art, and hence, considering the means at the 
 disposal of their adherents, it would be profanity in them 
 to sing the canticle, " Zeal for the beauty of Thy house, O 
 Lord, hath consumed me." 
 
 The Malays have several mosques, but to speak of them 
 as even pretty buildings would be simply untrue. I once 
 heard them described as tawdry, gingerbread jim-cracks, 
 and I feel no reluctance in corroborating the sentiment. 
 
 There is but one Roman Catholic Church in Cape Town, 
 the Cathedral, which owes its existence to the zeal of the 
 first Catholic Bishop of South Africa, and to the generosity 
 of the Association for the Propagation of the Faith. "The 
 saintly and learned Dr. Griffith erected, during his 
 episcopate, not only this Cathedral, but also five other 
 Churches in country districts. Another Catholic Church is 
 about to be raised in Cape Town as a memorial to the late 
 pious and energetic Bishop, Dr. Grimley, on the very spot, 
 too, where Bishop Grimley himself designed to erect a 
 temple to the living God. About 1500 have been already 
 subscribed to this object. A Protestant journal, the 
 Standard and Mail, of the 6th August 1874, has the fol- 
 lowing pertinent remarks, which I have transcribed : 
 
 " We doubt whether there is a city in the British dominions 
 of 30,000 inhabitants, so lamentably deficient in archi- 
 tectural ornament as Cape Town. Its public buildings 
 are simply hideous, and scarcely one of its churches much 
 better. A chapel here and there one or two built under the 
 auspices of Bishop Gray, and the Congregational -one in 
 Caledon Square are, with the exception of the Roman 
 Catholic Cathedral, the only redeeming features of the place. 
 But wherever the Catholics have had the means and oppor- 
 tunity of building, the erections they have reared have been 
 ornaments to their neighbourhood, as may be seen in Cape 
 Town, Port-Elizabeth, and Grahamstown, where their 
 churches and schools are in far better taste than any other 
 similar structures/'
 
 40 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 I will next proceed to educational establishments, of 
 which indeed there is no lack. 
 
 First in order, is an University lately founded, which, of 
 course, confers degrees, and is in a flourishing condition. 
 
 2nd. An African College. 
 
 3rd. Seminaries and acadamies for ladies and gentle- 
 men abound. Some under church support, and others 
 under private control. 
 
 4th. Schools for the poor, aided by Government, meet 
 your eye at every corner; some denominational, others not so. 
 
 5th. In Cape Town there are four Roman Catholic 
 schools, one at each end conducted by ladies, and two in 
 the centre ; one under the care of the Dominican Nuns, and 
 divided into several compartments to meet the wants of 
 the various classes. The other, under the direction of the 
 Marist Brothers, divided into public schools and academies 
 for boys. Both these schools are largely patronized both 
 by Catholics and Protestants. The Dominican Nuns and 
 the Marist Brothers were introduced into the "Western 
 Vicariate by the late zealous Bishop Grimley. 
 
 The schools of the Marist Brothers, to which is attached 
 the Catholic Hall, deserve special notice. The foundation 
 stone was solemnly laid by Bishop Grimley, in presence of 
 an immense concourse of people, in February 1868, and 
 the opening took place in presence of the late Governor, 
 Sir Philip Wodehouse, and about six hundred persons, 
 including the elite of the town. The Argus, a Protestant 
 journal, published in Cape Town, thus notices the laying 
 of the foundation stone, and subsequently the opening of 
 the schools and hall : 
 
 " On Monday afternoon the ceremony of blessing and laying 
 the corner*stone of the St. Aloysius schools was performed by
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 41 
 
 the Eight Rev. Dr. Grimley, R.C.B. The site upon which the 
 buildings are to stand adjoins the present school buildings in 
 St. John's Street occupied by the boys, and under the manage- 
 ment of the Marist Brothers. A large number of ladies and 
 gentlemen were present for the purpose of witnessing the 
 ceremony. The ground was gaily decorated with flags and 
 flowers, and a commodious platform was erected for the 
 comfort of visitors. Within a few minutes of the hour fixed 
 a procession entered the ground, consisting of the St. Mary's 
 Mutual Benefit Society, and the boys in the upper and lower 
 schools. These were followed by a cross-bearer and acolytes, 
 with candles, &c. The priests followed in their robes in the 
 following order: The Rev. Fathers Meagher, O'Reilly, 
 Colgan, D.D., Dunne, D.D., andRooney, D.D., and to them 
 succeeded his Lordship the Bishop, in full pontificals, with 
 cope and mitre. Dr. Colgan, the rector of the schools, ad- 
 dressing the Bishop, requested his lordship, in the name of the 
 Brotherhood and of the friends of education, to bless and lay 
 the stone. Prayers were offered up, some hymns were sung by 
 the children, and a bottle containing coin, and a scroll with 
 Latin inscription, were deposited in a cavity, and the stone 
 was lowered into its proper position. His lordship then 
 addressed the assemblage on the subject of the promotion of 
 education, acknowledging that though there were excellent 
 schools in Cape Town, there were not too many of them, and 
 that the greater the competition the greater would be the 
 emulation, and the better instructed would be the population. 
 His lordship spoke in very high terms of the abilities of the 
 Marist Brothers, both as being themselves finished scholars as 
 well as able instructors. The gratifying fact that these new 
 schools would be thoroughly undenominational was also stated. 
 At the close of the Bishop's speech the members of the St. 
 Mary's Mutual Benefit Society advanced, and one of their 
 number read an address expressing sympathy with the under- 
 taking, and begging the acceptance of 30 towards the expense 
 of the erection of the schools. His Lordship briefly acknowledged 
 the pleasure he had derived from the presentation of the 
 address, and having complimented the members, the pro- 
 ceedings terminated with the singing, by the children, of the 
 National Anthem. The pupils connected with the upper and 
 lower schools already number about two hundred. The new 
 buildings are estimated to cost 2300. They will be erected 
 under the superintendence of Mr. Stonestreet. 
 
 "The splendid school-building, which has just been erected 
 in St. John Street for the Roman Catholic community, was 
 formally opened on last Tuesday evening with a literary and
 
 42 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 musical entertainment. The building itself is certainly one 
 of the finest in the city, not only in its external aspect, but also 
 iu its internal arrangements. The style of architecture is 
 early English Gothic. The St. John Street fa9ade is executed 
 in blue stone rubble work and pointed, the arches and string 
 courses being of coloured bricks, white, black, grey, and red, 
 and pointed ; the copings, quoins, and dressings in Portland 
 cement and compo. The windows to the ground and first 
 floors are coupled, the mullions being relieved by detached 
 columns, from which the arches spring. An ornamental bell- 
 tower is constructed on the side of the gable nearest the 
 entrance, which gives a finish to the elevation, and groups 
 well with the surrounding features. The large hall on the 
 upper floor is reached by a spacious and convenient Gothic 
 staircase of easy ascent, with its old-fashioned but substantial 
 newels, handrails, &c. The main building is 105 feet long 
 by 40 feet wide, divided on the ground floor into three schools, 
 the large hall and gallery, which is not yet completed, 
 occupying the entire space on the upper floor. The actual 
 size of the hall itself is 86 feet long by 36 feet wide, and 34 
 feet high. The acoustic properties of the hall are, as far as 
 could be judged on Tuesday night, unrivalled by any hall in 
 Cape Town, and the whole building reflects the highest credit 
 on the architect, Mr. Stonestreet. The hall accommodates an 
 audience of about 600 people." 
 
 While speaking of educational establishments, it will 
 not be deemed impertinent to draw attention to what the 
 Catholic Church in South Africa is doing in educational 
 matters. In a work published in 1869 in Cape Town, by 
 Langham Dale, LL.D., and called Ecclesiastical Topics, 
 this Protestant gentleman writes : 
 
 "The Roman Catholic Church in this colony may, I hope 
 without offence, be held up as a model ; inde tibi, quod imitere 
 capias, inde quod vites ; with fixity of aim and uniform action, 
 amid the devotion and confidence of their people, the two 
 Catholic Bishops have erected churches and schools which are 
 an ornament to our three chief towns. Undisturbed by un- 
 seemly differences within, undismayed by external hinderances, 
 that Church has gone into the bye ways and brought within 
 her public teaching at Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown, and 
 Cape Town, more children than attend the schools of any other
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 43 
 
 religious society, our Church schools in Cape Town only ex- 
 cepted. Such a force is unity of direction, the rule of the 
 Episcopus backed by the love and admiration of the congre- 
 gation. I adduce these facts without a spark of bigotry or 
 jealousy ; palmam qui meruit ferat." (page 8.) 
 
 In addition to this testimony, may I be permitted to 
 present an extract from a leading article of the Standard 
 and Mail (of the 6th August 1874), a Protestant journal, 
 published in Cape Town. It says : 
 
 " Now it must not be forgotten that the Roman Catholics in 
 this colony, are not, as a rule, wealthy. Indeed it may be said 
 that they have less worldly riches, in proportion to their 
 numbers, than the members of any other Christian body. Yet 
 no religious body has made larger or more successful efforts 
 in the cause of general education, as St. Aiden's College, 
 St. Aloysius' Academy, the Convent schools of Grahamstown, 
 Port Elizabeth, Wynberg, Cape Town, and such other estab- 
 lishments amply attest. The desire to keep their flocks in 
 ignorance, is fully answered by the mere existence of these 
 admirable schools founded, without exception, by and through 
 the agency of the Catholic clergy." 
 
 Without wishing to pass outside the limits of the 
 Vicariate, of which I am writing, I may be allowed, with- 
 out digression or interference, to add to the above the 
 following statement of the Eastern Star, also a Protestant 
 journal, in reporting the laying of the foundation stone of 
 St. Aiden's Seminary, in the Eastern Province of South 
 Africa, in 1873. The editor opens his article by saying: 
 
 " Those who remember the days when the Roman Catholic 
 Church in this colony was ministered to but by two or three 
 priests, in what was then the only town of note in South 
 Africa, viz., Cape Town, will be able to recognise the growth 
 and advancement in numbers, wealth, and intelligence of the 
 Roman Catholic community throughout both provinces in the 
 colony, east and west. With that advancement has arisen 
 the necessity not only for places of worship and a more 
 numerous body of priests, but it was speedily found that 
 means for imparting education to all classes must be pro-
 
 44 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 vided. The system of discipline and organization which 
 governs the life, education, and habits of the religious orders 
 of the Roman Catholics, enables those who have the Vlirec- 
 tion and care of ecclesiastical matters in the Church, to 
 undertake the establishment of educational institutions, with 
 a greater certainty of success than almost any other com- 
 munity could expect." 
 
 In closing this chapter, descriptive of Cape Town, I 
 will enumerate the chief literary, charitable, and other 
 institutions. 
 
 First in order, is the " Society for the Promotion of the 
 Fine Arts," founded a few years ago, and having now an 
 Art gallery attached. I had the honour of a place on the 
 council, and though now separated from the Society in 
 body, I am with it in the earnest desire that its efforts to 
 encourage, expand, and develop colonial genius and industry 
 may be crowned with laurels of brilliant success. 
 
 Next, you have the Mechanics' Institute, the Christian 
 Young Men's Society, and an excellent Public Library, 
 well stocked with works in every language and on all 
 subjects, supplied, too, with all the leading newspapers, 
 periodicals, and reviews of England ; admission free. 
 Under the same roof, the museum, which is not only well- 
 stocked, but too closely packed, is a place of great interest 
 to the student. The compartment devoted to birds is as 
 gorgeous in its array of lovely colonial plumage, as it is 
 almost infinite in variety, and exquisite in the arrange- 
 ment of genus and species. In mineralogy and geology 
 specimens are numerous and interesting ; fishes, wild 
 animals, reptiles, and monsters, are shown also to con- 
 siderable advantage. From the Museum you walk into 
 the Botanical Gardens, where you are at once greeted by 
 the statue of Sir George Grey, elevated upon a massive 
 pedestal of granite. It is not necessary to speak of the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 45 
 
 trees, shrubs, plants, and 'flowers, with which these 
 gardens abound. The colours are perfectly charming. The 
 variety endless. The hedges, interspersed with rose trees, 
 seemed to me like so many transparent curtains of foliage, 
 through which you view the beds bordered with white, 
 and every shade of pink, blue, crimson, peuce, and scarlet 
 blossoms, scientifically blended, vying in delicacy of tint 
 and beauty of structure with the flowers within ; while 
 the weeping willow, elegantly reared and gracefully bend- 
 ing its branches, stands like a tender guardian to keep off 
 the least rude blast that would dare to wither the gentle, 
 though brilliant, object beneath its shade. A stroll 
 through these gardens is a perfect luxury, where flori- 
 culture and agriculture under every form, combine with 
 the playing fountains, the elegantly dressed people, the 
 lovely little children, to captivate the sense of sight, while 
 the military band charms the ear by its fascinating selec- 
 tions from the grandest operas. 
 
 Of theatres there are three, and of theatre-going people 
 crowds. But nothing of the slightest immoral tendency 
 dare make its appearance on the stage. 
 
 The Town Hall, Exchange, and Parliament House 
 close this list. A new Parliament House, to cost about 
 200,000, is in course of erection, and will of course outdo 
 in elegance all the other buildings in the colony. 
 
 Of Mutual Benefit Societies, the Catholics have two 
 St. Mary's and St. Peter's both in a prosperous con- 
 dition. The Odd Fellows form a large and respectable body. 
 Societies forbidden by the Catholic Church, as the Good 
 Templars and Freemasons, hold a firm footing. 
 
 The charity and generosity of all classes at the Cape 
 provide amply for the poor. There are Orphanages and 
 various Societies, both Catholic and Protestant.
 
 46 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 There are two City Prisons and one Convict Station. 
 
 The Hospitals deserve a few remarks : Robbin Island, 
 a small island about twelve miles in circumference, and 
 about nine miles from Cape Town, possesses a Lunatic 
 Asylum, as well as a Male and Female Pauper Establish- 
 ment, well managed ; the decrepit, old, and sick poor find 
 here a resting place and a home. 
 
 In Cape Town, besides the Military Hospital, there are 
 two others ; one similar to Robbin Island, and the other 
 called New Somerset Hospital, an institution which 
 would in every respect reflect credit upon any European 
 town. 
 
 In drawing this chapter to a conclusion, I will reiterate 
 what I have already stated as to the good will which binds 
 class to class, nation to nation, and creed to creed at the 
 Cape. I have resided at the Cape for twelve years, minus 
 one month, more than six years of that period were spent 
 in Cape Town. Therefore, I did not stand "as a stranger 
 in Jerusalem." On the contrary, I moved through all 
 classes in society from the governor to the most degraded 
 beggar. I visited continually the prisons and hospitals, 
 and houses of the people high and low, walked through 
 streets, lanes, and polluted alleys, and met men of every 
 colour, of every nationality, of every creed, of every 
 position, and now as the result of my experience, I can, 
 with a well ordered conscience assert, that all things being 
 considered, Cape Town, and indeed I may say the same of 
 the whole Western Yicariate, and probably of the entire 
 colony, is distinguished by mutual good feeling, great 
 harmony, and an almost total absence of religious 
 bigotry, which induces me to say that any man who 
 desires a happy and comfortable dwelling-place, and who 
 wishes to live in concord with his fellow-man, may well
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 47 
 
 select the Cape of Good Hope. If lovely scenery, a 
 healthy climate, land teeming with fertility and vast 
 mineral wealth, are sufficient attractions to induce 
 emigration, then all these can be obtained in South 
 Africa. 
 
 To suppose, however, that riches are to be obtained 
 without sobriety and industry, is as great a mistake as to 
 imagine that the Cape is a 'land of poverty. The great 
 want is population. Tradesmen, especially carpenters, 
 masons, and smiths; labourers, agricultural, and others; 
 and likewise agricultural and sheep farmers, with a small 
 capital, would do well at the Cape. I regret that 
 emigration from Ireland is not encouraged. There is a 
 Cape emigration agent in London, but whether Ireland 
 has been invited I am not aware. I take the following 
 from papers recently to hand : 
 
 The Beaufort Courier, in reply to a correspondent 
 who suggests the importation of Irish immigrants, 
 remarks : 
 
 ' ' We are afraid, however, we could not induce the Irish 
 labouring classes to come to this Colony in anything like 
 sufficient numbers. They know nothing about it beyond 
 having a dim idea that it is associated with Kaffir wars. But 
 they know all about America and Australia, or think they do, 
 having heard them talked about from their infancy by those 
 who had friends there. And away they pour across the 
 Atlantic, sometimes to a glutted labour market, where they 
 find themselves worse off than when at home. There is much 
 in a name. We believe this Colony at present affords as good 
 a field, for sober, industrious servants of all classes as any in 
 the world. Work is abundant and well paid for ; and pro- 
 visions, though latterly high, are coming down to reasonable 
 rates. But we are strongly of opinion that we must go to 
 China for our labour supply." Capetown Daily 
 Feb. 2nd, 1876.
 
 48 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA, 
 
 IMMIGRATION. The Port Elizabeth Telegraph says: 
 
 "In North America at the present instant thousands of 
 working men are hardly able to obtain bread. Wages have 
 fallen, work is scarce, and thousands are destitute. Under 
 such circumstances it certainly would not be amiss for this 
 colony to open an emigration agency in North America, and 
 thus by taking advantage of the present opportunity benefit 
 both the colony and the people to be introduced into it. We 
 should certainly infinitely prefer such people to Chinese, and 
 the expense of introducing tkern would not be more." 
 Cape Aryus, Feb. 10, 187G. 
 
 " If they can't get work or bread enough at home, or if 
 their healthy instincts are in favour of enterprise, if they have 
 bravery as well as curiosity, and if they are not rolling stones 
 gathering no moss, if they are disposed to adapt themselves 
 to altered circumstances, and at the cost of some present 
 inconveniences seek to win a more independent position, and 
 eventually a better social standing, then let them come. All 
 experience has taught us that the intelligent, the healthy, the 
 painstaking, the temperate and hard-working man may 
 ensure a career here more readily than at home. England 
 can spare men whom the colonies will gladly welcome, and 
 this land literally flows Avith 'milk and hone}',' and if milk 
 and honey and plain fare will content new arrivals, let them 
 come by scores, but if they want under-cut steaks of beef, 
 Guinness' stout, Treble x, and Exshaw's three-starred brandy, 
 if they won't brush their own boots and sew on their own 
 buttons, by all means let them stop at home." Capetown 
 D'iil'1 JVwr*, March 24, 1876. 
 
 KING WILLIAM'S TOWN. The Watchman writes thus 
 on the subject of European Immigration : 
 
 " We have somewhat changed the position of the native 
 towards us, but it is a question whether we have not increased 
 his power for mischief. It becomes, therefore, a matter of 
 serious consideration as to the steps necessary for increasing 
 the European element in our population. Good government 
 and well assured peace will enable the annexed native tribes 
 to increase and multiply without any retarding influences, 
 whilst the white inhabitants are receiving no corresponding 
 addition to their numbers. A well considered measure, 
 therefore, to introduce a number of European families, and 
 to give them a permanent interest in the country by investing 
 them with the rights of landed proprietors, is one which we
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 49 
 
 should hail with the utmost pleasure. Our contemporary, 
 the East London Despatch, in its issue of yesterday week had 
 an article on this subject, in which the outlines of such a 
 scheme are sketched. Under this, the immigrant would 
 redeem the land granted to him by a system of instalments, 
 commencing after the expiration of two years from the date 
 of his being located, interest at the rate of five per cent, per 
 annum being charged upon the rated value of his land from 
 the day of his entering upon it. As each instalment is paid, 
 the annual payment of interest would of course diminish, and 
 by spreading the payment of tne purchase money over, say 
 ten or fifteen years, the burden upon an industrious man, 
 except in very bad times, would not be heavy." Capetown 
 Daily News, May 4th, 187Q. 
 
 With the view of being able to answer the queries of 
 persons desirous of emigrating to South Africa, I have 
 lately written to the Emigration Agent, and herewith 
 give his reply : 
 
 "CAPE OF GOOD HOPE GOVERNMENT EMIGRATION OFFICE, 
 " 15 COLEMAN STREET, LONDON, E.G., 
 
 " Qth June 1876. 
 
 "DEAR MR. O'HAIRE, It is not easy in a few lines to give 
 you the information about Emigration which you require. 
 
 " I en close 'Kichards, Glanville & Co.'s Guide Book to Soutl- 
 Africa, with a circular, which gives you the terms on which 
 emigrants are now forwarded. 
 
 " But there is every chance that the Cape Parliament, now 
 sitting, will make the Emigration more open, and to some 
 extent speculative, and it is very important that my Hand- 
 book should have this. 
 
 " Yours very truly, 
 
 "T. E. FULLER. 
 
 " P.S.^ I suppose in another month or so I shall have infor- 
 mation about the Emigration Scheme." 
 
 " CAPE OF GOOD HOPE GOVERNMENT EMIGRATION OFFICE, 
 " 15 COLEMAN STREET, LONDON, E.G. 
 
 " In answer to your application, I beg to state that I do not 
 forward any emigrants to the Cape who are not specially 
 engaged by me for the service of the Cape Government, or of
 
 50 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 private persons, or who have not definite offers of employment 
 in the Colony. 
 
 " Those who can satisfy me that employment has been 
 promised them, and that they are fit and proper persons for 
 such employment, will be forwarded on payment of 7 for 
 each adult. Children under 1 6 are charged ^ g of that amount 
 for each year of age ; but special arrangements must be made 
 for families. 
 
 " Passages of emigrants are arranged for ten days before 
 the sailing of the steamer, and none can be guaranteed after 
 that date. 
 
 "Though no emigrants are sent who have not an engage- 
 ment of service, a list is kept at the office, of artisans, servants, 
 &c., desirous of emigrating, and as applications for such are 
 being constantly received from the Colony, they are invited to 
 send in their names. 
 
 " In reply to many inquiries it may be stated that the 
 Cape Colony is at the southern extremity of the African 
 Continent, in the temperate zone. The climate is fine and 
 healthy, as a rule thoroughly agreeing with the European 
 constitution. The summer heat is greater than in England, 
 but it is dry and not distressing. The population numbers 
 about 600,000, of whom about 200,000 are Europeans, and the 
 rest natives. 
 
 " The wages are a fair per-centage higher than in England, 
 and the prospects of advancement for good and steady men 
 very much greater. In consequence of the general prosperity 
 of the Colony, and of extensive public works, including 800 
 miles of railway having been authorized, there is a good and 
 steady demand for artisan labour in all parts of the country. 
 
 " The cost of living varies considerably in different parts of 
 the country. In some it is not more than in England, in others 
 it is 15 or 20 per cent, greater ; but the wages vary propor- 
 tionally. Life and property are quite as secure as in Europe. 
 
 " A Hand-book of the Colony can be had post free, by'for- 
 warding twelve stamps to the Cape Emigration Office. 
 " 1 have the honour to be, Sir, 
 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " THOMAS E. FULLER." 
 
 This chapter may be fitly closed by the following 
 eloquently metaphorical description of South Africa, given 
 by Mr. Glanville in a paper read by him before the Royal 
 Colonial Institute :
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 51 
 
 " South. Africa is the Cinderella of the British Colonial 
 family ; she is generally ignored, unappreciated, and scolded 
 by her big and ugly relatives. Without strain, the comparison 
 may be continued. Cinderella in due time eclipsed her sisters 
 by the brilliancy of her fortune. She it was who charmed and 
 married the prince. So also is it reserved for South Africa to 
 become the most splendid of all colonies. Those who hear 
 these words are laughing in their sleeves, at least, just as the 
 jealous sisters laughed at the very notion of Cinderella's foot 
 fitting the glass slipper. But, however obscure Colonial 
 South Africa may be at the moment, it is destined to grow 
 until it becomes the dominate power in all Africa, facing 
 Europe over the Mediterranean, and Asia over the Red Sea. 
 When that day comes, several princes "will be anxious to marry 
 her who is now but a little kitchen wench among the cinders."
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HAVING given in the preceding chapter a bird's eye view 
 of Cape Town and its institutions, I will venture upon a 
 brief description of the Promenades which are within, 
 and immediately adjacent to this little metropolis. 
 
 1st. The several piers stretching from the beach into 
 the bay, as well as the new docks, attract a large number 
 of pedestrians, to whom they afford an excellent oppor- 
 tunity for an agreeable evening stroll. 
 
 2nd. The Government garden, opening from the centre 
 of the town, is a most inviting rus in m be, with walks 
 smoothly gravelled, scrupulously clean, well supplied with 
 seats for the wean-, and lined on both sides with rows of 
 the " old oak " planted at equal distances, whose branches 
 interlacing each other across the cool shady paths serve 
 in summer to fan the visitors who seek their shelter 
 beneath. 
 
 3rd. From the " Government Garden " you pass at 
 once into "the gardens" lying along the foot of Table 
 Mountain, where trees are so plentiful that Hall, in his 
 Geography of South Africa, p. 228, states that one of these 
 gardens of Mr. Breda alone contains 50,000 firs. If 
 shady groves, sparkling streams, sloping valleys, huge 
 rocks, and carpets of wild flowers, may be said to form 
 beautiful and romantic scenery, the tourist can have a 
 charming feast in these gardens, twenty minutes' walk 
 from any part of the town. 
 
 4th. Green Point, Sea Point, and the Kloof Road form
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 53 
 
 a promenade which, for sea and mountain scenery and 
 picturesque grandeur, can scarcely be equalled. The Green 
 and Sea Point Roads, sweeping along the beach, hemmed in 
 on the right by ridges of sharp rocks continually washed by 
 the waves of the Atlantic, on the left are dotted with the 
 pretty villas of the merchants. You then take the road 
 bending around the breasts of Kloof Mountain, and having 
 arrived at the top you stand with bated breath to watch in 
 awe the overhanging rocks on the one side, and on the 
 other admire the mountain waves beneath you rushing in 
 terrific fury over the "Whale Rocks, where, defeated and 
 indignant, they splash their spray in unconsciousness, yet 
 in sparkling beauty, towards heaven. 
 
 The morning of the 21st December 1863 was fine, but 
 awfully warm, the sky perfectly cloudless, the ocean 
 unrippled; the blasts of heat were like circumambient 
 tongues of fire. Not a sound was to be heard the only 
 creatures to be seen were some Hottentots basking in the 
 scorching sun as I proceeded in company with two 
 companions to see, for the first time, the Kloof Road. 
 
 Arrived at the end of Sea Point, we turned in among 
 the rocks in the hope of finding a refreshing breeze. 
 While sitting under white umbrellas, lined with green, 
 we took in a view of the surrounding prospect. The 
 very rock we sat upon was remarkable, being cleft in two, 
 perhaps by some antediluvian convulsion, and exhibiting 
 a rent, both sides of which were almost perpendicular. 
 Through these adamantine walls the waters of the sea 
 below were ebbing to and fro, while . a multitude of sea 
 plants growing from the side, at the base nearest the sea, 
 appeared to conceal under their intricate tissue no mean 
 vortex. Above us, jutted out like a little promontory, 
 another rockj the jagged points of whose double crest
 
 54 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 rose overhead in sharp and clear outline against the blue 
 sky. Whether the sea had flung it up into its present 
 place, or the mountain peak had cast it down, is beyond 
 our power to decide. It seemed to grow out of the hill 
 side, and though as large as a house, its link of connexion 
 appeared so trifling that we withdrew, fearing that if it 
 were to fall it would grind us to powder. "Wending our 
 way through a zig-zag path overgrown with high bushes 
 nearly up to our shoulders, we gained the middle of the 
 Kloof Road, above which were standing before us peaks 
 green and clear, while others had now gentle mists 
 clambering up their sides, or flowing in a level line along 
 their breasts. One was utterly covered with the thinnest 
 possible mist, like a veil of gauze or net, quite transparent, 
 hanging in silky threads from bough to bough, while the 
 green waters of the Atlantic on the other side were now 
 assuming a somewhat altered and more gloomy aspect, all 
 which caused us to think that Neptune in anger had lifted 
 his trident, or that JEolus had excited the winds. We 
 entered, however, the " Round House Hotel," which is 
 situated on the most fascinating part of the road, and 
 after a little refreshment came out to witness a change in 
 the scene. The threatened rupture was over a truce 
 had been arranged the firmanent was again glorious. 
 Beauty and gloom had striven, and the strife had 
 terminated. The mists that had been coiling themselves 
 on the hill tops had withdrawn as vanquished foes, while 
 the sun in his former beauty and brilliancy danced upon 
 the pellucid waters beneath, of pure and sparkling green. 
 The power of summer seemed victoriously to have gained 
 the ascendancy on land and sea, and the exultant earth 
 around us appeared to raise a Benedicite, as thrilling and 
 as tuneful as when the winds are out, and the woods and
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 55 
 
 waterfalls and clamorous caverns are swelling the outbreak 
 of stormy praise to -God. In concert with Nature, and 
 with the inspired prophet, we raised our united voices and 
 cried out " Ye showers and dews, bless ye the Lord ; ye 
 mountains and hills, praise the Lord ; ye seas and rivers, 
 bless ye the Lord praise and exalt Him for ever." 
 
 It was now getting late, and we, therefore, descended 
 on the opposite side of the mountain which, overlooking 
 the city and bay, leads to Government Gardens, and 
 exhibits in its heights and windings, valleys wild and 
 beautiful, protecting in their bosom fertile nooks, rich in 
 vegetable gardens, and orchards laden with fruits, con- 
 tiguous to the warm residences of comfortable farmers. 
 On the right stands Table Mountain which we had the 
 advantage of seeing by moonlight, thus adding much to 
 the beauty of the scene. Table Mountain is by no means 
 the loftiest in South Africa, its height being only 3582 
 feet ; there are others which overtop it by 6000 feet, but 
 it is so peculiar in shape, so solitary in grandeur, 
 especially at night so unlike, in fact, every other 
 mountain, that it demands, and receives, the highest 
 admiration. On the evening in question the moon shone 
 forth with peculiar brightness, and the stars were peeping 
 as if in pleasantry from the heavens. A mist had 
 gathered at the mountain's base, which gave it a striking, 
 shall I say, magic appearance. It looked like a 
 tremendous rock suspended in the air, and having no 
 more connexion with the earth than with the stars 
 glittering in the heavens. "We gazed, admired, then 
 passed away, satisfied with the beauties, grandeur, and 
 magnificence of the views presented to us on that day. 
 
 5th. In concluding this chapter, I will introduce the 
 reader to a lovely road, nine miles long, from Cape Town
 
 56 TWELVE YEARS IN SDtJTH AFRICA. 
 
 to the enchanting groves of Wynburg and Constantia. The 
 first part of this road is rather dreary and much exposed 
 to wind and heat, but when you arrive at Howbray, you 
 gaze upon a line of mountains, calm, solemn, silent, but 
 majestic in grandeur. The road is lined with the villas of 
 he aristocracy, and is for about six miles one vast combi- 
 nation of forest and garden. You pass through "Rose 
 Bank " and Rondebosch, and then arrive at the Dominican 
 Convent, "Wynburg, and further on you enter the vine- 
 yards of Constantia, the most celebrated in South Africa, 
 where the air is exhilirating, and glorious scenery 
 surrounds you. 
 
 At Rondebosch, four miles from Cape Town, there is a 
 Catholic Church, Presbytery, and School, founded by the 
 great Bishop Griffith ; and again at Wynburg you find the 
 Dominican Convent Schools and Church ; a little further 
 on you have the Catholic Churches of Kalk Bay and 
 Simonstown, both founded by Bishop Griffith. 
 
 A word about the Dominican Convent at "Wynburg. 
 
 A branch of the Dominican Nuns, from Cabra, Dublin, 
 was introduced, as I have before observed, into the Western 
 district of the Cape in 1863, by the Right Rev. Bishop 
 Grimley, a residence having been previously provided for 
 them by his Lordship's predecessor, Right Rev; Dr. 
 Griffith. I have already stated that the noble and suc- 
 cessful efforts of the daughters of St. Dominick gave an 
 impulse and a tone to female education, just as the sub- 
 sequent introduction of the Marist Brothers created a spirit 
 of competition and emulation in the training of boys, which 
 placed the Catholic Church at the Cape, where Laing, the 
 scholar and traveller, says he always found her, viz., at 
 the head of general education. 
 
 The good Nuns had not been long engaged in the work
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 57 
 
 of education, when the result of their efforts was stamped 
 upon their pupils. A polite and reverential address, well 
 ordered independence of character, accompanied by singular 
 modesty, religious behaviour, actuated and governed evi- 
 dently by interior piety, docility, and obedience, clearly 
 the effect of religious influence, were some of the fruits of 
 the conventual training of the young ladies of Cape Town, 
 which arrested attention and elicited most eulogistic 
 remarks from many outside the Catholic Church. 
 
 Such has been the success of the Nuns that they have 
 branched out to Wynburg, to which lovely and salubrious 
 village I have just referred. Here they have secured a 
 magnificent establishment, which serves all the purposes 
 of Convent, Boarding and Day Schools. A sum of nearly 
 2000 has been lately subscribed to erect a Church on the 
 Convent grounds. The Convent, situated in a highly attrac- 
 tive and picturesque neighbourhood, renders it a valuable 
 acquisition ; the surrounding view is pleasingly diversified 
 by wood and water, rich meadows, and highly cultivated 
 tracts deepening the prospect, while thick forests and 
 bold mountains form a background which displays to still 
 greater advantage the lines of graceful beauty that mark 
 the landscape. Standing under the verandah in front of 
 the Convent, the eye ranges over vegetable gardens, flower 
 beds, ponds, and an abundance of fruit trees, while the 
 forest (also on the Convent grounds) sweeps around with a 
 frontage of luxuriant evergreens and noble trees; render- 
 ing the spot one of fascinating beauty. 
 
 My first visit to Mowbray, Eondebosch, and Wynburg 
 was not made on foot, I was driven in an open carriage by 
 a good, but rather garrulous friend, and as I jotted in my 
 diary what occurred, I shall transcribe here a modicum. 
 
 A little after leaving Cape Town I noticed the College
 
 58 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 for the education of Caffirs, and this led my loquacious 
 companion to tell the following anecdote : " Some years 
 ago at a Methodist Mission Station, a certain Hotte'ntot 
 manifested his desire and asserted his right to become a 
 preacher of God's Holy "Word; he was an ill-looking 
 fellow with awfully large ugly feet, each foot being nearly 
 the size of an ordinary frying-pan. One Sunday, during a 
 prayer meeting, the preacher addressing him solemnly, 
 asked ' Well, John, do you still insist on your vocation 
 to preach the Word of God ? ' ' Most decidedly ; I feel the 
 Spirit calling me.' ' Do you believe in the whole Bible ?' 
 ' Certainly.' ' Read then the 10th chapter and 15th verse of 
 St. Paul to the Romans, and there you find these words : 
 "How BEAUTIFUL Lord are the FEET of those that 
 preach the Gospel of peace." 3 John took up his hat and 
 walked out ; he saw that he had not the mark of a divine 
 vocation." 
 
 We had not proceeded far when my friend, who was 
 brimful of anecdote, had another occasion for the develop- 
 ment of his talent, which I much enjoyed. The circum- 
 stance which called it forth was an unfortunate one, the 
 breaking down of an old cab on the road, whereupon 
 my companion said, " Well, your Reverence, this puts me 
 in mind of a quare thing that occurred in Cape Town once. 
 A gentleman was walking on a terribly rainy day through 
 the town, drenched to the skin ; he at length espied a cab, 
 and hailed it ; it was a rickety old concern ; however, he 
 rejoiced at the thought of finding any assistance ; he got 
 in and was driven off at a rapid pace ; after a few minutes 
 the bottom of the rickety cab fell out, with the seats and 
 cushions. The passenger roared, screamed, cursed, swore, 
 called the police, cried out ' Murder ! ' but it was to no avail ; 
 the cabman was totally unconscious of the accident, and
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 59 
 
 drove on at full speed the horse, no doubt, feeling his 
 burden lightened but the unlucky passenger was obliged 
 to run inside, and to mind his steps,' for one false one, too 
 forward or too backward, might have killed him ; at length 
 the cab stopped, and the man opening the door, walked 
 out coolly, and addressing the driver, who had no idea what- 
 ever of the occurrence, said, ' Here is your fare, and to tell 
 you the truth, I might as well have walked, if it were not 
 for the respectability of the thing.' The cabman on reach- 
 ing home discovered the mishap, and upon being remon- 
 strated with, said, ' Och, don't bother me, the fellow was 
 of one those Irish Soupers ; he deserved a dressing." 
 
 But this characteristic observation of the Irish cabman, 
 whose tender sympathies did not extend to Soupers, in- 
 duces me to relate a short anecdote of how a well-meaning 
 Irishman managed to shake off the encroachments of a 
 member of the Souperizing fraternity once so zealous (?) 
 so well paid ! so anxious for the salvation of lean- 
 stomached Catholics ! yet who were thoroughly repu- 
 diated by the starving Irish, whose trust, even in the 
 depths of their poverty, was placed, not in soup, but in 
 God, knowing that "it is not by bread alone that man 
 lives, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of 
 God." 
 
 Here is the anecdote : 
 
 " Some time ago a Priest was called to attend a dying 
 person, and was greatly disturbed during the adminis- 
 tration of the last rites of the Church by a loud uproar 
 in the court. On leaving, he saw one of the men who go 
 about tampering with the faith of the poor by the offer of 
 an abundant supply of soup, bread, &c., if they will join 
 them in prayer, who are familiarly called Soupers. He 
 was rushing out of a neighbouring house, in a dripping
 
 60 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 wet condition, whilst a shoemaker (one of the Priest's 
 flock) was brandishing his last in triumph. On inquiring 
 the cause, the man replied, ' Sure, your Biverince, come 
 in, and sit down, and it's myself will tell you the 
 thruth of the matter. The man you've just seen go 
 out, comes every week bothering the life out of me to 
 sav some of his prayers, and have some of his soup ; so I 
 thought to-day I'd be curing him intirely. "When he 
 arrived, I said, ' Come in, come in wid you, and let 's have 
 the prayers.' In he comes all in a hurry, and says 'We '11 
 never mind kneeling down, we can pray sitting,' 'Any 
 way you like,' said I. Then after he had said the prayers, 
 he read a chapter out of the Bible, and got up to go away, 
 exceedingly satisfied. Then I just jumped up, and locked 
 the door, and tould him he 'd better wait a bit until I 
 had my turn. So then I got out my prayer-book, and 
 tould him to go down on his knees. Oh ! if your Biver- 
 ence had but seen him, how he opened his eyes, and said 
 he would never do that. ' Oh ! but you must,' said I, 
 taking up the last, or ' I '11 let you feel the benefit of this.' 
 So he got down, ' Now then, you will answer me all that 
 I tell you/ and I began the Litany of the Blessed Virgin. 
 He said, ' Lord have mercy on us,' without much trouble, 
 but when we came to the words, ' Holy Mary, pray for us,' 
 sure and didn't he cry out he 'd never worship the Virgin 
 Mary, and kept on saying, ' Lord have mercy on us.' 
 ' There 's never a Lord in the case/ said I, ' it 's only my 
 Lady, and if you don't say, " Holy Mary, pray for us," 
 (twirling the last above his head) won't I be after giving 
 you this ! ' Then he thought better of it, and answered 
 quite dacently. Then I took him through the Litany of 
 the Saints. When we'd finished that I took out the 
 bades. ' Now,' said I, ' we '11 finish up with the Eosary.'
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA, 61 
 
 The sight of the bades nearly sent him clean out of his 
 senses (only he hadn't any), and he protested he 'd never 
 be guilty of such idolatry. 'Now then,' says I, 'if 
 you don't be quiet, and say what I tell you, I shall throw 
 the whole of that bowl of wather over you.' And sure the 
 only way of making him raisonable was to be after doing 
 it, so when the wather came trickling over him, he 
 answered, and I made him say word for word all the 
 blessed bades the best thing he ever did in his life. ' And 
 now,' says I, ' be off wid yourself, and this is the way I 
 shall sarve ye whenever ye come bothering me wid your 
 prayers and soup. 5 "
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 HALL, in his Geography of South Africa, truly observes, 
 that "hot as the climate generally is in the summer 
 months, the prevailing dryness of the atmosphere renders 
 it, except in very few localities, one of the healthiest in 
 the world, and with the exception of Australia, the Cape 
 climate stands highest for salubrity in the statistics of 
 every medical department." (See Half, p. 113.) What 
 Livingstone says of the climate on the borders of the 
 Kalihari desert may be applied with almost equal truth to 
 nearly all South Africa. " It is," he says, " the complete 
 antipodes to our cold, damp, English winter. The 
 atmosphere never has that steamy, debilitating effect so 
 well known in India, and in parts of the coast region of 
 South Africa itself. You may sleep out of doors at night 
 with the most perfect impunity." In travelling through 
 the country lying near the Orange river, in the districts 
 of Fraserburg and Victoria West, and also in George and 
 Oudtshoorn, I have frequently realized to myself the 
 words of Livingstone. When speaking of Bango, he 
 says " I have often thought in travelling through this 
 land that it presents pictures of beauty which angels 
 might enjoy. How often have I beheld in still mornings, 
 scenes the very essence of beauty, and all bathed in an 
 atmosphere of delicious warmth, to which the soft breeze 
 imparts a pleasing sensation of coolness, as if from a fan." 
 I have met many Europeans who came, acting under 
 medical advice, to South Africa with pulmonary com-
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 63 
 
 plaints, and who have been completely restored to health. 
 A. Wilmot, Esq., of Port Elizabeth, author of the 
 History of the Cape Colony, &c., in an article contributed 
 by him to the Month for April, says : 
 
 - "Rivers rather drain than water the country, as they rush 
 from very high table land with immense velocity to the ocean. 
 Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State, is only 
 four hundred miles distant from Port Elizabeth, Algoa Bay, 
 and it is three thousand feet above the level of the sea. In 
 proceeding from any part of the coast inland the traveller has 
 to cross lofty chains of mountains, and finds himself in great 
 table lands, intersected by high ground, and possessing a 
 most delicious and healthy climate. Grahamstown, in the 
 Cape Colony, is about twelve hundred feet above the level of 
 the sea, and only forty miles from the sea coast, and statistics 
 of the British army prove that there was here a less per- 
 centage of illness and of death than at any other place in the 
 world where our troops were stationed. The Free State is a 
 well-known sanatarium for patients suffering from all forms 
 of bronchial disease, and its pure dry air imparts additional 
 vitality to weak and enfeebled frames. The seaports of the 
 Cape Colony are perfectly healthy, and D'Urban, in Natal, is 
 also unexceptionable, but it is quite different as regards 
 harbours further up the coast. During the summer months, 
 from November to March inclusive, a deadly fever prevails at 
 Delagoa Bay, to which hundreds of Europeans have been 
 victims, and the same destructive climate extends, even in a 
 worse form, not merely to the other Portuguese ports of the 
 east coast, but throughout the extensive belt of country which 
 stretches from the sea to the mountains. This tract comprises, 
 for the most part, a wild jungle as unreclaimed as it was when 
 the first Jesuit Missioners to South Africa fell victims to its 
 fatal malaria. But a safe road to the interior has now been 
 opened throughout the healthy countries of the south. 
 Entering either by Port Elizabeth or Natal, traders now travel 
 comparatively secure from danger, either from fever or savages, 
 up through the highlands of the interior to the Zambesi river, 
 and thence they can now pursue their journey to the new settle- 
 ment on Lake Nyssa, and Stanley has already pioneered the 
 way thence to the sources of the Nile. Lieutenant Cameron's 
 recent wonderful journey from the east to the west of the 
 Continent still further establishes the fact that the countries 
 now being opened up are not only remarkably fertile, and 
 rich in mineral wealth, but teeming with population."
 
 64 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 But I need not call witnesses to my aid, for I have 
 myself dwelt in South Africa for twelve years, and jhave 
 travelled in season and out of season; and yet for ten 
 and a half years I enjoyed good health in spite of all my 
 privations. During the course of the year 1866, I slept 
 in the bushes 121 nights without a tent with simply 
 two sheepskin blankets, one under and one over, and 
 though at other times I have felt more comfortable, still 
 I never felt more happy. 
 
 Speaking of Queen's Town and Craddock, which are in 
 the Eastern district, Hall says : " In the summer months 
 the thunder-storms constantly occurring on the summits 
 of the high mountains, render the air cool and agreeable ; 
 and the winters, though sharp, are always clear and 
 bracing. Indeed, for pulmonary complaints, medical men 
 agree that there is no finer climate in the world." 
 
 The strong and violent winds which prevail about 
 Cape Town, from the beginning of December to the end 
 of February, are remarkable ; they are called South- 
 East winds, and the celebrated tablecloth on Table 
 Mountain top is dropped by them. The upper surface of 
 this majestic white cap is smoothed off like a well dressed 
 peruke its northern border hangs over the precipice, 
 drapery fashion ; but during very strong winds it pours 
 down like a cataract, to about a thousand feet from the 
 summit, where, entering a warmer atmosphere, it dissolves 
 and disappears. These winds are most disagreeable, but 
 so salubrious as to be called the Cape Doctor. 
 
 Thunderstorms are not often witnessed in or about 
 Cape Town, but in the districts of George Town, 
 Beaufort West, Natal, and Diamond Fields they are 
 terrifically grand, and in the summer months occur 
 generally two or three times a week. As a general rule,
 
 TWELVE "YEAllS IN SOUTH AFRICA, 65 
 
 you may expect a terrific display of thunder and 
 lightning after a few hot days. Once I remember to 
 have gone panting for breath, during one of these storms, 
 to my front door, thinking I might sniff some aqueous 
 blast. I saw clouds forming themselves into array on the 
 horizon ; a hot scotching wind was blowing ; the atmos- 
 phere, laden with clouds of dust, assumed- a dull yellow 
 tinge. The clouds accumulated, and rolled over each 
 other in dark smoky looking masses, until the whole sky 
 gradually became overcast. There now appeared a bank 
 of dense black cloud on the horizon, and the very earth 
 was darkened by the shadow cast from the heavens. The 
 rumbling of distant thunder was soon heard, and in about 
 twenty minutes the whole heavens seemed convulsed^- 
 bright and vivid flashes of lightning darted in all direc- 
 tions. The sight was terrific, but grand, as each thunder 
 cloud discharged itself before me. 
 
 Glanville's Guide, lately published, by no means ex- 
 aggerates the case, when it states of " Colonial South 
 Africa " that : 
 
 " The climate of this part of the colonial world is probably 
 unsurpassed for general agreeableness and healthiness. Long 
 stretches of fine, bright, warm weather are succeeded by rains 
 which sometimes are very heavy, but more frequently are 
 lighter and of briefer duration than the agriculturist desires. 
 
 "The winter is short and mild, snow falling only on the 
 summit of the higher mountain ranges. The heat of mid- 
 summer is, of course, more intense than that of an English 
 July, but at 110 time is it so excessive as to interfere with out- 
 of-door occupations. South Africa has been occupied with 
 Europeans for quite 200 years, and has been therefore tested 
 as a habitation for white men. The descendants of the earliest 
 Dutch settlers are amongst the most robust and largest speci- 
 mens of the liumau race. The sanitary returns of the British 
 army show that the South African garrisons have been re- 
 markably healthy. To persons suffering from chest diseases 
 there are particular parts of South Africa which are especially 
 "suitable."
 
 66 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 And further on the author, writing of the " Cape of 
 Good Hope," says : 
 
 " There is probably no one physical feature of a new 
 country which awakens as much anxiety in an intending 
 emigrant as climate. And this anxiety is not allayed by 
 scientific statements. It is, however, -necessary to preface prac- 
 tical remarks with meteorological facts and figures. The 
 mean temperature of Capetown is 61 26' Fahrenheit. Other 
 places in the colony show a lower mark. Capetown is but 
 little above the sea level, and there are altitudes within the 
 Cape of 8000 feet. But it is fair to take the facts of climate 
 from the larger centres of population. Some towns might 
 possibly show an average slightly higher than Capetown, 
 while that of many others is certainly lower. The mean 
 temperature of London is 50 deg. In comparison with 
 London, therefore, the Cape Colony must be considered to be 
 decidedly warm. But it must be remembered that the excess 
 of heat is distributed over all the seasons, and is not poured 
 into the Cape summer alone. Part of it makes the Cape's 
 winter mild,' wftile other parts soften the Cape spring, and 
 mellow the Cape autumn. No doubt t3io glass registers a 
 higher figure in the summer at tlie Cape than it doe$ in 
 
 -Vi " 1 i 1 ,1 i i i- ,'*>*" f\ i jl 
 
 ^England, and the heat is more continuous. One or two other 
 '-itaS-pariBons must be made. The mean temperature of Cal- 
 cutta is 78 4' ; of Bombay, 81 ; and of Madras, 84. That of 
 Sierra Leone, in tropical Africa, is 76 3', and of the Gold 
 Coast, 81.' That of Jamaica, hi the West Indies, is 81. From 
 those statements it will be seen that the mean temperature of 
 Cape, .6.3, is nearet that of southern England than (]' 
 these tropical countries where Englishmen, nevertheless, 
 manage to live in rpkrablo numbers. It is 20 degrees belo\i" 
 that of Madras; i 13 degrees above that of London. Com- 
 pared with the climate of the other British Colonies in tin; 
 . southern hemisphere, that of the Cape occupies a good position. 
 Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide have about the same mean 
 temperature a s the Cape. The American Colonies, Canada, 
 Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, &o., have a much lower register, 
 running principally to the excessive region of their winter. 
 The south of Europe, including Italy, Greece, and Spain, 
 comes under the Isothermal line of GO degrees, and it may be 
 Baid that the climate of the Cape, as far as temperature is con- 
 versed, is not unlike that of the European Mediterranean 
 couaicie r L.thaWiijiters.'bciiig not quite so cold and the summers 
 'scarcely, if at all, warmer."
 
 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 67 
 
 HEALTH. 
 
 " The intending emigrant is not, however, content with 
 figures and comparisons which he is perhaps not able to test 
 by experience. He wishes to know, for instance, when think- 
 ing of the Cape Colony, whether the heat at any time is so 
 fierce as to prevent out-of-door employment. This question 
 has already been answered in our paragraph on climate in the 
 Colonial South African chapter, but it may as well be repeated 
 here, that, as a rule, physical labour may be carried on by 
 white men in the open air all through the Cape year without 
 danger to health. This has been proved by experience ex- 
 tending through several generations. Since the discovery of 
 the Diamond Fields in 1869, white men have worked in the 
 ' claims,' summer and winter, under conditions of exceptional 
 hardship without injury to health. As a matter of course, 
 the summer heat makes itself felt. So it does in England. 
 As the Cape summer is more prolonged than the English, 
 inferences will be drawn which follow, as a matter of course. 
 But if a Cape summer is exacting when compared with the 
 English season, it must be remembered that the English 
 winter, with its itense cold, its fogs, mists, and oft-recurring 
 rain-falls, is not known at the Cape. In this there is com- 
 pensation. Another point about which an emigrant thinks a 
 great deal, is the general effect of climate upon health. Is 
 the Cape a place of fever, cholera, or plague ? Is it supposed 
 to be favourable to those diseases which attack important 
 organs the liver or the lungs ? Are people frequently 
 obliged to leave it in search of health ? Is the length of 
 human life there below the average ? Do children and chil- 
 dren's children show signs of physical decline ? These 
 questions may all be confidently answered in the negative, and 
 it may be as confidently said that the Cape is not only re- 
 markably free from any suspicion of being specially favourable 
 to disease, .but that it is positively restorative in cases of con- 
 sumption and asthma, tlidse scolti'ges of^Eifglahd, certain 
 localities in the colony having a decided reputation in this 
 respect. Not long ago, before the Indian furlough regu- 
 lations were altered, the Cape was a common place of resort 
 for exhausted and sick Indians of both services, and the 
 military sanitary returns have shown that the Cape canton- 
 ments are in high repute with regard to healthiness. 
 
 " Upon the whole, the Cape is as favourable to the human 
 frame as any .qtlier climate in the world. As it becomes Letter 
 known in this respect, and as the time occupied in traveiting 
 to it is shortened, the colony will become a familiar pla.ce of 
 resort for invalids and persons of delicate health."
 
 68 I'WELVE YEA1W IN SOUTH Ai-'KlCA. 
 
 Thunder storms at the Cape are productive of immense 
 good by clearing the air and supplying abundant flopds of 
 rain. 
 
 Having alluded to the excellence of the climate, and 
 consequently the health of the people at South Africa, 
 allow me to observe that although low fevers prevail from 
 time to time, especially in the neighbourhood of Natal and 
 the Diamond Fields, yet epidemics, which in Europe 
 carry off almost whole populations, are quite unknown at 
 the Cape. Cholera, that fearful scourge, which decimates 
 cities of Europe, Asia, &c., has never made its appearance ; 
 neither has small pox, except when introduced by some 
 pestiferous ship, and, strange to relate, hydrophobia, and 
 its terrible consequences, is altogether unknown. 
 
 There are a great many skilful and successful medical 
 men at the Cape, Diamond Fields, Gold Fields, and Free 
 8t:tit\ Tlio natives, however, are slow to recognise their 
 usefulness. There is an amusing anecdote of a Kaffir, 
 who, together with about 2000 others, tested the skill of 
 Dr. Fitzgerald of King William's Town. The doctor, 
 who is an Irishman and a Catholic, was most fortunate in 
 his treatment, and hence, one Kaffir, in the name of all, 
 wrote to her Majesty Queen Victoria a letter, which is 
 given in page 490 of Wilmot's History of South Africa. 
 It was written in the pure Kaffir tongue, but I give it in 
 English : 
 
 "I am very thankful to you, dearest Queen Victoria, because 
 you have sent for me a good doctor, a very clever man. I 
 was sixteen years blind, Mother and Queen, but now I see 
 perfectly. I see everything. I can see the stars, and the moon 
 and the sun. I used to be led before, but now, Mother, ! 
 Queen, I am. able to walk myself. Let God bless Mother. Thou 
 must not be tired to hear our infirmities, ! Queen Victoria. 
 
 " MAHLATI ZIKALI." 
 
 Translation LOT HEAYI (Kaffir), Interpreter to the Hospital, 
 King William's Town,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 69 
 
 The usages for cures resorted to among the natives to a 
 frightful extent, were extremely horrible, and even now 
 under the shadow of civilization, are not extinct. The 
 Kaffir doctor was an institution in his way, and his system 
 of treating disease was called the " smelling out system," 
 v "inch meant simply that when called upon to attend a 
 sick person, he superstitiously or maliciously attributed 
 the illness to whatever person he thought proper to select,, 
 The unfortunate individual thus marked out, was supposed 
 to have been " smelled out " by the doctor, and was called 
 upon to confess what he had done to cause tho disease. 
 All disorders, therefore, were supposed to have arisen from 
 the patient's being bewitched. When any one is taken 
 ill a Kaffir doctor is at once sent for, who comes dressed 
 in a fashion the most absurd, and, arrived at tho house 
 of the patient, where a crowd is assembled, he lifts his 
 "assagai," or wand, and pointing out the individual he 
 wishes to sacrifice, cries out, "That's the witch." This 
 settles the business. No matter how respectable, no matter 
 how innocent the selected victim may be, he is at once 
 condemned by all, even by his own children, and tortured 
 even to death, unless he confess that he did bewitch the 
 sick person. Some to escape punishment, cry out in the 
 midst of their torture, "I did bewitch him," and thus 
 escape. But such is the abominable system prevailing on 
 this point among the uncivilized or half- civilized, that the 
 wretch who even thus escapes with his life, loses all he had, 
 wife, children, land, flocks, everything. It is true that 
 the onward march of civilization has been for years stamp- 
 ing out these atrocious customs, but to say that they 
 are obliterated, either in practice or theory, would be 
 false,, 
 
 be that persons reading tlbjs chapter will imagine
 
 70 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 that such, a dreadful doctrine and practice can prevail only 
 very far in the interior, where civilization is unknown, but 
 let me add, for their information, that even in Cape Town 
 there exists among some this dread of being bewitched by 
 Malays or Mahometans. It is not uncommon in Cape 
 Town to find persons afflicted with diseases, partly physical, 
 partly mental, who attribute their misfortune to some 
 wicked Malay. Persons so afflicted go to a Malay doctor, 
 of whom there are several in Cape Town, and he at once 
 gives a superstitious cure, to be placed under their pillow. 
 I have met with Catholics in Cape Town, who were 
 grievously tormented from some, to them, unknown cause, 
 and who were only deterred from seeking relief from 
 Malay doctors, because the Catholic religion forbids every 
 species of superstition. 
 
 Let it not be supposed that I believe the Malays to be 
 possessed of any faculty of bewitching, but I have heard 
 that their knowledge of poisonous herbs is so acute and 
 extensive, that they can, and do poison slowly those whom 
 they hate, and this without the slightest danger of detec- 
 tion. It is also said that the Malay doctor will, upon a 
 given fee, name the author of an illness inflicted by a 
 Malay. I would be glad to see this not only repu- 
 diated, but substantially disproved by respectable Malay 
 authority at the Cape. 
 
 To return to the bewitching system of the Kaffir doctors, 
 which is now dying out, but as I have said, not extinct, 
 allow me to close this chapter with a letter, which first 
 appeared in the columns of the Frontier Times, and was 
 afterwards printed in the Blue Book Return Kaffir Tribes, 
 by order of the House of Commons, June 23rd, 1851, 
 page 177.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 71 
 
 FOBT BEATJFOBT, August 20, 184r3. 
 
 " To THE EDITOR : SIB, In a late number of your paper 
 you advert in a cursory manner to one of the greatest atrocities 
 which it is possible for the dark depravity of. man's heart to 
 plan, and its savage ferocity to execute. Many of your readers 
 who are not acquainted with the extent to which the most re- 
 fined tortures are carried in Kamrland, may feel interested 
 in the perusal of the following circumstantial account, fur- 
 nished by an eye-witness, to the revolting and blood-chilling 
 reality. It will not fail, I am sure, to awaken a feeling of 
 Christian indignation at this awful result of deep moral 
 degradation, as well as a sickening sympathy for the subject 
 of the recital, with reference to whom some of the lookers-on 
 exclaimed, ' No guilty man could ever die so bravely.' ' It 
 appears that Macomo's son, Kona, was sick ; the usual course 
 was pursued in such cases, and a witch-doctor was consulted 
 to ascertain the individual from whose evil influence he was 
 suffering ; and as is also usual under such circumstances, a 
 man of property, and by reputation a courageous man, of 
 Macomo's tribe, was selected and condemned to forfeit his 
 life for his alleged crime, unheard, and without the slightest 
 opportunity being afforded him of asserting, still less proving 
 his innocence ; it was sufficient that the doctor had said he 
 was guilty he must die ! Accordingly, to prevent his being 
 made acquainted by his friends of his awful situation, a party 
 of men left Macomo's kraal early in the morning to secure the 
 recovery of the sick young chief, by murdering one of his 
 father's subjects. The day selected for the immolation appears 
 to have been a sort of gala day with the unconscious victim ; 
 he was in his kraal, had just accomplished the slaughter of 
 one of his cattle, and was merrily contemplating the convivial 
 duties of the day before him, over which he was himself about 
 to preside. The arrival therefore of a party of men from the 
 ' great place ' gave him no other concern than what part of 
 the slaughtered animal he should give them he looked upon 
 them as his guests; but, alas! he was too soon undeceived. 
 The party seized him in his kraal, whither he had gone, of 
 course, unarmed. When he found he was secured and felt 
 the riem round his neck, he calmly said, ' It is my misfortune 
 to be caught unarmed, or it should not be so.' He was then 
 ordered to produce the matter with which he had bewitched 
 his chief's son. He replied, ' I have no bewitching matter 
 that I know of, other than the body you have seized. I have 
 been twice smelt out before ; no bewitching matter has been 
 found, and I am not conscious of having secreted any ; my
 
 /2 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 person alone can possess the evil influence, therefore destroy 
 it but do it quickly if my chief has already consented to my 
 death.' His executioners expressed their determination to 
 torture him until he produced it. He replied, ' Save your- 
 selves the trouble, for torture me as you will, I can never 
 produce what I do not possess.' He was then held to the 
 ground, and several men now pierced his body all over with 
 Kaffir needles, two or thee inches deep. The victim bore this 
 with extraordinary resolution ; his tormenters tired com- 
 plaining of the pain it gavo their hands, and of the needles or 
 skewera bending. By this time a large fire was kindled, into 
 which lai-go cquare stones were placed to heat. The sufferer 
 was then ordered to stand up ; he complied, They pointed 
 out to him the fire, telling him it was for his further torture 
 unless he produced the bewitched matter. He replied, ' I told 
 you the truth when I said, save yourselves such trouble it is 
 my misfortune, not my crime. As regards the hot stones I 
 can bear them, for I am innocent; I feel no more apprehension 
 than I should at sitting comfortably in my house (here he 
 described a particular position Kaffirs are all fond of sitting 
 in). I would beseech you to strangle me at once, but that you 
 would say I shrink at what you are about to do to me. If, how- 
 ever, your object is merely that of extorting confession from 
 me, save yourselves the trouble and kill me outright, for your 
 hot stones do nor scare me.' Here his wife, who had also 
 been seized, was stripped perfectly naked, and most cruelly 
 beaten and otherwise ill-treated. The victim was then led to 
 the fire, where he was laid on his back, with his feet and arms 
 tied to pegs driven into the ground for the purpose. The 
 stones being by this time as hot as they could be made, were 
 taken out of the fire and placed upon his groin, stomach, and 
 chest; these were supported by others on each side of him, 
 also heated, and pressed against his body. It is impossible to 
 describe the awful effect of this process. I must leave the 
 scorching and broiling of the body, the fumes of smoke and 
 occasionally flashes of flame arising therefrom, to the imagi- 
 nation of your readers. The very stones, as if refusing to be 
 made further instruments of such cruelty, slip off the body in 
 consequence of the unctuous matter they have drawn from it, 
 and are kept on by being pressed down with sticks by the 
 fiendish executioners. With all this the sufferer still remained 
 sensible. He was asked whether he wished to be released to 
 discover his hidden charm. He replied, ' Release me.' They 
 did so, fully expecting they had vanquished his resolution. 
 To the amazement of all, he stood up, but what a sight a 
 human being broiled alive, hi? flesh, hanging in large pie^"
 
 TWELVE \EARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 78 
 
 from his body like the seared hide of an ox ! He composedly 
 asked his tormentors, 'What do you wish me to do now?' 
 They repeated their original demand ; he resolutely adhered 
 to his declaration of innocence, and begged of them now that 
 they appeared tired of their labour, to shorten it and put him 
 out of his misery. The noose of the riem round his neck, 
 which had been hitherto secured from slipping by a knot, was 
 released, and while the heroic sufferer was still standing, it 
 was violently jerked by several men until he fell, when he was 
 dragged about the ground until they were satiated ; and 
 finally, placing their feet on the back of his neck, they drew 
 the noose so tight as to complete the strangulation ; then as :L 
 not vet satisfied so Vave a man had ceased to be, he was taken 
 iuto his own house, tied to one of the supporting poles of it, 
 the house set on fire and the body burned to ashes! Thus 
 died a man whose extraordinary fortitude and endurance de- 
 served a better fate. His sufferings commenced about ten 
 A.M., and terminated with his existence a little before sunset. 
 " Who, unmoved, can read this tragic tale ? Is it merciful ; 
 is it Christian-like nay ; is it sound policy to sanction the in- 
 dependent existence of communities governed by laws which 
 admit of such dark practices ? On the contrary, will not part 
 of the guilt of this very man's blood lie at our own door ? 
 
 " I am, &c., 
 
 " A KEADER."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AMONG all educated classes of society in every country 
 some knowledge of music and dancing is considered 
 indispensable ; but in South Africa the rage' for these 
 accomplishments penetrates all classes, so that masons, 
 blacksmiths, and tradesmen in general, as well as petty 
 shopkeepers, give their daughters a smattering at least of 
 vocal and instrumental music ; and it is by no means un- 
 common to find a piano, worth thirty or forty guineas, in 
 the houses of such persons as in Europe would not even 
 dream of a luxury beyond a flute or a fiddle. There are 
 several volunteer bands and musical societies, and the most 
 praiseworthy efforts are made on all sides to encourage 
 the cultivation of this refined art, which is well named 
 divine. 
 
 The natives may be said to join in the general chorus, 
 their taste and aptitude being remarkable. You will often 
 meet a band of Hottentots on a festival day walking about 
 the streets, and producing popular airs upon rudely made 
 reed instruments, mingled with tin whistles, old kettles, 
 with a barrel as a drum. While serenading in this 
 manner they usually ornament their heads with feathers 
 and strips of coloured papers, and are led on by some fan- 
 tastic creature carrying a pole with a piece of coloured 
 calico as a banner. 
 
 Le Vaillant, in his Travels, vol. i., page 19, says, " The 
 women at the Cape in general play on the harpsichord ; they 
 likewise love singing, and are distractedly fond of dancing;
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 75 
 
 so that a week seldom passes without their having several 
 balls; the officers belonging to the ships in the roads 
 frequently procure them this amusement. On my arrival, 
 the Governor had a custom of giving a public ball 
 once a month, and the people of distinction followed his 
 example." 
 
 "What Le Vaillant wrote of the Cape in his day, would 
 be a good description of it to-day. Indeed public balls in 
 Cape Town and Simon's Town are frequently got up on a 
 scale of great splendour; especially when the bays are 
 favoured by the presence of a squadron, a fleet, or even a 
 man-of-war. 
 
 Le Vaillant, further speaking of the native customs in 
 this respect, says, " The Hottentots, in dancing form them- 
 selves into a ring, by taking hold of each other's hands. 
 The women and men are in equal number, and stand alter- 
 nately. The chain formed, they turn different ways ; at 
 intervals they clap their hands all together, without any 
 interruption to the cadence. Their voices unite with the 
 sound of their instruments, often repeating ' Hoo ! Hoo ! ' 
 which is the general cadence. Sometimes one of the 
 dancers, quitting the extremity of the circle, places him- 
 self in the centre, where he begins a dance, which bears 
 some resemblance to an English hornpipe; the whole 
 merit consisting in its being executed with rapidity and 
 decision without stirring from the spot. During the entire 
 dance the performers make a kind of monotonous hum- 
 ming. The musical instruments which, for their supposed 
 excellence, are most admired here, are the Goura or Joum 
 Joum, the Rdbouquin, and the Homelpot. The Rabouquin 
 is a triangular piece of wood, on which are extended three 
 strings fastened to pegs that can be tightened or slackened 
 at pleasure, in the manner of our European instruments ;
 
 76 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 it is indeed a guitar. The Romclpot is the most noisy of 
 all their instruments. It is made of the hollowe^ trunk 
 of a tree from two to three feet high ; over one end they 
 extend the skin of a sheep, well tanned, which they beat 
 with their hands, or rather with their fists, and sometimes 
 with a stick." 
 
 This description of Lc Vailiant brings back to my mind, 
 i. .Bushman dance, which I myself witnessed, and in which 
 I took part. It was in the year 1867 when travelling 
 through the most distant portion of the "Nieuw Yeldt, or 
 new field that I met a party of Bushmen and women, 
 enjoying one of their savage dances, during which, yelling; 
 accompanied by the peculiar click of the Bushman's 
 tongue, rendered the scene ludicrous in the extreme. 
 However, wishing to avoid the appearance of too great a 
 singularity, I joined hands in the ring, and gaily danced. 
 At certain parts the whole company knelt on one knee, 
 bending their bodies to one side ; this I too did, but very 
 awkwardly, eliciting roars of laughter from the illustrious 
 savages. The late Bishop Grimley, after his return to the 
 Cape, from the Vatican Council, told me that he had re- 
 lated this incident to the amusement of many Bishops in 
 Rome. 
 
 The advance of civilization and religion is facilitated 
 very much by music. Hence, clergymen going on the 
 South African Mission should acquire a knowledge, at 
 least, of the harmonium, as music attracts the natives to 
 the Church, and thus gains an opportunity for the 
 Miesioner to instruct them in the principles of the 
 Christian faith- 
 
 The Catholic Church is not behind hand, but rather 
 occupies a conspicuous position in. this matter of sacred 
 music R.t fho Cape- Thp, JR..O. Qathedral in Cape Town lias
 
 .LWELVE YEAKS IJ* SOUTH Al'RJLOA. 77 
 
 very attractive choir, while at Port Elizabeth an organ has 
 been lately erected at a cost of 2000. The Missioners of 
 the Oblate Fathers among the Basuturs, of whom several 
 hundred are good Catholics, can boast of a choir composed 
 of natives, who sing, not only Vespers, but various Masses, 
 with great accuracy and sweetness. The late Bishop 
 Grimley, though not a musician himself, used every effort 
 to develope and advance the study of music among the 
 Catholic body ; his character, as I observed in the last 
 chapter, was distinguished for many acts of liberality and 
 kindness. He knew all his people individually, he ad- 
 dressed every little Catholic child he met in the streets ; 
 and hence the people loved him. On one occasion a re- 
 spectable member of the congregation was in distress, 
 and the good Bishop offered the use of the Cathedral for a 
 tSacred Concert and Lecture, in order to assist him. The 
 Lecture he gave himself before an audience composed of 
 the elite of Cape Town. I was present at it, and think it 
 will be interesting if introduced here. 
 
 LECTUEE ON SACKED MUSIC. 
 
 TRULY has the inspired penman expressed it, " God is the 
 Author of every good and perfect gift." To His bounty we 
 owe whatever contributes to our use or happiness. Some 
 oi the most valuable of temporal blessings He bestows with- 
 out our co-operation, or the intermediate agency of creatures ; 
 others He deigns to make the immediate reward of human 
 industry, judiciously employed on the talents, which He alone 
 can furnish. Nearly all the fine arts, the sciences, many of 
 the institutions that adorn the condition of man, are among 
 the splendid results of human ingenuity thus bestowed. They 
 .are monuments at once of the Creator's unmeasured liberality 
 to man, and of the triumphs man's invention can achieve. 
 But it does not appear that music can justly be reckoned 
 among the results either of chance or industry ; for it seems 
 to be coeval with man himself, and the bountiful gift of the 
 Creator,
 
 78 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 The ancients, unable to ascend to the origin of music, 
 represent the remotest generations as inheriting the art from 
 a long line of ancestry. The heroes of the oldest poets, 
 too, even the martial Achilles, were all musicians; and 
 mythology, while it attributed to its gods and goddesses some 
 improvements in melody or the invention of some additional 
 instrument, tacitly confessed that the origin of music was 
 anterior to the existence of these deities. 
 
 The Sacred Scriptures trace back the current of time to its 
 very fountain, but they draw around the early history of man 
 a veil which curiosity can never penetrate. Through its folds 
 a few only of the most colossal events can be dimly discerned. 
 All we are allowed to know of the history of the world for 
 more than 2000 years is conveyed in less than 300 sentences. 
 But brief as the epitome is, its inspired author deemed the 
 progress of music worthy of being distinctly noticed. It 
 records of Jubal, the seventh descendant, yet the contem- 
 porary of Adam, that he was the father of them that play 
 upon the harp and on the organ. This authentic testimony 
 traces back the history of music more than 1000 years before 
 the Deluge, and nearly 2000 years before the earliest vestige 
 of any of its sister arts or sciences. 
 
 Music appears inherent in the nature which it pleased his 
 Creator to assign to man. Music is felt and understood by 
 the whole human race; the infant and the savage feel its 
 influence. If you traverse the globe, from pole to pole, you 
 ran discover no tribe of the desert so savage, so despoiled of 
 humanity, as to be insensible to music, or strangers to its 
 enjoyment. 
 
 But there was no public purpose to which vocal music was 
 BO universally applied by.iueji.as the worship of the Deity. 
 It was never heard in the camp of gome nations, nor in the 
 tbanquets of others, nor in the theatres of several. But there 
 was no nation or tribe that did not employ it to praise the 
 .beneficence or deprecate the anger of a Supreme JBeing. The 
 pagans, though enveloped in the shade of death, could read 
 in the revelation of their own reason that "the Lord hath 
 made all tilings for Himself," and that His wisdom demands 
 1hat the gifts and talents He bestows on men should be em- 
 ployed, to His glory. This is the noblest purpose to which 
 music can be applied. 
 
 Ilm lifts the *oul to Leave-!.. 1 ' 
 We cannot assign any period as a commencement to the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 79 
 
 custom of worshipping God in songs of praise. The Scripture 
 represents the morning stars as hymning His glory during 
 the work of creation. "Where wast thou," said the Lord 
 to Job, " when I laid the foundations of the earth? When 
 the morning stars praised Me together." The use of melody 
 in their religious worship appears to have been universally 
 familiar to the Hebrews long before they received the cove- 
 nant on Sinai. It was before the law that Moses burst forth 
 into that sublime canticle of gratitude and benediction, "Let 
 us sing to the Lord, for He is gloriously magnified ; the horse 
 and the rider He hath thrown into the sea ; He is my God 
 and I will glorify Him ; the God of my father, and I will 
 exalt Him." This inspired song, the oldest poetical com- 
 position now extant in the world, was sung by Moses and 
 625,550 men of age for war, while his sister, Mary the Pro- 
 phetess, and all the women went forth with timbrels. The 
 Scripture record of the first exercise of sacred music is truly 
 magnificent. The organ of modern times dwindles into insig- 
 nificance when compared with the majestic swell of three 
 millions of living organs pouring out together their heartfelt 
 shout of praise to the great Jehovah. They sang, " Thy right 
 hand, Lord, is magnified in strength ; Thy right hand, Lord, 
 hath slain the enemy. Who is like to Thee among the 
 strong, Lord. Who is like to Thee, glorious in holiness, 
 terrible and praiseworthy, doing wonders." Shortly before 
 the (lenth of Moses, God commanded him to write a canticle 
 and tench the children of Israel, "that they; may know it by 
 toiart aftd sing ft By m'oiith, and fhat this song nii&ht be" unto 
 him. for a testimony among the children of Israel." : Theriice- 
 'forward the singing of hyirins^ became a duty of 'religion,, ajiid 
 -the rudiments of vocal music a necessary part of ha'tioiia'l 
 education. We find 'that while idolatry arid their enenties 
 ; surrounded the Israelites; Samuel encouraged the -practice of 
 sacred musk 1 ; and, as soon && the 1 nation oeuid 'app : !y : itself to 
 ;ihe arts of peace, the Royal Prophet; -rib doubt in -accordance- 
 "witfh the law, established the use of sacred' melody aS $er- 
 manent and conspicuous portion of the Jewish worship. 
 
 King David was admirably qualified to establish the Clibffyl 
 Service of Piety ; power and wealth combined to infuse into 
 his plan lofty conception^ and to facilitate their achievement. 
 He was himself an eminent poet and musician. David's 
 sacred choir consisted of 4000 Levite singers, exclusive of 
 the priests, and of 288 masters appointed to instruct them. 
 Solomon patronized all- the fine artSj but particularly music. 
 Ho wrote a collection of ,1005 songs. Josephus tells us that 
 Solomon made 200,000 trumpets for the priests, 200,000
 
 TWELVE YEARS 1JN SOUTH Ai'KICA. 
 
 garments of fine linen for the Levite singers, and 400,000 
 musical instruments, and psalteries, and harps, invented for 
 the singing of hymns. Such was the scale on which the 
 music of Solomon's temple was conducted, and it appears to 
 have continued unaltered till the Babylonish captivity. On 
 the restoration of the Jews, the choral service was re-estab- 
 lished in the new temple, on the model of the old. Among 
 the first party that returned t;o Jerusalem, under Zorobabel, 
 were 148 Levites that had formerly sung in the temple of 
 Solomon. At a later period Judas Machabeus purified the 
 temple ; it was dedicated anew with canticles, and harps, and 
 lutes, and cymbals. In fine, Josephus relates that the choral 
 service continued as it was originally instituted and arranged 
 by David, down to the destruction of the temple and the final 
 dispersion of the Jewish people. Let us now take a very 
 brief review of the history of sacred music under the New 
 Dispensation. You are well aware that while the Christian 
 religion substituted for the shadow the very substance of the 
 good things to come, while it abolished the imperfections of 
 the law (for the law brought nothing to perfection), it reli- 
 giously cherished all the natural and spiritual principles of 
 the Old Dispensation. " I am come," says its Divine Founder, 
 " not to destroy, but to fulfil the law." Whatever in the old 
 law tended to promote the worship of God " in spirit and 
 truth" was perfected and retained; the primitive Christians 
 appeared to have considered tho religious dances, the trumpets, 
 and other musical instruments of the Hebrews as unsuited to 
 the spiritual enlightenment of the Gospel. ... * Even then 
 none of the instruments known to the ancients were allowed. 
 The only one whose use was sanctioned by authority was the 
 newly invented organ, the majestic solemnity of whose tones 
 made it deserving of a special exception. 
 
 St. Augustine has justly remarked that the discipline of 
 the Church in singing hymns and psalms is warranted by the 
 Scriptures, since we have the example of our Lord and His 
 Apostles as proofs of its great utility. The glorious advent 
 of redemption was ushered in with canticles of gladness. 
 When the hour preordained by unmerited mercy arrived, the 
 birth of the Messiah was celebrated, not by earthly choirs, 
 but by a multitude of the heavenly host giving glory to Grod 
 in the highest. The Man-God not only sanctioned this 
 practice, but set Himself an example to all His followers ; 
 having concluded the unbloody Eucharistic Sacrifice, He 
 
 * The sentence omitted here was so mutilated in the original MSb. 
 that I could not decipher it, hence the blank.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 81 
 
 commenced the bloody sacrifice of the cross with a hymn chanted 
 by Himself and His Apostles " And a hymn being said, they 
 went out into Mount Olivet." St. Paul, in writing to the 
 Ephesians and Colossians, exhorts them to ' ' teach and admonish 
 one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles." 
 
 Thus far we have been enabled to trace the history of sacred 
 music on the authority of unerring inspiration. After the 
 death of St. John the Evangelist, in the year 100, we must 
 look for its progress and vicissitudes principally to the writings 
 of the Fathers of the primitive Church. Although many 
 valuable works of the second and third century were lost in 
 their progress to us, yet there are many clear and satisfactory 
 testimonies to the prevalence of sacred song long before the 
 reign of the Emperor Constantine. The persecutions raised 
 to blot out the name of Christ greatly obstructed the free use 
 of psalmody in the first ages of the Church. The sacred 
 mysteries were celebrated in catacombs or caves ; the faithful 
 resorted to them in the secrecy of night. In such circum- 
 stances, the sound of their own voices would have betrayed 
 their retreat. Such, however, was the importance attached 
 to music in Divine Service that, notwithstanding these diffi- 
 culties, we find the Church faithfully imitating the example 
 given by her spouse and His Apostles. 
 
 Pliny the Younger, in his well-known Epistle to the Emperor 
 Trajan on the State of Bithynia, in the year of our Lord 110, 
 informs him that " although he had punished the Christians 
 according to the laws, yet the only fault he could discover in 
 them was that they were accustomed to assemble before sun- 
 rise and to sing together in two choirs, alternately, hymns in 
 honour of Christ as God." Lucian distinctly alludes to the 
 prevalence of a like custom at Rome. At the opening of the 
 second century St. Ignatius, the disciple of St. John and Third 
 Successor of St. Peter in the See of Antioch, organized two 
 choirs in that city to sing hymns and psalms responsively ; this 
 mode of psalmody (as Socrates informs us) was thenceforward 
 adopted in all the Churches. In the third century the illus- 
 trious St. Cyprian, in his Oratio Dominica, writes, " When we 
 assemble with the brethren, and celebrate the Divine Sacrifice 
 with the priest of God, we should be modest and orderly, and 
 not unseasonably pour out our prayers with ill-regulated voices. 
 In a word, in every part of the globe, the most illustrious of 
 the Fathers promoted the cultivation of sacred music. St. 
 Athanasius kindled the spirit of improvement in Egypt, St. 
 Hilary in Gaul, St. Basil in Cappadocia, St. Ephrem in 
 Edessa, Flavian and Diodore in Antioch, St. Ambrose in 
 Italy, St. Chrysostom at Constantinople, and St. Augustine in 
 
 P
 
 82 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Africa. This last Father tells us, in the Ninth Book of his 
 Confessions, of the extraordinary effect produced on himself 
 by listening to the Ambrosian Chant: "How profusely, 
 Lord, did I weep at the hymns and canticles, being moved 
 and tenderly affected by the sweetly sounding voices of Thy 
 Church. These voices flowed into my ears, and truth was 
 instilled into my heart, and the affections of piety gushed 
 forth, and the tears flowed, and I was happy ! " 
 
 Time permits me merely to name the Ambrosian Chant, 
 which held an honourable rank for a considerable period, 
 and deservedly, as it producd greater consistency in the choral 
 service. But as, in process of time, the solemn, simple cha- 
 racter of this esteemed music was vitiated by the admixture 
 of profane airs and frivolous embellishments, it was reserved 
 for the most learned Pope Gregory the First, justly styled the 
 Great, totally to eradicate the evil by presenting to the Church 
 a collection of sacred music so well suited to its exalted pur- 
 poses, so universally admired, so simple, that all previous 
 systems were speedily superseded. This celebrated Pope 
 ascended the Pontifical Chair of St. Peter in the year of 
 Christ 590. One of the first objects of his pastoral zeal was 
 to improve the music of the Church. For this task he was 
 singularly qualified. He presented to the world that system 
 of sacred music which a grateful posterity has called after 
 his name, " Gregorian Chant." It is the music universally 
 approved by the Catholic Church. I feel, ladies and gentle- 
 men, it would be an intrusion on your time were I to continue 
 longer in sketching the history of sacred music. Could I 
 trespass for a moment, I would name with all honour that 
 magnificent patron of music, Alfred the Great. He founded a 
 Professorship of Music in the new University of Oxford. He 
 was an exquisite performer. An ancient story tells us that it 
 was to his musical powers on the harp that England owed the 
 restoration of her greatest king, and the recovery of her 
 liberty by the expulsion of the Northmen. "When academical 
 degrees were afterwards instituted at Oxford under Henry 
 the Second, or rather under his son, John, in 1207 (as 
 Spelman informs us), the diploma of Doctor was as for- 
 mally conferred in music as in theology, law, or medicine. 
 William the Conqueror and Richard Coeur de Lion encouraged 
 both sacred and profane music. It was the Minstrel of 
 William that led the Norman Conquerors to the first onset 
 at Hastings ; it was the Minstrel of Richard who, by recog- 
 nising his master's touch of the lyre and the melody of his 
 voice, discovered the place of his captivity and restored the 
 Royal Champion of the Cross to liberty and to England.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 83 
 
 Both these illustrious heroes attended every day, at least, one 
 solemn High Mass, and assisted in chanting the Matins and 
 Vesper Office in the Church. 
 
 What a boon to poor struggling human nature is sacred 
 music. Deeply should we appreciate it. What a solace amid 
 the toils and trials of the world. How many an aching heart 
 has it not relieved. How many a weary mind has it not 
 enlivened. How many a rugged nature has it not softened. 
 Perhaps many a cruel purpose it has disarmed. How beau- 
 tifully has its hallowed influence been described by Lord 
 Byron in those charming words : 
 
 " It softened men of iron mould, 
 It gave them virtues not their own ; 
 No ear so dull, no soul so cold, 
 That felt not, fired not to the tone, 
 Till David's lyre grew mightier than his throne." 
 
 If on the field of battle, when all things around are overcast 
 with a hue of death and ruin, when the spirits of the bravest 
 are in danger of sinking at the terrible form of destruction 
 that stalks around the sound of the fife and drum is able to 
 arouse the drooping energies of the soul and inspire the heart 
 with a bravery that despises death in its most terrible aspect, 
 what limits, I ask, are we to place to the sublime influence of 
 sacred ' music in assuaging the passions and refining the 
 manners of mankind ? 
 
 Imagine you behold a poor artisan, after a, week's weary 
 toil, entering, on a Sunday, the Temple of God, although care 
 has furrowed his brow, and his tattered garments bespeak his 
 poverty, yet no sooner does he listen to the choir pealing forth 
 joyful Alleluiahs than he forgets his lowly state, his soul 
 soars above the atmosphere of earth, and seems to join the 
 choirs of everlasting song. But why occupy your attention 
 in descanting on the fascinating influence, the transcendent 
 charms of sacred music. Why keep you from enjoying such 
 a delicious treat as St. Mary's Choir is so qualified to furnish. 
 Why inflict on my kind auditory the punishment of looking at 
 the shadow while the substance stands before them in all the 
 beautiful proportions of exquisite finish. 
 
 I have idone. Let the heavenly art speak for itself*
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 WHAT is the moral tone of society at South Africa ? Are 
 not the natives grossly immoral ? are questions that have 
 been proposed to me very frequently since my return to 
 Europe; hence, I consider that these " Recollections " 
 would be very incomplete were I not to note the result of 
 my observations on morals during my twelve years' resi- 
 dence at the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 The subject, though apparently a delicate one, may be 
 approached without fear. I shall treat it as briefly, yet as 
 fairly, as I can. 
 
 Scholastically speaking, the term Morality embraces a 
 wide range of subjects, and admits of distinctions and 
 sub-distinctions, the introduction of which in these 
 chapters would be unprofitable and superfluous. I employ 
 the term therefore in its broad popular sense. 
 
 Now let it be borne in mind that the population of 
 South Africa is composed, first, of remnants of half-civilized, 
 half-ruined wandering tribes of Kaffirs, Korannas, Hot- 
 tentots, and Bushmen, who are frequently little cared for 
 and ill-treated ; secondly, of Malays, the very principles of 
 whose (Mohammedan) religion, are, in many instances, at 
 utter variance with the refined notions we Christians have 
 of moral law ; and thirdly, of a motley group (I use the 
 word respectfully) of Europeans and Americans, coming 
 from every hole and corner of these vast continents. 
 There are also many runaway soldiers and sailors, as well
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 85 
 
 as many discharged soldiers, making up the complement of 
 the population of the Cape. 
 
 Let it be furthermore remembered that there are at the 
 Cape several Naval and Military Stations, which, there 
 as elsewhere, do not advance morals. I say this with 
 pain. And yet in the face of these facts, the police force 
 in Cape Town is, I believe, less than that of any town of 
 30,000 inhabitants in Europe, and in many villages, which 
 have extensive out-districts, two or three constables are 
 found a sufficient staff. 
 
 It is not my intention to adduce such statistics of crime 
 as the Blue Book furnishes, for I am not arguing a point, 
 but replying to two general questions ; I may, however, 
 with perfect confidence, state that the judicial records of 
 the colony would bear favourable contrast with an equal 
 population of highly civilized and older countries. 
 
 I will at once observe, that murder is seldom heard of, 
 and suicide is very rare. During my travels of twelve 
 years I was in danger of the murderous knife but twice, 
 once from an English navvy and once from a wandering 
 Scotchman. 
 
 Kolben, an African traveller, who wrote a work entitled, 
 " Caput Bonce spei hodiernum t " of which there are two 
 English editions, speaking of the moral qualities of the 
 Hottentots, says, " They are perhaps the most faithful 
 servants in the world. Their chastity is remarkable." 
 
 Kolben wrote in 1716. I fear that if he were now able 
 to revisit Africa, he would find that the morals of Hot- 
 tentots have not improved by their contact with civilized 
 men. 
 
 Le Vaillant, in his book of Travels, bears high testi- 
 mony to the "fidelity" and "attachment" of Hottentot 
 servants.
 
 86 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Barrow, vol. i., page 193, praised their talents, activity, 
 and fidelity. 
 
 My own experience with Hottentots has been, omnibus 
 pensatis, favourable. I have had reason to value their 
 honesty when placed in trust. 
 
 I have brought forward the example of the Hottentots, 
 not because they are the highest in the moral scale ; they 
 are, on the contrary, the most degraded and debased of 
 the tribes. 
 
 In my Diary for 1868 I have written, " The Kaffirs are 
 brave and intelligent ; the Korrannas, wicked ; the Bush- 
 men, savage; the Hottentots, degraded. But I believe 
 them all capable of civilization, knowledge and religion." 
 
 Polygamy, it is true, prevails, especially among the 
 Kaffirs, but who will wonder at this who reflects first, that 
 the Kaffirs, uncivilized as they are, do not view polygamy 
 as a violation of moral law ; secondly, that in this view 
 they are sustained by no less an authority than a Church 
 of England Bishop, Dr. Colenso of Natal. 
 
 Sheep and cattle stealing constitutes, I think, the chief 
 crime of the blacks of South Africa. When the Kaffirs 
 steal cattle, they generally do so on an extensive scale, 
 whereas the other tribes would lose a day to steal one goat. 
 The Hottentots, Bushmen, and Korannas give themselves 
 up to a great extent to this marauding life ; yet, without 
 meaning to underrate the violations of the seventh com- 
 mandment, " Thou shalt not steal," I will dare to 
 advance a word or two in their defence, or, perhaps, rather 
 in explanation of their crime First, then, they are the 
 descendants of those whose vast flocks were ruthlessly torn 
 from them by the early European civilizers, as South 
 African history too amply, but sadly, attests. Secondly, 
 they are, as I shall prove, in a subsequent chapter, under
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 87 
 
 NO RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE. Thirdly, they are treated more 
 like beasts than human beings, even to this day, by very 
 many masters and employers. I have myself seen them 
 kicked about like dogs, and whipped like mules, oh farms, 
 in the Nieuw Yeldt, and elsewhere. If I deemed it neces- 
 sary to produce testimonies in favour of this last assertion, 
 I could fill a respectable sized volume with undeniable 
 proofs. At present I content myself by quoting the fol- 
 lowing words of the illustrious South African traveller, 
 Dr. Livingstone. He says, " It is difficult to conceive that 
 men possessing the common attributes of humanity should 
 set out after caressing their own wives and children and 
 proceed to shoot down men and women whose affections 
 are as warm as their own. It was long before I could give 
 credit to the tale of bloodshed told by native witnesses ; 
 but when I heard them bewailing or boasting the bloody 
 scenes in which they had themselves been actors, I was 
 compelled to admit the validity of testimony. They are all 
 traditionally religious, and trace their descent from some of 
 the best Huguenots and Dutch the world ever saw. In 
 their own estimation, they are the chosen of God, and all 
 the coloured race are " black property " given to them for 
 an inheritance." Such is the testimony of the great 
 Livingstone. [The Italics are mine.] 
 
 Having thus far disposed of the question before me, I 
 now come to make a few remarks on what I will call public 
 decency. On this subject I will merely say that whoever 
 would traverse the streets of Liverpool, Plymouth, London, 
 Glasgow, Edinburgh, or even Dublin, for one evening at a 
 late hour, would be offered more scandal than by travelling 
 through all the streets of Cape Town and Port Elizabeth 
 for a year. In England, Scotland, and, I regret to add, 
 in some cities of Ireland, iniquity casts off its mask, and
 
 88 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 walks forth with brazen front, while in South Africa it 
 hides its head ; therefore, whatever there may be of private 
 sin, there is little public scandal. It is acknowledged that 
 female virtue is the corner stone in the edifice of moral 
 society, and that when a woman loses shame, which is the 
 foundation of her modesty, the superstructure totters 
 the moral building lies in the dust. Now, this brings me to 
 say that while in European and American cities sin meets you 
 on the highway with an inviting smile, in South Africa it 
 lurks in hidden dens, and is found only by those who seek it. 
 
 "Whoever then would go to South Africa as to an earthly 
 paradise a heaven upon earth would be sadly dis- 
 appointed, but he would, I believe, breathe an atmosphere 
 not worse than in Europe, and would most decidedly be 
 more secure from the external assaults of crime. 
 
 Finally, as to drunkenness. Drink is cheap. Beer 
 from 3d. per bottle, wine from 2d., and brandy from 6d. 
 The heat of the climate, and the frequent want of good 
 water, added to the prosperity of the Cape Colony for 
 several years past, have, I regret to say, conspired in the 
 horrid advance of intemperance. All, both blacks and 
 whites, are over-given to the poisonous glass. 
 
 The Hottentots will drink young wine and cheap brandy 
 until they fall down drunk, if they have the means to buy 
 the drink. The Malays are seldom seen drunk but they 
 drink beer in almost fabulous quantities. I have myself 
 known many men and women at the Cape whom drunk- 
 enness nipped in the flower of youth, and flung into an 
 ignominious grave ; and I know, too, that at the Cape of 
 Good Hope there are thousands who are models of the 
 virtue of sobriety. 
 
 The Right Rev. Bishop Grimley established in Cape 
 Town a society for the promotion of temperance in 1862,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA, 89 
 
 I here give the inaugural address as an eloquent exposition 
 of his Lordship's views on the basis of true morality : 
 
 TEMPEEANCE. 
 
 MY DEARLY-BELOVED BRETHREN, The Holy Ghost, address- 
 ing us through St. Peter, exhorts us to be sober ; and the reason 
 is, our adversary the devil goeth about like a roaring lion, 
 seeking whom he may devour. The devil is always on the 
 alert, always watching an opportunity of attacking us, if he 
 find our intellects obscured, pur reasoning faculties inactive, 
 our propensities to evil stronger in a word, our corrupt incli- 
 nations inflamed by the intoxicating draught his victory over 
 our weakness will be an easy conquest. We must never 
 forget our true position in this world ; our lifetime is to be a 
 warfare. " Man's life on this earth," says Job, "is a war- 
 fare." In this perpetual warfare that we are waging, not 
 only with the powers of darkness, but with our own corrupt 
 inclinations, it is a matter of absolute necessity that we retain 
 the full possession of our mental faculties to detect the danger, 
 and cry out for aid to Him from whom proceeds every good 
 and perfect gift. What would you think of a soldier, who, 
 during a siege, while on guard at the city gate, would heed- 
 lessly fall asleep, and thus allow the enemy an easy entrance? 
 you would hold him guilty of the ruin of the city: more 
 culpable is the drunkard who, by extinguishing the light of 
 reason, offers no resistance to the prince of darkness when he 
 assaults the city of the immortal soul. The condition of our 
 fallen nature will not permit us to be careless, for we are 
 continually walking in the midst of snares ; now, the Scripture 
 assures us "He that is aware of the snares shall be secure" 
 (Prov. xi. 15). But how can reason's voice warn us of danger 
 if we cast her down from her legitimate throne and blind her 
 by the fumes of the intoxicating draught ? We cannot deny 
 the fact, that each one of us has within himself a powerful 
 enemy an innate propensity to evil one of the sad effects of 
 original sin. " Every man," says St. James, "is tempted by 
 his own concupiscence, being drawn away and allured" (St. 
 James i. 14). Alas! the experience of thousands will testify 
 that nothing contributes more to excite and inflame that pro- 
 pensity than intemperate habits. Is it not true that men under 
 the influence of drink commit crimes which in sober moments 
 they would shudder at perpetrating ? Examine minutely the 
 sad consequences of drunkenness, and you will quickly come to 
 the conclusion that it is the source of innumerable evils that 
 poverty, destruction of health, domestic strife, neglect of
 
 90 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 children, ruin of reputation follow in its gloomy track. These 
 are a few of the temporal evils ; but when we look forward 
 to that world which knows no end, and consider the sad! con- 
 sequences of intemperance, we will learn from God's word 
 that exclusion from the heavenly Jerusalem will be its eternal 
 penalty. We shall consider in this discourse the temporal 
 evils which inevitably mark the drunkard's path ; and, 
 secondly, the punishments which the Almighty threatens to 
 inflict upon him. eternal God, feeling the immense impor- 
 tance of this subject, and most earnestly supplicating Thy 
 Divine aid, I beg that your benediction may fall like celestial 
 dew on my poor efforts, while I endeavour to impress on the 
 hearts of my hearers a lasting dread a salutary horror of 
 the innumerable evils of intemperance. And do thou, imma- 
 culate Mary, conceived without sin, under whose maternal 
 care I place all my actions, do thou pray for me, and I shall 
 succeed in rescuing souls for whom your dear Jesus died 
 from wretchedness here, and unspeakable misery hereafter. 
 
 The malice of drunkenness consists in wilfully depriving 
 oneself, in a violent and unnatural way, of the proximate 
 power of the use of reason. The Almighty has elevated man 
 above all His works has ennobled him by the distinguishing 
 characteristic of reason ; but this sublime faculty drunkenness 
 debases to the last degree. Dearly beloved, I may attempt 
 but could never adequately describe the misfortunes, the woes 
 of every description that flow from the poisoned source of 
 intoxication. Does not drunkenness darken the understand- 
 ing, destroy the memory, excite the imagination, corrupt the 
 heart, and inflame the will to every shameful indulgence? 
 Does not drunkenness destroy health, impair the strongest 
 constitution, bring on a thousand disorders, and gradually 
 terminate human existence? Is it not a fact, that learned 
 medical writers assure us that a greater number of human 
 beings have died from the slow but sure poison of spirituous 
 liquors than by any other kind of poison, and that the epitaph 
 on each drunkard's tombstone should be, "Here lies the self- 
 murderer?" Does not drunkenness substitute misery and 
 want for peace and plenty ; does it not consume the labourer's 
 wages and the rich man's property ? Is not drunkenness the 
 foster-parent of every species of sin; does it not foment 
 discord among neighbours? How many contentions, quarrels, 
 and even murders have followed from the drunken revel? 
 Does not drunkenness so stupify the senses that its victim is 
 unfit for prayer or any spiritual duty : he thinks not of 
 approaching the Sacraments the channels of Divine grace ; 
 his faculties are so weakened, acd his dispositions so depraved,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 91 
 
 that one thought alone seems to occupy his mind and direct 
 his actions how he shall obtain the means of indulging in 
 the intoxicating draught? Does not drunkenness degrade 
 man beneath the level of the brute creation, and cause him 
 to be an object of scorn and abhorrence shunned as unfit for 
 social intercourse ? Does not drunkenness beget idleness, 
 violate promises, destroy industry, and ruin property ? Would 
 not drunkenness, in order to obtain the means of gratifying 
 its insatiable thirst, not only rob masters and employers, but 
 would even sacrilegiously steal the sacred vessels from the 
 sanctuary? Does not drunkenness expel the Holy Ghost 
 from the soul and transform her from being the beautiful 
 temple of God into a hideous den of devils. And what a 
 crime, to efface the divine impression of God's likeness on the 
 soul ; to destroy on Jesus Christ that imperishable image of 
 His own divinity, and purchased by the sacrifice of His own 
 life ! But not only the soul, but the body and members, 
 sanctified by baptism, become profaned by the vice of drunken- 
 ness : " Know you not that your bodies are the members of 
 Christ : Know you not that your members are the temple of 
 the Holy Ghost who is in you. . . . You are the temple of 
 the living God." (1 Cor. vi. ; 2 Cor. vi.) But observe the 
 chastisement that God threatens to inflict on the violator of 
 the temple of the Holy Ghost: "Know you not that you 
 are the temple of God, but if any man violate the temple 
 of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God 
 is holy, which you are." (1 Cor. iii.) In a word, is not 
 drunkenness the scourge of society, the degradation of the 
 Christian name, the parent of every vice, the ruin of families, 
 the active agent of hell in plunging innumerable souls into 
 the abyss of vice, and thus murdering souls, for whose salva- 
 tion Jesus offered His life. brethren, wonder not if I speak 
 to you with all the warmth, with ail the energy I can com- 
 mand, for I feel, if my words will make an impression on your 
 hearts and induce you to avoid the ways of intemperance, I 
 shall have succeeded in promoting God's greater glory and in 
 advancing not only your spiritual but your temporal interests. 
 Although the very idea of drunkenness must be disgusting to 
 the young as well as the old, yet that the young and inex- 
 perienced may have indelibly imprinted on their hearts the 
 utmost horror for this most degrading vice, I shall contrast 
 the condition of the temperate with the intemperate. Behold 
 the sober man in full possession of those noble qualities which 
 constitute him lord of creation ! Guided by reason that ray 
 of celestial intelligence beaming perpetually on his intellect 
 he perceivc f s ou every object around him the impress of the
 
 92 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 great Maker ; lie beholds the starry firmament, and he at once 
 acknowledges an Omnipotent Architect, and, in prpstrate 
 adoration, he cries out with the Koyal Psalmist, " The heavens 
 show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the 
 work of His hands." (Psa. xviii.) Other beings see the works 
 of God, man alone enjoys the distinguished privilege of 
 knowing Him and adoring Him. Again, man enjoys the 
 faculty of free will, thereby having it in his power to render 
 to his Maker that obedience and that homage which will 
 secure for him the possession of that glorious end for which 
 he was created. But God was not satisfied with endowing 
 the master-piece of His work with reason and free will. No ; 
 He would accumulate on his head innumerable heavenly 
 benedictions ; He would constitute him brother to Christ, and 
 heir to the eternal kingdom. Such is man, endowed with 
 reason and possessing sanctifying grace. Let us now reverse 
 the picture, let us behold him under the influence of intoxi- 
 cating drink, ignominiously falling from his lofty eminence, 
 disgracefully abusing the many favours heaped on him by a 
 bountiful Creator, degrading himself beneath the level of the 
 brute, incapable of good, yielding easy consent to any scheme, 
 however insulting to God, or injurious to his neighbour. 
 Alas! how fallen! how degraded! See that young man, 
 once his father's pride and his mother's joy : oh ! what a sad 
 change ; before he wallowed in the mire of drunkenness, how 
 industrious, how obedient, how religious, how well clad, how 
 respected, how comfortable were his poor parents, how happy 
 their little home ; how domestic he was, how anxious to spend 
 his evenings at his own fire-side, how averse to dangerous 
 society ; but since he has plunged into the depth of degra- 
 dation, his senses are dull, his limbs seem paralysed ; his 
 slothful gait mirrors his slothful habits ; he neglects his 
 employment, he is disobedient to his parents, he abandons 
 his religious duties, his clothes become ragged, his company 
 is shunned ; his parents are wretched, their home cold and 
 miserable, he cannot bear their society, his only associates are 
 the outcasts the scum of society! In beholding this sad 
 picture, may we not cry out with the Prophet Jeremiah : ' ' The 
 joy of his heart has ceased, his dancing has been turned into 
 mourning, the crown has fallen from his head ; woe to him, 
 because he has sinned, therefore is his heart sorrowful, there- 
 fore have his eyes become dim." Again, behold that young 
 man ! He was the admiration of all who knew him ; strength 
 shone in his stal worth frame and firm pace ; health diffused 
 her ruddy hue over his noble countenance ; his athletic feats 
 idolized him with his fellow- villagers ; his poor parents ex-
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 93 
 
 hausted their slender means in his education, and in securing 
 for him a lucrative trade : blessed by nature with energy and 
 talent intelligent to devise and laborious to execute, he had 
 before him the cheering prospect of peace and plenty ; but, 
 alas ! friends soon gathered around him : to please one he 
 should go to the public-house and taste the intoxicating draught, 
 not to offend another he would do the same ; in a short time 
 he drank to please himself to gratify the cravings of his own 
 appetite : alas ! his bright prospects, like the vapour glisten- 
 ing in the sun's rays, soon vanished. He is no longer an 
 object of admiration and a subject of praise; his drunken 
 habits have already bent his head and paralysed his limbs ; 
 his countenance, once so bright and animated, is now emaciated 
 and dull. In vain did nature heap her favours, fortune her 
 smiles, and grace her gifts : finding himself distrusted by all 
 and unfit for employment, he seeks to drown his cares and 
 forget his wretched condition in drunkenness. He is deaf to 
 a parent's advice and a friend's remonstrance; his feelings 
 are so blunted, his moral courage so weakened, and his heart 
 so hardened that he seems deaf to exhortation insensible to 
 every impulse except that of more intoxicating drink ; wasted 
 away by the slow but sure poison, he sinks with shame upon 
 his brow into a premature grave. 
 
 Shall I now picture to your imagination the startling 
 contrast between the temperate and intemperate parent. 
 Entering the house of sobriety, you will find yourself in an 
 atmosphere of comfort the neatness of the dwelling com- 
 mands your admiration ; esteem for the happy family springs 
 up in your heart, and invites you to sit down and make 
 yourself at home. The father of these neatly-clad children 
 is temperate ; therefore he is saving, industrious, and trust- 
 worthy ; always in employment, for the master who finds in 
 his service a sober man, appreciates his worth and wishes to 
 retain him. His children regularly attend school, for they 
 are never kept at home for want of clothes; their gentle 
 demeanour is but the reflection of that kindly feeling daily 
 presented to them by their good parents. happy home ! 
 see in the evening that religious father calling his little ones 
 around him and instructing them in the Catechism ; then, 
 his wife joining, he will recite with them the Rosary and 
 Night Prayers. No wonder that God's blessing should fall 
 on that family ; no wonder that such a father should ascend 
 in the social scale and win his way even to respectability. 
 But, oh ! what a contrast : shall I harrow your feelings by 
 describing for you the wretched abode of a drunken parent ! 
 The articles of furniture are few and filthy ; everything in
 
 94 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 confusion out of its place. The cold reality of want imme- 
 diately strikes you ; the children, in rags, cannot attend 
 school, they are not instructed in their Catechism or in their 
 prayers, they grow up ignorant of the name of God except 
 when they hear it blasphemed. They cry for bread, but there 
 is no bread for them ; they hear their father's loud, unearthly 
 shriek as he staggers in from the house of drunkenness. 
 Immediately they tell him they are hungry, in a rage of 
 passion he calls on the Almighty to damn them ; he asks 
 where his wife is she is afraid to speak, for it is midnight, 
 all is darkness ; there is no fire or candle to cheer that miser- 
 able dwelling. The last shilling, the last sixpence of that 
 wretched man's hard earning has been expended on drink. 
 Again and again he calls on his wife, and curses and 
 blasphemes; he reels about and falls prostrate, and opens 
 his demon throat in the most awful imprecations. His chil- 
 dren, terrified, cry aloud ; his wife, maddened to fury, rushes 
 at him and strikes him ; he seizes her and tears the hair from 
 her head ! Oh, good God ! is it on earth or is it in hell that 
 this scene of reciprocal cursing, screaming, and blaspheming 
 is witnessed ? 0, brethren, would that this description were 
 only the picture of an imaginary case, and not too often a sad 
 reality. Shall I for a moment, allude to the most degraded 
 of all degraded beings a drunken mother? In the very 
 lowest stage of human depravity there is nothing like her. 
 She not only squanders her husband's earnings, but she will 
 pawn or sell his clothes to obtain the means of indulging in 
 spirituous liquors; there is no article of furniture in the house 
 safe from her hands her wretched children are sent by her even 
 to steal, that she may procure the intoxicating draught. Often- 
 times when hungry they called on her for bread ; but, shame ! 
 she is stretched speechless on the floor, or if she can mutter a few 
 syllables, they are blasphemies or curses. The children of 
 such a mother without education, without religion grow up 
 ignorant of their duties to God or man ; they perpetuate her 
 vices, spread more widely the infection of her bad example, 
 corrupt society, and disgrace human nature. Let us, in the 
 next place, endeavour to enter into the feelings of the 
 drunkard on his death bed. Shall I attempt to express the 
 thoughts which rush upon his memory when he finds life's tide 
 fast ebbing and the vital flame almost extinguished. The 
 consciousness of shortening his existence, of committing 
 suicide, forces from him expressions, if not of despair, at least 
 of doubt about his salvation. The iniquity of the past stares 
 him in the face and terrifies him. Eternity forgotten, his 
 family destitute, his earnings expended on intoxication and
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 95 
 
 profligacy, his precious time squandered, the graces of God 
 continually abused, his neglect of sacraments and prayers ; his 
 Saturday evenings spent, not in the church preparing for con- 
 fession, but in the whiskey-shop ; his Sundays, devoted not to 
 the hearing of mass and sermons, but to the gratification of 
 his vile propensities, torture him ; and force him to exclaim 
 that drunkenness has been the root of all his misfortunes. 
 His heavy sighs betray a troubled conscience. His broken- 
 hearted wife enters and offers consolation ; but ! her 
 presence reminds him of innumerable quarrels, imprecations, 
 oaths, brutal treatment, the miserable life they spent together ; 
 he begs of her to retire, he cannot bear her sight, he feels the 
 most bitter pangs of remorse, but he sees there is no remedy. 
 His little children approach to give him a last farewell. 
 Their ragged, wretched appearance almost turn his brain, the 
 words of St. Paul present themselves to him: "But if any 
 man have not care of his own, and especially those of his 
 house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel " 
 (1 Tim. v. 8). The devil whispers into his ear that he de- 
 serves a fate a thousand times worse than the infidel. What ? 
 he asks himself, will become of these unfortunate children ? 
 What can he expect! " Do men gather grapes from thorns 
 or figs from thistles." It strikes him, too, the life of constant 
 misery, fretting, poverty, cold, and nakedness occasioned by 
 his drunkenness, makes it more than probable that his wife 
 will shortly follow him to the grave. " ! my children, my 
 children," he cries out, " what will become of you with- 
 out education, without religion ; I now see I have trained you 
 not for heaven, but for hell ; not for God, but for Satan." 
 Forgetting that he is standing on the brink of eternity, he 
 curses the whiskey-shop where he spent his hard earnings, he 
 curses the companions of his revels, he curses the womb that 
 bore, and the paps that suckled him. If, however, the gentle 
 voice of religion be able to cast a beam of hope on his dying 
 brow, his faltering voice will caution the young against false 
 friends, who would induce them to indulge in intoxicating drinks 
 against frequenting houses where intemperance reigns and 
 ruins, and against the neglect of the sacraments which, if 
 worthily received, would communicate celestial blessings 
 light to understand, resolution to avoid, and strength to over- 
 come the solicitations of the world, the weakness of the flesh, 
 and the assaults of the devil. 
 
 Let us now turn our attention to the pages of sacred Scrip- 
 ture and we shall see how the Holy Ghost, in many places, 
 impresses on our minds a salutary dread of the evils, temporal 
 and spiritual, which flow from the debasing vice of drunk-
 
 96 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 enness : " Wine is a luxurious thing, and drunkenness riotous : 
 whosoever is delighted therewith shall not be wise" (Prov. xxi.) 
 And again we read, " Be not in the feasts of great diWkers, 
 nor in their revellings. . . . because they that give themselves 
 to drinking, and that club together shall be consumed ; and 
 drowsiness shall be clothed with rags. . . . Who hath woe ? 
 whose father hath woe ? who hath contentions ? who falls 
 into pits ? who had wounds without cause ? who hath redness 
 of eyes ? Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study 
 to drink off their cups. Look not upon the wine when it is 
 yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass ; it goes 
 in pleasantly, but in the end it will bite like a snake, and will 
 spread abroad poison like a basilisk." (Prov. xxiii.) Daily 
 experience confirms the truth proclaimed of the artisan who 
 indulges in drunkenness " A workman who is a drunkard 
 shall not be rich" (Eccles. xix. 1). No, however stalworth 
 his arm, however skilled in his trade, could he surpass all the 
 embellishments expressed by the chisel of Phideas or the pencil 
 of Raphael, if he be intemperate, every quality he possesses is 
 but a useless talent, for the abuse of which he must answer at 
 the tribunal of the great Judge. How frequently are the 
 following sad effects of intemperance realized : " Wine 
 drunken with excess is bitterness of the soul. The heat of 
 drunkenness is the stumbling block of the fool, lessening 
 strength and causing wounds." (Eccles. xxxi.) How many 
 sudden deaths have been caused by drunkenness ; how many 
 have fallen from their horses; how many have received a 
 deadly blow by a weapon thrown at them by a fellow 
 drunkard ; how many have fallen into rivers and were 
 drowned? True it is, " By surfeiting many have perished; 
 but he that is temperate shall prolong life" (Eccles. xxxvii. 34). 
 The Prophet Isaias cries out, " Woe to you who rise up early 
 in the morning to follow drunkenness, and to drink till the 
 evening, to be inflamed with wine. . . . Woe to you, who are 
 mighty to drink wine and stout men at drunkenness." (Isaias v.) 
 Again, " These have been ignorant through wine, and through 
 drunkenness have erred. . . . They are swallowed up with 
 wine, they have gone astray in drunkenness." (Isaias xxviii.) 
 Joel exhorts to repentance all who are addicted to the vice of 
 intemperance: "Awake, ye that are drunk, and weep and 
 mourn all ye that take delight in drinking sweet wine " 
 (Joel i. 5). Need I allude to the New Testament and direct 
 your attention to those texts which must be familiar to you 
 all. You recollect the words of the angel Gabriel addressed 
 to Zachary in reference to John the Baptist the precursor of 
 our Blessed Redeemer "For he shall be great before the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 97 
 
 Lord : and shall drink no wine nor strong drink " (Luke i. 15). 
 And our Divine Lord exhorts you to " Take heed to your- 
 selves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting 
 and drunkenness. . . . And that day (of Judgment) come 
 upon you suddenly." (Luke xxi.) In his Epistle to the 
 Romans, St. Paul thus exhorts : " Let us cast off the works of 
 darkness and put on the armour of light. Let us walk 
 honestly, as in the day ; not in rioting and drunkenness. . . . 
 but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision 
 for the flesh in its concupiscences." (Born, xiii.) The same 
 illustrious Apostle, in writing to the Corinthians, cautions 
 them against associating with drunkards : " But now I have 
 written to you not to keep company, if any man that is named 
 a brother be a fornicator ... or a drunkard, with such an 
 one not so much as to eat." (1 Cor. v.) And in his Epistle 
 to the Galatians he declares: "The works of the flesh are 
 manifest, which are fornication . . . drunkenness, revellings, 
 and such like. Of the which I foretell you, as I have fore- 
 told you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the 
 Kingdom of God." (Gal. v.) 0, drunkards, do not deceive 
 yourselves : do not for an instant imagine that the sin of 
 drunkenness is a trivial fault; it is an enormous crime it is 
 marked on the black catalogue of vice with adultery and 
 idolatry ; and God Himself, by the inspired pensman, declares 
 to you that the gates of heaven are closed against the 
 drunkard: "Do not err; neither. . . idolaters nor adulterers 
 nor drunkards, shall possess the Kingdom of God." (1 Cor. vi.) 
 I may also add that the Sacred Scripture furnishes us with 
 facts which exemplify the melancholy issues of intemperance. 
 We learn from Exodus that when Moses had ascended Mount 
 Sinai, where he received the Divine law, the Israelites, by 
 their banquettings and drinking, abandoned God, and " made 
 to themselves a molten calf, and adored it." This act so pro- 
 voked God's indignation, that He cried out to Moses, "Let 
 Me alone, that My wrath may be kindled against them, and 
 that I may destroy them." You are no doubt acquainted with 
 the history of Samson, who so long as he abstained from 
 wine and all sorts of strong drinks was gifted with extra- 
 ordinary strength, but no sooner did he yield to sumptuous 
 banquetting and inebriating drinks than he became the 
 slave of the most shameful passions. Need I allude to the 
 sudden and miserable deaths of Holofernes and Balthazar, 
 who indulged themselves in drunken excesses. Then, my 
 brethren, not only the New, but the Old Testament not only 
 the misfortunes of others but our own experience not only 
 every species of reasoning, but lamentable examples, proclaim 
 
 G
 
 98 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 the necessity that devolves on each one of us to avoid the paths 
 of drunkenness, and to shun the society of those who would 
 tempt us to indulge in a vice so pernicious in its effects, so 
 offensive to God, so disgusting to man, and so detrimental to 
 our own immortal souls ! 
 
 And now, my dearly beloved, having seen depicted before 
 your eyes the baneful effects of intemperance having heard 
 the thunders of God's terrible judgments being convinced of 
 the temporal misery and the eternal tortures awaiting the 
 drunkard, what, I ask, are your sentiments ? Are you not 
 disgusted at the very idea of this vile vice ; will you not dis- 
 countenance it in others, and avoid it in yourselves ? Let those 
 addicted to it put in practice the following prescriptions : 
 Firstly Avoid the occasions of drunkenness : " He that 
 loveth danger shall perish in it " (Eccles. iii. 27). Beware, 
 ! beware, of bad companions, for has not the Holy Ghost 
 declared, " A friend of fools shall become like them." 
 (Prov. xiii.) And again, "With the perverse thou wilt be 
 perverted." (Psa. xvii.) Enter not the door of a house where 
 you would be in danger of falling, keep not the company of 
 anyone who is addicted to intemperance. Let no pretext of 
 civility, no seeming necessity, no long contracted friendship 
 no fear of displeasing your nearest and dearest induce you 
 to infringe on the limits of moderation. Secondly When 
 temptation shall assail you, when corrupt nature shall call on 
 you to indulge the propensity for intoxicating drinks ; when 
 you shall experience that longing after the forbidden cup, 
 invoke, at once, the help of Divine grace, and God will make 
 with the temptation issue, that you may be able to conquer it. 
 Thirdly Mortify your appetites ; reflect on the vinegar pre- 
 sented to Jesus on the cross, and on the gall of dragons which 
 the drunkard must swallow in hell, for all eternity. Fourthly 
 Frequent the Sacraments : if you do not approach the 
 Sacraments you cannot expect to obtain the graces which will 
 enable you to overcome the assaults of the enemy. With the 
 strength imparted by the Sacraments you will triumph over 
 every difficulty. And you, my dearest brethren you, my 
 consolation, my hope, my joy you have nobly come forward 
 and have placed yourselves beneath the banner of that Society, 
 which a few weeks since was as the mustard seed ; but already, 
 thanks be to God, has not only stricken its roots wide and 
 deep into rich soil, but has grown up almost to maturity, ex- 
 hibiting its luxuriant foliage and sheltering from the burn- 
 ing heat of intoxication, perhaps, many who now hear me. 
 Under the patronage of the Immaculate Mother of God, our 
 Temperance Society will prosper will be the happy medium
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 99 
 
 of rescuing hundreds from the thraldom of drunkenness 
 will reflect honour on the Catholic name, by presenting our 
 people in all the plenitude of their moral beauty, at once 
 brave, patient, generous, and virtuous will crowd this Temple 
 with punctual and fervent worshippers will introduce peace- 
 ful industry and domestic comfort into the poor man's dwelling 
 will induce the artisan to consult the wants and interests of 
 his young family, and will urge him to the faithful discharge 
 of all his duties will generate among you a tone of self- 
 respect will substitute intellectual enjoyments for sensual 
 indulgence, and will secure for the rising generation the in- 
 estimable boon of a sound, Catholic, and literary education. 
 It now only remains for me to assure you that I shall view, 
 with all the solicitude of a parent's heart, the Total Abstinence 
 Society of Mary the Immaculate ; that I shall daily pray for 
 the perseverance of its members, and labour for their spiritual 
 and temporal interests. 
 
 may our Immaculate Patroness pray for us, that we may 
 obtain grace to keep the promise we have made of abstaining 
 from all intoxicating drinks ! Holy Mother ! ever regard ua 
 as thy children, guide us in every difficulty, protect us in every 
 danger, shield us in life, and guard us in death ; and when 
 the dread crisis of our dissolution shall have arrived, may our 
 fidelity to the cause of temperance be a beam of hope to cheer 
 us in that awful moment a ministering Angel, whispering to 
 our departing spirits that the recompense of our victory over 
 intemperance will be an ocean of delights in which we shall 
 ever be inebriated in the bright mansions of endless bliss ! 
 AMEN.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 DRUNKENNESS, which, like a mighty torrent, rushing 
 through almost all classes of society, is carrying rapidly 
 to an ocean of destruction millions of men, women, and 
 children, at present occupies, to quite an unusual extent, 
 the closest attention of philanthropists, and this especially 
 in England. This dreadful vice is threatening ruin in 
 .several countries of Europe, Australia, and America and, 
 I regret to have to add also, in South Africa. It becomes, 
 therefore, expedient that a loud voice be raised, and that 
 united action be exerted, to arrest the progress of this 
 revolting vice of intemperance. 
 
 I will venture to offer the following extract from the 
 Cape Town Daily News, of Feb. 1, 1876, now before 
 me : 
 
 When Mr. Froude was in Cape Town, the- G. W. V. T., by 
 which mysterious letters we believe the Hon. Mr. Geard, 
 J\I. L. C., is designated addressed the eminent historian on 
 the question of wine v. water. The following is the philo- 
 sopher's reply: "Cape Town, Oct. 11. Dear sir I have 
 received your letter and the copies of the Templar. You are 
 of course perfectly at liberty to make any use of language of 
 mine which you think may advance your cause. I agree 
 with you entirely that drunkenness is the especial curse of 
 modern society, and that in England and Scotland it threatens 
 to undermine civilization itself. Among the educated classes 
 it has almost entirely disappeared ; among the working 
 classes it has advanced with the increase of wages so alarm- 
 ingly that the most serious consequences may be apprehended. 
 Here in Africa the canteen is likely to produce the same 
 effect upon the welfare of the natives as it has produced else- 
 where. I have been startled to hear men point with satisfac- 
 
 H
 
 102 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 tion to the consumption of spirits among them as the true- 
 solution of the 'Native difficulty/ and I would gladly see 
 the Legislature in this and in all countries more active in this 
 matter than they are inclined to be. You must think me 
 inconsistent, after saying so much, when I add that I drink 
 wine myself. I find wine in moderation a good friend both 
 to body and mind, and I have, not yet seen my way towards- 
 relinquishing the use of it because it is abused by others. I 
 admit that if it be found impossible to check drunkenness 
 among the masses by any other means, it may become the 
 duty of those who regard drunkenness with so much alarm as 
 I do to set the example by abstaining altogether. I have 
 not yet, however, seen my way to this conclusion. Every 
 form of enjoyment is pernicious when inordinately pursued. 
 An austerity which on this account forbids us to enjoy our- 
 selves at all has been found unsuited to our nature, and to- 
 fail wherever it has been tried. The teaching and practice 
 of the 'Son of Man' was found better adapted for redemp- 
 tion of humanity than the locusts and wild honey of his pre- 
 cursor. This, however, is only my present opinion ; others 
 among my friends who thought once as I do now have become- 
 Good Templars ; I may, perhaps, do as they have done. I 
 cannot answer for myself." 
 
 The very great interest taken in tins subject emboldens 
 me to offer a second chapter on Intemperance. 
 
 In doing so, I may be permitted to notice, not only 
 the efforts of the Catholic Church at the Cape of Good 
 Hope, but those also of the Methodist community, in en- 
 deavouring to check drunkenness. The Catholic Church 
 shines conspicuously in this respect ; and after her, no 
 religious body has so zealously or so successfully planted 
 the banner of temperance at Cape Town as the Metho- 
 dists. On one occasion, the Wesleyans of Cape Town 
 solicited the aid of the late Bishop Grimley in helping to 
 forward this glorious cause. His Lordship, knowing full 
 well that charity and faith are distinct virtues, came- 
 forward generously ; and delivered in a public hall, 
 selected by the Methodist community, the following 
 Lecture on the " Life and Times of Father Mathew."
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 103 
 
 L E C T U E E 
 
 Life and Times of the Very Rev. Theobald MatJicw. 
 
 THE expression is as true as it is trite : " The nation which 
 forgets her great men is in the throes of destruction on the 
 verge of ruin." I may be permitted to apply the same adage 
 to the temperance world, and to say to allow the illustrious. 
 men who have devoted their time, and exhausted their powers 
 of eloquence, wealth, and influence, who have spent them- 
 selves in consolidating a movement of such moment, to 
 disappear from the public eye, and sleep in the oblivion of 
 the tomb, would be a just reproach not only to philanthropy 
 but to humanity itself. In studying the origin and progress of 
 the temperance movement in Europe, I find a name standing- 
 out in bold relief a name conspicuous among the leaders of 
 the great cause the idol of all parties and of all creeds, a 
 man possessing the qualities of a great heart throbbing with 
 none but tender and generous emotions, a man who acted as 
 he felt, and felt the most thrilling interest in raising his. 
 fellow-man from the degrading depths of intemperance. The 
 illustrious character I refer to is Theobald Mathew. His 
 herculean exertions were not confined to his own beloved 
 land. He braved the billow and the tejnpest, he crossed the 
 broad Atlantic, and, borne on the wings of Divine charity, 
 visited city after city in the great American Republic, depict- 
 ing in his own burning eloquence the blessings which for 
 time and eternity flow from the hallowed source of tempe- 
 rance. 
 
 Surrounded as I am this evening by special friends of a 
 cause which embraces in its capacious bosom men of every 
 clime and race, and relying on the kind indulgence of my 
 auditory, I will briefly glance at the life and labours of 
 Theobald Mathew, whom a grateful country has honoured 
 with the appellation of the Apostle of Temperance. As this 
 lecture is not intended to have any very special reference to 
 Father Mathew except in his capacity of advocate of tempe- 
 rance, I shall not dwell long on the events connected with his 
 birth and sacred calling. 
 
 In a noble mansion, which stands at the head of a fertile 
 plain, locally well known as " The Golden Vale," in the 
 county of Tipperary, was born on the 10th of October, 1790, 
 Theobald Mathew, the future founder of the great tempe- 
 rance movement in Ireland. I believe I do not err, when I
 
 104 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFKICA. 
 
 assert, that the characteristics of the man are generally 
 shadowed forth in the impulses of the child ; such 1 at least 
 appears to be the case with regard to Theobald Mathew. 
 No sooner did reason's lamp shed its hallowed light on the 
 mind of little Theobald than he evinced a peculiar disposi- 
 tion to afford pleasure to others and confer happiness on all 
 around him. As years rolled on and developed the noble 
 qualities of mind and heart, this philanthropic desire, became 
 as it were an uncontrollable passion. An able writer for the 
 Dublin Review, who had been intimately acquainted with 
 Father Mathew from his childhood, presents to us the 
 following portrait of a character so amiable and so edifying. 
 "We have known him from his earliest boyhood, and we 
 can truly say that, even at that early stage of life, we knew 
 nobody so much or so generally beloved as the individual 
 M'ho is now the observed of all observers throughout Ireland. 
 Incapable of anger or resentment, utterly free from selfish- 
 ness, always anxious to share with others whatever he pos- 
 sessed, jealous of the affections of those to whom he was 
 particularly attached, remarkably gentle in his manners, fond 
 of expressing himself rather in similies than in language ; 
 averse to the boisterous amusements to which boys in general 
 are prone, and preferring to them quiet walks by the banks of 
 a river or by the side of green hedges in company with two 
 or three select associates, and yet very far from being of a 
 pensive disposition on the contrary, so cheerful, that the 
 slightest ludicrous occurrence turned the smile he generally 
 wore into hearty laughter, he grew up esteemed by every- 
 body who knew him. Even in his boyhood he seemed never 
 t ) live for himself; and, though not seeking it, he exercised 
 an influence upon those around him which they never 
 thought of questioning." Such was his character in his early 
 days. And when the writer of these lines, after an interval of 
 thirty years or more, visited Mr. Mathew in autumn of 1838, 
 he could discern no change in the outlines of that character, 
 except that it was accompanied by a greater degree of physi- 
 cal activity, acquired from almost incessant motion in the 
 performance of sacerdotal or charitable engagements, which 
 seemed to have no end throughout the whole day. He was 
 ordained priest on Easter Saturday, in the year 1814. Those 
 who remember him at that period speak of the extraordinary 
 beauty of his countenance, and the indescribable sweetness of 
 its expression. His personal attractions, however fascinating, 
 were only the feeble reflection of those sterling qualities of 
 mind and heart, which have commanded universal respect, 
 and have embalmed his memory in the fondest recollections
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 105 
 
 of a generous people. But enough. Let us come to the 
 great work of Father Mathew's life. Many a time before the 
 temperance movement was heard of, the wretched drunkard 
 had excited his compassion, and the orphan child of the 
 drunkard had made his heart bleed with sorrow. In visiting- 
 trie public hospital he saw the dupes of their own besotted 
 folly the slaves of a passion that seemed to be as uncon- 
 trollable as it was fatal in its consequences. It providen- 
 tially happened that a most estimable gentleman, William 
 Martin, a convert to the doctrine of total abstinence a 
 fellow member with Father Mathew on the Board of Gover- 
 nors of the House of Industry, the Cork Workhouse of those 
 days never failed to direct the good clergyman's attention 
 to any case more remarkably distressing in its features than 
 another, with the observation : " Strong drink is the cause 
 of this ;" and, exciting his heartfelt sympathy, would add, "Oh, 
 Theobald Mathew, if thou wouldst only give thy aid, much 
 good could be done in this city." Some eight or ten years 
 previous to the bursting forth of the temperance, rose in all 
 its fragrant beauty, most laudable attempts were made in 
 Cork to diminish the evils of intemperance. The most pro- 
 minent labourers in the then unpromising field were the 
 Rev. Nicholas Dunscombe, a Protestant clergyman ; Richard 
 Dowden, a distinguished member of the local Unitarian body ; 
 and William Martin, an honest and earnest Quaker, wiio 
 afterwards gloried in the title of Grandfather of the Tempe- 
 rance Cause. Those men, with a few others, worked reso- 
 lutely, but with comparatively little success. " Oh, Theobald 
 Mathew," friend Richard Martin would say, " if thou 
 wouldst but take the cause in hand, thou couldst do so much 
 good for those poor creatures." These feeling words haunted 
 the memory, and deeply touched the conscience of Father 
 Mathew. The grave proposal was most anxiously considered 
 in all its bearings. Most fervently did he pray to God to 
 vouchsafe him light and guidance. Father Mathew was 
 then in his 47th year. He had acquired a profound know- 
 ledge of human nature. He had seen every phase of life and 
 grade of society. In the mansions of the rich, in the garrets 
 of the poor, he had witnessed the working of a vicious habit. 
 He had seen the happiness of the brightest homes banished 
 by the weakness of a father, the folly of a husband, or by the 
 deeper and more terrible misery caused by the infatuation of 
 a mother and wife. He had witnessed ruin brought on young 
 men, who had entered on life with buoyant hopes and bril- 
 liant prospects. He had seen the prosperous merchant, the 
 successful trader, from indulging in the intoxicating draught,
 
 100 
 
 sink into bankruptcy and poverty. He had beheld the light 
 of genius extinguished in dismal gloom, splendid talerits flung 
 recklessly away. To use his own eloquent words, " He had 
 seen the stars of heaven fall, and the cedars of Lebanon laid 
 low. He had seen the victims of drunkenness the inmates 
 of the prison and the madhouse. He well knew that disease, 
 debasement, and crime spring from drunken dissipation. He 
 was conscious that were it not for intoxicating drink, many 
 families would be independent, and even enjoy comforts, in- 
 stead of being plunged into a state of hopeless misery. He 
 saw children in rags, wives broken-hearted, and husbands 
 brutal. He had asked himself in his morning's meditation, 
 and in the solitude of his midnight musing, what could he do 
 for a poor people he so truly loved. Was there really a remedy 
 in this pledge of total abstinence ? Was success probable ? 
 Again came flashing before his mind certain effects that 
 Avould inevitably follow^ from his success. He would bring 
 ruin on his own flesh and blood, the brothers of his youth, 
 their young children whom he loved with such tender fond- 
 ness, the husband of his sister, these would be the victims of 
 his mission, as their fortunes were sunk in extensive distilleries. 
 But amid those naturally harrowing reflections, the frequent 
 appeal of William Martin presented itself, " Oh, Theobald 
 Mathew, if thou wouldst only give thy aid to the cause, what 
 good tlrou wouldst do for those poor people." Grace triumphed 
 over nature. He decided on crossing the Rubicon or joining 
 the movement. William Martin was at once apprised of 
 Father Mathew's resolution. Indescribable was the joy 
 which filled honest William's heart he was a young man 
 again. Although in his G8th year, he hastened with as light 
 a step as if he had been only twenty, to the house of his friend 
 Theobald Mathew. After hearty congratulations the day and 
 the hour were fixed for a public meeting. It took place, but 
 was not largely attended; however it mattered little, as the 
 work to be then undertaken was really the matter of import- 
 ance. On this memorable occasion, Father Mathew being 
 unanimously moved to the chair, among other remarks said, 
 " My dear friends, I must fear that your kind partiality has 
 made you overlook my many defects, and attribute to me 
 merits which I am very far from possessing ; but if, through 
 any humble efforts of mine, I can do good to my fellow-crea- 
 tures, and give glory to God, I feel I am bound, as a minister 
 of the gospel, to throw all personal considerations aside, and 
 try to give a helping hand to gentlemen who have afforded 
 me so excellent an example. Indeed, if only one poor soul 
 could be rescued from destruction by what we are now
 
 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 107 
 
 ;attempting, it would be giving glory to God, and well worth all 
 the trouble we could take. No person in health has any 
 need of intoxicating drinks. You don't require them, nor 
 do I require them, neither do I take them." Father Mathew 
 then approached the table, and taking his pen, said in an 
 audible voice : " Here goes, in the name of God," and signed 
 Rev. Theobald Matthew, C.C., No. 1. On that memorable 
 occasion sixty names were enrolled. From that moment Father 
 Mathew became public property. His time was no longer 
 his own. Day and night he had to labour. Men stood 
 .amazed ; they saw the zeal, the indefatigable exertions of him 
 who reigned in the hearts of the population whose very name 
 had become a household word the very type of goodness 
 and charity. They believed that whatever he would under- 
 take should be blessed by heaven. I may safely assert, that 
 in the reverence of the people for that character was laid the 
 foundation of the great temperance movement in Cork, in 
 Ireland. Probably no other man could have done the work. 
 The movement rolled on majestically. The hundreds who 
 joined the good cause rapidly swelled into thousands. Thus 
 in three months from the day Father Mathew signed the book, 
 the number on the roll was 25,000 ; in five months it was 
 131,000 ; in less than nine months it was 156,000. Thus the 
 temperance cause progressed, swelling like the tide, till it 
 rushed with the force of a torrent, and eventually, I may say, 
 .assumed the dimensions of an ocean. No wonder that William 
 Martin, in the exuberance of his delight, should at times for- 
 .get the decorous placidity of a friend, and indulge his audi- 
 tory with mirth, as innocent as it was amusipg. I should 
 like to give you a specimen of William's gentle breathings. 
 It was spoken by the Grandfather of Temperance in the year 
 1843. 
 
 " I will just tell you an anecdote, to show you how foolish 
 a poor fellow may become when he has a little drop in. There 
 was a man named John Turner, who thought that he should 
 go to the public-house, and take a pint of porter ; he had 2s. Gd. 
 in his pocket, besides the price of two pints. Well, John 
 Turner went in, and called for one pint, and then he called 
 for another, and at last poor John Turner fell asleep. Now 
 there were some ' purty boys ' in the tap-room at the time, 
 .and they gotacork and burned it over the candle, and smeared 
 poor John's face, until he became like a black. Well, one 
 :said that he ought to cut off one of John's whiskers ; and 
 when that one was off, they didn't think it was fair but to cut 
 off the other, until John Turner was clipped as bare as a 
 fighting cock. ' Let us look at his pockets,' said they ; and
 
 108 TWELVE TEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 they looked in, and saw 2s. 6d., and they took it out. After 
 that they got a looking-glass, and put it opposite to him, and 
 then they shook him to waken him. John opened his eyes r 
 and rubbed them, and took a peep in the glass. ' Oh, dear ! 
 is this me ?' said John ' no, it can't : it must be some other 
 man. I was a fair man, and I had whiskers on me and this 
 fellow is black, and hasn't a hair on his face. Oh clear! oh 
 dear !' said poor John, ' who am I at all ? Well, if it is me,*' 
 said John, ' I'll soon find out, for I had 2s. 6J. in my pocket : 
 and if I haven't it, I can't be John Turner.' He put his- 
 hand in his pocket, and there was no 2s. 6J. to be found so 
 he said that he couldn't be John Turner. He then thought 
 that if anyone should know him, it should be his wife; so he 
 rolled and staggered to the door, and he rapped, and he 
 says, ' Is it here one John Turner lives ?' ' It is,' says his 
 wife, who opened the door. ' Am I John Turner ? look at 
 me, and tell me am I John Turner?' 'You are not John/ 
 says the wife; 'John had a nice fair face, and had fine- 
 whiskers and you have none ; and John, my John, used to 
 walk steadily, and hold himself up like a man ; but you are 
 staggering about like a drunken fool, and you are nearly 
 doubled up.' 'O dear ! oh dear! then who am I ?' said John 
 Turner. ' No matter who you are,' said the wife ' you are- 
 in want of a lodging, and you must be taken in.' So she let 
 him in ; and I suppose when he awoke in the morning he 
 found out that he was poor John Turner himself." 
 
 Up to January 1839, 200,000 names had been enrolled on 
 the books of the society. Numbers poured in from Kerry, 
 Waterford, Limerick, Clare, and Tipperary. The tidings of 
 the great moral reformation in Cork quickly spread through 
 the agency of the public press throughout all parts of the 
 United Kingdom. Those who read the account of what was- 
 being done in Cork, came to the conclusion that what was 
 good for Cork was good for other places and other persons, 
 and so they resolved to go and see and hear the far-famed: 
 Father Mathew. Thus it was that the public conveyances- 
 brought numbers into Cork every day, while multitudes 
 might be seen on the roads leading into the city, with their 
 little bundles in their hands. To Cove-street their footsteps 
 were directed, to see Father Mathew, to take the pledge 
 from him ; to be blessed by him was sufficient reward for the 
 most painful journey. It is recorded that the good clergy- 
 man never sent away the poor pilgrim from his door without 
 first having fed and comforted him. Invitations now began 
 to pour in upon him from every part of the country, soliciting 
 his presence, that he might administer the pledge and
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 10D 
 
 organize local societies. The city of Limerick was the first 
 scene of his missionary labours. The first week in December, 
 1839, was a memorable time in that fine city. Even on the 
 day before he was expected to arrive, the principal roads 
 were black with groups of people from the adjoining counties. 
 During the next day the streets were choked with dense 
 masses. It was an invasion a taking of the town by storm. 
 The necessaries of life rose to a famine price. Father 
 Mathew's reception was an ovation. After four days of inces- 
 sant labour, Father Mathew concluded one of his most suc- 
 cessful missions of temperance ; during those memorable 
 days, 150,000 additional disciples were added to the honoured 
 roll of total abstainers. Father Mathew's next visit was to- 
 Waterford. In that city in three days, 80,000 persons re- 
 ceived the temperance pledge. On a subsequent occasion, 
 when the elite of Waterford were assembled in the town hall 
 to do honour to Father Mathew, his Lordship, the Bishop, 
 bore the following honorable testimony to the happy effects 
 of temperance. " Look," said he, " at the mighty reforma- 
 tion already effected in the people of this country they have 
 become a sober and a thinking people ; they have improved 
 in every relation of life, of fathers, husbands, brothers, sons, 
 and members of society ; they are more than ever devoted to- 
 the practice of religion, and more obedient to the command- 
 ments of their God. These are the advantages of tempe- 
 rance." 
 
 It is due to the distinguished subject of my lecture, to 
 notice that even in the British House of Lords, the most 
 flattering encomiums were heaped upon him. On Friday, 
 July 10, 1840, the Marquis of Westmeath asked a question 
 which elicited valuable testimony in favour of the temperance 
 movement. He called attention to what he termed a procla- 
 mation which had been issued by the Lord Lieutenant of 
 Ireland (Lord Eglington), in which this passage occurred : 
 " To the benefit which the temperance pledge has conferred 
 upon Ireland, in the improved habits of the people, and the 
 diminution of outrage, his Excellency bears a willing and 
 grateful testimony." He (the marquis) desired to learn 
 whether this proclamation was authentic or not. The 
 Marquis of Normandy replied that he could give no official 
 answer, but he was convinced that a most beneficial change 
 had been effected among the people by the pledge. 
 
 The Earl of Devon said that, as far as he had an oppor- 
 tunity of judging, a great and substantial good had been done. 
 [ myself (continued the noble lord) have heard Father 
 Mathew address the people, and his manner is such as any
 
 110 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 noble lord who hears me might adopt in addressing a public 
 body in support of such an object." \ 
 
 The Earl of Wicklow thought the temperance societies 
 were calculated to effect much good, and the individual who 
 had devoted himself to the furtherance of the temperance 
 movement deserved the greatest praise for what he was doing. 
 
 Although his whole time was devoted to the service of God 
 and his neighbour, yet amid all his laborious exertions, one 
 idea seemed, in a special manner, to sustain him in doing 
 good, and this was the moral and social elevation of youth. 
 At a temperance meeting he thus gave expression to his feel- 
 Ings : " I predict glorious things for the young and rising 
 generation ! My heart warms and expands as I conjure up 
 before me all that is in progress for the advantage and im- 
 provement of the young minds of Ireland. Not alone in the 
 arts and sciences will their advancement be great, but indica- 
 tions of every kind of comforts hitherto unknown amongst us, 
 of future peace and happiness, are making themselves mani- 
 fest, and my aspirations are becoming more and more realised 
 every day for the improvement and amelioration of the con- 
 dition of my native land. Yes, heretofore^ to be sure, indivi- 
 duals of talents and abilities occasionally arose and appeared; 
 but, like the meteor, they illumed all around for the moment, 
 and became the transitory ornaments of their native land ; 
 but the young men of the present day oh, how can I des- 
 cribe them ? Seem they not like the fixed stars in the clear 
 and cloudless heaven, shining on in their glory and their 
 purity to the end ?" 
 
 But, my friends, if his eloquence appear dazzling, his good 
 sense and profound reasoning are not less conspicuous. Hear 
 him addressing a multitude at Blackrock: " Show me any one 
 in the wide circle of your acquaintance who was ever benefited, 
 either in body or in soul, by the use of intoxicating liquors. 
 I allow there is some enjoyment, some sensual gratification 
 to be found in the use of those liquors ; but what is that 
 enjoyment to the frightful risk that is encountered ? Ought 
 any man blight his prospects in life, and those of his family, 
 for the sake of that wretched indulgence ? How many are 
 there whose fathers, had they been teetotallers, would have 
 been able to have given them the blessing of a liberal educa- 
 tion, and who might now fill some of the highest situations 
 in the land ? There are many who, twenty or thirty years 
 ago, were in the receipts of large sums of money, who are 
 now miserably poor, and whose children are in rags, idle and 
 straggling, like vagabonds, through the streets, and all this 
 owing to the criminal neglect of their parents, who spent, in
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. Ill 
 
 intoxicating liquors, the money which should have been ex- 
 pended in properly training their children in life. Show me 
 the man who ever advanced in life who was addicted to the 
 use of intoxicating liquors ?" I shall not follow the great 
 temperance leader step by step ; I shall not attempt to 
 describe scenes which, if time permitted, would prove not 
 only instructive but interesting; I shall briefly allude to 
 results, public as well as private, which followed from the 
 adoption of the temperance pledge. Statistics inform us 
 that crime diminished and morals improved. Judges, in their 
 opening addresses to grand juries, congratulated the counties 
 which they visited upon the spread and progress of tem- 
 perance, attributing the lightness of the criminal calendar to 
 the sobriety of the mass of the population. Invitations flowed 
 in upon Father Mathew from various places in England and 
 Scotland. In 1842 he received a very flattering address from 
 the ladies of Edinburgh, signed by 2,000 fair petitioners, 
 praying him to commence his promised mission to Scotland 
 in its capital. He visited that country, and was received with 
 unbounded kindness by a generous and intelligent people. 
 We learn the issue of this mission of charity from the follow- 
 ing words of an address presented to him on his return to his 
 own loved home. " Having achieved so singular, so miracu- 
 lous a change in five millions of the Irish nation, you have 
 shown the world that your exertions are not confined to any 
 particular clime, country, or religion ; that you are the friend 
 of mankind in every grade, in every land, under every circum- 
 stance ; that your mission is for the whole human family, and 
 that where good is to be done, there you are, every country 
 being for you a field to sow the moral seed, no matter under 
 what aspect or with what degree of intensity the fostering 
 light of Christianity shone upon it. We are proud to witness 
 jour success amongst the intellectual people of Scotland ; it 
 was gratifying to see 100,000 of that gifted nation assembled 
 around you, and pledging themselves to you that they had 
 the fortitude by restraining themselves to elevate still more 
 the character of their country." From the beautiful reply to 
 the address I must give you a few sentences. " I have made 
 it the study of my life, without distinction of creed or politics, to 
 -do good to all, for I never conceived why we should feel enmity 
 to any man, no matter what his religion. I do not say this 
 from any miserable egotism, but rather to bare the feelings 
 of my heart before you. We differ on controversial points, 
 but we should all value the lesson of the Gospel : ' A new 
 commandment I give unto you, that you should love one 
 another.' I trust, as temperance has made us a great people,
 
 112 TWELVE YEARS JN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 that it will also prove a bright and golden chain, uniting all 
 persons in one bond of union, and by this means marking all 
 happy." We must now devote a moment to his visit to- 
 England. Men of high rank, Protestant as well as Catholic,. 
 vied with each other in honouring the Apostle of Temperance, 
 The late Earl of Stanhope, in a letter dated 26th January,. 
 1843, thus addresses Father Mathew: "Your presence in 
 England will, to myself in particular, afford the greatest hap- 
 piness, as I entertain for you the greatest veneration, as I 
 am most grateful for your inestimable services." This visit 
 to England was but similar to that to Scotland ; the same- 
 enthusiasm and excitement, the same respect evinced towards 
 him by all parties. In Liverpool, in Manchester, in Salford, 
 in Huddersfield, in Wakefield, in Leeds, and in a number of 
 other places, his success was extraordinary. As a matter of 
 prudence, he made it a rule not to accept invitations to take- 
 up his residence in the houses of his friends and admirers. 
 This determination induced a respected member of the Society 
 of Friends to resort to an ingenious device to obtain the 
 honour of Father Mathew's company during his stay at 
 Wakefield. The Quaker invited him to stay at his house ; 
 Father Mathew declined, as he wished to be in an hotel for 
 the convenience of those who wished to see him at any hour. 
 The Friend intimated that his residence was an hotel, whereon 
 Father Mathew gladly accepted the kind offer. A board* 
 with the word "hotel" on it was placed on the outside of the 
 mansion. Father Mathew was greatly pleased with the quiet 
 and order, the wonderful neatness and simple elegance which 
 pervaded the entire establishment. The kindly device was- 
 not discovered until the time of his departure came near. 
 
 An English newspaper, the Leeds Mercury, thus describes 
 the impression made on the English mind by the leader of 
 the temperance movement: "His manners are simple and 
 unassuming, and the kind and hearty reception which he gives- 
 to all who approach him is such as strikingly manifests him 
 to be a true philanthropist, whose love and affection for his 
 fellowman overstep the narrow sphere of benevolence in which 
 moves the mere party or sectarian lecturer." 
 
 But all was not sunshine ; if he met with encouragement- 
 and support, he met with opposition and insult. All I will 
 remark is that I am happy to say, opposition had the contrary 
 effect to that which its foolish authors intended. During his; 
 stay in London he met with the most distinguished men of the- 
 day. On one occasion he created no small amusement by 
 endeavouring to make a convert of Lord Brougham, who re- 
 sisted, good humouredly, but resolutely, the efforts of his;
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 113 
 
 dangerous neighbour. " I drink very little wine," said Lord 
 Brougham ; " only a half glass at luncheon, and two half 
 _glasses at dinner ; and though my medical advisers told me I 
 should increase the quantity, I refused to do so." "They 
 were wrong, my lord," said Father Mathew, " for advising 
 you to increase the quantity, and you are wrong in taking the 
 small quantity you do ; but I hope of you yet." On another 
 occasion Father Mathew and the great Duke of Wellington 
 the two most distinguished conquerors of the age, though in 
 widely different fields of glory met. The duke was singu- 
 larly gracious to his brother hero, for whose character and 
 services he entertained well-known respect. " I ought to 
 claim your grace as one of ours," said Father Mathew to the 
 Duke. His grace replied : " How can that be, Father Mathew ; 
 I am not a teetotaller, though I am a very moderate man." 
 *' Oh, but you are a temperate man, your grace, for if you had 
 not so cool a head you would not have been the illustrious 
 Duke of Wellington," was the quick rejoinder. Perhaps the 
 most gratifying circumstance connected with his visit to 
 England was the kind reception accorded to him by the late 
 Dr. Stanley, Bishop of Norwich. At a great meeting held at 
 Norwich on the 7th of September, 1844, his lordship thus 
 .addressed the man whom thousands had assembled to honour: 
 "And now, reverend sir," addressing Father Mathew, "you, 
 my friend and brother from another island, I meet you here 
 riot as a Roman Catholic priest. I differ from your creed 
 I will candidly tell you I am even hostile to it ; but I meet 
 you here in a nobler, in a more comprehensive character than 
 that of a priest I meet you as a man like myself, as a Chris- 
 tian brother as a Christian brother on neutral ground, where 
 Christians of all denominations delight to meet and congre- 
 gate together. Sir, I have watched your proceedings for 
 many and many a year. I remember, many years ago, that I 
 censured you in public ; nay more, may I not add, abused 
 _you. I believed those public reports spread, I scarcely know 
 how, save by malice and foolish misrepresentation; neverthe- 
 less I thought it my duty, as a man of candour, to apply to 
 j-ou as a gentleman, a Christian, and a man of honour, to tell 
 me how the case really stood. You answered me in a manner 
 that did you credit, and I turned over a new leaf I abused 
 _you no more ; and now I rejoice to meet you here as a friend. 
 I am not one of those who will not believe a Catholic on his 
 oath; I acted more courteously; I believed you on your candid 
 .and honest affirmation ; and I am satisfied that you did not 
 deceive me. I have watched over your character ; I have 
 -had every resource in my possession, and I have endeavoured
 
 114 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 to ascertain precisely what it was. I will say, and I think it 
 my duty to say, it is embodied and written in print. I will 
 read you the character which I believe Mr. Mathew' entitled 
 to, and which describes that character and estimation in 
 which he is held by those who know him better than I do."" 
 Here his lordship read the following eulogium : " ' He is a. 
 gentleman by birth ; for twenty-four years he has devoted his 
 energies to the service of the poor ; and so far from being- 
 actuated by sordid or pecuniary motives, he has applied his- 
 private property to religious and benevolent purposes. As to 
 politics, notwithstanding insinuations to the contrary, it is a 
 fact that he has never, during his whole life, attended one 
 political meeting, or mixed with any political agitation ; and 
 though entitled to the franchise, he has never voted.' My 
 friends, I believe it ; and I may say that the good sense and 
 the good feeling of the aristocracy of London have borne me 
 out in the opinion I entertain of this worthy man. When in 
 London, he was visited and most hospitably received by men 
 of high rank, high character, and high station ; they knew^ 
 his worth, and they bade him go on and prosper, knowing 
 well that they should receive the advantages if not directly, 
 indirectly of his invaluable exertions. But, sir, your cause- 
 was not an easy one ; it was not altogether over a macada- 
 mised road you had to pass ; but you had thorns, and brakes 
 and briars in the way. You were assailed in turn by those 
 who, while their disapprobation and censure was eulogy, sunk 
 
 them in deeper degradation Men of Norwich ! 
 
 citizens of this ancient city ! I appeal to you, and I trnst that 
 my appeal shall not be in vain receive this wanderer on a 
 sacred mission from a distant country receive him and give 
 him a Christian welcome, for he has come on a Christian 
 mission." 
 
 This was the crowning triumph of a visit which had done 
 so much, not alone for the cause of temperance, but for the 
 promotion of Christian charity amongst men of different 
 churches. It was computed that 600,000 persons had taken 
 the pledge during his brief but successful campaign in 
 England. 
 
 In 1849 the apostle of temperance redeemed his long- 
 standing engagement to visit America. This enterprise was 
 undertaken quite in opposition to the remonstrance of his 
 physicians and friends. But good was to be clone ; and to 
 accomplish it he was ready to lay down his life. Time will 
 not permit me to describe his magnificent reception on the 
 shores of the New World. I will only refer to one circum- 
 stance. As soon as his arrival was made known in the capital, a
 
 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 115- 
 
 resolution was unanimously carried in Congress admitting him 
 to a seat on the floor of the house the very highest distinction 
 which could be conferred upon the subject of any other country 
 by the representatives of the Great Republic. When Father 
 Mathew availed himself of this flattering permission the 
 members rose to receive him. His incessant labours, with 
 the growing infirmities of age, aggravated by repeated attacks 
 of a dangerous malady, shattered his constitution. Inexorable 
 necessity demanded retirement and repose. However, he 
 did not yield until he added to the ranks of temperance over 
 600,000 disciples in America. In one of his last addresses 
 he expressed those memorable words: "At the close of a 
 long and thank heaven a successful campaign, I find my- 
 self, it is true, enfeebled in health, shattered in constitution, 
 and destitute of this world's wealth ; yet with the apostle ' I 
 glory in my infirmity,' contracted as it has been in the noblest 
 of causes, and I still feel that no sacrifice, whether of health, 
 of property, or of life itself, is too great to save from ruin and 
 perdition the humblest of those for whom our Divine Saviour 
 has willingly shed his most precious blood." 
 
 He returned to Ireland in the month of December, 1851. 
 The days of his mortal career were numbered ; hour by hour 
 the clouds of death darkened around him ; he was conscious 
 of his position, and perfectly resigned. He employed his- 
 time wisely ; for more than two hours each day he was to be 
 found in the church absorbed in prayer and meditation, and 
 whatever time he could spare from visitors was devoted to the 
 great purpose preparation for a holy death. After the last 
 paralytic shock, when he could no longer speak, he intimated 
 his wish that any one desirous of seeing him should be ad- 
 mitted to his room ; and those who had come to take the 
 pledge, before the news of his severe attack had spread 
 abroad, were conducted to his bedside. By that dying couch 
 they knelt, and they themselves repeated the well-known 
 formula, after which he contrived to make the sign of the 
 cross on their foreheads with his palsied hand. Death stole 
 upon him as gently as sleep upon a wearied traveller. He 
 died in peace on the 8th of December, 1856, in the 66th year 
 of his age. The sad news of his death elicited a strong and 
 generous expression of public feeling. The Corporation of 
 Cork resolved to honour the memory of this illustrious fellow- 
 citizen by a public funeral. On Friday, the 12th of December,. 
 1856, the city of Cork poured out its population in the streets- 
 to pay the last tribute of respect to the memory of its greatest 
 citizen. The funeral procession extended nearly two miles 
 in length. It was computed that more than 50,000 mourners
 
 116 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 (for all on that day were mourners) accompanied the honoured 
 remains. Every class, every rank, every party, eveiry creed, 
 had its full representation in that sad procession. Amid the 
 tears and prayers of his fellow-citizens, who that day repre- 
 sented a mourning nation, the body of Theobald Mathew 
 was consigned to the grave in the beautiful cemetery which 
 he himself had founded. In a few weeks after his demise 
 the citizens of Cork assembled in the public Court House to 
 consider the most appropriate means of paying a tribute of 
 respect to the memory of the apostle of temperance. 
 
 On that day the Protestant and Dissenter vied with the 
 CathoJic in the sad but eloquent expression of affection for 
 the man veneration for his character and sorrow for his loss. 
 Never was feeling more unanimous. The issue of the resolves 
 of that day was to erect a statue, typical of his temperance 
 movement, in the most public and conspicuous position of 
 the city. The statue has been erected, replete with that charm 
 of life and grace which genius alone can impart to marble or 
 bronze." 
 
 In order to render this chapter amusing, as well as 
 instructive, I will add a very peculiar sermon, delivered 
 in Ireland many years ago, by a distinguished Catholic 
 priest, a native of Russia ; and I would be glad, indeed, to 
 see a copy of it in the hands of all my countrymen. 
 
 The Proposition of his Satanic Majesty to convert the Poor in 
 Ireland, at the time of the Famine, 18-16. 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 PREACHED BY A CELEBRATED RUSSIAN CONVERT, DURING 
 A MISSION IN A COUNTRY PART OF IRELAND. 
 
 " GOOD PEOPLE ! there was once an assembly. Now where 
 do you think it was held ? by whom ? and for what purpose ? 
 Well, I will tell you ; the assembly was held in hell, by the 
 devils, and for the purpose of perverting the Irish. Lucifer 
 sat at the head, and with infernal malice told the devils the 
 object of their meeting. ' We have succeeded so well in 
 making the English good Protestants, the Scotch also, and 
 the French infidels, can anyone suggest the means of accom- 
 plishing the perversion of the Irish ?' An old devil rose up 
 (a fallen archangel) ; he addressed Lucifer thus: 'Most sove- 
 Tvign master, I know a means of perverting the Irish ; send
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFKICA. 117 
 
 amongst them famine and starvation; put plenty of money 
 into the parsons' pockets, and the Irish will soon be per- 
 verted ! This proposal was received, and devils went over 
 to Ireland. Some shook their heads over the potatoes, and 
 they were destroyed : others flapped their wings over the 
 corn, and it was burnt up, and the poor were starving and 
 dying. The parsons went about, offering them money 
 if they would renounce their religion ; but they remained 
 steadfast, preferring starvation to apostacy." 
 
 At this the people, forgetting where they were, roared 
 out and clapped. 
 
 " Lucifer then called another council, and ordered 
 the devil who had given the advice to stand before 
 him (he had sneaked behind another devil's tail). He 
 had to advance ; and Lucifer ordered him three thousand 
 stripes, and to be thrown down into the lowest pit. 
 Lucifer then asked if no other devil had any better 
 advice to give, upon which another devil spoke as fol- 
 lows : ' Most sovereign master, I know a means of per- 
 verting the Irish. The Bible has done a great deal 
 for us in England ; send over plenty of parsons, and 
 the Irish will soon be perverted.' This was done ; and 
 the result was the parsons were hooted out of the country, 
 and the Irish remained as before (loud applause], Luci- 
 fer, in dismay, called another assembly; ordered the 
 poor devil that had given the last advice to be brought 
 before him. He advanced trembling; he was ordered 
 six thousand stripes, and to be buried in the deepest 
 part of hell, which was done. Lucifer again asked if 
 no one could suggest any better means of perverting 
 the Irish. They all seemed in terror. After some time 
 a very venerable, white-haired old devil arose to speak. 
 All the devils listened in great anxiety to hear what 
 he was going to -say; and even Lucifer himself, that 
 he might hear the better, put his hand to his ear. This 
 devil was held in great veneration by them all. It was 
 said that it was he who attended Henry VIIL, who 
 watched over Martin Luther, and even perverted Judas 
 himself. ' Most potent sovereign,' said he, ' I have long 
 considered that the Irish must be perverted. After ma- 
 ture deliberation and deep reflection I have discovered 
 the means of doing it. Send at once as many devils 
 as may possibly be spared ; some to boil water, others 
 to collect sugar, and others to stir up whiskey punch. 
 
 I
 
 118 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Whiskey punch ! whiskey punch ! this will pervert the 
 Irish !' The devils went over ; some boiled the water, 
 others collected the sugar, aud others stirred the whiskey 
 punch. And this perverted many of the Irish. All those 
 who drank went like flakes of snow into hell. Lucifer then 
 called another council, and in the presence of all the devils 
 loudly applauded the old devil who had given the last advice. 
 He was placed in rank next to Lucifer himself, and is there 
 still." 
 
 At this were dreadful groans from the people, during 
 which the preacher descended from the pulpit. It made 
 such an impression on the people that it prevented them 
 from taking a drop of the " creature," thinking, as they 
 said, they saw the devil stirring up the whiskey punch.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 FIVE months after my arrival in Cape Town I fell into a 
 very delicate state of health, owing partly to the change 
 of climate, and partly to over-exertion, which led to my 
 removal to my first country mission, Malmesbury, a village 
 situated about fifty miles north of Cape Town. 
 
 It was on the morning of the 27th January, 1864, that, 
 in company with the bishop. I set out for my new mission. 
 The day was very warm, the thermometer standing at 104 
 in the sun. The first twenty miles of the road were 
 entirely devoid of interest ; afterwards the prospect was 
 enlivened by large tracts of cultivated land, and here and 
 there" a farmhouse, though everything appeared literally 
 scorched, and almost obscured by dust. We outspanned, 
 that is, unharnessed our horses twice during the day for a 
 rest. I felt languid and depressed at the thought of 
 having soon to be separated by a distance of fifty miles 
 from my dear bishop. Little did I then think that another 
 day would come when a thousand miles would separate us, 
 and still less did I anticipate that the day would arrive 
 when I should be called upon to deliver the bishop's funeral 
 oration, the dread veil of eternity having made a mysterious 
 and saddening separation. 
 
 As the shades of evening drew nigh, the atmosphere 
 grew much more pleasant ; a soft and gentle breeze stole 
 over the mountains, instilling new life into weary travel- 
 lers. When about one hour's ride from the village of 
 Malmesbury, the sun prepared to make his exit, bidding
 
 120 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 us adieu with as graceful a parting salute as I have ever 
 witnessed. The appearance of the celestial canopy 1 at this 
 sunset was marvellously sublime and beautiful. I would 
 I had the poet's genius that I might paint, with fitting 
 words, the transcendent loveliness of the picture. The 
 clouds assumed a variety of forms and colouring, as the 
 dazzling luminary darted his last effulgent rays of glitter- 
 ing splendour through them, forming a crimson drapery,, 
 relieved by silver fringes, and literally lit up with golden 
 tints. I seemed to forget everything else, as, with ad- 
 miring gaze, I feasted my eyes upon the rich scene, and 
 allowed them long to linger about the point where the sun 
 had faded from my view ; when lo ! as when the drop 
 curtain of the theatre falls, merely to prepare another 
 scene of interest for the sight, so, as the sun retired, the 
 clear moon came forth in modest beauty, with her glitter- 
 ing satellites solemnly sweeping across the heavens, which 
 she deluged with a flood of light. Whilst the celestial canopy 
 thus displayed its gorgeous beauty, the earth around was 
 covered with charms. Nature had put forth all her attrac- 
 tions : the lovely sugar birds (as they are fitly called), 
 clothed with brilliant plumage, were chirping their even- 
 ing songs, as they hopped from branch to branch ; the 
 flocks of sheep were bleating softly, as they returned to 
 their kraals ; the goats were nipping their dessert off 
 choicest shrubs, and the gentle lambs gambolled joyfully. 
 The cows and oxen moved along with sober gait, while 
 the colts frollicked around their dams. Again, little 
 children were to be seen in groups, black, white, and 
 tawny, indulging in all the innocent amusements of youth. 
 Some were dressed ; others half naked ; a few groups of 
 negro children, with feathers and flowers on their heads, 
 were building houses of mud upon the sand, while their
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFEICA. 121 
 
 companions in the sports formed circles around them, or 
 sang little songs in Dutch ; all skipping and laughing in 
 utmost glee, showing light hearts, as they danced about so 
 merrily on that evening of the 27th January, 1864. It 
 was thus I entered into the region of my first country 
 mission in South Africa, the picture reminding me of the 
 -words of the poet : 
 
 " Here their scenes the rural joys bestow, 
 And give our wearied minds a lively glow, 
 The tenants of the place, a festive band, 
 With dances meet us on the yellow sand." 
 
 The village of Malmesbury, which is the chief town of 
 Swaartland, is situated in a species of valley, being sur- 
 rounded by hills and mountains. It is remarkable as a 
 corn-producing district, and is called the Garden of South 
 Africa. The inhabitants of the village, numbering nearly 
 a thousand, consist of every variety of the race called 
 bastard Hottentots, together with descendants of Dutch, 
 English, Irish, and Scotch families. There are four 
 churches, the chief being the Dutch Keformed, a very fine 
 building ; the English church, a neat little edifice ; the 
 Liberal church and the blacks' church complete the list 
 In the centre of the village there are famous medicinal 
 springs, the most remarkable in South Africa, over which 
 comfortable bath-houses have been erected by Dr. Bicard. 
 They are patronised by invalids from far and near. The 
 appearance of the village from the Cape Town road is 
 strikingly picturesque ; the houses of one, two, or three 
 stories of stone or otherwise, with painted or whitewashed 
 fronts, appear to stand in regular horizontal lines, each 
 receding row being visible above the other, on the rising 
 ground. In the centre is the modest little English Gothic
 
 122 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 church, surrounded by a pretty garden ; rows of trees run- 
 in parallel lines through the principal streets ; and the 
 glebe lands of the Dutch parson, thickly planted, have the 
 pleasing effect of softening down and enriching the view. 
 In the background, on an eminence, towering above all, 
 stands the Dutch Eeformed church, giving at once an air 
 of importance and of beauty to Malmesbury. 
 
 We drove to the hotel, a large and well-built house, 
 kept by a beau-ideal of an Irishman, named Daly, 
 whose genial wife, a convert to Catholicity, received us 
 with a truly Catholic welcome. Their children and ser- 
 vants were called in to get the bishop's blessing, and I 
 was introduced as the first Catholic pastor of Malmesbury. 
 Mr. Kennedy, senior, a fine, honest specimen of an 
 Irishman, gifted with the best qualities of the Celtic race, 
 was sent for, and on his arrival, in the presence of this 
 little congregation, the bishop said to me, " James, my 
 child, I now give over to you this district. There are- 
 but nineteen Catholics in this village; there is no church, 
 no school, no presbytery. I have laid in it the foundation 
 of a church, to be dedicated to St. Francis de Sales. May- 
 God prosper your efforts. Mr. Daly and Mr. Kennedy 
 will do their best to aid you." 
 
 On the following morning the bishop left for Cape Town,, 
 and then at once I set about planning my future work. 
 
 On the 29th January, the feast of St. Francis de Sales, 
 the news spread that a Roman Catholic resident priest was 
 in the village, and many gnashed their teeth with rage, 
 while others ridiculed the idea as " (rek " (foolishness). 
 At mid-day I took a book in my hand, and went out for a 
 walk. I had not proceeded far when I heard a voice cry 
 out: " Daar gaat de Eoomsch hondje" (there goes the 
 Homan pup) ; at the same moment I was nearly smothered
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 123 
 
 "by a quantity of soft cow-dung being pelted in my face, 
 with which my eyes were covered. I scraped it off with 
 my fingers, washed in a running stream, wiped my face 
 with my pocket-handkerchief, and said within myself, 
 " This is really a good beginning." 
 
 I applied to the magistrate, Captain Eenier, for the use 
 of the courthouse for the following Sunday, as we had no 
 church. This was granted, and I arranged a temporary 
 altar, surmounted by a very large missionary crucifix. 
 On the Sunday morning a congregation numbering more 
 than a hundred assembled. Whilst vesting myself with my 
 sacerdotal robes, I overheard the people whispering, 
 " Kijk ! daar staat de Eoomsch algod " (look at the Roman 
 God), meaning the crucifix. At nine o'clock the Mass 
 commenced, and the people, referring to the Holy Sacri- 
 fice, remarked : " Nu koom de gekhied maken ceremonen" 
 (now come the foolish ceremonies). At the gospel I 
 preached an extempore sermon, which in America would be 
 called a "stump oratiom." In the evening I preached 
 again, and the courthouse was full. The subject was 
 posted on the doors, thus " One Lord, one Faith ; in 
 this village there are many churches, each differing from 
 the other, each pretending to speak in the name of Christ ! 
 All cannot be right ! The Roman Catholic faith is the 
 oldest form of Christianity. It comes to you in the name 
 of Jesus Christ ! Give it a hearing, and do not pronounce 
 judgment without knowledge." 
 
 The crowds that attended on this day aroused the ire of 
 the parsons ; bigotry was brought at once into full play, 
 and the courthouse was refused for future use. One of 
 the ministers called upon me on Tuesday. He was a man 
 of very High Church notions and of great zeal, and in 
 many respects a remarkable man, very small of stature,
 
 124 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 thin and pale, dressed as to the upper part of his body like 
 Robinson Crusoe, and as to his legs, he was the image of 
 " Puss in Boots." His object was to give me official notice 
 not to advance one peg beyond the Romanist circle. 
 " I am," he said, accompanying the words with a stroke of 
 his cane on the leg of the unoffending table, " the pastor of 
 the blacks." This assertion was followed by a terrible fit 
 of sneezing, which well-nigh shook the little gentleman 
 out of his boots. I treated him with compassion, put a 
 *' bee in his bonnet," or what in Irish parlance would be 
 called a " flea in his ear," and so despatched him. 
 
 During the following day a little lady was observed 
 going round among the houses of the blacks, and warning 
 
 them in the name of the Rev. not to attend the 
 
 Roman services. This lady was of the Exeter Hall stamp, 
 prejudiced beyond degree ; she had never read a Catholic 
 book, nor heard a Catholic sermon in her life, nor would 
 she be guilty of so great a crime. She was lower in stature 
 than the minister, and wore a scarlet cloak, which made 
 her the living personification of" Little Red Riding Hood.'' 
 
 The following extracts from letters of my dear bishop, 
 received at this time, will portray his lordship's anxiety 
 and zeal : 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 February 3, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR FATHER O'HAIRE, So the battle is commenc- 
 ing ; thanks to God, the devil is alarmed He sees St* 
 Francis de Sales praying for Malmesbury. " Alea jacta est.' 
 In nomine Domini, take Mr. Daly's side house at 1 10s. 
 per month, and for a few pounds you will arrange it. 
 " Praedica verbum opportune, importune." Don't mind the 
 parson if he defames our holy faith ; ask him to come 
 forth before his people and prove his assertions. Don't be
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 125 
 
 afraid of him ; God is on your side. Go among the blacks 
 continually. Bring all you can into the faith. I have 
 made arrangements to leave you in Malmesbury until I 
 get a priest to take your place ; then you will return to 
 your old master ; but I am now determined to work with 
 all rny soul the Malmesbury Mission, until I get a priest 
 to relieve you. You will get your division of the dues 
 at Christmas and Easter, as if you were in St. Mary's. As 
 soon as you have your house in order, you can come down 
 and take up your traps. I am very sorry to part with 
 you here, but the turn affairs have taken compels me to 
 jepel the impudence of the parson towards our holy faith. 
 May (rod enable you to become the apostle of Malmesbury. 
 You need have no fear about the new institutions in Cape 
 Town, which must ever look up to you as their founder. 
 I think the beginning at Malmesbury is prosperous, and 
 we have every reason to hope for best things for St. Francis 
 de Sales' people. On Saturday I called on the colonial 
 secretary about the courthouse. Eawson said a rule had 
 been made about four years since, which he believed to be 
 a prohibition against the courthouse being used as a place 
 of worship. I did not fail to remind him of the incon- 
 gruity of allowing actors to occupy the courthouse, and pro- 
 hibit the ministers of God from advancing man's true 
 interests. I fear we have no chance. Now, what's to be 
 done ? Having got a start, you can, if you wish, until 
 your temporary chapel is ready for use, erect your cross 
 -on your own ground, and hold your services there, under 
 the canopy of heaven, under the roof of the great temple 
 of God, for the whole earth is his temple. We must 
 persevere and only yield to difficulties when we shall yield 
 up our souls into the hands of Him who made them. All 
 are well, and pray for your success. I am delighted with
 
 126 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 your progress in the Dutch language. The knowledge of 
 it will secure many souls for Grod. I will feel your absence, 
 but I am prepared to make any sacrifice to aid you in your 
 glorious work. May the blessing of God remain about 
 you. I will ask Mr. Keating to send Edmund to you. 
 " Perge prospere precede et regna." 
 
 Your ever devoted bishop, 
 
 f THOMAS G-RIMLEY 
 
 Eer. JAMES O'HAIKE, 
 Catholic Eector, Malmesbury. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, 
 2Qth February, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of 
 writing to you, although I have not received a line from 
 you lately. I suppose you are mortifying yourself during 
 Lent, and thus depriving me of so much gratification. I 
 need not tell you how dearly I feel the interests at stake 
 in your new mission, in our first attempt to convert South 
 Africa. In the future history of Catholicity in this 
 portion of the globe, our success or our failure must be 
 recorded ; but no, I cannot, I should not, write the word 
 failure. Grod is with us we must prosper. We have 
 opened to-day our school for little blacks ; I place the 
 good work under the patronage of St. Francis Xavier. 
 We had three children, but when we opened dear St. 
 Paul's academy in Dublin we had not more. I am most 
 sanguine of success. Miss Begley and Miss Barry teach 
 gratis, so I will be enabled to give tiffin every day to- 
 those who attend. Pray for this good work. I am almost 
 longing for the day when you will be among us. About 
 a fortnight before Easter, if you find an opportunity, 
 come. Appoint some one to say the rosary at Mass hour
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 127 
 
 on the Sunday of your absence. Praying that God may 
 preserve you and bless your noble undertaking, 
 I remain your ever affectionate and sincere friend, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Malmesbury. 
 
 . ST. MARY'S, CAPE Towir, 
 
 2nd March, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, After posting a letter to you on 
 Tuesday, I received your esteemed favour. I must, in the 
 first place, congratulate you on being deemed worthy by 
 our dear Lord to suffer for his sake. Take no notice of 
 the affair. God has clearly permitted the insult for 
 the good of our holy faith. St. Francis is at work ; no 
 doubting it, Catholicity will, with the blessing of the Al- 
 mighty, prosper in Malmesbury. You are meeting with 
 great opposition ; you must expect it. The dominion of 
 Satan has been attacked, his kingdom invaded, his throne 
 assaulted ; and do you imagine so powerful a prince will 
 permit the warrior of Jesus Christ to take quiet possession 
 of all he holds most dear ? Our life is a warfare, Vita 
 hominis super terram militia est. Do you persevere in 
 your own prudent course : when struck on one cheek, pre- 
 sent the other ; oppose meekness to violence ; the Spirit of 
 Christ to the spirit of Calvin, and your success is certain. 
 The parson's conduct towards you will do far more good 
 than harm. His own people will recognise his ungentle- 
 manly conduct, and will begin to sympathise with you. 
 This very sympathy is most important in your present cir- 
 cumstances, and will help to dissipate prejudice. Above 
 all things exhibit a spirit of the greatest forbearance, and
 
 128 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 God will crown your efforts. With regard to your juris- 
 diction, you have faculties for every inch of my viycariate. 
 You may start as opportunity may offer, and as prudence 
 may dictate to you, to any point in my vicariate, and ad- 
 minister sacraments, and discharge all the other duties of 
 your holy calling. Now, with regard to the amalgamation 
 of Wellington and the Paarl with Malmesbury, I say for 
 the present, never mind, and my reason is I wish your un- 
 divided attention be given to Malmesbury. When I say 
 3Ialmesbury, I mean chiefly the natives. Let us see what 
 you can do with Malmesbury. You must open the chapel 
 as a school for the coloured children. You must gather 
 them around yourself; become all to all for their salva- 
 tion. If at any time, in vacation, you find an opportunity 
 of going to the Paarl or Wellington, you can go and do all 
 the good you can ; but believe me, except you work the 
 school for the black children, you will do very little for 
 Malmesbury. If our funds would allow us to get a school- 
 master, then I would say amalgamate Paarl and Welling- 
 ton with Malmesbury. At present I fear we must defer 
 I am your devoted bishop, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Catholic Eector, Malinesbury. 
 
 A cottage was now rented and fitted up as a temporary 
 chapel In the meantime, the church of St. Francis de 
 Sales was being raised. The knowledge of the Dutch lan- 
 guage was indispensable, and therefore I succeeded in 
 securing the services of a Catholic lad Edmund Keating 
 from Cape Town, who remained with me for several 
 months, and taught me the patois of the country. He was 
 an amiable lad of about thirteen, and well versed in the 
 vernacular tongue. Day after day we went together into
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 129 
 
 the glebe lands, which were open to all, and sitting under 
 the shade of the trees, I tried to acquire from him a 
 knowledge of this mutilated Dutch. One day, however, 
 the Dutch Eeformed clergyman thought fit to turn us both 
 off the grounds, as intruders ; I have heard that he often 
 regretted that act since. 
 
 I had two schools, one in the morning and one at even- 
 ing time, in which I acted the part of " Paddy Byrne" 
 twice a day. 
 
 One evening, during the first lenten season I spent there, 
 a black girl, twelve years old, came to the vestry after 
 Benediction of the Holy Sacrament, and asked to be in- 
 structed for baptism. I had not been five minutes engaged 
 in conversation with her, when the girl's aunt, a woman 
 of colossal stature, rushed wildly into the room, brandish- 
 ing a large broom, which she let fly, first at the girl, and 
 then at me, but I declined the compliment by making a 
 rapid exit. Similar scenes often occurred. 
 
 In walking through a field, on one occasion, in 1864, 1 
 had a very narrow escape from a snake. I was reading a 
 book, when suddenly I heard a hiss, and saw a snake 
 within a yard of me. I had probably trodden upon it, for 
 when I took to my heels it followed me for at least a hun- 
 dred yards. It was of the species called spring-slang( spring- 
 ing snake). I was ever after very careful of such enemies. 
 
 If snakes and tigers were the only enemies that the 
 Catholic priest had to fear in South Africa, the ob- 
 stacles might easily be overcome ; but there are also- 
 ignorance, misconception, and misrepresentations regard- 
 ing Catholicity, to contend with. Besides, nearly all the 
 colony is in the hands of Dutch boors and Protestant mis- 
 sionaries ; and therefore, when travelling, if you come upon 
 either a 'farm or a mission-station, the farmer is sure to-
 
 130 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 be of the Dutch Reformed Church (what that is, he scarcely 
 knows himself), and he wants no " Roomsch " (Roman 
 Catholic). There are plenty of natives on these farms, 
 generally unbaptized, but the priest dare not speak to 
 them of religion, unless at the risk of being driven away 
 by the farmer. At the same time, enormous tracts of land 
 are in the possession of Protestant missionaries, who let 
 out the land in small lots to the blacks. The missionaries 
 have generally warehouses, sell all sorts of goods, have 
 smiths' forges, and waggon-making establishments ; in 
 many instances they are said to have amassed considerable 
 riches, whilst the poor blacks are impoverished. A priest 
 of the Catholic Church dare not attempt the conversion 
 of the natives on a Protestant mission station. The Pro- 
 testant missionary vulture, surrounded by moral carrion, 
 so to speak, spreads his wings over his prey, and prevents 
 the introduction of the Catholic Church, the great civilizer 
 of the human race. 
 
 During my mission at Malmesbury, one of my greatest 
 consolations was the reception into the Church of twenty- 
 two Hottentots, the chief part of whom resided as servants 
 on a farm called Lillyfontein, about nine miles distant 
 from the village. There was one Catholic, an Englishman, 
 named Miller, residing amongst them, and through him I 
 gained access to the others. Day after day I went to in- 
 struct them, and ultimately, on a certain Sunday, pro- 
 ceeded to Lillyfontein to baptize the catechumens. The 
 house in which I was to celebrate Mass was that of the 
 Hottentots, on the back part of the farm. There were no 
 windows in the habitation, but several holes in the wall, 
 to admit the air. I began by celebrating the Holy Mass, 
 during which the persons to be baptized knelt around me. 
 The house was crowded with Hottentots and farmers, many
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 131 
 
 of whom came towards me during Mass, attracted by the 
 beauty of the sacred vestments, and taking the cha- 
 suble in their hands cried out, " Och hoe mooi !" (Oh, how 
 pretty !) After giving instructions I proceeded with the 
 baptisms, and at four o'clock had a cup of coffee without 
 milk, left my people in joy, drove back to Malmesburjr, 
 and at 7 p.m. had my breakfast. This was one of the 
 happiest days of my life ; many of the Hottentots then 
 received, came afterwards, Sunday after Sunday, to Mass, 
 under a burning sun, over scorching sands, nine miles 
 to Mass, and nine miles home, thus showing a bright ex 
 ample of real Catholic piety to some who sneered, when 
 afterwards under circumstances that would cause better 
 instructed Catholics to fail, some of these poor creatures 
 fell away, as we shall see hereafter. The opposition offered 
 to the conversion of the Hottentots was tremendous. The 
 Dutch and English powers stirred up excitement, and the 
 cry of" no popery" was as plainly chalked on the walls as 
 if Lord John Russell had paid a visit. Previously the 
 Hottentots had been allowed to live as pagans, but the 
 moment the Catholic priest approached them, the parsons 
 feared the inroads of the Papacy, and used all their efforts 
 to ward off the christianizing effects of the only true faith. 
 What Protestant missions have done in South Africa, we 
 shall see in a subsequent chapter. 
 
 The following extracts from the correspondence of the 
 bishop, at this time, will be found interesting. 
 
 If, however, an apology be necessary for the introduction 
 into these chapters of correspondence, as well as extracts 
 from pastorals and lectures of the late Bishop Grrimley, it 
 will be found in the fact that I have promised to sketch 
 the life of the late prelate, of whom I suppose I may safely 
 assert what may be said of all who are truly, sincerely
 
 132 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 good, viz. his writings are an exposition of his life. Tins- 
 idea is thus developed in reference to the saintb by Dr. 
 Newman, in his " Historical Sketches," p. 227. A saint's 
 writings are to me his real " Life ;" and what is called his 
 " Life" is not the outline of an individual, but either of 
 the auto-saint or of a myth. Perhaps I shall be asked 
 what I mean by " Life." I mean a narrative which impresses 
 the reader with the idea of moral unity, identity, growth, 
 continuity, personality. When a saint converses with me- 
 I am conscious of the presence of one active principle of 
 thought, one individual character, flowing on and into the 
 various matters that he discusses, and the different trans- 
 actions in which he mixes. It is what no memorials can 
 reach, however elaborated, however free from effort or 
 study, however conscientiously faithful, however guaran- 
 teed by the veracity of the writers. Why cannot art rival 
 the lily or the rose? Because the colours of the flower are 
 developed and blended by the force of an inward life ; 
 while, on the other hand, the lights and shades of the 
 painter are diligently put in from without. A magnifying 
 glass will show the difference. Nor will it improve matters, 
 though not one only, but a dozen good artists successively 
 take part in the picture ; even if the outline is unbroken, 
 the colouring is muddy. Commonly what is called the 
 "Life" is little more than a collection of anecdotes brought 
 together from a number of independent quarters ; anec- 
 dotes striking, indeed, and edifying, but valuable in them- 
 selves rather than valuable as parts of a biography. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE 
 March 8th, 186-t. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, It is with no ordinary feelings that 
 1 write on the present occasion. My heart is full of joy,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 133 
 
 full of thankfulness to our good God for the blessings of 
 last Sunday. Are not the words of Zacharias applicable 
 on the present occasion: " Behedidus Dominus Deus 
 Israel quia visitavit, et fecit redemptionem plebis sucv, 
 et erexit cornu salutis nobis, salutem ex inimicis nostris 
 et de manu omnium qui oderunt nos ; illuminare his 
 qui in tenebris et in umbra mortis sedent" The arm of 
 flesh and the tongue of calumny afflict us to-day, but on the 
 morrow the power of the Most High raises us up. Sunday 
 will be a memorable day in the annals of this vicariate ; 
 but let us attribute nothing to ourselves ; we are only use- 
 less servants in the hour of prosperity. We must always 
 cry out with the prophet : Non nobis Domine, non nobis 
 sed nomini tuo da, gloriam. I am longing for Saturday 
 week that I may visit Malmesbury ; that I may see your 
 nice little church ; above and before all, that I may see 
 my children lately born to Jesus Christ. May Grod perfect 
 the good work which he has commenced. St. Francis de 
 Sales has not disappointed us ; I knew he would not. You 
 must pay particular attention to Lillyfontein ; the devil 
 will foam there, and if he can succeed in getting any of 
 your converts to return to heresy he will laugh and ridi- 
 cule us. You are getting many presents from Cape Town. 
 We are all well; thirty blacks at school to-day. Deo 
 gratias. Your devoted, 
 
 f T. G-RIMLEY. 
 
 Eey. JAMES O'HAIKE, 
 Malmesbury. 
 
 ST. MA:IY'S, CAPE TOWN. 
 
 loth March, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Please God I will be with you on 
 Saturday evening. Mr. Daly will have my dinner ready 
 
 K
 
 134 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 at the arrival of the 'bus. I perceive old Nick can't do 
 much more against your dear mission at MalWesbury. 
 Let us have the cunning of the serpent and the simplicity 
 of the dove. The humility of Christ will triumph over 
 the arrogance of hell. Eespects to Mrs. and Mr. Daly 
 and Mr. Kennedy. Yours devotedly, 
 
 f T. GrRIMLEY. 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Malmesbury. 
 
 ST. MAIIY'S, April th, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, If we were doing our own work, 
 then we might repine if success did not attend our 
 laborious efforts ; but as we are mere instruments in doing 
 the work of Grod, we must leave the issue in his hands. I 
 had hoped that a favourable impression would have been 
 made on - - mind, but God must speak to her heart. 
 May the Lord grant that for rejecting graces she may not be 
 rejected. " They will call upon me," said the Lord, " and 
 I will laugh at them in their distress." Let us pray for 
 
 . I read Mr. 's letter in Thursday's Argus ; I 
 
 am sorry that he wrote it. We ought to endeavour to gain 
 all to our holy Faith. It matters little what country a 
 man is from ; lie has a soul made to the image of (rod : 
 that is enough. Now we all know that to remove preju- 
 dice is one step towards conversion ; but if we attack 
 England blame her for so and so we will only excite 
 prejudice against us. " Let us be all in all, in order that 
 we may gain all." Let us leave worldly matters to worldly 
 people. I am glad you have opened the school ; without 
 a beginning we can do nothing. Gret in the coloured 
 children the natives ! the natives ! On last Sunday 
 morning we had 420 at Holy Communion. The proces-
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 135 
 
 sion on Sunday night attracted a great crowd. I am 
 anxious that you should go to Wellington as soon as pos- 
 sible. There are Catholics about Bain's Klooff. Praying 
 God to bless you, 
 
 I remain, your devoted bishop, 
 
 f T. GrRIMLEY. 
 
 Edmund Keating having left for Terenure College, 
 Dublin, I succeeded in obtaining another lad, Denis 
 M'Auliffe, whose brilliant talents and profound piety 
 made him my crown and my joy. He remained with me 
 for nine months, then proceeded to Ireland, thence to 
 Home, and is now a priest on the same mission of South 
 Africa. 
 
 Whilst up to my neck in the vortex of Protestant 
 bigotry in Malmesbury, I was virulently attacked from 
 Cape Town; controversial letters were pouring in upon 
 me by every post. The most remarkable correspondence 
 was between myself and the colonial chaplain of Cape 
 Town, Eev. Eobert Lamb; but his courage failing, the 
 matter collapsed. Subjoined is a portion of the corres- 
 pondence alluded to. 
 
 GREEN POINT, CAPE TOWN, 
 August 18th, 1864. 
 
 REVEREND SIR, I have learned that on a recent occa- 
 sion you had an interview with a young woman who is at 
 present under my ministry, and that you stated to her 
 " that prayers were authorised in the Bible to be offered 
 to the Virgin Mary," an assertion calculated to unsettle 
 her religious views on some important points ; I am aware 
 you refused, on that occasion, to state the passages in 
 which you believed such worship is sanctioned, but you
 
 136 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 promised to do so at some future time. As her pastor, I 
 respectfully call upon you, reverend sir, to state where 
 this authority is to be found. Your Church acknowledges 
 the Rhemish Edition of the New Testament. I shall be 
 glad .to learn from you where, in that edition, you found 
 your authority for " Mary worship," that I may communi- 
 cate with her on the subject. 
 
 I am, rev. sir, yours faithfully, 
 
 ROBERT G-. LAMB. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 
 Chaplain, Malmesbury. 
 
 [MALMESBURY, August 20th, 1864. 
 
 REVEREND SIR, Permit me to express to you the joy 
 that filled my heart as I read your letter of the 18th 
 inst. I am delighted that you are directing your atten- 
 tion to the investigation of Catholic doctrines. Persevere, 
 and you will soon discover that our doctrines are very dif- 
 ferent from what you and others represent them. I fer- 
 vently pray that God may enlighten you, and in his great 
 mercy may dispel the dark clouds of heresy in which you 
 are enveloped, and give you grace to follow the glorious 
 example of the once great lights of your law-established 
 Church the Newmans, the \Vilberforces, the Mannings, 
 the Ives, the Fabers, and a host of other Protestant 
 clergymen, who, in our own day, nobly abandoned all that 
 this world values to become members of the One, Holy, 
 Catholic, and Apostolic Church. As this letter will be, I 
 trust, but the beginning of an important correspondence 
 between us, it would be useful, and indeed necessary, that 
 I should know what branch of the Church of England you 
 cling to. Do you profess the doctrines of the High Church,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 137 
 
 of the Low Church, or the Broad Church? If report be cor- 
 rect, doctrines do not sound in Trinity Church precisely 
 the same as in St. Greorge's. You will kindly pardon me 
 for asking you to be more explicit in the question you are 
 pleased to propose to me respecting proofs from Sacred 
 Scripture for Mary's worship. I suppose by " Mary" you 
 refer to -the Blessed Virgin, he Mother of Gfod, of whom 
 the Scripture saith, " All generations shall call her blessed" 
 (Luke, i. 48). With regard to the word "worship," I 
 must say to you I do not know in what sense you under- 
 stand the term. Is it in the sense of supreme worship, 
 which belongs to Grod alone? or is it in that lower accepta- 
 tion in which you plighted your troth to dear Mrs. Lamb at 
 the hymeneal altar, when you said, " With my body I thee 
 worship ?" (See the form of " Solemnization of Matrimony" 
 in the Book of Common Prayer.) When I shall clearly 
 understand the meaning of your words, I shall feel great 
 pleasure in doing everything in my power to instruct you, 
 and, with the grace of Grod, bring you to a knowledge of 
 that faith without which it is impossible to please God 
 (Heb. xi. 6). 
 
 I remain, reverend sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 JAMES O'HAIRE, Catholic Rector. 
 
 Rev. ROBEUT LAMB, 
 Colonial Chaplain, Cape Town. 
 
 MALMESBURY, August 2(tth, 18G4. 
 
 REVEREND SIR, I am very happy to observe in your 
 letter a change for the better. In your first letter you 
 designated the Blessed Mother of Grod by the name of 
 Mary ; in your second letter you term her the Virgin
 
 138 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Mary. This is an improvement ; may the Lord continue 
 his grace to you, to abandon a Church which is but the 
 creature and slave of the state. Think on the Gorham 
 Case, which permits clergymen of the Church of England 
 to preach the non-necessity of holy baptism. Think of 
 the " Long Case," the Essays and Reviews Case, and see the 
 deplorable position of the Church of England. Is it any 
 wonder that within a few years so many Protestant clergy- 
 men should have abandoned their possessions, and embraced 
 the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church ? Eeflect 
 rev. sir, on the shortness of time and the length of eter- 
 nity. " What will it profit you to gain the whole world 
 and lose your soul ?" The moment is approaching 
 when you will be summoned to judgment. Recollect, if 
 the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit. You 
 ask me a question, and you will not explain what you 
 mean by the question. I beg of you to act fairly towards 
 me, by informing me what do you mean by worship : supreme 
 worship, which should be given to God alone, or inferior 
 worship, which you promised your dear wife on your mar- 
 riage day : "With my body I thee worship ?" 
 I remain, reverend sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 JAMES O'HAIRE. 
 
 Eev. BOBEUT LAMB, 
 Colonial Chaplain, Cape Town. 
 
 Not only were converts made in the districts of Mal- 
 mesbury, but several Protestants who came from Cape 
 Town, and were staying at Daly's Hotel, received the faith ; 
 thus, the anger of heretics was still more excited, and all 
 manner of falsehoods against the mission were freely and 
 unscrupulously set afloat. Indeed, "speak of me as I am,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 139 
 
 nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice," con- 
 tains a lesson which was rarely practised by Protestants 
 in my districts ; and reports, as injurious as they were false 
 and foolish, were actively circulated against the Catholic 
 faith. I will give you a few examples : I had a black boy 
 under instructions at Malmesbury, who came regularly 
 for several weeks, and appeared quite happy in the expec- 
 tation of becoming a Christian. Suddenly he ceased to 
 come ; so I went to his hut, and interrogating him, re- 
 ceived this reply : " Father, I could not afford to be bap- 
 tized in your religion, nor am I able to do without food 
 for so long a time." " What do you mean, Carl ?" I 
 
 asked ; to which he replied, " Mr. of the Dutch 
 
 Church told me that he knows all about the Roman 
 Catholic religion, and that I should have to pay 3 on 
 the day of my baptism, and go without my dinner for ten 
 days !" 
 
 In another case, I found a Catholic man married to a 
 Dutch woman, having four children who were unbap- 
 tized. The father made arrangements as to the day for 
 the baptism, which was to take place in his cottage. I 
 went according to appointment, but was surprised to find 
 the door locked ; the man was outside, and the woman 
 within with the children. I spoke through a chink in the 
 door, but she was inflexible, and refused to open. " What 
 is your objection ?" I asked. " Because," she said, " the 
 people about tell me that the Roman Catholic priests 
 baptize in hot water, and I don't want to have my little 
 dears scalded." I succeeded in disabusing her mind of 
 this fallacy, and the door was opened after an hour, and 
 the children baptized. 
 
 On another occasion, a church official called upon one 
 of my converts who kept a little shop, and threatened to
 
 140 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 destroy his business if he would not give up the Catholic 
 religion ; the man was firm, but this wicked official went 
 from house to house and ruined the poor Catholic trades- 
 man. 
 
 Once the late bishop was asked to baptize a child in 
 Malmesbury ; the parents were Hottentots, the father a 
 convert, but the mother a determined infidel. The father 
 stole the sleeping babe and carried it to the house where 
 the bishop was. The mother, missing the infant, made 
 rapid pursuit, but she found the doors closed against her. 
 When the baptized child was handed to her, she ran with 
 it in fury to the river, where she washed it well, saying, 
 " I will rub off this Roman baptism while it is fresh." 
 
 I mention these little incidents as illustrating a very 
 general bad feeling in the country places, and this in- 
 spired too by persons who ought to know and to do better. 
 " Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour " 
 is often forgotten. 
 
 Still, in spite of opposition and calumny, the mission 
 of Malmesbury was successful. Two facts will serve to 
 prove this. Firstly, twenty-three persons were confirmed 
 within the first year, and seventeen on the out stations. 
 Secondly, to their credit be it recorded, my poor blacks 
 often travelled ten miles on foot to hear Mass, and then 
 had, of course, ten miles to return. The Mass at Malmes- 
 bury was frequently served by two Hottentot young 
 men. 
 
 The unfortunate circumstance, however, of leaving the 
 mission afterwards for six years without a priest scattered 
 ruin and desolation over the little flock. Still I have 
 every hope that, now as the mission is re-established, it 
 will gather strength. For we know, that once the Catho- 
 lic Church has been planted in any country, it never dies ;
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 141 
 
 branches may wither and decay, scandals may strip it of 
 its fair leaves and flowers ; the tree may bend beneath the 
 storm of persecution, yet will the stem grow on, adding 
 to its massive strength year after year, till, mole sua, by 
 its own weight and majesty, it bids defiance to the blast, 
 and when the sounds of impotent wrath are hushed, and 
 the mists of error are cleared away, it will stand forth, 
 blooming in immortal youth, clad in verdure, and more 
 beautiful than ever.
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 Ix opening this chapter with a portion of his lordship's 
 correspondence, I would wish to draw attention to the 
 proof it affords, that the necessary quality in a good pastor, 
 namely, an accurate knowledge of his flock, was conspicu- 
 ous in Dr. Grrimley, as his letters abundantly testify, and 
 that there was added to this knowledge an ardent desire 
 to save those committed to his care, and unsparing exer- 
 tions to that end. The Shepherd of shepherds, the model 
 of every faithful pastor of souls, Jesus Christ our Lord, 
 thus sketches the qualities of the Good Shepherd : " I am 
 the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for 
 his sheep. But the hireling, and he that is not the shep- 
 herd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, 
 and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth : and the wolf snatcheth 
 and scattereth the sheep. And the hireling fleeth because 
 he is a hireling : and he hath no care for the sheep. I am 
 the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me," 
 St. John, chap. x. 
 
 The following letters will show that the foregoing dis- 
 tinctive marks of the Good Shepherd were to be found in 
 Dr. Grimley's character. Moreover, he looked upon his 
 flock not in globo, or as a whole, but laboured with tender 
 feelings of anxiety for each, even the most humble indi- 
 vidual. In this spirit he has often travelled long distances 
 in search of some poor labourer or servant, or in order to 
 baptize some little child of lowly birth, thus carrying out, 
 in its most touching sense, these beautiful words of the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 143 
 
 prophet Isaias : " He shall feed his flock like a shepherd : 
 he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and he 
 shall take them up in his bosom." Then again he might 
 have been seen journeying alone through deserts, from 
 village to village, keeping alive the faith, and seeking to 
 found permanent missions in these vast regions, wherein, 
 as we shall see hereafter, he succeeded before he died, and 
 thus he brought to fulfilment the beautiful words of the 
 sacred text : " The land that was desolate and impassible 
 shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice, and shall 
 flourish like the lily. It shall bud forth and blossom, and 
 shall rejoice with joy and praise: the glory of Libanus is 
 given to it, the beauty of Carmel and Saron, they shall 
 see the glory of the Lord and the beauty of our God. 
 Strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm the weak 
 knees. Say to the faint-hearted : Take courage, and fear 
 not : behold, your God will bring the revenge of recom- 
 pense : God Himself will come and will save you. Then 
 shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the 
 deaf shall be unstopped," Isaias, xxxv. Zeal, too, 
 for the conversion of the blacks, which these letters dis- 
 play ex abundantia cordis, filled Dr. Grimley's generous 
 heart ; yet very little could be done. He had to deplore 
 continually the helpless state in which he found himself, 
 with a staff of only eight priests, for so large a vicariate, 
 whose utmost labours could do little more than try to keep 
 alive the faith in the hearts of the scattered Catholics of 
 their respective districts. Hence he was unable, during 
 his life, to open any distinct mission for the natives, to 
 appoint any one priest to that exclusive work, or to estab- 
 lish permanent schools for the coloured children, though 
 some attempts were made. In what was then the western 
 vicariate, and now forms two vicariates, the western and
 
 144 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 the central, there are nearly 200,000 blacks, of whom, 
 I believe, not more than one hundred are Catholicl This 
 deplorable state of affairs has arisen partly from the reasons 
 given above, and partly from the fact that the blacks in 
 the western vicariate are for the most part on Protestant 
 farms, or on Protestant mission stations, where heresy 
 gives them that protection which the wolf accords to the 
 lamb, seeking and devouring it. It was this desperate 
 state of spiritual captivity that caused the first bishop, 
 Dr. Griffith, on the occasion of his first visitation, to say, 
 " This poor country has been made the devil's depot." 
 
 T. MA-JV'S, CAPE Towx, 
 
 26th May, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your note of the 25th inst. came to 
 hand in due time. I hope you have gone to Wellington 
 this week. Wellington is to become the centre of a mis- 
 sionary circle. You must devote a good deal of time to 
 Wellington. There are Catholics at the railway terminus, 
 six or seven. I wish we could buy a house. It is likely 
 I will leave Cape Town at the end of next week. I will 
 
 write to you before I go. Father is at the Paarl, and 
 
 the demon spirit of bigotry is being aroused against the 
 Catholic Church. Believe me, the devil will not lose his 
 grasp of South Africa without a desperate struggle. I am 
 thinking, omnibus pensatis, it would be prudent to con- 
 tinue the school until the 7th or 8th of June, and then 
 give a fortnight's holiday, spending the time between 
 Wellington, the Paarl, and Stellenbosch. Father - 
 will furnish you with the names of the Catholics at those 
 places. It appears there is no use in sending a priest to 
 any place, except occasionally, until we have in the place 
 a house belonging to ourselves. The priest must have his 
 own house, where he can be seen and visited. I am
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 145 
 
 delighted that you have the prospect of additional baptism, 
 but great caution must be used. It would be a great 
 matter to get the parents before the children. We have, 
 thanks to our good God, a glorious prospect before us. 
 You would be delighted to see our processions on Sunday 
 evenings. I have the blacks, at least eleven of them, 
 walking in procession. They edify the whole congre- 
 gation, and gratify all the blacks who crowd to see the 
 procession. Mary, the great Mother of God, is praying 
 for us. I am giving instructions to a respectable Dutch 
 lady. She sent her beautiful boy to the catechism yester- 
 day. In a most extraordinary manner Mrs. Kearns, of 
 Roeland-street, consented to get instructed ; she was up 
 last night. The harvest is getting ripe. May we be 
 worthy to cut it. 
 
 I remain, yours devotedly, 
 
 t THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Bey. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Catholic Rector, Maltriesbury. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE Towx, 
 
 May 27 'th, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, On the evening of my departure for 
 my long, and I perceive painful visitation, I write to you. 
 I am under the conviction that trials and crosses are be- 
 fore me. God's will be done. I will be in Georgetown 
 I expect this day week, and will then proceed to Prince 
 Albert and Victoria West. Victoria West will be my head 
 quarters. I hope great things will be done in Malmesbury 
 during my absence. I must now say adieu. Pray for me 
 very often, for I know I must meet the cross, and believe 
 
 me, yours most truly, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES 
 Catholic Rector, Malmesburv.
 
 146 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 GEORGETO\FHE, 
 
 1st June, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, No doubt you are anxious to hear 
 from me, and of my progress in the great work of our dear 
 mission. I left Cape Town on the 28th ult., and had 
 on the whole, a favourable passage to Mossel Bay. At 
 Mossel Bay I had not much to do, as Dr. M'Mahon had 
 been there a few weeks before. However, I set to work to 
 do a little, and thanks to (rod my delay will bring three 
 infidels into the Church. When I return I will baptize 
 them. I am going to Oudtshoom to morrow. I hope in 
 God I will be able to do some little good. Next Monday 
 I expect to leave Oudtshoom for Prince Albert. I then 
 enter the desert, as after I leave Oudtshoom I cannot see a 
 priest. I must go alone. Do write to me to Victoria West 
 care of Mr. Edward Quirk. It appears Victoria West is 
 350 miles from Oudtshoom. You can imagine what I have 
 before me ; but may God's adorable will be done. What 
 have I but my poor existence ? I give it to God to 
 dispose of as he pleases. Please write to Cape Town for 
 the names of the Catholics at Wellington, Paarl, and Stel- 
 lenbosch. There is a Dutch woman near Stellenbosch, a 
 Catholic, who should be looked after. It is better not to 
 begin your journey until you get the names of the Catholics 
 in the towns you are to visit. Now, about Malmesbury, 
 I have made up my mind to build the priest's house. It 
 strikes me as very advisable if you could make a move in 
 that direction. Let the house be the subject of anxiety. 
 You could lay the foundation-stone and build the founda- 
 tion of stone, of course, and raise the work a couple of feet 
 above the surface ; then I would build the walls. This is 
 certainly a fair proposition. I would like the thing done
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 147 
 
 as soon as possible. I hope you pray for me every day 
 I know you do. I forgot to tell you, when you require to 
 go to Cape Town during my absence, you have my per- 
 mission to do so. Always bear in mind my house is your 
 house. How are our dear blacks ? From my heart I give 
 you my blessing. I remain my dear James, your ever 
 devoted friend and unworthy bishop, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES 0'HxiRE, 
 Catholic Rector, Malmesbury. 
 
 VICTORIA WEST, 
 18th June, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your most welcome letter of the 
 13th arrived here this morning and found me at the 
 limits of the vicariate in this district. I am within a few 
 hours of the Eastern province. I arrived here on yester- 
 day evening after three days' journey from Beaufort West. 
 I will remain here until the 27th inst. The magistrate 
 called on me, and, without being asked, offered me the 
 government offices for my requirements. Next week (D.V.) 
 I will lecture each evening in the courthouse. The fruit 
 is in the hands of God. Sines I left Cape Town, God has 
 been pleased, through his unworthy servant, to add to the 
 faith. Oh ! if we had churches and priests how many 
 souls would be gained to God. I am glad that you have 
 received plenty of good books ; they will do their work. 
 I am delighted that you are making such exertions to have 
 a wall around the grounds of St. Francis de Sales. Do not 
 forget the house. With regard to the charity sermon in 
 St. Mary's, you can have the church when you please, only 
 make your own arrangements. I wish you every success. 
 The good news of Mr. Daly collecting for the church fills
 
 148 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 me with consolation. Give him my episcopal blessing, 
 and good Mr. Kennedy is about doing his part.' Don't 
 lose a moment in forwarding their noble efforts. I am 
 most anxious to get out of this desert, not having a 
 priest within nearly 200 miles of me. However, God's 
 will be done. Now, with regard to my movements : I will 
 be here until the 27th, then I start for Frasersburg, a 
 journey of three or four days. I will remain for some days 
 at Frasersburg, until at least the 4th of July. Perhaps 
 when I get to Frasersburg, I will have to go towards the 
 free State. There was a Catholic some 70 miles from 
 Frasersburg towards the direction of the free State. If I 
 can find that he is alive I will make every effort to see 
 him. Let your next letter be directed to Frasersburg, care 
 of Chief Constable Burke. Give me all the news you can. 
 You see I am here in the desert. Pray for me continually. 
 My health has not been so good as I could wish. I must 
 conclude by assuring you of my constant anxiety for your 
 success. I am, my dear James, your devoted bishop, 
 
 f THOMAS GRDILEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Catholic Rector, Malmesbury. 
 
 MOSSAL BAY, 
 26tlt July, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I can only write a line to say I am 
 just starting for Eiversdale, 350 miles distant, to attend 
 a poor Catholic who is dying. May God grant that I may 
 find her alive. Last evening I baptized three coloured 
 people all infidels. This will be a great mission, Deo 
 gratias. I will be home, please God, on next Saturday,
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 149 
 
 You can preach in St. Mary's next Sunday week, the first 
 Sunday in August. I am, yours ever devotedly, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Catholic Rector, Malmesbury. 
 
 During a portion of the time that I stayed at Malmes- 
 bury, I had charge of certain out-stations, viz., Wellington, 
 Paarl, Klapmuts, Stellenbosch, and five or six other small 
 villages, to which periodical visits were paid. There were 
 a few Catholic families residing in each place. Welling- 
 ton, the nearest, is twenty-four miles from Malmesbury, 
 and connected by railway with Cape Town, which is about 
 sixty miles distant. The railway line is now extended to 
 double that length, viz., as far as Worcester. This part 
 of the country is absolutely enchanting, especially Paarl, 
 Klapmuts, and Stellenbosch. Along the railway line the 
 traveller is charmed by the view of luxuriant vineyards, 
 limpid streams, flowing from mountains whose summits 
 are lost in the clouds, fields carpeted with flowers, the wide 
 spreading oak affording delicious shade to the weary, the 
 slender poplar gracefully bending to every breeze, cottages- 
 scattered here and there, and the occasional pinnacle of 
 a church standing up in bold relief against the sky. 
 When making my visits I availed myself little of th3 
 railway carriages. The Catholics were scattered along 
 the line and over the mountains. I therefore usually 
 walked after my arrival at Wellington. During the 
 latter part of my visit I had a good, gentle lad named 
 John Kearns, as successor to Denis M'Auliffe, who travelled 
 with me, served Mass, helped to teach catechism, in fact 
 acted the part of a catechist. The bishop's object in
 
 150 TWELVE TEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 having me visit these places was to some extent to enable 
 ine to judge as to the most eligible spot for a new mission. 
 The Paarl was ultimately marked out, but poor Dr. Grimley 
 was not able to accomplish his wishes. He had neither a 
 priest to give to it, nor means of building a small church, 
 and so time rolled on until the good bishop died. 
 
 My first visit on this line is not blotted out either from, 
 my diary or from my memory. At Wellington I stayed 
 two days, during which period the Catholics, eighteen in 
 number, approached the sacraments of penance and the 
 Holy Eucharist. I celebrated Mass, and preached in a 
 private house, to which four Protestants came for instruc- 
 tions, two men and two women. These were taught, and 
 on a subsequent visit received into the Catholic Church. 
 
 On the same occasion I met in the Paarl a German, 
 with seven unbaptised children and a Protestant wife, 
 and further over the mountains an Irishman married 
 to a Hottentot, with six children also unbaptized. This 
 was a harvest for the reaper. With my little knowledge 
 of Dutch, I managed to penetrate the farms, and found 
 nearly forty German Catholics, including men, women, 
 and children. Having made arrangements as to the time 
 and places for my next visit, I returned to Malmesbury 
 with a light heart and a light purse, but carrying a heavy 
 load my vestment case. 
 
 My second visit was made in January, the hottest 
 month of the year in South Africa, and on this occasion 
 a few remarkable incidents occurred worthy of note. 
 
 Whilst walking along the railway, searching for Catho- 
 lics among the working men, I fell in with a gang of 
 navvies, and asked one of them, " Is there any Catholic in 
 this party ?" One man insolently replied : " What do 
 you mean by Catholics? We belong to the religion of
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 151 
 
 Hiorses; we eat our share, and drink our fill, and then 
 sleep." Having received this answer, I passed on, without 
 rejoinder, but had not gone far when I perceived a nant- 
 , slang (a night snake) following me ; it was in the groove 
 of the rail. When I stopped, it stopped ; when I went on, 
 it went on ; but after about fifteen minutes of anxiety I 
 succeeded in despatching the fiend. Now I entered the 
 Paarl, a village consisting of one street, seven miles in 
 length. The Catholics had been previously requested to 
 meet me at a specified house on the following day, so that 
 I could go direct to the house in which the night was to 
 be spent, and meet my people the following morning. 
 'The occupants of the house referred to were very poor, and 
 therefore I resolved upon buying some eatable, and taking 
 it with me. A water melon at a shop door tempted me ; 
 it was as large as a good-sized bucket. Being very hungry, 
 and with the perspiration pouring down into my very 
 boots from the dreadful heat and long walk, I entered the 
 shop and purchased the melon ; and as the road was lonely 
 -carried the monster in my arms, and at the same time 
 managed to hold up my umbrella, as the sun was literally 
 scorching. When within half a mile of the house I became 
 so exhausted from exposure to the tropical sun that I 
 -actually sat down on a broken tree and cried bitterly. 
 After a few minutes, however, having again summoned 
 -courage, I walked on, but was so weak from hunger that 
 down I fell upon the road, which was covered with 
 dust, and there remained for about five minutes, utterly 
 exhausted. However, I still held on to the melon, which 
 was now cracked, and having arisen proceeded on my 
 Journey, while the water from the melon was trickling 
 down upon my clothes, already covered with dust, so that 
 I arrived at the cottage I was, indeed, in a sorry
 
 152 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 plight, both tired and hungry. Having drunk a cup of 
 coffee, I went at once to bed, and after a short rest sat up. 
 in the bed, with a dish upon my knees, and ate a good 
 slice of my well-earned water melon. 
 
 The following morning there were thirteen to Mass and 
 sacraments, and two infant baptisms. The same evening 
 I was deeply consoled by a visit from the man who had 
 been so insolent to me on the railway line the previous 
 day. He came into the cottage, and kneeling before me,, 
 without further introduction, said, " Your reverence, I am 
 that unfortunate fellow who insulted you on the railway 
 line yesterday. I am very sorry for it ; I saw at the time- 
 that you were weary, yet looking for us, poor Catholics. I 
 am a Catholic ; I was the only Catholic in the gang ; no one- 
 knows me to be one. I have not practised my religion 
 for years. When you asked for Catholics, my life of utter 
 neglect rose up before me in an instant ; but instead of 
 being penitent, I was bitterly cruel towards my poor 
 priest. I did not sleep a wink last night ; I determined, 
 to seek you out ; I ask your pardon, and on your next 
 visit I will go to confession." I need not say that this 
 comfort made up for the tribulations of the previous day,, 
 and that this poor man fulfilled his promise. On my 
 third visit I had immense consolations from the piety and 
 generosity of the Catholics. Nearly fifty approached the 
 sacraments of penance and the Holy Eucharist, and then 
 followed a trial and a triumph. The trial was this : I 
 missed my way in coming over a hill at Klapmuts, and 
 the rain began to pour in torrents. It was a pitch dark 
 night, and I had fully seven miles to walk to the cottage in 
 which mass was to be celebrated on the next day. I carried 
 my portmanteau, containing vestments, altar stone, missal, 
 &c., on my shoulder. It was eleven o'clock, P. M., when I
 
 TWELVE TEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA 153 
 
 .-arrived at the cottage, drenched to the skin, and without any 
 change of clothing. The poor people, who were very poor 
 indeed, gave me a bowl of warm milk, and a slice of bread, 
 and then I lay down to rest, but never closed my eyes. I 
 lay shivering all night, sighing for morning. At five 
 -o'clock I got up, put on my wet clothes, heard fifteen con- 
 fessions, celebrated Mass, gave Holy Communion after- 
 Awards, said the rosary, took an humble breakfast, and then 
 started, under heavy rain, to the next cottage, which I 
 knew to be more comfortable, with my portmanteau tied 
 on my back, but on the road I met a Lutheran, whose 
 -wife was a Catholic, and he kindly relieved me of my 
 burden, and carried it for me. 
 
 That evening, having had my clothes dried, and my 
 inner man pretty well attended to, I went in search of a 
 German family I had just heard of, whose history is a very 
 touching one. The family consisted of a man, wife, and 
 live children, not one of whom could speak a word of 
 English, and scarcely any Dutch, their language was pure 
 Oerman. They had not met with a priest for five years, 
 having previously resided far up the country. On one 
 occasion the wife and husband had walked two hundred 
 miles to Cape Town to receive the sacraments. Their 
 -children had never seen a priest ; they had, however, all 
 been baptised in Grermany. It was the father's custom to 
 instruct the children every evening in the catechism, and 
 on the evening of this visit he had been teaching them 
 the chapters on the Holy Eucharist. Just before I rapped 
 .at the door, the eldest son remarked, " Father, you have 
 often told us about the Holy Eucharist ; but shall we 
 never meet a priest who can speak our language, and to 
 whom we can confess ? Shall we ever receive the Holy 
 -Communion ?" The answer to this question was my rap.
 
 154 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 The mother opened the door, and I announced myself as a- 
 Catholic priest ; the whole family -were bewildered, and 
 tears of joy stood upon their cheeks. The eyes of the 
 eldest boy actually shone with delight. Between myself 
 and my catechist we managed the language, though it 
 was very difficult for me. The boy and the eldest girl 
 were sufficiently instructed for their First Communion. 
 Two hours were given to catechism, then the confessions 
 of all were heard, I had a dish of mealies for supper, and 
 retired to rest for the night. 
 
 The following morning I rose at half past four o'clock,, 
 prepared the altar, and began Mass at five o'clock: The 
 cottage of this German was on a farm, upon which the 
 children worked to pay the rent. The father went about 
 the country selling soft goods. The parents were well 
 instructed and truly pious, and the children inherited' 
 their virtues. The cottage had but one room, divided' 
 into compartments by pieces of striped calico. The fur- 
 niture was very plain, but everything was scrupulously 
 clean. On this great morning the children went out to- 
 gather green branches, tacked a calico sheet to the wall, 
 and made festoons of the boughs. The only table in the 
 house formed the altar ; candlesticks there were none, so I 
 covered two mustard bottles with scolloped paper, and 
 made everything look as neat as could be. The family 
 knelt in a semicircle before the altar; the children who 
 were to make their First Communion being in the centre. 
 Before the Mass commenced, I looked at these children ,. 
 and my very heart was lifted up, and swelled within me 
 at beholding their angelic faces. They were naturally 
 beautiful ; their features exquisitely chiselled, their skin 
 white, except the cheeks, which were suffused with a soft 
 red, like a gentle blush ; their hair long, and jet black ^
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 155 
 
 their eyes radiant with affection. There was an innocent 
 smile playing on their lips which charmed me ; it was 
 like the appearance of the bride as the Bridegroom cometh. 
 I was reminded of the words of St. Paul, where he speaks 
 of himself as poor, yet possessing all things. Within those 
 children there were hearts panting with desire for the 
 hidden God of the Eucharist ; there were souls inflamed 
 with consummg love, embracing, by their ardent affec- 
 tions, the most holy Sacrament. The Mass began, and 
 the awful moment at length came for Holy Communion. 
 As I approached, their youthful faces beamed with a bright- 
 ness emblematic of the purity of their souls ; their coun- 
 tenances assumed a pale, yet perfectly calm appearance ; 
 they seemed to me almost transparent, inspired, no doubt, 
 as they were, by that salutary fear which is the beginning 
 of wisdom. As I placed the Holy Sacrament upon their 
 quivering tongues, the tears started from their eyes, and in 
 another moment they were bent to the earth upon which 
 they knelt in adoration of the Deity dwelling within them. 
 I then communicated the parents and my sacristan, and 
 turning to the altar was obliged to give way to a flood of 
 tears, which gratitude to my good God called forth. 
 
 The following incidents being connected with this epocli 
 of my visit to the outstations, I relate them here, as they 
 may serve to enliven this chapter. 
 
 In a certain village there was an English church and a 
 very small congregation. A sexton was, however, wanted. 
 I happened to be in the village at the time, and read a posted 
 written notice, calling a meeting in the vestry that evening 
 for the appointment of a sexton. Three days after, the fol- 
 lowing announcement appeared in the morning paper: "At 
 
 a meeting, held in the vestry of on Monday evening 
 
 last, it was resolved unanimously that Mr. Pinto do act as
 
 153 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 sexton for the ensuing year." This at once caused in- 
 quiries ; one Protestant asked another, "Who is Pinto? 
 were you at the meeting?" "No, I don't know him," 
 was the reply from each one. It came to light in the end 
 that the only persons at the meeting were the parson and 
 Pinto, so the parson proposed and Pinto seconded that 
 Pinto act as sexton, and the resolution was carried unani- 
 mously nem con, no one contradicting. 
 
 In another village the Protestant bishop being expected 
 on a certain Sunday, the parson very naturally desired to 
 get as many as possible to communion. Amongst others 
 he called upon Mrs. B., a member of his flock, who after- 
 wards related the story to me. The following was the 
 conversation, as I noted it at the time. 
 
 Parson Good morning, Mrs. B. 
 
 Mrs. B. Good morning, sir, Won't you come in and 
 sit down ? 
 
 Parson I'm rather in a hurry; I have just come to let 
 you know that the bishop will be here on Sunday next, 
 and I hope to see you and Mr. B. at communion. 
 
 Mrs. B. I couldn't think of it, for two reasons : first, 
 because the Catholic priest will be next door on Sunday, 
 and I am anxious to see what the Mass is like ; and, secondly, 
 I am not worthy to take the sacrament. 
 
 Parson As to going to Mass, that's a step in the 
 wrong direction ; but as to saying that you are not worthy 
 of the sacrament, that is trash, for it is only mere bread 
 and wine. 
 
 Mrs. B. Well, then, if that's all it is you can keep it, for 
 my husband is killing himself from bread and ivine. He is 
 drinking wine all day long, and not taking even a morsel 
 of meat; nothing but a bit of dry bread; so that it's too 
 much mere bread and wine we're getting.
 
 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 157 
 
 I once went with my catechist to visit a large family of 
 Catholics living in a very small house on the side of a 
 road. It was what in Ireland would be called a sheebeen 
 house. It was a very hot night, and yet a feather-bed, 
 placed on a sofa, was given me to sleep on. The sofa was 
 old and hollow at each end, with a cross bar in the centre. 
 The sacristan rolled himself up under the tap-room table, 
 assuming very much the shape of a fish in a pot. I lay 
 down on the feather bed, but it was too much ; I thought 
 I should have been smothered ; so I arose, set the bed 
 aside, and lay on the sofa. But this was worse ; for both 
 ends being lower than the middle, I took the rather 
 -awkward position of being hung on a line to dry. The 
 house was swarming with mosquitoes, so I spent my time 
 till daybreak fighting with such of these spiteful insects 
 .as made an assault. 
 
 Earth preparations were being made at Tulbagh about this 
 time, and as I heard there were many Catholics on the works, 
 I set out for a visit to the place, a Protestant clergyman of 
 very high and ritualistic notions travelling with me in the 
 same cart, which was a public conveyance. We chatted on 
 all sorts of subjects, but theology was the only one he cared 
 for ; his ideas, however, were so misty and confused, that it 
 -was not so much that I differed from him on every point, 
 as that it was impossible to understand what he was driving 
 .at. At length we alighted, but had not gone far when we 
 had occasion to pass a body of labouring men, who at that 
 moment were cursing. The parson turning to me 
 said, " Oh, what horrid blasphemy !" " Blasphemy," I an- 
 swered, " that is not blasphemy." " Oh, then, you approve of 
 it ?" he said. " I did not say so," I replied; " but let things 
 be called by their proper names. Blasphemy is one species 
 of sin, cursing another ; these men are not blaspheming,
 
 158 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 but cursing." At this he lifted his clasped hands towards 
 heaven, and with a slight theatrical effect allowed Ms eyes 
 to follow in the same direction, saying, or rather declaim- 
 ing, " God, I thank Thee that lam not made up in these 
 school distinctions." This so sickened me, that I bid him 
 good-bye. 
 
 I went at once to the temporary residence of the con- 
 tractor, Mr. Bennett, whom I found with his wife and some 
 friends at dinner. Mrs. Bennett, a most amiable lady, 
 received me with the greatest courtesy, and in a few mo- 
 ments I found myself sitting at dinner, and as much at 
 home as though I had known Mr. and Mrs. Bennett all my 
 life: there was an ease and gracefulness of manner about Mrs. 
 Bennett that made me forget I had ever been a stranger- 
 After dinner all the necessary information was given 
 me about the men, and although Mr. and Mrs. Bennett 
 were Protestants, they kindly consented to lend me the- 
 use of their dining-room for Mass on Sunday. I then, 
 visited the works, and found thirty-three Catholics, includ- 
 ing Pat , who was a servant of Mr. Bennett. All 
 
 promised to come to confession on Saturday, and of course- 
 to Mass on Sunday, and they all came with the exception 
 
 of Pat . He was a sneaking sycophant, who would 
 
 like the ground for a temporal reward, but would do no- 
 thing that his faith required while there were Protestants 
 present. He was wanting in manly courage, and thought 
 that by staying from his duties as a Catholic he would gain 
 favour with his master. At first he pretended that Mr. 
 Bennett would not allow him to attend, but I disarmed 
 him of that excuse by going to Mr. Bennett and getting 
 explicit permission for Pat to avail himself to the fullest 
 extent of my visit. It was in vain ; he would not ; and on 
 Sunday morning he actually stayed outside during Mass,,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 159 1 
 
 -with bis back against the trunk of a large tree, opposite 
 the door. On Monday I left the works, my duty being- 
 done ; but before starting I went to Pat and said, " Now you 
 know that there is no priest nearer than Malmesbury, and 
 that would be a great distance to send if you should 
 happen to be ill. You are a strong young man, but life 
 is not in your hands. You are in mortal sin, for yesterday 
 you wilfully and scandalously lost Mass. If you wish now 
 I will hear your confession." In reply he gave a cokl 
 shrug of his shoulders, and said, " It's time enough." I 
 then got into my cart, he was standing near the same tree- 
 against which he lolled during Mass on Sunday, and close 
 to a temporary gunpowder magazine, a wooden one, for 
 the use of a few gentlemen of the works. I had not been 
 gone ten minutes, when I was startled by the sound of an 
 explosion. I drove back to ascertain the cause ; what was 
 it ? Here are the facts : Just as I left, Pat saw a snake at 
 the door of the little magazine, he seized his gun and fired, 
 forgetting the presence of the powder ; the magazine ex- 
 ploded, and the body of this poor fellow was blown into* 
 pieces, fragments were hanging from the branches of that 
 same tree, and his blood was spattered upon the same part 
 of the trunk against which he rested during Mass on the- 
 previous day. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 23rcl December, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your most welcome letter arrived 
 yesterday evening. I thought I should have been able to 
 devote 600 for Malmesbury, but with all my economy,. 
 and denying myself even a respectable suit of clothes, I 
 can only give 500. I perfectly agree with you about the-
 
 160 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 liouse, but perceive we have already expended 180 in the 
 foundation of the church. It is a lasting disgrace to 
 us to appear unable to erect the church. You have, my 
 dear child, your trials. I know you have ; but these days 
 will pass over, and God will yet reward your zeal for his 
 greater glory. From my heart, my dearest James, I wish 
 you a happy Christmas, and many many returns of this 
 festive season. May the happy day soon come when I will 
 not have to write to you on the eve of Christmas Day. 
 Yours most truly, 
 
 t THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. J. O'HAIRE, 
 Catholic Rector, Malmesbury. 
 
 ST. MART'S, CAPE Tow*, 
 
 4th Jamiary, 1865. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your new year's gift arrived all right. 
 I thank you for your sympathetic letter. May I never 
 shrink from the cross of my dear Lord. Before I became 
 a bishop I knew little of trials, but now I feel the thorny 
 diadem. May God's most adorable will be accomplished. 
 The mission arrangement will do admirably, and I am sure 
 will, with the blessing of Grod, be productive of much good. 
 Let us pray for its success, and commence on Septuagesima 
 Sunday. I remain, my dear James, most truly yours, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'llAiRE, 
 Catholic Rector, Malinesbury. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your interesting letter, written at 
 Tulbagh, was handed to me to-day, and I immediately sent 
 Father O'Reilly to ask Dr. Laing for admission into the 
 
 hospital for poor . The doctor consented, so you can 
 
 send down the poor fellow as soon as you like. I must 
 congratulate you on the insult offered you at Tulbagh. It
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 161 
 
 really is an honour to be treated as our Divine Master was 
 treated. I wish from my heart I could get a priest for 
 Tulbagh, but we must wait God's own time. 
 I remain yours most truly, 
 
 t THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Her. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Malmesbury. 
 
 A few words of explanation in reference to the foregoing- 
 letters may not be superfluous. In the letter dated 23rd 
 December, his lordship alludes to two bitter chalices of 
 trials which we had to drink at that time. His was pre- 
 sented from one quarter, mine from another, the ingre- 
 dients were not the same though alike pungent. We drank 
 them to the last drop, and so were able to sympathise 
 mutually. They were of such a nature as forbids further 
 allusion in these pages. 
 
 The mission alluded to in the letter of the 4th January 
 will receive some notice in another chapter. 
 
 The insult received at Tulbagh, to which the bishop 
 alluded, consisted simply in this. In visiting Tulbagh 
 earthworks, I met men of every class, religion, country, 
 and colour, but merely inquired at each quarry whether 
 there were any Catholics there, so that I might give them 
 notice of my arrival. One gang received me very badly, 
 in fact pelted me with sand. I ran away as fast as I could, 
 and how providentially, for I had scarcely been gone five- 
 minutes when a large rock, which was being blasted with 
 powder, flew in fragments into the air. The shock was 
 terrific. Fearing that some one might have been injured, I 
 hurried back to the scene of the disaster, and there indeed 
 found one man frightfully shattered by the explosion. I 
 at once hired a cart, and placing him on dry bushes, drove 
 gently to the next village, where I took him to the 
 hotel, and after having been attended to for a few 
 days, he began to recover, and turned out to be a bad
 
 162 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Catholic, and one of the insulting working gang alluded to. 
 Poor fellow, he made his confession, and afterwards, while I 
 knew him, lived well. His companions of the same working 
 gang, though not Catholics, generously came and asked my 
 forgiveness for their misconduct. I need not say that I 
 forgave them with a heart and a half. 
 
 The following extracts from the bishop's pastoral for the 
 Lent of 1865, will be found edifying and instructive : 
 
 Our conscience, dearly beloved, would most justly re- 
 proach us were we to be silent on a subject that has done 
 more injury to religion and society than the human tongue 
 can express, we mean the reading of bad books. Oh ! it is 
 only before the judgment seat of the Great Judge that we 
 shall be able to form an accurate idea of the pernicious effects 
 of bad books. They are "an unquiet evil, full of deadly 
 poison." In our days bad books are multiplied almost to 
 infinity, translated into every language, circulated with un- 
 limited profusion, finding their way into the rich man's castle 
 and the poor man's hut. Some of those books hold up to 
 admiration the actors and abettors of the most shameful abo- 
 minations. Other books breathe revolution, if not against 
 the existence, at least against the attributes of the Eternal God. 
 In those deplorable times, men calling themselves the guides 
 of the people, assail the very truth of God's own Word ; and 
 that the poorest may have an opportunity of imbibing the in- 
 fidel draught, cheap editions of infidel works are issued from 
 the press. Let us impress particularly on the minds of the 
 young the fearful consequences of reading bad books. Bad 
 books are the seeds of every abomination, which will take 
 TOOL in your hearts and grow up to maturity, bringing forth 
 their fruits with a fatal rapidity. Bad books will fan your pas- 
 sions, which would soon become furious and ungovernable, 
 which would hurry you into every excess, and fling you into 
 the abyss of guilt. Bad books would soon obscure your reason 
 and bury it in the thickest darkness. Bad books would gene- 
 rate doubts respecting the fundamental principles of morality : 
 these doubts would soon give way to a daring contempt and 
 an open aversion to every law of religion. O my God, how 
 many have begun to read in a state of innocence, and have 
 closed the book in the state of mortal guilt. We then caution 
 you all, dearly beloved, against the pernicious effects of read- 
 ing bad books. Do not endanger your virtue or your faith by 
 reading improper or irreligious works. Let not your eyes be
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 163 
 
 captivated by the embossed cover or gilt edge : dread the 
 serpent that lurketh within. Ever avoid danger ; for the 
 Scripture assures us : " He that loveth the danger shall perish 
 it it." Bad books would conduct you to infidelity that fatal 
 cancer that is spreading around us and feasting on the in- 
 tellects of millions. Religion is laughed at and its ministers 
 ridiculed. Reason is adored as God. Lest any of you should 
 "be led astray by the sophisms or scoffs of the infidel, we shall 
 give you a few plain principles which most clearly flow from 
 that very reason that is invoked against us. Reason itself tells 
 us that which is nothing cannot make something. Could man 
 create himself? v Could the admirable precision and harmony 
 that exist in the^ rerolution of the planets be the effect of 
 chance ? Who could infuse into the dust of which the body 
 of man is formed an intelligent being, active and free. Could 
 man do it ? No ; then let us all confess that there exists a 
 Being, who possesses those attributes of Himself, essentially 
 and eternally. So self-evident is the truth of the existence of 
 God, that Voltaire exclaimed: "The ancient argument, / 
 .exist, therefore some cause has existed from eternity, is a Divine 
 emanation from reason. . . . Nothing is grander or more 
 simple. The same proposition is also clearly demonstrated 
 by arithmetic and geometry. It may for a moment astound 
 the inattentive mind, but invariably subdues it a moment after ; 
 for the instant we reflect, we evidently see that if nothing ex- 
 isted from eternity, everything would have been produced by 
 nothing. Our existence would have had no cause, which is 
 an absurd contradiction. If a mere house built on the earth, 
 or a ship that makes the round of this little globe on the seas, 
 proves clearly the existence of a mechanic who constructed 
 them, to know that there is a God I desire only one thing: 
 open your eyes, and you will know and adore a God." (Letter 
 io the King of Prussia.} 
 
 Some men, while they acknowledge the existence of a 
 Supreme Being, impugn his revelations to men. " The Book 
 of the Law," or the Pentateuch of Moses, they say, is not 
 veracious is not an inspired narrative of events. You know, 
 dearly beloved, the Catholic Church teaches the Pentateuch 
 is inspired. Moses addressed himself to the people in the 
 -name of the Omnipotent ; his language is the language of 
 heaven's ambassador : the divinity of his mission is attested 
 by his miracles and prophecies. You remember his miracles 
 in Egypt, in the passage of the Red Sea, and in the desert. 
 These prodigies far transcend the ordinary laws of Nature. 
 Moses mentions dates, places, and persons. He narrates 
 them amid those who were either witnesses of them, or who
 
 164 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFKICA. 
 
 could easily attest the assertions. Some of the events were- 
 far from complimentary to the people ; for instance, the- 
 death of Dathon and Abiron the leprosy of Aaron and his- 
 sister. The Israelites believed the facts, for, relying on them, 
 they followed Moses to the desert, and submitted to the yoke- 
 of a heavy law. Would this have been the case had the nar- 
 rative of Moses been a fiction ? The people believed the- 
 writings of Moses, because they knew the truth of them ; 
 events were fresh, and had been witnessed by a whole nation. 
 The events were miraculous, and consequently attest the 
 divinity of Moses' mission, and the inspiration of the Penta- 
 teuch. We shall not dwell on the prophecies which predicted 
 events years, even centuries previous to their coming to- 
 pass. That all Moses' prophecies have been verified, every- 
 one acquainted with the history of the Jews must grant. 
 
 When our minds turn to the establishment of Christianity, 
 and when we consider the means employed and the obstacles, 
 that were overcome, the doubts raised by the infidel appear 
 like the thin vapour, which a burst of sunshine in an instant 
 dissipates. The Redeemer announced to his followers : " I,, 
 if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to my- 
 self (John, xi. 32). Extraordinary prediction. Scarcely- 
 had two months passed after Jesus was lifted on the cross,, 
 when twelve poor fishermen began to accomplish it. The 
 world, with its interests, passions, and vices, was arrayed 
 against them. They were destitute of everything the world 
 esteems. They opposed its dearest prejudices ; they preached 
 the severe laws of penance, humility, forgiveness of injuries, 
 and love of enemies. Behold the temporal rewards offered 
 for embracing Christianity contempt, persecution, the stake, 
 and every variety of torture ! If those engaged in the propa- 
 gation of the Christian religion did not firmly believe in its- 
 divinity they must have been mad ; but in their writings and 
 laborious mission, an insane word or act cannot be pointed 
 out. In twenty years after the death of the Redeemer, St. 
 Paul, who had been once a most violent persecutor of the 
 rising Church, wrote to the Christians at Rome, "that their 
 faith was spoken of throughout the whole world" (Rom. 
 i. 8). The poor fishermen fulfilled the command of their 
 Lord and Master to preach to all nations. No distance could 
 confine their indefatigable zeal ; they flew on the wings of 
 love from country to country, sowing the seeds of the Chris- 
 tian doctrine. Lo ! what followed : the arrogance of philoso- 
 phers was humbled, the eloquence of oratory was confounded ; 
 the world, immersed in sensuality, acknowledged the severe 
 doctrine of the Gospel. Proud nations that adored idols now
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH .AFRICA. 165 
 
 humbly adored the crucified Jesus. An excited populace 
 cried out: "The Christians to the lions;" it was done, and 
 lo ! the Christians multiplied ; their blood became the seed 
 that fructified and became a great tree, whose branches ex- 
 tended to the extremities of the earth. After three centuries 
 of persecution, the Cross was planted on the Capitol of 
 Rome, and before the middle of the seventh century the 
 Catholic Faith was the religion of the Roman empire the 
 then known world. Who, let us ask, possessing reason, 
 can doubt of Christianity being the work of supernatural 
 agency ? 
 
 Let us now make a brief inquiry into the nature of this 
 Christianity which the Redeemer established on earth. This 
 inquiry is necessary ; for every day we hear It is a matter of 
 no consequence what form of Christianity we possess. What ! 
 we ask, are truth and error, light and darkness, equally 
 agreeable to God? Either our Lord left his religion vague, 
 unsettled, open to the disputations of men who might receive 
 or reject as much of it as they pleased, or He fixed and settled 
 it. All who profess belief in Christ must adopt one or 
 other of these views. They who adopt the former, virtually 
 blaspheme Christ they make him a weak and unwise legis- 
 lator. What, we ask, did our Lord say ? was it Let each 
 individual believe what may seem to him reasonable ? Far, 
 very far, from it. He distinctly directed his apostles to teach 
 mankind : " To observe all things whatsoever He had com- 
 manded them." (Matt, xxviii. 20.) He laid down the awful 
 penalty of unbelief, without any limitation: "He that be- 
 lieveth not, shall be condemned." (Mark, xvi. 16.) Let those 
 who call themselves Christians acknowledge the solemn 
 declaration of their acknowledged Leader, and no longer 
 doubt the necessity of believing ALL things which He taught 
 in his holy religion. We must have faith in ALL that Christ 
 taught : for an inspired apostle has written : " Without faith 
 it is impossible to please God." (Heb. xi. 6.) And another 
 apostle has laid down the principle : " He that offendeth in 
 one point is become guilty of all." (James, ii. 10.) How,, 
 then, could we save our souls with a partial faith ? It is then 
 clear, God will have all or nothing. 
 
 Are you, then, to hold that all who are in error will be 
 lost ? By no means. We judge not any one : God only can 
 see the heart. But this we do know, that all mankind will be 
 judged by the principles just laid down, not by man but by 
 Christ the Eternal Truth and by his inspired apostles. 
 Bear in mind, those who are in error, without any fault of 
 their own, who do all in their power to find out the truth, and 
 
 M
 
 166 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 are disposed to embrace it, no matter at what sacrifice these 
 will not be condemned merely for being in error. But let 
 those tremble who persist in their errors, who through selfish 
 or worldly motives will not embrace the truth ; these trample 
 on the blood of that God who died to establish the truth. 
 Unity of Faith, dearly beloved, is an essential mark of the 
 truth. Sects are not the work of God. St. Paul places " dis- 
 sensions and sects" by the side of murders and drunkenness, 
 and says of them all, " Of the which I foretell you, as I have 
 foretold you, that they who do such things shall not obtain 
 the kingdom of God." (Gal. v. 20, 21.) 
 
 Reason itself tells us Christ could have established but ONE 
 RELIGION. St. Paul expressly says there is " One Lord, 
 one faith, one baptism." (Ephes. iv. 5.) As there is but one 
 Lord, so in the very nature of things there can be but one 
 Religion established by Him as the object of faith. All 
 Christians agree that Christ is God ; being God, He is the 
 infallible truth ; therefore He could not reveal contradictory 
 doctrines, therefore He could not have taught the Catholic 
 Church that the Mass is the sacrifice of his own body and 
 blood, and another Church that it is idolatrous ; then to say that 
 Christ established more than one religion is utter blasphemy 
 against God. It has been said by those who rejoice in high- 
 sounding titles, but who are really destitute both of orders 
 and mission, that unity would have been maintained were it 
 not for the assumption and ambition of the See of Rome. 
 This assertion is false : the Roman Catholic Church being 
 the Church made by Jesus Christ should lop off all rotten 
 branches that is, she could not tolerate within her pale those 
 who would introduce novelties in faith. She that is essen- 
 tially one could not make any compromise, nor yield up an 
 iota of the faith delivered to her by the Lord Jesus. Her 
 faith is unchangeable: it is not affected by Acts of Parliament, 
 or by the decisions of any secular tribunal. Like her Divine 
 Founder, " The same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." (Heb. 
 xiii. 8.) Hear on this subject the words of the illustrious 
 St. Cyprian the great light of the third century: "There is 
 but one God, and one Christ, and one Faith, and a people 
 joined in one solid body with the cement of concord. This 
 Bnity cannot suffer a division, nor this one body bear to be 
 disjointed. He cannot have God for his father who has not 
 the Church for his mother. If any one could escape the 
 deluge out of Noah's ark, he who is out of the Church may 
 also escape. To abandon the Church is a crime which blood 
 cannot wash away. Such a one may be killed, but he cannot 
 be crowned." (Cyp. de Unit. Ojon., p. 109.)
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 167 
 
 Given at St. Mary's, Cape Town, and appointed to be read 
 in the churches of the western district of the Cape of 
 Good Hope, on Quinquagesima Sunday, 1865. 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY, 
 Bishop and Vicar-Apostolic. 
 
 The bishop's correspondence, given in these chapters, 
 illustrate not only his apostolic zeal and wonderful energy, 
 but also that spirit of self-denial which enabled him to 
 forget himself in order to remember others ; that spirit of 
 self-sacrifice, by the exercise of which he tried to humble 
 himself and exalt his inferiors, but succeeded rather in 
 giving edification to his people and glory to God, and 
 thus practically, though unintentionally, his light so 
 shone before men that they, seeing his good works, glori- 
 iied our Father who is iu heaven. 
 
 As an example of this spirit of self-abnegation, I may 
 mention that, on the 18th April, 1865, which was the 
 thirtieth anniversary of my birthday, I was invited into 
 Cape Town to receive, at the episcopal residence, a depu- 
 tation representing the Catholics of Cape Town, who pre- 
 sented me with an address and purse of gold as a token of 
 affection. What was not my surprise to find that the first 
 name on that address was "Thomas Grimley, bishop, 5." 
 
 The following are the address and reply, which I have 
 retained, and desire to give here, because they constitute 
 the first public souvenir of the good Catholics of the 
 western district of the Cape of Good Hope. I hope to be 
 pardoned for inserting them in theae " Recollections." 
 
 "TO THE REVEREND JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 " Catholic Rector of Malm&sbury. 
 
 " REVEREND AND DEAR SIR, The members of the Catholic 
 congregation of Cape Town, having learned that this is your
 
 168 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 birthday, desire to wait upon you with their most heart 
 ful congratulations and earnest wishes that you may enjoy 
 many, many more years of health and happiness. We 
 also avail ourselves of this opportunity to convey to you 
 our very deep sense of the permanent obligations we are 
 under to you for your spiritual labours on our behalf, not 
 only in connection with the mission just closed, but during 
 the entire period of your sojourn amongst us. Far be it 
 from us to use towards you the mere language of flattery,, 
 which would be both painful and distasteful to you. We 
 are well aware that you need no eulogium from us to 
 stimulate you in your onward path, obeying the commands 
 of your Divine Master. You may tell us that you have 
 done no more than your duty, but we would most respect- 
 fully beg to reply that we also have an imperative duty 
 to perform. ' If our gratitude is due to our fellow-man 
 for bestowing upon us the slightest temporal favour, how 
 much more brightly should that feeling glow within the 
 bosom when receiving those lasting gifts that do not pass 
 away with the too-often misnamed pleasures of this fleet- 
 ing world. 
 
 " As joy and sorrow are so mingled in this world, even 
 this happy occasion is not without alloy; and we trust 
 that we shall be pardoned for dropping a passing tear to 
 the memory of the late Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, who so 
 lately, and alas ! too soon for the spiritual welfare of those 
 whom he loved so well, has departed from amongst us. 
 He has gone to his eternal rest, and we are left behind to 
 work out our salvation. The opening of the holy season 
 of Lent saw him labouring amongst us, and at its close 
 his place is vacant ; but we humbly trust that he is now 
 an inhabitant of that better land ' where the wicked cease 
 from troubling and the weary are at rest.'
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 169 
 
 " In conclusion we have to beg your acceptance of this 
 accompanying small token of our sincere respect and 
 esteem. We assure you that this humble gift represents 
 in a very insignificant manner, indeed, the deep apprecia- 
 tion we entertain of your zealous efforts for our spiritual 
 welfare. We are, at the same time, aware that the value 
 of the gift will be greatly enhanced in your eyes by the 
 fact that it represents the grateful thanks of those to 
 whom you have so signally devoted yourself since your 
 arrival in South Africa. 
 
 " That the Omnipotent God, under whose grace your 
 efforts, have been so eminently successful, may still con- 
 tinue his further and increased support and blessings to 
 you in this life, and after this your ' exile ended,' reward 
 you with a crown of everlasting happiness in those blissful 
 regions above, prepared for all who worthily perform the 
 work of their Divine Master here below, is the sincere and 
 heartfelt prayer of, reverend and dear Father, 
 
 " Your faithful and ever-devoted servants, 
 " D. BEGLEY, 
 " J. BEGLEY. 
 " E. J. CARDINAL, 
 " R. BARRY, 
 " JAS. CROSBY. 
 
 " For and on behalf of the Catholic population of Cape 
 Town. 
 
 " CAPE Tows, 18th April, 1875." 
 
 EEPLY. 
 
 " DEARLY-BELOVED CATHOLICS OF CAPE TOWN, For a 
 long time before I set foot upon South African soil I 
 burned with a desire, which no human effort could destroy,
 
 170 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 of labouring amongst you. While yet a student at the- 
 great missionary College of All Hallows in Ireland, I 
 thought of you, I prayed for you, I longed to see you ; 
 and since I came I cannot forbear observing I have had 
 many occasions to congratulate myself on having come to 
 this foreign mission. Your piety and your zeal, united 
 with your spirit of ready co-operation, have afforded me 
 great edification. As to my efforts in endeavouring to 
 promote your spiritual interests I can say nothing. You 
 make kind allusions to this subject in your address ; but 
 whilst I fully appreciate your good and generous sentiments, 
 I fear that I could not offer the answer you anticipate. ' I 
 have done my duty.' I wish I could say so much. 
 However, whatever I have done, if I have done anything, 
 has been already weighed in the balance of Him who 
 'will search Jerusalem with a lamp/ and has had its 
 reward or punishment already determined. Pray that 
 my future ministry, at least, may enable me to say, I 
 have done my duty. Your generous present demands my 
 best thanks. I really feel myself overwhelmed by your 
 kindness; for although this is the first gift formally 
 presented, yet it has been preceded by several others. To 
 say nothing of the personal favours conferred by many 
 individuals, I have to express my gratitude to you in an 
 especial manner for the liberality with which you assisted' 
 me at the commencement of the Malmesbury mission, as- 
 well as for several gifts bestowed in favour of the mis- 
 sions of Wellington, Paarl, &c. On another and subse- 
 quent occasion you made me a kind offering, per Mr. John 
 Begley, and again you subscribed most charitably to my 
 appeal for building a wall around our church grounds at 
 Malmesbury. All these, with your present gift, cause me 
 to feel myself pressed, as it were, by a deep debt of grati-
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 171 
 
 tude towards you. In closing this subject you will kindly 
 allow me to particularize the exertions of Miss Mary Bri- 
 della Glynn. She, a young convert to our holy religion, 
 filled with a spirit of charity, and pressed forward by re- 
 ligious zeal, has made most praiseworthy efforts jn doing 
 good during the past year. For her exertions on my 
 behalf I beg you will tender my most grateful thanks. 
 Do me the favour, too, of declaring my sense of gratitude 
 to the Catholics of Cape Town, especially to those whose 
 names are written on the list appended to your kind 
 address. In looking over the list of subscribers attached 
 to the address I must not conceal from you that I felt 
 confused, though not surprised, to find therein the name 
 of the Eight Eev. Dr. Grimley, my bishop. I say con- 
 fused, for I could scarcely see what I had done to merit 
 his lordship's special notice ; but I say not surprised, for I 
 have known our dear bishop for years, and know full well 
 that he has a heart fully capable of inspiring acts of self- 
 sacrifice and generosity. The allusion you make to the 
 departure of dear Father Bernard O'Eeilly is, indeed, 
 well introduced, and convinces me that a priest who does 
 his duty is not to be forgotten by you. Poor Father 
 Bernard lived a short time, but worked well ; in the 28th 
 year of his age he has been called to the judgment-seat to 
 receive the reward of his labours. He underwent his pre- 
 paratory studies at the same College (All Hallows, Dublin) 
 where I was educated and ordained. The first part of his 
 missionary life in the colony was distinguished by his 
 courage and exertions at the time of the small-pox epi- 
 demic ; his unbounded charity to the poor is well worthy 
 of admiration and practice. He was never known to have 
 kept one penny, knowing another to want. May he enjoy 
 for eternity the happiness of heaven as a reward.
 
 172 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 " Although, strictly speaking, my reply is not supposed 
 to travel beyoud the boundaries of your address, yet there 
 are a few matters upon which I am anxious to address 
 and congratulate you subjects affecting your best in- 
 tarests, and hence as dear to you as to me ; and since each 
 oae is to have a copy of this address and reply, I deem it 
 not quite out of place to lay open my mind to you here. 
 When we view the state of this diocese forty years past, 
 and contrast it with the present, have we not great reason 
 to acknowledge that the 'Digitus Dei est hie' (the 
 finger of God is here), and to thank God that the first 
 labourers in this portion of God's vineyard have been so 
 successful. Your late venerated and saintly Bishop, Dr. 
 Griffith, the first vicar-apostolic, may, in good truth, be 
 named the apostle of South Africa. He came when the 
 Catholics were few, and when the wants of the scattered 
 few were scarcely attended to ; he passed to eternity at 
 the summons of the great God, when he had accomplished 
 great things. From the arrival of the present Bishop 
 you have beheld in like manner great efforts and immense 
 success. The number of converts to Catholicity which 
 have silently taken place for the past few years is matter 
 for our consolation. Your interests, dearest brethren, and 
 the interests of the Church are so closely interwoven that 
 they do not admit even of mental disassociation. You. 
 are the children of the Church, the Church is your mother. 
 When the Church is glorified, you rejoice ; when the 
 Church is persecuted, you are made sorrowful. At present 
 you have occasion to be glad ; for never in the history of 
 the Catholic religion in this colony were there so bright 
 hopes of bringing men from darkness to light as at pre- 
 sent. The clouds of misrepresentation spread over the 
 Catholic Church in so dark and terrible an aspect for a
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 173 
 
 long time in this colony are gradually vanishing, while 
 the golden rays of Catholic truth are bursting through 
 the hitherto blackened atmosphere of religious calumny, 
 and are thus displaying, in majestic form, the Church of 
 nineteen centuries, embracing 230,000,000 of devoted 
 children. In vain, therefore, have the turbulent waters 
 of infidelity lashed against her from their lowest depths ; 
 in vain have the agitated waves of heresy sought the 
 destruction of the Church ; slie sails nobly on, leaving the 
 foaming billows to be swallowed up in fearful fury by the 
 ocean which gave them birth. When you cast your eyes 
 around, and see the disunited. state of the dissenting sects, 
 are you not forced to exclaim, in the language of the 
 Sacred Text : here ' no order but everlasting horror has 
 its settled abode ;' and, on the other hand, to give grateful 
 thanks to Grod that you are members of a Church which 
 alone possesses unity, which imparts that peace to every 
 mind which Christ communicated, saying, ' Pax vobis,' 
 and which causes you, in accents of tenderness, to say 
 with the apostles on Thabor, ' Lord, it is good for us to 
 be here.' It will avail us little to stand and admire. 
 "We must endeavour to become every day more and more 
 practical in our conduct. A Catholic who lives a good 
 life displays in his own demeanour the character of Catho- 
 licity. '"Words move, but example draws.' But a bad 
 Catholic is a disgrace and a scandal to his religion. As 
 you have so generously alluded to the instructions im- 
 parted during the late ' mission,' and exult, as indeed you 
 ought, at the goodness of God in making the labours of 
 the * mission' eminently successful, may I not ask you. to do 
 all in your power to render the fruits of the ' mission 7 last- 
 ing? One of the most important works of the late mission 
 has been the establishing of the Sodality of the Eosary.
 
 174 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Enter into its spirit ; go to church every evening at sevens 
 o'clock; assist, when you can, at this truly universal, 
 time-honoured, and efficacious devotion. Thus, ere long, 
 you will discover in yourselves, in your brethren, and in 
 many now outside the Church, the highest and holiest of 
 results. 
 
 " Having thus adverted to the advance which our holy 
 religion is making, to the prospects which burst in upon 
 our view, and our consequent obligations of gratitude, 
 fervent supplications, and good example, allow me to say 
 one word in reference to a subject most dear to me, because 
 most beneficial to you I mean the Catholic Young Men's 
 Society, Wherever, in the Catholic world, this society- 
 has been established, its influence has been felt. It throws 
 a lustre around the Catholic community, gives a tone to 
 Catholic society, an impulse to talent, an impetus to 
 genius ; it stamps its members as respectable, educated 
 men. Nurture, therefore, in your bosoms the spirit of 
 this institution ; impart it to your children ; for the day 
 will come when I hope the talents, the energies, the 
 industry of your young men will be developed, their 
 power of mind cultivated and exhibited, their Catholic 
 spirit (alas! in many too latent) fanned into life and vigour, 
 and their whole lives rendered glorious to Grod, honourable 
 to themselves, and serviceable to their fellow-men through 
 the medium of a Catholic Young Men's Society. 
 
 " Our union, dearest Catholic brethren, is so intimate 
 that I cannot refuse myself the pleasure of congratulating 
 you on the recent establishment of two institutions in 
 your midst I mean the St. Bridget's Orphanage, and the- 
 Dominican Convent ; for while the former, so long yearned 
 after, screens beneath its mantle the poor little orphan, 
 otherwise exposed to the most malicious influence and the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 175 
 
 withering blasts of immorality, alas ! so dominant on every 
 side the latter, by its excellent schools, educates, forms, 
 refines your children; raises your daughters to a level with 
 any in the colony, in a thorough secular education ; whilst 
 it moulds the manners, gives an air, a bearing, a carriage, 
 which religion alone can effectually introduce. In my 
 visits to Cape Town during the past year, I have been 
 struck, brethren, with the marked improvement in your 
 female children. Their respectful and reverential address, 
 their independence, marked by singular modesty, their 
 religious behaviour, actuated and governed by evidently 
 internal piety ; their docility and obedience, clearly the 
 effect of true religious influence, have arrested the atten- 
 tion, and elicited the most eulogistic remarks from very 
 many outside the Catholic Church. 
 
 " In conclusion, allow me again to thank you for your 
 address and gift. Your address I shall ever keep as a 
 token of your piety and generous sentiments ; your gift I 
 shall put, I trust, to the best account. Allow me. dear 
 Catholics of Cape Town, to subscribe myself, 
 " Your devoted servant, 
 
 "JAMES O'HAIRE. 
 
 " CAPE Toww, 
 " April 18tk, 1865." 
 
 There is a kingdom where joys are undisturbed, but it 
 is not on this earth ; where honours are without alloy, but 
 it is in another world. In explanation of this sentiment I 
 may mention that in returning to Malmesbury, plumed, 
 so to speak, with the decorations of the Catholic commu- 
 nity of Cape Town, I, with four others, was nearly hurled 
 into eternity. Our cart was drawn by two very spirited 
 horses, and my companions on the occasion were two 
 young ladies, recent converts to Catholicity, a lad of
 
 176 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 thirteen years, who was coming to reside with me as a 
 boarder, and the driver, a Hottentot, of grim, sulky, re- 
 pulsive ugliness, whose flat nose, bloodshot eyes, broken 
 teeth, shrivelled features, innumerable wrinkles, and horny 
 claw- like hands, reminded me of characters that we some- 
 times read of in infernal legends. The day was an 
 awfully hot one, but when the refreshing breeze of evening 
 had set in, we were able to say our rosary. We had just 
 finished, and were in the act of crossing a bridge, which was 
 unprotected at both sides, whea the horses, taking fright 
 at some object, sprang into the bed of the river, which was 
 about fifteen feet beneath the level of the bridge, dragging 
 with them cart and contents. The place has ever since 
 been called O'Haire's Leap. However, no one was injured ; 
 neither cart, horses, driver, nor passengers received a single 
 scratch. After considerable efforts we succeeded in res- 
 cuing the horses and cart from their perilous position, 
 and in three hours found ourselves comfortably seated in 
 the reception-room of Daly's hotel. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 ST. MAKY'S, 25th April, 18G5. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Before starting for Simon's Town, 
 I write to congratulate with you and my two children in 
 Christ, on your providential escape on Saturday evening. 
 Thanks to God, you were in pcriculo mortis, and were res- 
 cued from the jaws of death. I hope Kate's health is 
 improving. I trust the poor child did not suffer by the 
 shock. Ella is so lively that I suppose she only laughs 
 at it. I am delighted that your little chapel was crowded 
 on Sunday evening. I can state the same for St. Mary's.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 177 
 
 You say truly, except God gives the grace and do the 
 work, we are worse than useless. Let us trust in our 
 God, and pray continually for our dear Africa. 
 
 I am preparing to deliver a lecture in Cape Town before 
 leaving for the Visitation of Namaqualand. Whenever 
 you find it convenient to deliver your lectures in defence 
 of Monasticism, you have but to make your own arrange- 
 ments. The cathedral is at your command. 
 Yours most truly, 
 
 t THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Her. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Catholic Rector, Malmesbury.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ABOUT this time violent controversies had been agitating- 
 the little Protestant world at the Cape. High, Low, 
 Broad, Orthodox and Liberal sects were engaged in pole- 
 mical warfare, in which the inspiration of the Bible was 
 warmly disputed, and even the Divinity of Christ assailed. 
 Dr. Grimley availed himself of the occasion as a fitting 
 one in which to expound the teaching of the Catholic 
 Church on the Inspiration of the Sacred Scriptures. The 
 following is the Lecture, which was delivered in the ca- 
 thedral, in presence of the Governor, the elite of Cape 
 Town society, and a crowded assembly of every shade of 
 religious belief. 
 
 LECTURE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 IT would be trifling with your feelings were I to occupy your 
 time in introducing with many preliminary remarks the all- 
 absorbing subject of the Inspiration of the Sacred Scriptures. 
 As our highest hopes are so intimately wound up with the 
 Word of God, no wonder that every circumstance, every 
 incident, every argument, for or against the authenticity, the 
 veracity, the integrity, or the inspiration of the written word 
 should strike in the Christian's heart a chord which vibrates 
 through every portion of the human frame, and rivets the 
 attention of the human mind, by concentrating all its force 
 on a matter that so deeply concerns i-ts temporal and eternal 
 liappiness. 
 
 " For Religion only can our wants restrain, 
 The mind support beae ith corporeal pain, 
 Make life more sweet, and death eternal gain."
 
 TWELVE YAEES IN SOUTH AEICA. 179 
 
 In treating the inspiration of the sacred Scriptures, one 
 difficulty, and a formidable one it is, presents itself that of 
 comprising within the narrow limits of a lecture points that 
 should be clearly and fully discussed. However, while keep- 
 ing before my mind the necessity of perspicuity of language 
 and integrity of argument, I trust I shall discuss every matter 
 intimately connected with my subject, and thus, perhaps, may 
 be the happy instrument of strengthening the faith and con- 
 firming the hopes of some one of my auditory. I shall now 
 define what is understood by inspiration as applied to Scrip- 
 ture. " It is a certain influence of the Divine Spirit upon the 
 mind of the writer, moving him to write, and so acting upon 
 him whilst he writes, that his work or writing is truly the word 
 of God." You will remark that I do not confound inspiration 
 with revelation, for inspiration extends to those things pre- 
 viously known to the writer. While all Catholic writers hold, 
 and always have held, the perfect freedom of the sacred 
 Scriptures from all error, the question has been discussed, 
 how far does this immunity extend to ; does it merely affect 
 the substance, or does it include the very words to be written. 
 Keeping before my mind the writings of the holy Fathers, and 
 the conviction of the faithful at all times, I can teach you 
 that what we read in the Scripture has been said by the Holy 
 Ghost, in the sense that the whole subject matter of the 
 Scriptures has been suggested by the Spirit, even where the 
 subject was already known to the writer. Such is our opinion 
 respecting the extent of inspiration. You will understand 
 -where the matter was already known to the writer, a simple 
 suggestion of what he should write was sufficient, as reve- 
 lation is only required when there is question of something 
 previously unknown to him. I must now inform you that 
 many have considered even the verbal inspiration of Scripture 
 clearly proved by the manner in which the holy Fathers 
 express themselves regarding inspiration, and by the way in 
 which the Scriptures have been ever viewed as containing 
 the inspired language of the Holy Ghost. Against this 
 opinion there does not seem to be any insuperable difficulty; 
 3 j et, with the learned St. Liguori, in his exposition of the 
 Council of Trent, Session IV., I consider it more probable, that, 
 generally speaking, the very words have not been inspired. For 
 these reasons neither the authority of Scripture, nor its dignity 
 as an inspired work require of us to carry inspiration so far; 
 neither, on careful examination, do the expressions of the 
 Fathers, or the persuasion, demand of us to admit the inspi- 
 ration of the very words. This opinion against the inspiration 
 of the very words appears clearly to coincide with St. Jerome
 
 180 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 in his Epistle to Algas, and with St. Augustine in the twelfth 
 chapter of his second book, " De Consensu Evangelistarum."" 
 On this opinion difficulties are removed which mustt appear 
 considerable, if it were necessary to defend the verbal inspi- 
 ration. In our opinion we see why the sacred writers express 
 themselves sometimes as persons would who were convinced of 
 the necessity under which they lay of using care and diligence 
 in the work they had undertaken. Thus we see why the author 
 of the Second Book of Machabees could even ask pardon for 
 his defects, meaning the defects in his style of writing. " I 
 will," he says, "here make an end of my narrative, which if 
 I have done well as it becometh the history, it is what I 
 desire; but if it is not so perfectly, it must be pardoned me " 
 (2 Mac. xv. 39). And again, in our opinion, we can easily 
 explain why the same sentiments and the same events are 
 found related by the different Evangelists in different words. 
 I must, however, remark that although, generally speaking, it 
 is not so necessary to hold verbal inspiration, yet we must 
 hold that there was such a superintendence with regard to 
 the words used as would not permit the use of any other 
 words than those which would express accurately the sen- 
 timent or fact to be committed to writing. Again, it appears- 
 very probable that in some places the very words were inspired, 
 particularly in some of the prophecies. Thus Jeremias 
 appears to have had the very words suggested to him, when,, 
 as Baruch testifies, he dictated to him (Baruch) as one read- 
 ing out of a book (Jer. xxxvi. 18). But we must admit this 
 verbal inspiration in those portions of the Scripture in which 
 mysteries of faith are written, for in these circumstances the 
 doctrine itself was of its own nature so obscure to the mind 
 of the writer, that we could not suppose the Holy Spirit would 
 have left to the writer the selection of words in which the 
 mysteries were to be communicated. I shall now direct your 
 attention to the method of proving the inspiration of' the 
 Scriptures. I shall examine, in the first place, the course 
 they adopt who, rejecting the authority of the Catholic 
 Church, believe in the inspiration of the Scripture. 
 
 The question is proposed, " How is it proved that a certain 
 book called the Bible, consisting of such and such com- 
 ponent parts, has been written under the influence of Inspira- 
 tion ?" A satisfactory reply to this question will involve the 
 proof of the Canon of Scripture, as is evident. But I shair 
 not go, for the present, into that question, but for argument 
 sake will allow the Canon adopted by .... Catholics, that 
 we may see how far the proofs of inspiration advanced by r 
 them avail to establish the inspiration of their own Canon.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 181 
 
 Almost all religious denominations admit with us the great 
 importance of the question of the Inspiration of the Scriptures. 
 I find in the pastoral charge of the Protestant Bishop of 
 London, delivered in St. Paul's Cathedral, 2nd of November, 
 1850, the following words: "To deny the Inspiration of 
 the Scriptures is one step towards the rejection of the Gospel 
 as a revelation from God. Against this fatal heresy I would 
 earnestly caution my younger brethren, as being one from 
 which, in the present state of the human mind, we have much 
 more to fear than from the encroachments of Popery." Yes, 
 truly it is a fatal heresy to deny the Inspiration of the Scrip- 
 tures. Again, the Church of England in her sixth article 
 declares that, " Holy Scripture containeth all things neces- 
 sary to salvation, so that whatever is not read therein, nor 
 may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that 
 it should be believed as an article of faith, or to be thought 
 requisite or necessary to salvation." By adhering to the 
 doctrine laid down in this article, it appears to me that no 
 one can be convicted of fatal heresy for denying the Inspira- 
 tion of Scripture, for those who adhere to that article are not 
 bound to believe anything that cannot be proved from 
 Scripture. But it cannot be proved from Scriptures that 
 they are the Word of God, as I shall prove to you in the 
 course of this lecture. I do fearlessly assert that those who 
 deny the authority of the Catholic Church cannot prove from 
 the Scriptures, without supposing the question, that they are 
 the Inspired Word of God. Hence, it appears to me that 
 the non-Catholic principles of proving the Inspiration of 
 Scripture lead to infidelity, and must convince any reflecting 
 mind of the truth of this expression of the illustrious Fenelon, 
 " There is no medium between Deism and Catholicism." I 
 shall now allude to the method of proving the Inspiration 
 adopted by that class of my separated brethren who laud the 
 Westminster Confession. In the ist Chapter, sections 4th and 
 5th of the celebrated declaration, we are told men may be 
 moved to a high veneration of the Scriptures by the testimony 
 of the Church. Besides, the Scriptures show themselves 
 forth as the Word of God by the heavenly nature of their 
 subject matter, the efficacy of their doctrine, majesty of their 
 style, agreement of their parts, scope of the whole, and their 
 other perfections, yet that the full persuasion of the Divine 
 authority of the Scriptures must proceed from the testimony 
 of the Holy Ghost in the heart of the Christian, and not from 
 the testimony of man or of any Church whatever. 
 
 You perceive, according to this mode of proving the In- 
 spiration, the proof rests upon the testimony of the Scripture 
 
 N
 
 182 TWELVE TEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 in the heart of a Christian. I must candidly confess to you 
 that such a mode of proof appears to me very insufficient ; for, 
 supposing I were to deny such a testimony of the Scripture 
 in the heart of a Christian, who could prove it ? In my esti- 
 mation of a proof of this nature I find I am joined by Burnet, 
 a Protestant writer of no mean reputation, in his exposition 
 of the 39 Articles. On Article the 6th he states : " This is 
 only an argument to him that feels it, if it is one at all, and, 
 therefore, it proves nothing to another person." Members 
 of the English Church generally rest their proof of this 
 doctrine of the Inspiration on the miracles and prophecies 
 recorded in Scripture, and, in addition, on what are called 
 the internal evidences, viz. sublime doctrine, harmony of 
 parts, preservation, effects. Such is the proof set forth in 
 " Home's Introduction." Such proof seems to me to be very 
 far from proving the Inspiration ; and I will give you my 
 reasons ; but before doing so I will premise by stating that I 
 am reasoning with those who admit the Inspiration of the 
 Bible. Then, we both admit the Scripture is the Word of 
 God, not only because it contains truths revealed by God, but 
 because the writers of Scripture were so influenced by God 
 in the writing of it that God is the principal author of the 
 work or writing. Now, it is evident that miracles and pro- 
 phecies, to prove any doctrine, should be performed or uttered 
 in such circumstances that the truth of them would involve 
 the admission of the truth of the doctrine in question, other- 
 wise there would be no necessary connection between the 
 miracle and the establishing of the doctrine. But if you 
 attentively examine the miracles and prophecies recorded 
 in Scripture, you will discover that, with very few exceptions, 
 the truth of these would not be affected by the admission 
 that none of the writers of Scripture had received from God 
 a commission to write. 
 
 Thirdly, texts are quoted from Moses, the Royal Psalmist, 
 and the Prophets, containing declarations that God spoke 
 through them. But a simple reply is : How does it appear 
 that, because God spoke on some particular occasions to 
 Moses, every expression penned by him in the Pentateuch is 
 Inspired Scripture ? Again, David does not inform us of the 
 number of psalms in which God spoke through him ; and 
 respecting such expression it may be asked, how do they 
 prove the books in question were written under the influence 
 of Inspiration ? I will not refer to the books of the Old Tes- 
 tament, of which the authors are unknown, Judges, Ruth, 
 Third and Fourth books of Kings, Job, nor will I allude to 
 the books in which such declarations as are here referred to
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 183 
 
 are to be found. Fourthly, many rest the proof of the In- 
 spiration of the Scripture on texts found in the New Testa- 
 ment. This argument has its weight, but it certainly is not 
 conclusive. The text which is in the first place adduced by 
 them is from 2nd Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy iii. ch. 16 ver. 
 
 I will quote the Greek text. Traaa 7/>a0?) QeoTTf/evaioi not 
 
 4a(})e\ifjiog 7T/309 SidaffKaXiav Their meaning of the text is 
 capable of a different interpretation, viz. all Scripture which 
 is inspired of God is also profitable, &c., &c. This latter 
 meaning Grotius, no mean judge, considers the true sense. 
 This is also the meaning assigned to it by our ancient 
 Vulgate, according to which meaning the text does not say 
 what Scripture is inspired by God-, but merely that whatever 
 Scripture is so inspired is also profitable, &c., &c. It is 
 clearly begging the question to attempt to prove the Inspira- 
 tion of the Old Testament by these texts, unless the Divine 
 authority of the testimonies here referred to be first estab- 
 lished. Thus we must fall back on the faith of the Church. 
 I will now come to the question of the Inspiration of the 
 New Testament. How is it to be established ? Here I 
 have no hesitation in asserting, that exclusively Scriptural 
 sources of proof altogether fail us. To refer to sublime 
 character of doctrine, harmony of parts, miracles, &c^ therein 
 recorded, will no more prove the Inspiration of the writers of 
 the New Testament than a similar mode of arguing would 
 establish the Inspiration of the writers of the Old Testament. 
 In the first place, regarding the texts adduced for proving the 
 Inspiration of the New Testament, there our Divine authority 
 must be first conclusively established. Now, as 1 these texts 
 are few, and by no means prominent, it is clear that, as long 
 as the Inspiration of the book is the point at issue, the 
 Divine authority of these texts cannot be established conclu- 
 sively if the infallible authority of the Church be rejected. 
 In the second place, I will remark, all the texts of the New 
 Testament which are said to involve a promise of Inspiration 
 to write, such as those found in St. Matthew, in St. John, 
 xiv. and xvi., have reference exclusively to the Apostles. Now 
 you all know the entire of the New Testament was not 
 written by apostles, nor can it be proved from Scripture that 
 those parts not written by apostles were at least approved of 
 by the Apostles. Thus it is, whether we speak of the Catholic 
 Canon or the Protestant Canon of Scripture, mere Scriptural 
 argument falls far short of a full and adequate proof of the 
 Inspiration of the Sacred Volume. This is the conclusion 
 every candid, unprejudiced mind must come to. You may 
 ask, is there any conclusive proof for the Inspiration of the
 
 184 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Bible ? Yes, I reply; the proof of the inspiration is clear, is 
 convincing, is conclusive, on Catholic principles, and only 
 on Catholic principles. To our proof of this doctrine I beg 
 you will give me your best attention. The Church of Christ 
 has always held and taught the doctrine of the Inspiration of 
 the Scriptures. But the Church could not have erred in so 
 doing, therefore the Scriptures are inspired. The major 
 proposition of this syllogism, that the Church has always 
 held and taught this doctrine, can be easily established. The 
 Holy Fathers are the witnesses of her belief and practice. 
 From innumerable testimonies I shall select a few. St. 
 Clement of Rome, in his ist Epistle to the Corinthians, calls 
 the Scriptures Holy, and declares they are the oracles of the 
 Holy Ghost, which can contain nothing unjust, nothing false. 
 Second, Polycarp, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, who calls 
 the Scripture Holy, and among them he places the Epistle of 
 St. Paul addressed to themselves. Third, St. Austin, Martyr, in 
 his Apology, section 36, declares that the words of the Pro- 
 phets are to be considered not as the words of those who were 
 inspired, but of the Divine Word which moved them ; and he 
 reckons Moses the first of the Prophets, and his writings he 
 calls prophecy. In his dialogue with Tryphon he says of the 
 writers of the Scripture that they spoke by the Divine Spirit, 
 and were filled with the Holy Ghost. Fourth, St. Irenajus in 
 his work "Adversus Haereses," book n. cap. 42, describesthe 
 Scriptures as perfect, because the Word of God and his Spirit 
 speaks in them. Fifth, Clement of Alexandria, in his first 
 book, "Stromatum" xvii., says that the Prophets were inspired, 
 0eoTT^evo7os ; and he says that, on occasion of quoting a testi- 
 mony from Proverbs, which proves that every part of the 
 Scripture went by the name of prophecy. Sixth, Orijen, in 
 his fifth book against Celsus, says Jews and Christians agree 
 in this, " That the Sacred books were written by the Divine 
 Spirit." And in his preface to his " Commentary on St. Luke" 
 he says that the four Evangelists wrote, being inspired by the 
 Holy Ghost ; and again, in the preface on St. Matthew he says, 
 " They wrote with the co-operation of the Holy Ghost." 
 Seventh, St. Cyprian, in his book on the unity of the Church, 
 says, the Holy Spirit speaks by the Apostle Paul in his 
 Epistles. Eighth, St. Athanasius, in his Epistle to Marcellinus, 
 on the interpretation of the Psalms, says, " All our Scripture, 
 whether new or old, has proceeded from Divine Inspiration." 
 Ninth, St. Augustine, in his 2nd sermon on the goth Psalm, 
 styles the Scripture "The Epistle of the Almighty to his 
 creature." Tenth, St. Gregory the Great, in his preface to 
 the Book of Job, cap. i., speaking of the author of the Book
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 185 
 
 of Job, says, "Who wrote these things is a very superfluous 
 question, since it is faithfully believed that the Holy Ghost is 
 the author of the book. He, therefore, wrote these things 
 who dictated them to the writer. He wrote them who was 
 the inspirer of the work, and who, by the voice of the writer, 
 transmitted these things to us." But in a matter so clear, it 
 is unnecessary to accumulate testimonies. The writings of 
 the Fathers whom I have quoted show you what was the 
 doctrine of the Church in the centuries immediately suc- 
 ceeding the Apostolic age. In all subsequent ages down 
 to our own time the public and unanimous sense of the 
 Catholic Church is the same that the entire contents of 
 the Sacred Books were written under the influence of In- 
 spiration. I come now to the minor proposition, viz. 
 that the Church could not have erred in holding and 
 teaching this doctrine of the Inspiration of the Scriptures. 
 The reason of this is, this sense of the Catholic Church 
 which sense is public and common as regards the divinity 
 of the whole Scripture, both of the Old and New Testa- 
 ment, could not be false unless the promise of Christ to 
 send his Spirit for the guidance of his Church had failed. 
 It is patent on the very face of the Scriptures that Christ 
 promised such assistance of the Holy Ghost to his Church 
 that the Church could never err at any time. Read the 
 i4th chapter, i6th, lyth, and 26th verses of St. John's Gospel, 
 and there says our blessed Lord, " I will ask the Father and he 
 will give you another Paraclete, that he njay abide with you 
 for ever. The Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot 
 receive because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him, but you 
 shall know Him because He shall abide with you and shall 
 be in you. The Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in 
 my name, He will teach you all things and bring all things to 
 your mind whatsoever I shall have said to you." "Go," says 
 the Saviour to his Apostles and their successors, "and teach 
 all nations, and behold I am with you all days even to the 
 consummation of the world." Matth. xxviii. Now, the 
 Church would err in a matter of Faith if it erred in pro- 
 posing all the things related in Scripture, or any of them, 
 as Inspired by the Holy Ghost. For in this case it would 
 propose something to be believed on the authority of God, 
 which would not, in reality, have the sanction of his autho- 
 rity. We see, then, how, by means of the infallibility of 
 the Church, we have a perfect security for the truth of the 
 tradition regarding the Inspiration of the entire Scriptures, 
 both of the Old and New Testament, and thus, and thus only, 
 we arrive at awful and adequate proof of the Inspiration of
 
 186 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 the Scriptures. As to other arguments which are brought in 
 support of this doctrine of Inspiration, it is evident that in 
 order to establish the Inspiration of a great portion of the 
 New Testament, recourse must ultimately be had to our proofs. 
 Now, let us ask, without recurring to the infallibility of the 
 Church, how could we be certain of the Inspiration of the Gos- 
 pels of St. Mark and St. Luke, or of the Acts of the Apostles ? 
 Suppose some one would say that the tradition of the ancients 
 regarding the inspiration of these books originated in an 
 opinion on the part of the pastors of the Church in which 
 they were deceived ? I assert there would be no conclusive 
 argument to overturn this assertion if we abstract from the 
 infallibility of the Church. How, I ask, without the tradition 
 of the Church, can it be ascertained that any books have 
 been written under the influence of Divine inspiration ? 
 Hooker shows in his "Ecclesiastical Polity," book in., sec. 
 8, and Chillingworth asserts, that Scripture cannot bear testi- 
 mony to itself. But, you may say to me, did not Moses and 
 the Prophets write the Old Testament, and the Apostles and 
 Evangelists the New ? I grant it ; but how will that ad- 
 mission prove that they always wrote under the influence of 
 inspiration ? They were by nature fallible men ; how do 
 you know they were infallible writers ? Why are books 
 not written by Apostles received as canonical parts of the 
 Testament ; while an authentic work, written by St. Barnaby, 
 whom the Scripture calls an Apostle, and to be full of the 
 Holy Ghost, is rejected ? Again, I say, take away the autho- 
 rity of the Catholic Church, and you have no certainty for 
 the inspiration of the sacred Scriptures. Although learned 
 Protestants, such as Hooker and Dr. Lardner, in Bishop 
 Watson's collections, yield to the principle for which I con- 
 tend, Martin Luther himself, in his " Commentary on St. 
 John," chapter 16, declares: " We are obliged to yield many 
 things to the Papists ; that with them is the Word of God 
 which we received from them, otherwise we should have 
 known nothing at all about it." Hence we see that non- 
 Catholics, who hold the inspiration of the New Testament, 
 in admitting this doctrine, fall into two manifest incon- 
 sistencies; first, by admitting in a matter of faith what cannot 
 be proved by the Scriptures ; and, second, by admitting a 
 point of doctrine, the proof of which implies the admission 
 of the Church's infallibility. There is no question on this 
 point ; it was on the infallible authority of the Catholic 
 Church that the Scriptures were received as authentic and 
 inspired. Who, let me ask, was, in any age of the Church, 
 more celebrated for profound learning than the illustrious
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 187 
 
 St. Augustine ? Hear what he states in his book, " Contra 
 Epistolam Fundamente," chap. v. : " Ego vero Evangelia 
 non crederem nise me commoveret Ecclesise auctoritas ;" 
 that is, " I would not believe the Gospel did not the autho- 
 rity of the Church move me thereto." 
 
 There is one objection urged against our method of proof, 
 which I must answer ; it is this Catholics, we are told, 
 argue in a vicious circle, proving this infallible authority of the 
 Church from the Divine attestation of Scripture. Many 
 answers may be given to this objection ; the following is 
 abundantly sufficient. In proving the infallible authority of 
 the judgment of the Church in matters of faith, we can appeal 
 to the Divine words of Christ Himself, recorded in the New 
 Testament; but in thus proving the infallible authority of the 
 Church, we do not take into account that these words of 
 Christ were committed to writing from inspiration. We find 
 these words, or the texts which contain them, to be numerous, 
 clear, prominent, and we simply view them as recorded by 
 the Apostles in their character of honest men and veracious 
 historians. We see, therefore, that there is not a shadow of 
 a vicious circle in this proceeding ; because in proving the 
 infallible authority of the Church we do not rest the proof in 
 the least degree upon the inspiration of the writers of the 
 Scriptures, but we rest it on the Divine words of Christ, which 
 we take as faithfully recorded by honest men ; and having 
 thus arrived at the infallible authority of the Church, we prove 
 from it that those books which we call the Scriptures were 
 written through Divine inspiration. Before I conclude I shall 
 make one remark : were it not for the importance of the 
 matter under discussion, I should apologise for detaining you 
 so long. May I hope that there is no one of my hearers, 
 whatever his religious denomination may be, who has felt the 
 least pain from any expression which has fallen from my 
 lips. I can only assure you that in treating the doctrine of 
 the Inspiration of the Scriptures, as far as truth allowed, 
 I most cautiously abstained from using any expression which 
 in the most remote degree could have the appearance of 
 attacking any denomination or any member of any denomi- 
 nation. Believing that I am a minister of peace, with God's 
 help I shall never be found disseminating discord or exciting 
 religious animosities among my fellow-citizens.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE question of the introduction of monks and nuns for 
 educational purposes into South Africa was also freely 
 discussed about this time, and some misguided bigots de- 
 clared that paganism and monasticism were synonymous, 
 and that the introduction of monks and nuns meant no- 
 thing less than spiritual bondage. "With the advice of the 
 bishop I therefore undertook the public defence of monas- 
 tic and conventual orders, and with this view delivered in 
 St. Mary's Cathedral three lectures before the largest 
 audiences that had ever been crammed within its sacred 
 walls. I take the liberty of quoting here a few sentences 
 from the second lecture. 
 
 Livingstone, in his " Travels in South Africa," says, 
 speaking of Ambacca : " The district of Ambacca is said to 
 contain 40,000 souls, of whom a large number are able to 
 read and write. This is the fruit of the labours of the 
 Jesuits, who had in former times a missionary station at 
 Cahenda, about ten miles north of Ambacca ; and since 
 whose expulsion by the Marquis of Pombal the natives 
 have continued to teach each other. These devoted men 
 (the Jesuits) are held in high esteem throughout the country 
 to this day." Ilubichon, another Protestant writer of no 
 mean standing, says : " The monks were founders of cities, 
 and true fathers of their respective countries ; men who 
 built beautiful edifices and bridges, hospitals and colleges ; 
 men who made roads, plantations, and drainages, and, 
 above all, who made a happy people." Gleig, the English
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 189 
 
 Protestant historian, at page 227 of his work, says : " The 
 monks possessed the whole learning and science of the 
 middle ages." Burke, another Protestant writer a learned 
 man too in his " English History," vol. n., page 514, 
 says : " The monks have rendered immense service to civi- 
 lization and literature." Leibnitz, a German Protestant 
 writer of great erudition, in " Tom Yapp," ep. 14, affirms: 
 " "Were it not for the monks, we should have no learning 
 at the present day." Ellendorp, in "De Hierarchia," 
 torn, i., c. 4, declares : " Were it not for the clergy, but 
 chiefly for the monks, we should not now possess the works 
 of the Fathers nor the classics." Bishop Turner, also a 
 Protestant, affirms, as we read in Cobbett's second letter: 
 " The monasteries were schools of learning and education 
 where children were taught gratis." Hallam, in his 
 " Middle Ages," vol. n., page 439, affirms: " The monas- 
 teries were secure repositaries for books all our manu- 
 scripts were preserved by them." Collier, in his " Ecclesi- 
 astical History," states : " When the monks were settled, 
 in the reign of King Edgar, they promoted a general 
 improvement, and they were very industrious in restoring 
 learning/' Bishop Tanner, also a Protestant, acknow- 
 ledges : " The monasteries were schools of learning." Pro- 
 testant Gibbon acknowledges : " That one monastery of 
 Benedictine monks gave more works of learning to the 
 world than the two universities of England." Laing, in 
 his " Notes of a Traveller," page 435, admits : " The edu- 
 cation of the monastic clergy is positively high ; there are 
 with the monks profound scholars." - The Protestant 
 writer, Mitchell, in his " Life of Wallenstein," gives this 
 splendid testimony : " Deep and audible is the debt which 
 religion and civilization owe to the Church of Rome. iShe 
 long and nobly struggled to forward the cause of human
 
 190 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 improvement." The idol of English Protestants, Hacaulay, 
 on page 6 of the 1st vol. of his " History," generously 
 allows that : " Had not monasteries been scattered here 
 and there among the huts of a miserable peasantry, and 
 the castles of a ferocious aristocracy, European society 
 would have consisted merely of beasts of burden." 
 
 Hence, I say, despise the monks, and you are like the 
 shipwrecked sailor, who kicks the plank that brought him 
 to the shore. What are we doing in modern days but 
 lighting our torches at the fire enkindled by the monks ? 
 Where were the traducers of the monks when the whole 
 moral and intellectual world shook in the middle ages, as 
 the earth trembles on its pivot at the shock of an earth- 
 quake ? They were not conceived even in thought ; they 
 slept in the womb of nothing ! Where did you stand 
 when Franks, Groths, Yandals, Huns, Lombards, Danes, 
 and others rushed over the civilized world as flame follows 
 flame, reducing the literature as well as the political 
 power of nations to ashes, or sweeping away, as wave 
 after wave, every remnant of civilization ? Who ventured 
 into the burning pile and snatched therefrom the frag- 
 ments of scientific glory ? Ah ! it is wicked to dissemble. 
 You had no being at all ; the monks sprang upon the 
 rocks in the midst of the swelling ocean, and grasped at 
 every ornament which the boiling fury of the times lashed 
 to pieces ; they descended into the bowels of the earth to 
 repair, and beautify, and increase what had been preserved 
 while the fiery element above licked in its greediness the 
 falling ruins. Allow me to conclude with the words of 
 Baron Couchy, who, in his " Religious Orders," quoted 
 in the Dublin Review, December, 1844, thus concludes : 
 " We have said enough to convince all who sincerely seek 
 the truth that the religious orders gave to society not
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 191 
 
 ignorance, darkness, and barbarism, but science, light, and 
 civilization. Therefore, I ask, does Africa desire science, 
 light, and civilization ? if so, let her invite the monks ! 
 Does she desire the continuance of ignorance, darkness, 
 and barbarism ? then let her keep out the missionaries of 
 the Eoman Catholic Church, let her exclude the monks 
 and nuns. 
 
 As to conventualism, Lord Brougham, a Protestant 
 of the highest standing, in a speech delivered by him be- 
 fore the National Association for the Promotion of Social 
 Science, on the 5th of June, 1862, says : " The subject of 
 charities cannot be mentioned without reminding us of 
 that truly blessed institute the Sisters of Charity. They 
 not only bear comfort into the hospital ; but, beyond its 
 walls, render invaluable help to the physician, in disarming 
 death of its pain and discomfort, and lend not superfluous 
 aid to the pastor in disarming death of its horrors. They 
 have made their name revered by all." Even Voltaire, 
 the French infidel, in his " General History," speaks thus 
 of the nuns : " Perhaps there is nothing grander on earth 
 than the sacrifice which the weaker sex make of beauty 
 and youth, often of high birth and fortune, to comfort and 
 console in the hospital the mass of human misery, the 
 view of which is so humbling to human pride, and revolting 
 to natural delicacy. The people separated from the Church 
 of Rome have but imperfectly imitated a charity so gene- 
 rous." Baron Couchy, in his learned work on " Eeligious 
 Orders," says : " So dear is the Sister of Charity not only 
 to France, but also to other nations ; so indispensable does 
 she become to them, that whenever she appears in Europe, 
 Asia, or America, she is welcomed as an angel from hea- 
 ven." Speaking of convents as educational establishments, 
 Mr. Nicolls, a Protestant, in his work entitled " Forty
 
 192 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Years in America," vol. u., page 36, says : " Teachers, 
 often ladies of high rank, from France, Belgium, Germany, 
 England, and Ireland, who have engaged in this work, have 
 brought to it character, manners, and accomplishments, 
 not easy to be found elsewhere in a new country. De- 
 voted to their work with religious fervour, they supplied 
 a means of female education, of which the wealthy classes 
 in America, who were not very bigoted, were glad to take 
 advantage. The result has been that everywhere in 
 America, in the best society, the most accomplished and 
 influential ladies have been educated in convents." 
 
 I have in this chapter given prominence to this subject 
 of monasticism, not only because of the discussions above 
 alluded to, but still more forasmuch as the matter is just 
 now being placed fully before the colony. May the day 
 soon dawn upon poor South Africa, when the -monastic 
 and conventual orders of the Catholic Church will try to 
 accomplish for that pagan land what they have so often, 
 so nobly, and so successfully achieved for other heathen 
 nations. 
 
 The Jesuits, Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and Fathers 
 of the " SOCIETY OF AFRICAN MISSIONS," have establish- 
 ments in the colonies of the Cape, Natal, and Basutoland. 
 The Sisters of Mercy and the Nuns of the Dominican Order 
 have -convents in Cape Town, Wynburg, Port Elizabeth, 
 and Grahamstown. The Marist Brothers have one splen- 
 did and prosperous establishment. " But what are these 
 among so many !" The enormous tracts of country spread 
 out between the river Limpopo and the Zambezi, do not 
 possess any Catholic mission or missionary ; although there 
 are millions there of pagans. The matter is now begin- 
 ning to receive attention, as may be seen from the follow- 
 ing extracts which I take from recent colonial journals
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFKICA. 193 
 
 now before me. A late issue of the Cape Argus, a Protes- 
 tant journal, published at Cape Town, observes : " Bishop 
 Eicards expects to have before long a number of clergy- 
 men to attend to the natives. He hopes to do something 
 to bring the Kaffirs to a knowledge of Christianity, and to 
 induce them to give up their plurality of wives, paganish 
 rites, and above all, that lazy dishonesty and that want of 
 truth which have been a bane of our labour element in 
 this part of the world. To educate the people under his 
 influence within the colony, and to spread civilization 
 amongst the natives beyond it, are the main points in the 
 bishop's programme. What Bishop Eicards is now doing 
 appears, however, to be only a part of a still larger scheme 
 in the interests of his Church in this country. Missionary 
 stations are being planted from Damara Land to Natal at 
 all the most convenient spots to form centres for future 
 operations. These are being occupied by missionaries 
 trained in the same colleges in Europe as the men who 
 go to China, of whom the traveller Hue may be taken as 
 an example. It was the introduction of Catholic convents 
 that stirred first the Anglican community, and next the 
 Dutch Eeformed to establish girls' schools of a superior 
 class in this country ; and the spread of Catholic mission- 
 aries will, we have no doubt, cause greater efforts to be 
 made by other denominations in the same directions.". 
 
 The following is from the Standard and Mail, Cape 
 Town, Tuesday Morning, March 21, 1876 : 
 
 "That active and much-respected Eoman Catholic prelate, 
 Bishop Eicards, intends procuring the means of establish- 
 ing a Trappist Monastery in Kaffraria, and this plan of 
 his is highly spoken of by some of our Eastern contem- 
 poraries. In fact, wherever Trappists have settled among 
 barbarous or semi-barbarous natives, they have proved
 
 1 94 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 most efficient promoters of civilization and prosperity. 
 They are the worthy successors of those monks of the 
 earlier parts of the middle ages, who, by their efforts, made 
 up for the evils caused by the misgovernment of the latter 
 days of the Roman Empire, and by the invasions of the 
 Germans, and converted many a wilderness into a thriving 
 country. If Dr. Ricards, by means of his Trappists, suc- 
 ceeds in converting a large number of Kaffirs into a flock 
 of zealous Catholics and industrious labourers, we shall 
 feel gratified at his success. Again, if our Roman Catho- 
 lic iellow-colonists, according to the well-known practice 
 of their religious leaders in countries situated as our 
 colony, establish first-class schools, successfully competing 
 with our best colleges, we shall admire them for their 
 energy. Emulation was the ruling element of the system 
 prevailing in those educational elements of the Jesuits, 
 which, in the latter half of the sixteenth century, so 
 powerfully assisted the revival of Catholicism, and it 
 would be anything but strange if, in the long run, we saw 
 our Eoman Catholic schools carry the greater number of 
 prizes at our examinations, and ultimately draw a good 
 many Protestant students. Success in competing for 
 honours is the boast of the Jesuit schools in France, and 
 of the Catholic University of Louvain. In the Dutch 
 possessions in India female education is mostly in the 
 hands of Roman Catholics ; and in some parts of the 
 United States their schools are likewise said to number a 
 good many Protestant pupils." 
 
 Mr. A. Wilmot, author of the "History of South 
 Africa," in articles contributed by him to the Month of 
 April and May, after speaking of the late introduction to 
 the colony of the illustrious order of Jesuits, observes : 
 "Xo doubt there is abundant room for other orders.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFKICA. 195 
 
 Trappist establishments among the Kaffir tribes of the 
 Eastern Yicariate have indeed been already suggested by 
 Bishop Ricards, and there is no doubt that as their in- 
 fluence and effect on the natives would be materially use- 
 ful, they would receive from the government similar sup- . 
 port to that already extended to Protestant industrial 
 institutions. The time has come for vigorous action ; 
 delays are dangerous in a country now opening up, and 
 in which the first comers can gain a prestige and influence 
 of the utmost importance." Further on, the same writer 
 truly remarks : " A consideration of all the circumstances 
 undoubtedly proves that one of the great mission fields of 
 the world now lies open. Millions of souls, living in fer- 
 tile regions, extending from the Cape Colony to the sources 
 of the Nile, call aloud to the Catholic Church for mis- 
 sionaries. Now is the time to send them. The native 
 races are physically fine, and bravery as well as fidelity 
 are among their characteristics. Our own heathen ances- 
 tors possessed superstitions almost as degrading, and prac- 
 tices fully as cruel as any among them. The gospel of 
 Jesus Christ is wanted to enable them to become great 
 and happy nations." 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 SPRINGBOK, NAMAQUALAND, 
 
 8th July, 1865. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, This is my first letter from Spring- 
 bok. You have heard, no doubt, of my arrival at Honde- 
 klip Bay, after ten days' tossing about. The passage was 
 long and, on the whole, pleasant ; the captain was very 
 kind to me. One day we were near the shore, when the 
 wind died away, and we were drifting in ; fortunately a
 
 196 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 little breeze got up, and took the ship from her perilous 
 position. I had only one Catholic among the crew ; the 
 poor fellow was awfully ignorant ; I taught him the prin- 
 cipal mysteries. He will call on me in Cape Town. 
 
 In Hondeklip Bay my position was not very comfort- 
 able. When I landed, one of the boatmen offered me a 
 room in his cottage. Well, although too good for me, I 
 thought, as I would be the spectaculum hominibus, it was 
 better to decline. I said, " I will go to the hotel ;" but the 
 hotel, I suppose, is a small canteen ; I was advised not to 
 go there. The Nicholsons were in Cape Town, and Mrs. 
 N. told me her house was locked ; however, one of Nichol- 
 son's young men offered me a room in the house ; and, for 
 the reputation of the cloth, I trampled on my own feel- 
 ings, and Nicholson's house was possessed. When I am 
 returning how can I go near it. There were in the Bay 
 nine Catholics, and about three hours distant nine more. 
 I may remark to you there is only one stone house in 
 Hondeklip Bay, the rest constructed of wood. The popu- 
 lation of Hondeklip is about 150 persons. There is no 
 church of any description in it, but the parson from 
 Springbok goes there once in the month. A Dutch Pro- 
 testant named Orpen is magistrate, and every Sunday has 
 public service in the Courthouse. I was in the Bay for 
 ten days. I did not know how I was to get along ; I had 
 to go eighty miles to this Dorp ; I expected a cart, but 
 through circumstances I was disappointed. The evening 
 before I left I incautiously went out without my cloak ; 
 it was extremely foggy and cold ; I got a severe cold and 
 cough, which keeps me to-day a prisoner in my room. I 
 am something better, and I hope in a few days to be all 
 right. I am stopping at the house of William Crowley's 
 brother.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 197 
 
 I left Hondeklip by one of the Cape Copper Mining: 
 Company's carts last Wednesday morning. That night I 
 got shelter in a Presbyterian's house ; the next morning I 
 left for Springbok. When I arrived I was not expected ;, 
 where to go to I did not know. I went to Mr. Shaw's- 
 store ; he was out, and to keep myself warm I had to- 
 pace up and down the store. A Protestant gentleman 
 who saw my position, walked in, introduced himself, and. 
 
 asked me to supper. I inquired about Mr. , but was- 
 
 told he could not afford accommodation. I passed again 
 up the store ; Mr. Shaw appeared, and sent for -. I 
 
 got a room, which will do. Springbok is a very central 
 position ; it is the capital of the Namaqualand, and has a. 
 population of, I suppose, two hundred persons. But thy 
 Dorp is new, and will be something considerable. We- 
 have about twenty Catholics in the Dorp, and about thirty 
 at O'Kiep's Mine, near this place. We have got ground! 
 here for a church in a beautiful position I am thinking- 
 of doing something, at least of putting the machine in? 
 motion ; to-morrow will tell a tale. We ought to have two- 
 priests here ; one fixed, the other often visiting the mines. 
 There are several mines in this country, and Catholics at 
 each. This Namaqualand will be the richest portion of 
 the colony. Mr. Shaw offers 20 per annum, his owu 
 donation, towards the support of a priest. I know a 
 priest, perhaps two, could be supported here. But we 
 must have a house and temporary church, I will com- 
 mence the subscription for this good work to-morrow, if I 
 am able to get out. I am very anxious about your next 
 lecture on Monday night ; I trust in God you will succeed. 
 
 I wrote to yesterday week to aid you. I am only 
 
 sorry I am not in town just now ; but we must be resigne-l 
 to the most adorable will of God. Take great care of the- 
 
 o
 
 198 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 returns of the tickets ; get from each holder of tickets the 
 cash. We want to pay off debts. 
 
 I hope the church at Malmesbury is finished before this. 
 I have not had a letter from Cape Town since I left, so I 
 am totally ignorant of events there. 
 
 I often think of the new mission in the Breakwater dis- 
 trict ; I wish I could commence it at once ; but the day 
 will come. A church in that district is absolutely neces- 
 sary. If I am able I must visit the different mines here, 
 and give all an opportunity of approaching the sacra- 
 ments. 
 
 I suppose I must remain here a fortnight longer. The 
 post leaves Cape Town for this place every Saturday 
 morning (once a week). Write me a long letter, giving 
 me all information. 
 
 I hope you are very well, and praying that Grod may 
 long spare you to labour with your unflagging zeal for the 
 salvation of souls, I remain, my dear James, 
 
 Your ever affectionate and devoted bishop, 
 
 f THOMAS GTRIMLEY. 
 
 P. S. Kind regards to Mr. and Mrs. Daly, and Mr. 
 Kennedy. Don't speak to any one of Nicholson's house. 
 I think the clerk forcibly opened it to give me ingress. 
 God help the poor foreign missioner ; but heaven is worth 
 it all. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Catholic Eector, Malmesbury. 
 
 SPRINGBOK, 28th July, 1864. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I received your kind letter yester- 
 day, and as I am to start from this place in a few minutes, 
 I have only time to write a few lines. With regard to
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 199 
 
 Mr. William , get, if you have not done so, a written 
 
 will regarding the education in the Catholic Faith of his 
 children. I am sure you took this precaution in the 
 beginning. 
 
 Make all preparations for the opening of St. Francis de 
 Sales. I may be in Cape Town in another week; all will 
 depend on my getting a vessel at Hondeklip Bay, and 
 then a quick passage. 
 
 On last Thursday I laid the foundation-stone of St. 
 'Columbanus ; many Protestants attended. This will 
 become a great mission, with the help of our good Grod. 
 
 Do all you can for the lectures in paying off expenses. 
 I dread debt; and this year I have not received one 
 farthing from the Propagation Society. Contract as few 
 debts as you can possibly avoid. The greatest economy 
 is required on this mission. I fully appreciate your 
 anxiety on all occasions to avoid expense. Our subscrip- 
 tion for St. Columbanus amounts to nearly 400. 
 Your ever affectionate and devoted Bishop, 
 
 f THOMAS G-RIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 
 Catholic Rector, Malmesbury. 
 
 On his return to Cape Town the bishop wrote me as 
 follows : 
 
 "I am going to give a lecture for the Temperance 
 Society which is conducted by the Methodists. This 
 will, I am sure, soften down prejudice, and pave the way 
 for the success of your lecture, about which I am so 
 anxious. I think you had better deliver it immediately 
 after you come to town. I am passing a great many 
 tickets for the opening of St. Francis de Sales. I will be 
 accompanied to Malmesbury by the band and choir, and 
 at least a hundred Catholics. Does not this speak well
 
 200 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 for the zeal of our poor people? Think of nearly 150* 
 persons travelling at their own expense fifty miles to wit- 
 ness the opening of the new church. But, my dear James, 
 my heart is sinking within me at the terrible thought of 
 having to remove you from Malmesbury to Oudtshoorn, 
 and of being unable to supply a priest to take your place.' r 
 The great and long-desired event of the year 1865 was 
 the opening of the Church of St. Francis de Sales, which 
 was duly advertised as follows : 
 
 THE SOLEMN BLESSING 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NEW ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 
 
 OF 
 
 St. Francis De Sales, Malmesbury % 
 
 WILL TAKE PLACE ON' 
 
 SUNDAY NEXT, 24111 SEPTEMBER, 1865, 
 Jlfissa Cantata will commence at 9 o'clock. 
 
 The Sermon at the Dedication will be preached by the 
 Right Rev. Dr. GRIMLEY, Vicar-Apostolic, Bishop, &c. 
 
 The evening service will commence at 7 o'clock. Sermon 
 by Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE. 
 
 The Choir of St. Mary's Cathedral, Cape Town, will be 
 present. 
 
 THE SACRED MUSIC AT THE MORNING SERVICE WILL BE 
 
 Van Bree's Mass. 
 
 At Offertory Qui Tollis. 
 At Consecration O Jesu. 
 Agnus Dei. 
 
 AT EVENING. 
 
 Gloria No. 12 Mozart. 
 
 Ave Verum. 
 
 O Cara. 
 
 O Salutaris. 
 
 Tantum Ergo. 
 
 Laudate 
 
 Cutting's omnibuses will start from the Cathedral, Cape 
 Town, at 8 o'clock on Saturday morning, and arrive in Cape 
 Town at 4 o'clock on Monday evening. 
 
 DOUBLE JOURNEY FOR SINGLE FARE. 
 
 Excellent accommodation will be provided at Daly's well- 
 known hotel, Malmesbury.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 201 
 
 The ceremony was conducted with all possible splen- 
 dour. On Saturday the bishop was received with a salute 
 of twenty-one guns. The entire village was in commotion 
 for three days, but alas ! alas ! it ended here ; for on the 
 "Wednesday after the solemn ceremony I was obliged to 
 leave my dear flock, en route for my new field of mis- 
 -sionary work Oudtshoorn.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 is the chief town or village of a district 
 -called Swaartland, which signifies Blackland, or the land 
 of the Blacks. Before passing, therefore, from our narra- 
 tive of the Malmesbury missions, it is fitting that I should 
 try to impart some information in reference to the Blacks 
 or Natives of Africa, noticing, at the same time, some of 
 their customs and peculiarities. 
 
 There are several distinct races of mankind inhabit- 
 ing South Africa, divided into the great classes of 
 white and coloured. The white races are : (1) , The 
 Dutch or Batavian descendants of the original founders, 
 in A. D. 1652, of the Cape Colony, and who constitute the 
 greater part of the white population of it and the inde- 
 pendent republics ; b, The English, or Anglo-Saxon race, 
 who have settled in the Cape Colony and Natal since they 
 became British colonies, in A. D. 1795, 1806, and 1843 ; 
 c, German or Teutonic, of whom a considerable number 
 have lately arrived from Europe in the different Grerman 
 legions ; d, Descendants of French refugees, who settled 
 in the colony after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 
 in A. D. 1684, and who have, in lapse of years, become 
 almost amalgamated with their Dutch brethren, but whose 
 family names still enable their descent to be distinguished; 
 e, A few half-caste Portuguese on the east coast. (2) The 
 Hottentot races, or tribes, with yellow or light olive skins, 
 hair in little woolly tufts, and speaking various dialects of 
 a language articulated with clicks, and distinct from any 
 other known : a, Hottentot proper, dispersed through the 

 
 204 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 colony, and nearly extinct in the pure line ; b, Koran nas,. 
 living on both sides of the Orange River ; c, Namaquas, 
 inhabiting Great and Little Namaqualand ; d, Bos- 
 jesmans, or Bushmen, scattered over the north part of 
 Cape Colony and Kalihari desert; e, Griquas, a bas- 
 tard race of mixed blood, of Dutch fathers and Hottentot 
 mothers, dwelling under independent chiefs, along the 
 north bank of Orange River and south of Betijouanaland, 
 and generally dispersed, under the name of bastards, 
 through the colony. (3), Eaces speaking the Kaffir Ian - 
 guage and its dialects ; a, Amakosa* Kaffirs, including 
 the Gaika, Slambic, Gonubi, and other tribes, living in 
 British Kafiraria ; b, Amagaleka, living beyond Great 
 Kei ; c, Amatembu, in east part of Queen's Town division, 
 and beyond the Indwe, in Kaffirland proper, commonly 
 called Tambookies ; d, Amaponda, between the Bashee 
 and Umzimculu; e, Amabaxa, north and east of the 
 latter; f, Broken tribes of Zulu and Amalunga origin, 
 living in the colony of Natal and on its west borders; 
 (y\ Amazulu, living east of Natal; (/<), Amazwasi, 
 living near Delagoa Bay; (&) Amalunga, north and 
 east of Delagoa Bay; (&), Amatabile, to the far north,, 
 on the southern slope of the basin of the Zambezi; 
 (/), Amafengu, the remains of broken Zulu tribes, once 
 living in a state of slavery among the Kaffirs, now dwell- 
 ing as British subjects in the Cape Colony, and known 
 by the appellation of Fingoes ; (;), Ghonaquas, a 
 mixed race of Kaffirs and Hottentots, now dispersed 
 through the frontier tribes. (4), Tribes speaking the 
 Sichuana language and its dialects, including the 
 Basutus, inhabiting the north-west valleys of the- 
 
 * The prefix Ama signifies people or tribe.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA 205 
 
 Maluti mountains; the Batclapis, Bamungwatas, Bak- 
 weins, Makololo, &o., living north and west of the Boer 
 republics and the Yaal and Orange Rivers. The 
 most powerful and influential of these tribes is the 
 Basutus. The Betzouana races extend north, as far 
 as the Zambezi, where they gradually merge into the 
 negro. The Kalihari forms the western boundary of the 
 country inhabited by these races. (5), Damara and 
 Ovampo, speaking the Ovampo language, living north of 
 Great Namaqualand. Their appearance and language is 
 different from the other races, and probably they are of 
 negro descent. (6), Berg Damaras, a tribe of predatory 
 negroes, who now speak the Namaqua dialect, and who 
 inhabit the most mountainous and inaccessible parts of 
 Damaraland. 
 
 After enumerating the various classes which com- 
 prise the population of South Africa, and giving the 
 different tribes into which the Kaffirs and Hottentots 
 especially are divided, Hall says : The Hottentots 
 are a light-hearted, lazy, and indolent race, but still 
 capable of improvement ; excitable, and easily led to 
 good or evil. They are of light, active make, generally 
 below the middle size, of light olive complexion, and woolly 
 hair in tufts. The Kaffirs are more athletic and warlike, 
 love a pastoral life, and prize cattle, not caring much for 
 agricultural pursuits. They are generally a well-made, 
 tall race, of a dark-brown colour, clean-limbed, and active. 
 The Betjouanas are more industrious, build better huts, 
 cultivate more ground, work in metal, and generally show 
 more ingenuity than the Kaffirs. In physical appearance 
 they resemble the latter, although of inferior physical 
 energy. The Ovampo are a mild, peaceable, and pas- 
 toral people. The Griqua, Koranna, and Namaqua, all
 
 206 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 partake more or less of the Hottentot character, which we 
 are sorry to say, on the northern outskirts of the race in 
 Great Namaqualand is fast degenerating into a species of 
 "brigandage. The Bushmen may be represented as the 
 very lowest type in the scale of civilization among the 
 Hottentot races, and the Bakillihari, or poor Betjouana, is 
 nearly the same among the latter nation. Of the white 
 races it may be said that, unfavourable as the circumstances 
 are in which many of them have been for many years 
 placed, both as regards educational and social advantages, 
 they have not, but with a few exceptions, degenerated from 
 the high scale of civilization which is the type of the Anglo- 
 Saxon and Batavian races. 
 
 The Griquas are the descendants of the Dutch boers and 
 their Hottentot slaves, settled along the northern districts 
 of the colony. They are a tall, athletic, good-looking 
 race, of a light olive colour, indolent, and careless of the 
 future, but generally good-natured and hospitable. They 
 are fond of hunting and exploring, and occasionally pre- 
 datory in their habits. They generally speak a debased 
 patois of the Dutch language, and seldom use any of the 
 Hottentot dialects. 
 
 The Ovampo tribes are of a very dark complexion, 
 tall and robust, but remarkably ugly, and scantily 
 attired; their looks betoken independence and deter- 
 mination; they have no idea of using oxen or beasts 
 of burden, but carry, themselves, heavy loads. Their 
 paramount chief has lately evinced decided symptoms 
 of hostility to Europeans visiting his region. They 
 are described, however, as honest, industrious, and hos- 
 pitable ; they carefully tend the old and infirm, in con- 
 tradistinction to many other South African tribes. The 
 Ovampo tribes are not entirely pastoral, but cultivate
 
 TWELVE TEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 207 
 
 much corn. The Damaras are a stout, athletic people, 
 very dirty in their habits ; they are generally armed -with 
 a bow and arrow. They are a pastoral people, and have 
 no notions of permanent habitations ; they live in a con- 
 stant state of warfare with the Hill Damaras, or Grhouda- 
 moup. on the one hand, and the Great Namaqua, or 
 Bastard Hottentots, on the other. The Hill Damaras 
 are supposed to be a negro tribe, who have adopted the 
 old Hottentot language ; they live in the inaccessible hills 
 of the southern parts of Damaraland, and are a pastoral 
 and predatory people. 
 
 A certain writer, noticing the distinctions between these 
 two great families- of South African natives, says : " The 
 Hottentots, Bosheranes, and other tribes who inhabit the 
 north of this district, are in a very uncivilized state, and 
 are represented as extremely dirty and disgusting in their 
 habits. The Kaffirs differ almost in every respect from 
 their Hottentot neighbours. Though black, or nearly so, 
 they have not a line of the African negro, either in their 
 countenances or persons, except that the hair is woolly. 
 They are tall, robust, muscular, and handsome. A cripple 
 or deformed person is never seen among them ; and it 
 appears that simple diet, pure air, healthful exercise, 
 clothing which does not cramp or encumber the body, and 
 freedom from violent and irregular passions, are sufficient 
 to produce this admirable conformation." 
 
 As to the Kaffirs, there is no question as to their decided 
 physical and intellectual superiority over the other tribes. 
 The following testimony would receive unqualified confir- 
 mation from all who have met and conversed with this 
 noble race of men and women : " Kaffirs and Zulus are 
 tall, muscular, and well made; they are shrewd, ener- 
 getic, and brave ; altogether they merit the character
 
 208 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 given them by military authorities, of being magnificent 
 savages. Their splendid physical development and form 
 of skull show that but for the black skin and woolly hair 
 they would rank among the foremost Europeans." 
 
 Wilmott truly observes : The Kaffir is, physically and 
 mentally, a superior man. He is incomparably more 
 intelligent than the Korannas and Damaras of the West 
 Coast, and is far superior in all respects to the negro. 
 Hundreds of thousands of these people dwell in or close 
 to the colony, in regions enjoying an excellent climate, 
 and where both pastoral and agricultural farming is 
 successful. Keeping on the healthy highlands of the 
 interior, and going eastward, we find extensive popula- 
 tions, the most dominant of which is the Zulu Kaffir, and 
 the most docile the Mashona race. Millions of human 
 beings are spread throughout these vast regions, extend- 
 ing to the Zambesi and beyond to the Lakes, and yet 
 there is not in this immense field of spiritual labour one 
 Catholic Missionary. 
 
 With reference to the Hottentot races, Wilmott, in his 
 " South African History," p. 57, says : " The term Hotten- 
 tot, which was conferred by the Dutch, was given, it is con- 
 jectured, in order to convey, by the sounds Hot-e-tot, 
 some idea of the peculiar click or manner of talking of the 
 savages. Prichard believes the name is a corruption of 
 Outeniqua, the designation of a particular tribe. How- 
 ever the origin be accounted for, certain is it that the 
 name was not known by the natives, who called them- 
 selves, collectively, Quai-qua, or Grkhuigkhui." 
 
 Barrow, in his " South African Travels," says: " When 
 we reflect on the Hottentot nation, which, with all its tribes, 
 occupies, as it were, a point only on a great continent ; 
 when we consider them as a people differing in so extra-
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 209 
 
 ordinary a manner from every race of men, not only upon 
 it, but upon the face of the whole globe, the natural for- 
 mation of their persons, their colour, language, manners, 
 And way of life, being peculiar to themselves conjecture 
 is at a loss to suggest from whence they could have 
 derived their origin." 
 
 The reason the Hottentot men do not eat hares is stated 
 -as follows in Knudson's " Gross Namaqualand" (Barmen, 
 1848), quoted by Dr. Bleek: " The moon dies and rises 
 to life again. The moon said to the hare : ' Go thou to the 
 men and tell them, Like as I die and rise to life again, so 
 you shall die also and rise to life again.' The hare went 
 to the men, and said : ' Like as I die and do not rise to 
 life again, so you shall also die and not rise to life again.' 
 When he returned the moon asked him, ' What hast thou 
 said?' 'I have told them, Like as I die and do not rise 
 to life again, so you shall also die and not rise to life 
 again.' ' What,' said the moon; 'hast thou said that?' 
 And he took a stick, and beat him on the mouth, which 
 by the blow got slit. The hare fled, and is still fleeing. 
 * We are now angry with the hare,' said the old Nama- 
 quas, 'because he brought us so bad a message, and 
 therefore we disdain to eat his flesh.' " 
 
 In the diary of a journey made by Governor Van der 
 Stell, in 1685, occurs the following passage : " They 
 were all of them (the natives) very lean and of a slender 
 make, which is the consequence of the great hunger and 
 hardships they suffer. They have no food except the 
 bulbs of plants, tortoises, a sort of large caterpillar, and 
 locusts. His honour the Commander ordered a sheep to 
 be killed and cooked, with which, in addition to rice and 
 bread, they were feasted, and which they consumed so 
 greedily that it seemed as if they would never be satiated.
 
 210 TWELVE TEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 He then presented them with some brandy, with which 
 they made themselves merry, and danced, sung, and 
 shouted in a strange manner, so as to resemble a herd of 
 calves which were let loose for the first time from their 
 place of confinement. It was without doubt, and accord- 
 ing to their own acknowledgment, the only merry day 
 they had in their lifetime." 
 
 The Bushmen are described by Adulph Bonatz as- 
 of small stature and dirty yellow colour, with repulsive 
 countenances, in which there was a prominent forehead, 
 small, deeply-seated, and roguish eyes, with a much de- 
 pressed nose and thick projecting lips. Their constitution 
 is so much injured by their dissolute habits and the- 
 constant smoking of durha, that both old and young look 
 wrinkled and decrepit; nevertheless, they are fond of 
 ornament, and decorate their ears, arms, and legs with 
 beads, iron, copper, or brass rings. The women also stain. 
 their faces red, or paint them. Their only clothing by 
 day or night is a mantle of sheepskin, which they term a, 
 kaross. The dwelling of the Bushmen is a low hut or 
 circular cavity on the open plain, into which he creeps at 
 night, with his wife and children, and which, although it 
 shelters him from the wind, leaves him exposed to the- 
 rain. They had formerly their occupations among the 
 rocks, in which are still seen rude figures of horses, oxen,, 
 or serpents. Many of them lived like wild beasts, in 
 rocky retreats, to which they returned with joy after 
 escaping from the service of the colonists. These fugi- 
 tives were continually occupied with their bows and 
 arrows. On their return from the chase they feasted 
 until they became drowsy, while in seasons of scarcity 
 they were forced to be contented with wild roots, ants'' 
 eggs, locusts, and snakes.
 
 TWELVE TEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 211 
 
 Smith (in his " Origin and History of Bushmen ") 
 quoted by Wilmott, page 64 ("History of the Cape 
 Colony"), says : " The Bushmen were brave to an eminent 
 degree, but revolting cruelty was familiar to them, and 
 revenge one of their ruling passions. Their eager desire 
 for retribution was so great that an innocent man, if he 
 were only of the same nation as the offender, was made to 
 pay the penalty of the crime. Extreme indolence and a 
 love of animal food incited to constant thefts, which 
 brought down the vengeance of the irritated and im- 
 poverished farmers. The larvse of ants and grasshoppers, 
 locusts, and roots served as food when no flesh meat was 
 procurable, while great endurance under the sufferings of 
 hunger was compensated for by brutish gluttony and in- 
 temperance when abundance was procurable. The most 
 rude and primitive clothing, the meanest superstitions, 
 and the .most wretched huts and holes for dwellings- 
 proved that the natives were sunk exceedingly low in the 
 scale of humanity. On the other hand, the strange anoma- 
 lies of a certain advance in the art of drawing, shown in 
 the caverns they inhabited ; in the possession of a high, 
 class of language, evidently Coptic ; and the display of 
 unlooked-for intelligence and fidelity, serve to redeem 
 their character from the unmitigated censure it -would 
 otherwise deserve." 
 
 Barrow thus describes some of the drawings of Bushmen 
 as found in their caves (vol. i., p. 193): " On the smooth 
 sides of the cavern were drawings of various animals that 
 had been made from time to time by these savages. 
 Many of them were caricatures, but others were too well 
 executed not to arrest our attention. The different ante- 
 lopes that were there drawn had each their character so- 
 well delineated that the originals from whence the repre-
 
 212 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 sentations bad been taken could, witbout any difficulty, 
 fee ascertained. Among the numerous animals ihat were 
 drawn tbe figure of a zebra was remarkably well executed, 
 all tbe marks and character of tbis animal were accurately 
 represented, and tbe proportions seemingly correct. Seve- 
 ral crosses, circles, points, and lines were placed in a long row, 
 as if intended to express some meaning." 
 
 Barrow tbus describes tbe ancient bow and arrows of 
 tbe natives (vol. i., p. 99) : " Tbese men carried tbe ancient 
 weapons of their nation, bows and quivers charged with 
 poisoned arrows. The bow was a plain piece of wood 
 from the guerrie bosch, which is apparently a species of 
 rbus, and sometimes the assagai wood is used for the 
 same purpose. The string, three feet long, was composed 
 of the fibres of the dorsal muscles of tbe springbok, twisted 
 into a cord ; tbe stem of an aloe furnished the quiver. The 
 arrow consisted of a reed, in one extremity of which was 
 inserted a piece of highly-polished solid bone from the leg 
 of an ostrich, round, and about five inches in length ; the 
 intent of it seemed to be that of giving weight, strength, 
 and easy entrance to this part of the arrow. To tbe end 
 of the bone was affixed a small, sharp piece of iron of tbe 
 form of an equilateral triangle ; and the same string of 
 sinews that bound this tight to the bone served also to 
 contain the poison between tbe threads and over the sur- 
 face, which was applied in tbe consistence of wax or var- 
 nish. The string tied in also, at tbe same time, a piece 
 of sharp quill pointed towards tbe opposite end of the 
 arrow, which was not only meant to increase the difficulty 
 of drawing it out, but also to rankle and tear tbe flesh, 
 and to bring the poison more in contact with the blood. 
 Tbe whole length of the arrow was barely two feet. There 
 are several plants in South Africa from which the Hotten-
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 213 
 
 tots are said to extract their poisons ; but the poison taken 
 from the heads of snakes, mixed with the juice of certain 
 bulbous plants, is what they mostly depend upon." When 
 an animal was killed by a poisoned arrow, " they imme- 
 diately cut away the flesh round the wound, and squeeze 
 out the blood from the carcase, after which they know 
 from experience that the flesh taken into the stomach will 
 do them no injury." Sparrman describes the native 
 quivers (vol. i., p. 200) to be two feet long and four inches 
 in diameter, made of the branch of a tree hollowed out, or 
 of the bark of one of the branches, the bottom and cover 
 being composed of leather on the outside, bedaubed with 
 unctuous matter, which grows hard when dry. "Both 
 ihe quivers I brought with me," he says, "are lined about 
 the aperture with a serpent's skin. Besides a dozen arrows, 
 every quiver contains a slender hone of sandstone for 
 whetting the head, and a brush for putting on the poison, 
 together with a few wooden sticks, differing in thickness, 
 but all the same length of the arrows." Burchell says 
 that the kerree tree was mostly used for bushmen's bows, 
 and that their quivers were usually made of some thick 
 hide, as of the ox or kama, but the natives more towards 
 the West Coast frequently use the branches of the aloe. 
 In " European Colonies," by John Hewison, the author 
 says (vol. i., p. 264) : "Mr. Eyneveld, the Civil Commis- 
 sioner of Graaff-Beinet, informed me that the venom ex- 
 tracted from the body of a large black spider was the kind 
 of poison which the bushmen esteemed best." 
 
 The following remarks of Sparrman regarding the 
 smoking customs of the Bushmen are worth noting: 
 " An elk's horn, from a foot and a half to two feet in 
 length, forms a pipe, in the aperture of which, about two 
 inches in diameter, the Bushman contrives to squeeze the
 
 214 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 whole of his mouth in such a manner that non,e of the 
 smoke can escape or be lost, but passes entire in a column 
 proportioned to the size of his horn into his throat, some 
 part of it coming up again through his nostrils. Five or 
 six gulps content him. He then hands the horn to his 
 next neighbour. One of the Bushmen once swallowed 
 the smoke with such avidity that I saw him fall down in 
 a swoon in consequence." 
 
 Span-man fvol. ii., p. 113) thus describes their card- 
 playing : " I had, the evening after my arrival there, an 
 opportunity of seeing their card-playing. By this absurd 
 name the colonists have distinguished the following peculiar 
 game among these people, which was played in this manner. 
 Both of my Hottentots, together with two others, made a 
 partie quarree, sitting on their hams. The chimney the 
 part of a room constantly preferred by a Hottentot to any 
 other was likewise, in this case, the place they chose to 
 occupy for playing this game ; and the ash-hole might not 
 inaptly be considered as their card-table. Now as thi 
 sport seemed to consist in an incessant motion of the arms 
 upwards, downwards, and across each other's arms, with- 
 out ever seeming (at least on purpose) to touch one another, 
 it appears to me that the intention of this sport is to open 
 the chest, as it were, while sitting, by way of succedaneum 
 for dancing. It is probable, however, that with all this 
 they observe certain rules, and in certain circumstances 
 mutually get the advantage over each other, as each of 
 them at times would hold a little peg between his fore- 
 finger and thumb, at which they would burst out into 
 laughter, and, on being asked the reason, said they lost 
 and won by turns, yet without playing for anything." 
 (See Sparrman, vol. i., p. 231, et seq.) 
 
 It cannot be denied that the Bushmen were guilty, as
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 215 
 
 they still are, of continual robberies and thefts ; but it is 
 also true that they have been treated very often with 
 horrid cruelty. " "With regard to the Bushmen, I beg 
 leave to observe," says Mr. Maynier, Landdrost of Graaff 
 Eeinet in 1792 (extracts from Parliamentary Papers), 
 "that when I was appointed Landdrost of Graaff Reinet, I 
 found that regularly every year large commandos, consist- 
 ing of 200 and 300 armed Boers, had been sent out 
 against the Bushmen, and learned, by their reports, that 
 generally many hundred Bushmen, &c., were killed by 
 them, the greatest part helpless women and innocent 
 children," &c. In 1823 Mr. Yan Reenen said (see 
 "Moodie's Eecords, 1777," p. 65) : " The Bushmen were 
 the best and most peaceful people, but that they were not 
 only robbed of their lands by the Boers, but intentionally 
 provoked ; and at this moment he would still trust himself 
 in the midst of them, in the assurance that some of them 
 would recognise him, and prevent any injury being done 
 to them." 
 
 Extracts from Mr. Maynier's answers to Commissioners 
 of Inquiry, 25th April and 7th May, 1825 : 
 
 " I was appointed Landdrost of Graaff Reinet in 1792. 
 I had made several journeys as well to the eastern as 
 northern limits. I was convinced that the complaints of 
 the Boers about depredations from the Kaffirs were often 
 altogether unfounded, and always exaggerated. . . I have 
 had frequent opportunities to observe the effects of con- 
 ciliatory measures with both Kaffirs and Bushmen, and 
 have found them invariably to succeed." 
 
 " A colonist," Le Yaillant says, " who lives two hundred 
 leagues up the country, arrives at the Cape to complain 
 that the Hottentots have taken all his cattle, and entreats 
 a commando, which is a permission to go, with the help
 
 216 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 of his neighbours, and retake his property. The Governor, 
 who either does not, or feigns not to understand the trick, 
 adheres strictly to the facts expressed in the petition. 
 The fatal word is written, which proves a sentence of 
 death to a thousand poor savages, who have no such 
 defence or resources as their persecutors. Thus the 
 monster (regardless of religion) having completed his 
 business at the Cape, returns with an inhuman joy to his 
 villainous accomplices, and extends his commando as far 
 as his interest requires. The massacre this occasions is 
 but the signal for other butcheries ; for should the Hotten- 
 tots have the audacity to attempt regaining any part of 
 their lost herds, the confusion recommences, and only 
 ceases when there are no more victims or no more plunder. 
 This perpetual war, or rather robbery, continued during 
 the whole time of my stay in Africa." 
 
 Prom the above it may easily be inferred that, after dll r 
 the two great divisions of natives in South Africa are the 
 Kaffir and the Hottentot, the other tribes being merely 
 subdivisions of these two great classes. I have placed the 
 Kaffir first, because physically and intellectually he holds 
 he first place. The poor Hottentot, in whom, I confess, I 
 take the deepest possible interest, is, it must be admitted, 
 a mean specimen of human nature. However, I am far 
 from admitting that the Bushman is a brute. On the 
 contrary, I am convinced that under proper treatment 
 and instruction the whole Hottentot tribe may be made a 
 civilized nation. Of the many instances of intelligence in 
 Hottentots that have come under my own notice, I will 
 here mention one as illustrating many. It is a conver- 
 sation which took place on the roadside in Malmesbury 
 between a Hottentot and myself. 
 
 Hottentot Is de Engels geloof en de Eomsch geloof the 
 zelfde ?
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 217 
 
 Priest Neen. Zift gij een Christen ? 
 
 Hottentot Neen. Greenzijns maar, ek wil enn beetze 
 leer. 
 
 Priest Ja dat is goed, watt wilt gij nu. 
 
 Hottentot Wij het de Roomsche geloof gemaakt ? 
 
 Priest Christus. 
 
 Hottentot Hoc veel Christus is er ? 
 
 Priest Maar een. 
 
 Hottentot Maar de Engels Predikant het voor mij 
 gezegd dat Christus het zijn geloof gemaakt. 
 
 Priest Ja. Maar het is neit de waarheid. 
 
 Hottentot Maar hij zeg Christus, en gij zeg Christus, 
 hij zig een ding en gij zig een ander ding, hij is geleerd 
 en gij is geleerd. Ek is ann arm swaart man Ek is 
 ongeleerd waat zal ek doen tusschen u twee, om te 
 zalug worden. 
 
 The above conversation is noted in my diary just as it 
 occurred. I have written it not in pure Dutch, but in 
 what is called Hottentot Hollands. I give it for two pur- 
 poses: 1st, to show that the despised Hottentot has a 
 latent logical power which circumstances may easily bring 
 forth; secondly, to illustrate the difficulty which the 
 minister of truth experiences in advancing the Catholic 
 religion when heresy stands merely as a barrier against 
 divine faith. The following is an English translation of 
 the above conversation. 
 
 Hottentot Is the English Church religion the same as 
 the Roman Catholic ? 
 
 Priest No. By no means ! Are you a Christian ? 
 
 Hottentot No, but I desire to learn something. 
 
 Priest Yes, that is all right. Well, what do you now 
 desire ? 
 
 Hottentot- -Who made the Roman Catholic religion ?
 
 218 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Priest Christ. 
 
 Hottentot How many Christs are there ? 
 
 Priest Only one ! 
 
 Hottentot But the English Church clergyman told me 
 that Christ made his religion. 
 
 Priest No doubt ; but in telling you so he stated what 
 is not true. 
 
 Hottentot But, he says Christ and you say Christ ; he 
 says one thing, and you say another ; he is a learned man 
 and you are a learned man ; I am a poor ignorant black 
 man. What shall I do to be saved between you two? 
 
 Some persons may suppose this an exceptional case of 
 intelligence, but it is not so. I have conversed with at 
 least a few hundred natives who have shown an equal 
 power of discernment.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 HAVING in the preceding chapter placed before my readers 
 the divisions and subdivisions of the population of South 
 Africa, and directed attention to a few ofthe peculiarities 
 and customs of the native tribes, I shall now offer, in the 
 kindest possible spirit and manner, my views and the views 
 of other well-informed and highly respectable authorities 
 on the so-much-talked-of civilization and conversion of the 
 Blacks by Protestant Missioners. 
 
 It must be admitted that it is difficult to treat this part 
 of my subject without giving offence to many. What 
 should I do ? Leave out the question altogether ? Cer- 
 tainly not; for the omission of a chapter on the civiliza- 
 tion and conversion of the natives that has hitherto taken 
 place, and the hopes that may be entertained for the 
 future, would render these " Recollections " quite imper- 
 fect, and would leave me open to the charge of with- 
 holding information on important subjects, that I should 
 have imparted. What, then ! Shall I assert that Protes- 
 tant Missions in South Africa have been successful in 
 advancing true civilization and achieving real conver- 
 sion ? No ! For that would be stating what I know to 
 be contrary to fact. This I shall not do. Hence I will 
 at once state what I believe to be perfectly true, viz. : 
 that the Protestant Missions of South Africa are a 
 gigantic failure, and that the money contributed by the 
 English and other people for the support of these Mission 
 Stations has been hitherto thrown away. The natives 
 
 Q
 
 220 TWELVE YEARS TN SOUTH AFEICA. 
 
 are still uncivilized, still unconverted ; yea, more, have 
 become in many places even worse than they were in 
 their primitive savage condition. A Protestant gentle- 
 man in South Africa, who resided near a great Protestant 
 Mission Station, and who was thoroughly acquainted with 
 the altered state of the natives, thus described to me their 
 pretended conversion : " Before," said he, " the Mission 
 Station was opened to them they were foolishly bad, but 
 now they are intellectually icicked" 
 
 Let it be understood that I do not attach blame to the 
 Protestant Missioners. I merely speak of a fact their 
 failure ! ! Thousands upon thousands of pounds, contri- 
 buted by charitable people, who are led to believe that the 
 natives are converted in crowds, being squandered, we 
 find that nothing has in reality been done. I have met 
 many Protestant Missioners who have worked most in- 
 dustriously, and yet acknowledged to me that they had 
 done no good. One, an Anglican minister, who had long 
 laboured for the natives, humorously said to me : " Here 
 I have been for years trying to improve the natives, and at 
 the end I feel that I might as well have been whistling jigs 
 to a mile-stone, in the hope of getting it to dance." In 
 the districts of Malmesbury, Victoria "West, and Skietfon- 
 tein, where Protestant Missions have been in full swing 
 for years, and where, too, the Missioners have had all the- 
 aid that this world can bestow lands, houses, and money 
 the morals of the natives of the Stations are described 
 by the white population as very low indeed. I have fre- 
 quently heard Protestants residing near the above Stations 
 state that they would prefer native servants who had never 
 been on Mission Stations to those who have been. A farmer's 
 wife, residing in the district of Malmesbury, once said to me : 
 " "When I had the pure heathen as servants, I sometimes
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 221 
 
 found them to be innocent rogues; but afterwards I 
 engaged Mission Blacks, and perceived that, while cun- 
 ningly stealing my goods, they would accompany the 
 theft by singing the hymn, * Oh ! I wish I were an 
 angel.' " 
 
 John Stuart Mill ("Discussions and Dissertations," 
 vol. i. p. 160) says: "We are accustomed to call a 
 country civilized, if we think it more improved, more 
 eminent in the best characteristics of man and of society, 
 further advanced in the road to perfection, happier, nobler, 
 wiser." 
 
 Let the civilization of the natives of South Africa have 
 this rule applied, and we shall see the monstrous imposi- 
 tion. 
 
 What is the meaning of conversion ? Its general sig- 
 nification is, turning from one thing to another. This 
 much, I will admit, has been achieved. Its second, or 
 theological sense, is a turning from sin to virtue to God's 
 law to God. This, I assert, the Protestant Missions of 
 South Africa have been powerless to accomplish amongst 
 the natives, as I shall presently demonstrate by an appeal 
 to authorities who deserve respectful attention. 
 
 Before setting forth the testimonies of others, I will 
 venture to remark that affection between man and wife, 
 and between parents and children, lies at the bottom of 
 true civilization.- Where marriage is based upon no 
 supernatural foundation, but is merely a brutish connection, 
 or to speak less harshly, a carnal association, or still more 
 kindly, a natural union, there the germ of civilization is 
 wanting. Such, as is obvious, must be the state of things 
 where polygamy is the law, as it is especially with 
 Kaffirs. But what shall we say, when I state, without 
 comment, not in anger, but in deep sorrow, that the
 
 222 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Protestant Bishop of Natal, Dr. Colenso, whose appoint- 
 ment by the Queen's Privy Council has been approved 
 and re-approved, sanctions polygamy amongst his Chris- 
 tian converts. 
 
 Where the affection of parents for their children is 
 little beyond that of the dog, which licks with its tongue 
 its puppy, or of the bear, which is infuriate when a 
 stranger would steal its whelp, there is no true civiliza- 
 tion, and such, as far as I could notice, is the love of 
 African natives for their offspring. 
 
 A case lately tried before Mr. Justice Dwyer, and 
 reported in recent Cape journals, brings to my mind an 
 e.g. case. 
 
 Among the Kaffirs, a father gives his daughter in 
 marriage, in exchange for cattle. Suppose an ugly, 
 withered old Kaffir of sixty years sets his eyes upon a 
 beautiful Kaffir girl of sixteen. It may be that he has 
 ten wives already; but he desires to have, in addition, 
 this handsome girl. He simply applies to her father, 
 strikes a bargain, and the poor girl, who scorns the old 
 wretch, is handed over nokns rolens to her admirer. What 
 has Protestantism done to destroy those evils ? Nothing ! 
 Never will the noble Kaffir be lifted from these and 
 similar abominations until the great civili/.er of mankind, 
 the Catholic Church, steps forward to the rescue. 
 
 In explanation, or rather in further elucidation, of this 
 matter allow me to quote 1st, Dean Merivale, who 
 (" Conversions of the Northern Nations," p. 144) says : 
 " Woman was degraded in her social position, because she 
 was deemed unworthy of moral consideration, and her 
 moral consideration again fell lower and lower, precisely 
 .because her social position was so degraded." 
 
 W. S. Lilly, M. A., says : " The main instruments of
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 223 
 
 her degradation, and of the consequent dissolution of the 
 family, had been the corruption of marriage by polygamy 
 and divorce. The Catholic Church found monogamy as the 
 rule, both in the Empire and among the Germanic tribes ; 
 and upon monogamy she impressed the Divine seal of a 
 sacrament, and proclaimed its sacred in dissolubility ; while 
 the high honour which she bestowed upon religious celi- 
 bacy, and her lofty and severe teaching as to the virtue of 
 purity, served incidentally as a bulwark to holy matri- 
 mony" (Month, June, 1876, p. 171). 
 
 Now we come to authorities, in quoting which I shall 
 make no remark or comment of my own, but leave the 
 testimonies about to be adduced to speak for themselves, 
 and thus my readers shall be left to decide whether the 
 boasted civilization of Africa by Protestant Missioners is a 
 figment, and whether the people of Europe asked to 
 subscribe to such purposes are not supporting a sham. 
 
 The Eight Rev. Dr. Devereux, first Bishop of Graham's 
 Town, in a letter dated July 20th, 1850, and addressed to 
 the Association for the Propagation of the Faith, says 
 that " one of the great advantages which South Africa 
 afforded to Protestant Missions consisted in its being 
 placed sufficiently far from the mother country to enable 
 them to publish with impunity, and without fear of 
 contradiction, fabulous reports, whereby they could impose 
 upon the credulity of the English." 
 
 The Eight Eev. Dr. Grimley, in a letter addressed from 
 Rome to the same pious Association, and dated 30th 
 December, 1869, says: "Perhaps you will ask me, what 
 has been the success of the Protestant Missions in South 
 Africa ? I can have no difficulty about the reply. That 
 the natives are a little intellectually benefited I grant ; 
 that they have been morally benefited I unhesitatingly deny.
 
 224 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 I can adduce testimony of the highest authority in the 
 Cape Colony to corroborate my statement. I will 
 relate to you an interesting anecdote. During my visi- 
 tation last year a Protestant clergyman paid me a visit, 
 and, in conversation, I asked him if he had effected 
 any good among the natives. He frankly replied, that he 
 had no success; he stated, moreover, that a short time 
 before he had been speaking to an old Missionary in a 
 Protestant institution in the neighbourhood, and com- 
 plained to him of his fruitless labours amongst the natives, 
 to which the old Missionary replied : ' My dear fellow, 
 you have been among the natives only seven years; I have 
 been here forty years, and / believe I have not done the least 
 good' ' In another letter his Lordship says : 
 
 " Before our holy Faith had been introduced into the 
 country. Protestantism in its protean form had seized on the 
 land. The Dutch, when in possession of the colony erected 
 churches and schools, and liberally paid ministers of the 
 Calvinistic Faith. Moravian ministers travelled through 
 the country, and erected in suitable places institutions for 
 the natives. Then the Rhenish Missionaries claimed a share 
 in the work, got grants of land, settled down, and, by distri- 
 bution of small allotments of ground among the natives, 
 brought many under their influence. When England became 
 mistress of the country, its Reformed Church, although not 
 nominally established, became the petted child, and was 
 treated with all the kindness a Government could confer. 
 The Protestant Bishop of Cape Town numbers at least forty 
 ministers under his jurisdiction, has schools throughout his 
 diocese, and has catechists scattered throughout the country, 
 to bring the natives under his supposed spiritual authority. 
 England supplies abundantly the means for propagating 
 her heresies. Would to God, that great nation, now 
 such an obstacle to the conversion of the world, were again 
 Catholic ! " 
 
 The next authority I shall give is that of the present 
 Bishop of Graham's Town, the Right Rev. Dr. Ricards.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 225 
 
 In a discourse, delivered in St. Patrick's, Graham's Town, 
 on the 26th August, 1866, and published by Murray and 
 Son, Graham's Town, his Lordship says: 
 
 " Worldly men speak of the conversion of a Pagan people 
 as they would of the reclamation of a piece of waste land, or 
 the opening up of a new country, or the accomplishment of 
 some great public work. It is all, in their eyes, a mere 
 question of expense, skill, earnestness, and perseverance. 
 But, somehow or other, this idea is not borne out by fact. 
 Men who, humanly speaking, seem in every way qualified 
 for the work of Missionaries have confessedly failed in con- 
 verting heathen nations neither learning, nor zeal, nor 
 worldly means have been wanting. These Missionaries 
 labour for years with a perseverance that excites the admir- 
 ation of their friends ; they encounter dangers and trials 
 which seem too much for human endurance, and after all 
 they fail. You will be, perhaps, surprised when I tell you 
 that no less than two millions a year is spent by societies 
 from England alone in attempting the conversion of the 
 heathen. According to the Times of January ijth and April 
 igth, 1860, 'the working capital is not less, year by year, 
 than two millions of money,' and what are the results ? The 
 Christian Remembrancer, the organ of one ol the most 
 influential schools of Protestant opinion in England, does 
 not scruple to declare, in 1859, that ' we should not allow a 
 few isolated instances of success here and there to blind us 
 to what we must call, to speak plainly, the failure of missionary 
 efforts in modern times.' Christian Remembrancer, vol. xxxvii. 
 p. 69. A crowd of witnesses of all ranks and sects amply 
 confirm this statement. 'Something is wanting.' That 
 something which is wanting that something, the existence 
 of which the world ignores, which never enters into its 
 calculations is the supernatural grace of God, which we, 
 Catholics, believe is attached only to a mission divinely and 
 legitimately ordained. Men who are not of us marvel at the 
 success which attends the labours of the poor priest, who, in 
 his black robe, crucifix and breviary in hand, ' leaves father 
 and mother and wife and lands' for Christ's sake, and 
 devotes all his energies, and his very life, to propagate the 
 Gospel in foreign countries, and amid wild savages and 
 nations utterly ignorant of the habits and customs of civi- 
 lized life. Destitute of worldly means, without a friend to 
 cheer and encourage him, he settles down in some remote
 
 226 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFEICA. % 
 
 spot, where even the name of his country is unknown,, 
 unable to speak a word of the language of his new com- 
 patriots, he worships for a time in secret, offering up 'that 
 clean oblation' foretold by the prophet Malachi, and praying 
 that the soil may be prepared to receive and nourish the 
 seed of the Word, when patient study shall have qualified 
 him to disseminate it ; and scarcely has he cast it forth, 
 when he beholds it germinate. It falls from his lips as if in 
 the lispings of helpless childhood, but angelic hands seem 
 to convey it to the hearts of his docile auditors, and it 
 springs up and flourishes, and produces fruit an hundredfold.' r 
 
 " I repeat it, without the mission of the Catholic Church 
 all the efforts of even the most experienced, tried, and per- 
 severing preachers of the Gospel are vain, in the work of 
 converting the heathen. True, we hear of many native 
 Christian congregations, both within and without this colony,, 
 who are avowedly not in communion with the head and 
 centre of Catholicity. But are the natives of these congre- 
 gations real Christians ? It would be invidious and painful 
 to my own feelings to mention even a small part of what we 
 have all often heard on this subject. I know thai; my ex- 
 perience, and what I have heard and read about these Chris- 
 tians, goes strongly to confirm what Colonel Napier, in 1849,. 
 gave as his impression of the so-called native converts : 
 ' Notwithstanding those flaming accounts which have been 
 published to the contrary,' this distinguished officer says, 
 ' it is notorious, it is a fact which cannot be contradicted, 
 that all attempts to convert the Kaffir race have hitherto- 
 proved complete failures.' Sir Benjamin D'Urban relates 
 that ' the missionaries all acknowledged to him that they 
 could not flatter themselves that they had ever made a last- 
 ing salutary impression upon one of the race of Kaffirs.' 
 Mr. Calderwood says, ' If we view the Kaffirs as a nation,, 
 they may he said to have refused the Gospel} These are 'well 
 known statements. You have yourselves, I daresay, often 
 heard even stronger testimony than this, for such has often 
 appeared in the public newspapers. It may be summed up 
 in the answer given by one of the witnesses before the Par- 
 liamentary Committee in 1835, on the results of Protestant 
 Missions in South Africa. The question proposed was, 
 'Do you think that the Missionaries have improved the 
 character of the Kaffirs?' * Not in the least, 1 was the reply- 
 * In fact, where the great Missionary Station is, they are the 
 worst behaved Kaffirs of the whole tribe.' "
 
 TWELVE TEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 227 
 
 Before coming to Protestant authorities I shall quote 
 the following words of Wilmott : 
 
 " Christianity has made no real impression upon them, 
 although the great intelligence and aptitude for learning 
 of the people has been proved at one or two well-conducted 
 industrial institutions. To use the words of an officer of 
 the Government who spent many years among them : 
 ' The Gospel has been preached to them for the last fifty 
 years, and some attempts have been made towards civi- 
 lizing them, but the Kaffirs, nationally considered, remain 
 just as they ever were ; no visible difference can be dis- 
 cerned. They are as perfectly heathen now as they were 
 in the days of Yander Kemp' " (one of the first mission- 
 aries, 1798). 
 
 Let us now come to purely Protestant authority, and 
 in doing so we shall consult only those well acquainted 
 with South Africa and its Protestant missionary institu- 
 tions. 
 
 Dr. Livingstone, himself a Protestant clergyman, in 
 his "Missionary Travels in South Africa," p. 117, writes- 
 thus: "The monks did not disdain to hold the plough. 
 They introduced fruit trees, flowers, and vegetables, in 
 addition to teaching and emancipating the serfs. Their 
 monasteries were mission stations. . . . Can our wise- 
 men tell us, why the primitive monasteries were self- 
 supporting, rich and flourishing, as pioneers of civi- 
 lization and agriculture, from which we even now reap 
 benefit, while modern mission stations (i.e. Protestant 
 stations,) are mere pauper establishments, without that 
 permanence or ability to be self-supporting which they 
 possessed ?" 
 
 More than twenty years ago Dr. Grant remarked before 
 the University of Oxford, that up to that time the follow-
 
 228 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 ing religious bodies had been transplanted to the Cape 
 Colony: 1. Society for the Propagation of the Grospel ; 
 2. Scottish Missionary Society ; 3. United Brethren ; 
 4. French Protestant Society ; 5. German Missionary 
 Society ; 6. London Missionary Society ; 7. Wesleyan 
 Missionary Society ; 8. Baptist Missionary Society ; 9. 
 American Board of Missions; 10. Rhenish Missionary 
 Society ; 11. Paris Missionary Society (Bampton Lectures 
 for 1843). 
 
 An idea of the sums spent on missionary work in South 
 Africa by these Societies, may be found in the statistics 
 given in Montgomery Martin's work, "British Posses- 
 sions in Africa," edition of 1852. The annual expendi- 
 ture for the Wesleyan Society is there given as 15,000 ; 
 since 1816 the aggregate expenditure would amount, 
 therefore, to 750,000. The yearly expenditure of the 
 French Protestant Missionary Society is 3,000 ; that of 
 the London Missionary Society is 7,000 ; the aggregate 
 outlay of the latter is therefore about 380,000. It would 
 be useless, for the information of Cape Colonists, to call 
 attention to the long-exploded bubbles of Dr. Philip. 
 The statement of Major Dundas, given before the Parlia- 
 mentary Committee in 1835, is admitted to be true, 
 even by Missionaries twenty years later. The Major 
 says : " I believe they have hardly Christianized a 
 single individual (Parliamentary Papers, vol. vii., p. 
 142). 
 
 In 1857 the Rev. Joseph Shooter had arrived at the 
 conclusion suggested by the unvarying experience of half 
 a century, that "we must not estimate the result of 
 missionary labour merely by the number of converts." 
 Yet any other estimate would apparently be still less 
 acceptable, for he adds that long observation of their
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 229 
 
 -character only " tended to weaken his confidence in the 
 religious professions of this people " (" The Kaffirs of 
 Natal and the Zulu Country," app., pp. 369-371). In 
 the same year, the late well-known and much-respected 
 Dr. Armstrong, Bishop of the Anglican Church, says: 
 "The reports do not really speak of many converts. 
 There are many listeners. As a fact, there are very few 
 Christian Kaffirs " (" Memoir," by the Rev. J. J. Carter, 
 pp. 264-269, &o.). 
 
 Of the actual and final results of the labours of sixty 
 years in South Africa, Dr. Livingstone gives the cautious 
 but impressive estimate : " Protestant Missionaries, of 
 every denomination, all agree in one point, that no mere 
 profession of Christianity is sufficient to entitle the con- 
 verts to the Christian name" ("Missionary Travels," 
 ch. vi., pp. 116, &c.). In 1863, the Examiner, on the 
 authority of " A letter of a melancholy character from 
 Dr. Livingstone,'' thus speaks of the East African Mis- 
 sion : " It amply verifies our anticipations : we were 
 promised trade, and there is no trade, although we have 
 3, consul at five hundred pounds a year. We were 
 promised converts to the Gospel, and not one has been 
 
 made In a word, the thousands subscribed by the 
 
 Universities, and the thousands contributed by the Go- 
 vernment, have been productive only of the most fatal 
 results." 
 
 In 1858, the Eev. "W. Ellis admits that " the down- 
 ward tendency" of the whole race is too evident to be 
 denied, in spite of the legion of missionaries who have 
 dwelt among them. He says: "Without a change, 
 they must either become mere hewers of wood and drawers 
 of water to others, or, as a race, gradually melt away." 
 Captain Drayson constantly praising " the honesty, truth,
 
 230 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 disinterested friendship," and other excellent naturaF 
 qualities of the Kaffirs, while he laments that they have 
 now become "confirmed rascals," adds, "but I doubt 
 whether we have not made them so ourselves" (" Sporting 
 Scenes," by Captain A. W. Drayson, R. A., ch. xiii. r 
 p. 235). " Kaffirs, Korannas, and Bushmen," says Colonel 
 Napier, in 1849, "spite of the falsely-asserted success 
 of missionary labour, are still in a state of most bru- 
 talised ignorance, as regards religious worship of any 
 description."
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE Church of St. Francis de Sales had now been dedi- 
 cated, and the day, the sorrowful day on which I had to 
 leave the mission had arrived. My little flock was grieved, 
 nay, angry, and I myself was crushed to the very earth. 
 The bishop felt more than language could express the clos- 
 ing, even for a time, of this new mission ; his interest in 
 Malmesbury was unbounded. I have at present in my 
 possession 187 letters which he addressed to me during 
 the year and nine months that I resided there. Not con- 
 tent with the regular posts, he frequently sent letters by 
 private parties as opportunity served. His mind seemed 
 altogether absorbed on the welfare of this young mission. 
 However, the priest of Oudtshoorn died, and upon this 
 the bishop wrote to me as follows : 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Either you must go, or I must go to 
 Oudtshoorn ; there are 150 Catholics there, to say nothing 
 of the vast out-stations. I am bowed down to the earth 
 with grief at even the temporary suspension of the mis- 
 sion under your present charge, but there is no help for it 
 now. I will get a priest as soon as I can for St. Francis 
 de Sales. 
 
 I am, my dearest James, your afflicted bishop, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 I went on to Cape Town, and made all the necessary 
 preparations so as to be able to leave for my new scene 
 of missionary labour on the 21st October, 1865. The
 
 232 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Catholics of Cape Town, whose generosity to me while at 
 Malmesbury was munificent, now became enthusiastically 
 generous. Twenty-one cases of presents were on the 
 bishop's stoop on the morning of my departure. The 
 cases contained cooking utensils, delph, knives, forks, spoons, 
 glasses, salt fish, salt meat, and stores of various kinds ; in 
 fact, everything I could want. Before leaving I gave a 
 mission in Cape Town, which I here mention in order to 
 introduce a few incidents relating to conversions. It was 
 my second mission ; the first, upon which God, to whom 
 bj9 all honour and glory, poured out abundant benedictions, 
 was made by Him a source of grace, pardon, and, I hope, 
 of eternal glory to many ; for many of those who availed 
 themselves of that mission have since then gone to their 
 judgment. The second mission was eminently successful, 
 the whole Catholic body attending it, with Protestants also 
 of every class, many of whom received the faith, and have 
 ever since been examples of piety and good works. 
 Among these conversions, one was that of a gentleman of 
 high education ; he had been a fellow of Cambridge, took 
 his degrees there, joined the army afterwards, sold his 
 commission, and married at the Cape. He told me that 
 his father and one brother held livings as rectors in Eng- 
 land. He presented himself to me one day, asking if I 
 would give him private instructions, not that he desired, 
 he said, to be a Catholic ; but he felt that he was slipping 
 away from all faith, and had come to that pass that he 
 believed in nothing. " I wish," he said, " to hold on to 
 something; I am attending the mission, but I cannot 
 agree with many things in your Church." Well, he came 
 day after day, and finally became a Catholic. I baptized 
 him, heard his first confession, prepared him for confirma- 
 tion, blessed his marriage, gave him his first communion,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFKICA. 233 
 
 and, strange to relate, in a week after my return to Cape 
 Town from Oudtshoorn, 7th October, 1868, when dying- 
 I heard his last confession, gave him the viaticum, 
 anointed him, and afterwards read the burial service over 
 his grave. 
 
 One day during the Mission the Bishop, with whom I 
 was then staying, told me of an infidel living in Cape 
 Town, for whose conversion he wished me to make an 
 effort. I consented to try, the Bishop in the meantime 
 praying for my success. I went, therefore, to this gentle- 
 man's house, but avoided entering into controversy at this 
 interview, only asking him to promise to call at St. 
 Mary's that evening, as I wished to speak to him on 
 business of the utmost importance. He promised to come, 
 and did so. During the time of our conversation together 
 the Bishop remained in prayer in his room. After an 
 hour I joined him there ; he asked eagerly : " Do you 
 think there is hope of success ?" I answered : " My Lord, 
 I have just heard his confession the general confession of 
 his whole life." Upon this the Bishop took into his hands 
 a crucifix, and, devoutly kissing it, exclaimed : " To 
 Thee, Jesus, be thanks." 
 
 A lady of superior education and refined manners 
 called on me one evening, and introduced herself, saying: 
 " I am of the Dutch Reformed Church ; my husband, who 
 holds a good situation, is now in the Free State ; he is of 
 the English Church; I wish to be a Catholic." I in- 
 structed her, and received her into the Church ; she made 
 her first communion, and then her husband returned. 
 "When he heard of her .change he, in a burst of rage, 
 desired her to begone out of his sight, and never more to 
 approach him, declaring that had she joined the Mahome- 
 tan creed he could have tolerated it, but to have become a
 
 234: TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Roman Catholic was unbearable. She had thus to leave 
 his house, and was actually forced to take a menial situa- 
 tion, and afterwards to go out charing for her fupport. 
 Her husband silently watched all this. At length, over- 
 come by the sight of her heroic virtue and constancy, he 
 opened to her again the home from which she had been 
 driven, saying : " Come back, and be as faithful and 
 loving to me as you are to Home." 
 
 I might quote at least twenty other cases of more or 
 less interest, but lest I should become monotonous to the 
 reader, I will pass on, and cite only one other example of 
 (rod's loving mercy. 
 
 A young man came on the third day of the Mission for 
 instruction, whereupon his wife became actually delirious ; 
 she passed from hysteric to hysteric, and it was really 
 feared she would die. For four days it was necessary to 
 keep her under constant care. I shall not enter into all 
 the details of this beautiful instance of the effect of earnest 
 prayer on the part of the sorrowful husband, suffice it to 
 say, his prayer was heard, and on the morning of the 
 close of the Mission both husband and wife knelt at the 
 altar side by side to receive their first communion. 
 
 Having left Cape Town by the Kadie steamer, and 
 taking with me two young men, Denis Corbett and 
 George Kearns, we landed in Mossel Bay, then proceeded 
 through George Town to Oudtshoorn, my new quarters. 
 Of this route I need note nothing beyond the fact that at 
 Mossel Bay there is a new church ; there is another at 
 George Town, and a third at Knysna. In goiug to 
 Oudtshoorn we were obliged to cross the great mountain 
 pass, called " Montague," which leads over the mountains 
 called Outeniqua. This pass was constructed between the 
 years 1845 and 1849.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 235 
 
 During my residence at Oudtshoorn, I crossed over 
 every Pass in the western district, but nothing ever 
 riveted my attention, aroused my feelings, or excited my 
 admiration, as did this Pass of Montague. I literally held 
 my breath when the majestic grandeur of the whole scene 
 first burst upon my view. I looked in perfect bewilderment 
 at the mountains piled one upon another, till they seemed 
 to kiss the heavens. Then, as I ascended the steep road, 
 breathing with difficulty (for I was walking, the cart, our 
 usual mode of travelling, going on before me), my head 
 became dizzy as I looked down into the deep ravines, where 
 the trees rise into gigantic height and size ; and again, the 
 underwood, covered with blossoms as with garlands, en- 
 livened the view, and the rushing torrent, dancing in spark- 
 ling beauty, dashes recklessly over the well- washed rocks ; 
 while on another side a gentle waterfall appearing through 
 the drooping branches gives an elegant finish to this 
 enchanting scene. As I passed each angle of the moun- 
 tain on my left, I could not forbear looking with a sort 
 of pity upon an aged tree, whose topmost branches, now 
 despoiled and leafless, and whose trunk, undermined by 
 the ceaseless action of the rushing torrent, hung as though 
 in sorrow over the river, which ere long would receive it, 
 and sweep it away for ever. And then, again, I saw the 
 tiny, dazzling rivulets gambolling about in playful spor- 
 tiveness, and the gushing streams escaping through the 
 fissures of the surrounding rocks, and the jutting cliffs 
 spreading themselves out like canopies in terrific grandeur. 
 Having thus gained the summit of the mountain, I beheld 
 a prospect a piece of natural scenery as grand as any 
 the western province affords. Standing on the highest pin- 
 nacle of the Pass, I remained for nearly an hour surveying 
 these beauties of nature spread out before me, like a fairy 
 
 R
 
 236 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 scene swathed in loveliness. The great mountains stood 
 boldly forth, as it were, in defiant attitudes, clothed even 
 to the loftiest summits by delightful foliage ; while here 
 and there a stony barren spot, with a scathed appearance, 
 or a stricken and decaying tree, wasted and lifeless, en- 
 hanced by its very contrast the beauty of the surround- 
 ing scene. The prospect almost realised to my mind the 
 words of Wordsworth 
 
 " A land of hills, 
 Rivers, and fertile plains " 
 
 upon which I could gaze untired for ever. I then took in 
 a full sweeping view of 
 
 " The valley (that) lay smiling before me," 
 
 .sprinkled with blue flowering plants, scarlet blossoms, 
 
 exquisitely speckled geraniums of every size and colour ; 
 
 for as, without being a naturalist, I could not fail to be 
 delighted by the vast numbers of beautiful butterflies and 
 
 the variety of birds of superb plumage, so, though not 
 
 being a botanist or an horticulturist, I could not help 
 being fascinated with the many-coloured flowers with 
 
 .which these* valleys are carpeted. Look up or down, and 
 .you are lost in scenes of the most varied beauty all, 
 
 Dearth, water, wood, bud, blossom, flowers, shrubs, trees, 
 .gentle waterfalls all is enchanting, fairy-like, bewilder- 
 ing. Float along in your survey over the brilliant streams, 
 and you behold the town of George, and beyond it the deep 
 blue waters of the Atlantic rolling to and fro, and flinging 
 the foaming billows in sportive playfulness upon the beach. 
 At the top of the mountain there is an hotel. 
 Having done justice to such refreshment as it could 
 afford, we proceeded on our journey to Oudtshoorn. The 
 road is now almost devoid of interest ; nothing excites
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 237 
 
 the curiosity, except a level] pass on a mountain side 
 called Paarde Port. The remainder of the road is often 
 parched,and the mountains are scorched and utterly barren. 
 The village of Oudtshoorn is about five hundred miles 
 from Cape Town. We entered it at seven o'clock in the 
 evening, the atmosphere being deliciously cool and re- 
 freshing, as compared with the heat of the day. The 
 village entrance is far from prepossessing, the huts of the 
 coloured people occupying both sides, a quarter of a mile 
 in length, with a ricketty old building, used as the Dutch 
 Reformed Church, in the place of which, however, a 
 gorgeous edifice is now near completion. The church of 
 the coloured people, the English church and parsonage, 
 and one or two stores are the only buildings of any note 
 on this side of the Catholic church and presbytery. The 
 Catholic church (then unfinished) is a neat Gothic build- 
 ing, while the presbytery standing near is a charming 
 little dwelling. Until our cases could be opened we 
 became the guests of the district surgeon, Dr. O'Hare, 
 whose wife was lavish in the generosity and politeness 
 with which she attended to our wants. In a few days we 
 settled down to work, and opened a day school in the 
 presbytery. The Catholics in the village numbered 131, 
 and I will do myself the pleasure, and them the justice, of 
 noting that a better Catholic congregation I never served. 
 I had only to hint at my wishes, and with steady gene- 
 rosity and the loving attachment of most faithful Catho- 
 lics, the desired effect sprang into life. In making this 
 remark of the Catholics of Oudtshoorn and its out-stations, 
 which were for three years under my charge, I do not 
 mean to depreciate the worth, zeal, energy, and deep 
 generous devotion of the Catholics of Cape Town and 
 other districts in the vicariate. Indeed, visitors from
 
 238 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 other countries declare that the unflinching and unselfish 
 efforts of the Catholics of South Africa would suffer no 
 detriment by being compared with those of the Catholics 
 of equal number and means in any portion of the Catholic 
 world. 
 
 In a short time I was enabled to finish the presbytery, 
 church, and sacristy, erecting stone altars, with tabernacles 
 and all the other appurtenances and appendages necessary 
 to meet the requirements of the Catholic ritual. In addition, 
 I added an acre of ground to the church lands, and built a 
 schoolhouse of stone. The duties of school, house, and 
 garden, were equally divided between my associates, 
 Messrs. Corbett and Kearns, who did their part well. I 
 had, near the church, seven cottages rented for poor old 
 people to live in, and in my presbytery a few orphans who 
 were made useful. I kept sheep on the mountain, and 
 had also a few pigs, and a large quantity of fowl. Add 
 to this a good-sized garden, and you have a fair picture of 
 my establishment. We had two societies, one of St. Yin- 
 cent de Paul, for the men, and one of St. Bridget, com- 
 posed of the female portion of my congregation. All 
 worked in perfect harmony, and hence for three years I 
 spent my life at Oudtshoorn so happily, that I can ever 
 look back with feelings of mingled pleasure and regret 
 of pleasure at the comfort, satisfaction, and deep consola- 
 tion which I then experienced of regret that the felicity 
 of those days are past, and 3 it seems to me, will never be 
 equalled upon earth in my regard, and certainly are never 
 to be surpassed, until my terrestrial career shall have 
 closed, and my celestial life shall have commenced ; which 
 may Jesus in his infinite mercy grant to me, and to those 
 for whom I have unworthily laboured in the vineyard of 
 that good God ^ho is graciously pleased to make allow-
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 239 
 
 ances for the misery of poor human nature and its feeble 
 efforts. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 October 30tk, 1865. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I had your esteemed favour of the 
 24th inst., and am delighted to know that you are so far 
 safe. It gives me great pleasure to learn that you are 
 about to give a " MISSION " to the people of George Town. 
 May God bless your efforts for the propagation of our 
 holy faith. I will say mass for the success of your mission. 
 
 I hope you found out all the Catholics at Mossell Bay, 
 and that they all went to their duty. I feel most anxious 
 about Mossel Bay. There is a piece of ground there be- 
 longing to the mission. You had better see it when con- 
 venient, and let me have your views about trying to erect 
 a house which would serve as church, school, and presby- 
 tery. There are about twenty children there fit for school. 
 If they are allowed to grow up without Catholic education 
 we will lose them. 
 
 I fear that you will find many wants at Oudtshoorn. 
 After a short time I hope you will be able to set all things 
 right. Above all things, aim at building a schoolhouse. 
 Mr. Corbett will be able to conduct it under your guid- 
 ance, and if you write to the superintendent- general of 
 education you might get 30 a year, which would help in 
 sustaining your establishment. I trust that the Catholics 
 of Oudtshoorn will be generous to you; I know the scat- 
 tered Catholics of your vast outstations will, whenever you 
 are able to visit them. You would do well to write to 
 your numerous friends in Dublin, asking them to aid you
 
 240 TWELVE YEARSJjIN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 in finishing your church and house, and in erecting a 
 school. Tou have my warmest sanction. Then, as to 
 your support, you shall never want while I'have a shil- 
 ling ; WE WILL SINK OR SWIM TOGETHER. I would strongly 
 advise you to deliver lectures from village to village on 
 your line of march. You would gain something hy them to 
 help you in carrying out your onerous undertakings. Your 
 description of Jacob's ladder caused us great sport ; but 
 you have not yet seen it. Next week you may hope to 
 rest your eyes upon that fruit of Mr. Aughenbough's 
 genius. I suppose you desire to know my movements ; 
 well, last week I spent very happily at Malmesbury, exer- 
 cising the minor orders, opening and locking the church, 
 ringing the bell, keeping the lamp trimmed, &c., &c. I 
 slept in the vestry on the sofa which you provided before 
 you left. 
 
 Pray continually for our dear mission. 
 
 Most truly yours, 
 
 f T. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Eev. J. O'HAIRE, 
 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Oudtshoorn. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 January 3rd, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I was extremely gratified to learn 
 that the choicest dews of heaven descended upon your 
 labours at Greorge Town. It was, indeed, a successful 
 "MISSION." Your plan of establishing a weekly collection 
 at Mossel Bay for a new church meets my approval. 
 
 I am at present in possession of 50, for which there 
 are so many calls that I think it well to send it on to 
 you, so as to have it out of the way of temptation. Do 
 what you can with it. I will send you more when I fall 
 in for a legacy.
 
 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 241 
 
 Your father has arrived from Europe; Mr. Keating 
 took charge of him. He is looking wonderfully well. He 
 goes on to Oudtshoorn to-morrow under the care of John 
 O'Connell. I hope he may prove a comfort to you. 
 
 Deo gratias for that marvellous grace vouchsafed to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Deley ; they presented your letter of intro- 
 duction to me. I found them well instructed, and there- 
 fore, after a few days' preparation, received them into the 
 Church. 
 
 I am, my dear James, most faithfully yours, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Key. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Eouian Catholic Rector, Oudtshoorn. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 January 16^, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I have just heard that the state of 
 Catholicity in the districts of the " New Veldt " is most sad. 
 Will you summon up the zeal of an ordinary apostolic 
 man, and dash, with a missionary spirit, into the work 
 before you. You have nothing to fear ; God is with his 
 missionaries. 
 
 I have been informed that you have but lately returned 
 from your visitation of the Willowmore district. I hope 
 
 you saw Mr. , who has eleven children, and Mr. P. 
 
 and his wife and three children, together with a constable 
 and two labourers outside Willowmore. Now as to the 
 New Veldt go first to Prince Albert, which is two days' 
 ride from Oudtshoorn ; there Mr. Honeyburn will give 
 you bed and board free. After you have discharged your 
 duty there, go on to Beaufort West, about 100 miles, and 
 there you meet good Mr. Fitzpatrick, who has two chil- 
 dren ; he will give you decent accommodation. I think you
 
 242 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 will find a few itinerant Catholics near Mr. Fitzpatrick's. 
 Then proceed to Victoria West, nearly another 100 miles, 
 where Mr. and Mrs. Quirk will treat you as a prince. In 
 Victoria West you must remain a few weeks, if possible ; you 
 will find about thirty Catholics, and if you see any chance 
 of founding a new mission there, set to work. Much 
 depends upon your efforts during this coming visitation. 
 It is likely that for a few years your great zeal will be 
 directed to the establishment of new missions. I entirely 
 enter into your views regarding Mossel Bay, and I now 
 await your opinion about Victoria West. 
 
 Most truly yours, 
 
 f T. GrRIMLEY. 
 Eev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Oudtshoorn. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE Tow.v, 
 
 January 2ith, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your esteemed favour to hand. I 
 am grateful for your kind congratulation on the coming 
 anniversary of my consecration, to-morrow ; and in return 
 I beg to congratulate you, as to-morrow will be also the 
 current anniversary of your ordination. 
 
 Before you leave for your visitation, make arrangements 
 to have Mr. Corbett to say the Rosary on Sundays for your 
 congregation at Oudtshoorn during your absence ; the bell 
 to be rung as usual. One of your parishioners has written 
 to me a glowing account of the internal decorations of your 
 church. Now, my dear James, I am fully aware of your burn- 
 ing zeal for the beauty of God's house. You would wish 
 to have the interior, if possible, of the purest gold; so would 
 I : but, alas! this poor vicariate. Look, then, to the exterior ; 
 look to the roof ; get in the windows ; finish the doors ;
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 243 
 
 point the stone-work ; and then attack the inside. This, 
 believe me, will be a more prudent course. 
 
 I am, dearest James, yours, 
 
 f T. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Bev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Roman Catholic Bector, Oudtshoorn. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 March 2&rd, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Not having heard from you lately, I 
 was beginning to grow uneasy; however, your letter of 
 the 17th relieved me of anxiety. For the last few days I 
 have been buried in thought, about preparing for the 
 arrival of the brothers. I am aiming at securing a respec- 
 table house in St. John-street, which opens on the one 
 side into the Government gardens. I have offered 1,500 
 for it, but in any case I must not lose it. I announced my 
 plans to the people on Sunday last, and at once a weekly 
 collection was organized. 
 
 Did you see that horrid letter in the Argus, calling upon 
 me to give a public account of what I have done with the 
 moneys I have already received ? The cross will, I believe, 
 never be wanting. 
 
 I forgot to tell you that wrote to me lately for 
 
 50 for a Lady chapel. Did you ever hear the like ? Of 
 course I cannot, in view of future events, give him 5. 
 For ornaments I have nothing ; I must look to essentials. 
 I must help you, at least, in getting in your windows. I 
 am now sending you 30, which will be, I fear, the last I 
 can send you for years for Oudtshoorn. I will be very 
 anxious to go and see you, but I suspect that I cannot for 
 nearly a year. Have you written to your friends asking 
 them to help you ? Perseverance will crown your efforts.
 
 244 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 I hope that you have lectures prepared to deliver in the 
 villages of the New Veldt. I am revising your lectures oil 
 Monasticism, so as to fit them for publication. Let your 
 lectures in the New Veldt be suited to your circumstances. 
 Be kind, though uncompromising. D->n't use vinegar in 
 catching flies ; you will find honey m--ro enticing. 
 I am, my dearest James, yours most affectionately, 
 
 fT. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIKE 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Oudtshoorn. 
 
 PORT ELIZABETH, 
 
 28tf* April, I860. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Yeur letter from Mossel Bay was 
 forwarded to me. I heard of the shocking state of affairs 
 at Victoria West ; you must manage to remain there a few 
 weeks. Mr. and Mrs. Quirk will treat you as a king. I 
 have seen in the public journals an account of your lecture 
 in the Courthouse at. Mossel Bay on the "Temporal Power 
 of the Pope." I am, however, sorry that you selected that 
 subject ; it was too strong for Mossel Bay prejudice. I 
 am informed that a parson from George Town came down 
 to Mossel Bay, and went from house to house asking the 
 people not to be present at the lecture. I am, therefore, 
 surprised to find that your audience was so numerous. 
 
 You ask me to " come to the rescue of Mossel Bay." 
 Now, James, what do you mean by such language ? What 
 can I do ? I have 1,650, with some 10 dues, to pay for 
 the Phoenix House in St. John- street. I am convinced 
 that we require a mission at Mossel Bay. Let us pray to 
 the Lord of the vineyard to enable us to propagate his 
 holy faith. lam much pleased that you instituted the 
 weekly collection at Mossel Bay ; you have acted wisely
 
 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 245 
 
 The time must come when we shall have a mission there. 
 If I do not establish new missions I cannot take out 
 priests. 
 
 There is nearly support for one priest at Victoria West. 
 You can organise this matter when you visit. 
 
 Take care of your health ; avoid all unnecessary fasting. 
 As far as you can, get an early breakfast, and don't have 
 long intervals between your meals. I wish you could get 
 an opportunity of visiting the good pastor of Port Eliza- 
 beth Father Murphy ; he is the first missioner in South 
 Africa. He is an extraordinary man, devoted to his work 
 heart and soul. Day and night he is labouring for God 
 and his people; he scarcely ever takes rest. What an 
 example ! 
 
 The grand new church of St. Augustine was opened on 
 last Wednesday ; I preached on the auspicious occasion. I 
 am to give a "MISSION " next week ; after that I will proceed 
 at once to Malmesbury. I hope to be able to visit Nama- 
 qualand in June, so as to go on with the new church of 
 St. Columbanus. 
 
 When you get to Victoria West, write to me. It will 
 be a great comfort to me to hear from you. 
 
 Begging your constant prayers, I remain, 
 Yours devoted, 
 
 t T. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Bev. JAMES O'HAIRT;, 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Oudtshoorn. 
 
 A few references to the foregoing letters render it neces- 
 sary for us to retrace our steps to Mossel Bay ; then we 
 shall re-enter George Town, and return to Oudtshoorn. 
 
 On the occasion of my first visit to Mossel Bay I met 
 an English gentleman named Deley, a member of the 
 Anglican Church, with his wife, a German, and of the
 
 246 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Lutheran Church. Before having come to Africa they 
 had travelled in Catholic countries, and had heard and 
 seen enough to make them doubt in the divinity of Pro- 
 testantism ; hut they made no move towards Catholicity. 
 In Africa they happened to dwell where there was neither 
 priest nor church, and now after a residence of several 
 years I met them at Mossel Bay, on their way home to 
 Europe. They consulted, and having made up their 
 minds to break the ice, called upon me. I found them 
 well informed in Catholic truths ; but as they were about 
 to start for Cape Town, I gave them a letter of introduc- 
 tion to the bishop, who subsequently received them into 
 the Catholic Church. 
 
 The forlorn state of Catholics at Mossel Bay was very 
 sad ; so low, indeed, that I felt it my duty to urge the 
 bishop strongly to found a mission. I established a weekly 
 collection of d. per week per head, which became the fruit- 
 ful seed from which sprang, as we shall see hereafter, a very 
 pretty house, which suits the threefold purpose of church, 
 school, and presbytery. It is dedicated to St. Thomas. 
 
 The " MISSION " at George Town was thus referred to 
 on the George Town Advertiser of the 9th November, 
 1865: 
 
 " CHURCH OF SS. PETER AND PAUL AT GEORGE. A course 
 of religious exercises, known in the Roman Catholic Church 
 by the name of the ' Mission,' was given at the Church of 
 SS. Peter and Paul, during the past week, by the Rev. Father 
 O'Haire. There was a large congregation at each exercise 
 of the Mission, but on Sunday evening, at the closing cere- 
 mony, every part of the sacred edifice was crowded almost to 
 suffocation. Persons of every religious opinion, as well as 
 Catholics, assembled to hear the final discourse of the mis- 
 sion, and to witness the imposing ceremony of the 'solemn 
 renewal of baptismal vows.' The Mission commenced on 
 Sunday morning week with an explanation of the coming 
 devotions. The daily order of the Mission was as folJows : 
 Mass at a quarter before six each morning, followed by an
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 247 
 
 instruction on some one of the commandments of God or of 
 the Church ; catechetical instruction at ten o'clock, and also 
 at four o'clock; at seven o'clock each evening the devotions 
 opened with the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, followed 
 by the singing of a hymn; then an instruction on some point 
 of morality, a second hymn, a dogmatic discourse, and finally 
 the benediction of the Most Holy Sacrament. On Wednes- 
 day evening the subject of the second sermon was the vene- 
 ration of the saints and angels, the invocation of the Blessed 
 Mother of God, and the use of images ; on Thursday, con- 
 fession ; and on Friday, that Christ our Lord founded but 
 one Church, that that Church is infallible, and must continue 
 to teach the truth the very same truth which Christ taught 
 her till the end of time. The Rev. Father commenced each 
 discourse by showing the real doctrine of the Catholic Church 
 on the point in question ; he then proceeded to explain the 
 manner in which the teaching of the Catholic Church is mis- 
 represented on the point in question ; and afterwards went on 
 to quote the Sacred Scriptures in support of the matter. On 
 Sunday evening the Church was filled in every part by per- 
 sons anxious to see the grand ceremony of solemn renewal 
 of baptismal vows. The decoration of the altar was exceed- 
 ingly chaste, and, indeed, very handsome. The whole Catho- 
 lic congregation held lighted candles during the recital of the 
 Apostles' Creed ; this, added to the immense number of lights, 
 surrounding the altar, had a dazzling and splendid effect. The 
 Rev. Father, in his opening discourse, summed up briefly the 
 1 entire dogmatic sermons of the three preceding evenings. He 
 illustrated, by examples drawn from his own experience, the 
 effects of Catholicism misrepresented. After the sermon, 
 the Very Rev. Monsignore M'Mahon, Vicar-General, read 
 from the Book of Genesis the Ten Commandments; the 
 Creed was then repeated by the congregation, in a loud 
 voice, and the baptismal vows renewed. The Rev. Father 
 next gave a short discourse on Perseverance. Benediction 
 of the most Adorable Sacrament was imparted, after 
 which the Te Deum was sung, and thus closed the devotions. 
 During the Mission the Sodality of the Holy Rosary was insti- 
 tuted, and about forty received the scapular. Eighteen made 
 their first communion, while others were prepared for the first 
 approach to the sacrament of penance. Nearly every member 
 of the congregation approached the Holy Communion on 
 Sunday. The Rev. Father O'Haire left George for Oudt- 
 shoorn on Tuesday, in company with the Very Rev. Monsig- 
 nore MacMahon, as well as by Messrs. Corbett and Kearns, 
 whom the Rev. Father brings from Cape Town. On Mon-
 
 248 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 day and Tuesday mornings, at a quarter before six o'clock, 
 the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered in thanksgiving 
 to God for the graces conferred during the Mission. Nearly 
 the entire congregation was present on both occasions." 
 
 My father's arrival in the colony gave me immense 
 delight ; he came at the age of eighty-seven years, and 
 after ten years in South Africa, is now with me in England, 
 in much better health than I am. 
 
 The appeal to my friends in Ireland, recommended by 
 the bishop, was carried out. I sent fifty circulars to 
 Dublin, of which the following is a copy, and received in 
 response S7. 
 
 A. M. D. G. 
 ST. SAVIOUR'S, OUDTSHOORN, SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 September, 1866. 
 
 In order to ensure success I present the enclosed card in 
 the names of Jesus and Mary. I am placed over a district 
 larger than all England and Ireland, over the entire of which 
 there are Catholics thinly scattered. I am, of course, obliged 
 to visit them, but alas ! how seldom I can do so. Some are 
 visited once in six months, others once a year, others again 
 once in two years. As the people have to bear my expenses 
 in travelling, they are not able to build churches unless 
 assisted. I am desirous of erecting a church at Mossel Bay, 
 which is at one end of my district, and a second at Victoria 
 West, several hundred miles away at the opposite end. Assist 
 me, for the sake of our Blessed Redeemer and his holy mother 
 Mary. 
 
 Yours in Christ, 
 
 JAMES O'HAIRE, R.C. R. 
 
 At Oudtshoorn there was no schoolhouse, and the pres- 
 bytery and church were quite unfinished. In the presby- 
 tery there was an upper room, but no means of getting to 
 it, except by a wonderful contrivance a rope-ladder sus- 
 pended from the ceiling. By this we ascended and 
 descended. It went by the name of Jacob's ladder. One 
 day I addressed letters to twenty-five friends, descriptive
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 249 
 
 of this wonderful ladder, when, to my astonishment, I re- 
 ceived, in less than a month, 25 towards erecting a 
 proper staircase. 
 
 Father Murphy, referred to in the last letter, was the 
 first priest ordained in South Africa ; he was the most re- 
 markable and beloved of the entire ecclesiastical staff at the 
 Cape of Grood Hope ; he died on Tuesday, 5th November, 
 1872. Some twelve months before, he went to Europe in 
 the hope of recovering lost health, but returned to his old 
 home to die in the midst of his spiritual children. Up- 
 wards of 2,000 were immediately subscribed with the 
 view of erecting a monument to his memory. Protestants 
 united with Catholics in this well-merited recognition of 
 true greatness. 
 
 The following address was prepared to be presented to 
 him upon his return, but he was too weak to receive it. 
 It is an eloquent, pathetic, and deeply affectionate out- 
 burst of Catholic feeling. I give it in memoriam. 
 
 " To the Very Rev. Monsignore Murphy, D. D., Vicar- General. 
 
 "VERY REVEREND AND DEAR FATHER, Your children of 
 St. Augustine's desire to offer you, with every sentiment of 
 veneration and filial love, a hearty welcome. You will not, 
 dear father, whilst our hearts are overflowing with gratitude 
 to God for your safe return, and throbbing with delight at 
 seeing you, be displeased that we have adopted this means 
 of expressing feelings that can scarcely be controlled. There 
 are times when deep emotion must find utterance ; and 
 since rather than ruffle that delicacy which, we know, shrinks 
 from every manifestation of public joy, we have done violence 
 to natural impulse, and kept down the glad shouts of ' Cead 
 milh failthe 1 which are ready to burst tumultuously from our 
 lips. You will bear with us, as, with bated breath, we try to 
 tell you how happy we are in seeing again your well-remem- 
 bered face, and hearing the familiar tones of your voice once 
 more. It is now nearly a year since you left us, broken in 
 health, generously spent and exhausted in our welfare. 
 Quietly as you stole away from your sorrowing children, they
 
 250 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 knew at once, and felt instinctively, the anguish of that sepa- 
 ration. The ties that bind the good priest to his flock are 
 not broken unawares. We stifled our grief, and hung back 
 in silence, that your weakened frame might not be rudely 
 shocked by the spectacle of our desolation. Our only com- 
 fort in the hour you left us was, that our loving Father in 
 heaven would send you back ; and many a fervent prayer 
 went up to Him that day, and have since then been offered 
 without intermission, that the health you had so freely sacri- 
 ficed for us might be restored to you ; and that the happy 
 hour might be hastened when we could stretch forth to you 
 the hand of welcome in the old spot, the scene of your self- 
 denying labours. We thank the Almighty Giver of all good 
 gifts that these prayers have been heard. We bless his holy 
 name that He has raised you up again from the bed of sick- 
 ness, and sent you over thousands of miles of the stormy sea 
 safely back to your adopted home. May peaceful rest and 
 the happy influences of the home you have made for yourself 
 in the hearts of your children, soothe and refresh you after 
 so many grievous trials. It is our earnest hope that we may 
 soon enjoy the unspeakable pleasure of seeing you move 
 about in our midst, with something of the vigour and energy 
 of former years. Then will you mark, in the kindling eye 
 and joyous smile suddenly lighting up the face of the poor 
 and the afflicted, and the weary and disconsolate, a welcome 
 more eloquent than words can express. Then will even the 
 brow of the erring and wayward, reflecting the gleam of better, 
 thoughts, at sight of the old priest, flash forth its greeting. 
 Then will the warm pressure of the hand, and the kindly 
 smile of many a friend beyond ' the household of the faith,' 
 awake the inspiriting recollections of a well-spent life, precious 
 in the sight of all. Happy thoughts springing up from sources 
 of life like these on every side around you, and the balmy 
 air and sunny clime of the dear old Cape will, with God's 
 blessing, make you 'yourself again.' There is one thought 
 yet which we know will carry consolation to your paternal 
 heart. The young priest appointed by the bishop to minister 
 to our spiritual wants during your absence has won the respect 
 and esteem of every one amongst us by the faithful and exact 
 discharge of all his duties. In Dr. Glynn, beloved father, we 
 are certain you will find one who, with heart and soul, will 
 co-operate with you in every good work undertaken for the 
 spiritual and temporal welfare of the congregation of St. 
 Augustine's. Wishing you, then, dear father, a hundred 
 thousand welcomes, scarcely able to control the joyous feel- 
 ings which are struggling to burst forth in one long, loud
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 251 
 
 cheer of gladness, we tender you from the bottom of our 
 hearts the offering of our devoted respect, love, and venera- 
 tion ; and we promise, with God's help, to show ourselves, 
 on all occasions, your faithful, loving children, obedient 
 hearers of your word, and humble followers of your bright 
 example." 
 
 The bishop's allusion to the lecture on the " Temporal 
 Power of the Pope" induces me to state what occurred in 
 my first attempts at lecturing in the Mossel Bay and George 
 Town districts. On the morning of the day on which I 
 left Oudtshoorn for the purpose of delivering this lecture 
 at Mossel Baj^, one of the Church of England ministers 
 left George Town to offer the meanest opposition by 
 going, as he did, from family to family ; however, he was 
 only partially successful. I gained, after all expenses, 
 1 2 for my mission. The following is the report published 
 by the George Advertiser, Thursday, April 19, 1866 : 
 
 " On Saturday evening, the i4th instant, the Rev. Father 
 O'Haire, of Oudtshoorn, delivered a lecture, replete with 
 historical interest, at the Courthouse, and which, considering 
 the stormy state of the weather, was well attended. The 
 subject, ' The Temporal Power of the Pope,' was treated in a 
 lucid manner. The various facts connected with the history 
 of Rome, from the third to the eighth century, proved a 
 sound acquaintance with that period. The delivery of the 
 lecture lasted for more than an hour. The rev. father left 
 Mossel Bay for George Town, where he intends to repeat the 
 same lecture on Thursday, the igth inst." 
 
 I then proceeded to George Town, where I had many 
 friends and much sympathy, but here another Anglican 
 minister made such efforts as were sure to render my work 
 abortive. It so happened that an infant child of the High 
 Sheriff died, and knowing that the friends of this highly- 
 respected man would not come to the lecture on the even- 
 ing of the funeral, I availed myself of the 1 occasion to 
 
 8
 
 252 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 beat an honourable retreat by postponing my lecture by 
 the following advertisement in the George Advertiser. 
 
 "The lecture on 'How the Pope became a King' has been 
 postponed till Tuesday, the ist May, as may be seen by 
 advertisement. 
 
 TO THE PEOPLE OF GEORGE TOWN. 
 
 Catholic Presbytery, George, April 18,3 6 * clock , p. m. 
 MY DEAR FRIENDS, In consequence of the affliction which 
 has befallen one of your most worthy townsmen, I should 
 consider it out of place to deliver my lecture or have a concert 
 on the same evening on which the child of Mr. Swemmer is 
 to be buried. I have therefore resolved on its postponement 
 till the ist of May. 
 
 Most faithfully yours, 
 
 JAMES O'HAIRE, R. C. R." 
 
 I returned at the time appointed, and found that my 
 mode of action had overridden the bigoted efforts of the 
 parson, as the following will show : 
 
 FATHER O'HAIRE'S LECTURE IN GEORGE. 
 
 (Cape Argus, May \*]th, 1866.) 
 
 On Tuesday, the ist instant, the Rev. Mr. O'Haire delivered 
 a lecture on the Temporal Power of the Pope, or " How the 
 Pope became King." 
 
 The lecture-room was crowded ; it is supposed the audience 
 amounted to upwards of three hundred. The appointments 
 for the occasion were in good keeping, affording commodious 
 means of display for amateur performance. A stage, with 
 suitable drapery, accommodated the musicians and dramatis 
 persona, whose songs and comical acting seasonably relieved 
 the minds of hearers of too deep thought on serious subjects. 
 Mr. Wilson presided at the pianoforte. The brass band of 
 the Christy Minstrels, well versed in their peculiar art, 
 assisted ; and all created an amount of mirth enough to 
 drive the blues from creation itself. Not the least of the 
 entertainments were the songs of a lady of Oudtshoorn, 
 Mrs. O'Hare. 
 
 The lecturer himself appeared in good spirits, and per- 
 formed his part well. 
 
 To cast aside the vagaries of those minds, either ignorant 
 of or inimical to truth, which have attempted to pervert the 
 plain pages of history, and asperse both motives and means
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFKICA. 253 
 
 by which the Pope attained to temporal power, the lecturer 
 proceeded to show, by quotations from the best authors and 
 authentic documents, that the Pope came by his temporal 
 power honestly. , 
 
 The whole lecture was purely historical and highly instruc- 
 tive. Throughout not the smallest expression escaped the 
 speaker's lips that could ruffle or annoy the most sensitive of 
 his hearers who differed from, him in faith. The audience 
 was composed of persons of every persuasion, and there has 
 rarely been held in George an assembly both so large and so 
 respectable. 
 
 We understand that Father O'Haire intends to favour 
 the same circle of hearers with a future lecture, in which 
 he will probably lay before them the reasons why it is 
 expedient that the popes should retain their temporal 
 power.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DURING my residence at Oudtshoorn I visited all my out- 
 stations several times. On the first occasion I made a 
 general visitation which will, perhaps, afford items f 
 interest for my readers. 
 
 Having neither cart nor horses of my own, I went from 
 Oudtshoorn to Beaufort West by post cart, a distance, I 
 believe, of about 200 miles. The driver of the cart was a 
 Hottentot, and a most forbidden-looking fellow, with a 
 countenance reminding me forcibly of some of the figures 
 I had seen in the Chamber of Horrors, at Madame Tus- 
 saud's wax-work exhibition in London. The cart was an 
 uncomfortable affair. Previous to our departure, not 
 having partaken of dinner, I procured a roast fowl, some 
 bread, and other little matters to support the inward man, 
 all of which were deposited in the cart-box. When we 
 had travelled two hours we stopped for change of horses ; 
 and in the meantime I, to my cost (as will be afterwards 
 seen), occupied myself in taking a bird's-eye view of the 
 surrounding country. Fresh horses being harnessed, a 
 new driver, also a Hottentot, ascended the cart, to whom 
 the former one remarked, " Don't forget to stop a little on 
 the road, and let the gentleman have his dinner, which is 
 in the box." After an hour or so we stopped, but lo ! the 
 dinner was gone ; the former driver had stolen it. What 
 was to be done ? My present driver, pretending to com- 
 miserate my sad condition, suggested that I had better go 
 into the farmhouse hard-by, and relate what had happened, 
 so as to get something to eat on the road. I did PO, and
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 255 
 
 the farmer said, "You should, above all things, take a 
 bottle of Congo brandy for the night's journey, for you 
 will find it very severe." I thanked him, and taking the 
 brandy deposited it, unopened, in the cart. We drove on 
 for two hours through Meiring's Poort, stopping only 
 once for a second change of horses. By the time the 
 horses were changed at this last place it had become 
 almost dark, and I looked carefully into the box of the 
 cart, and was glad to see that the bottle was safe. But 
 now came a third driver, also, as the others, a Hottentot, 
 horses and driver being changed at each station, such 
 being the custom. At eleven o'clock I felt dreadfully 
 shaken from the jolting manner in which the cart was 
 literally tumbled over every impediment on the road ; and 
 I felt so cold that I asked the driver to stop for a moment, 
 fondly hoping that Mr. Meiring's " eau de vie'' would give, 
 if nothing better, at least a little refreshment: But what 
 was my astonishment when I found the bottle to be an 
 empty one. The cunning Hottentot of the second station 
 had succeeded in playing a second trick. I was thus 
 obliged to go the whole distance of about two hundred 
 miles without any kind of sustenance except a glass of 
 Dublin stout which a Protestant minister most kindly 
 gave me on the way. When I arrived at Beaufort I was 
 more dead than alive. There was but one Catholic there, 
 named Fitzpatrick, and with him I took up my lodging. 
 It required two days to recover from my state of utter 
 prostration. Having fully discharged my duties in this 
 village, I proceeded this time in a comfortable cart, drawn 
 by four horses, and accompanied by two servants, all 
 kindly sent to meet me at Beaufort by Mr. Burke of Fra- 
 serburg. There were fully two hundred miles to be travelled 
 before meeting with another Catholic, and this journey
 
 256 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFBICA. 
 
 was to be made over a terrific mountain pass. I shall 
 never forget the shocking and dangerous state of this road 
 at that time ; there was no kind of protection, beyond a 
 few stones, to save one from falling over a fearful precipice, 
 if the horses became frightened or restive. However, 
 thank God, we arrived in safety at the top, and had a 
 truly picturesque and magnificent view of one of the most 
 important villages in the western district. Having rested 
 here for an hour, and partaken of luncheon, we surveyed 
 the wide extending and really beautiful prospect, then 
 proceeded to the farm at which we had designed to stay 
 on that night. The farmer was an Englishman and a 
 Protestant ; his wife a Dutchwoman and a Protestant also. 
 Having alighted from the cart and been introduced to the 
 lady of the house, her first question a little surprised me, 
 viz., " Where is your wife?" I answered, "I am a Catho- 
 lic priest, and Catholic priests do not marry. I have no 
 wife ; my spouse is the Church ;" to which she coldly re- 
 plied : "Oh, how unhappy a state ?" I was made most 
 comfortable in the house, however, the supper being sump- 
 tuous, and laid out in aristocratic English style. After 
 tea the farmer asked me if I had any objection to be 
 present at night prayers and to read the Bible. To this I 
 answered, " Most decidedly not ; I will give out the 
 prayers, and also read the Bible." It is hard to realise 
 their surprise at my compliance. I kept them kneeling 
 while I said the rosary, and then sitting, I read and ex- 
 plained the 6th chapter of St. John in the Catholic sense. 
 There were present nineteen persons understanding 
 English. All were polite ; I had a good bedroom accorded 
 me, and early the following morning proceeded on my 
 journey through a dreary waste of country, which reminded 
 me of the words of the poet Pringle :
 
 TWELVE YEABS IN SOUTH AFKICA. 257 
 
 " A region of emptiness, howling and drear, 
 Which man has abandoned from famine and fear, 
 Which the snake and the lizard inhabit alone, 
 With the twilight bat from the old hollow stone ; 
 Where grass, nor herb, nor shrub takes root, 
 Save poisonous thorns, that pierce the foot ; 
 A region of drought, where no river glides, 
 Nor rippling brook, with osier 'd sides ; 
 Where ready pool, nor mossy fountain, 
 Nor shady tree, nor cloud-capped mountain 
 Is found to refresh the aching eye, 
 But the barren earth and the burning sky, 
 And the blank horizon round and round, 
 Without a living sight or sound." 
 
 Three days were occupied in going to Fraserburg, 
 where I was received by Mr. Burke and about half a dozen 
 other Catholics ; and on the following days was visited at 
 Burke's house by the magistrate, and some of the leading 
 men of the village. I remained in this village for eleven 
 days, was entertained most hospitably by Mr. and Mrs. 
 Burke, and very respectfully treated by the Protestant 
 community. Several Catholics came from a very great 
 distance to hear mass and approach the sacraments. 
 Everywhere the Catholics availed themselves of the pre- 
 sence of the priest. One case occurred here worthy of 
 special notice. It was that of an Irishman, a small sheep 
 farmer," residing eighteen days' ride from Fraserburg. 
 Notice had been sent him, long before, of the probable 
 time of my arrival. He had not seen a priest for many 
 years, and hence his children were without baptism. He 
 and his wife, with all their children, came in an ox wag- 
 gon ; and as he entered the village some wag cried out : 
 " Here comes Michael with a waggon full of babies to be 
 baptized." My duties being fully discharged, I prepared
 
 258 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 to start for my next station. Before leaving I delivered 
 a lecture on the Temporal Power of the Pope, at which 
 nearly the entire population was present at an entrance 
 fee of 5s. each. The magistrate, a thorough gentleman, 
 was most kind and attentive to me throughout the whole 
 time of my visit. 
 
 We set out next day for Skietfontein, a Rhenish mis- 
 sion station, about 120 miles from Fraserburg, where I 
 attended to the only Catholic family; and after three days, 
 one of which was spent at the hospitable board of Mr. 
 Dawson, justice of the peace, I proceeded on to Victoria 
 West, about 100 miles from Skietfontein. 
 
 It is better a thousand worlds should be sacrificed than 
 that truth should be suppressed ; and hence, I will state 
 that, at Skietfontein, I was informed by persons in a 
 position to judge correctly, that the natives of the station, 
 although taught, to some extent, to read and write by the 
 missionaries, had become frightfully immoral. When they 
 were pagans, said my informant, they were mere savages ; 
 but now they are Christians polished in crime. 
 
 At Victoria West I was at the extreme limits of my 
 district, in the Beaufort West division. The extent of my 
 quasi parish may be guessed at when I say that I alone had 
 spiritual charge, not only of the principal portion of the 
 Oudtshoorn division, in the centre of which my only 
 church and residence stood, but also of the Beaufort West 
 division, of which Hall, in his " Geography of South 
 Africa," page 31, says: "The division of Beaufort compre- 
 hends a tract of country nearly as large as the European king- 
 doms of Portugal, Denmark, Belgium and Saxony together." 
 The reader can judge from this the extent of my visitation. 
 
 At Victoria West I was the guest of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Quirk, whose kindness to me was beyond praise. The
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 259 
 
 day after my arrival the Catholics, ahout forty in number, 
 immediately called upon me at Quirk's Commercial 
 Hotel, and many Protestant gentlemen of the village left 
 their cards. I delivered a lecture in the Town Hall, to 
 which admission was gained by tickets Is. 6d. each ; the 
 Hall was crowded. I mention this circumstance as a proof 
 of the flush of money in that village. Before leaving I 
 was presented with a cart, harness, and two horses, in the 
 name of the Catholics of the division of Beaufort West. 
 While at Yictoria I made arrangements for the foundation 
 of a new church upon a site given me by a member of the 
 congregation. I met here a Protestant missionary, who 
 had retired from his duties, and was now on his way to 
 Europe. He candidly told me that the years he had 
 spent among the natives had been so much time lost, and 
 that he fully believed he had not gained one soul. He 
 furthermore added that several Protestant missionaries 
 had declared to him the utter barrenness of their work. 
 
 The. only circumstance that marred my pleasure at Vic- 
 toria West was the conduct of the English minister, the 
 same mentioned in the chapter relating to Tulbagh, who 
 thanked God that he was not made up in school distinc- 
 tions. I found him now located at Victoria ; he was a 
 Ritualist of the highest type, but a sly, oily enemy to 
 Rome. Hearing that I was about to give public lectures, 
 he went round to his people, saying that his bishop had 
 instructed him to use his utmost influence in preventing 
 the people from being present at the Roman Catholic ser- 
 vices, sermons, or lectures. However, I triumphed, and 
 his efforts failed. 
 
 This district of Nieuwe Veldt, or New Field, is devoted 
 mostly to sheep farming. There is no grass, only a bush 
 about twelve inches high, called schaape bosch or sheep
 
 260 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 bush, which forms the food of the sheep. Each farm is 
 immense in extent, some having as many as 25 to 30,000 
 acres. The farmers are generally descended of Dutch, 
 and are called Boers. The flocks consist, not unfre- 
 quently, of 10 to 12,000 sheep and goats. The farmers 
 lead lives of great indolence, their servants, Hottentots, 
 Bushmen, or Korannas doing the work. Water dams 
 are constructed near the farm, where the flocks are usually 
 brought to drink twice a day. Education is not much 
 attended to, the distance to a school being so great that 
 the office of master or teacher is generally entrusted to 
 some English, Irish, or German wanderer. When the 
 children can read and write a little, they are termed 
 geleerd learned, so that the process of education seldom 
 exceeds one year. Rich farmers can, and do in some in- 
 stances, send their children for a few years to a boarding 
 school in the nearest town, perhaps 4 or 500 miles from 
 their residence. 
 
 As to the hospitality of the Dutch, it is proverbial, like 
 that of the Irish. I was refused it only once. Any one 
 coming at night to a Dutch farm, gets, without trouble 
 and free of expense, a good supper and a bed, but is ex- 
 pected to go on his journey next morning, but if lie wants 
 food for his horse he is expected to pay for it. While travel- 
 ling I often preferred the open field, but more frequently 
 I had no choice. During one year I slept in the bush 
 121 nights, not consecutively, but extending over the whole 
 year. However, having two Yeldt comberses, or field 
 blankets, each made up of ten or twelve sheepskins, I 
 could sleep comfortably enough. I always had with me 
 two good dogs, who watched by me all night while I 
 slept, and warned me upon the approach of jackals, wild 
 cats, natives, baboons, or anything objectionable. Before
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 261 
 
 retiring to rest we gathered a pile of bushes, lighted our 
 fire, roasted a piece of mutton upon a green rod, made 
 coffee, had supper, said our prayers, and retired into our 
 field blanket. Four hours' sleep in the open air will be 
 found sufficient ; you then arise, shake yourself, say morn- 
 ing prayers, stir up the embers, make and drink a cup of 
 coffee, give your horses or mules a drink of water, inn- 
 spaann, that is, harness, and drive on ; repeat this every 
 two hours ; and for each two hours' ride let your beasts 
 have one hour of rest. 
 
 Having alluded to the indolent lives of the sheep farmers, 
 who, as well as the natives, spend a very large portion of 
 their time in sleep, allow me to record an anecdote. 
 
 It is related by E. L. Keft in his "Random Reminis- 
 cences of the Cape," and may not be inappropriate here. 
 " It appears that there was a certain, magistrate in the old 
 court of justice, who was in the habit of sleeping on the 
 bench. It happened that one day, before going to court, 
 he had a smart dispute with his wife respecting the mode 
 of dressing a fish, which had been sent him as a present. 
 The lady went in for boiling, but her spouse insisted on 
 having it fried. In the midst of the discussion he was 
 called off to court. He dozed on the bench during the 
 trial of a prisoner, and dreamt about a compromise re- 
 garding the cooking of the fish. The evidence having 
 been given, and the advocacy finished, the crier of the court 
 awaked him, asking for the verdict, when, to the amuse- 
 ment of the court, and the horror of the prisoner, he cried 
 out : ' Boil his head and fry his tail.' " 
 
 I may as well tell a second anecdote to keep company 
 with the first. I have already remarked that the Dutch 
 was formerly the all-prevailing tongue at the Cape, and 
 it still holds sway in the western province. It is related
 
 262 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 of a Dutch magistrate, who knew very little English, and 
 just as little law, that on one occasion a prisoner having 
 been placed before him, he asked the clerk of the court, 
 "What is the charge against this man?" "Bigamy, 
 your worship." What ? Bigamy ? What's that ?" 
 " Having two wives at one time, your worship." " Well, 
 and what do you want me to do with him ?" " Why, to 
 punish him." " Punish him ! why then, I'll do no such 
 thing. I have got but one wife, and I feel myself awfully 
 punished ; if I had two jl should consider myself fully 
 entitled to the consideration and indulgence of any court 
 of justice ; therefore discharge the prisoner." 
 
 I should, perhaps, have said a word about irrigation. 
 Water, and the means of conveying it to the land, is the 
 great desideratum. The Beaufort district, whieh includes 
 the Nieuwe Veldt, would be one of the richest portions 
 of creation if it had plenty of water led on to the fields ; 
 even as it is, the farmers are, in spite of terrible and 
 ruinous droughts, exceedingly rich. During late years a 
 great deal has been done, by opening fountains, some of 
 which are very large. The artesian system attracts little 
 sympathy, but well digging has been carried on with spirit 
 and success ; therefore small patches of land about each farm 
 are employed for agricultural and floricultural purposes, 
 and through the latter the farmer's son has a flower for 
 his buttonhole, and the farmer's daughter a pretty bouquet. 
 
 I will say a word en passant in reference to the ceme- 
 teries. Let the reader bear in mind I am now writing of 
 the Nieuwe Veldt. In the villages there are public ceme- 
 teries, which, as a rule, are discreditable to Christians, 
 without walls, and subject, more or less, to the inroads of 
 cattle ; but on almost every farm-place there is a private 
 cemetery enclosed, and you will often find inserted on the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 263 
 
 tombs eulogies of the deceased usque ad nauseam. Desiring 
 not to prove irreverent on so doleful a subject, I will ven- 
 ture to quote an advertisement and an epitaph, both of 
 which followed the death of one whose merits and demerits 
 are thus curiously exposed. 
 
 The following advertisement appeared in the Gazette, 
 1812: 
 
 " The public will learn, with the deepest sorrow, the 
 decease, on Friday, the 14th August, of W. S. Van Ryne- 
 veld, Esq., President of the Court of Justice, Orphan 
 Chamber, &c. &c. The unrivalled qualities of this re- 
 spected man were so well known that it does not require 
 more than to state his death to draw from every voice the 
 acknowledgment of his irreparable loss to this colony. 
 Merit so various and alike conspicuous will ever remain 
 the boast and pride of the Cape of Good Hope." 
 
 Compare with this the following epitaph, in reference 
 to the same individual, which is found in a reply to the 
 Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry, by Mr. Bishop 
 Burnett, p. 17 of Appendix: 
 
 11 Here lies in death, who living always lied, 
 A base amalgam of deceit and pride ; 
 A wily African of monstrous shape, 
 The mighty Quinibus Flestrin of the Cape. 
 A rogue paramount, ten thousand rogues among, 
 He rose, and shone, like phosphorus -from dung. 
 The wolf and fox their attributes combined 
 To form the odious features of his mind. 
 When kennelled deep, by shame, by fear unawed, 
 Lurked rapine, villany, deceit, and fraud 
 Hypocrisy, servility, and lust, 
 A petty tyrant, and a judge unjust. 
 Partial and stern in every cause he tried, 
 He judged like Pilate, and like Pilate died.
 
 264 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. ; 
 
 Urged to despair by crimes precluding hope, 
 He chose a bullet to avoid a rope. 
 Consistent knave ! his life in cheating past, 
 He shot himself to cheat the law at last. 
 Acme of crimes, self-murder crowned the whole, 
 And gave to worms his corpse, to fiends his soul." 
 
 Before leaving Victoria West I engaged a lad of about 
 fifteen as a driver to Beaufort West, not per Sckietfontein 
 and Fraserburg, but by quite another and more direct 
 road. I spent a few days at Beaufort, many hours of 
 which were occupied in inspecting a large water dam the 
 largest, I believe, in the colony constructed chiefly by 
 convict labour, and large enough to accommodate several 
 pleasure boats. However, it was like the "perpetual 
 motion that stopped," for it gave way. At Beaufort West 
 I procured another driver, an English navvey, and an 
 honest fellow, but who knew just as much about horses as 
 I did about watchmaking. This journey occurred in the 
 month of June, the coldest time of the year in that part. 
 The driver was, as I have remarked, a bad one, and the 
 horses were slow and inclined to " stick" on the road. In 
 the middle of the second night our coffee, brandy, wine, 
 meat, and even our matches were expended. We pro- 
 ceeded on our journey, shivering from bitter cold. At 
 two o'clock in the morning we espied a fire in a field, and 
 made for it. It was surrounded by about twenty Hotten- 
 tots. My driver could not speak a word of Dutch, but I 
 could manage the patois, and therefore we unharnessed our 
 horses. I introduced myself to the half-naked company, 
 and was well received ; had from them a cup of coffee, 
 minus milk or sugar ; was placed upon a dozen sheepskins, 
 and had another dozen over me, and slept by the fire in 
 the midst of these natives till six o'clock in the morning.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 265 
 
 Then after taking another cup of coffee, we drove away 
 with " G-oede rijs" " A good ride to you" from these 
 " illustrious strangers." We drove to Mering's Poort, and 
 were warmly received and well entertained by the Rev. 
 Edwin Gibbs, an Anglican minister, whose wife, the most 
 perfect pattern of an English lady I have ever met, treated 
 me with the kindest attention. From that day forward 
 we were intimate friends, and for three years afterwards, 
 whenever I passed on that road, I had a warm reception, 
 and homely resting-place in their out-of-the-way resi- 
 dence. 
 
 There was but one Catholic family in this Poort, or 
 rather part of a family, for while the father and all the 
 children were Catholic, the wife was a Protestant. Here, 
 then, I took up my abode for a week under the benign 
 auspices of Mr. and Mrs. Murphy. My daily duties were, 
 as is obvious, not very engrossing, and therefore I took 
 occasion to ramble up and down this truly magnificent 
 Poort a course which I adopted on every subsequent 
 visit. The word Poort means gate ; and this Meiring's 
 Poort is the opening between Oudtshoorn and Beaufort 
 West, and also Prince Albert. It is, in fact, a road of 
 about twenty-five miles in length, between two walls of 
 rock, more than a thousand feet in height, and so close 
 that there is merely space for this road itself and the zig- 
 zag river which, as it flows in its capricious windings, 
 crosses it thirty-three times. The natural beauties of sur- 
 passing grandeur, flung about, as it were, with a reckless 
 prodigality throughout this Mering's Poort, are charming 
 to the traveller. 
 
 From end to end the scenery is interesting, and fre- 
 quently rises into absolute beauty. Now and then you 
 discover even a laughing flat and woody swell, while the
 
 266 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 continually changing outline of the mountains is singu- 
 larly pleasing. No doubt there was a time when the 
 earth, writhing in convulsive agony under the influence 
 of volcanic power, split asunder this mighty mountain to 
 relieve its pain. The formation and arrangement of the 
 strata will at once point this out to the student of geology; 
 for where the construction is horizontal or perpendicular, 
 or forming acute or obtuse angles with the surface on one 
 side, it is precisely so on the opposite ; and wherever a 
 jutting rock meets your eye on the one side, its vacant 
 space is seen on the other. The mountain-sides are lost 
 in blossoms of every conceivable hue. The geranium, 
 predominating and pushing itself forward, as if to gain the 
 prize, is clothed with every colour. The stony hills are 
 covered with scattered shoots of light green creepers, and car- 
 peted with bloom of pink, and white, and blue, and crimson, 
 interspersed with irregular veins of yellow, and here and 
 there the orange blossom and wild red rose form a tangled 
 wilderness of delicate hue. It is true that hilly nakedness 
 is in places apparent, but then one turn shifts the scene ; and 
 while the fertile hand of nature is extended over this genial 
 clime to cover the nudity and desolation of a straggling 
 rock,' another prospect, indescribably brilliant, bursts at 
 once upon the view, where you see the open flower, the 
 speckled blossom, the beauteous bulb, the spreading ivy, 
 the towering tree, the jutting rock, the murmuring brook, 
 the translucent river, the splashing waterfall, the soft, 
 silent expanse, and the deep lake, where there is neither 
 a bubble nor a foam-bell on the surface to tell of subter- 
 ranean conflicts, nor yet a faint, pleasant gurgle to greet 
 the realms of upper air, and soothe the mountain's soli- 
 tude ; but waters of inky purple, which keep themselves in 
 unrippled stillness.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 267 
 
 It was once my good fortune to witness a terrifically grand 
 thunderstorm in this Poort. I went, after supper, for a 
 roam among the hills. It was a moonlight night, though 
 not particularly brilliant ; now and then unfriendly clouds 
 of deepest gray intercepted my view, but this only added 
 afterwards to the magnificence of the scene when the moon 
 flung her light upon the mountain sides, displaying the 
 light and shade. The tremulous flashing of the stars 
 among the spiral trees on the hill-tops, the perfume of inr 
 cense wafted from the fir-trees and evening flowers, added 
 to the murmur of the falling streams and the silver bright- 
 ness of the dancing rivulets, made the night's journey ex- 
 ceedingly agreeable. Ascending a fine range of craggy 
 mountains, behind which, yet not so as to veil the sum- 
 mit, I beheld heavy storm-clouds hanging in enormous 
 folds of black and deep crimson which warned me of the 
 approaching terror. In another moment the heavens 
 were draped in deepest mourning ; desolation seemed to 
 close around me as I remained the solitary witness, in awe- 
 struck admiration, of the grandeur of nature in one of her 
 leading exploits. In ictu oculi in the twinkling of an 
 eye the clouds met, and the roar of thunder in the first 
 grand discharge was like the cannonading of some ten 
 thousand artillery levelling the ramparts and fortifications 
 of a city. The mountains seemed to tremble; I shook 
 from head to foot as the echo of the thunder-clap rolled in 
 fearful grumbling through the deep ravine ; the storm 
 lasted about an hour and a half. During all this time 
 the earth was lighted up every alternate minute by sheets 
 of deep blue lightning, or wrapped in profound darkness, 
 awaiting the next terrific flash. The repeated blaze of 
 glittering, quivering lightning made my position near a 
 mountain-top quite unenviable; however, I dared not stir.
 
 268 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 I crouched within a cave which gave me a delightful view 
 of the fearful grandeur in which I was enveloped. The 
 forked lightning, as it darted from the heavens like hissing 
 serpents of fire, appeared to me to cause sparks of fire to 
 flash from my own eyes, such was my terror ; but the 
 sheet lightning had a lovely effect in brightening up the 
 scene. The twists and magical bends of the mountains, 
 with their broad and majestic turns through high and 
 woody hills; the wilderness of massive and unbroken 
 foliage ; the plants of every possible green, clustering and 
 waving from the crevices ; the closed scarlet blossoms, and 
 the various sleeping flowers, caused me to feel that I was 
 in the precise spot for a romantic tale or a wild poem. 
 Then my mind was carried back to the home of my youth, 
 and an uncontrollable feeling of loneliness stole over me ; 
 but another roll of thunder, and a brilliant flash of light- 
 ning, enabling me to survey the wide and varied prospect 
 lying out before me, lifted up my soul and made me gaze 
 in a sort of ecstatic wonder at heaven and earth ; at the 
 beauties of the celestial canopy, and the broad, bewildering 
 sweep of mountains, and the sweet view of the lovely, 
 dreamlike valleys, protecting in their bosom the reclining 
 flowers, and the gaudy creepers twining round the jutting 
 stones, all conspired in forcing from my mouth the words 
 of the apostle: "0 Lord, it is good to be here." It 
 was like the transfiguration of nature. I could not help 
 coming to the conclusion that the consummate beauty 
 with which Europe manages to mask her romantic stern- 
 ness, and the voluptuous softness which Asia flings over her 
 scenery, are here in Africa (so little known) blended by the 
 gentle touch of nature in a manner that often overpowers 
 the mind and pen of even a thoughtful writer. As I thus 
 mused, and 'pondered with solemn and calm pleasure over
 
 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 269 
 
 the delightful landscape, and reverted to the wild, red 
 sunset which had greeted my entrance to the Poort the 
 previous evening, suddenly the whole earth was veiled in 
 darkness, and the rain fell as if the sluice-gates of a 
 mighty ocean in the heavens had burst asunder, and that 
 the little world in which I then sat was about to be 
 deluged. Dark night settkJ. down, and the waters rolled 
 over the mountain-sides in torrents. I waited an hour ; 
 the rain ceased, the darkness fled, and the moon rose. It 
 was not a full one, but that which Sir Patrick Spense calls 
 " the new moon with the auld one in her arms." I saun- 
 tered down the hills with drenched clothes, for my cave 
 had become a pool, was received with joy by the Murphys, 
 who feared I had been lost, drank a bowl of warm milk, 
 and in half an hour was folded in the arms of the god of 
 sleep.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 HAVING returned to Oudtshoorn I was welcomed most 
 cordially by my dear congregation. On the Sunday fol- 
 lowing my arrival I gave my people an account of my 
 visitation, which was thus chronicled in the George 
 Advertiser, July 19th, 1866 : 
 
 " The Rev. Father O'Haire, Roman Catholic Rector of 
 Oudtshoorn, having returned to St. Saviour's from the 
 visitation of the Catholics residing at the outstations of 
 his mission, gave some items of information in addressing 
 his congregation which may prove interesting to some of 
 your readers. His remarks may be summed up thus : 
 After an absence of so many weeks from you, dearest 
 brethren, it will probably be gratif} T ing to you to hear 
 what impressions were made upon my mind by my recent 
 visit to my outstations, but more particularly to Nieuwe 
 Veldt. I shall not deem it unbecoming the sanctity of 
 this holy temple, or inappropriate at this time specially 
 set apart for religious instructions, to blend secular with 
 religious ideas in quoting the substance of my diary. 
 There are many of you who have not seen the Nieuwe 
 Veldt, and for your information I may say that it is vast 
 and rich. The farms are large, indeed, and flocks, especi- 
 ally sheep, quite prodigious, particularly when we consider 
 that the farmers are only recovering from the apparently 
 fabulous losses sustained during the late drought. The 
 Veldt is evidently most productive under the influence of 
 rain, and would, undoubtedly, support the largest herds 
 of cattle or sheep, if refreshed with occasional showers.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 271 
 
 As to water-finding and dam-making, the farmers are 
 decidedly bestirring themselves. Not only in the district 
 of Beaufort, but in Fraserburg, Victoria West, Schiefon- 
 tein, and other districts, active exertions are made to find 
 water in one case, or to save heaven's contributions in the 
 other. Success is the result. I have seen exceedingly 
 great fountains flowing where water would have remained 
 hidden if men had continued lazy and asleep. It is, in 
 my opinion, folly to stand with folded arms, looking up to 
 the clouds for what they have so often and so abundantly 
 given, but which we have permitted to flow away into the 
 already full ocean. God is good, it is true, and will help 
 man in his necessity; but I say God is good and most 
 beneficent to those who co-operate in his merciful, or, if 
 you will, bountiful designs. But I can never be induced 
 to hold that God will continue to assist those who are too 
 lazy to assist themselves. This very district of Oudtshoorn 
 would never experience poverty if those who were bound 
 to do so had united in trying to save what God so often 
 showered upon them. 
 
 "As to the hospitality of the farmers on my route, I can- 
 not refrain from paying them a well-merited compliment. 
 They are most obliging and generous to travellers. I 
 have, I must say, experienced most unqualified kindness, 
 at all times and in all parts of this colony, where I have 
 been, from the farmers. 
 
 "Although Fraserburg pleased me very much, not, 
 indeed, for any special interest attached to the village, 
 but for the general absence of ranting bigotry, yet Yictoria 
 West far surpassed all my expectations. The really 
 gentlemanly manner of Mr. Balston, the magistrate and 
 civil commissioner of Fraserburg, as well as of the civil 
 officers acting in union with him, won my admiration. This
 
 272 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 remark may seem uncalled for, but you know that, after 
 all, it is no small thing to meet a gentleman in the high 
 sense in which I now express myself. 
 
 "When I left Schiefontein, where I experienced great 
 attention at the hands of Mr. Dawson, clerk of the peace, 
 I proceeded to Victoria West. I expected to see a small 
 but neat village ; but no, Victoria is, in my belief, marvel- 
 lously excellent for its term of existence. It is large ; the 
 houses are respectable, and there are several fine public 
 buildings. The community is to a great extent European, 
 and of good standing, together with being polite. There 
 is a library-hall, the use of which was kindly given me 
 during my stay. There is, probably, as high an average 
 of intelligence at Victoria West as you could find in any 
 village in the old country. 
 
 " With reference to religion, I need not tell you that 
 Catholics are thinly scattered. I was obliged to travel a 
 great deal in order to minister to the spiritual wants of 
 my scattered children. It would be superfluous to state 
 that the poor Catholics, so long deprived of an opportunity 
 of assisting at the holy Mass and of receiving the sacra- 
 ments, gladly availed themselves in nearly every instance. 
 Yet I deplore the want of a church and a resident priest 
 among those people. Several generous Protestants promised 
 to assist me in raising a little church for my people, so far 
 removed from their pastor. I hope that the day is not far 
 distant which will see the Catholics of the Nieuwe Veldt 
 provided for, as you are, with priest, church, and school." 
 The practical fruits of the visitation w r ere : 
 
 Masses celebrated, . . . .36 
 
 Sermons, . . . . . .10 
 
 Instructions, ..... 75 
 
 Lectures, . . . . . .12
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 273 
 
 Confessions, . . . . 7 . 63 
 
 Communions, .... 60 
 
 Yiaticums, ..... 2 
 
 Extreme Unctions, . . . . 2 
 
 Baptisms of children, . . .15 
 
 Do. of adults, .... 6 
 
 Marriages, ..... 2 
 
 Receipts, including offertories, proceeds 
 
 of lectures, &c., .... 93 
 Expenses of Visitation, . . .10 
 
 Balance, .... 83 
 
 which was chiefly devoted to liquidate the expenses of my 
 Oudtshoorn establishment during my absence, and to the 
 building of a new school. 
 
 The following is from the " Annals of the Propagation 
 of the Faith," November, 1865 : 
 
 " CAPE OF GOOD HOPE The two Catholic missions of 
 the Cape (both eastern and western districts) have 
 this year received a fresh impulse, and increased, not- 
 withstanding the very slight resources at their com- 
 mand." 
 
 The Catholics of the eastern district belong, mostly, to 
 the poorer classes ; they are, therefore, depending on the 
 alms received from the Propagation of the Faith for the 
 expenses of their mission ; but, unfortunately, in their 
 case, as in that of so many others all over the world, the 
 Propagation is forced to confine its supplies to what is re- 
 quired for the most urgent wants. Dr. Moran's chief 
 solicitude has been directed to the establishment of schools, 
 as, in a country so much exposed to Protestant influence, 
 they are of the utmost importance. During the year 
 1864 ho opened several new ones, which he placed under 
 the care of nuns.
 
 274 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 " After an experience of nearly two years, during which 
 time I have been Apostolic- Vicar of this province, I am 
 persuaded (writes his lordship on the I0th of May, 1865) 
 that the progress and even very existence of the Catholic 
 faith in this country depend chiefly on the efficiency and 
 care taken of our schools, and it is for this reason that I 
 have made such efforts to establish really good ones in 
 our district/' 
 
 The Apostolic- Yicar of the western district, Dr. Grimley. 
 lias just finished the erection of a church in a quarter of 
 the vicariate that had never before possessed a temple 
 dedicated to the true God. The state of this district is 
 consoling and hopeful in every respect. " The Catholics 
 are becoming more fervent, and the Protestants are begin- 
 ning to frequent the Catholic church to hear the word of 
 God. During Lent twenty Protestant adults embraced 
 the Catholic Faith." (Letter from Bishop Grimley, dated 
 Hay 14th, 1865.) 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE Tow*, 
 
 \th May, 1866'- 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I know it will gratify you to hear 
 on your journey that I returned to St. Mary's on yester- 
 day evening, after a good passage from Algoa Bay. I 
 had your esteemed favour of the 4th inst. awaiting my 
 return. I am delighted that you started for Victoria 
 West. Great work is before you there. You must remain 
 a few weeks, in order to do any substantial good. I wish 
 you to make known our convent schools in all families, 
 both Catholic and Protestant, where you may stay. We 
 have at present several Protestant boarders. Our schools 
 are first-class. I hope I may soon hear that the brothers
 
 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 275 
 
 have left France en route to the Cape. We want them 
 sadly for the education of the boys. 
 
 I was greatly edified at the priests' conduct in the 
 eastern province : they are really men of God, entirely 
 devoted to their work, always doing their duty. I 
 found at Port Elizabeth an old mutual friend of ours, 
 John Fagan, formerly of St. Paul's Academy ; he is a 
 laborious missionary, precisely the stamp of man I 
 want. 
 
 I am delighted that you triumphed at George Town 
 over bigotry. Our grand principle in this colony must be 
 never to compromise an infinitesimal iota of our faith, 
 and yet never give unnecessary offence. We catch neither 
 flies nor men with a bitter ingredient. 
 
 Most truly yours, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Bey. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Malmesbury. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 23rd May, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I was delighted to have received 
 your affectionate letter from Beaufort West. Thanks to 
 God you got so far safe on your long and toilsome journey. 
 I suppose you did not stop at Prince Albert. I wrote to 
 Mr. Fitzpatrick and to Mr. Burke. Those men who aid 
 the poor missioner deserve our gratitude and attention. 
 You will be much pleased with the Nieuw Veldt, particu- 
 larly with Victoria West. I wish we had a priest there ; 
 but, alas ! what can I do ? I am overwhelmed with debt. 
 I am now compelled to get a mortgage on my own house, 
 to meet the first demand for the Phoenix House for the 
 brothers. I would freely sacrifice myself a thousand times
 
 276 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 for the advancement of our holy faith in this vicariate ; 
 but you know, James, how helpless I am. Let us pray 
 to Grod for aid. 
 
 Do not be in a hurry home ; those dear souls 
 around you seldom see a priest. Take great care of 
 your health; do not expose yourself to colds. Whenever 
 you sleep in the bush, keep yourself warm with sheep- 
 skins. May Grod protect you, dear James, is the heartfelt 
 prayer of, 
 
 Tour affectionate friend and bishop, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIM LEY. 
 Eer. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Eoman Catholic Rector, Beaufort West. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 May 3lst, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAREST JAMES, Your long and very interesting 
 letter, dated Fraserburg, 18th inst., has afforded me great 
 consolation, seeing that you have got so far in health and 
 safety. You are right in saying that Fraserburg should 
 have a mission for itself, but we must first look to Victoria 
 West, afterwards to Fraserburg. Yet you will agree with 
 me that Cape Town, being the heart of the vicariate, should 
 first of all be supplied with good schools. I am sure, dear 
 James, that you are weary in going long journeys in search 
 of a few people ; but be consoled by the great St. Charles 
 Borromeo, who says "that one soul should be diocese enough 
 for a bishop." 
 
 I am, dearest James, hoping for great things from your 
 present visitation, but more especially your visit to Vic- 
 toria West. I know not what to say to encourage you, 
 but you need not encouragement. Grod is with you, and 
 therefore who can prevail ngainst you ?
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 277 
 
 Write as often as possible. I am following you in 
 spirit, and praying for your success. 
 
 I am, dearest James, 
 Your affectionate friend and bishop, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES 
 Roman Catholic Eector, Fraserburg. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 7t/i June, 1866. 
 
 MY VERY DEAR JAMES, Your letter of the 2nd instant 
 to hand to-day. I thank Mr. Burke from my heart for his 
 kindness to you. When I visit Oudtshoorn we shall have 
 long and important deliberations about missionary pros- 
 pects. May God help you to get through your journey 
 and to save souls. 
 
 I have sent Father Quaid to Namaqualand ; he is there 
 collecting for the establishment of a mission. I was offered 
 50 by the C. C. Mining Company towards the erection of 
 a church, and 25 per annum towards the support of a 
 priest. Is not that excellent from a Protestant company ? 
 But, my dear James, I am convinced that it is not, so 
 much, money we want for the conversion of South Africa, 
 as, apostolic men who are willing to sacrifice themselves 
 for God's glory. 
 
 I am overjoyed to know that you have arrived at the 
 end of your journey, but may God comfort you as you 
 behold the spiritual destitution of your spiritual children, 
 scattered over so great districts and seeing a priest so 
 seldom ; but, James, do not repine. THE DAY is NOT FAR 
 
 DISTANT WHEN THE VAST COUNTRY NOW COMMITTED TO YOUR 
 
 SOLE CARE WILL BE HANDED OVER TO OTHERS NOT TO ONK, 
 
 BUT TO MANY. IT MUST BE SO.
 
 278 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 I am pleased beyond measure at your first act at Vic- 
 toria West the foundation of a mission. You have, you 
 say, engaged the people to subscribe : well, I will do my 
 part ; put my name down for 50 towards your new 
 church. I am gratified to know that the building you 
 propose is to be a church, house, and school. 
 
 I am sending Father Meagher to visit your spiritual 
 children at Lillyfontein next week. 
 
 I am looking forward to the day of your return that I 
 may go and see your numerous improvements at Oudt- 
 shoorn. Most faithfully, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Eer. JAMES O'H-iiRE, 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Victoria. 
 
 ST. MARV,S CAPE Tows, 
 
 14th June, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your favour of the 5th is before me, 
 and as I perceive you are surrounded by difficulties, I 
 hasten to express my deep sympathy, and to assure you 
 of my very great anxiety for your success. Oh, my heart 
 is oppressed with grief at the sad state of your boundless 
 district. I know not what to do. 
 
 I have myself made a tremendous effort to lay the 
 foundation of a sound Catholic education in Cape Town. 
 I wrote to Cardinal Barnabo for a grant of 1,000 ; the 
 reply came " Non possum." May God help me. I can 
 only pray for you. Thank Mr. Hogan for the site he has 
 so generously given you for a church. My heart sinks 
 within me at seeing that I cannot come to your aid as I 
 
 would wish. I know the Rev. is at Victoria an 
 
 oily man ; but the more oily the more dangerous. Father 
 Meagher is visiting your spiritual children at Lillyfontein.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 279 
 
 I have been praying earnestly for you. I thank God that 
 so far your health is good. Take great care of your 
 health. I will write by next mail to Cardinal Barnabo, 
 giving him a full account of the state of religion in your 
 districts ; thus my soul will be free of such awful responsi- 
 bility. I am conscious that I am not able to do what 
 I would wish for this immense vicariate. A vear agro I 
 
 > O 
 
 wrote to Dr. M'Mahon, my Vicar- General, on the subject 
 of dividing the vicariate, and getting another bishop ; but 
 prudence dictates that a subject of such importance should 
 be carefully considered, and hence I will take no action in 
 the matter until I visit you in September or October 
 next. 
 
 I send you some Catholic papers which will interest you 
 on your lonely mission. May Grod preserve you. My 
 anxious thoughts follow you on your sad missionary 
 labours. But let us cheer up ; we are not doing our own 
 work, but the work of God. If we sow in sorrow, we 
 shall reap in joy. 
 
 Pray for your ever affectionate and most devoted 
 bishop, 
 
 t THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Her. JAMES O'HAIEE, 
 Eoman Catholic Hector, Oudtshoorn. 
 
 ST. HART'S, CAPE Tow*, 
 
 1866. 
 
 MY PEAR JAMES. My heart is afflicted by your descrip- 
 tion of the sad state of our holy religion in your districts. 
 The fault is certainly not yours. What is to become of 
 so many hundred souls if we cannot establish missions ? 
 If infidels alone were residing among our scattered flock, 
 there would not be the same reason to fear as at present.
 
 280 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 The emissaries of heresy are continually prowling about, 
 taking advantage of the unavoidable absence of the priest 
 to snatch from the fold of Christ souls redeemed by his 
 precious blood. 
 
 At this moment we sadly want a church at Victoria 
 "West, and one at Mossel Bay. At each of these places 
 there are conventicles of the Church of England, and of 
 the Dutch Reformed Church ; but alas ! as you well know, 
 our poor Catholics have no church, no priest, no school at 
 the above-named places. The aid which I receive from 
 the Association for the Propagation of the Faith is utterly 
 inadequate to found new missions ; it is too little for these 
 missions already established. 
 
 As I entrust to your care, zeal, and prudence the estab- 
 lishment of the missions at Yictoria "West and Mossel 
 Bay, you have my fullest approbation to collect funds and 
 solicit contributions. For all those who will assist you in 
 your arduous but most necessary undertakings, I will 
 most fervently pray, and often offer up the most holy 
 sacrifice of the Mass. 
 
 Begging of God to give you strength to labour for the 
 salvation of souls, I remain, my dear James, 
 Your devoted bishop, 
 
 T. GRIM LEY. 
 
 Eev. J. O'HAIRE, 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Victoria West. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE Tow.v, 
 
 3rd July, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I heard last evening from a friend 
 that you had returned to Oudtshoorn. Perhaps later this 
 morning I may get a letter from you. I thank God that 
 you have returned from your long and painful visitation ;
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 281 
 
 I fear you have other sorrows awaiting you at Oudt- 
 shoorn ; but recollect jour Divine Master was " a Man of 
 Sorrows." If we would follow Him, we must take up our 
 cross. 
 
 I know, my child, that all your thoughts are centred in 
 one object the advancement of our holy faith ; therefore 
 I hasten to greet you on your return, and to offer my 
 condolence on account of your trials. Your consolation 
 is, that you Work not for man, but for (rod. 
 
 I am, dear James, yours devotedly, 
 
 f T. GRIMLEY. 
 Kev. J. O'HAIRE, 
 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Oudtshoorn. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPK TOWN, 
 6^ July, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I am in receipt of your esteemed 
 favour from Mossel Bay. I hope you are not over-fatigu- 
 ing yourself; you should have rested after your toilsome 
 journey. 
 
 I have glorious news for you ; your old pupil, Pat 
 Dunne, is ordained, and will, I trust, be soon in Cape Town. 
 
 The Marist Brothers will leave France in September ; 
 what a blessing ? I must suffer poverty during my epis- 
 copacy ; but what matter if God's most holy faith be 
 propagated. 
 
 I am now getting out from Europe a supply of new 
 vestments, and of course I will not forget, in the distribu- 
 tion, you, the soldier, who is nobly fighting in the front 
 rank of the battle. 
 
 May God bless you, is the constant prayer of 
 
 Your devoted, 
 
 fT. GRIMI.EY. 
 
 Rev. J. O'HAIRE, 
 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Oudtshoorn.
 
 282 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE Tows, 
 
 24th July, 18GG. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, During last week we made our re- 
 treat, so that I could not write to you. By this day 
 week's post I had your two letters. Your zeal for the 
 interest of your mission induces you to aim at optimism. 
 I am well aware of it ; but you or I will never be able 
 to arrive at optimism. Let us make the most we can of 
 the materials we have. If ever we are insulted let us be 
 silent, and bear for the love of Jesus every affront. 
 
 You will be glad to learn that John O'Conuell is taking 
 a large number of your lectures, and also Dr. Murphy of 
 Port Elizabeth. I am doing my best to have them well 
 circulated in the eastern province. 
 
 I am, my dear James, bound in all honesty to inform 
 you that I think I shall soon require your services in a 
 still more responsible direction. Therefore, prepare every 
 thing at Oudtshoorn, and be in readiness, if called upon, 
 to depart at a moment's notice. Yours devotedly, 
 
 f THOMAS GKIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Oudtshoorn. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE Towx, 
 
 October IGtft, 186G. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I am glad to inform you that Pierce 
 Coinerford and his family are thinking of going to you. 
 I know that Comerford and his family are as dear to you 
 as they are to me. They were yours at Malmesbury, and 
 they may yet be yours at Oudtshoorn. I am daily pray- 
 ing that you may yet wear the crown ; but you know that 
 you must first bend joyfully under the cross. I am not
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 283 
 
 at all well at present. Dr. Stewart has recommended me 
 to the country, and says that a journey to Oudtshoorn will 
 be good for me. 
 
 You have not written to me latterly as often as usual. 
 Have I done any wrong ? I wish I could send you an 
 assistant priest. Faithfully yours, 
 
 fT. GEIMLEY. 
 
 Rey. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Oudtshoorn.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 AFTER the visitation described in the preceding chapters, 
 I found my little flock at Oudtshoorn animated as ever by 
 solicitude for their pastor, and zeal for their holy faith. I 
 proceeded at once to complete the decorations of the church, 
 so as to have everything in the best possible order when 
 the bishop should arrive. It may be interesting to note 
 that about this time a Protestant gentleman, who fre- 
 quently attended the services at St. Saviour's, and ulti- 
 mately became a Catholic, communicated the following 
 description of the ecclesiastical establishment at Oudt- 
 shoorn, which met my eye for the first time in the columns 
 of the Argus, from which journal I copied it into my 
 diary. 
 
 "VILLAGE or OUDTSHOORN. Among the many improve- 
 ments which are visible, the completion of the neat Gothic 
 edifice, St. Saviour's Church, deserves special mention. Since 
 the advent of the Rev. James O'Haire in our midst it has 
 been made the ornament of the village. The white pointing 
 shows out in bold relief against the dark stone which is 
 the material of the building, adds considerably to the 
 effect, and gives an idea of completeness which before was 
 wanting. The ground in front of the church is enclosed 
 by a low stone wall, with substantial coping and massive 
 pillars, and only needs the intended iron railings to finish 
 the external adornments of the church. While the exterior 
 has been attended to, the interior has not been forgotten. 
 The canvas, or linen, which supplied the place of windows, 
 has been exchanged for neat glazed frames ; the sanctuary,
 
 TWELVE TEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 285 
 
 or chancel, has been ceiled, a harmonium purchased, and 
 t\ platform in a corner of the church railed off for the 
 choir, and choral services of no mean order regularly 
 occur. The high altar is of massive stone, the front form- 
 ing three Grothic arches, which stand out from the surface. 
 Within the central arch the monogram 'I.H.S.' wrought 
 in the stone, stands out from the background ; on either 
 side, in the same manner, are the ciborium and cross-keys, 
 and beneath each device the word ' Sanctus.' These 
 devices are gilded, and correspond with the altar furniture, 
 which was made to order and supplied by Messrs. Hard- 
 man & Co., of Birmingham. The tabernacle, or receptacle 
 for the Blessed Sacrament is of solid metal, the front 
 being of chased brass, highly polished; this is surmounted 
 by a throne, upon which the remonstrance, containing the 
 consecrated Host, is placed when exposed ; and at other 
 times the crucifix, an elegant piece of workmanship. The 
 interior of the tabernacle is lined with white silk, the 
 veil around the throne above being of some silken texture, 
 which it would take a lady to describe. The whole is sur- 
 mounted by an elegant and finely- wrought crown of chaste 
 design, from which rises a canopy of silk, the texture 
 being the same as that of the veil, and the apex of which 
 supports a small cross. The lamp is not the least con- 
 spicuous ornament, and is suspended in the centre of the 
 arch of the chancel ; the pattern is the same as that of the 
 crown above the tabernacle, and bears favourable com- 
 parison with the other articles I now describe. The pro- 
 cessional cross is beautifully wrought and highly polished, 
 the four extremities being enamelled ; the staff of the cross 
 is of brass, and of about six feet in length. The banner 
 is of silk, bearing a representation of the sacramental 
 species, and the v. ords: 'Jesus Christ Himself has said:
 
 286 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 This is My Body.' The altar candlesticks are of mas- 
 sive brass, all of great height; there are six of these, 
 which rest on the highest step of the re-altar, while the 
 additional candlesticks are of different metal. The pro- 
 cessional candlesticks are, as well as those used on the 
 altar, of thoroughly ecclesiastical pattern, exceedingly 
 high and weighty. There is, besides, a missal stand, 
 delicate and tasteful in workmanship, and, with the beauti- 
 fully bound book which rests on it, is one of the prettiest 
 ornaments of the church. On the Epistle side of the sanc- 
 tuary, inside of the arch, is the piscina. Reaching from 
 either column of the sanctuary arch is the communion 
 rail, which, like the altar, is of stone, and is a well-finished 
 piece of work. The space between the arch and the side- 
 wall of the main building is occupied by a neat stone altar, 
 intended for use on festivals of the Blessed Virgin, in 
 whose honour it is erected as a memorial to the late Mr. 
 M. A. M'Auliffe, of Cape Town, as we are informed by a 
 tablet erected in the church. Corresponding to this, on 
 the Grospel side, an altar of more elaborate design, but of 
 equal size, is in course of erection. This will be the altar 
 on which the Blessed Sacrament will be reserved, and is a 
 memorial of the late Rev. B. A. O'Reilly, formerly the 
 priest in charge of this mission. The pictures of the 
 Saviour's Passion, known as ' The Stations of the Cross,' 
 are of large size, painted in water colours, and fine speci- 
 mens of art. Besides the numerous improvements which 
 have been effected in the church by the energy of Father 
 O'Haire, seconded by the combined efforts and hearty co- 
 operation of the Catholic congregation, the presbytery 
 has been improved, and is now being finished. The front 
 is of the same stone of which the church is built. The 
 stoep, which surrounds the house, is of stone, and affords
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 287 
 
 a fine promenade. In the rear of the church a school- 
 room has lately been built, and the church, school, and 
 presbytery, taken together, have quite a monastic appear- 
 ance. The schoolroom was much needed, and affords 
 better accommodation for scholastic purposes than was 
 before enjoyed. The building is, of course, of stone." 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE . 
 
 GEORGE TOWN, 
 31 st October, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, You will be glad to learn that I am 
 not far from Oudtshoorn ; I arrived here on Friday even- 
 ing. I had intended to have remained at Mossel Bay 
 over Sunday, but Dr. M'Mahon was waiting for me on 
 the shore, and, as it turned out, fortunately for myself, as 
 we have had rainy days since. I hope, on my return, to 
 remain a few days at Mossel Bay. 1 will now give you 
 the programme of my present visitation. On Sunday next 
 I will (D. V.) confirm in George ; on Monday, the 5th 
 proximo, I will start for the Knysna ; I will return to 
 George probably on Friday, the 9th, and on Monday, the 
 12th, I hope to see my dear priest, Father O'Haire, in 
 Oudtshoorn. I appoint Sunday, the 18th proximo, for 
 confirmation in Oudtshoorn. I beg that you do not put 
 yourself to any inconvenience whatever during my stay 
 with. you. Would that I could sacrifice myself to gain 
 souls to God ? Yes, my dear James, I will share most 
 willingly your humble fare. I am happy to tell you that 
 I am quite well ; this visitation will do much for my 
 health. With kind regards to your household, 
 I remain, your ever devoted, 
 
 fT. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Eer. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Oudtshoorn.
 
 288 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 GEORGE TOWN, 
 2lst November, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR FATHER O'HAIRE, I am yet in George Town ; 
 we had resolved yesterday to leave this morning for Oudt- 
 shoorn, but the rain fell, and prevented us. I returned 
 from the Knysna district on last Friday through Long 
 Klooff. In about two hours after having left Montague 
 Pass, a portion of the mountain fell on the very same part 
 of the road I had passed over. Make all preparation for 
 confirmation on Sunday week. I am most anxious to be 
 with you ; nothing excepting illness will prevent me. 
 Pray for me, and believe me to remain, 
 Yours most truly, 
 
 f T. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. J. O'HAIRE, 
 Roman Catholic Rector, Oudtshoorn. 
 
 When the evening for the bishop's arrival came, I, in 
 company with twenty male members of my congregation, 
 went forward to meet his lordship. Having crossed the 
 Olifant and Kamnassi rivers, and reached Paarde Poort, 
 we met. I need not say that my heart beat rapidly as I 
 approached, after so long a separation, one whom I so 
 much loved. We proceeded together to Oudtshoorn, and 
 in the evening all the men of my congregation met his 
 lordship at the presbytery to present him with an address, 
 the copy of which, I regret to say, is lost. The following 
 is the reply : 
 
 BISHOP GRIMLEY'S REPLY. 
 
 MY DEAR CHILDREN IN CHRIST, Your very kind ad- 
 dress, which greets my presence among you, demands my 
 warmest thanks. The great zeal displayed by your inde- 
 fatigable pastor in beautifying God's house, and your
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 289 
 
 generous co-operation in aiding him, commands my admi- 
 ration. The decoration of your church, the completion of 
 the presbytery, and now the erection of a handsome 
 schoolhouse, speak loudly of the advancement our Divine 
 religion is making among you. The societies of St. Yin- 
 cent de Paul, for the relief of the poor, and of St. Teresa, 
 for the care and embellishment of the sanctuary, are most 
 admirable, and must bring a blessing on yourselves and 
 your children. You will not grow weary, I trust, in 
 (rod's service, but will ever feel honoured in advancing 
 the glory of the Great Author and Finisher of our faith. 
 We have all good reason to thank God for the wonderful 
 propagation of the Catholic faith in South Africa. We 
 are all well aware that twenty-nine years ago there was 
 not a Catholic bishop or priest in the colony ; now, thanks 
 to our good God, we have bishops, priests, churches, and 
 thousands of faithful members. We have every reason to 
 look forward with the brightest hope to the future ; but 
 let us never forget that in order to bring down the bless- 
 ing of God on the glorious work of the propagation of 
 the faith, we ought to endeavour to please Him by truly 
 Christian lives, by frequently approaching the sacraments, 
 by fervent, constant prayer, and by diffusing around you 
 the sweet odour of good example ; thus your lives will 
 honour your holy faith. In your intercourse with those 
 who do not worship at your altar, ever extend the right 
 hand of fellowship, doing good to every one without dis- 
 tinction of class or creed. My dear children, be ever firm 
 in the holy Catholic faith, remembering that " without 
 faith it is impossible to please God." To the profession 
 of your holy faith unite the constant practice of holy 
 charity, bearing each other's burdens, forgiving one another, 
 that God may forgive you. In a word, be united in one
 
 290 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 faith; thus you will advance in virtue, and secure for 
 yourselves crowns of immortality. 
 
 f THOMAS, Bishop and Vicar- Apostolic. 
 November 26tk, 1866. 
 
 During his stay he visited every member of my flock 
 residing in and near the village, and expressed his warm 
 admiration of the truly Catholic spirit that pervaded the 
 entire body. On Sunday all went to Holy Communion. 
 The confirmation took place before a large audience, com- 
 posed of Protestants of various sects, as well as Catholics. 
 In the evening he preached a charity sermon for the 
 Society of St. Vincent de Paul, when the sacred edifice 
 was crowded. On Monday evening the bishop delivered 
 a lecture in the Courthouse, the magistrate presiding ; ad- 
 mission was by ticket, 2s. 6d. each ; every available corner 
 was filled. On the next morning his lordship left, 
 en route for Cape Town. 
 
 The following is the admirable lecture delivered in the 
 Courthouse of Oudtshoorn on the occasion of his lordship's 
 visit : 
 
 LECTURE 
 
 o.v 
 " Literature in the Middle Ages." 
 
 WHO has not heard of the dark ages ? So accustomed are 
 we to read of the ignorance which, like a huge pall, covered 
 the fair form of Europe for nearly one thousand years, that we 
 loath the very name of the Middle Ages. They seem, like 
 Nazareth of old ; we imagine nothing good could come from 
 them. We persuade ourselves that in those times ignorance 
 reigned supreme, civilization disappeared, and morals were 
 immersed in depravity itself. The historian Grace, writing 
 of the Middle Ages, says : "There is no period of history 
 which has been more misrepresented than this, or con- 
 cerning which there exists less correct general information. 
 The vulgar story is, that they were ages of intellectual gloom 
 and darkness, in which debasing superstition, priest-craft,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 291 
 
 social and moral slavery, and political tyranny alone ruled 
 the destinies of Europe, degrading the minds, corrupting the 
 hearts, and destroying the energies of men. But this partial 
 and unjust judgment must be reversed by the more liberal 
 spirit with which the history of those ages is investigated at 
 the present day. Every one feeling an interest in the study 
 of the Middle Ages ought to become acquainted with the 
 distinguished writers Muratori, Tiraboschi, Frederick and 
 William Schlegel Meiners, Eichorn, Heeren, Voigt, Hurter, 
 Hallam, and Maitland, who, by labourious research, have 
 dissipated the literary mist which obscured men's vision, and 
 vitiated the medium through which they viewed events. The 
 conclusion at which the profound scholar, Schlegel, arrived, 
 after carefully examining the events of the Middle Ages, was 
 this, "that the substantial part of the knowledge and civili- 
 zation of antiquity never was forgotten, and that for very many 
 f the best and noblest productions of modern genius, we 
 are entirely obliged to the inventive spirit of the Middle 
 Ages." You are aware that chronologists and historians are 
 not agreed as to the beginning and end of the Middle Ages. 
 Without discussing the point at present, I adopt, as the most 
 probable opinion, the date of the downfall of the Roman 
 Empire in the West, in 476, as the commencement of the 
 period, and the fall of the same in the East 1453 a space 
 of 977 }' ears as its termination. To render this lecture inte- 
 resting, and deserving your kind attention, I shall, in the first 
 place, examine the causes which led to the decline of litera- 
 ture in those ages. Secondly, I shall glance at the literary 
 condition at various epochs of the period in question ; and 
 thirdly, I shall discuss the question, " What do we owe to 
 the Middle Ages ?" 
 
 Every reader of history must be conversant with the causes 
 which led to the decline of literature. The agencies which 
 weakened and overturned the Roman Empire in the West, 
 hurled the genius of learning from her lofty pedestal, and 
 with savage heel trampled on her beauteous form. The Roman 
 Empire, that vast colossus, which stood with one foot upon 
 the heart of Europe and the other upon Asia, grasping with 
 one hand Northern Africa and with the other Britain, shared 
 the fate of all earthly things the victim of its own vastness, 
 like lofty walls which are no longer able to bear ponderous 
 superstructure, fall and present to our view nought but a heap 
 of ruins. The German and Northern hordes were the formi- 
 dable enemies, of Rome. The Goths and the Vandals, under 
 Alaric and Genseric, Attilla and Sotila, seem to have been 
 animated both with the same feelings. No doubt a kindred
 
 292 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 spirit urged on Brennus, with his Gauls, to assail the walls of 
 Rome. 
 
 The first notes of Rome's funeral dirge could have been 
 appropriately sounded on the day when Constantine removed 
 the seat of Government to Constantinople. So long as Rome 
 was the capital of the Empire, the efforts of the Northerns 
 were abortive. The Roman legions, under Adrian, Marcus 
 Aurelius, Septimus Severus, gallantly drove back the invaders 
 of their country, and preserved the honour, the dignity, and 
 integrity of Imperial Rome. But no sooner did the Roman 
 eagle take flight, and perch on the banks of the Bosphorus, 
 than the Franks, Goths, Vandals, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, 
 Alans, Huns, Lombards, Danes, and Normans, burst like a 
 torrent on the fair plains of Europe, sweeping in their im- 
 petuous, irresistible course every monument of religion, and 
 every landmark of civilization. For more than two centuries 
 they were conquering and destroying. Do not imagine the 
 first invaders quietly settled down on the lands first seized ; 
 no ! thirsting for new plunder they pushed further on. Alas! 
 after them new conquerors followed, devastating whatever 
 their predecessors left untouched. Thus it was as wave suc- 
 ceeds wave with increased impetuosity, casting into the air 
 its frosty foam, thickening the atmosphere with its spray, so 
 horde succeeded horde from the apparently inexhaustible 
 population of the North, until a deluge of barbarism covered 
 the land of civilization, and buried in its ruins the peaceful 
 abodes of learning. We need not be surprised if Italy suf- 
 fered most, as she has always been the garden of Europe ; 
 her lovely fields and rich vineyards were ever tempting baits 
 of fierce barbarians. During the short space of twenty years 
 Rome was pillaged five times. An American writer, in an 
 article on Hallam's Middle Ages, has well said : " There was 
 in that period of general social dissolution one country, in 
 which the work of devastation commenced much later and 
 ended much sooner than in any other. Italy in the Middle 
 Ages, was like Mount Ararat in the Deluge, the last reached 
 by the flood, and the first left. The remains of the Roman 
 social world were either never utterly dispersed in that country, 
 or far later than anywhere else; and if we are to date the 
 close of the Middle Ages from the extinction of feudalism, 
 that revolution was effected in Italy, no less than three cen- 
 turies before the time of Charles V. the epoch assumed by 
 Hallam as the conclusion of his work. It would then be 
 expedient to refer the history of Europe in the Middle Ages 
 to Italy, as the history of the ancient world has always been 
 referred to Rome. The great ascendancy of the Papal power,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 293 
 
 and the influence of Italian genius on the literature and the 
 fine arts of all countries, made Italy essentially the centre of 
 light the sovereign of thought the capital of civilization. 
 And Hallam himself, whose name as an English writer we 
 must respect, confirms the justice of this tribute to Italy. It 
 may be said, with some truth, that Italy supplied the fire from 
 which other nations in this first, as afterwards in the second 
 era of the revival of letters, lighted their own torches. 
 
 Anselm, Peter Lombard, the founder of Systematic Theology 
 in the twelfth century; Gratian, the author of the first compi- 
 lation of Canon Law ; the school of Salerno, that guided 
 medical art in all countries; the first dictionaries of the Latin 
 tongue, the first treatise of algebra, the first great work that 
 makes an epoch in anatomy, are as truly and exclusively the 
 boast of Italy as the restoration of Greek literature and of 
 classical taste in the fifteenth century. The ravages of the 
 invaders were not restricted to the interruption of agriculture 
 and destruction of cities ; libraries were often destroyed, and 
 the most superb monuments of literature and art cast into the 
 flames. Sometimes, in the darkest hour, when the last beam 
 of hope seemed fading away, He, who with unerring finger 
 had marked the boundaries of the sea, and said Thus far and 
 no farther, stopped the onward career of the ruthless invader. 
 Attila, calling himself the scourge of God, trembled before 
 Pope Leo, while that holy pontiff was pleading that his flock 
 might be spared from the ravening wolf. Even Totila, in his 
 onward career of ruin, halted, and became nerveless at the voice 
 of the saintly Benedict. These, however, were only excep- 
 tions to a general rule. When we calmly read of the frequent 
 incursions of barbarians, the ruin of agriculture, and the de- 
 struction of cities, we need not be surprised that at the begin- 
 ning of the tenth century many were of opinion the end of 
 the world was at hand. Imagine what must have been the 
 state of Europe, laid prostrate for nearly five hundred years 
 by a series of revolutions until then unparalleled in history. 
 It was not until towards the end of the tenth century that 
 Europe began to breathe freely. Let us judge justly. Was 
 it possible that in the midst of continued agitation and revo- 
 lution men could cultivate literature ? No ! the sword rather 
 than the pen stern necessity preferred. Amid the horrors of 
 war few are inclined to devote themselves to study. Besides, 
 books then could only be multiplied by the copyist. The 
 Alexandrian Library, so rich in literary lore, was burned in 
 641 by the Saracens. Other invaluable libraries shared the 
 same fate. From the nature of things books were so very 
 dear that they could be procured only by the rich. We must
 
 294 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 not overlook another great fact. When the old systems were 
 swept away, new ones arose in their places ; a new race 
 peopled Europe ; new customs and laws appeared. The 
 remnant of the aborigines were reduced to a state of vassal- 
 age. In such circumstances literature should decline, and 
 were it not for Divine interposition I cannot see how it could 
 have survived. Now you may ask me, how did Catholicity 
 fare in those dark days of destruction ? She was trampled 
 in the dust by the armies of the infidel or barbarian. She 
 was trampled, but not subdued ; crushed, insulted, persecuted, 
 but not annihilated. The Divine Spirit that was promised to 
 abide with her for ever could not be extinguished. It is true 
 she bent her form to the tempest, but did not quail under its 
 violence ; and when its utmost fury was spent, she raised her 
 beauteous head, and proclaimed her heavenly mission to her 
 persecutors. They paused were astounded cried out "An 
 indestructible power is here." "Digitus Dei est hie." Those 
 that persecuted confessed they sinned, and exclaimed : " Let 
 us take off her chains, and worship at her shrine, and swear 
 eternal fidelity to her cause." This enthusiasm of a new 
 people was turned into another channel, and produced mighty 
 results in the records of chivalry, and the Crusades. The 
 Catholic Church subdued her conquerors by converting 
 them ; she tamed their ferocity, civilized and enlightened 
 them. The historian Grace, in speaking of the Catholic 
 Church in the Middle Ages, says: "She alone can claim to 
 be conservator of civilization ; she alone snatching from de- 
 struction the fragments of that splendid literature which she 
 has handed down to the present age, and preserving with 
 Divine fortitude and courage the sacred records of Christianity, 
 breasted the fierce waves of barbarism, and rode proudly over 
 the general ruin." Literature was declining for nearly five 
 hundred years, until it reached its lowest stage in the tenth 
 century ; it then gradually improved, until it reached its zenith 
 in the golden age of Pope Leo X., about the beginning of 
 the 1 6th century. Beholding so many obstacles to the culti- 
 vation of letters in the Middle Ages, are we to conclude that 
 the darkness was so dense that no light shone forth, that the 
 lamp of learning was altogether extinguished. Far from it ; 
 although in the fall of Rome and the establishment of the 
 Gothic Kingdom in Italy under Odoacer, in 476, literature 
 received almost a mortal wound. Yet many, in various parts 
 of the fallen empire, devoted themselves to letters. In the 
 sixth century we have Vigilius Tapensis, who published many 
 works of considerable merit. In the same century we have 
 a celebrated name, Dionysius Exiguus, who invented the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 295 
 
 Paschal cycle. I need not say his chronology has been 
 adopted by Christendom. He was an astronomer, historian, 
 and theologian ; his talents and his works would have re- 
 flected honour on any age. We have also in the sixth century 
 Gregory of Tours, whose history of the Franks is the foun- . 
 dation of all early French history. Italy in the same century 
 produced two illustrious names, Cassiodorus and Boethius 
 men conspicuous for the knowledge of philosophy and polite 
 learning. In examining the records of the seventh century 
 we find Theodorus, the seventh archbishop of Canterbury, 
 introducing Greek literature into England. In the same cen- 
 tury St. Isidore of Seville wrote works on almost every sub- 
 ject. Towards the close of this century flourished Venerable 
 Bede, the father of English history. He also wrote works on 
 grammar, music, arithmetic, and other branches. The monas- 
 tery of Lindis-farne became, under him, celebrated for its 
 literature throughout Europe. 
 
 We have in the eighth century a distinguished name, St. 
 John of Damascus. Some consider him to be the reviver of 
 the dialectic or Aristotelian method of reasoning. In the same 
 century Paul the Deacon wrote his magnificent history of 
 the Lombards, and Paulinus of Aquileia presented to the 
 world several Latin poems. When we come near the close of 
 this century we find one whose name every friend of literature 
 must lisp with respect, the Emperor Charlemagne, whose 
 exertions to stay the downward tendency of letters, and infuse 
 a new literary spirit into Europe, are beyond all praise. The 
 learned English monk, Alcuin, whom this prince employed 
 to carry out his most laudable intentions, deserves a con- 
 spicuous place in our estimation. I must also make honour- 
 able mention of Peter the Deacon, and Eginhard the 
 historian. 
 
 Charlemagne instituted in his own palace regular con- 
 ferences of the literati, and thus laid the foundation of those 
 academies and literary associations which subsequently so 
 gloriously advanced the cause of literature. Amongst the 
 laws enacted by that far-famed prince, we find one command- 
 ing seminaries of learning to be opened at every cathedral 
 church throughout his vast empire. Towards the end of the 
 following century we find the illustrious Alfred the Great of 
 England one of the most remarkable men that ever lived. 
 Although immersed in state affairs although frequently 
 engaged in the field for he fought fifty-four pitched battles, 
 yet he invariably devoted one-third of his time to prayer and 
 study. He enacted a law that every possessor of two hides 
 of land should send his children to school until they were
 
 296 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 sixteen years of age ; he also commanded that his sheriffs and 
 officers should either apply themselves to letters or quit their 
 employment. 
 
 Let us now cast a glance on the tenth century, reputed the 
 darkest of the Middle Ages. During this century unhappy 
 Europe was bleeding at every pore ; in the north she was in- 
 vaded by the Danes, in the centre by the Normans, and in 
 the south by the Saracens ; yet even in this age we can record 
 illustrious names : Otho the Great of Germany, Ratherius, 
 and Luitprand of Italy. I must also mention that the monks, 
 whenever they could enjoy a moment's repose, devoted them- 
 selves to their laudable occupation of copying books. In 
 glancing at the tenth century I cannot omit recording the 
 opinion of Hallam, whose authority commands so much defe- 
 rence. He says, "Compared with the seventh and eighth cen- 
 turies, the tenth was an age of illumination in France." And 
 Meiner, who judged the Middle Ages somewhat, perhaps, too 
 severely, but with a penetrating and comprehensive obser- 
 vation, of which there had been few instances, had gone so 
 far as to say, " That in no age, perhaps, did Germany possess 
 more learned and virtuous churchmen of the episcopal order, 
 than in the latter half of the tenth and beginning of the 
 eleventh century. Eichorn points out indications of a more 
 extensive acquaintance with ancient writers in several French 
 and German ecclesiastics of this period. In the eleventh 
 and following -centuries we find a host of names conspicuous 
 for the highest order of intellect, the most profound -thought, 
 and extensive information. Need I name Gerbert, Anselm, 
 Lanfranc, St. Bernard, Alexander of Hales, Albertus Magnus, 
 Roger Bacon, Scotus, and St. Thomas Aquinas. The last 
 great name alone would immortalize any age. Deep in re- 
 search, accurate in reasoning; in grasp and clearness of mind 
 equal to Lord Bacon or Sir Isaac Newton. 
 
 Let us briefly see what brought about this favourable change 
 in the literary condition of Europe. It appears to me the 
 practice which was so general, of making pilgrimages to Rome 
 and Jerusalem, contributed in no small degree to bring about 
 the reaction. This pious custom of renewing on the spot 
 where they occurred the remembrance of the sufferings and 
 triumphs of the apostles, martyrs, and the great King of 
 Martyrs, brought men together to places where literature was 
 cultivated. The physical law that inactivity produced stag- 
 nation is also true of the literary condition of man. These 
 pilgrimages, I hold, were the precursors and prompters of 
 great and mighty events. They gave birth to the glorious 
 Crusades which aroused Europe from her lethargy, united
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 297 
 
 jarring elements, and concentrated her energies on one great 
 object. The Crusades originated a spirit of enterprise, and 
 threw men on their own resources. The Crusades struggled 
 with and triumphed over barbarism, and raised the Cross 
 above the Crescent. The soldiers of Godfrey d'Bouillon, in 
 1099, planted the emblem of salvation on the battlements of 
 Jerusalem. There it floated for nearly one hundred years. 
 Islamism, that warlike monster, marching with scimitar in 
 hand, blighting and destroying everything in its course, was, 
 I might say, mortally wounded. All honour to Pope Gregory 
 VII. , to Pope Urban II., for the political wisdom and search- 
 ing forecast of that master-stroke of policy the carrying of 
 the war into Africa. The glorious labours of the Crusades 
 were followed by a blessing which we can never sufficiently 
 appreciate the invention of the art of printing by Gutten- 
 berg and Faust in 1436. 
 
 The vast number of learned Greeks who fled from Con- 
 stantinople on its being taken by Mahomed II. in 1453, 
 tended to diffuse the light of literature wherever they found 
 a resting-place. Literature progressed with giant strides in 
 Italy, which shone as a beacon-light to the rest of Europe 
 through the long period of the Middle Ages, and which 
 towards its close dazzled the eyes of mankind. Who is igno- 
 rant of the golden age of Pope Leo X. in the beginning of 
 the sixteenth century ? who has not heard of that galaxy of 
 genius which represented the second Augustinian age of 
 Roman literature ? The words of the poet represent so strik- 
 ingly this portion of my lecture that I must quote them. 
 
 " But, see, each muse, in Leo's golden days, 
 Starts from her trance, and trims her withered bays ; 
 Rome's ancient genius, o'er its ruins spread, 
 Shakes off the dust and rears his rev'rend head. 
 Then Sculpture, and her sister arts revive : 
 Stones leaped to form, and rocks began to live ; 
 With sweeter notes each rising temple rung, 
 A Raphael painted, and a Vida sung. 
 Immortal Vida ! on thy honour'd brow 
 The poet's bays and critic's ivy grew ; 
 Cremona now shall ever boast thy name, 
 As next in place to Mantua, next in fame." 
 
 As I have stated, some historians represent to us the Middle 
 Ages as a period of intense intellectual darkness. Is such 
 the case ? What, let me ask, is there in literature or the arts 
 we do not owe to the Middle Ages ? .Will it be denied that 
 we owe to them the preservation of Grecian and Roman 
 Literature, which, thanks to the indefatigable zeal of men,
 
 298 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 who receive naught but sneers, would have utterly perished 
 amid the revolutions which swept over Europe. I will now 
 come to stubborn facts, which will speak for themselves, and 
 will vindicate the oft-abused Middle Ages. The first I shall 
 refer to is, the elevation of the female character, for which 
 society is indebted chiefly to the chivalry of the Middle Ages. 
 When the Northmen were converted to the Catholic Faith in 
 the fifth and following centuries, they were taught that the 
 Saviour God, whom they adored, was born of a woman, and 
 that He condescended to be subject to her. The sublime 
 dignity conferred upon Mary was reflected from her upon her 
 whole sex, as the disobedience and, subsequently, dishonour 
 of Eve had bowed down woman to the dust. The Northmen 
 caught up an idea so just and so beautiful; enthusiasm in 
 honour of the sex was roused ; and she who had hitherto 
 been debased so low was raised to her true level in society. 
 Under paganism she was the slave or toy of man the creature 
 of his caprice or the victim of his tyranny. Even the more 
 polished society of ancient Greece and Rome afforded imper- 
 fect exceptions to this remark. Thanks, I say, to the Catho- 
 lic Church thanks to the Middle Ages she has ceased to 
 be the slave-drudge of society ; she is now its ornament and 
 refiner. Her influence promoted to deeds of valour ; her 
 delicate hands wove not only the chaplet which decorated the 
 warrior's brow, but the laurel and the ivy wreath which entwined 
 the brow of genius. During the Middle Ages women did 
 more than influence. Joan of Arc, the maid of Orleans, at the 
 age of seventeen years, led the disheartened troops of France 
 to deeds of heroic valour. Nor are her laurels stained by the 
 fact that, when taken by her enemies, she was, at the insti- 
 gation of the Duke of Bedford, inhumanly burned. What 
 shall I say of Margaret, Queen of Sweden, the Semiramis of 
 the North, who united all the jarring elements of Northern 
 Scandinavia into one vast kingdom ? or of Anna Comnena. 
 the authoress of the famous Alexiad in the twelfth century ? 
 or of more than one lady who taught philosophy and belles 
 lettres in the University of Bologna? 
 
 To the Middle Ages we owe all our modern languages 
 the Italian, with its sweetness ; the French, with all its grace 
 and delicacy; the Spanish, with its stern dignity; the English 
 and German, with all their force and richness. To the Middle 
 Ages we owe the invention of paper, upon which we write. 
 It may be interesting here to remark that cotton paper seems 
 to have been introduced in the fourteenth century. Before 
 the invention of paper, parchment and papyrus (the latter 
 an article manufactured from a plant in Egypt) were chiefly
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 299 
 
 used ; I need not add they were very expensive. To the 
 inventive genius of the Italians we owe the present material. 
 To the Middle Ages must be awarded the glory of having in- 
 vented the art of printing : I allude not only to the art as 
 invented by Guttenberg or Faust in 1436 at Stratzburg and 
 Mentz, but also to an invention of a much earlier date, which, 
 in fact, was only improved by the persons above-named ; I 
 mean the invention of chirography, or printing by hand, of 
 which we have undoubted traces in diplomas of the tenth 
 century. Requeno proves that two kinds of hand-printing 
 were in use ; the impression was sometimes taken by plates 
 with letters carved on them, sometimes by movable types of 
 wood, or ivory, or metal. Only one step was wanting to 
 render this invention valuable the press to multiply copies, 
 which Guttenberg supplied. Shall I speak of the illuminated 
 manuscripts of the Middle Ages? They show the art of 
 penmanship was then carried to a degree of perfection which 
 it has never since attained. The use of gold and silver ink 
 was then common. In the Vatican Library at Rome there is 
 preserved a splendid illuminated manuscript copy of the New 
 Testament in Greek as old as the eleventh century, and written 
 entirely in letters of gold. I should like to see modern artists 
 producing anything equal to that splendid specimen of art. 
 To the Middle Ages we owe the two great English universi- 
 ties Oxford, founded in 886 by Alfred the Great, and Cam- 
 bridge in 91 5; the celebrated University of Paris, said to 
 have been founded by Charlemagne, about the year 800, and 
 the perfect galaxy of Italian universities at Rome, Bologna, 
 Padua, Pavia, and Pisa, which flourished in the twelfth and 
 following centuries. The University of Padua, the Alma Mater 
 of Christopher Columbus and Americus Vespuccius, is said to 
 have contained at one time 18,000 students; and Anthony 
 Wood, the historian of Oxford University, testifies that it 
 contained in the thirteenth century no less than 30,000 
 students. It is worthy of remark, that of the two English 
 universities Oxford has five halls and twenty colleges ; that 
 all her halls and twelve of her colleges were founded and 
 endowed before the year 1516. Cambridge has seventeen 
 colleges, of which twelve were founded before the year 1511. 
 From these facts it is patent that the Dark Ages have done 
 more for literature than a more enlightened period. We owe, 
 moreover, to the Middle Ages, a boon, the charming effects 
 of which you all, I trust, appreciate (this evening), the har- 
 mony of musical sound. An Italian monk, Guido of Arezzo, 
 invented the notes of the gamut in 1 1 24, and caused music 
 to become a science ; he invented many musical instruments, 
 
 x
 
 300 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 such as the cymbal and heptachord. While on this subject I 
 may add, that organs were either invented in Italy or intro- 
 duced by the Italians in the eighth century ; and the use of 
 bells in churches may be dated back to the year of our Lord, 
 605. To the Middle Ages we are indebted for another in- 
 vention, which contributed most effectually in advancing the 
 cause of civilization and extending the boundaries of human 
 knowledge I mean the mariner's compass. The precise 
 date of this invention is not known, but it is spoken of by 
 writers of the twelfth century. It may be interesting to re- 
 mark that the invention at its first stage was simple enough ; 
 the magnetized needle was placed in a vessel of water upon 
 pieces of straw or two split sticks. It is quite evident that 
 the needle placed on straw would retain its position a very 
 short time in a vessel rolling about in a strong south-easter. 
 Towards the close of the thirteenth century Flavio di Gioza, 
 an Italian, obviated the great inconvenience by suspending 
 the needle on a point. Some writers contend the honour of 
 inventing the mariner's compass should be conferred on the 
 Chinese. It is certain that the species of compass used by 
 the Chinese was entirely different from our magnetic needle. 
 The invention just mentioned led to most important events. 
 Frequent and extensive voyages increased the amount of 
 geographical knowledge. From the ancient map made by 
 Marco Polo, the celebrated Venetian navigator, and recently 
 published with learned essays by the late Cardinal Lurla, it 
 appears manifest that Polo doubled our Cape of Good Hope, 
 and visited Madagascar. The Canary Islands were discovered 
 by the Portuguese in the thirteenth century, and America by 
 Columbus in 1492. In treating of remarkable events in the 
 Middle Ages, it will be, perhaps, interesting to some of my 
 audience if I were to mention that the first bank was founded 
 at Venice in the year 1157. Bills of Exchange were intro- 
 duced into Italy about the same time. I may also remark 
 the first newspapers were printed in Venice in 1562. To the 
 Middle Ages we must attribute another invention, which has 
 wonderfully ameliorated the condition of suffering humanity. 
 The old, and those afflicted with diseased vision, enjoy un- 
 speakable comfort from the use of spectacles. Spectacles 
 were first constructed by Salvinoa, a monk of Pisa, in Italy, in 
 1285. I am aware that some award the merit of this inven- 
 tion to the famous English monk, Roger Bacon. Unquestion- 
 ably Bacon, in his " Opus Magus," explains the principles 
 on which they should be made. I may add he also unfolds 
 the principle of the telescope, microscope, and magic lantern. 
 In the same work he speaks of a certain composition of
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 301 
 
 saltpetre, sulphur, and charcoal, which would imitate the 
 sound and brilliancy of thunder and lightning, and one square 
 inch of which igniled would destroy a whole army. Hence 
 many have considered the English monk the inventor of 
 gunpowder. It appears probable that his knowledge was 
 confined to theory and a few experiments ; this eminent 
 scholar died in 1292. Another monk, Schwartz, of Cologne, 
 seems to have been the first who manufactured gunpowder 
 in 1320. We find cannons were used towards the close of 
 the fourteenth century in the far-famed battles of Cressy and 
 Poictiers. A work is still preserved in the University of 
 Oxford, written in the ninth century by one Graccus, who 
 describes a compound nearly resembling gunpowder. Gun- 
 powder is certainly a terrific agent, yet no invention has exer- 
 cised a more powerful, shall I say a more beneficial, influence 
 on the destinies of the world. Thousands fell formerly where 
 hundreds fall now. Take, for example, two of the most 
 decisive engagements recorded in history the battle of 
 Waterloo, and that of Poictiers and Tours in 732, when Charles 
 Martel defeated the Saracens. In the former the total amount 
 of killed and wounded on both sides was about 55,000, of 
 whom, perhaps, not half were killed ; whereas in the latter 
 the Saracens alone had 100,000, some say 300,000 killed. To 
 the Middle Ages we are indebted for Gothic architecture. 
 Who has not admired the splendid specimens of Gothic 
 architecture still visible throughout Europe ? specimens 
 which, even in the ruins left after the fanatical Vandalism of 
 the sixteenth century in England, Ireland, and Scotland, are 
 imposing still. How massive, and yet how bright is that 
 order of architecture ? how complicated the parts, and yet 
 how simple the effect on the whole ? The massive walls 
 the vast pilasters the pointed arch the delicate creeper 
 the clustered column the fairy tracery all contribute their 
 parts to the effect. Take, for example, the far-famed cathedral 
 of Pisa, with its leaning tower ; rather, consider the latter. 
 Can modern architecture rear a pile like that, upwards of two 
 hundred feet high, six stories, besides the basement and pin- 
 nacle, with 209 beautiful marble columns encircling it, and 
 leaning between fifteen and twenty feet from the perpen- 
 dicular. It was erected in the twelfth century, and has been 
 standing for more than six hundred years. Would that the 
 writers and philosophers of our day, who sneer at the igno- 
 rance of the Middle Ages, were able to point out any work 
 at the present time comparable to the leaning tower of Pisa? 
 Until they can do so, they will exhibit a fair specimen of 
 common sense by allowing the Middle Age to rest in peace s
 
 302 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 To the Middle Ages we are indebted for the introduction 
 into Europe of Arabian arithmetical numbers by the famous 
 Gerbert, afterwards Pope Sylvester II., about the year 991. 
 Thus the foundation of arithmetic was laid, and the science 
 of mathematics was begun to be actively studied. Time will 
 not permit me to expatiate, as I would wish, on the most 
 laudable exertions of the monks in the Middle Ages to advance 
 agricultural pursuits. The monks reclaimed the soil, drained 
 the marshes, fertilized even the lofty mountain-tops, and im- 
 proved whole districts. The monks also cultivated botany, 
 and studied the medical qualities of plants. The clergy were 
 in many places the only physicians. To the Middle Ages we 
 owe the most useful invention of the clock ; its author is not 
 clearly known. The phrase, " The clock has struck," was 
 common in the twelfth century. Some confer the honour of 
 the invention on Pope Sylvester II., others ascribe it to the 
 Italian monk, Pacificus, and others to the Abbot William of 
 Hirchan, in Germany. It is likely they all contributed their 
 share to the development of an invention of such practical 
 utility. While thanking you, ladies and gentlemen, for your 
 presence here this evening, I should apologise for attempting 
 to treat a subject of such importance and such magnitude in 
 one lecture. Those who would wish to study the events of 
 the Middle Ages would do well to read a work called, " The 
 Dark Ages," by the Rev. S. R. Maitland, a gentleman of un- 
 prejudiced mind, and of deep and varied research a minister 
 of the Church of England, and librarian to the late Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury. Mr. Maitland deserves our thanks, for 
 he has had the candour to acknowledge the calumny by which 
 the good old times have been assailed, and has had the man- 
 liness to denounce the propagation of lies. We must always 
 admire the man, no matter what may be his country or re- 
 ligion, who rises superior to prejudice and testifies to truth 
 the whole truth without fear, favour, or affection.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII, 
 
 THE second visitation of my districts was exceedingly exten- 
 sive and also very circuitous, entering into every nook and 
 corner where I had the least hope of finding a Catholic. 
 It was computed that from the day of leaving Oudtshoorn 
 until my return, I had travelled 2,500 miles. 
 
 The following are some of the leading features and inci- 
 dents of this journey, as noted in my diary. 
 
 Instead of proceeding, as on my first visitation, through 
 Meiring's Poort in the first instance, I crossed that portion 
 of the Oliphant river which flows through the village of 
 Oudtshoorn, and called at various farms where I had heard 
 there were Catholics. Having passed along the banks of 
 the River Yenant, swept around through the Congo, then 
 turned off to Meiring's Poort, and thence visited the whole 
 neighbourhood of Prince Albert, I next proceeded to Beau- 
 fort West, Victoria West, Skietfontein and Fraserburg, 
 and came home through Willowmore and Long Kloof. On 
 the very first day of the journey, I met with four rather ill- 
 looking snakes. Hence, I will here offer a few remarks 
 in reference to wild beasts and reptiles at the Cape. 
 
 Two equally erroneous ideas are propagated : one that 
 South Africa is free from venomous and wild animals, that 
 they have been driven into the interior; the other, that even 
 Cape Town is a nest of all that is vicious and destructive : 
 both these theories are false. Before I left Ireland for the 
 Cape in 1863, 1 met a young man from the colony, who ter- 
 rified me by stating that bears, tigers, and lions prowled 
 about the streets of Cape Town at night; and after my return
 
 304 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 in July, 1875, 1 happened to be in company in Dublin, where 
 the Cape was spoken of as a land of wild animals, and 
 before I had time to advance a word, a military man, who 
 had been to the Cape, and liked it, said, " It is false ; 
 there is not in the whole colony a wild or poisonous ani- 
 mal." Now the middle course between these two asser- 
 tions would be just the truth ; there are tigers, and baboons, 
 and jackals, and wild bucks, and zebras, and even elephants 
 at the Cape ; and as to snakes, there are millions. The 
 tigers, however, are harmless, merely stealing lambs now 
 and then ; and even the snakes act only on the defensive ; 
 if you let them alone, they will let you alone. There is, 
 therefore, nothing to be feared from wild beasts or reptiles. 
 I passed twelve years in South Africa without a single 
 injury, although continually exposed. Before relating 
 the experiences I had in this second visitation, I will give 
 some extracts with reference to wild animals and snakes 
 from a recent Cape paper now before me. 
 
 The Cape Town Daily News, Wednesday, February 2, 1876. 
 
 A Mr. Kirkman, of De Hoek, was lately killed by a vicious 
 ostrich. He received a severe blow on the chest, had his 
 ankle dislocated, and was for some time rendered senseless. 
 
 Near Stutterheim the other day "out of the eater came 
 meat," to the great comfort of the inhabitants of the Mission 
 Station. Not far from the village, in a little bush, a young 
 native who was gathering wood found a young tiger, which, 
 on seeing the Kaffir, retired to a tree. The Kaffir stuck his 
 kerrie into the ground and hung his jacket upon it, wishing 
 the tiger to believe that he still was there. He at once went 
 to the nearest farm for dogs and assegais ; coming back he 
 found the tiger still on the tree, but soon despatched it by 
 the assistance of the dogs. The flesh gave an excellent meal 
 to the station people. The skin measured six feet from head 
 to tail. 
 
 We (Cradock Register] are informed that Mr. Jan Steyn, of 
 the farm Hartebeestfontein, in this district, had a narrow 
 escape the other day. He was enjoying (?) a siesta about
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 305 
 
 one o'clock, and began dreaming. He imagined that he was 
 quarrelling with some one, and they were about to come 
 to blows, when he started up. To his horror he saw before 
 him a large cobra capella, ready to strike. It had come in 
 over the half-door and must have been lying upon the bed 
 when Mr. Steyn started up. Mr. Steyn soon seized his gun, 
 and managed to destroy the intruder. 
 
 The following extract from a private letter of a young 
 Graaff-Reinetter from the Far North, addressed to his parents, 
 will interest many of our readers : " As this is the first 
 opportunity I got of writing to you since I left the Gold-fields, 
 you would, no douht, like to hear what sort of life I am spend- 
 ing in the wilds of South Africa. Let me assure you that I 
 am always as happy as the day is long, excepting when I think 
 of home, of dear old Graaff-Reinet. I wonder if I shall find 
 everything the same as when I left six years ago. I like 
 travelling very much, especially in this part of the world. 
 The climate is beautiful, and I have never been sick once. 
 We are at present about three hundred miles north of the 
 Gold-fields, and are making for the Zambezi River. I have 
 seen almost every kind of game, and had the good luck of 
 shooting some of each. We had a grand fight yesterday with 
 a troop of elephants ; fought from six in the morning until 
 sunset, when four fell victims to our guns. Just fancy, I shot 
 one I It was one of the most exciting days I have ever spent 
 in my life. We have also shot two elands, three lions, some 
 tigers, four buffaloes ; also wildebeests, and any amount of 
 blesboks. We are eleven months on our trip in the interior, 
 and not tired of it yet. Time won't permit, or I should send 
 you more particulars of my trip, but as I keep a diary I shall 
 do so on some future occasion. Let me assure you that I 
 found elephants quite as fearful-looking beasts as you told 
 me. Their signal for charge is enough to frighten any one 
 out of his wits. You would be surprised to see what a daring 
 horseman I make, and oh ! such a dead shot !" 
 
 A fine lioness cub, about five months old, was offered for 
 sale one day last week, at the produce market, Port Eliza- 
 beth, and declared not sold at a bid of 19- It was taken 
 to market fastened by a chain, and led in the hand like 
 a dog. 
 
 A tiger was killed the other day with one shot by Mr. Wil- 
 helm Jordaan, of Z wager's Hoek, in the Somerset district, a 
 youth of seventeen. The tiger, which had made havoc among 
 fowls and other stock, was first tackled by an old and power- 
 ful dog, and while they were eyeing each other, a rifle bullet 
 through the eye gave him his quietus. A Mr. Bosch, near
 
 306 TWELVE YEABS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Pearston, has had sixteen tigers and three wolves killed on 
 his farm in the last nine and a-half years. 
 
 A TAME ZEBRA. It appears that other people than Rarey 
 can tame this handsome but self-willed animal. A few days 
 back Mr. H. Morton, the well-known horse-dealer, passed 
 through GraafF-Reinet with a lot of mules, and a tame zebra 
 which he has partly trained to run in harness, and which ex- 
 cites much curiosity. It is a beautiful creature, but wilful, 
 and has a habit of sleeping during the middle part of the day. 
 It runs in harness well in the early morning ; but when it once 
 dozes off, no force or persuasion has any effect upon it to stir it. 
 
 The Standard and Mail, Cape Town, Tuesday morning, 
 May 1 6, 1876. 
 
 Snakes are uncommonly numerous in some districts this 
 season. Mr. Cornelius Jacobs tells us ( Grensburger} that his 
 family were exceedingly startled, a week or two ago, by the 
 Misses Jacobs, upon going into their bedroom, finding a 
 tremendous snake, coiled up under the quilt, where it had 
 made itself quite comfortable. Its quiet snooze, however, 
 was disturbed by the screams of the young ladies; and although 
 the brute showed fight, a well-directed blow from the servant 
 quickly ended its career. It measured exactly six feet in 
 length, and was very venomous. 
 
 Now, as to the incidents on my journey. I have said 
 that I met four snakes on the first day; one came to 
 me during a rest. While reading under the shade of a 
 tree, judge my horror when a boom slang (a tree snake) 
 dropped from one of the branches of the tree down upon 
 the breviary which I was reading, knocking it from my 
 hand. I sprang to my feet, ran to the farmhouse, and in 
 another half hour the farmer's gun had divided the snake 
 in two. Thinking it then better to walk about, I had not 
 gone more than a hundred yards, when 1 accidentally 
 touched with my stick another snake which lay coiled in 
 the sand, and instantly it stood erect before me, hissing in 
 fury ; .but I aimed a quick blow which stunned this, my 
 second enemy. The other two snakes I met on that day
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 307 
 
 were some distance off, and harmless. The farmer who 
 shot the tree snake related to me two remarkable anec- 
 dotes, which I here transcribe for the benefit of my readers. 
 The first was of a farmer's son, a lad nine years old, who was 
 noticed for several weeks to be pining away, until at length 
 he was wasted to a skeleton form ; remedies had been tried, 
 but in vain ; the doctor said the child was in consumption. 
 It was remarked that the little fellow preferred taking his 
 dinner out in the open air instead of dining with the 
 family. This excited suspicion for some time ; but one 
 day the father went to an upper window from which to 
 watch the child's movements, when, to his utmost horror, 
 he saw the child feed an enormous pofadder snake. The 
 father made no alarm until the snake had retired, and 
 then, calling in the child, the discovery was made that one 
 day this little boy happened to be taking food at the end 
 of the house when this very snake approached ; through 
 fear the child cast down his food, which the big snake ate. 
 The child then became fearful that if he did not bring his 
 dinner daily, the snake would come to his bedroom, and 
 devour him. He was, however, afraid to tell his parents ; 
 and thus he had been" daily feeding this pofadder snake 
 for fice weeks ; this was the cause of all his illness, fear of 
 the snake, and want of food. On the following day the 
 child was judiciously sent as usual with the snake's dinner, 
 while the farmer and his two sons awaited, with loaded 
 guns, the reptile's approach; and upon its appearance 
 gave it a grand but fatal salute of powder and shot. The 
 second story was, to me, more exciting still. A farmer's 
 wife, a young woman, then suckling her first child, hap- 
 pened one night to be lying awake; a night-light was 
 burning near the bed. She had just fed her infant, when 
 she saw a snake crawl slowly up to her ; she was at the
 
 308 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 time partly undressed. The snake approached her breast, 
 and drank the milk therefrom. She was a woman of 
 great presence of mind; and hence she made no resistance, 
 knowing that opposition to the snake, in this instance, must 
 prove fatal to her ; the snake, when satisfied, retired. The 
 following morning she told her husband, and, by previous 
 arrangement, she lay in the same state at the same hour on 
 the following night, while the husband watched in a corner 
 with a gun. The snake actually came, but instead of milk 
 received the usual unhealthy ingredients of a gun's barrel. 
 We had not proceeded far, when another, and if not a very 
 formidable, certainly a very vicious-looking snake paid his 
 addresses to us. We had just taken a cup of coffee in a field, 
 and were enjoying a sweet breeze, that acted as a perfumed 
 fan, upon our faces, when our attention was arrested by the 
 barking of one of my dogs. We looked, when lo ! there was 
 a snake standing bolt upright in a defiant and menacing 
 attitude, within about five yards of the spot where we were 
 lounging ; we sprang up at once and surrounded it. The 
 wily snake seeing it impossible to beat a retreat, and not 
 knowing with which of his enemies to enter upon a defensive 
 warfare, performed a variety of brilliant strategetic man 03 u- 
 vres that would have baffled the genius of a Bismarck or Von 
 Moltk. We succeeded, however, in planting our banner of 
 victory in his spine in a manner which caused him to give 
 unmistakable tokens of displeasure. In closing these re- 
 marks about snakes, I may relate that lately in Pella, 
 in Namaqualand, while the Fathers of the " Afri- 
 can Missionary Society" were building their temporary 
 house, one of them, accidentally turning a stone, struck 
 a very poisonous snake, which at once coiled round 
 his arm, and stung him. He at once, with wonderful 
 presence of mind, drew his knife, wounded the snake, and
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 309 
 
 then cut from his arm a large piece of flesh where the bite 
 had been given, thus preventing the infusion of the poison; 
 the operation was painful, but successful. I may mention 
 that when one is bitten by a snake the best cure is for 
 some other to suck the poison out immediately ; however, if 
 the gums of the person who sucks it out should happen to 
 bleed, that person dies. Many Hottentots are found 
 whose gums are so hard that they can suck out snake 
 poison without danger to themselves. 
 
 I would feel as safe in Africa from the snake and tiger 
 as I would in Europe from the robber and murderer. I 
 would be sorry to see these venemous reptiles and wild 
 beasts driven from South Africa; they render one's travels 
 interesting. So much for snakes ; now to the more imme- 
 diate objects of the visitation. 
 
 The first Catholic I met on this visitation was a French- 
 man, fully one hundred years old, blind, and very deaf; he 
 had worked as a carpenter for years upon the farm where 
 I met him ; I remained here for two days, doing all I 
 could for the poor old Frenchman. I was permitted to 
 sleep in the lumber-room of an outhouse, to which my 
 food was sent by a Hottentot; here, too, I celebrated mass. 
 It was degrading treatment ; but I gladly submitted to it 
 so as to be able to attend to this poor old Catholic. The 
 second was^ a widow, an Irishwoman, who thirty years be- 
 fore had married a Dutch Protestant, by whom she had 
 seven children, all brought up as Protestants. I stayed 
 here one day, but of course did not feel myself justified in 
 admitting the unfortunate woman to the sacraments until 
 she had first tried to snatch her children from heresy ; this 
 case occupied a great deal of my attention for months 
 afterwards. The third case was that of a Pole, eighty- 
 two years old, a widower ; he had not seen a priest for
 
 310 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFKICA. 
 
 several years. To him I administered the last sacraments, 
 as he was then seriously ill ; he died a week after. The 
 fourth was an Englishman, who had not met with a priest 
 for twenty years. He had married the daughter of the 
 farmer with whom he worked ; she was a half black. Upon 
 the death of the farmer the property fell into the hands of 
 this man ; but he gave himself so completely up to idleness 
 and drink, that at the time I met him both he and his 
 wife were living in wretchedness, in a hut upon the same 
 farm which had once been their own, but had slipped 
 completely out of his possession ; henceforward, I am glad 
 to say, he lived a better life. The fifth was also an English- 
 man, his wife a Hollander, both Catholics, now far ad- 
 vanced in years, but exceedingly good and simple souls. 
 They had never met a priest in the colony before. From 
 this time forward they were frequently attended to, and 
 lived most piously. 
 
 The banks of this river are most fertile, teeming with 
 corn, fruits, and vegetables. Everyone appears to be con- 
 tented and happy ; the lives of the farmers and their ser- 
 vants being quiet and frugal. I next proceeded to Congo, 
 where I met two Catholic families ; I remained here three 
 days. Congo, which is famous for the best African brandy, 
 which bears its name, is a most interesting and picturesque 
 spot, with a luxurious soil, a plentiful supply of crystal 
 waters, and possessing the most celebrated caves in Africa. 
 The farms are small, but very productive, and the inhabi- 
 tants wonderfully temperate, although the chief article 
 made is brandy. This brandy, when bad in its purity, is 
 clear and colourless ; the taste, being quite fruity, is at first 
 rather unacceptable to connoisseurs, but after a while is 
 preferred to any other, even to the best French brandy. 
 Persons passing from village to village, find it frequently
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 311 
 
 dangerous to drink the water unmixed ; for even in the 
 course of a single day's journey one often finds several diffe- 
 rent qualities of water ; now saline, now gunpowder, now 
 of a dirty black colour, now as brown as coffee, and again 
 nearly as thick as mud, so that it becomes necessary to 
 strain it through a cloth. 
 
 Before we leave this charming valley of the Congo, let 
 us take a peep at itself and its enchanting caves. The 
 valley is a winding one, running between a double row of 
 pretty, lofty mountains, covered chiefly with massive and 
 unbroken foliage, which at one moment stands abrupt like 
 a wall, and again shoots up into spires and pinnacles ; now 
 recedes, now projects as if peeping into the river beneath, 
 where the waters writhe and boil over the well-washed 
 stones. The caves, which are of considerable dimensions, 
 are wondrously beautiful ; they are, of course, perfectly 
 dark, and are divided into various compartments. Visiting 
 parties, consisting generally of from thirty to forty persons, 
 go provided with torches, or with sacks steeped in turpen- 
 tine, which, when set on fire within the caves show off to 
 perfection the magnificent drapery, the delicate tracery, 
 the exquisite hangings and lace fringes, the pillars and 
 chairs, the numerous partitions, with cornices of the most 
 perfect outlines, transparent and white as snow, all of 
 which are produced by droppings from the limestone. 
 On the occasion of my visit I was accompanied by thirty- 
 five persons. Before entering we covered our heads with 
 old handkerchiefs, for here and there we had to crawl 
 through a long hole from one compartment to another, and 
 therefore put on our worst garments, as it is sometimes ne- 
 cessary to lie on the back, and slide down a rock of twenty 
 or thirty feet. This interesting performance of dressing 
 and undressing is gone through in an outer cave, which
 
 312 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 nature has kindly provided near the mouth of the caves. 
 All being ready, our guide preceded us, I, being ap- 
 pointed captain of the party, followed him. First we crept 
 through a narrow rock, of some few yards, tben we found 
 ourselves upon a rocky platform, where a light was struck, 
 and descended by an iron ladder of about forty feet, pro- 
 vided for the purpose. We entered the first of the suite 
 of exquisite apartments, called the Caves. The ceiling is 
 very high, in some rooms about thirty feet ; the mouldings 
 and draperies, and festooned curtains, with the highly- 
 finished and delicate columns, are all now displayed in 
 gorgeous loveliness, as twenty sacks, wet with turpentine, 
 are blazing upon the floor. Having passed from apart- 
 ment to apartment ; from the bath room to what is called 
 the state room, and then to the church, where there are 
 formed from the same translucid materials which naturally 
 compose the whole, a pulpit, a chair, and an organ, in 
 almost perfect shape, we stood in wondering silence, now 
 gazing at each other, now drinking in the amazing gran- 
 deur of these splendid caves, to which neither science nor 
 art has contributed one iota, but which the pure hand of 
 nature has skilfully pencilled, and most artistically accom- 
 plished.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 WE now enter, for the second time, Meiring's Poort. 
 When I say ice, I mean Greorge Kearns, my father, and 
 myself. My father accompanied me on all except my first 
 visitation. Each time that I travelled through Meiring's 
 Poort it seemed to possess new charms ; nothing could be 
 pleasanter than to walk at five o'clock in the morning under 
 the shade of the huge rocks and mountains, or to enjoy 
 the delicious coolness produced by the waving foliage 
 which lines either side of the narrow pathway ; to take a 
 view of the fair valleys, full of thick mists, or again bright- 
 ened by the rising sun ; to look upon the face of the placid 
 river, which seemed to call forth calm and heavenly feel- 
 ings, the intense tranquillity assisting to raise one's soul 
 to the contemplation of that eternal peace and grandeur 
 which the blessed enjoy in heaven. It affords me joy 
 even now to remember one by one those green valleys, 
 calm, beautiful, and leafy, when the buds are opening out, 
 and the flowers are peeping forth, and thin, transparent 
 vapours creeping slowly from out the hollows of the moun- 
 tains ; when the blossoms are wet with the morning dew. 
 and a quiet hush hangs over the noiseless streams ; the 
 only sound being the songs of the birds, chanting their 
 morning hymn ; and when the sheep are enjoying their 
 first nip, the earth around seeming to smile, and the 
 heavens are clothed with gorgeous colours, as the sun in 
 majestic grandeur marches forward, surrounded by count- 
 less glittering clouds, throwing its light into every nook, 
 and gilding the summits of the mountains.
 
 314 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 An incident of an amusing character took place when 
 Dr. Grrimley visited this locality, about four years previous 
 to the period of which I am now writing. The heroine of the 
 incident was a little girl, whom I afterwards prepared for 
 her first communion. She was, I think, the most beauti- 
 ful child I ever saw ; an enchanting little creature, with 
 an expression of bewitching sweetness, radiant with youth 
 and loveliness ; her golden hair fell in ringlets over her 
 shoulders. She was unbaptized at the time of the bishop's 
 visit. The father, a Catholic, insisted upon having her bap- 
 tized by the bishop ; the mother, a Protestant, after much 
 disputation consented, and during the ceremony stood at the 
 end of the room. When the presentation of the lighted 
 candle took place, by some awkwardness the child's hair 
 caught fire, upon which the mother naturally rushed to seize 
 her. The bishop was in the act of extinguishing it quietly, 
 but the father, with a turn of wit, thoroughly Irish, took 
 hold of the mother before she had time to approach the 
 child, saying : " What do you mean, woman ? Did you 
 never read in the gospel how the Holy Ghost descended 
 in the form of tongues of fire, and sat upon them ? This 
 is what is taking place now." The woman actually re- 
 tired. The bishop was much amused at this rich specimen 
 of Irish wit, though he could not approve of the profanity. 
 
 The first incident of note on this journey was, that, 
 having lost my way on the road, I fell in with a rustic 
 Irish Catholic family of six persons, living in a wood. 
 The father was what is called a " trekking" farmer, that 
 is, one who moves with his flocks where the rains have 
 fallen. He lived partly in a tent and partly in a waggon. 
 The weather was warm, and the flies swarmed about his 
 place in millions. I heard his confession and that of his 
 wife, and on the following day celebrated mass in the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. . 31 & 
 
 open air, under a lovely spreading tree. During the 
 mass, at the offertory, a pretty bird, common in those 
 parts, perching on a branch immediately over the rude altar, 
 began to sing, and to our surprise kept up its song till 
 after communion, and then flew away. I relate this inci- 
 dent without a word of varnish, and simply as it 
 occurred. 
 
 The words of inspiration, " date et dabitur tobis," were 
 fulfilled in our regard on this visitation in a remarkable 
 manner. It happened thus : A short time after my arrival 
 at Oudtshoorn, two poor labourers called at my house, and 
 asked for food to take on the road, as they had yet a long 
 way to travel before reaching the end of their journey. I 
 gave them a plentiful supply of food and two shillings. On 
 this visitation I happened one day to be without either 
 food or money, having lost my way. (Seeing at a distance 
 two men opening a fountain, we drove towards them, 
 and discovered that they were the same two labourers 
 alluded to. They were then well supplied with bread and 
 mutton, and gladly gave us a good share, with ten shil- 
 lings in cash, to help us on our way. * 
 
 Near Meiring's Poort we visited the house of an Italian, 
 a Catholic, of course, and a very rich farmer, who was 
 married to a Protestant, and had thirteen children, all 
 brought up as Protestants. The case was most distressing, 
 and rendered the more sad by the man's utter coldness 
 and indifference to religion. 
 
 Before arriving at Prince Albert, we were overtaken by 
 an awful thunderstorm, which suddenly burst with deaf- 
 ening crash. The rain fell in sheets of water, and in less 
 than ten minutes the tempest assumed the proportions of 
 a very hurricane of desolation. In crossing a river the 
 horses, becoming terrified, began to plunge, and pitched
 
 316 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 me clean out of the cart. I managed to get to the bank, 
 thoroughly saturated with the watery element. The 
 horses stood in the centre of the rushing torrent, and could 
 not be induced to move an inch. What was to be done ? 
 I was afraid to keep on my wet clothes. It was absolutely 
 necessary for me to procure assistance in order to get the 
 horses out ; therefore I took off every article of my apparel, 
 minus my trousers, the legs of which I tucked up above my 
 knees, pitched my wet clothes in a bundle into the cart, 
 still standing in the river, and in this plight, without shoe, 
 stocking, hat, coat, or vest, ran through the pelting tor- 
 rent for two miles, before I met any one. At length I 
 found a Hottentot hut, and secured the services of five 
 men, who came to the river, and rescued the horses and 
 cart from their perilous position, just in time to avoid the 
 sweeping of the cart down the river, and perhaps the 
 drowning of my father and George, who still remained 
 within it. That night we stayed at a farmhouse, where 
 I had my clothes dried, and then proceeded to the cozy 
 village of Prince Albert, which contains a population of 
 about nine hundred, but only thirty-five Catholics, in- 
 cluding children. I had no sooner entered, than I was 
 informed that the gaoler of the prison (a Catholic) had 
 met with an accident, a thorn having entered the joint of 
 his knee ; the leg was dreadfully swollen, and inflamma- 
 tion fast increasing. The doctor of the village happened 
 to be absent on a sick call, and was not expected to return 
 for three days. The man's life being in imminent danger, I 
 offered to do what I could ; but having no proper instru- 
 ment, I was forced to make an incision in the knee with 
 my razor. Having extracted the thorn, I cleansed and 
 washed the wound, bandaged the leg, and in fourteen 
 days the poor fellow was quite well. Having preached
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 317 
 
 several times in this village, baptized three children, said 
 mass daily for a week, received two Protestants into the 
 Church, married one couple, and admitted all the adults 
 to penance and Holy Communion, I proceeded on to a 
 new mountain pass, which was being constructed under 
 the superintendence of a Mr. M'Kenzie, a Scotch Presby- 
 terian; his wife was of the Church of England. They 
 were living in tents elegantly furnished. There was a 
 large number of labourers on the works, of every nation 
 under the sun ; about thirty were Catholics. The kindness 
 and attention of Mr. and Mrs. M'Kenzie to us was beyond 
 all praise ; we had a tent to ourselves, and good board. I 
 devoted the evenings to the men ; but they were the shab- 
 biest body of Catholics I ever met : a careless, drunken 
 set ; so that if it had not been for the sympathies of the 
 M'Kenzies I should have sunk under the apathy of these 
 wretched Catholics. Sunday came, and an altar was 
 erected at the entrance to a large cave, decorated around 
 with evergreens, but up to twelve o'clock not one came to 
 mass ; it was really a heartrending trial. However, George 
 Kearns and two men went from tent to tent, and at one 
 o'clock the mass began with a congregation of twelve. 
 Yet, strange to say, on the following morning every one, 
 without exception, came to mass, and several to confes- 
 sion, and they all offered an humble and public apology 
 for their previous shameful negligence. 
 
 We left Mr. and Mrs. M'Kenzie on Tuesday, at mid- 
 day, and after a few hours sat down to take a cup of coffee 
 near a huge rock. Perceiving some baboons on the sum- 
 mit, we prepared to decamp, but lo ! a perfect host of the 
 baboon tribe pursued the cart, and for a considerable dis- 
 tance we were obliged to gallop the horses in order to 
 escape them. We next came to a place called Eietfontein,
 
 318 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 a desolate spot behind the mountains in the Beaufort dis- 
 trict ; here I met another " trekking" farmer, an Irishman, 
 
 John , with his wife, Sarah, a Hottentot, and seven 
 
 children, all unbaptized. lie had not seen a priest for 
 twenty years ; he had about two thousand sheep and goats, 
 and a good vegetable garden, a tent, and the four walls of 
 a mud cabin, covered with a roof of reeds. There were 
 two fountains upon the land, and a large dam. The re- 
 mains of a waggon, a small cart, and some oxen were near 
 the tent. I need scarcely say that John was delighted at 
 meeting a priest ; Sarah, too, rejoiced, who had been so 
 often told to hope to see one. We occupied the mud 
 cabin during our stay of eleven days. During that time I 
 said mass daily, gave two hours' instruction every evening, 
 baptized Sarah and the children, blessed the marriage, and 
 gave Sarah her first Communion. It was on the Sunday 
 after my arrival that the baptisms took place. It made 
 an impression on my mind that can never be effaced. 
 The altar was in the open air, under a gum-tree, and was 
 made up of the old waggon, covered with linen sheets, 
 and ornamented on every side with branches of trees and 
 flowers. Tears of gratitude to Grod fell from my eyes on 
 this eventful morning as I poured the waters of regenera- 
 tion upon this little flock. The following morning I ad- 
 mitted to the Holy Communion John and Sarah, whom I 
 ever afterwards regarded as among the very dearest of my 
 spiritual children. Their joy knew no bounds ; it was for 
 us all a gala day. We had dinner of mutton, roast and 
 boiled ; roast and boiled potatoes ; and, to crown all, a 
 potato cake, a rice pudding, and a bottle of sherry. John 
 was the very soul of kindness and generosity, while Sarah 
 was a good wife, a good mother, a good housekeeper, and, 
 I am glad to add, a good Catholic. This humble farm
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 319 
 
 formed for me henceforth a sort of country house in ill- 
 ness, and never never shall I cease to pray that John, 
 Sarah, and their children may enjoy hereafter the king- 
 dom of God. In closing my observations upon them, let 
 me record a remarkable incident related to me by John 
 himself on the day of my arrival ; I give it in his own 
 words. "Well, your reverence, thanks be to God we 
 lived to see a priest. I had not met a clergyman of my 
 Church for twenty years ; I have always lived too far 
 away. Here are my children, all little heathens. I often 
 met Protestant ministers, who wanted to baptize them, but 
 I would not let them put a paw on my children ; however I 
 have never failed to instruct them and Sarah in the cate- 
 chism. Last week I fell from my waggon on a bad road, 
 and the wheel passed over me, but without injury. I 
 knelt then on the dusty road, and uncovering my head, 
 lifted my eyes to heaven, and cried out in the bitterness 
 of my soul : ' God, send me a priest ;' and, thanks to 
 heaven, here to-day a priest stands." 
 
 After eleven days we left John, his wife, and the chil- 
 dren. Kneeling before the door of their tent they received 
 my blessing, and kissed my hand. We all wept like chil- 
 dren, and my utterance was so choked with emotion that 
 I could scarcely articulate : " God bless you, my children. 
 Farewell ! " 
 
 Having passed on to Beaufort, and spent two days with 
 Mr. Fitzpatrick and family, I then proceeded to a place 
 called Berg Plaas, or Mountain Place, and crossed Hot- 
 tentot river. On this journey I caught a cold, which 
 nearly deprived me of life ; my throat became inflamed, 
 and then ulcerated to such a degree that I could not 
 utter a word, and was therefore obliged to write with 
 pencil whatever I wished to intimate. I called at two
 
 320 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Dutch farms, and at each stayed a day and a night, re- 
 ceiving from the people the utmost attention. The Hot- 
 tentot fig, a powerful astringent, which grows all over the 
 country, made into a gargle, was freely applied, but all to 
 no use. I got hourly worse. There was no medical man 
 within two hundred miles of me, and at length I made up 
 my mind that I must die. I felt that I would be choked. 
 The day when my illness came to a climax was truly 
 eventful. One of my horses became so ill on the road as 
 to be unable to draw the cart any further. We outspanned 
 and left some food near him, but he could not eat. We 
 were in the midst of a wild country, without knowing 
 where there was a house to be found. I then resolved to 
 leave Greorge Kearns in charge of the cart and horses, and 
 to go myself, with my father, in search of a farm. It was 
 to us all a moment of the deepest possible sorrow. Before 
 leaving I wrote upon a slip of paper the following words 
 to George, for I could not speak : " George, I fear I am 
 dying. I am bound, while there is life, to seek aid ; I 
 will, therefore, go in search of some house. The cart and 
 horses, with my vestments and sacred vessels, I leave all 
 under your charge. You have food in the cart; when 
 half of it shall have been consumed, if the horse be not 
 able to proceed, take the food with you, abandon every- 
 thing except my vestment bag, and seek your safety. I 
 will pass over yonder hill ; do you proceed in the same 
 direction, and if you find me dead on the road, drag back 
 my body to this spot, dig a hole, and bury me. Then, if 
 possible, go on to Fraserburg, and tell Frank Burke to 
 bring a coffin here ; exhume the body, and do not suffer 
 the beast and wild bird to feed upon the body of a priest. 
 May God bless you ! Farewell." When I presented these 
 lines we all wept bitterly, shook hands, and parted. I
 
 TWELVE TEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 321 
 
 walked with my father, both bowed down in sorrow, for 
 ten miles, till I became quite exhausted, and then, contrary 
 to all expectation, we found a little farm occupied by 
 decent Scotch people. I explained, in writing, my case. 
 The woman gave us the outhouse to lodge in, and a bowl 
 of warm soup, and then with the handle of a spoon she 
 rubbed the uvela and tonsils with cayenne pepper. The 
 application was severe, but made me a little better. I felt 
 so weak that I longed for a glass of wine. While musing 
 over the want of such a restorative, and hoping that no 
 misfortune had happened to Greorge, my father opened a 
 little travelling bag which George had entrusted to his 
 care when we parted. I thought it contained merely my 
 breviaries, but to our astonishment there was in it also a 
 bottle of wine, the only one that was in the cart ; this 
 Greorge had secretly slipped into the bag as we were leav- 
 ing him. I opened it, and holding one glass in my hand 
 while my father held another, I wished from my heart 
 good health and safety to Greorge. At the same moment 
 the door opened, and in walked Greorge himself. I need 
 not say he was welcome. The fact was, he had found a 
 large cave, into which he had managed to push the cart, 
 and then, fearing any accident to me, followed, and reached 
 us in two hours after we had left. This, therefore, was a 
 night of joy and sorrow combined. The next day the 
 Scotch farmer and George went in search of our cart and 
 horses, and succeeded in bringing them to the farm. We 
 then started again, up a hill of stones or a ladder of rock, 
 and when within about two hundred yards of the Catholic 
 of whom I was in search, and who had three children to 
 be baptized, the rims came off both wheels of my cart, and 
 the yoke broke down. However, I went on, and after two 
 days on that farm proceeded to Fraserburg, the cart having
 
 322 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. / 
 
 been repaired in a temporary way. When arrived at 
 Fraserburg I lay for fifteen days ill under the care of 
 Dr. Brown, an excellent physician, and was most kindly 
 treated by Mr. and Mrs. Burke, in whose house I was lodged. 
 
 I must add to this a short notice of a portion of the 
 country I travelled through during this illness, and record 
 how kindly I was treated by a Scotch woman in Berg 
 Plaas hill place next door to the Catholic farmer. 
 
 The country was, as its name imports, altogether hilly, 
 and was, to some extent, barren, the scenery partaking 
 more of the romantic and peculiar, than of the beautiful. 
 It was one eternal up hill and down dale. Babbits and 
 hare?, jackalls and snakes were not unfrequently met with. 
 The sheep bush was in abundance. Occasionally we fell 
 upon a green slope, swept over by exhilarating winds, and 
 on such parts are to be seen blue and purple flowers. On 
 the whole, the scenery was wild and severely grand, and 
 calculated to work upon the imagination of tourists. The 
 peculiar beauty of the innumerable hills, like so many 
 formidablo walls, with inviting caves, gave to it a wild 
 and sombre aspect which particularly pleased me. In 
 some places these hills, covered with verdure, seemed to 
 be cast about in apparent disorder ; as if by some strange 
 convulsive freak of nature, the land had been thrown about 
 in wild, upheaving confusion, and then had suddenly 
 resolved itself into a sea of mountains. The road at the 
 end of Berg Plaas, and approaching Fraserburg, was at 
 that time in a state of formation. It was simply one con- 
 tinued pile of rugged stones, over which the cart rattled, 
 shaking our aching bones and heads, while the pains in our 
 sides, added to our dusty faces and sunburnt skin, made 
 us long for the close of this journey. I have alluded to the 
 kindness of the Scotch woman in Berg Plaas. There
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 323 
 
 were, in this particular spot, two adjacent houses, the one 
 occupied by a Scotchman and his wife, both Presbyterians, 
 the other by the Catholic farmer, of whom I have already 
 spoken ; both farmers were struggling for their livelihood. 
 The Catholic farmhouse was the larger of the two. It 
 was proposed that I should occupy the small house, and 
 that the two families should reside in the large one during 
 my temporary sojourn. For decision I awaited the return 
 of the Scotch farmer from the fields. He came at five 
 o'clock, a fine specimen of humanity, standing six feet 
 high, with sunburnt face, large, heavy hands, and colossal 
 figure. The matter was at once settled in my favour. 
 The farmer's wife was low-sized, well-looking, smart, and 
 wonderfully obliging. She bustled about on tip-toe, full 
 of sympathy, and doing every kind of good office for me ; 
 her very eyes were full of concern for my sufferings. There 
 was no end of soups, and slops, and gargles, and she even 
 sat by my bedside to see that I used what she had so deli- 
 cately prepared. Indeed, whoever travels in South Africa, 
 will corroborate what I say, that in trial, suffering, or acci- 
 dent, the hospitality of the Dutch and other farmers, is, as 
 a rule, most gratifying and meritorious. 
 
 After I had left Fraserburg I heard of an old Belgian 
 Catholic, Francis Feres, residing half-way between Fraser- 
 burg and Schietfontein. I succeeded, through the polite- 
 ness of Mr. Pozenpool, M. L. A., whose hospitality I 
 enjoyed for several days, in finding the old Belgian 
 patriarch, w 7 hose history I here offer in a few words. He 
 was a native of Belgium, but had been in South Africa 
 for forty-five years. He married a Hottentot woman, by 
 whom he had several children, all, alas ! heathens. The 
 wife was long since dead, and the children scattered about 
 the world. He was now nearly a hundred years old,
 
 324 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 blind, and very deaf, but with unimpaired intellect. He 
 resided in a very small hut, built of twigs, and had food 
 sent him daily by the farmer whom he had served for 
 years as a shepherd. In his youth he had been a re- 
 ligiously-disposed lad, had for many years served mass 
 in his own country, but from the time of his arrival in 
 Africa, in 1821, he had never met with a Catholic priest. 
 When I announced myself to him as a Catholic priest, the 
 big tears rolled down the old man's cheeks, as he praised 
 God and clasped my hand in his, pressing it affectionately 
 to his lips. The following morning I heard his confession, 
 sitting on the side of a rock, while my sacristan prepared 
 the altar in the hut. I really felt a glow of warm thank- 
 fulness to Grod, as I contemplated the picture of an Irish 
 priest, eight thousand miles from his own country, sitting 
 under a burning sun, on the side of a rock, with an old 
 Belgian of a hundred years, whose white beard and hair 
 gave him so patriarchal an aspect, kneeling to do what he 
 had had no opportunity of doing for forty-five years before. 
 The mass was celebrated, and the old man received Holy 
 Communion. Afterwards we had our breakfast in the 
 field, and when I was ready to depart, the old man took 
 ill. I anointed him, and shortly after he expired ! ! ! 
 
 The visit to Victoria West on this occasion was character- 
 ized by the laying of the foundation stone of a new church 
 in honour of our Lady of Victories. One of the Catholics 
 gave the ground, and nearly every one in the village, 
 Catholic and Protestant, subscribed. The bishop gave 
 me faculties, and the ceremony, accompanied by all the 
 grandeur that circumstances allowed, took place in presence 
 of a large concourse of people. 
 
 In returning home, the first night we lost our \vay in 
 the veldt (field). I caused the cart to stop, while I got
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 325 
 
 out to search for the road, as the night was dark ; but I 
 had not gone twenty paces when I fell into a ravine about 
 fifteen feet deep. I was terribly bruised, and spent the 
 two following days in agony. 
 
 This visitation had its difficulties and sorrows, but it 
 had also its joys and its glories. 
 
 In reference to the Church of " Our Lady of Victories," 
 at Victoria West, the Cape Argus of the 1 1th February, 
 1867, gave the following : 
 
 " The first stone of the new Catholic Church, under the 
 invocation of ' Our Lady of Victories,' was laid at Victoria 
 West, on the 7th instant, by the Eev. Father O'Haire, 
 Catholic rector of Oudtshoorn, with all the solemnity pre- 
 scribed in the Roman ritual. Some days previous to the 
 ceremony the foundations were dug out, and the ground 
 prepared for the sacred rite. On the evening of the 6th, 
 a large wooden cross was erected on that part of the 
 ground on which the altar is to stand hereafter; a 
 temporary covering was also erected to protect the 
 people present from the heat during the ceremonial. 
 At nine o'clock, precisely, the priest, being vested, pro- 
 ceeded to sprinkle the appointed places with blessed 
 water ; in the meantime the antiphon ' Signum Salutis,' 
 was intoned, and the 83rd Psalm chanted. The prayer 
 being sung, and the dedication made, the blessing of 
 the stone took place, after the form laid down in the 
 rubrics of the Catholic Church. After the litanies the 
 126th Psalm was chanted, and then the stone was placed 
 in the spot assigned for it. In laying the stone the priest 
 said the following prayer : ' In the faith of Jesus Christ 
 we place this first stone in this foundation, in the name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, in 
 order that there may prevail in this place true faith, fear
 
 326 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 of Grod, and fraternal charity ; also that this place may be 
 set apart for prayer, and for the invocation and praise of 
 the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who livest and reign- 
 est with the Father and the Holy Ghost for ever. Amen.' 
 The 140th and the 86th Psalms were then chanted, and 
 the ceremonies concluded." 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE . 
 
 GEORGE TOWN, 
 Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Contrary to my expectations I am 
 still detained here. If Monday be fine, I hope (D. V.) to 
 leave for Mossel Bay. I hope I may be able to remain 
 there for a week. I am not certain, as pressing duties 
 may hurry me to Cape Town. Since you left, I have 
 been applying myself to important considerations. May 
 our good Grod direct me to do all for his greater honour 
 and glory. Victoria has had a place in my reflections ; it 
 strikes me the most appropriate name our little chapel in 
 Victoria could have is " Notre Dame de Victoire" " Our 
 Lady of Victories." What say you ? could we rob our 
 most holy Mother of a title so appropriate ? You recollect 
 "Notre Dame de Victoire" in Paris. What a sanctuary 
 of piety ? Let us hope for many victories from our Im- 
 maculate Mother. I wish you to send by next post, 
 directed to Cape Town, the plans you have of Mossel Bay 
 and Victoria Churches, that I may examine them tho- 
 roughly before we commence operations. Now I beg you 
 will act with great prudence with regard to this Victoria 
 Church. You know it would be absurd to commence the 
 work unless we were able to roof it. To put up the walls 
 and leave them exposed to a winter's rain, would be im- 
 prudent ; then you must see your way well before you. I
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 327 
 
 promise two things ; as soon as the ground belongs to the 
 Yicariate, to send 10, and before the end of 1867, if I 
 am spared, to give 40. This is all I promise to give. 
 Then you will not commence unless you clearly see you 
 can put on the roof before next winter's rain. Pray 
 for me, and you may be certain, especially while you are 
 absent, I will remember you in the Most Holy Sacrifice. 
 Yours most devotedly, 
 
 f T. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. J. O'HAIRB. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 27th December, 1866. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, A happy Christmas, and a joyful 
 New Year. I arrived home in excellent health, thank 
 God, on the 19th instant, and found all well, except a lay 
 sister in the convent, who is very ill. I presume you 
 have bid good-bye to Oudtshoorn for a few weeks, and 
 to-day you are in Meiring's Poort. May God preserve 
 you. You have received my last letter about "Notre 
 Dame de Victoire." I hope the good people will make 
 an eifort to meet me. "We are all very well. I am going 
 to make an effort to build at Mossel Bay. Give my kind- 
 est regards to Mr. and Mrs. Quirk, Mr. Hogan, Mr. 
 Keating. 
 
 I remain, yours devotedly, 
 
 fT. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Eer. JAMES O'HAIRE. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 15tk January, 1867. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your letter from Fraserburg of the 
 5th instant came to hand last night. Thanks to God you 
 have got so far ; take great care of the poor horses, and
 
 328 TWELVE TEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 go slotcly. Your first item of news is, indeed, very cheer- 
 ing. The idea of getting farmers into the faith is charm- 
 ing. May they prosper. 
 
 I fully realise your anticipations of Fraserburg. All 
 would be well, had we the means of carrying on the great 
 work of the mission. The prospect of having souls gathered 
 into the fold on your return into the Prince Albert district 
 is very consoling. "Messes quidem magna est." May 
 God strengthen me, and preserve his Church from scandal. 
 
 I remain, yours truly, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 Eev. JAMES O'HAIRE. 
 
 ST. MARY'S CAPE Toww, 
 
 3ist January, 1867. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your welcome letter from Victoria 
 came to hand to-day. I suppose before you shall have 
 received this you will be after laying the first stone of 
 " Our Lady of Victories." May God's blessing descend on 
 that stone, and may Mary, our beloved Mother, pray for 
 all those who aid you in completing the good work. The 
 monseigneur is after laying the foundation stone of St. 
 Thomas, at Mossel Bay. Are we going too fast ? One 
 thing is certain ; God, in whose honour, and for whose 
 glory, these good works are being undertaken, can send 
 us more means than we require. Let us trust in Him, 
 through whom we can do all things. You must now 
 pray for me, for another, or rather an old cross is before 
 me. I am very busy at my pastoral, so must excuse my 
 brevity. We are all well ; no news about the brothers. 
 Praying that God may bring you home safe, I remain, 
 Your most affectionate friend and bishop, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Eev. JAMES O'KiiKE, C. R.
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 329 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 IQth February, 1867. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Welcome home ! I am thankful to 
 God for bringing you home in such good health. I per- 
 fectly agree with you about the necessity of another priest, 
 but we cannot do impossibilities. I send you two pas- 
 torals ; in your next letter give me a list of the parties, 
 with their addresses in the country, and I will send pas- 
 torals. I am at St. George's, for I think the occasion 
 called on me to defend the Catholic faith. I give, how- 
 ever, no rational offence. If you want more pastorals for 
 Oudtshoorn let me know. The mail goes to-day for Eng- 
 land, so I must pray you to excuse this short note. 
 I remain, yours truly, 
 
 | THOMAS G-RIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAraE.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 " IN that day you shall seek me, and you shall not find 
 me, and you shall die in your sins," are words of awful 
 import and solemn warning, coming from God Himself to 
 sinners, and frequently verified in their regards. Many 
 sinners go on in their iniquities as if Grod had promised 
 that those who sow in sin shall reap in glory ; as if, in- 
 deed, it was consistent with the attribute of Divine justice, 
 to give a crown of immortality to those who despise grace 
 whilst it is in their power to receive it. 
 
 I will open this chapter by relating three sad incidents, 
 showing the terrible results of deferring repentance and 
 confession to the last dread moment of death. 
 
 The first was this. On one of my circular visits I called 
 at a farmhouse where there lived a Catholic labourer 
 whom I asked to go to confession, and promised that in 
 the event of his doing so, I would remain for a few days, 
 and celebrate mass in his cottage daily ; but he was un- 
 willing ; he had not been to his religious duties for a long 
 time, yet he still deferred, saying : " Upon your return I 
 will do so." The visitation occupied five weeks, after 
 which I returned to his house ; but, alas ! it was occupied 
 by another tenant. He was dead ; he died suddenly on 
 the very day following my first visit. 
 
 On another occasion I was called to visit a dying woman 
 in the Oudtshoorn division, who had not attended either 
 to confession or any other religious duty for years. I was 
 brought to her house in a waggon drawn by eighteen 
 oxen, over a dreadfully bad road. For fifteen hours we
 
 TWELVE TEAKS IN SOUTH AFKICA. 331 
 
 kept tumbling along, till at length we came in sight of 
 the house. At the same moment that I saw the house I 
 took out my watch; it was twenty minutes to twelve, a. m. 
 We arrived at the house at twelve o'clock, precisely, but 
 were met by the servant, who exclaimed : " The mistress 
 is dead ; she died twenty minutes ago, just at twenty 
 minutes to twelve." 
 
 There lived in my district, and not far from my house, 
 a Catholic man, whose life was a source of public scandal. 
 From time to time I begged him to desist from his wicked 
 course, and repair, as far as possible, the dreadful disedifi- 
 cation he had been giving for years. His answer was 
 ever the same : " God is good ; there is time enough." 
 After oft-repeated solicitations, and rejections of this kind, 
 I was one day called suddenly to attend him ; it was the 
 eve of Grood Friday. The messenger said : " Make haste ; 
 he is dying." I lost not a moment. Upon entering his 
 room, I perceived that he had not long to live, so at once 
 I put on my stole, upon which he said : " father, how 
 foolish I have been not to have confessed, and repented 
 long since." " Well, my child," I answered, " begin your 
 confession now;" and finding that he did not begin, I 
 looked upon his face. His gaze was fixed and vacant. I 
 placed my hand upon his forehead ; he was dead ! 
 
 I will now pass from the relation of these three doleful 
 recollections to a sketch of my journey to one of the out- 
 lying stations, called Willowmore. It was made at the 
 close of a season of drought ; the journey, including the 
 discharge of duties, should have been performed in a week, 
 but it engaged me for three. Bain had not fallen for a 
 long time, and consequently everything was burnt up. 
 Food for horses was fabulously dear. My friend, Mr. 
 Corbett, accompanied me on this excursion. For the first
 
 332 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 three days I felt like one driving through a land over 
 which a pestilential blast had swept. Water was singu- 
 larly scarce ; woodland scenery there was none ; there were 
 merely some straggling green shruhs, which from their 
 novelty at first attracted my attention ; hut shortly they 
 palled upon my eyes. There was no grouping or blending 
 of divers greens ; no masses of foliage; no tall trees; no 
 blossoms or flowers. I could see no birds, not even a 
 snake. Therefore when I arrived at Willowmore on the 
 evening of the third day of my journey, looking back, I 
 found that my mind retained but a vague notion of the 
 district through which it had passed ; it left no profitable 
 or interesting sensations behind. We had, in truth, taken 
 hold of nothing, realised nothing, enjoyed nothing, in this 
 dreary waste. There being no hotel or lodging-house in 
 the village, which was then in its infancy, and only one 
 Catholic family, consisting of a constable, his wife, and 
 thirteen children, all housed in a small cottage, I was 
 obliged to beg a shelter. A shopkeeper kindly gave me 
 the use of a room, and here I stayed, for four days, in 
 misery. Having discharged my duty to the family, I 
 pressed on further, to two Catholic families living at a 
 distance of about seventy-five miles ; but before I reached 
 them, the weather broke up with a great thunderstorm, 
 accompanied by heavy rain. The storm was appalling, and 
 the rain flooded the whole ground, completely hiding the 
 road ; therefore we drove on at a dreadful risk. At length 
 
 7 O 
 
 we came in view of the humble residence of the first Catho- 
 lic family ; but here a river intervened. In the morning 
 the bed had been dry, but now it was a rushing torrent, 
 sweeping woods, stones, everything in its course. After 
 waiting for hours we unharnessed the horses where they 
 were, and succeeded in finding a passage, with about four
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 333 
 
 feet of water, where a strong man carried me across on his 
 back. Here we remained for two days, having absolutely 
 nothing for breakfast, dinner, or supper but salt mutton, 
 and nothing to drink but thick, muddy water. In ad- 
 dition, the people, being extremely poor, were unable to 
 subscribe anything to help me. In fact, all they had were 
 a few sheep ; the drought had made them penniless. Nor 
 could we get anything for the horses to eat ; the poor ani- 
 mals staggered as if drunk ; therefore, after attending to 
 the two families, we went back to Willowmore, allowing 
 the horses to drag the cart, while we walked behind. We 
 succeeded in getting a pumpkin at a farm, which formed our 
 food till we came to the village. This road of seventy-five 
 miles should, under ordinary circumstances, have been gone 
 over in eight hours, but the poor, hungry, tottering horses 
 took seventeen hours to accomplish it ; and after trudging 
 through thick, deep mud and flowing water, sometimes up 
 to our knees, for these seventeen hours, we arrived at the 
 village so late at night, that we were obliged, after sta- 
 bling our horses, to go to bed without bit, bite, or sup. 
 When the morning came, we arose shivering, for our 
 clothes were damp. I celebrated mass in the constable's 
 house, and heard confessions, had breakfast, and dried my 
 clothes. But now came the difficulty ; I was 2 12s. 6d. 
 in debt for the accommodation and food for myself, Mr. 
 Corbett, and the two horses, for the four days we had 
 been there, and to meet this demand I had not a solitary 
 shilling. What was I to do ? Whilst I was trying to 
 form a plan, one of the villagers, a Protestant, rapped at 
 my door, and having entered my room, asked me, in the 
 name of the few residents, to deliver a lecture. I felt as 
 if I had received an angelical salutation, at once consented, 
 and arranged to give the lecture on the following evening.
 
 334 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 The tickets, twenty-five in number, were at once sold at 
 5s. each ; the subject, a reading, in fact, on Geology ; I 
 had nothing else at hand ; this happened to be in my 
 portmanteau. "Well, the evening came for the delivery ; 
 but I really felt that Geology was about as dry a subject as 
 could be selected ; however, I had no alternative. In the 
 middle of the lecture a thunderstorm burst from the 
 heavens, accompanied by hail ; it was fearful ; every hail- 
 stone was as large as a plum, so that the windows of the 
 room in which I was reading were in five minutes shat- 
 tered to bits. The people ran home ; but I, like a deter- 
 mined man, stuck to my bargain, and finished the lecture, 
 standing in a corner, with only two men as an audience. 
 On the day following, I paid my bill, and made for Oudt- 
 shoorn, taking sufficient food for the road, and stopping 
 at each farm so as to refresh my horses. 
 
 On the return journey an incident occurred, which I 
 will here relate as forming a striking contrast with those 
 noted in the opening of this chapter. I called at a certain 
 farm, near Willowmore, to buy food for the horses. The 
 farmer's wife asked : ' ' Are you a clergyman ?" I answered : 
 " Yes, I am the Catholic priest from Oudtshoorn." " Oh," 
 she said, " then there is one of your people dying in our 
 outhouse." I was astonished ; went to the outhouse ; and 
 there found a poor dying Italian. His case was remark- 
 able. He was a travelling shoemaker, and had been ailing 
 for some months on this farm. Feeling that he was fast 
 decaying, he resolved to come into Oudtshoorn to confes- 
 sion. He was a cripple, and hence it had taken him five 
 days to walk to the village. When arrived, he was told 
 of my absence, and the uncertainty of my return home. 
 He stayed in expectation for four days ; then walked back, 
 disappointed and sorrowful, and now I met him dying.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 335 
 
 I heard his confession, and anointed him ; stayed in his 
 room all night ; celebrated mass early in the morning ; 
 gave him the viaticum; and shortly afterwards he ex- 
 pired. 
 
 A few words of general explanation may be useful here 
 in reference to the management of my central mission at 
 Oudtshoorn during my absence, and my modus agcndi 
 during my travels. First, as to the management of Oudt- 
 shoorn : it was the seat of my missionary work ; there my 
 church, residence, and school stood. The congregation, 
 numbering about 130, was composed of persons of whom I 
 might truly say what the centurion said of his soldiers 
 and servants : " To one I say come, and he corneth ; and to 
 another, do this, and he doeth it." My household con- 
 sisted of myself and my father, Daniel Corbett, and George 
 Kearns, already alluded to in these chapters, an assistant 
 teacher, always two or three itinerant workmen, a few 
 orphans, and for one year seven boarders. I had a few 
 acres of land, and as the soil is fructive beyond all expres- 
 sion, we kept on ever sowing and reaping ; when one crop was 
 off the ground, we put in the seed of another. My garden 
 consisted of potatoes, cabbage, mealies, water melons, 
 cucumbers, red beetroot, barley, fruits and flowers, to all 
 which we ourselves paid attention. The members of my 
 household, tradesmen and others, received board, lodging, 
 washing, and clothing, but no one had a salary. The 
 duties of cooking, housekeeping, teaching, gardening, 
 stone quarrying, &c-, &c., were equally divided ; for build- 
 ing I employed special mechanics outside my establish- 
 ment. Our table was a common one ; every member of 
 the establishment sat with me at dinner, except during des- 
 sert, when my father, Messrs. Corbett and Kearns, com- 
 posed the select company. "While in the village I was 
 
 2 A
 
 336 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 monarch of all I surveyed; but in my absence Mr. Daniel 
 Corbett was in chief charge. During my visitations, Mr. 
 Corbett conducted public devotions in the church on Sun- 
 days, morning and evening, at which the congregation 
 attended, to pray, like loving children, for the safe return 
 of their pastor, and the offertory was as generously made 
 as if I were present. The order of devotions included 
 rosary, litanies, and spiritual reading. I wrote from each 
 station during my visitation, and my letter, which was 
 like a little pastoral, was read to the people on each Sun- 
 day. Thus my movements were always known, and if a 
 sick call, or any great emergency occurred, Mr. Corbett 
 knew where to find me, though it might be five or six 
 hundred miles away. Whenever Mr. Corbett accompanied 
 me on my visitations, Mr. George Kearns took charge of 
 the home. The duties of the person accompanying me 
 were cooking and taking charge of the cart and two horses. 
 My duties were chiefly spiritual, though I assisted in the 
 secular work, and also spent, even when travelling, at 
 least two hours daily at literary occupation. In travelling 
 we used a large cart, provided with a box, having several 
 compartments, containing altar requisites, food, and clothes. 
 We carried a small three-legged metal pot, a kettle, a 
 frying-pan, bowls, knives, forks, and spoons, with a small 
 barrel in the front of the cart, filled with water, which was 
 used only when we happened to be in any part of the 
 country where there was no water. We were provided 
 with coffee, sugar, meat, bread, and other requisites. On 
 the journey we either took up our lodging for a night at 
 a farm, or slept on the ground in the open air, rolled up 
 in sheepskins, just as circumstances provided us. In the 
 daytime we rarely entered a farmhouse, but unhar- 
 nessed our horses every two hours for one hour's rest,
 
 TWELVE TEAKS IN SOUTH AFEICA. 337 
 
 during which the horses had a drink, and a feed on the 
 bushes. 
 
 During the night we gave the horses the best food we 
 could provide. For ourselves we made a fire of bushes, 
 and cooked our humble dinner, generally of mutton or 
 buck ; sometimes we boiled a bit in the metal pot, and 
 at other times roasted or toasted a piece of meat sus- 
 pended in front of the fire from a green rod. Arrived at 
 the residence of a Catholic, or at a village, our mode of 
 life assumed a more civilized form, as is obvious. Some 
 further notions of the privations and difficulties of the 
 Catholic missionary, travelling in the colony of the Cape 
 of Grood Hope, may be had, when it is kept in mind that 
 he scarcely ever stands upon soil owned by a Catholic, 
 nearly all the land being in the possession either of the 
 Protestant boer or the Protestant missioner. If the priest 
 wishes to unharness his horses, or to rest while passing 
 through a mission station, which is usually a small vil- 
 lage, he must ask the leave of the Protestant missionary. 
 This leave will, no doubt, be granted perhaps freely, 
 perhaps coldly but the priest dare not attempt the con- 
 version of the hundreds of natives who surround him ; 
 they are morally and physically in the hands of the Pro- 
 testant missionary, who generally lives like a bloated 
 drone, devouring nearly all the delicious honey made by 
 the Black bees that swarm around him ; and yet he holds 
 supreme dominion in the hive. 
 
 I close this chapter with the following extracts from 
 the bishop's Lenten Pastoral for 1867, which afford a 
 touching proof of his tender love and devotion for the 
 Holy Mother of God, and also of his zeal in defending, in 
 South Africa, the Holy Catholic Church and its Supreme 
 Pastor from the assaults of heretics.
 
 338 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 We will next direct your attention to two subjects of great 
 importance the first, "The Sublime Dignity of the Most 
 Blessed Virgin;" the second, "The Visible Head of Christ's 
 Church on Earth." 
 
 Before we give expression to our feelings on the dignity of 
 the Mother of God, let us state what is the defined doctrine 
 of the Church on her invocation. In the twenty-fifth session 
 of the Council of Trent it was declared "The saints reign- 
 ing with Christ offer up their prayers to God for men ; that 
 it is good and useful suppliantly to invoke them, and have 
 recourse to their prayers, help, and assistance, to obtain aid 
 from God, through his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is 
 alone our Redeemer and Saviour." Then, we do not pray to 
 the Blessed Virgin as we pray to God, but, in the words of 
 the Catechism published by order of Pope Pius V., "We 
 pray to God that He Himself would give us good things, and 
 deliver us from evil things ; but we beg of the saints, because 
 they are pleasing to God, that they would be our advocates, 
 and obtain from GWwhat we stand in need of." Then, how 
 absurd, how wicked the charge of idolatry brought against 
 us. We honour, as the Catholic Church has always honoured, 
 the Most Holy Mother of God ; we fly to her patronage ; we 
 invoke her powerful aid ; and, when we consider her super- 
 eminent dignity, have we not good reason for doing so ? Let 
 us consult the written Word. In the very morning of crea- 
 tion, when the disobedience of our first parents changed the 
 fair face of Nature, brought shame and misery into the world, 
 and closed the gates of the celestial kingdom against them- 
 selves and posterity amid the darkness of that sad catas- 
 trophe, what blessed ray of hope first burst forth ? Who was 
 to act the counterpart of Eve to undo what she had done ? 
 Who was declared to be the antagonist of the serpent ? Mary, 
 undoubtedly, was the person indicated. " I will place enmi- 
 ties between thee and the woman" (Gen. iii. 15). We assert 
 that the parallelism of Mary to Eve is the doctrine of the 
 Fathers from the earliest times. Since, then, the Redeemer's 
 Mother was to play such a distinguished part against Satan, 
 is it not becoming that we should recognise her exalted 
 position, and honour her whom God so honoured ? To form 
 an idea, although very inadequate, of Mary's greatness, we 
 have only to bring to mind that she is Mother of God a 
 dignity so exalted that it elevates her above all other creatures, 
 above everything that is less than God. It is true she is in- 
 finitely below the Creator, but with regard to all creatures, 
 there is as great a distance between the Blessed Virgin and 
 the highest seraphim as there is between the dignity of the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 239 
 
 Mother of God and that of his servants. St. Elizabeth was 
 penetrated with profound humility at the idea of this dignity. 
 'And whence is this to me that the Mother of my Lord 
 should come to me, for behold as soon as the voice of thy 
 salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped 
 for joy" (Luke, i. 43, 44). Again, shall we not love and vene- 
 rate her whom the celestial ambassador, bearing on his lips 
 the message of the Omnipotent, declared to be " full of grace 
 and blessed among women ?" (Luke, i. 28.} Is not the Man- 
 God flesh of her flesh and bone of her bone ? Was not his 
 sacred body formed of her flesh, fed and nourished by her 
 blood ? Is he not the Son of her womb ? Is she, then, not 
 entitled to the highest veneration ? And, again, we are amazed 
 at seeing Him by whom all things were made subject to her 
 (Luke, ii. 51). When we consider her supereminent dignity, 
 we cannot be surprised at the influence which the Scripture 
 records she exercised over the Divine heart of Jesus Christ. 
 Read the second chapter of St. John's Gospel, and you will 
 find an unanswerable proof of the efficacy of Mary's interces- 
 sion. Observing the necessaries of the feast wanting, her 
 tender heart was moved to compassion ; well knowing that 
 with her Divine Son to do was but to wish, she said to Him 
 " They have no wine." He replied, " What to me and to 
 thee, my hour is not yet come." This seeming refusal all 
 the more directs our attention, and impresses indelibly on 
 our minds the most exalted idea of the intercessory power of 
 the most Blessed Virgin. "What to me and to thee" clearly 
 means You and I are but guests, it does not pertain to us 
 to provide what is wanting; and besides, " My hour is not yet 
 come," that is, evidently, my time for performing miracles 
 has not arrived ; yet, dearly beloved, although his time had 
 not arrived, to meet the wish of his mother He anticipated 
 the time, and at once changed the water into wine. The 
 Scripture adds, " This beginning of miracles did Jesus in 
 Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples 
 believed in Him" (John, xi. 1 1). Hence we see that she who 
 introduced Him into the world as Man, also introduced Him 
 as God. Let us, then, never doubt in the efficacy of Mary's 
 prayers. Let us, in the words of Origen, who flourished in 
 the third century, frequently say, "To thee we have recourse, 
 O blessed among women," or let us address our good Mother 
 in the same language which the illustrious St. Athanasius, 
 fourteen hundred years ago, employed, " Be mindful of us, 
 O Blessed Virgin ! Hail, full of grace ! the Lord is with 
 thee ! Thee the angelic and terrestrial hierarchies proclaim 
 blessed. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the
 
 310 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 fruit of thy womb. O Mistress, Lady, intercede for us ! 
 Queen and Mother of God, pray for us." 
 
 Before we enter on the important subject of the Catholic 
 doctrine respecting the visible Head of Christ's Church, let 
 us make a few preliminary remarks. It is clear from Sacred 
 Scripture that our blessed Redeemer established on earth a 
 Church. Hear his own infallible words, "Thou art Peter, 
 and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of 
 hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. xvi. 18); and "Going 
 therefore, teach ye all nations ; . . . . and behold I am 
 with you all days, even to the consummation of the world" 
 (Matt, xxviii. 19, 20). Hence it is evident that the Church 
 established by Christ never did and never can teach false 
 doctrine ; and, secondly, that her Apostolic ministry must con- 
 tinue without interruption until the end of the world. It is 
 also evident from Scripture that Christ impressed upon this 
 Church certain clear, unmistakable marks, that it might be 
 known at a glance, and might be easily distinguished from 
 every other society. These marks grow out of the Church's 
 Divine origin, and are indissolubly connected together. They 
 are enumerated in the Nicene Creed, "I believe in one 
 Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church." The Church of 
 Christ is one, "There shall be one fold and one Shepherd" 
 (John, x. 1 6). "We being many are one body in Christ" 
 (Rom. xii. 5). " One body and one spirit, . . one Lord, 
 one faith, one baptism, one God" (Ephes. iv. 4, 5, 6). The 
 Church is holy, " Christ loved the Church, and delivered 
 Himself up for it that He might sanctify it" (Ephes. v. 25, 26). 
 The Church is Catholic or universal, "I will ask the Father, 
 and He shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide 
 with you for ever" (John, xiv. 16). " Going, therefore, teach 
 ye all nations, .... teaching them to observe all things 
 whatsoever I have commanded you, and behold I am with 
 you all days even to the consummation of the world" (Matt, 
 xxviii. 19, 20). The Church is Apostolic, deriving her doc- 
 trine, her Orders, and her Mission from the Apostles: "Upon 
 thy walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen, they 
 shall never hold their peace" (Isaias, Ixii. 6). " No man taketh 
 the honour of the priesthood upon himself, but he that is 
 called by God as Aaron was" (Heb. v. 4). Thus Christ called 
 the Apostles ; the Apostles called others (for example, Paul 
 and Barnabas) ; again Paul called Timothy and Titus, " For 
 this cause I have left thee at Crete, that thou shouldest set in 
 order the things that are wanting, and shouldest ordain priests 
 in every city, as I also appointed thee" (Titus, i. 5). Thus 
 each generation of pastors imparted, by the power of Christ,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 341 
 
 to their successors the commission originally given by our 
 Lord in these words, " As the Father hath sent me, I also 
 send you" (John, xx. 21). From the Scriptural evidences just 
 quoted you perceive that Christ is the sole fountain of all 
 ministerial power. Secondly, that He imparted this power 
 in all its fulness to the Apostles, to be by them communicated 
 to others acting with and under them ; thirdly, that this govern- 
 ing power was to be perpetuated in his Church until the 
 end of time. Having so far premised, let us now consider, 
 firstly, did Christ establish a visible Head of his Church ? 
 and, secondly, where are we to find this Head ? That our 
 Lord established a visible Head is clear, not only from Scrip- 
 ture but from reason. St. Peter was undoubtedly constituted 
 the visible Head of Christ's Church, as clearly appears from 
 the inspired Word of God, "Thou art Peter" (that is, a rock), 
 " and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of 
 hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. xvi). Such words 
 were not addressed to any of the other Apostles. Again, 
 " And I will give to thee" (Peter) "the keys of the kingdom 
 of Heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it 
 shall be bound also in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt 
 loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven" (Matt, 
 xvi. 19). And again, to Peter was said, "Feed my lambs, 
 . . . feed my sheep." (John, xxi.) The holy Fathers under- 
 stand by the lambs, the lay members, and by the sheep, the 
 pastors of the people, so that Peter received charge over the 
 entire flock. Lastly, our Saviour addressed to Peter those 
 most remarkable words, "But I have prayed for thee that thy 
 faith fail not, and thou being once converted, confirm thy 
 brethren" (Luke, xxii. 32). We are, then, nowise surprised 
 that in the Scriptural enumeration of the Apostles Peter's 
 name is placed first (see Matt, x.) From the supremacy of 
 St. Peter it necessarily follows that all his successors hold 
 the same rank and possess the same powers, otherwise the 
 Church as she was constituted by Christ would not remain 
 the same until the end of the world. That the Bishops of 
 Rome are the successors of St. Peter no historian can deny 
 if successors, therefore inheritors of those powers and pre- 
 rogatives necessary for the government of the Universal 
 Church. Sometimes we are asked how we can call the Pope 
 the head of the Church, since Christ Himself is the Great 
 Head ? We reply, it is true Christ is the invisible Head of 
 the Church, but let us ask is He not the Head of every legiti- 
 mate government ? does it therefore follow that there should 
 be no king or president ? God established a Church which 
 St. Paul calls a body, " We being many are one body." Surely,
 
 342 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 if we be a visible body we must have a visible head. What 
 an absurdity to imagine a visible body performing different 
 functions and having no visible head ! No such creature was 
 ever yet created. We ask, was the office of High Priest under 
 the Old Law derogatory to God's prerogative as Head of the 
 Jewish Church ? In the name of common sense, what govern- 
 ment ever existed or could exist for any time without a visible 
 Head or Chief Executive ? Now the Church is a visible 
 society, having a visible government, therefore it must neces- 
 sarily have a visible Head. 
 
 We now come to prove that the Christian world, from the 
 very earliest ages, recognised a Supreme Head in the succes- 
 sors of St. Peter. We are told by our dissenting brethren 
 that Faith was taught in its purity in the first three centuries 
 of the Church. Let us examine what the great luminaries of 
 that period have written respecting the authority of the See 
 of St. Peter. St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, in the second 
 century, confutes all heresies from the authority of the Holy 
 See alone, " By declaring," says he, " the tradition and the 
 faith of that Church, whioh she received from the Apostles, 
 and has handed down to our days" (Adv. Her. Liber, iii. 
 c. 3). He then adds, " With this Church it is necessary that 
 every Church should agree, in which (Roman Church) the 
 Apostolic tradition has been always preserved." Listen to 
 the words of Tertullian: " Come then you who wish to exer- 
 cise your curiosity to more advantage in the affair of salvation, 
 go through the Apostolic Churches. ... If you are near 
 Italy, you have Rome, whence authority is at hand for us 
 likewise. How happy is this Church to which the Apostles 
 poured forth their whole doctrine with their blood ! Where 
 Peter is assimilated to the Lord in his martyrdom ; where 
 Paul is crowned with a death like that of John (the Baptist) ; 
 where John the Apostle, after he had been dipped in boiling 
 oil without sustaining injury, is banished to the Island (Pat- 
 mos). Let us see what she learned, what she taught, what 
 she professed in her symbol in common with the African 
 Churches" (Praescriptiones, c. 36). Let us now transcribe 
 the words of St. Cyprian. In a letter to Pope Cornelius, he 
 wrote : " A false Bishop having been ordained for them (cer- 
 tain African schismatics) by heretics, they venture to set sail 
 and carry letters from schismatical and profane men to the 
 Chair of St. Peter and the Principal or Ruling Church, whence 
 sacerdotal unity has arisen ; nor do they reflect that they are 
 Romans, whose faith is extolled by the Apostle, to whom 
 perfidy can have no access" (Epist. ad Cornelium, lix.) Ec- 
 clesiastical history proclaims this fact, that the Roman See,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 343 
 
 or the See of St. Peter, was unanimously viewed by the 
 ancient Fathers as the MOTHER CHURCH the ROOT of all 
 other Churches, and as the rock on which Christ had built 
 his Church ; also, that the right to hear appeals from all 
 ecclesiastical judgments had been often actually exercised by 
 the earlier Roman Pontiffs. It is well known that Popes 
 Liberius, Julius I., and Innocent I., received and acted upon 
 appeals made to them from the judgments of Eastern Bishops 
 by St. Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria, and St. John 
 Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople. A volume might 
 be written, composed of the most conclusive testimonies, in 
 favour of the Roman Primacy. We must, however, for the 
 present, rest content with a few extracts from an immense 
 mass of evidence of the same kind. Hear St. Cyril, Patriarch 
 of Alexandria in the fifth century: "That this is so, I will 
 produce, as an ample witness, the most holy Celestine, THE 
 ARCHBISHOP OF ALL THE WORLD, and the Father and Patri- 
 arch of the Great Rome, who himself thrice exhorted you, by 
 letters, to desist from that mad blasphemy, and you obeyed 
 him not. . . . All, by Divine Right, bow the head to 
 Peter, and the Princes of the world obey him, as they would 
 the Lord Jesus. We also, who are members, ought to adhere 
 to OUR HEAD, THE ROMAN PONTIFF, AND APOSTOLIC SEE." 
 (In Encom. in S. Mariam Opp. Tom. v. Pars, v.) Listen to 
 the words of another Patriarch, Juvenal of Jerusalem, speak- 
 ing against the Nestorian heresy in the General Council held 
 at Ephesus in the year 431 : "It was the duty of John, the 
 Most Reverend Bishop of Antioch, considering this holy, 
 great, and general Synod, to come without delay, and clear 
 himself of those things which are laid to his charge, before 
 the Apostolic See of Rome, which is with us here; and to 
 show obedience, and to do honour to the Apostolic Holy 
 Roman Church of God, by which the Church of Antioch 
 must be directed and judged, as custom derived from the 
 Apostolic Rule and Tradition particularly requires." (Actio iv.) 
 Hear now the splendid testimony of St. Optatus of Milevi, 
 who lived in the fourth century : " You cannot deny that 
 St. Peter, the chief of the Apostles, established an Episcopal 
 chair at Rome : this chair was one, that all others might pre- 
 serve unity by the union they had with it, so that whosoever sets 
 up a chair against it, should be a schismatic and an offender. 
 It is, then, in this one chair, which is the first mark of the 
 Church, that St. Peter first sat to St. Peter succeeded Linus, 
 and after him others till Damasus, who is now our colleague: 
 by whose means all the Churches of the world are united 
 with us in the same communion" (De Schismate Donatist.
 
 344 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFfilC A. 
 
 Lib. ii). The language of another Father, the great and 
 learned St. Jerome, who flourished also in the fourth century, 
 is worthy your attention : " I am following no other than 
 Christ united to the communion of your holiness, that is, to 
 the chair of Peter. I know that the Church is founded upon 
 this rock. Whosoever eateth the Lamb out of this House is 
 a profane man. Whosoever is not in the Ark shall perish by 
 the flood. But forasmuch as being retired into the desert of 
 Syria, I cannot receive the sacrament at your hands, I follow 
 your colleagues, the Bishops of Egypt. I know not Vitalis, 
 I do not communicate with Miletius; Paulinus is a stranger 
 to me: he that gathereth not with you scattereth" (Epist.. 
 xiv. ad Damasum). These words of St. Jerome were written 
 to Pope Demasus. The last quotation, which I shall for the 
 present give, is from the great luminary of the fifth century 
 St. Augustine, an African Bishop: "The decisions of the 
 two councils having been already sent to the Apostolic See, 
 the rescripts have come thence. THE CAUSE is NOW FINISHED; 
 would to God that the error may also have an end" (causa 
 finita est ; utinam finiatur error). (Sermo. ii). In those words 
 of St. Augustine you behold the importance he attached to 
 the doctrinal decisions of Rome. The two Councils above 
 referred to were those of Milevi and Carthage held against 
 the Palagian heresy in the year 416. The decisions come to 
 by the Fathers of those Councils were sent for confirmation 
 to Pope Innocent II. Would to God that those who, 
 alas ! are not of us would acknowledge the same Court of 
 Final Appeal as St. Augustine did, and we would hear less of 
 disputes in faith and discipline. From the evidences adduced, 
 you clearly perceive that in centuries long gone by, ecclesi- 
 astical appeals were never referred to royal ladies or learned 
 lawyers. The See of St. Peter was the final court. 
 
 Let us now assure you that it is with considerable pain that 
 we feel ourselves constrained to notice the sayings of those 
 who differ from us. But when the Catholic Church, without 
 the least provocation on our part, is publicly attacked, it be- 
 comes our duty to repel those insults, lest some of you, were 
 we to remain silent, should be scandalized. A short time 
 ago, in reading a certain letter, we were amazed at the cool 
 assertion that the usurpations of the Papacy broke the peace 
 and unity of the Church which the exercise of certain rights 
 held tegether for one thousand years. We are not told what 
 those usurpations were. We suppose, as a matter of prudence, 
 they were passed over in silence. What we not only know, 
 but can prove, is this, that certain rights were in the Church 
 not only for one thousand, but for five hundred years more
 
 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 345 
 
 before the so-called Reformation, by which rights the peace 
 and unity of Christendom were preserved. Among these 
 rights was an appeal to the final Court of the See of Rome. 
 Wherever these rights have been ignored, there confusion 
 and disunion prevailed, and must ever prevail. Let us ask, 
 what did the See of St. Peter claim in the sixteenth century 
 which it did not claim and exercise in the first ages of its 
 existence ? The only part the Papacy had in breaking the 
 peace and unity of the Church in England at the time of the 
 Reformation was simply this: Henry VIII. wished to be rid 
 of his lawful wife Catherine, and get wedded to Anne Boleyn. 
 He applied to the Pope to sanction a divorce. His Holiness 
 could not dissever what God had joined together. Henry 
 was refused. The tyrant then resolved to erect a tribunal be- 
 fore which his passions would not be controlled ; he got him- 
 self appointed Head of the English Church, and thus he 
 broke its peace and unity. Dearly beloved, whether the 
 attacks on our holy Church be clothed in the elegant phrase- 
 ology of a Metropolitan, or in the bitter invective of an anony- 
 mous scribbler, we must always exercise Christian forbearance, 
 and pray for our calumniators. 
 
 We could not conclude, dearly beloved, without directing 
 your attention to the present perilous position of our Holy 
 Father, the immortal Pius IX. For more than twenty years 
 he has nobly steered the bark of Peter. In the beginning of 
 his eventful reign, because he would not act against his con- 
 science, he was compelled to seek liberty in exile. Since his 
 return to the chair of St. Peter, his pontificate may be sum- 
 marised in the well-known motto, " Crux a cruce" from one 
 affliction he has been plunged into another: His firmness in 
 resisting wrong is only equalled by that unruffled patience 
 which springs from profound resignation to the adorable 
 will of God, and which will ever embalm in the Church's 
 memory the glorious name of Pius IX. A thousand years 
 ago, Catholic piety presented to the Head of the Church cer- 
 tain possessions, that he who rules by Divine authority over 
 the consciences of all might not be the subject of any, and 
 thus be above the imputation of temporal influences. A few 
 years ago, sacrilegious invaders seized on the most valuable 
 provinces of the Church's States. The poor and scanty pos- 
 sessions yet remaining the revolutionists claim, in order that 
 in wounding the head they may trample on the body. What 
 the secret societies the enemies of the Faith aim at is, 
 the destruction of the Catholic Church. The revolutionists, 
 no doubt, from different parts, will hurry to Rome, and there, 
 -as if they were the Roman people, will create commotions
 
 346 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 that the Holy Father, being no longer free to discharge his 
 sacred duties, may be compelled to fly. Of one thing you 
 may be absolutely certain, that the Pope will joyfully suffer 
 martyrdom before he violate his oath of preserving the posses- 
 sions of the Church. Dearly beloved, the disciple is not 
 above the Master. Our Lord Jesus Christ had to fly into 
 Egypt from the persecution of Herod. More than forty 
 Popes have been driven from Rome, yet the Church remains; 
 and if our Holy Father be compelled to seek an asylum in a 
 foreign land, no doubt, when the fury of the storm abates, 
 he, like his predecessors, will return in triumph to the City 
 of the Popes. But whether the Pope remains or flies, the 
 Catholic Church is in no danger; for the Lord is her strength. 
 She rests not on the arm of flesh, but lives on the breath of 
 the Eternal God ; " And the gates of hell shall not prevail 
 against it." (Matt, xvi.) Then, we have no reason to fear. 
 Hear the opinion of a learned Protestant historian, who, al- 
 though not partial to the Catholic Church, has as candidly as 
 he has beautifully thus expressed himself: " Nor do we see 
 any sign which indicates that the term of her long dominion 
 is approaching. She saw the commencement of all the govern- 
 ments, and of all the ecclesiastical establishments that now 
 exist in the world ; and we feel no assurance that she is not 
 destined to see the end of them all. She was great and res- 
 pected before the Saxon set foot on Britain ; before the Frank 
 had passed the Rhine; when Grecian eloquence still flourished 
 at Antioch ; when idols were still worshipped in the temple 
 of Mecca ; and she may still exist in undiminished vigour, 
 when some traveller from New Zealand shall, in the midst of 
 a vast solitude, take his stand on a broken arch of London 
 bridge to sketch the ruins of St. Paul's. . . . Four times, 
 since the authority of the Church of Rome was established in 
 Western Christendom, has the human intellect risen up against 
 her. Twice she remained completely victorious. Twice she 
 came forth from the conflict bearing the marks of cruel wounds* 
 but with the principle of life still strong within her. WHEN 
 
 WE REFLECT ON THE TREMENDOUS ASSAULTS SHE HAS SUR- 
 VIVED WE FIND IT DIFFICULT TO CONCEIVE IN WHAT WAY 
 
 SHE is TO PERISH." (Lord Macaulay. Review of " Ranke's 
 History of the Popes.") Dearly beloved, the persecutions 
 of Pius VI. are fresh in your memories. That venerable Pon- 
 tiff was dragged into exile. It was then exultingly proclaimed 
 that the Papacy was annihilated. Vain boasting of mortal 
 men ! " He who dwelleth in heaven laughed at them, and 
 the Lord derided them" (Ps. ii.). The saintly Pius VI., worn 
 out with hardships, passed to his rich reward. The Cardinals-
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 347 
 
 assembled at Venice, and quietly elected his successor, Pius VII. 
 The newly-elected Pontiff, not terrified at the dreadful storm 
 then raging around the barque of Peter, but strong in faith, 
 felt that the tempest would one day subside. His hope was 
 not groundless, although he himself had to walk on the thorny 
 path of affliction. He was dragged into exile by the imperial 
 despot who then rode the storm of the French Revolution. 
 Again the songs of victory were chanted by the enemies of the 
 Church, and again " He who dwelleth in heaven laughed at 
 them." In his own time the Spirit breathed on the troubled 
 waters ; peace was restored, and the persecuted Pontiff was 
 borne back in triumph to the chair of Peter. You all know 
 what was the fate of the once all-conquering hero, who 
 had dared to put forth his hand against the Lord's anointed. 
 Then fear not; kings may insult, assail, and despoil her; the 
 powers of darkness may rage against her ; the storms of per- 
 secution may howl in all their fury around her ; the foaming 
 billows of insensate passions may dash against the Rock of 
 Ages ; fear not, God has said it, "The gates of hell shall not 
 prevail against her" (Matt. xvi. 18). 
 
 " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. 
 Amen" (2 Thes. iii. 18). 
 
 Given at St. Mary's, Cape Town, and appointed to be read 
 in the Churches of this Vicariate on Quinquagesima 
 Sunday, 1867. 
 
 f THOMAS, 
 Bishop and Vicar-Apostolic.
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE Tow.v, 
 
 '2Gth February, 1867. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your letter of the 22nd instant to 
 hand. I send you by post to-day thirty pastorals, and 
 one to each of those whose names you have given me. I 
 am delighted that you have been so kindly received on 
 your long visitation. I thank Grod you escaped so many 
 dangers, especially the pcriculum fliiminis. It is wonder- 
 ful the number of risks througli which you have safely 
 passed. I am glad that you are publishing a second 
 Lecture on the Pope ; it is an admirable lecture. I 
 will take a hundred copies, and will, besides, aid you, 
 to the best of my power, in circulating it through the 
 vicariate. You would do well to write yourself to 
 Mr. Walsh, of Hondeklip Bay, and Mr. Cardinal, of 
 Springbok. 
 
 I have again to remind you that I shall soon require 
 your services in another sphere of action ; therefore be 
 prepared. I think that when Patrick Dunne comes from 
 the Propaganda I will send him to take your place, and 
 will ask you to proceed to America and Australia to col- 
 lect funds for this mission. The more I think of this 
 matter the more convinced I am of your success. There 
 is only one other subject to which I will allude in this 
 letter, and that is, that upon your return from your 
 tour we will erect two stained glass windows in the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 349 
 
 Church of St. Saviour, as mementoes the one to your 
 mother, the other to my father. 
 
 I am, my dear Father O'Haire, yours truly, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIM LEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE Towx, 
 9th July, 1867. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Man proposes, hut God disposes; so 
 it is. I had intended to have left to-day for the visitation 
 of Nemaqueland, hut for the last four days I have been 
 exceedingly ill. Your letter of the 6th inst. to hand ; it 
 is as short as it is cheering. I congratulate you on the 
 immense success of your late bazaar. You say truly God 
 is good, and if we devote all our poor energies to promote 
 his glory and the salvation of souls, He will bless our 
 every effort. I expect Patrick Dunne and John Rooney 
 in October next. You will be delighted to hear that the 
 object of so much of your solicitude, Denis M'Auliffe, has 
 been admitted to the Propaganda College ; his good father 
 is overflowing with delight. 
 
 The number of baptisms in your district is truly con- 
 soling. " Soli Deo honor? I am delighted with the idea 
 that you entertained of establishing the Society of the 
 Holy Infancy for native orphans at Oudtshoorn. 
 
 I am, my dearest James, affectionately yours, 
 
 fT. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE Towx, 
 10th August, 1867. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I write to inform you that I have 
 just spoken to the United States Consul at Cape Town ;
 
 350 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 he is a Catholic, and most sanguine about your success in 
 America. He promises to do everything in his power by 
 giving you letters of introduction to all his friends in the 
 States. It is likely that I shall start to-morrow for Hon- 
 deklip Bay. I hope you will often write to me, while I 
 am in the Wilderness, just as I write to you during your 
 perilous journeys. My headquarters will be Springbok- 
 fontein. I dread the sea voyage in a little boat ; but a 
 duty must be attended to. We must be always ready to 
 lay down our lives for the flock committed to our care. 
 
 I hope you will take great care of your health. Pray 
 for me. 
 
 Believe me to remain, yours faithfully, 
 
 fT. GRIMLEY. 
 RCT. JAMES O'HAIRE. 
 
 SPRIXGBOKFOXTEIX, XAIIAQI- ALAND, 
 
 2th August, 1867. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, No letter from you on my arrival at 
 Springbok. I am happy to tell you that I had a most 
 favourable passage from Table Bay ; I was only one day 
 on sea. Good Mr. Walsh, your old friend, met me, and 
 brought me to his hospitable home, where I remained 
 nine days. There are in and near Hondeklip twenty-five 
 Catholics. I arrived here on Thursday evening last, and 
 found many Catholics. " Missis qiiidcm magna" We must 
 have two priests in the Namaqualand. I am, with God's 
 blessing, about commencing a house for two priests, with 
 a small church. May God enable me to propagate his 
 most holy faith. " Sine qiia intpossibile est Deo placcre." 
 The Protestants are very liberal, and I hope great things 
 for the future. After all, I see great prudence is required. 
 I thought I might do some good by preaching a sermon
 
 TWE'LVE YEARS IX SOTJTH AFRICA. 351 
 
 at Hondeklip on the Unity of the True Church." I 
 did not attack any sect ; I merely proved my own pro- 
 position. Having barely mentioned the name of Luther, 
 one of my auditory stood up immediately and left the 
 Courthouse, where I was preaching. It is strange that, 
 unconsciously. I fear I have done much harm. The Proy 
 testants, I am sure, would not come again. We must 
 keep to the moral sermons in these small places, where 
 one bigot can set on fire the ignitable combustibles of old 
 heresy. 
 
 I remain, yours truly, 
 
 t T. GTRIMLEY. 
 
 Key. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Oudtshoorn. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 26th November, 1867. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I have not written to you for a long 
 time ; I have been very busy. I have had, and still have, 
 some severe trials : first of all I have to inform you that 
 my late visitation was both toilsome and uncomfortable. 
 During my entire absence from St. Mary's I did not re- 
 ceive a single letter from you. But to my great astonish- 
 ment all your letters which missed me on the way were 
 awaiting my arrival. Second, Father Kiernan, of Simons- 
 town, is almost dying ; the doctor gives it as his opinion 
 that he will never recover ; but that if there be any chance 
 of recovery, it is by a change to a cold climate. His de- 
 parture for Europe is, therefore, arranged ; and I need 
 scarcely inform you that the good priest's case excites an 
 immense amount of sympathy among Protestants as well 
 as Catholics. Third, Father O'Reilly has been in so deli- 
 cate a state of health that I have been obliged to send 
 
 2s
 
 352 TAVELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 him to George Town. Fourth, let me tell you that I 
 have passed one of the most anxious weeks of my whole 
 life. Poor Father John Rooney is down in severe fever. 
 On last Saturday he began to complain. I have had the 
 celebrated young Dr. Abercrombie daily attending him. I 
 have not only been doing the work of the town myself, but 
 have also been acting as John Rooney's nurse, until I felt 
 that I, too, was getting the fever, and was obliged to lie 
 down. I had no sooner done so than a letter was handed 
 me from one of your parishioners of Oudtshoorn, announc- 
 ing that you were very ill. This was a climax. I write now 
 to inform you, as there is a change for the better, just before 
 posting this letter. I trust in God you are now all right. 
 I am myself feeling better. 
 
 Yours most sincerely, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAiRE, 
 Oudtshoorn. 
 
 During the visitation of Namaqualand, referred to in 
 the foregoing letters, his lordship was submitted to very 
 great annoyance and insult by a sort of half-preacher, 
 half-schoolmaster. The circumstance is faithfully described 
 in the extract which I here quote from the Cape Standard. 
 
 It will need no comment from me, but I may be per- 
 mitted to observe that the meekness with which the 
 bishop endured the affront won for him the admiration of 
 Catholics and Protestants alike. An address of sympathy 
 by the Dutch was presented to his lordship at Namaqua- 
 land, and a second, amid popular demonstrations, by the 
 Catholic body, upon his return to Cape Town. 
 
 NAMAQUALAND. SHAMEFUL ASSAULT ON BISHOP GRIM- 
 LEY. (From a Correspondent). I told you in my last that I 
 expected a good deal of angry feeling would be aroused in
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN T SOUTH AFRICA. 353 
 
 the Dutch members of our community on account of the bap- 
 tism of two Dutch children by the Roman Catholic bishop, 
 but I little thought I should have to relate a case of assault 
 on the right reverend gentleman arising out of it. I am sorry 
 to state that, on Friday, the i3th instant, as the bishop was 
 on his way to the BufTel's River Convict Station, and having 
 outspanned at a farm, called Klipfontein, owned by a Jasper 
 Coetz, a display of bigoted intolerance took place hardly con- 
 ceivable. The bishop went to sit down and read under a tree, 
 and while thus peaceably engaged was surprised by a number 
 of the farmer's children and dependents in mock procession, 
 headed, by their religious instructor, a Mr. Hoogenkerk, who 
 is in the habit of conducting Divine services in the absence of 
 a minister. This individual was carrying a rough wooden 
 cross, and advancing to the bishop tendered him a sixpence 
 for absolution, while the rabble at his heels insulted their 
 victim in the grossest manner. Not satisfied with this, they 
 spat in his face and pelted him with filth, till he left the place. 
 The bishop was urged by many people to prosecute the par- 
 ties, but has refused. In justice to the Dutch in this place 
 (Springbok), I must say that they testified as much disgust at 
 this disgraceful occurrence as they possibly could, and on the 
 bishop's return sent him an address, expressing their great 
 regret that he should have met with such treatment at the 
 hands of their co-religionists. 
 
 A visitation of my flock, made this year, proved to be 
 one of the most eventful, the circumstances being of a 
 romantic nature. I was lying ill of low African fever in 
 my house at Oudtshoorn, when on a Saturday evening a 
 sick call from a distance of about five hundred miles was 
 announced by letter. Whether the excitement of fever, 
 added to the novel idea of travelling over so vast a tract 
 of country to attend one dying person who might, perhaps, 
 like Lazarus, have been already four days in the tomb, 
 upset the equilibrium of my mind, or, as I would rather 
 hope, a clear sense of a most important duty seized upon 
 my soul, and made me forget my illness, I will not ven- 
 ture to assert ; but within an hour after the delivery of 
 the letter, I was up and dressed, and the horses and cart,
 
 354 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 and all things necessary for the journey were in prepara- 
 tion to start on the following morning (Sunday) after mass. 
 Messen gers were despatched to all the Catholics of the village, 
 notifying that the mass would be celebrated at six o'clock 
 instead of nine, the usual hour, so as to enable me to proceed 
 to the dying person as early as possible. Never, during 
 my stay at Oudtshoorn, had I beheld the zeal, devotion, 
 and affection of my people displayed so strongly as on that 
 occasion ; several of the women among my little flock re- 
 maining up a portion of that night, preparing whatever 
 they deemed useful for the journey. Hence, on the Sun- 
 day morning my cart box was filled with provisions. The 
 whole congregation of the village at that time numbered 
 126 souls, including children, and to their credit be it re- 
 corded that 121 persons attended mass that Sunday 
 morning. The driver on the occasion was George Ivearns, 
 and for the sake of company we took my father. By the 
 end of the first day, to my surprise, all trace of the fever 
 had left me. The journey occupied five days and five 
 nights. I never took off even my coat from the moment 
 I left Oudtshoorn till after I arrived at the residence of 
 the sick man. 
 
 Five incidents are noted in my diary on this journey 
 under the heads of 1st, A legacy; 2nd, A shower of 
 locusts; 3rd, How I came to be between two carving 
 knives ; 4th, What the ostrich did with my spoon ; 5th, 
 What we saw in the cave. I therefore give them. 
 
 1st. I had been told of an Irishman, an itinerant mason, 
 married to a half Hottentot, and having five children, 
 residing on a farm near Mering's Poort, where the man 
 had been working, and was now lying sick. I found him 
 very ill ; I heard his confession, and did all I could for 
 him both spiritually and temporally. Before leaving he
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 355 
 
 said to me, with great solemnity, in presence of his wife : 
 " Reverend Father, I fear that my days are nearly ended. 
 My wife is of no religion, and therefore I bequeath 
 to your reverence my five young children as a legacy." 
 I can assure the reader that it was not a lucrative legacy ; 
 but such as it was I accepted, and made the best I could 
 of it, 
 
 2nd. Between Mering's Poort and Beaufort West, we 
 came into the most sombrously grand shower of locusts I 
 ever beheld at the Cape. The locusts, a terrible scourge, 
 somewhat resemble dirty- coloured butterflies, and are most 
 destructive to corn, flowers, fruits, herbs, and green plants, 
 so that wherever they have passed there is not a single 
 blade or leaf to be seen. To travellers 'they are quite 
 harmless. Some idea of the almost infinite number of 
 locusts in a shower may be formed, when I say, that on 
 the occasion referred to, we drove for eighteen miles 
 through them, and during the three hours occupied in 
 doing so, they were as thick as snow flakes, from earth to 
 heaven, so that the whole atmosphere was filled, and par- 
 tially darkened by them. 
 
 3rd. Before we had accomplished half the journey our 
 horses became so weary, that I was obliged to call at a 
 farm to hire a fresh pair. During dinner at the farm, I 
 sat between Greorge Kearns and a workman, an English 
 navvey, who made some rude remarks of a Yoltarian 
 character, which I gently corrected, when, behold ! in an 
 instant he seized a carving knife, and while sparks of dia- 
 bolical rage flashed from his eyes, he presented the knife 
 to my breast, shouting : " If you say one word more against 
 what you call infidelity, I will bury this knife to the 
 handle in your heart." At the same moment Greorge 
 Kearns seized another carving knife, and presented it to
 
 356 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 the breast of the navvey, exclaiming : " And at the 
 same instant this blade shall be steeped in your heart's 
 gore." We were all three standing, I being between 
 the two glittering steels. It was a moment of terrible 
 suspense for me, until the navvey, rushing from the 
 house as one mad, vowed vengeance on the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 4th. On the following day, while taking our dinner in 
 a field near the foot of a hill, we saw a large wild ostrich 
 approaching us, and knowing that a kick from an ostrich 
 is even worse than a kick from a horse, we took refuge in 
 a cave at the base of the mountain. However, the ostrich 
 did not pursue us, but merely knocked about our dinner 
 things ; and imagine our surprise when we saw the savage 
 bird swallow our only spoon, a metal one, and then 
 decamp. 
 
 5th. This incident led us to enter the interior of the 
 cave through a rather narrow neck, which introduced us 
 to a stone apartment of about twelve feet by eight, and 
 about five in height. It had the appearance of a place 
 that had formerly been inhabited by Bushmen. On the 
 walls of this cave were to be seen several figures and 
 monograms, which appeared to have been scratched with 
 some definite meaning. My attention was especially 
 drawn to three figures in succession, closely resembling 
 the Greek letter Omega. Having arrived at the end of 
 our journey I spent a week at the residence of the dying 
 man, who, by-the-by, afterwards recovered, and is still 
 living. 
 
 We next bent our steps homeward, making the journey 
 to and from that sick call, equal to 1,100 miles. But lo ! 
 on my arrival at Oudtshoorn, a letter from Yictoria West 
 a distance of about 350 miles was awaiting me. It
 
 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 357 
 
 was also a sick call, summoning me to hasten to the 
 bedside of another of my flock ! At once ! ! I made 
 preparations, and again set out. The journey to Victoria 
 was rapidly accomplished, by frequent changes of horses, 
 and at Yictoria I remained seven days, during which I 
 not only attended to the sick person, but to all the Catho- 
 lics of the district. In returning I passed from Mering's 
 Poort to Willowmore, visiting Catholics in Petitt's 
 Poort 
 
 My diary of this journey has a few notes under the 
 headings 1st. The water-finder, and how he spent his 
 money ; 2nd. How I lost the top of my cart ; 3rd. Immoral 
 conversation ; 4th, A supper of potatoes and punch ; 5th, A 
 thunderstorm, and how we kept our clothes dry ; 6th, The 
 loss of road ; 7th, How to make a breakfast on potato skins. 
 8th, Entering the "Grate of Murder;" 9th, Willowmore in- 
 crease of Catholics; 10th, Results of the journey. I fur- 
 nish the notes here in their naked state. 
 
 1st, If South Africa had frequent rains, it would abound 
 everywhere in vegetation, and the great Karroo would be 
 no longer a Karroo, but a garden of flowers and fruits. 
 As it is, rains are scarce, and when they come, the waters 
 have been, and still are, allowed to rush into the ocean. 
 The rain that falls would be sufficient, if dammed up, to 
 serve the farmers' purposes ; but the Dutch farmers, gene- 
 rally, have been too supine for the task. Therefore I say 
 that by an influx of Irish, English, and Scotch, the face 
 of the country would be altered. Some farmers have, it 
 is true, successfully applied themselves to opening foun- 
 tains. Indeed, for the past ten years, greater exertions 
 have been made in this regard than for fifty, or perhaps, 
 a hundred years before. 
 
 During this visitation I was told at Victoria "West, that
 
 358 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 an Irishman was opening fountains in the district. I 
 searched him out, and found him to be a Catholic ; a man 
 of no education, but fully possessed of that great self- 
 creative faculty genius. He looked over the mountain 
 ranges, noted the position of the valleys and ravines, saw 
 the course that the water must naturally take in the 
 earth's bosom, and then announced to the farmers : " I 
 will find water there." He was most successful, having 
 opened up several enormous streams, where water had 
 been hitherto unseen. For his work he received large re- 
 wards ; but when each job was done, he foolishly came 
 into the village, and bought barrels of wine for the Hot- 
 tentots to drink, and thus the water-finder's money flowed 
 away. 
 
 2nd, I had not left Victoria West many hours when a 
 sad accident happened to my cart, though not to its 
 occupants. In passing over a very bad piece of road one 
 of the horses became frightened and jumped aside, over- 
 turning the cart, and smashing the entire cover into bits. 
 We then travelled in an open cart, leaving the cover 
 behind. 
 
 3rd, On this return journey we stayed one night at the 
 house of an hospitable farmer, where many of the farmer's 
 friends, chiefly young people of both sexes, were gathered 
 together. Before night prayers we retired to our room, 
 which was immediately off the Groot Kamer, or dining- 
 room, also used as PRAYER room. Prayer being ended, our 
 ears were shocked by the extremely indecent conversation 
 that followed, not between two, but more than twenty. I 
 regret to be forced to say that, especially among young 
 Dutch and Africander people, immoral conversations 
 are frequent and shameless. The refined teaching 
 of the Catholic Church on this subject immensely
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 359 
 
 impedes its progress. Calvin's theory, "Sin bravely, 
 hope firmly," is a principle that has not deserted his 
 religion. 
 
 4th, During this journey we unharnessed one night in 
 a lovely spot, where the surrounding mountain threw a 
 deep shade over the flower- carpeted flat, and seemed to give 
 protection from any rude blast!that might arise. A gentle, 
 limpid stream flowed from the hill side, inviting, by its 
 delicious coolness, the exhausted traveller. The air was 
 sweet, but heavy, and the sky appeared interlaced with 
 cobweb clouds. We opened our provision box, but found, 
 what ? Nothing ! but a few potatoes, and the materials 
 of a glass of punch. So we boiled our potatoes, made our 
 punch, and had on that night the incongruous supper of 
 potatoes and punch. 
 
 5th, No sooner was the supper ended, than we were 
 startled by the frowning appearance of the heavens. 
 Dark, heavy clouds rolled on, till the whole canopy above 
 told of the coming thunderstorm. We thought it time 
 to prepare for an emergency, and accordingly we re- 
 viewed our position, which, however enchanting on a 
 fine night, would, we saw, be a perfect deluge during a 
 tempest. We, therefore, removed a little up the side of 
 & hill, which lay at right angles with the great mountain, 
 and was perfectly free of the valleys and ravines. Here 
 we gathered together a pile of bushes for a fire, placed my 
 father in the best position, covered with sheepskins, and 
 then exchanged our clothes for field-blankets, putting the 
 former into the waterproof box of the cart, and thus attired 
 in skins, paced up and down the road during the entire 
 storm. Now the crash came, the clouds met, the first 
 grand flash of electricity announced the thunder-peal, which 
 made the very mountains shake. The whole earth seemed
 
 360 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 to quiver, as if standing on a delicate pivot, and ready to 
 tumble over. The forked lightning, like great fiery ser- 
 pents, played between heaven and earth. The rains fell, 
 and the torrent rushed with tremendous velocity, sweep- 
 ing, in its headlong course, piles of bushes from the moun- 
 tain sides. And in this manner, for three hours, the 
 terrific hurricane continued. At length, having wasted 
 its strength, it retired with many rumblings and grumb- 
 lings to a distance, and then we were able to assume our 
 dry clothes from the waterproof box of the cart. 
 
 6th, Another day, during this journey, as we were 
 approaching Pettit's Poort, which, by some, is called the 
 " Gate of Murder," on account of the atrocities that were 
 committed there at some time by the natives, (7th) we made 
 a false turn, which took us about seventy miles out of our 
 course. Our provisions were exhausted ; the meat had be- 
 come perfectly putrid from the heat, and hence (8th) on the 
 morning of our entrance into the above-named Poort, our 
 breakfast consisted of. boiled potato skins, which happened 
 to be in the cart. These, with a little salt and a glass of 
 water, were rendered delicious by the condiment of a sharp 
 appetite. 
 
 9th, In Willo-vMnore I attended to eighteen Catholics, 
 and then proceeded to meet once more the excellent and 
 expectant little flock at Oudtshoorn. 
 Practical results of this visitation. 
 
 Sermons preached, . . . .10 
 Lectures delivered, . . . . 3 
 Instructions given, . . . .107 
 Masses celebrated, .... 25 
 
 Confessions, 61 
 
 Communions, . . . . . 53 
 Yiaticum, ..... 2
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 361 
 
 Extreme Unction, .... 3 
 
 Baptisms of infants, . . . .11 
 
 Do. of adults, . . .2 
 
 Marriages, 2 
 
 Offerings of the faithful, . . 42 12 6 
 Expenses of Visitation, . . 17 18 3 
 
 Balance to Mission account, . 24 14 3
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 28th January, 1868. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your esteemed letters from Prince 
 Albert and Beaufort West to hand. I return thanks to 
 God that you are so far well on your journey. 
 
 Certainly the times have undergone great changes, since 
 you have been invited to deliver a lecture at Beaufort 
 "West, which has been so long remarkable as the depot of 
 religious prejudice. Omnibus pensatis, you must now 
 endeavour to devote a portion of your time (even in tra- 
 velling) in preparing lectures not merely on religious, but 
 also on scientific and historical subjects, which you will 
 find useful not only in South Africa, where bigotry runs 
 high, but also in America and Australia, where you have 
 an important mission to fulfil. 
 
 I am puzzled now as to your address, for you have not 
 given me the programme of your present visitation; I am, 
 therefore, directing this letter to your headquarters at 
 Oudtshoorn. I suppose all letters are forwarded by some 
 member of your household. 
 
 I am exceedingly uneasy, seeing that I can do so little 
 in my vast vicariate towards advancing our holy faith. I 
 have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to effect 
 substantial good without having a residence for a priest 
 in each village which may serve the threefold purpose of 
 church, school, and residence. Now, with reference to
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 363 
 
 Cape Town, you know well that the schools in existence 
 are utterly inadequate. We have, thanks to Grod, suc- 
 ceeded in the introduction of the Marists to our vicariate ; 
 but the brothers must succumb one by one if we do not 
 provide better school accommodation. In fact the Brother 
 Superior, who is a splendid character, has fallen a victim 
 to illness to-day, by reason of the filthy atmosphere of our 
 present schools. Therefore, it is not enough to provide a 
 residence for the Marist Brothers ; we must also give them 
 suitable school accommodation. What, then, am I to do? 
 My people are unable to aid me to the required extent. 
 We must look for external assistance to establish our 
 missions and consolidate our work. To secure that assist- 
 ance I look to you, my dearest James. 
 
 I am sure your application and lectures in America, 
 where our countrymen are in millions, will realise a sum 
 sufficient to place the institutions in the Western Vicariate 
 on a permanent basis. I therefore wish you to make 
 arrangements to leave soon for America, but before you 
 depart I desire you to give a mission to my people in 
 Cape Town. 
 
 I am, my dear James, yours most affectionately, 
 
 f T. G-RIMLEY. 
 
 Bey. J. O'HAIRE, E. C. E. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE Tow.v, 
 February llth, 1868. 
 
 MY DEAREST JAMES, Your very welcome letter of the 
 2nd February to hand. I am delighted at the good news 
 it conveys of additional conversions to Catholicity in your 
 district. Deo Gratias. 
 
 I have been obliged to commence the great work of 
 building schools for the Brothers, over which we shall have
 
 364 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 a Catholic Hall, the largest and the most magnificent in 
 the colony ; for this purpose I am borrowing 2,350. 
 My object in writing to you to-day is to repeat my con- 
 viction that you are, by the grace of (rod, destined for 
 the glorious work of freeing this mission from debt, and 
 placing our establishments on a firm foundation. 
 
 I am, my dear James, yours most affectionately, 
 
 f THOMAS G-RIMLEY. 
 
 Eev. JAMES O'HAIRE, E. C. E. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE Towx, 
 
 March 3lst, 1868. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, On last evening your favour of the 
 23rd was handed to me. I was absent at the time of its 
 arrival. I have received the MS. of your last lecture, 
 which I have handed over to the printer. The proof sheets 
 for revision will be placed in the hands of our mutual 
 friend, Dr. Dunne, so that every care may be taken to 
 have it as perfect as possible. In consequence of that fear- 
 ful pamphlet lately published by James Chapman, more 
 than ordinary attention will be directed to anything that 
 emanates from you. 
 
 I am sorry to state my fear that your arrival in Cape 
 Town will not be under very propitious circumstances. 
 Your letter to James Chapman, jun., is in every one's 
 hands. It was a most unfortunate letter ; it has raised a 
 storm which, I believe, will do immense harm, although, I 
 know well, unintentional on your part. Oh, that you had 
 never written it ! Chapman's reply is shocking, and feeds 
 the prejudices and bigotry of the enemies of the Church. 
 Had you not written to him, he should have had no locus 
 standi ; but you have elevated him, and made the Free-
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 365 
 
 masons (a most powerful body here) take him by the hand, 
 and they will support him. 
 
 Do not write a line in reply to anything coming from 
 Chapman. 
 
 May Grod endow my priests with a spirit of prudence, 
 that all may labour to promote glory to Grod and peace to 
 men. 
 
 I am, my dear James, yours most affectionately, 
 
 fT. GRIMLEY. 
 Rev. J. O'HAIRE, E. C. E. 
 
 I deem it necessary to oifer a few words of explanation 
 in reference to Mr. James Chapman alluded to in the 
 above letter. The Mr. James Chapman referred to was 
 well known as an African traveller and explorer (com- 
 panion of Baines, Esq.), who was author of a work in 
 
 two volumes, entitled "African Travels." He was a 
 member of the Roman Catholic Church, and had been for 
 some time under my spiritual care. Unfortunately, the 
 follies and so-called advantages of Freemasonry enticed 
 him to join the fraternity, and this gave occasion to a 
 letter of expostulation from me as his pastor ; he was then 
 residing seventy miles from my residence. His proud 
 spirit would no longer brook dictation from any quarter, 
 and accordingly he placed my communication, which was 
 never intended for the public eye, in the hands of certain 
 members of his order. The result was the publication of a 
 pamphlet, entitled "The Priest and Freemason." This 
 pamphlet was acknowledged on all hands to be what is 
 commonly called "racy" of its kind, teeming with the 
 bitterest invective and misrepresentation, and even attack- 
 ing the private characters of the bishops and priests. The 
 pen that wrote it would seem to have been dipped into ink
 
 366 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 seething with moral pollution. Doctor Grimley, being of 
 a naturally sensitive character, felt as though this book 
 would cause a tempest, which no power could quell, to 
 rage around the Church of South Africa. But the fact 
 was that Mr. Chapman's publication was like unto a sky 
 rocket, dazzling the eyes of beholders by its short-lived 
 brilliancy, then ending as suddenly in sparks, darkness, 
 and dust. 
 
 After a short time Mr. Chapman went to the Diamond 
 Fields to seek his fortune, but there he fell ill of fever, 
 and was removed from his own tent to that of the Protes- 
 tant minister, Eev. J. W. Eickards. There, however, he 
 called for the ministration of a Catholic priest. In fair- 
 ness I must state that this request was at once acceded to 
 by the parson.- The Eev. Libahan, 0. M. J., Catholic 
 chaplain of the Fields, attended, and Mr. Chapman, in 
 the presence of witnesses, signed a document recanting 
 his errors, apologizing to the people of the Cape for the 
 scandal he had given, begging mercy of God and abso- 
 lution of the Church. Copies of these documents are in 
 my possession ; their production, however, in these chap- 
 ters, would be out of place. Mr. Chapman, having re- 
 ceived the last sacraments, expired in peace. On the day 
 of interment the Freemasons, sorry for their loss, and 
 acting upon the groundless principle, " Once a Freemason, 
 a Freemason for ever," assembled to perform the Free- 
 mason's funeral rites, as though Mr. Chapman had not 
 renounced his connection with the Society. The Catholic 
 priest remonstrated, but in vain ; he was therefore obliged 
 to leave the corpse and the Freemasons to themselves. 
 Nevertheless, they were determined to do the best they 
 could, and so it might be said of them as of one of the 
 heroes of " Chevy -Chase :"
 
 TWELVE TEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 367 
 
 < Of Witherington I needs must wail, 
 As one in doleful dumps ; 
 For when his legs were smitten off, 
 He fought upon his stumps." 
 
 I have only to add to this notice that, after this mock 
 Freemason funeral, I addressed a letter to the Rev. J. W. 
 Rickards, Protestant minister at the Diamond Fields, to 
 which I received the following reply : 
 
 NEW BUSH DIAMOND FIELDS, 
 
 April 3rd, 1868. 
 
 REV. SIR, In reply to your letter, allow me to state 
 that the late Mr. James Chapman, jun., who died in my 
 tent, expressed, during lucid intervals, the day before he 
 died, a decided desire to receive the ministrations of the 
 Roman Catholic clergyman ; therefore, as being bound by 
 every principle of duty and honour, I allowed the Rev. 
 Mr. Libehan freest access to the dying man, and it was 
 by^him that Mr. Chapman was prepared for death. 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 J, W. RICKARDS. 
 
 Eev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 
 St. Mary's, Cape Town. 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 PAAEL, 
 18th April, 1868. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, This is the thirty-third anniversary 
 of your birth ; I beg, therefore, to express my ardent desire 
 that you may live many and happy years. 
 
 I am now visiting the Cape Town outstations, and 
 expect to be absent for about a month. I have to request 
 that you will prepare a list of all the Catholics in your 
 districts, then hurry to Cape Town, and .we shall enjoy for 
 
 2c
 
 368 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 many days before your departure those dear old chats 
 that will bring to our minds our former years in Dublin. 
 I am, my dear James, 
 
 Yours affectionately, 
 
 f T. GRIMLEY. 
 
 ECT. J. O'HAIRE, E. C. E. 
 Oudtshoorn. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 29th June, 1868. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I suppose this letter will meet you 
 in Victoria West, making the last visitation of your spiri- 
 tual children. I fully agree with you that if priests be 
 not supplied to the various towns in the Yicariate, Catho- 
 licity will die out by the absorption of our Catholic chil- 
 dren into heresy. 
 
 I am about starting a project for the diffusion of Catholic 
 newspapers among my people ; do all in your power to 
 obtain subscribers, especially for the London Universe. 
 
 I had almost forgotten to tell you that I had lately 
 fourteen baptisms. I am glad to know that you have had 
 a stone wall erected around your cemetery, and further- 
 more that you do not owe a penny in Oudtshoorn. 
 I am, my dear James, yours affectionately, 
 
 f T. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Eev. JAMES O'HAIRE, E. C. E., 
 
 Victoria West. * 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 25th August, 1868. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Since I last wrote to you we have 
 had great rejoicings in Cape Town. We opened our grand 
 new schools, and had a most fashionable attendance, in- 
 cluding his excellency the Governor, who generously con- 
 tributed 20 towards the good work. Again, the penal
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 369 
 
 laws against the Catholics of the Colony, which have so 
 long disgraced the Statute Book, have all been swept away, 
 not leaving a vestige of inferiority, as far as Catholics are 
 concerned. This is a great blessing for us, as we had 
 found out laws which placed in jeopardy all our ecclesias- 
 tical property. 
 
 You will be sorry to learn that Father O'Eeilly's health 
 is failing, and therefore I am obliged to give him a year 
 in Europe ; hence I am under the necessity of directing 
 your presence in Cape Town before the 1st of October. 
 In travelling to Cape Town you might devote a few hours 
 daily to writing an account of your travels and experiences 
 in South Africa, which I desire to have inscribed in the 
 annals of the mission. . 
 
 I am, yours affectionately, 
 
 f T. OTRIMLEY. 
 
 Eev. J. O'HAIRE, E. C.E., 
 Oudtshoorn. 
 
 The following are extracts from the bishop's pastoral : 
 
 Dearly beloved, it is my duty not only to exhort you to the 
 practice of virtue, but to caution you against vice ; and as 
 drunkenness is the source of a thousand vices, I feel com- 
 pelled to dwell for a moment on a few of its pernicious con- 
 sequences. Drunkenness degrades man beneath the level of 
 the brute creation ; it spreads misery around, converting the 
 peaceful cottage into a house of sin a house of hell. The 
 drunkard neglects his employment, disobeys his parents and 
 superiors, yields to every scheme destructive of life or property. 
 He associates with the very scum of society ; he loses all self- 
 respect. That young man, before he became the slave of 
 this cursed vice, was respected ; his pace was firm, his head 
 erect ; the ruddy hue of health was diffused over his guileless 
 countenance, talent and industry secured him constant em- 
 ployment, he enjoyed all the necessaries and even many of 
 the comforts of life ; but alas, how changed ! what a wreck of 
 his former self ! His strength has departed, premature old 
 age wrinkles his brow and furrows his cheeks, palsies his 
 hands and paralyses his limbs, and renders him an object of
 
 370 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 disgust to all who know him. His relatives disown him, his 
 acquaintances shun him, his constitution is shattered, disease 
 preys upon him, sickness prostrates him, he sinks into a dis- 
 honoured graye, over which might be written the sad epi- 
 taph : "Beneath lies the self-murderer." But what has 
 beeome of his immortal soul ? We tremble as we read the 
 inspired words that drunkards shall not possess the Kingdom 
 of God (i Cor. vi. 10). Fathers and mothers, impress on the 
 tender minds of your children a horror of intemperance ; tell 
 them of its desolating effects poverty, sickness, death. 
 Never lose sight of the old adage, "Words move us, but 
 examples drag us along." If you wish your children to grow 
 up soberly and piously, you yourselves must be their example 
 and guide. 
 
 Dearly beloved, I would be doing violence to my feelings 
 were I to omit exhorting you to persevere in venerating and 
 invoking the Holy Mother of God. It seems incomprehen- 
 sible that, notwithstanding the simple and clear exposition of 
 the doctrines of the Catholic Church, men of learning, men 
 who should know better, calumniate us and proclaim to the 
 world the most glaring falsehoods. In their hatred of the 
 Holy Catholic Church they seem to forget the commandment, 
 "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour" 
 (Exod. xx. if)]. It has been gravely stated that we have 
 substituted Mary for Jesus, that we give her the honour which 
 is due to Him. Is this true ? You know every Catholic 
 knows that it is simply a lie. What strange times we live 
 in ! Men of education can assemble from distant parts, not 
 to settle among themselves the most glaring differences, but 
 to proclaim a lie. So far from substituting the Blessed Vir- 
 gin for our Divine Redeemer, so far from giving her the 
 divine honour due to Him, the Catholic Church teaches that 
 to do so would be a crime of the blackest dye, and deserving 
 the most condign punishment. We honour the Blessed Vir- 
 gin, we venerate the Mother of God, we invoke her aid be- 
 cause God has honoured her by selecting her among all the 
 daughters of Eve as " full of grace, and blessed among 
 women," to give flesh and blood to the world's Redeemer 
 to bring forth the God who made her. Whatever encomiums 
 we confer, whatever epithets we employ, whatever language, 
 however highly coloured it may seem to be, we use in speak- 
 ing of the Mother of God, these are always understood by us 
 in a relative sense, never implying any attribute or infinite 
 perfection of the Deity. Among finite beings she is the most 
 perfect, and therefore ought to be the most honoured. The 
 Saints are the friends of God, Mary is his Mother. However
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 371 
 
 exalted her dignity, she is yet but a creature, consequently 
 dependent on God, receiving all from Him. It has been said 
 that our language is too strong, that it derogates from the 
 supreme honour due to God alone. Let this objection, I say, 
 be levelled against remote antiquity ; let the Saints, who by 
 their virtues and learning shed a lustre on the world, be 
 arraigned before the puny tribunals of the present day ; let 
 them be accused of honouring and invoking the Mother of 
 God. In the oldest and most celebrated of Oriental Litur- 
 gies, called after St. James the Apostle, we find the following 
 words: "The most holy, immaculate, most glorious Mother 
 of God, our Lady, and ever- Virgin Mary" (Assemani Codex., 
 Litur. tv., p. 13). Again, we find her invoked thus, "O sanc- 
 tified temple" (p. 45). St. Dionysius, Patriarch of Alexandria, 
 thus wrote of the Blessed Virgin, " There are many mothers, 
 but one and one only Virgin daughter of life, who brought 
 forth the living Word" (Epist. advers. Paulum Samosat). St. 
 Gregory Thaumaturgus, Bishop of Neo-Csesarea, one of Ori- 
 gen's pupils, and who was present at the first Council of 
 Antioch, which was convened in the year of our Lord 264, 
 speaks of our blessed Lady as "The pure, and chaste, and 
 immaculate, and holy Virgin Mary;" again as "The immaculate 
 flower of life," as "The ever-verdant Paradise of immortality," 
 as "The perennial Fountain," as "The ever-verdant vine." In 
 the same Homily he declares, " of all generations, this Virgin 
 alone was made holy in body and soul" (Horn, i in Annunc. 
 Migne, P. P. Groecit. x., p. 1152). I could cite a host of ancient 
 witnesses, but I cannot omit the words of the illustrious St. 
 Ephrem,the Syrian, whose praises are celebrated by St. Gregory 
 of Nyssa, St.Chrysostom, St. Basil, St. Jerome and others, from 
 whose works we perceive the teaching of the Church in the 
 fourth century: " My Lady, most holy Mother of God, full of 
 grace, most blessed Mother of God, most pleasing to God, 
 Receptacle of the Divinity of thy only-begotten Son, all Pure, 
 all Immaculate, wholly without spot, all Unpolluted, all Blame- 
 less, all Praiseworthy, all Incorrupt, wholly most blessed, all 
 Inviolate, all Venerable, all Honourable, wholly to be blessed, 
 and praised, and honoured, and desired, Virgin in soul and 
 body and mind, Throne of the King who sitteth above the 
 Cherubim, Heavenly Gate through which we hasten from 
 earth to heaven. Holding the second place after the Trinity. 
 And since thou art the Mother of Him, who alone is good 
 and me'rciful, receive my miserable soul, and deign to place 
 it, by thy mediation and defence, at the right hand of thy 
 only-begotten Son, and in the repose of his elect, and of his 
 saints... In thee I hope I shall obtain my wish. In thee I
 
 372 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 glory. Do not, by reason of my many sins and wickednesses, 
 turn thy face away from me, thy unworthy servant... Thou 
 hast the means of persuading and bending. Thou hast those 
 hands, with which, in an unspeakable way, thou didst carry 
 Him; those breasts, with which thou gavest Him milk... Do 
 not remove far from me, I beseech thee, thy protection, but 
 aid and protect, and be ever at hand. For He is thy debtor, 
 who said, ' Honour thy Father and thy mother ;' and how 
 much the rather will He, who willed to be reckoned among 
 servants, observe the law of gratitade and his own decree in 
 thy regard, who served Him in that generation which was 
 Redemption. Wherefore also considering it as his own glory 
 to yield to thy intercessions, He fulfils thy petitions, as 
 though it were an obligation. Only despise not me, unworthy; 
 nor let the foulness of my actions stay thy immense mercy, 
 Mother of my God, fondest above measure of names ; for 
 there is no stronger pledge of victory than thy help. Thou 
 hast filled the creation with every kind of benefit. Thou 
 hast brought gladness to things in heaven, salvation to things 
 on earth... By thee, and thee only, O Immaculate, all glory, 
 honour, sanctity, has been, is, and ever will be from the time 
 of the first Adam even to the end of the world... And I con- 
 fide in thee for thy sake, who didst most truly bring forth, 
 according to the flesh, the true God ; to whom is due all 
 glory, honour, and adoration with the unoriginated Father, 
 and his all-holy, and good, and life-giving Spirit, now and 
 ever, and throughout all ages. Amen." (Homilia de Laud. 
 Dei Gen. Mariae, t. iii., p. 528.) 
 
 Let us unite, then, with all that is venerable and [holy in 
 antiquity in honouring the Mother of God, acknowledging 
 our inability to give expression to feelings of the most pro- 
 found respect for her supereminent dignity ; let us address 
 her in the language of the illustrious St. Augustine, who, 
 more than fourteen hundred years ago, exclaimed, "With 
 what praises to extol thee I know not, because thou hast borne 
 in thy womb Him whom the Heavens are unable to contain" 
 (Serm. de Annunciat.). 
 
 Dearly beloved, events intimately connected with the best 
 interests of the Catholic Church lately occurred in Europe, 
 which suggest to me the desirableness of addressing you on 
 a subject with which you ought to be thoroughly acquainted 
 the Temporal Power of the Pope. This subject rivets the 
 attention of the whole world, and excites in every mind, not 
 perverted by prejudice or blinded by passion, the warmest 
 sympathy for our Holy Father Pius the Ninth the victim of 
 violence and injustice. Within the last few months, the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 373 
 
 revolution that dark and frightful power that enemy of 
 Pope and king invaded the little territory remaining to the 
 Church, and extended its ravages almost to the very walls of 
 Rome. Hordes of fillibusters, generally the very scum of 
 the Italian towns, were led on by a disturber of public order 
 an enemy of religion, who, in his rage against the Vicar of 
 Christ, inscribed on his banner, " Rome or Death." This 
 braggart, who, like many of his kind, was very brave when 
 danger was in the distance, at Mentana preferred flight to 
 death. It is truly sad to read in the public journals accounts 
 of the good spirit of the invaders of the States of the Church, 
 while their conduct was most impious. Hear the following 
 description from an authentic source : " At eleven o'clock 
 on the 4th November," says this report, taken from the 
 Roman Observer, " General Kantzler, the commander of the 
 Pope's troops, having entered the city of Monte Rotondo, 
 was requested by the inhabitants to visit the cathedral, that 
 he might see with his own eyes the traces of the vandalism 
 of the Garibaldian soldiers, whom the people proclaimed to 
 be incarnate demons, altogether intent on the ruin of religion 
 and the destruction of the property of peaceful citizens. 
 Entering the sacred building, the General found the interior 
 of it a complete wreck ; the images, crucifixes, candelabra, 
 were all broken into pieces, and scattered on the ground ; 
 every corner was filled with disgusting filth; the chalices and 
 other consecrated vessels had been carried away ; and, hor- 
 rible to relate, the sacred particles had been sacrilegiously 
 strewn upon the floor. In the sacristy all the safes had been 
 broken open, the vestments had been stolen or destroyed 
 nothing sacred remained safe. On the person of one of the 
 prisoners a thurible was found, on another a portion of a 
 sacred pixis, and the silver rays of an ostensory." I shall 
 now briefly detail for you the origin of the Temporal Power 
 of the Popes. 
 
 In the fifth and following centuries hordes of barbarians 
 poured like a torrent on the fair plains of Italy. Attala, 
 Alaric, and Genseric devastated all around, and then returned 
 to their native forests. Other invaders remained and estab- 
 lished themselves in the south. Odoacer, king of the Heruli, 
 settled down at Ravenna, but was soon attacked by Theoderic, 
 king of the Goths, who established his kingdom in the year 
 493, and which was destroyed by Narses, who induced the 
 Lombards to settle in Italy. These Germanic tribes, in the year 
 658, became possessed of nearly the entire of Italy. Rome 
 was one of the few places that did not fall under their power, 
 yet she was not independent; she was at one time governed
 
 374 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 by the King of the Lombards, at another by the exarch of Ra- 
 venna. We see that, until the year 712, Italy was devastated 
 by war. The people, persecuted on the one hand by the 
 Lombards, on the other receiving no aid from the Court of 
 Constantinople, cast their eyes on the great moral power in 
 their midst the great Chief of the Christian Faith the 
 Roman Pontiff. They implored his protection. To him they 
 had been accustomed to have recourse in pestilence and 
 famine. They looked on him as their father ; no wonder that 
 they should wisKto have him as their temporal king as well as 
 their spiritual guide. We find, accordingly, in the year 7 12, 
 the Roman people soliciting the venerable Pope Gregory II. 
 to become their temporal chief. 
 
 The good Pope besought the Lombard king to have mercy 
 on the people all in vain : then he turned to the Emperor 
 no success. The people were abandoned. Thus temporal 
 power was forced on the Pope. The words of Gregory are 
 worthy our attention : "Would to God it were given to us to 
 walk in the footsteps of Martin (who shed his blood for the 
 faith), but we must live for this people, and continue to live, 
 as the whole of the West turns its eyes to us." Astolphus, 
 king of the Lombards, laid siege to Rome in the year 749. 
 To aid his people, the Pontiff of that day sought succour from 
 the celebrated Pepin. This illustrious hero hurried to the 
 assistance of the Romans, saved the city, confirmed the choice 
 of the people, and proclaimed the Pope the temporal sove- 
 reign of Rome. In the year 754 the Roman Pontiff was ac- 
 knowledged not only ruler of Rome, but also of the exarchate 
 of Ravenna, Bologna, Ferrara, Emilia, and the Marshes of 
 Ancona. These places the Pontiff governed at the desire of 
 the populations. He became their king without shedding 
 one drop of blood. What ruler, then, I ask, has a more legi- 
 timate claim to his dominions than the Roman Pontiff? The 
 power thus legitimately obtained was employed, not in unjust 
 aggressions upon his neighbours, but in preserving peace 
 among nations. I appeal to the authority of a most learned 
 historian, Count Joseph de Maistre : " It is a very remark- 
 able circumstance, and not sufficiently attended to, that the 
 Popes have never taken advantage of the great power in their 
 possession for the aggrandisement of their States. It is cer- 
 tain that they never sought to extend their dominions at the 
 expense of justice." We can appeal to history to show that 
 the power of the Popes was wielded to civilize nations, to 
 promote the arts and sciences, to compel the observance of 
 treaties, to check the tyranny of kings, and protect peoples 
 from lawless aggressions. Is it not to the Popes that the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 375 
 
 world is indebted for the sanctity of the marriage contract ? 
 The illustrious writer, Balmes, states : " History tells us to 
 whom it is owing that the law of marriage was not falsified, 
 perverted, destroyed, amid the barbarous ages, as well at a 
 time when invading nations passed pell-mell over Europe, as 
 in that of feudality, and when the power of kings had already 
 been predominant." Then the Roman Pontiffs braved every 
 danger, despised every earthly consideration, when necessary, 
 to defend the sanctity of marriage. Then what check existed 
 to restrain the passions of sensual kings, or curb the ambition 
 of haughty chiefs, but that of the Roman Pontiff? Who chid 
 Philip Augustus, king of France, who unjustly put away his 
 lawful wife, Ingelburga ? History tells us how nobly Pope 
 Innocent III. defended the rights of the injured queen. 
 Again, history brings before us the sad case of the tyrant, 
 Henry VIII. of England, who, wishing to divorce his lawful 
 wife, Catherine, appealed to the Roman Pontiff. Clement 
 VII. declared, what God had joined together, man should 
 not separate. To protect the injured lady, and, above all, to 
 defend the law of God, the intrepid Pontiff braved the resent- 
 ment of the royal adulterer. I can triumphantly point to the 
 noble exertions of the Popes for the suppression of slavery. 
 Again, when the Turks were about to devastate Europe with 
 fire and sword, what power, let me ask, exerted itself to stem 
 the torrent of ruin ? Was it not the Roman Pontiff, Pius V. ? 
 It is true that only a remnant of the Papal States remains ; it 
 is true that his Holiness is not now the powerful Prince that 
 the Pope was in former days ; but, let me ask, is the world 
 more happy on that account ? I believe it is much more 
 miserable. If the Pontiff's voice would be heard, Might 
 would not be called Right, the laws of nations would not be 
 trampled in the dust, treachery and usurpation would not be 
 regal virtues, disputes among nations would be amicably 
 settled, which now demand the sacrifice of thousands of lives. 
 Dearly beloved, we have been assured that the Temporal 
 Power of the Pope was hateful to his people ; that at the first 
 opportunity they would rise to free themselves from priestly 
 rule. In public prints and at public meetings this language 
 has been again and again repeated. Well, against facts, asser- 
 tions have little weight. Within the last few months, Rome 
 was left without a garrison, the people could rise against the 
 Pope if they so wished, but so far from rebelling, I say, the 
 Roman people exhibited the most unshaken loyalty ; the Roman 
 princes joining with their humbler brethren, rushed to arms 
 in defence of the Pope-king, their lawful sovereign. The 
 late Garibaldian attacks on the States of the Church have had
 
 376 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 one glorious result they have enabled the Roman people to 
 prove their loyalty, and hurl back the calumnies with which 
 they were so perseveringly stigmatized. 
 
 My brethren, every sincere Catholic must be a defender of 
 the Temporal Power of the Pope, because it is necessary for 
 the free and independent exercise of the Spiritual Power. 
 
 The Pope must not be the subject of any king or emperor. 
 Who is the Pope ? We believe most firmly that he is the 
 head of the Catholic Church ; that he is the Vicar of Christ 
 on earth ; that he is the successor of blessed Peter, appointed 
 to feed the whole flock ; that he is the Supreme Ruler in the 
 House of God. To perform the holy and sublime functions 
 of his office, the Pope should not only be independent, but 
 above the shadow of suspicion. Now, first, were he a subject 
 of any king, men would attribute to his acts the bias of kingly 
 influence. Secondly, were the Pope to be a subject of any 
 king or emperor, in his election, we may well suppose that 
 every exertion would be resorted to in order to secure the 
 election of a Pontiff who would be the tool of his temporal 
 chief. A thousand objections might be made to the individual 
 elected, perhaps an anti-pope acknowledged. Thirdly, were 
 the Pope the subject of any king, it might happen that, in 
 the discharge of his sacred duties, he would be obliged to 
 warn his fellow-subjects against anti-Catholic laws or wicked 
 practices sanctioned by the sovereign. In such circumstances, 
 not at all improbable, behold the position the Pope would be 
 placed in ! Fourthly, if the Pope's king were at war with 
 neighbouring nations, all access, for some time, might be im- 
 possible to the chief seat of ecclesiastical authority, and thus 
 the interests of the Church would suffer. 
 
 In the light of history we see the sad consequences of State 
 control over the Roman Pontiffs. For the first three centuries 
 of the Church the Popes generally lived in the Catacombs, 
 and died the death of martyrs. When under the Greek em- 
 perors, what was the freedom the Popes enjoyed ? Silverius 
 was dragged into captivity and rendered physically unable to 
 discharge his holy duties ; again, Vigilius was plunged into 
 difficulties which distracted the Universal Church. At a later 
 period, when the German emperors held temporary dominion 
 in Italy, some of them did their utmost to make the Popes 
 subservient to their political views. Again, within the recol- 
 lection of some of you, when Pius VII. would not consent to 
 obey a temporal Prince in engaging in a war against England, 
 that venerable Pontiff was dragged from his capital and forced 
 into exile. 
 
 With the above facts before our eyes, must we not declare
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 377 
 
 the necessity of the Chief of the Catholic Church being inde- 
 pendent of any earthly power, in order that he may fulfil with- 
 out interruption the sublime duty of feeding the entire flock 
 of Christ ? In whatever light, then, we view the Temporal 
 Power of the Pope, its necessity is apparent; and so convinced 
 are our brethren becoming of the fact that thousands (among 
 them the first blood of Europe) have hurried from France, 
 Holland, Belgium, and other countries to Rome, to repel any 
 aggression made on the States of the Church by the enemies 
 of all authority. I assert, the enemies of the Pope are the 
 enemies of all authority. Everyone knows that the enemies 
 of the Pope are the members of the secret societies, which, 
 like plagues, are spreading over Europe their pernicious prin- 
 ciples, undermining the very foundations of order, bursting 
 the barriers of moral restraint, assailing religion by attacking 
 its venerable head the Vicar of Jesus Christ. That these 
 societies are banded together for evil may be clearly inferred 
 from the words of one of their founders, " Our object is the 
 same as that of Voltaire and the French Revolution to sub- 
 vert Catholicity and even Christianity. We must un-Catholi- 
 cise the world. A revolution in the Church will be a permanent 
 revolution. It will be the enforced overthrow of thrones and 
 dynasties." 
 
 Is it not, then, our duty towards our Church, towards its 
 august Head, and even towards Society, to preserve, as far 
 as we can, the Temporal Power of the Pope ? It is absolutely 
 true that if the Temporal Power were to pass away, the Church 
 should still remain, for under all circumstances, the words of 
 God must be fulfilled, " Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will 
 build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
 it" (Matt. xvi. 18). Peter signifies rock, then the Church rests 
 on Peter as on a rock. Now the Church is to continue until the 
 consummation of the world (see Matt, xxviii. 20), consequently 
 Peter, the rock on which it rests, must continue; and conse- 
 quently Peter in his successors must remain to guide the bark 
 and feed the flock of Christ until time shall be merged in 
 eternity. Have, then, no apprehension for the future of the 
 Papacy ; it still remains in its pristine vigour, blooming in the 
 freshness of eternal youth. It has been assailed by most 
 bitter enemies it survives them ; it will outlive those who 
 now assail it they shall pass away it shall remain. 
 
 Dearly beloved, the greatest curse that afflicts society at the 
 present day are secret associations. No one seems safe from 
 their baneful influence ; the most virtuous citizen may fall by 
 the assassin's dagger. In some places they are more modified, 
 less noxious than in others, but in whatever garb they may be
 
 378 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 dressed, avoid them bear in mind, works of darkness hate 
 the light. You know they are forbidden by the Church, some 
 of them expressly under the ban of excommunication. Spurn 
 the advice of the tempter when he tells you of the respectable 
 society you will move in ; of the temporal advantages that 
 will accrue to you; of the brotherly love you will receive from 
 the brethren. Do you hear the voice of Jesus Christ speaking 
 to you, " He that will not hear the Church let him be to thee 
 as the heathen and publican." What advantage will secret 
 societies and riches be to you at the hour of death ? Then 
 a holy life will be your only consolation. Look to God and 
 trust in Him for all your wants. He is a rich provider. He 
 chides us for our want of confidence in him : " Be not solici- 
 tous therefore, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, 
 or wherewith shall we be clothed, for after all these things 
 do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you 
 have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the 
 kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these tilings shall be 
 added unto you" (Matt. vi. 31, 32, 33). 
 
 Dearly beloved, before I conclude, I must direct your atten- 
 tion to the importance of sustaining those works which have 
 been undertaken for God's greater glory and your spiritual 
 and temporal interests. You will, I hope, persevere in con- 
 tributing towards the Orphanage, the Society of St. Vincent 
 de Paul, and the advancement of education. During the 
 past year five Marist Brothers arrived in Cape Town to open 
 schools; to our inexpressible joy they did so. I am happy to 
 inform you that the four schools, under the charge of these 
 admirable teachers, meet the requirements of all classes. 
 While imparting an education of the first class, the morals of 
 the pupils are most carefully guarded. From the extraordi- 
 nary progress already made, I have every reason to hope that 
 these schools will become the greatest blessing, not only to 
 your children but to the entire colony. As the school-rooms 
 in Hope-street are badly ventilated, and altogether unsuited 
 for school purposes, I have resolved, with God's blessing, to 
 commence immediately the erection of a large building which 
 shall afford us the requisite accommodation. In carrying out 
 this great work I look forward to your generous assistance. 
 
 I have now to call on you, fathers and mothers, as you value 
 your immortal souls, to take care of your children, and give 
 them a religious education. Remember the words of St. Paul, 
 "But if any man have not care of his own, and especially 
 those of his house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse 
 than an infidel" (i Tim. v. 8). In Cape Town your daughters 
 can be admirably trained by our accomplished and saintly
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 379 
 
 nuns, and your sons by our learned brothers. Thank God 
 for the blessings He has bestowed on you. 
 
 Dearly beloved, I exhort you all to live soberly, justly, 
 piously, keeping continually before your eyes the importance 
 of saving your souls that if your souls be lost all will be lost. 
 Be punctual in the performance of your religious duties, say- 
 ing your prayers night and morning, repeating the rosary 
 every evening, frequently approaching the sacraments the 
 channels of Divine grace. With fear and trembling work out 
 your salvation, patiently awaiting the moment when the Great 
 Judge shall recompense you for your chanty to the poor, for 
 your patience in afflictions, for your resignation to his adorable 
 will, and for all your other Christian virtues. And may "The 
 peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your 
 hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philip, iv. 7). 
 
 Given at St. Mary's, Cape Town, and appointed to be read 
 in the Churches of this Vicariate on Quinquagesima 
 Sunday, 1868. 
 
 f THOMAS, 
 Bishop and Vicar-Apostolic.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 AT seven o'clock on the evening of the 7th November, 
 1868, I arrived at the episcopal residence, Cape Town, 
 after a harassing journey, but was soon made to forget 
 my troubles by the warm reception accorded me by Dr. 
 Grimley. I was not permitted to do duty in town for 
 some time, as the good bishop considered some rest neces- 
 sary, and accordingly I proceeded to Simon's Town to 
 spend a few weeks with the Catholic rector, the Eev. P 
 Dunne. Dr. Dunne had been intimately associated with 
 the bishop and myself from his boyhood ; had been a pupil 
 of St. Paul's, Dublin, subsequently of All Hallows, finally 
 of the Propaganda, but since his arrival in the Colony I 
 had not met him until now. I spent with him fourteen 
 days, which were to me like a retreat after my three years' 
 wanderings. His deep sense of duty, unceasing attention 
 to his little flock, unobtrusive piety, and extreme delicacy 
 of conscience, won my admiration, and caused me to love 
 him, if possible, more than ever. 
 
 On the 18th I received a letter from the bishop, of which 
 the following is an extract : 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Tour kind note of yesterday to hand. 
 I am delighted that you are so well and so happy with 
 the P. P. of Simon's Town. I hope you will not apply 
 yourself much to business, but enjoy the salubrity of 
 Simon's Town. I always liked the new cemetery, for it 
 enjoys a dry bank and a good look out. 
 
 I am not surprised that Dr. Dunne is kind to you ; if 
 he were not it would be a great shame.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 381 
 
 Wishing every success to the cathedral about to be erected 
 in Simon's Bay, and kind regards to its first archbishop, 
 I remain, yours devotedly, 
 
 f T. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Eey. J. C/HAIRE, 
 Simon's Town. 
 
 The archbishop here playfully alluded to by Dr. Grimley 
 was Dr. Dunne, but little did either of us then imagine 
 that Dr. Dunne was nearer to a crown of glory than to an 
 episcopal mitre. Very soon after my return to Cape 
 Town, the bishop himself went to spend a week with 
 Dr. Dunne. I insert a letter he addressed to me im- 
 mediately after his arrival at Simon's Town, as a testimony 
 of the intimate knowledge he had of his flock, and the ex- 
 treme pastoral solicitude which marked his life. 
 
 SIMON'S TOWN, 
 , 12th January, 1869. 
 
 MY DEAREST JAMES, When leaving town I forgot to 
 ask you to call at the Somerset Hospital, and if necessary 
 to administer the last sacraments to Alice Mason, whom 
 I saw before I left, but did not anoint ; also look after a 
 little orphan boy named Roche, living somewhere about 
 Hanover-street. I am sorry to know that Tom King is 
 so very ill, and with regret I have also heard of the death 
 of Kate Harrison ; if I had been in town I should most 
 certainly have attended the funeral. Do your best to con- 
 sole her dear parents. 
 
 I am, my dearest James, yours devotedly, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Key. JAMES O'HAIKE, 
 Cape Town. 
 
 Alice Mason above-named was a servant ; Roche was a 
 little ragged fellow, who appeared to belong to nobody; 
 Tom King was a labourer.
 
 382 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Kate Harrison was the daughter of a shopkeeper. The 
 death of this saintly child was as edifying in the sight of 
 men as it was glorious to Grod. She belonged to the 
 " Society of the Holy Angels." Although young, she 
 was appointed to lead the girls of the convent school, 
 numbering some hundreds, to mass on Sundays. This 
 mass was at nine o'clock, and was celebrated chiefly for 
 the military and the children of all the schools. The boys 
 under the care of the Marist Brothers occupied the aisle 
 of St. Joseph, the girls the aisle of the Holy Virgin, the 
 soldiers the nave. Kate Harrison, because of her great 
 piety and prudence, was selected to conduct the girls in 
 procession, the circumstances requiring that the person 
 chosen for this purpose should be thoroughly trustworthy. 
 When it was known that she was dying, the most extra- 
 ordinary interest was manifested ; crowds, including military 
 men, gathered about the door, anxious to hear of her state 
 of health. On the day of her death she attired herself in 
 her first communion dress, and thus, kneeling on her bed, 
 with a crucifix tenderly clasped to her breast, passed away 
 to Grod. Those who witnessed her death stated that her 
 aspirations seemed to be the effusions of inspiration. The 
 spectators knelt in admiration and reverence, feeling that 
 the angels were waiting to carry that pure soul to the 
 enjoyment of the Grod she had known and loved so well. 
 
 On the 1st February, acting under his lordship's direc- 
 tions, I entered upon a visitation of all those districts that 
 had been under my direction from January, 1864, to 
 October, 1865. It was to me a period of distress, and of 
 bitter affliction, seeing the change that had taken place in 
 the interval from the want of the constant care of a priest. 
 I again give an extract from a letter of his lordship's as a 
 further proof of his tender solicitude and anxious care for
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 383 
 
 those souls whom Christ, our Lord, had committed to his 
 keeping. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 23rd February, 1869. 
 
 MY DEAREST JAMES, I write to inform you that Brother 
 Chumald, Superior of the Marists, is dangerously ill ; in 
 fact in periculo mortis. This is a heavy cross. Can you 
 send George Kearns to take care of the brother.' 
 
 Don't forget to visit your Lillyfontein blacks ; do your 
 best for them : if at all possible prepare them for their 
 first communion. Keep an exact account of the number 
 of Catholics on all the districts you are visiting, and of 
 the number of those who go to sacraments. 
 
 I am very happy to hear that you are doing all you 
 can to promote the salvation of souls. I need not tell you 
 that I regret your absence very much, but I would work 
 day and night for your sake. I know, my dear child, 
 that your health requires relaxation, and, therefore, if 
 twenty days be necessary for your visitation, enjoy them 
 while attending to the little scattered flock ; but take great 
 care of your health. I am sending some good Pontag 
 wine to Mr. M'Namara's for you, to help in giving you 
 strength, for you are too weak to use water. Moreover, 
 be very careful of the water on your road ; it is often dan- 
 gerous to drink it. 
 
 After you leave Wellington visit Paarl, Stellenbosch, 
 and Kuiles River ; lose no time in attending to the spiri- 
 tual interests of those souls for whom we must one day 
 account before the judgment of God. I have at present 
 
 all Cape Town to myself, as is ill ; therefore I may 
 
 be compelled to call you into town ; but I will try not to 
 do so, lest some souls should be left unattended to. 
 
 I have just received 40 donation for the schools from 
 
 2D
 
 I 
 
 384 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 the crew of an American ship. I expect two priests by 
 the 1st of April by a ship called The Shun. 
 
 I am, my dearest James, yours devotedly, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIM LEY. 
 Eev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Wellington. 
 
 SECOND LETTER. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE Towx, 
 1st March, 1869. 
 
 MY VERY DEAR JAMES, Your esteemed favour to hand. 
 I have entered in the annals of the mission the sad accounts 
 you give of the poor scattered sheep. Impress on the 
 minds of all to reside in the neighbourhood of a priest ; 
 they are only living in misery, and what is to become of 
 their immortal souls ? Circumstanced as I am I cannot 
 help them. If I had the school debt cleared I could do 
 much, but oh ! that dreadful debt. I am glad that you 
 are going to the Paine family a little congregation in 
 themselves. Pray that God may send us good priests. 
 My soul is crushed in thinking of the state of the Catho- 
 lics of the line you are now visiting. Surrounded as I 
 am with difficulties, if I were not convinced that I am 
 here by the will of God, I would rush from the place. I 
 know, my dear child, the distressing nature of your pre- 
 sent visitation. May God console you. At all events, 
 although we need you in Cape Town, stay until you give 
 every soul an opportunity of salvation. Then our duty is 
 done. I beg of you not to walk far in this trying weather; 
 get a cart for each long journey. I will most willingly 
 pay whatever may contribute to your comfort. I am at 
 present rather unwell ; yet you must not come till I call 
 you. As long as I can move about I will do so, and do
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 385 
 
 you keep at your work, so that no soul may perish through 
 our fault. I am thankful for your kind suggestions. May 
 Grod enable me to carry them out. 
 
 I am, my dear James, yours devotedly, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Paarl. 
 
 THIRD LETTER. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 3rd March, 1869. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I have just heard that you are walk- 
 ing over the mountains under the burning sun. I beg of 
 you not to do so; you are making me most unhappy. 
 Why are you so imprudent ? I am sending this letter to 
 Paarl, though I know not where you are. I am thankful 
 to our good Grod that He is blessing your efforts on your 
 
 present trying mission. Why that one family would 
 
 be worth the labour of a thousand years. 
 
 As to myself the big drops of perspiration are rolling 
 down my cheeks while I write this letter; the heat is 
 dreadful. 
 
 I had a sick call yesterday, eighteen miles in a terrible 
 south-east wind. 
 
 I am now going to visit the Hospital, for C. is sick. 
 I am, my dear James, yours devotedly, 
 
 f THOMAS GTRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. J. O'HAIRE, 
 Paarl. 
 
 Upon my return to Cape Town from my long visitation 
 the bishop proceeded to visit the widely-scattered Catholics 
 of Namaqualand, so that before leaving for the Eternal
 
 386 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 City all his flock might have an opportunity of receiving 
 the sacraments. On no previous visitation, however, had 
 his lordship to bear so heavy a cross, or drink from so 
 bitter a chalice as on this, his last visit to Namaqualand. 
 The better to elucidate his position during this weary 
 time, I will preface my remarks by observing that his 
 desire to visit the scattered sheep of his vicariate was at 
 all times so strong that the words of holy Scripture could 
 with truth be applied : " With desire I have desired;" and 
 whenever there was scandal (as there was to some extent 
 in that very portion of his charge at this time), he could 
 truly use the words of St. Paul : " Who is scandalized, 
 and I am not on fire." Both nature and grace combined 
 in making Dr. Grimley intensely sensitive, but in trials 
 under which he would naturally have sunk he exclaimed : 
 " Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me ; 
 yet not my will but thine be done." 
 
 During this visitation thunderstorms, accompanied by 
 heavy rains, rendered the roads almost impassible. One 
 night, especially, the mules were scarcely able to drag the 
 cart while ascending a steep hill, so that the bishop was 
 obliged to get out and push the cart behind in order to 
 assist the animals. The night was cold and dark, the rain 
 pelted in torrents, and his lordship was ankle deep in mud, 
 so that when arrived at the summit of the hill, breathless 
 and exhausted, he was obliged to rest for some minutes 
 before he could recover himself sufficiently to re-enter the 
 cart. On arriving at his place of rest for the night, he 
 found no better accommodation than a constable's tent ; 
 his clothes being saturated with rain, he borrowed a 
 policeman's suit, and laid down to sleep on a camp 
 stretcher. 
 
 The following letter, written at the opening of this
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 387 
 
 visitation, will serve to show the trials of the first part of 
 the journey. 
 
 HoNDEKUP, 
 
 12th April, 1869. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, No doubt you are anxious to hear 
 from me. "We had a fair wind the entire time ; were it 
 not that Friday was dark, we could have entered the Bay 
 at ten o'clock. We hove to at eight o'clock on Friday 
 evening, and on Saturday morning entered the Bay. I 
 felt desolate ; I knew not where to turn my face. Oh, 
 what misery reigns in this unfortunate land ! it is heart- 
 rending. 
 
 I know not how to get along. A waggon to Springbok 
 costs 25. I wrote on Saturday to the young man who 
 is about getting married ; if he does not come for me, I 
 must return to town, as I have not the means to travel at 
 such a costly rate. I hope Grod will enable me to get as 
 far as Springbok. 
 
 The country of Bushmanland and part of Namaqualand 
 are in a frightful state. Murders and robberies are fre- 
 quent. Greorge Kearns is quite well, and greatly improved ; 
 he desires to b6 remembered to you. 
 
 Write next Saturday morning to me ; send my Weekly 
 Register and Universe papers. I will remain away as short 
 a time as I possibly can. Ora pro me. 
 
 Yours ever devotedly, 
 
 f THOMAS G-RIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Cape Town. 
 
 The greatest trial, however, was the death of Dr. Dunne, 
 of Simon's Town, which occurred during the bishop's 
 absence. This was the third priest lost to the vicariate 
 by death from 1865.
 
 388 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 The first was the Rev. Bernard O'Reilly, first Catholic 
 rector of Oudtshoorn a priest whose transcendent spirit 
 of charity to the poor, as well as his other virtues, had 
 endeared him to the whole Catholic body. He died in the 
 early part of 1865, aged twenty-eight, and is interred in 
 the Church of St. Michael, Rondebosch, where an elabo- 
 rate marble tomb, erected by the congregation, marks his 
 resting-place. 
 
 The second was Father Kiernan, the first Catholic 
 rector of Simon's Town, who died in England, whither he 
 had come too late to repair his shattered health. The 
 following notices of the Argus and Standard, which 
 appeared at the time, will give some idea of his worth. 
 
 " The late Father Kiernan. Every one who knew him, 
 and they were not a few, will deeply regret to hear 
 of the death of Father Kiernan, late of Simon's Town, 
 which took place at Haslar Hospital, Grosport, on the 2nd 
 February. When he left here some four months ago he 
 had all the appearance of a dying man. He had, in fact, 
 worked himself thoroughly out in the Christian and self- 
 denying service, to which, for fourteen years, he had 
 devoted himself in Simon's Town and the surrounding 
 districts. He was one of the best and best-liked men we 
 ever knew. In season and out of season, the exercise of 
 duty and of charity was his warm delight ; and the highest 
 testimony that can be paid to the goodness and consistency 
 of his character is, that, by Protestants and Catholics, by 
 naval men and civilians, he was equally esteemed. When 
 he left Simon's Town in December last, one of the first to 
 sign an address and contribute to a testimonial for him 
 was the Rev. Canon Judge, the Protestant chaplain of the 
 place." 
 
 " The public both of this city and of Simon's Town will
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 389 
 
 learn with sorrow the tidings of Father Kiernan's death. 
 Almost everybody knew him, and they who knew him best 
 liked him best. His guileless simplicity, his generous 
 heart, his toilsome, ceaseless labours, and his indefatigable 
 zeal, won for him the respect and affection of all around 
 him, of every grade and every creed. He came to the 
 Colony more than twenty years ago, and was appointed 
 to the chaplaincy of Simon's Town by the late Bishop 
 Griffith, in January, 1854. His ministration there and 
 at Kalk Bay affected his health, and a constitution which 
 seemed to be of iron gave way in the early part of 1867. 
 Following medical counsel, he went to England in Novem- 
 ber ; but soon after his arrival the disease (cancer in the 
 stomach), which terminated fatally, made itself manifest. 
 He died on Sunday, the 2nd February. His remains 
 were next day removed to the Cathedral Church, Grosport, 
 where they lay until the following Tuesday, when solemn 
 mortuary mass and office were celebrated for him, after 
 which the corpse was interred in the Naval and Military 
 Burial-ground, Grosport, where, for the present, a simple 
 cross marks his last resting-place." 
 
 The third was dear Dr. Dunne, whose splendid charac- 
 ter and premature death may be inferred from the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 SPRINGBOK, 
 24th Aprti, 1869. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Tour letter of the 16th instant has 
 filled me with sorrow. I had my own trials in Namaqua- 
 land, but all were phantoms when compared to my deep 
 affliction for my good and invaluable Dr. Dunne, who is 
 as dear to my heart as the case that enshrines it. I thank 
 you a thousand times for the care you have extended to 
 him. I hope on next Thursday I shall have a good report
 
 390 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 of him; how anxious I shall be until then. May God 
 preserve him to my poor desolate vicariate ! Thank Mr. 
 Clear in my name for his goodness. God will reward him. 
 
 I left Hondeklip Bay last Monday, and had to leave 
 George Kearns behind ; there was no room for him on the 
 small cart. He arrived here this morning after a hard 
 week. George thinks all your missionary exploits in the 
 Nieuw Yeldt were only amusements when compared with 
 Namaqualand. I got a severe cold in Hondeklip, and 
 am not rid of it yet. 
 
 The country is in a most wretched condition ; starva- 
 tion stares one in the face. Since I saw you I have not 
 received a farthing, but, on the contrary, I have had to 
 spend a portion of the little money I had. Bobberies and 
 murders are heard of. One of my poor Catholics was 
 murdered last week. Another, Mr. Crowley, had a mira- 
 culous escape ; his arm was amputated yesterday evening. 
 I was present lest he might die under the operation. 
 Yesterday morning I administered to him the Holy Com- 
 munion. 
 
 It is thought there will be an attack on this village. 
 One is afraid to go any distance alone. On Tuesday 
 morning I must start for Spectakel, about thirty miles 
 distant from this place ; there are five or six Catholics 
 there. Have no fear for me ; God will protect me. Per- 
 haps my braving danger for the sake of my scattered flock 
 may make a good impression on the non- Catholics of this- 
 country, and help to dissipate the terrible prejudice against 
 our holy faith. Begging God to bless you and preserve 
 
 your health, 
 
 I remain, yours ever devotedly, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Eev. JAMES O'HAIRE.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 391 
 
 SPRINGBOK, NAMAQUALAND, 
 
 30tk April, 1869. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, Your letter of the 24th instant to hand. 
 What sad news ! My heart is steeped in grief; I know not 
 what to say. On my way yesterday from Spectakel, I was 
 informed by a gentleman I met that Dr. Dunne was dead. 
 Imagine my feelings ; one whom I had reared up under 
 the shadow of my own self one on whose brow I had 
 hoped to see the mitre. Our loss is his gain ; I believe he 
 is in the enjoyment of God. I say to myself, would that 
 I were in his place. God only knows his prayers for this 
 vicariate may bring down immense blessings. 
 
 I must say this visitation has been very successful. The 
 night before last I baptized eight children and one woman, 
 all Namaquas. When shall we have a mission here ? 
 What a harvest awaits the zealous priest ? Tell Mother 
 
 Dympna that I baptized and confirmed Mrs. , the 
 
 mother of her two little pupils, who also made her first 
 Communion. 
 
 I hope your health is good. We leave to-morrow for 
 the Convict Station. On Monday morning we start for 
 Hondeklip. Perhaps at the end of next week I may be 
 at St. Mary's. Pray for me. 
 
 I remain, yours ever devotedly, 
 
 f T. GRIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Cape Town. 
 
 The Cape Standard, Saturday, April 24, 1869 : 
 
 "Death of Dr. Dunne. The Eev. Patrick Dunne, D.D., 
 
 late Catholic Rector of Simon's Town, died yesterday 
 
 morning, the 23rd instant, at twenty minutes past two, 
 
 aged twenty-eight years, from the effects of the accident
 
 392 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 which recently befel him. The solemn office for the dead 
 will be recited in St. Mary's Cathedral, Cape Town, at 
 eight o'clock this morning (Saturday), after which High 
 Mass will be sung. The funeral oration will be preached 
 at four o'clock this afternoon, to be followed by the obse- 
 quies for the dead. The interment will then take place 
 in the Cathedral. 
 
 "From particulars with which we have been kindly 
 favoured, we learn that the deceased gentleman came to 
 the colony about eighteen months since, and was at first 
 attached to St. Mary's Cathedral, but afterwards appointed 
 to the important post of Colonial Naval Chaplain and 
 officiating priest in Simon's Town, where he succeeded in 
 gaining the respect and esteem, not only of the members 
 of his own communion, but of all with whom he came in 
 contact. Dr. Dunne, who, as we have said, was only 
 twenty-eight years of age when he met with the sad acci- 
 dent that resulted in his death, was educated in St. Paul's 
 Ecclesiastical Academy and at All Hallows Missionary Col- 
 lege, Dublin, and from thence passed to the Propaganda 
 College at Rome, where he graduated in philosophy and 
 theology, and was ordained. He remained in Borne for 
 about a year after his ordination, and, after a visit to his 
 friends in Ireland, came to this colony in September, 1867. 
 On the day of the occurrence of the accident which led to 
 his decease, he mounted a horse that had never before been 
 ridden, in Mr. dear's stable-yard in Eoeland-street ; the 
 animal reared violently, and fell with his rider, inflicting 
 terrible injuries about the lower part of the body. The 
 unfortunate gentleman was at once conveyed into Mr. 
 dear's house, where he received every possible attention 
 up to the moment of his death. He was most assiduously 
 attended during his illness by Drs. Chiappini, senior and
 
 TWELVE TEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 393 
 
 junior, by Dr. Abercrombie, junior, and Dr. Mansfield, of 
 her Majesty's steamer, Racoon. The rev. gentleman's 
 sufferings were intense up to within a day or two of his 
 death, but they were borne with unshrinking fortitude 
 and the most Christian resignation." 
 
 The Cape Argus, Tuesday, April 27, 1869: 
 " Funeral of the late Dr. Dunne. A very large congre- 
 gation assembled in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral, 
 on Saturday afternoon, to witness the funeral of the late 
 Dr. Dunne, whose decease was mentioned in our last. 
 Every seat in the building was occupied, and numbers 
 had to stand -during the entire ceremony. A large pro- 
 portion of those present consisted of Protestants, who in 
 this manner expressed their admiration for one whose chief 
 aim in life had been to benefit others." 
 
 The following is from the Dublin Freeman's Journal : 
 
 "Death of a Young Missionary. The following letter 
 from the Most Rev. Dr. Grimley, Cape of Good Hope, 
 was received in Dublin on the 26th inst. : 
 
 " ' ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 19^ May, 1869. 
 
 "'MY DEAR CANON KENNEDY, One of my good priests, 
 a native of your parish, has been called to his immortal 
 crown. During my visitation to a remote part of my 
 vicariate, Dr. Dunne visited this city, and met a fatal acci- 
 dent by his horse falling on him. Rev. Dr. Dunne was, 
 perhaps, the most perfect being I have ever met. I knew 
 him in his boyhood he spent his manhood, or at least 
 the opening of it, in the Propaganda College. His cha- 
 racter by Cardinal Barnabo was comprised in a few words 
 ' without fault.' Since his appointment to an important
 
 394 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 mission in this vicariate, his life has edified both priests 
 and people. I had hoped one day to see him raised to a 
 position of eminence ; he was my right hand. God has 
 taken him, and left me in sorrow. Will you kindly call 
 on his poor mother and console her. He died on the 24th 
 of April, an example of patience to Cape Town. I have 
 no doubt about his eternal happiness. He lived a saint, 
 and died a saint. I remain yours truly, 
 
 "<fT. GRIMLEY. 
 
 " ' Very Eev. CANON KENNEDY, P. P.' " 
 
 "DEATH OF REV. DR. DUNNE. 
 (From the Cape Argus of April 24t f i.) 
 " The Rev. Dr. Dunne, officiating Catholic priest of 
 Simon's Town, the particulars of whose sad and fatal acci- 
 dent we have previously narrated, breathed his last early 
 yesterday morning. The reverend gentleman came to 
 this colony, about eighteen months since, from the Propa- 
 ganda College, Rome, where he had graduated in philo- 
 sophy and theology. He had studied previously in St. 
 Paul's Ecclesiastical Academy and All Hallows Missionary 
 College, Dublin. He was ordained in Rome, and remained 
 there about a year after. He then paid a visit to his friends 
 in Ireland, and came from Dublin to this colony in Septem- 
 ber, 1867. He commenced his labours in the service of the 
 Church in St. Mary's Cathedral, in this city. He was soon 
 after located at Simon's Town, where he has served as colo- 
 nial naval chaplain and officiating priest up to the time of his 
 paying this, his last, unfortunate visit to Cape Town. The 
 circumstances of his death are indeed painful. He was a 
 young man, just completed his twenty-eighth year, in the 
 possession of health, and had entered upon his holy mis- 
 sion with earnestness and true devotion. During the time
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 395 
 
 he served at Simon's Town, he had, by his zeal in the work 
 of the Church, by his constant attendance on the poor, his 
 urbanity to all with whom he came into contact, his gene- 
 rosity and disinterestedness, gathered around him friends, 
 not only of members of the Church to which he belonged, 
 but of all classes and denominations. No man could work 
 with greater assiduity, and the anxiety exhibited since his 
 accident by those who knew him, testifies to the admiration 
 in which he was held. He arrived here on his periodical 
 visit, for missionary requisites, on the day before his acci- 
 dent, and was a visitor at St. Mary's. His custom was 
 not to be away from his work at Simon's Town more than 
 one day, he having a school in his own parish which re- 
 quired his almost constant personal attention. He drove 
 up to town in his buggy, and the bishop's stable being 
 full, he was compelled to put up his horse in a stable in 
 R-oeland-street, kindly offered him by Mr. Clear. The 
 horse had never been ridden by him ; but being persuaded 
 that it would be as good a horse in saddle as in harness, 
 he commenced to make a trial in Mr. Clear's stable-yard. 
 There being no martingale attached to the bridle, the 
 animal threw up its head, and commenced to rear despe- 
 rately. Before the unfortunate gentleman could obtain a 
 fair seat in the saddle, the horse threw him back heavily 
 to the ground, and rolled over him. The accident occurred 
 almost in a moment. He was taken at once to bed, where 
 he received the very kindest of treatment from the whole 
 of Mr. Clear's family up to the moment of his death. 
 There was no injury done to the upper portion of the suf- 
 ferer's body ; he was sensible throughout the whole of his 
 illness. He was under the medical attendance of Drs. 
 Chiappini, senior and junior ; Dr. Abercrombie, junior ; 
 and Dr. Mansfield, naval surgeon of her Majesty's ship,
 
 396 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Racoon ; and we are requested by the clergy of St. Mary's 
 to say, that more kindness or attention from medical 
 gentlemen was never before shown towards a patient. 
 The clergy themselves were at the sufferer's bedside day 
 and night throughout the whole of his illness, and all tes- 
 tifying to the patience and truly Christian spirit and 
 resignation which the late gentleman manifested through 
 all his dreadful sufferings. "When told that his death-hour 
 was at hand, he calmly answered, ' God's will be done.' 
 Yesterday afternoon the remains of the deceased were re- 
 moved from Mr. dear's to St. Mary's Cathedral. A pro- 
 cession, consisting of the priests at present in Cape Town, 
 the children connected with the Catholic Schools, and the 
 members of the St. Mary's Benefit Society, accompanied 
 the coffin, which was placed in front of the altar, where it 
 will remain until this afternoon." 
 
 The following letter from the Most Rev. Dr. Grimley, 
 the Bishop of Cape Town, will be read with painful inte- 
 rest. It is addressed to the mother of the deceased clergy- 
 man : 
 
 " ST. MARY'S, CAPE Towx, 
 
 1th June, 1869. 
 
 " DEAR MRS. DUNNE, The greatest trial that I have 
 had to endure since I came to this colony was the death 
 of one of the best priests in the Church of God, my dear 
 child in Christ, whom I watched over from his boyhood ; 
 your loss is great, but mine is even greater. On the 8th 
 of April I left him in the enjoyment of excellent health ; 
 he was getting quite robust. I had hoped one day to see 
 the mitre on his brow, but how inscrutable are the ways 
 of God ! Ripe for heaven, he was called away from my 
 poor vicariate a loss which I can never hope to see re- 
 placed. We must^be resigned to the adorable will of God.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 397 
 
 Do not fret for the death of a saint. Offer him to G-od ; 
 he will pray for you and my mission. Let us be resigned, 
 then, and say, * The holy will of Grod be done !' When 
 his death occurred I was in the mountains of Namaqualand, 
 hundreds of miles from Cape Town. He was buried in 
 the Cathedral, and a handsome stone of marble covers his 
 holy remains. I hope to see you in Dublin in October or 
 November. Blessing you and your family from my heart, 
 I remain, yours in Christ, 
 
 " f T. G-EIMLEY, Bishop. 
 " Mrs. DUNNE."
 
 CHAPTEE XXIY. 
 
 AFTER the Bishop's return from Namaqualand, he made 
 his proximate preparation for his journey to Rome. The 
 pastoral issued by his lordship previous to his departure, 
 having been his last, holds naturally a prominent place in 
 my diary, hence I give it in extenso. 
 
 REVEREND AND DEAR BRETHREN, A General Council of 
 the Church has been convoked. The successor of blessed 
 Peter Christ's Vicar on earth has summoned the bishops 
 of the Catholic world to assemble around him in St. Peter's, 
 Rome, on the 8th day of December next. 
 
 This summons will be obeyed with alacrity. North and 
 South, and East and West, will send thither their representa- 
 tives to form a great assembly. 
 
 In that assembly will be discussed matters affecting the 
 eternal interests of millions. Remedies will there be pre- 
 pared for the many evils that disturb and distract society. 
 Already is the vast importance of this forthcoming Council 
 spoken of in every civilized nation. Pray that it may be 
 happy in its results, and that these may be felt till the end of 
 time. 
 
 Before leaving you for the Eternal City, I deem it ex- 
 pedient to say a few words to you on the Council and the 
 Jubilee. 
 
 My remarks on the Council I shall preface with a few obser- 
 vations on the constitution and chief characteristics of the 
 Church of Christ. 
 
 In accordance with the primary notions that every Christian 
 has of this Church, I may define her to be a visible and orga- 
 nized body or society of persons professing the one true re- 
 ligion of Jesus Christ. 
 
 An invisible Church is an absurdity. Such a Church could 
 neither preach nor administer sacraments; yet all will admit 
 Christ commanded his Church to discharge both these func- 
 tions, and gave her power to do so. 
 
 He gathered around Him a band of followers. He orga- 
 nized them into a society. Some He appointed officers
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 399 
 
 rulers as the Apostles, and seventy-two Disciples. To these 
 He gave the power of forgiving sin, of administering the 
 sacraments, and a commission to preach. On the rest He 
 imposed the obligation of hearing and obeying. Thus did 
 He divide his followers into two classes. Some were to teach ; 
 others to be taught. All this appears from Biblical history. 
 St. Paul asks and his interrogation is equivalent to a nega- 
 tion "Are all apostles ? are all prophets ? are all teachers?" 
 (i Cor. xii. 29.) And again he says, "And some, indeed, 
 He gave to be apostles, and some prophets, and others evan- 
 gelists, and others pastors and teachers, for the perfection of 
 the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edification of 
 the body of Christ." (Ephes. iv. n, 12.) The Church estab- 
 lished by Christ, then, as every other perfect society, was a 
 visible, organized body, doing material work for material 
 beings, and was composed of rulers and subjects, officers and 
 men, teachers and pupils. 
 
 This Church must be essentially one, steady in her prin- 
 ciples, preaching a doctrine obligatory on all, and she must 
 be for all discernible. She is the body of which Christ is the 
 Supreme Head. And, as from the body you cannot sever the 
 head, so from the Church you cannot separate Christ. They 
 are divinely and indissolubly united. This intimate union of 
 Christ with his Church the learned St. Cyprian, who flourished 
 in the third century, expressed in language as simple as it is 
 beautiful and well-known : " He cannot have God for his father 
 who has not the Church for his mother." To her Christ gave 
 a commission to teach all nations. To fulfil this commission 
 He conferred on her the most ample powers, and wished her 
 to retain and exercise these powers down to the latest gene- 
 ration. 
 
 Addressing Himself to his apostles before his ascension, 
 He said to them, "All power is given to me in heaven and 
 on earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations ; baptizing 
 them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever 
 I have commanded you ; and, behold, I am with you all days 
 -even to the consummation of the world." (Matt, xxviii. 
 18, 19, 20.) 
 
 Eleven poor, weak, illiterate men are here commissioned 
 to preach the Gospel to every creature. Leaning for support 
 on Him who can do all things, they confound the philosophers 
 of Greece and Rome ; silence the oracles of paganism ; and 
 on the ruins of idolatry plant the Standard of Salvation. 
 
 And here I may incidentally remark that, as the Catholic 
 Church alone has continued to fulfil effectively this mission. 
 
 2E
 
 400 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 of preaching, so we must conclude that she alone is the 
 Church of Christ. Only she has been able to convert to 
 Christianity a pagan nation. Every other religious sect has 
 failed to do so. 
 
 But to return. Christ has not only given to his Church a 
 commission to teach, but He has also, for the fulfilment of 
 this commission, conferred on her the most ample powers. 
 In sending his apostles He reminds them that all power is- 
 given to Him in heaven and on earth ; and, armed with a 
 power like to his own, He sends them, "As the Father hath 
 sent me, so I also send you." (John, xx. 21.) They then re- 
 ceived a commission to preach, authority to teach, power to 
 found Churches, baptize and administer the other Sacraments.. 
 Such being the Divine constitution of the Church, it becomes 
 the duty of all to hear her voice, believe what she believes, 
 reject what she rejects, and practise what she commands. 
 
 Now all these prerogatives and powers, conferred originally 
 by Christ on his Church, He wished her to retain and exercise 
 to the latest generation. In the exercise of them He promised 
 to be with her "all days, even to the consummation of the 
 world." He wished this Church, therefore, to remain until 
 the end of time ; and, in wishing this, He wished her to retain 
 all her essential constituents, and consequently her ample 
 powers. Otherwise she would not be the Church He founded.. 
 To assert that the essential powers of the ministerial office 
 ceased with the apostles, besides rendering impossible the 
 fulfilment of Christ's promise always to remain with his 
 Church, would be equivalent to a declaration that Christ did 
 not make adequate provision for those generations that suc- 
 ceeded the apostolic age. And those who restrict to the 
 apostles the commission to teach given by Christ to his 
 Church, cut off, at their very roots, all the powers of the 
 ministry which they themselves fancy they exercise. If they 
 so limit this commission, on what authority will they rest the 
 validity or even legitimacy of their ministerial acts ? If they 
 have no commission to teach, then they have no right to do so. 
 This commission to teach was to descend to the Apostles' 
 successors. It has descended to them in the pastors of the 
 Catholic Church ; and hence, as De Maistre justly remarks, 
 this Church only is the Spouse of Christ, the fruitful mother 
 of his children; and those who have disavowed her and sepa- 
 rated themselves from her household are doomed to a per- 
 petual sterility. " How," indeed, " can they preach unless 
 they be sent?" (Rom. x. 15.) The fecundity alone of the- 
 Catholic Church in bringing forth children to Christ shows 
 her to be his true Spouse.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 401 
 
 And now a few words on the marks of this Church. It is 
 obligatory on all to embrace the doctrine of the Church 
 obligatory, under pain of being classed with the heathen and 
 publican. (Matt, xviii. 17.) God's justice, then, demands 
 that all have the means of recognising her. On her very face 
 there ought to be stamped certain marks as distinctive as are 
 the features of the human countenance. And in fact it is so. 
 God has traced on the fair face of his Church certain essen- 
 tial characteristics that will not fail to point her out to the 
 honestly inquiring mind as the chaste spouse of the Lamb. 
 In the symbol of the Apostles we say, "I believe in the Holy 
 Catholic Church ;" and in the Nicene Creed still more fully, 
 "I believe in one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church." 
 Her distinguishing marks, therefore, are Unify, Sanctity,. 
 Catholicity, and Apostolicity. 
 
 And, first, she is one in faith and government. Reason 
 alone tells us God could not reveal contradictory religions. 
 He could not tell me there are seven Sacraments, and at the 
 same time tell another there are only two. He could not ask 
 me to believe the Sacrament of the Altar contains his Body, 
 Blood, Soul, and Divinity, and teach another to assert it is 
 a mere empty figure the shadow of a reality. He could not 
 declare to me the absolute necessity of Baptism, the strict 
 obligation of confessing my sins to a minister divinely em- 
 powered to absolve me ; and then inform my neighbour Bap- 
 tism is but a mere ceremony, and Confession is abominable, 
 or at best but a human institution. 
 
 Hence the absurdity of the modern "branch theory" of 
 Christianity, by which men would seek to unite in one Church 
 the most jarring doctrines. A religious atmosphere composed 
 of such discordant elements would forebode little of the peace 
 of Christ. And where, I ask, is the common trunk to which 
 these different branches profess to adhere, in which they are 
 united, and from which they derive nutriment ? Are they in 
 communion with any ancient Church of which they can claim 
 to be branches ? The only Church that comes down to us 
 venerable in her antiquity is the Catholic Church, and she 
 casts them from her bosom. Once, indeed, they did belong 
 to that aged trunk, but they were long since lopped off, and 
 left to wither and decay. 
 
 Perhaps they will tell us Christ Himself is this common 
 trunk. But, then, I ask with the Apostle, " Is Christ divided ?" 
 It would be blasphemy to say that Christ is the trunk that 
 gives out the vital sap to so many heterogeneous branches. 
 
 No ; as God is one so is his Church one : " ONE LORD, 
 ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM, ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL."
 
 402 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. V 
 
 (Ephes. iv. 5, t>.) The Saviour prays for his followers to his 
 Heavenly Father, that " THEY MAY BE ONE, as thou, Father, 
 art in me, and I in Thee." (John, xvii. 20, 21.) "Other 
 sheep," He says, " I have, which are not of this fold ; them 
 also 1 must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there 
 shall be ONE FOLD AND ONE SHEPHERD." (John x. 16.) The 
 apostle, too, extols this unity of the Church "We, being 
 many, ARE ONE BODY IN CHRIST." He reckons " dissensions 
 and sects" with murder and drunkenness, and warns us that 
 those who do such thinks shall not enter the Kingdom of 
 God. (Gal. v. 20, 21.) Does he not require that the man 
 who is a heretic after the first and second admonition be 
 avoided? (Tit. iii. 10.) 
 
 In the Catholic Church you have this unity. She is truly 
 one body under one head ; and never, perhaps, was this more 
 clearly illustrated in practice than at the present moment. 
 As the Centenary of St. Peter last year showed to the world 
 the Catholic Church is one fold, governed by one Shepherd, 
 so will the General Council show it this year. In her you will 
 find unity of faith and government everywhere; outside of her 
 you will find them nowhere. 
 
 Christ's Church, again, must be Catholic or Universal. 
 This we learn from the words of the Saviour to the Apostles 
 when He gave them their mission. They were to teach ALL 
 NATIONS, to teach them ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER HE HAD 
 COMMANDED, and to continue teaching ALL DAYS EVEN TO 
 THE CONSUMMATION OF THE WORLD. Thus there is no 
 limit set to place, time, or doctrine. Christ's Church was to 
 embrace the entire world, to teach all truth, and to endure 
 for all ages. She was, therefore, to be marked with a 
 threefold Catholicity as one of her distinguishing character- 
 istics. 
 
 Now I simply state a historical fact when I say not one of 
 the denominations separated from us can lay claim to this 
 note of the Church in any one of its phases. Yet how 
 strange ! They do not blush to call themselves Catholics, to 
 speak of themselves as "integral portions" of the "great 
 Catholic Church." Reverend and dearly-beloved brethren, 
 this name has distinguished our Church from the earliest 
 ages of Christianity, and it shall be hers, and hers only, to 
 the last days of this world's endurance. We, to-day, at the 
 southern extremity of Africa, know that we are one in faith 
 and worship with the entire Catholic \vorld ; one with the 
 Catholic Church of each bygone age back to the Apostles. 
 Ours is the Church of all times and of all nations. You may 
 find her in every age and in every clime. Her vigour has but
 
 TWELVE YEARS TN SOUTH AFRICA. 40$ 
 
 increased with her years; and she stands to-day more powerful 
 in her union than, perhaps, she ever was before. She can, 
 then, boast of Unity and Catholicity, and thus lay claim to- 
 be the true Church of Christ. 
 
 Every one must see that Christ's Church ought to be Holy. 
 She is the Spouse of Jesus, the Author of sanctity; and is 
 described for us by St. Paul thus, "A glorious Church, 
 not having spot or wrinkle, .... holy, and without blemish" 
 (Ephes. v. 27.) She is holy in her Founder, Jesus Christ ; 
 in the Holy Ghost, that indwelling spirit sent by her Divine 
 Framer to remain with her for ever ; in her doctrines, all of 
 which breathe the purest morality ; in her Sacraments, the 
 channels of Divine Grace ; and in many, at least, of her 
 members. 
 
 The sanctity of the Church does not imply that all her 
 members are holy ; but that they all would be holy if they made 
 a proper use of the means to become holy with which she furnishes 
 them. 
 
 There must be cockle as well as wheat in the field of the 
 Church. (Matt, xiii.) There was a Judas amongst the Apostles; 
 and amongst the seven Deacons a Nicholas. Alas ! bad Catho- 
 lics are to be found in the Church ; but she is not responsible 
 for their scandals. , She weeps over them, and constantly 
 warns them of their ingratitude, malice, and future chastise- 
 ment. Her Divine Founder did not sanctify all that called 
 themselves his disciples (John, vi. 67), though He placed 
 within the reach of all the means of sanctification. She simply 
 continues his work. 
 
 We are frequently taunted with the irreligion of the Italians 
 and of the Spaniards. The cause of the wickedness of those 
 who are bad (and their number is generally grossly exagge- 
 rated) is not to be found in the doctrine they profess, but in the 
 fact that these men have preferred to trust themselves to the guid- 
 ance of PRIVATE JUDGMENT rather than hear the voice of the 
 Church. Those who speak thus tauntingly should also recol- 
 lect that hard things might be said of non-Catholic countries, 
 too, were we disposed to seek parallels. To such writers and 
 talkers I would say, in the words of St. Augustine, " Now I 
 earnestly admonish you to give over abusing the Catholic 
 Church, and to cease villifying her for the bad morals of men 
 whom she herself condemns, and whom she every day labours 
 to correct as bad children. But why are you, in the mean- 
 time, filled with rage and blinded with party spirit ? Why 
 are you still implicated in the obstinate defence of so great 
 an error ? Seek/rutis in the field (of the Church) and wheat 
 on the floor; these will readily appear, and will present
 
 404 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 themselves spontaneously to those who seek them." (De 
 Moril, Ecc. c. c. 34, 35.) 
 
 And now with regard to Apostolicity. The True Church 
 of to-day, wherever she is, ought certainly to be the lineal 
 descendant of that established by our Divine Lord. Hence 
 the Doctrine, the Orders, the Mission, the Sacraments con- 
 fided to the latter ought to be found in the former. Any 
 Church, therefore, now claiming to be Apostolic, must be 
 able to trace, in history, her existence back to the days of 
 the Apostles. 
 
 The Fathers of the first centuries not unfrequently called 
 on the heretics of their day either to show their Apostolicity 
 or to cease to regard themselves as members of Christ's 
 Church. Tertullian, challenging the heretics of the second 
 century, writes, "Let them show the origin of their Churches; 
 let them evolve the order of their Bishops in regular succes- 
 sion from the beginning, so that the first Bishop may either 
 have one of the Apostles or one of the Apostolic men who 
 persevered with the Apostles for his predecessor." (Prse- 
 scrip, c. 32.) 
 
 St. Ireneus of Lyons, who also belongs to the second cen- 
 tury, urges this same argument. " We can count up," he 
 says, " those who were appointed Bishops in the Churches 
 by the Apostles and their successors down to us. But as it 
 would be tedious to enumerate the succession of Bishops in 
 the different Churches, we refer you to the tradition of that 
 greatest, most ancient and universally-known Church, founded 
 at Rome by St. Peter and St. Paul, and which has been pre- 
 served there through the succession of its Bishops down to 
 the present time." (Advers. Haer. 1. iii. c. 3.) 
 
 The illustrious St. Augustine declares that, among the 
 motives that kept him a member of the Church, one was 
 " the succession of prelates from St. Peter, to whom the Lord 
 committed the care of his sheep, down to the present Bishop." 
 (Contra Epist. Fundam.) 
 
 All history proclaims that the Catholic Church is from the 
 days of the Apostles. On all the great events of the last 
 eighteen hundred years she has left her impress so indelibly 
 that no one can question, not only her existence, but her 
 vitality and great influence. In the See of Peter, or, as it is 
 also called, the Apostolic See, we have an unbroken line of 
 succession from Peter himself down to Pius IX. whom may 
 God long preserve. Protestants do not attempt to deny this. 
 Lord Macaulay has said, "The proudest royal houses are but 
 of yesterday when compared with the line of Roman Pontiffs. 
 This line we trace back in an unbroken series from the Pope
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 405 
 
 -who crowned Napoleon in the nineteenth century to the Pope 
 -who crowned Pepin in the eighth ; and far beyond the time 
 of Pepin the august dynasty extends, until its origin is lost in 
 the twilight of fable. The republic of Venice came next in 
 antiquity. But the republic of Venice was modern when 
 compared with the Papacy ; and the republic of Venice is 
 gone, and the Papacy remains. The Papacy remains, not in 
 decay nor a mere antique, but full of life and youthful vigour. 
 'The Catholic Church is still sending forth, to the farthest 
 ends of the world, missionaries as zealous as those who landed 
 in Kent with Augustine; and is still confronting hostile kings 
 with the same spirit with which she confronted Attila. The 
 ^number of her children is greater than in any former age. 
 Her acquisitions in the New World have more than compen- 
 sated her for what she has lost in the Old." (Review of 
 " Ranke's History of the Popes.") 
 
 We are told, reverend and dearly-beloved brethren, that 
 the Catholic Church has apostatized. Apostatized from 
 what ? Apostatized when ? Apostatized through whose in- 
 strumentality? Some may vaguely say she apostatized from 
 "the faith of the Church of the first centuries. We must con- 
 'dude when she ceased to preach the faith of Christ she ceased 
 to be his Church. What Church, then, took her place till the 
 sixteenth century? Did no True Church exist for more than 
 a thousand years ? Were men deprived of the means of sal- 
 vation for this long period ? Christ promised always to re- 
 main with his Church that the Holy Ghost would abide iit 
 her for ever. Has He, then, violated his promises ? Have 
 the gates of hell prevailed against her though He declared to 
 the Apostles it never should be so ? 
 
 Reverend and dear brethren, the Church to which we have 
 the ineffable happiness to belong is one fold under one 
 Shepherd, whose voice all his sheep and lambs know and 
 obey. She is Catholic truly Catholic, in time, in place, and 
 in doctrine living, and teaching, and decreeing, and bless- 
 ing, and anathematizing as occasion required, in every 
 bygone age, and in every populated region. Holy, too, she 
 is ; as well when she instructs the mind in the soundest prin- 
 ciples of the purest morality as when she infuses into the 
 heart the richest treasures of grace from which alone real 
 sanctity can spring. She is Apostolic. She traces her exist- 
 ence back to the days of the Apostles ; she shows you the 
 impress of her authority or influence on each ascending age ; 
 she reckons amongst her children the first intellects of every 
 time and country. Her mission to teach, that she claims to 
 iiave received from the God-man, she has ever faithfully,
 
 406 TWELVE YEARS TN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 nobly, effectively fulfilled ; and she " is still sending forth, to 
 the farthest ends of the world, missionaries as zealous as 
 those who landed in Kent with Augustine ; and is still con- 
 fronting hostile kings with the same spirit with which she 
 confronted Attila." Are not all these characteristics of the 
 True Church so deeply traced on the face of this Church to 
 which we belong, that it is impossible for the inquiring mind^ 
 not to recognise her as the Church of Christ ? Thanks to 
 the God of Mercy who has brought us into her fold ! 
 
 THE COUNCIL. 
 
 A General Council is the Catholic Church assembled, in 
 her Chief Pastors, to do more effectively what, dispersed over 
 the world, she does every day in instructing every creature in 
 the dogmatic and moral truths of Revelation. Such a Coun- 
 cil, inasmuch as it represents the whole Church, possesses 
 doctrinal infallibility and supreme authority. These attri- 
 butes constitute part of the dowry, so to speak, that Christ gave 
 His Church that is, the body of Pastors united to its head. 
 
 General Councils have always been presided over by the 
 Popes, either in person or by their representatives. The 
 Fathers of the Council of Chalcedon wrote thus to Pope 
 St. Leo : "Most Holy Father, in the midst of the Bishops, 
 judges in matters of faith, you were presiding, as head over 
 the members, in the person of those who represented you." 
 (Ep. ad Leon. Cone. coll. R. t. ix., p. 204.) 
 
 A learned writer truly says : "A Council is not general, nor 
 does it represent the Universal Church, if it be apart from its 
 head, or act without him, or without subordination to him ; 
 for then it would be a headless body. Therefore, it is by the 
 influx of the head into the body that the Council acts, and by 
 the assistance of the Holy Ghost it acts infallibly, so as to 
 bind all the faithful. Hence, St. Leo the Great says of the 
 Decree of the Council of Chalcedon against Eutyches, 'What 
 things the Lord had defined before by our Ministry, He con- 
 firmed by the irreversible assent of the whole Episcopate, that 
 He might show that it (the dogma) truly proceeded from 
 Himself; that what had been first confirmed by the first See 
 of all, the judgment of the whole Christian world received ; 
 that in this also the members should be in accordance with 
 the head.' Thus it is that, if the degrees of faith made in 
 Councils are infallible, so as to oblige the faithful to belief,, 
 they should know that it comes principally from the head,, 
 infallibly attesting that the Councils have been directed by 
 the Holy Spirit." (Brancatus de Lauraea, De Decretis EC.)
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 407 
 
 Pope Agatho exhorts the Fathers of the third Council of 
 Constantinople to declare the true faith, "which was founded 
 upon the firm rock, that is, of this Church of Blessed Peter, 
 Prince of the Apostles, which, by his favour and protection, 
 remains pure from all error." To the letter of Agatho the 
 Fathers replied : " Receiving the suggestions directed .... 
 by the most holy and blessed Agatho, Pope of the ancient 
 Rome, and another suggestion made by the Council, subject to 
 him, and following closely the things contained in it, we so 
 judge, profess, and believe." (Orsi De Rom. Pont. Auctor. 
 torn, i, P. i. p. 410 412.) 
 
 From the days of the Apostles Councils have been con- 
 sidered the most effective means of eliminating error, estab- 
 lishing discipline, and setting controversies about faith or 
 morals to rest. Among the first Christians there arose a dis- 
 pute regarding the obligation of the Jewish law on Gentile 
 converts. The Apostles and Elders, or other Chief Pastors, 
 assembled at Jerusalem to examine this matter. (Acts, xv.) 
 There it was definitely settled that Gentile converts were not 
 bound to observe the law of Moses. The decision of the 
 Council was prefaced with these words: "It hath seemed 
 good to the Holy Ghost and to us." Thus ended the first 
 controversy that arose in the Church. 
 
 From the time of this first and most venerable assembly of 
 the heads of the Catholic Church down to our day, Councils 
 have been held, from time to time, with unspeakable advan- 
 tage to the interests of truth. " For although," as a learned 
 writer remarks, " the hierarchy established by Christ is fully 
 competent, through its ordinary action and general influence 
 and governing power, to settle all controversies, and to stay 
 and suppress all abuses which might arise, whether through 
 human frailty or the malice of wicked men lying in wait tc 
 deceive ; still the authoritative decision of the Chief Pastors- 
 assembled in Council was endued with greater weight, espe- 
 cially in the view of the refractory and rebellious ; and thus 
 they were eminently useful in composing strife, stilling the 
 storm of passion, and promoting that divine unity and bro- 
 therly love which our Blessed Lord, with his last earnest 
 prayer to his Father, so emphatically and so eloquently recom- 
 mended. (John, xiii.) For the true and unimpassioned child 
 of the Church, the voice of Peter's successor, sure to be re- 
 echoed by that of all the successors of Peter's associated 
 Apostles the Bishops of the Church was all-sufficient to 
 command undoubting faith, and to ensure perfect obedience ; 
 but for the imperfect, the wavering and the doubting, who 
 were disposed to imitate Thomas in his scepticism rather
 
 408 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 lhan in his faith in his waywardness before his conversion, 
 rather than in his complete submission and child-like obedi- 
 ence after Christ had won his heart the authority of Coun- 
 cils had a powerful and controlling influence. What was 
 decided by many after mutual counsel was deemed con- 
 clusive ?" 
 
 Let no one imagine General Councils can add to the faith 
 once revealed by God. Their office consists in infallibly 
 -declaring what that faith is. As the authorized interpreters 
 of God's Word they examine most searchingly Scripture and 
 Tradition ; and then, aided by the Holy Ghost, whose assist- 
 ance, at the summoning of Councils and during their delibe- 
 rations, is earnestly invoked, they pronounce and define what 
 has been and what is the faith of the Church. 
 
 Up to the present time there have been held eighteen 
 General Councils. For the first three centuries of the Chris- 
 tian Era, owing to the violent persecutions under which the 
 Church writhed, no general union of Bishops was possible. 
 No sooner, however, did Constantine, by conquering Max- 
 entius, secure the triumph of Christianity over Paganism, 
 than the Pastors of the Church turned their thoughts on such 
 a union. 
 
 At the bidding of Pope Sylvester, three hundred and eighteen 
 oishops assembled at Nice, in Bythinia, in the year 325. 
 There the first General Council was held. In that Council, 
 presided over by the Pope's legates, the blasphemy of Arius, 
 who denied the divinity of Christ, was unanimously con- 
 demned. The second was held at Constantinople, in 381, 
 against Macedonius, who attacked the divinity of the Holy 
 <jhost. The third at Ephesus, in 431, against Nestorius, who 
 erred concerning the Incarnation, and refused to give the 
 Blessed Virgin the title of Mother of God. The fourth at 
 Chalcedon, in 451, against Eutyches, who embraced an error 
 contrary to that of Nestorius. The fifth at Constantinople, 
 in 553> on tne three famous chapters that prolonged the 
 errors of Nestorius on the Incarnation. The sixth at Con- 
 stantinople, in 680, against the Monothelites, who prolonged 
 the errors of Eutyches by denying that Christ had a human 
 will. The seventh at Nice, in 787, against the Iconoclasts, 
 or breakers of images. The eighth at Constantinople, in 869, 
 against Photius, the author of the Greek schism. The ninth 
 in the Church of St. John Lateran, at Rome, in 1 123, for the 
 establishing of peace between the Priesthood and the Empire 
 after the long contests about Investitures, and for the Cru- 
 sades. The tenth, also in the Lateran Church, in 1139, for 
 ihe reunion of the Greeks, and against the errors of the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 409 
 
 Albigenses. The eleventh in the Lateran, at Rome, in 1179, 
 for matters of discipline, and against the heresies of the time, 
 the Vaudois, &c. The twelfth in the Lateran, in 1215, still 
 .against the same heresies. The thirteenth at Lyons, in 1245, 
 for the Crusades, and the strife with the Emperor Frederick. 
 The fourteenth at Lyons, in 1274, for the Crusades, and the 
 reunion of the Greeks. The fifteenth at Vienna, in 1311, for 
 the Crusades, and diverse questions of discipline, and for the 
 affairs of the Knights Templars. The sixteenth at Florence, 
 in 1439, for the reunion of the Greeks. The seventeenth in 
 the Lateran, at Rome, in 1511, against the so-called Council 
 of Pisa; and the eighteenth at Trent, in 1545, against Protes- 
 tantism. 
 
 With regard to the object of the coming Council of the 
 Vatican, His Holiness, in the Apostolic letter addressed to 
 " his Venerable Brethren, all the bishops of the Catholic 
 world, whom their sacred character calls to, share his solici- 
 tude," says : 
 
 " This (Ecumenical Council, then, will have to examine 
 with the greatest care, and to determine what it is best to do, 
 in these times so difficult, for the greater glory of God, for 
 the integrity of the Faith, for the beauty of Divine Worship, 
 for the eternal salvation of men, for the discipline of the 
 clergy, regular and secular, for their salutary and solid in- 
 struction, for the observance of the ecclesiastical laws, for 
 the reformation of morals, for the Christian education of youth, 
 for general peace and universal concord. 
 
 " It will also be necessary to work with all our might, God 
 aiding us, to remove every evil from the Church and from 
 society ; to lead back into the right path of truth, justice, and 
 salvation, those unhappy ones who have wandered ; to repress 
 vice, and to repulse error, in order that our august religion 
 and its salutary doctrines may acquire vigour throughout the 
 whole world; that it may be propagated more and more; that 
 it may recover its empire, and that thus piety, honesty, jus- 
 tice, charity, and all the Christian virtues may thrive and 
 flourish for the greater welfare of human society." 
 
 From this you may perceive the coming Council has in 
 view two great objects the good of the Church and the well- 
 being of society. 
 
 The necessity of some great effort to oppose the alarming 
 evils of our time must appear evident to every thinking mind. 
 At present the best interests of society are imperilled, and 
 some extraordinary action is called for to set things to rights. 
 For such action we look to the future Council. Under the 
 name of the imperilled interests of society, which the Church
 
 410 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. I 
 
 is called on to guard, I am not to be understood to speak oF 
 international complications, for with these the Council will 
 have nothing to do. I am not to be understood to speak of 
 the din of battle with which Europe so lately resounded of 
 that the Council will say nothing. I am not to be under- 
 stood to allude to nations arming for gigantic struggles the 
 Council will have nothing to say of nationalities, balance of 
 power, or territorial boundaries. Not that the Church is in- 
 different to peace or war far from it. She daily sends up 
 her fervent prayers to the Throne of Mercy for peace and 
 good-will among all states and people. But it is that she 
 deems it her special province to look after the eternal interests 
 of man. Yet to advance these she must act on society. 
 Where it is vicious she must labour to repress vice. Where 
 it tends to error she must arrest its onward course. Where 
 it is irreligious she must sanctify it ; and for this she must 
 imbue men's minds from their youth with sane principles, on 
 which, in after-life, they may erect the structure of solid piety. 
 For all these diseases society just now stand in need of a 
 physician. Lamentably has she erred from truth and virtue, 
 and to recall her the Church will struggle, and only she has 
 any chance of struggling with success. 
 
 The Fathers of the Vatican Council, then, fixing their eyes 
 on Heaven, will occupy themselves with the wants of souls 
 destined for that blessed region. To bring their undertaking 
 to a happy issue, these sentinels on the watch-towers of Israel 
 will need circumspection, prudence, knowledge, zeal, heavenly 
 illumination. The Catholic Church is assailed with virulence.. 
 The very foundations of a Divine Revelation are attacked. 
 Yea, natural truths even, upon which the entire structure of 
 morality rests, are, to our shame, questioned and discussed. 
 We witness in our day the resurrection of Materialism, Pan- 
 theism, Scepticism, and Atheism. In every country irreligion 
 is bursting forth. To stem this torrent of impiety, as far as 
 God will deem it opportune, the Council of the Vatican will 
 be held. 
 
 Deep interests are, therefore, wound up with the coming 
 Council. What influence will it exercise on the minds of 
 men ? On how many darkened souls will its teaching pour 
 the light of truth ? How many strayed sheep will it bring- 
 back to the rich pastures of the Church ? How will the 
 powerful ones of this world receive its decrees ? What engines 
 -will the devil set in motion to frustrate its designs ? And how 
 far will its machinations be successful ? 
 
 No wonder that our Holy Father, deeply impressed with 
 the difficulties and importance of the work before him, has-
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 411 
 
 liad recourse to prayer the Christian's strength and shield. 
 Therefore has he ordered the priests of the Catholic world to 
 .add in the Mass each day, until the Council shall have closed 
 its deliberations, a special prayer to the Holy Ghost that that 
 Divine Spirit may enlighten and direct the bishops in their 
 decisions. 
 
 Let our lay brethren, too, pray that the grand objects of 
 this Council may be fully achieved. Let all unite in asking 
 God to bless its labours ; that, through its instrumentality, 
 darkness may be dispelled, errors eliminated, religion flourish 
 in society, and peace, and happiness, and brotherly love founded 
 on the basis of truth, be everywhere diffused. 
 
 And, while rejoicing that you are members of the Catholic 
 Church, in gratitude to Him who drew you into her fold, con- 
 ceive a great charity for those who are not yet of her sheep. 
 Of your charity pray for them. Pray for our own forgotten 
 Africa, that God may hasten the fair day of her conversion. 
 Pray for those who have no principle of authority to guide 
 them, and who, consequently, are tossed about by every wind 
 of doctrine. Pray for those whom the clouds of doubt and 
 unbelief still envelop, that they may come to recognise the 
 truth, to subject proud human reason to the sure guidance of 
 the Catholic Church, and confess and believe in Him who, 
 more than eighteen hundred years ago, proved his Divine 
 mission by incontestable miracles and the manifest ful- 
 filment of the prophecies. In our midst, though not be- 
 longing to us, there are very many whom we cannot but 
 respect many who are the innocent victims of a culpable 
 rebellion against the Church of God. As we admire their 
 zeal for their fellow-man, would that we could also admire 
 the integrity of their faith and the simplicity of their obedience. 
 O God, illumine the minds of those who are in error, that 
 they may perceive the truth. Bring back to the sweet pastures 
 of thy Church those who are strangers to her vivifying Sacra- 
 ments. By the power of thy grace unite all in that one faith 
 without which it is impossible to please Thee. Heal the di&- 
 sensions of Christendom, that all may be one fold under one 
 .Shepherd. 
 
 THE JUBILEE. 
 
 Saint James says, " But if any of you want wisdom, let him 
 ask of God, who giveth to all men abundantly, and upbraideth. 
 not, and it shall be given him." (James i. 5.) 
 
 His Holiness, anxious thatwisdom should descend in its ple- 
 nitude on the Fathers of the Vatican Council, has determined
 
 412 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 to leave nothing undone to induce the Catholic world to offer 
 a holy violence to Heaven for the obtaining of this wisdom. 
 Therefore does he offer to all the faithful the signal advan- 
 tages of a Plenary Indulgence in the form of a Jubilee ; thus : 
 throwing open to the children of the Church those sacred' 
 treasures of which, as Peter's successor, he is the authorised 
 dispenser. 
 
 By an Indulgence, we mean a relaxation or remission of 
 the debt of temporal punishment that often remains due to 
 the Divine Justice for sin, after the sin itself has been effaced, 
 and the eternal punishment due to it remitted. There are 
 few, if any, doctrines of our Holy Church so much misrepre- 
 sented as this of Indulgences. I shall, therefore, explain it 
 to you rather fully. I have said an Indulgence is a remission 
 of the temporal punishment due to sin. It does not remit the 
 eternal punishment of sin. Again it is a remission of the 
 temporal punishment of sin. It does not remit the guilt of 
 sin. It is not a pardon of any sin great or small ; it is wholly 
 concerned with the punishment to which we become liable by 
 sin ; and of the punishments of sin it regards those only that 
 are temporal. Much less is it a licence to commit sin. This 
 would be simply absurd ; nor could God Himself give such a 
 permission. 
 
 When sin is remitted as to its guilt and the eternal punish- 
 ment due to that guilt, there may, and very often does, still 
 remain a temporal punishment to be undergone for it. We 
 find this doctrine preached to David by the prophet Nathan. 
 " The Lord hath taken away thy sin," says the prophet ; and 
 then he adds, " Nevertheless the child that is born unto thee 
 shall die." (2 Kings, xii. 13, 14.) And when David was 
 touched with compunction for his vanity in numbering his 
 people, the Lord pardoned him; but, while doing so, imposed' 
 on him the necessity of undergoing one of three temporal 
 chastisements, war, famine, or pestilence. (2 Kings xxiv.) 
 There is often due to sin, then, a temporal as well as an eter- 
 nal punishment. And our doctrine of Indulgences simply 
 teaches that, when the necessary conditions are complied 
 with, the temporal punishment is removed, wholly or partially, 
 according to the species of Indulgence gained. 
 
 We are sometimes told the Catholic Church sells, or at 
 least once sold, Indulgences. The Catholic Church never 
 sold Indulgences, never sanctioned their sale, nor the sale of 
 anything that is sacred. Indulgences may have been abused, 
 not by the Church, but by individuals. What has not been 
 abused ? The God of Sanctity was sold for thirty pieces of 
 silver.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 413- 
 
 There are two species of Indulgences a plenary Indul- 
 gence, which, if gained, would free us from the entire debt of 
 temporal punishment due to our past sins, and a partial In- 
 dulgence, which remits a part only of this punishment. By 
 a partial Indulgence is remitted such a portion of this debt 
 of temporal punishment as would be remitted had we under- 
 gone, for that period for which the partial Indulgence is 
 granted, the severe penitential works imposed by the primi- 
 tive Church. 
 
 That Christ left to his Church the power to grant Indul- 
 gences there can be no doubt. To Peter He said, " I will' 
 give to thee the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, and what- 
 soever thou shalt bind upon earth it shall be bound in Heaven,, 
 and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth it shall be loosed 
 also in Heaven." (Matt. xvi. 19.) These words Christ ad- 
 dressed to Peter, and in him to each one of his successors. 
 By these words the Saviour gave to Peter power to remove 
 every obstacle that can prevent souls from entering Heaven. 
 As their Shepherd it is his duty to lead them thither. And 
 in these words he gets power to remove the obstacles that 
 will present themselves to him, that is, simply power to dis- 
 charge efficiently his duty. The obstacles on our way to 
 Heaven are two. There are two things that keep souls from 
 Heaven the guilt of sin, and the debt of temporal punish- 
 ment incurred by sin. We therefore justly conclude that our 
 Lord referred to these two obstacles to our entering Heaven 
 when He said, "Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth it shall 
 be loosed in Heaven." Hence Peter's successor, too, who is 
 invested with the same powers as Peter was invested with,. 
 can not only remove the guilt of sin when we are properly 
 disposed, but also free us from the debt of temporal punish- 
 ment when we comply with the necessary conditions in 
 other words, can grant indulgences. 
 
 We find, moreover, our Lord gave this same power to all 
 the Apostles. In the eighteenth chapter of St. Matthew, He 
 says to them, "Whatsoever ye shall bind upon earth shall be 
 bound also in Heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose upon 
 earth shall be loosed also in Heaven." On Peter's successor 
 He conferred this two-fold power with regard to all the faith- 
 ful ; on the bishops the successors of the apostles He con- 
 ferred it with regard to their subjects, to be exercised by them 
 according to the regulations of the Church. 
 
 To gain an Indulgence the fulfilment of the prescribed con- 
 ditions is absolutely necessary. To determine these conditions 
 belongs to Him who grants the Indulgences. A condition 
 always imposed for the- gaining of an Indulgence is the worthy
 
 414 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 V 
 
 reception of the sacrament of Penance. We cannot gain an 
 Indulgence unless we are in the state of grace that is, free 
 from the guilt of mortal sin. For the temporal punishment 
 of sin is not remitted whilst the eternal remains due. Besides 
 the worthy reception of the sacrament of Penance, other con- 
 ditions are usually prescribed ; such as to approach the Holy 
 Communion, to perform some alms-deeds, to pray for the 
 necessities of the Church, and such like. 
 
 To gain the full effect of a Plenary Indulgence it is neces- 
 sary to be perfectly repentant, and to have a sincere detes- 
 tation of all our sins, even of the least venial sin. For the 
 punishment due to sin will not be forgiven as long as the 
 guilt remains, and this latter remains until effaced by repent- 
 ance. 
 
 From what I have said, the most prejudiced ought to ac- 
 knowledge that the doctrine of Indulgences is intelligible and 
 consolatory ; while Catholics, of course, will confess that it 
 is, moreover, most salutary, highly conducive to our eternal 
 welfare, and speaks the loving consideration of Him who has 
 made such easy and efficient provisions for man's everlasting 
 happiness. 
 
 And now, reverend and dear brethren, I would say one 
 word on the concern we ought to have to gain Indulgences. 
 Our very best acts are not without their imperfections ; our 
 very purest intentions need to be purified still more. There 
 is standing against us all, no doubt, a large debt of temporal 
 punishment. This consideration should induce us to lose no 
 opportunity of gaining the Indulgences offered us by our 
 thoughtful mother, the Church. 
 
 Our Holy Father has addressed to all the faithful an Apos- 
 tolic Letter, in which he grants to the Catholic world a Ple- 
 nary Indulgence in the form of a Jubilee. The Pope sometimes 
 grants to all the faithful, on condition of their performing 
 certain works of piety, a solemn Plenary Indulgence, giving 
 at the same time to confessors special faculties to absolve 
 from reserved cases and censures, and to commute certain 
 vows. This is a Jubilee. When the Head of the Church 
 grants such an Indulgence, he makes an offering to God out 
 of the fruits of the passion and death of Christ, as compen- 
 sation to the Divine Justice. 
 
 When the Father of the faithful dispenses the treasures of 
 the Church, he looks with equally tender concern on all his 
 children scattered, as they are, over the earth. In his solici- 
 tude he remembers them all. It is but just that we should 
 render love for love ; but filial that we should wish to console 
 the heart of our aged, venerable, loving parent. His words,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFKICA. 415 
 
 no doubt, will fall on your hearts with impressiveness, and will 
 be treasured by you with respect and love. And forget not 
 that the deepest respect you can show him is the faithful ob- 
 servance of what he says. 
 
 And now, reverend and dear brethren, before I conclude, 
 let me assure you that, although absent from you for some 
 time in body, in spirit I shall ever be with you. My thoughts 
 shall be on you. My solicitude for your interests shall not 
 diminish ; for you are my crown and my joy. For you I have 
 left all things ; for you I wish to live ; for you I am ready to 
 die. Your cheerful obedience, your kindly feelings, your 
 readiness on every occasion to co-operate with me, demand 
 the expression of my gratitude. It is unnecessary for me to 
 assure you that wherever I shall be I shall always remember 
 you in my prayers, and frequently offer for you to the Eternal 
 Father, the Unspotted Victim in the Holy Sacrifice of the 
 Mass. 
 
 You, my dear priests my fellow-labourers in the Lord's 
 vineyard, whose virtues have been a light to my feet you 
 will not forget me at the altar of God. And you, my faithful 
 children of the laity, will continue to fill up the measure of 
 my earthly happiness by your constant attention to your re- 
 ligious duties, by your zeal for the propagation of our holy 
 faith, and by your strict fidelity in your respective avocations. 
 Thus will you literally fulfil the words of our Blessed Lord, 
 rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God 
 the things that are God's. (Matt. xxii. 21.) And may " the 
 peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your 
 hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." 
 
 I remain, reverend and dear brethren, 
 
 Your devoted servant in Christ, 
 
 f THOMAS, 
 Bishop and Vicar-Apostolic. 
 
 ST. MARY'S, CAPE TOWN, 
 
 Feast of the B. V. Mary of Mount Carmel, 1869.
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 ' 
 
 . 
 

 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 " MEETING OF ROMAN CATHOLICS DEPARTURE OF RIGHT 
 REV. DR. GTRIMLEY. 
 
 (From the South African Advertiser and Mail, 
 19th August, 1869.) 
 
 " LAST evening the Roman Catholic community of this 
 city met in the splendid hall of their schools in St. John's- 
 street, for the purpose of presenting an address and purse 
 to the Right Rev. Dr. Grrimley on his departure for 
 Rome, to attend the (Ecumenical Council. Some time 
 before the meeting began the room was filled in every 
 part. Before his lordship entered the hall, Mr. Justice 
 Fitzpatrick took the chair, and Mr. Redmond Barry pro- 
 posed and Mr. E. Clear seconded the adoption of the 
 address, to be found below. A few minutes after seven 
 o'clock, Dr. Grimley, accompanied by his clergy, entered 
 the room, and both on his appearance and on ascending 
 the platform, was received with the most enthusiastic 
 applause. On the bishop taking his seat, and the applause 
 ceasing, Mr. Justice Fitzpatrick rose, and said : 
 
 " ' MY LORD, At the request of your flock, I have taken 
 upon myself the pleasurable task of presenting you with 
 an address on their behalf. It would be a cold heart, 
 indeed, that did not feel honoured in being selected for 
 the medium of conveying their thoughts of reverence and 
 their thoughts of love (loud applause). I feel this honour, 
 and it gives me pride and pleasure (loud applause], though 
 I have undertaken to perform it with a sense of my own
 
 418 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 inadequacy. Your lordship will see that my feelings are 
 shared by those here this evening to testify their respect, 
 their love, their gratitude to your lordship (loud applause}. 
 To those who alleviate distress, to those who mitigate suf- 
 fering, to those who soothe fellow- creatures in pain, we 
 owe a deep sense of gratitude. All over the world, and 
 in no place, I believe, more than in the Cape Colony, there 
 are noble characters whose lives are spent in deeds of 
 charity (applause) ; but there are other characters higher 
 still who minister to wants beyond those of the body 
 choice spirits bringing the drink of life to thirsty souls 
 (loud and continued applause). No one can say that you, 
 my lord, have not supplied that drink in the moral educa- 
 tion of your people. [The speaker was here interrupted for 
 a few minutes by the repeated bursts of applause from the 
 meeting.'] To prove this, my lord, we need only look at 
 the beautiful hall in which we meet a hall in which 
 the youth of our community receive the best education 
 (applause}. To appreciate the great work done it is neces- 
 sary to go back to the time, ladies and gentleman, when 
 your benefactor came. From inquiries I have made, I 
 was reminded of the man who had an article of furniture 
 which served a double purpose, being a table by day and 
 a bed by night (laughter). So in the seminary in which 
 young Catholics were taught those lessons by which they 
 were to make their way in the world, when his lordship 
 arrived there was an academy at one end and a stable at 
 the other. This is a simple fact, without any exaggera- 
 tion. Their school-room was in a stable. But now they 
 had the magnificent hall in which they met. Speaking of 
 the schools, I am bound to mention those holy ladies, the 
 nuns (applause), and those pious and learned brothers, 
 whose work in education they recently had an opportunity
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 419 
 
 of judging (applause). This success was great, great at 
 any time and under any circumstances, but especially 
 great when we consider the poor resources of the people 
 (applause). But, my lord, there are greater things than 
 wealth. Supported by a loving people, your indomitable 
 perseverance, your great zeal, have done these x things 
 with the assistance of Grod' (loud and continued applause). 
 Mr. Justice Fitzpatrick then went on to say that Dr. 
 Grimley and his clergy in the West, and Dr. Moran and 
 his clergy in the East, were respected by members of every 
 communion. He read an extract from Dr. Dale's pamphlet 
 on Ecclesiastical Topics, showing the high state of the 
 Roman Catholic schools, and spoke of that gentleman, 
 though he had not the pleasure of his personal acquaint- 
 ance, as a scholar, a Christian, and a candid gentleman, 
 who without bigotry bore testimony to what he knew, 
 though he did not believe the creed of Catholicism. The 
 learned judge then presented a purse containing 351 to 
 the bishop, stating that it was a small mark from his flock 
 of the esteem in which they held his lordship. Mr. Jus- 
 tice Fitzpatrick concluded a long and most eloquent speech, 
 which pressure on our space prevents giving in full, by 
 
 reading the following address : 
 
 " ' CAPE TOWN, CAPE OP GOOD HOPE, 
 18th August, 1869. 
 
 " ' MY LORD, You are about to leave us for a time, in 
 order to take part in the Council summoned from every 
 quarter of the globe by the Holy Father, the Head of the 
 Church, to take measures for her continued guidance and 
 government, so as to secure in the future, as in the past, 
 the fulfilment of the promise which she has received, and 
 the accomplishment of the mission with which she has 
 been entrusted.
 
 420 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 " ' United as we are in heart and soul with the See of 
 St. Peter, the centre of Catholic unity, we rejoice that in 
 that great Council of the Church we shall have a repre- 
 sentative in your lordship. And we should have wished, 
 if possible, now on the eve of your temporary separation 
 from us, to convey to you some adequate expression of our 
 feelings towards your lordship, as well of personal respect 
 and reverence as of deep and sincere gratitude for the 
 inestimable benefits we have received at your hands. It 
 is not only that great things have been done for the Catho- 
 lic community of this town and province during your epis- 
 copate : our gratitude is due, whether we regard you as a 
 friend, in the highest sense of the word, to all and each 
 one alike, or as a pastor and highly-venerated bishop. 
 Our ability to give expression to our feelings, whether by 
 word or otherwise, is very inadequate indeed. 
 
 " We know and feel how much we owe to you for all 
 you have accomplished in our behalf since you came 
 amongst us for the instruction of ourselves, for the edu- 
 cation of our children, for the peace and good-will in 
 which we live with our neighbours, and for the self-respect 
 and good esteem which is the result of following your in- 
 structions and being guided by your example. But we 
 have no words to convey to you what our hearts would 
 prompt us to speak. 
 
 " ' We should wish, also, that the expression of our sen- 
 timents towards your lordship should be accompanied 
 by some token of its sincerity not altogether dispropor- 
 tionate ; but in this, as in other respects, our best depen- 
 dence is on your lordship's goodness of heart, which will 
 accept the will for the deed. 
 
 " ' And receive, in the spirit in which it is offered, the 
 trifling gift which we now beg leave to present you with
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 421 
 
 accompanied as it is by our warmest wishes for your wel- 
 fare, and our heartfelt prayers that your lordship may 
 have a happy and prosperous journey, and that, after 
 assisting at the great Council of the Church, now about to 
 assemble, you may speedily return to your flock, who can 
 never cease to remember and to bless you. 
 
 " ' On behalf of the Catholics of the Western Yicariate, 
 
 " ' J. FITZPATRICK.' 
 
 " The Eight Rev. Dr. Grimley then rose, and for a few 
 minutes it was impossible to hear a word, such was the 
 applause. When the bishop could be heard, he read the 
 following reply: 
 
 " * MY DEAR CHILDREN IN CHRIST, Your address, the 
 exponent of your generous hearts, is most welcome to me 
 on the eve of my departure, not that I require any new 
 testimonial of reverence and affection, but as a public 
 declaration of the deep interest you take in the great work 
 of our day, the Greneral Council. 
 
 '"I am about to leave you for a while, not to seek repose 
 after more than eight years' labour amongst you. nor, thank 
 Grod, to invigorate an enfeebled constitution, but to comply 
 with the command of our Holy Father, the Pope, Christ's 
 vicar on earth. 
 
 " 'With me there is no choice. As a soldier promptly 
 obeys his general, so I throw aside every difficulty, and 
 most willingly listen to the voice of the Supreme Pastor. 
 
 " 'In your address you kindly allude to some topics which 
 strike as a key-note my keenest attention, and awaken in 
 my soul the most pleasing recollections. 
 
 " ' What I have done directly for your spiritual good has 
 been simply my duty. Perhaps before the great Searcher of 
 Hearts I may have failed in many things. I do not forget
 
 422 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 the words of the Apostle, " Not he who commendeth him- 
 self is approved, but he whom God commendeth." If your 
 filial hearts prompted you to refer to my exertions, you 
 must bear with me while I tender the most willing testi- 
 mony to the piety and zeal of many amongst you to the 
 odour of good example which your integrity diffuses, and 
 to your hearty co-operation in advancing the sacred cause 
 of religion. Let me assure you I feel proud of such a 
 flock. When I look to the past and bring before my 
 mind all you have contributed towards the interior deco- 
 ration of St. Mary's Cathedral, towards the support of 
 St. Brigid's orphanage, and towards the erection of the 
 beautiful building in which we are now assembled a 
 building in which your children's children will derive all 
 the advantages that flow from an excellent education, I 
 can only say, " Digitus Dei est hie" (The finger of Grod is 
 here). If on the present occasion I make a passing refe- 
 rence to education, it is simply that I may allow no oppor- 
 tunity to pass without directing your attention to its 
 importance. As you know, the Catholic Church has been 
 the civilizer of the world the only converter of pagan 
 nations. It has been her constant aim, while raising up 
 peoples from the dark gulf of idolatry to the admirable 
 light of faith, to establish schools and colleges, and thus 
 by the diffusion of education to cause men to admire, in 
 the development of their varied faculties, the wisdom and 
 love of the great Being, the author of all they possess. 
 
 " ' It is a source of consolation to reflect that in a few 
 years the Catholic boys of the Cape will compete for the 
 highest educational honours ; if they do not, the fault will 
 be yours. 
 
 "'Heretofore circumstances offered palliatives ; we could 
 not participate in the educational grants ; certain school
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 423 
 
 regulations of which we could not conscientiously approve 
 interposed insuperable barriers ; but thanks to the liberal 
 spirit of your Legislature, a few years ago all obstacles 
 were removed, and now we are permitted to enjoy with 
 every other class of your fellow-colonists, the advantages 
 Parliament so generously provides. And as we cannot 
 overrate the importance of superior teachers, what shall I 
 say of our nuns and brothers ? Who more energetic, 
 who more devoted, who more qualified to impart educa- 
 tion ? Having divested themselves of every earthly anxiety, 
 they labour, without ceasing, not only in communicating 
 knowledge suitable to every situation in life, but, what is 
 of far greater importance, in directing young hearts heaven- 
 wards. 
 
 " ' On such an auspicious occasion as the present, I may 
 ' congratulate you on an Act passed during your last ses- 
 sion of Parliament for the removal of religious disabilities ; 
 and when we reflect that in the House of Assembly there 
 was not one voice raised against our claims, we have good 
 reason to be actuated with the deepest feelings of gratitude 
 towards our legislators. 
 
 " 'Viewing, at the same time, through the instrumenta- 
 lity of man, the providence of G-od " the author of every 
 good and perfect gift" we exclaim to-day, in sentiments 
 of profound gratitude, " Laqueus contritus est et nos liberati 
 sumus" (Our chains have been severed, and we are free). 
 
 " 'Tour address reminds me of the kindly feeling existing 
 between us and those who differ from us. Let me assure 
 you that it has been the labour of my life to foster such 
 feelings to promote good- will amongst all men. Bigotry 
 is not the offspring of charity. 
 
 " ' While we should rather die than sacrifice principle, 
 we should never insult our fellow-men who conscientiously
 
 424 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 differ from us. Insult neither dissipates prejudice nor 
 converts the heart. If the sanctity of our faith glisten in 
 the purity of our morals, those who know us not will be 
 led from admiration to conviction. There is an old adage 
 which we should never forget, " Verla movent, sed cxempla 
 training (Words move, but examples force us on.) While, 
 then, we glory in the time-honoured name of Catholic, 
 let us on all occasions cultivate the kindly sentiments that 
 prevail among all classes, and reciprocate, to the fullest 
 extent, generous acts. 
 
 " ' I have now to thank you and other Catholics of my 
 vicariate, who have so liberally contributed towards my 
 expenses to the General Council. When I consider the 
 depressed condition of the country, I marvel at the gene- 
 rosity exhibited towards me. It only proves that, while 
 united, as, thank Grod, we are, in one compact body with- 
 out division or dissension we can effect great things for 
 the propagation of the Catholic faith. 
 
 " ' And now, my dear children in Christ, while I appre- 
 ciate your filial wishes, let me beg your daily prayers for 
 all my necessities ; and at the same time let me assure you 
 that wherever I am whether on the ocean wave, or visiting 
 the scenes of my boyhood, or the green hills of my native 
 land, or sitting in council with the bishops of the Catholic 
 world, or traversing the streets of Rome, once watered 
 with the blood of martyrs, or kneeling before the shrine of 
 SS. Peter and Paul my thoughts shall revert to you, 
 and my supplications shall be offered that Grod may spare 
 me to labour in your midst until I shall have finished my 
 course, and, through the merits of my Saviour, have gained 
 my crown. 
 
 " ' f THOMAS GRIM LEY. 
 
 " ' Cape Town, 18th August, 1869.' "
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 425 
 
 (From the Cape Argus, Saturday, August 20th, 1869.) 
 "DEPARTURE or DR. GRIMLEY. On Thursday morning 
 the Roman Catholic bishop visited the schools in St. John- 
 street, to bid farewell to the pupils. On his lordship's 
 arrival he was conducted to a chair on a platform in the 
 academy. Master M'Auliffe read an address from the 
 boys to the bishop, and at its conclusion Master Clear 
 presented his lordship with a purse containing a sum col- 
 lected among the school children. The bishop then spoke 
 to his youthful hearers, giving them some sensible advice 
 as to their studies and conduct, and expressing a hope to 
 hear of their progress. Descending from the platform, 
 the bishop shook hands with every boy in the school, 
 and many of the little fellows cried with sincere sorrow 
 at parting, even for a time, with his lordship, whose fre- 
 quent visits made him familiar. An address and purse 
 were also presented to the bishop by the pupils in 
 the Convent. In the afternoon a large number of the 
 Roman Catholic community assembled on the jetty to 
 witness his departure. Mr. Matthew Stevens supplied 
 his large and convenient boat, the Lizzie and John, which 
 was gaily decorated with flags for the occasion, and amidst 
 the huzzas of the crowd the highly- esteemed prelate took 
 his temporary leave of a community which, regretting his 
 enforced absence, hope most sincerely for his quick return. 
 Mr. Stevens took command of his own craft, and she was 
 manned with a full and most willing, because volunteer, 
 crew. The weather was beautiful, and the embarkation, 
 under Mr. Stevens' management, effected in a few minutes." 
 Subsequently I received the following letters from the 
 bishop, which on my diary I have marked with a border 
 of mourning.
 
 426 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 ST. HELENA, 2nd September, 1869. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, How unfortunate it was that you 
 were not able to get into the little boat which took me 
 to the steamer. After we parted from Matthew Stevens 
 I looked about me and could not see you. I hope you 
 are enjoying good health. I had a very favourable pas- 
 sage to St. Helena. I am now a little anxious to get 
 along, but must have patience. 
 
 I met the other evening your old fellow-travellers, Sir 
 Charles and Lady Elliott. I am now staying at Ladder 
 Hill and messing with the officers. The entire congrega- 
 tion here, I may say, are soldiers the fine old 9th regi- 
 ment. I preached to them twice on Sunday. I hope next 
 Sunday to have a good many for communion. I hope 
 you are getting the llth into order. Are they doing any 
 thing towards benching the aisle of the church ? Better 
 for them to spend their money on such a good purpose 
 than to expend it on the canteens. I beg that you will 
 do your best to establish among the soldiers the weekly 
 subscription for the schools. I dread that awful interest. 
 I hope everything is going on well at St. Mary's. I wish 
 that the status quo in every particular be observed during 
 my absence. It would not be becoming to make any 
 changes without my express permission ; I am sure you 
 would not allow it. I am anxious to hear about our dear 
 Brother Superior. I suppose before this he has gone to 
 receive his crown. I will be looking for a long letter 
 from you. I know you will do all in your power to pre- 
 serve happiness in St. Mary's. I once heard you tell an 
 admirable story about two bears- -bear and forbear you 
 understand. I remain, my dear James, yours most truly, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Eev. JAMES O'HAIRE, Cape Town.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 427 
 
 ST. HELENA, 
 Wtk September, 1869. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I forgot, in my last note, to ask you 
 to see at an opportune time ; he lodges at a Protes- 
 tant's house some place about street. Do all you 
 
 can about his return to our holy faith. I think with great 
 
 grief of and the two young. . What can, with 
 
 prudence, be done for them ? I shall pray and celebrate 
 mass for their conversion. Pray fervently for them; I 
 believe prayer is our only hope. Do all you can, now, in 
 every way, for the salvation of those souls, whom, on the 
 part of God, I have committed to your care, and for whom 
 you must give a dread account at the moment of your 
 death. 
 
 I expect the " Briton" the day after to-morrow ; I hope 
 to have a letter by her from you. I am after having an 
 interview with Mr. Fitman, the American Consul, an Irish 
 Catholic, and the father of a priest. I spoke to him about 
 your going to America to collect ; he took up the matter 
 nobly, and said, "My house on this island shall be at his 
 disposal ; let him stay with me, and I will get him a pas- 
 sage from this place, perhaps for nothing." Mr. Grerrard 
 was perfectly right ; this is the place to come to to embark 
 for America. You have no idea of the number of vessels 
 that call at St. Helena ; this shall be your spot. I would 
 not advise you to come here in the mail steamer, as it is 
 expensive, but in a sailing vessel ; you may be certain of 
 making a passage at any time from the Cape here in ten 
 days, perhaps less. Mr. Fitman will give you grand 
 recommendations to America ; he is a most kind old soul, 
 and has a nice country house on this island, where for a 
 few days you could be most happy. I hope after the
 
 V 
 428 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 return of the nuns, if all things go on well, you may be 
 able to leave for St. Helena. Father Gascoigne will also 
 be delighted to see you here. I will leave a letter for 
 Mr. Richard Ternan, New York ; you have, I think, his 
 address. He was an alderman in the city of Dublin. I 
 will also leave in Father Gascoigne's hands for you an 
 appeal to the American people for poor South Africa. 
 Mr. Fitman said in a year you would pay off the debt. 
 
 I must conclude by begging of God to bless and protect 
 you. Do you say every night after the Rosary the usual 
 three Hail Marys for the bishop? It has been done 
 before now in my absence. 
 
 Your ever-devoted bishop, 
 
 f THOMAS GRIMLEY. 
 
 Eev. JAUES O'HAIRE, 
 Cape Town. 
 
 PALAZZO CALDERARI, 
 VIA DEL BANCO DI SANCTO SPIRITO, EO.ME, 
 
 3rd December, 1869. 
 
 MY DEAR JAMES, I am happy to inform you that on 
 this evening week I arrived in Rome after a disagreeable 
 passage through the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 I saw the Holy Father last Sunday, and also on Wed- 
 nesday ; I am to have an audience on Sunday evening, 
 when I am to offer to him the large carosse. Rome is 
 very full. I am after coming this morning from the 
 Gesu, where I said mass at the altar of St. Ignatius ; his 
 body is under the altar, in a magnificent shrine. I saw 
 the General of the Order, and got from him a picture of 
 St. Francis Xavier. The saint's hands are exposed in the 
 church. Rome ! thou city of the soul, how dear thou 
 art to the Christian heart ! I hope you will live to visit
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFEICA. 429 
 
 this holy city. Of course you are after returning from 
 the Namaqualand, and seeing that the scattered flock, not 
 only there, but in the Cape Town districts, have made 
 their jubilee. Your time for going to America is drawing 
 nigh. The plan I wish you to adopt is to go to St. Helena ; 
 Mr. Fitman, the American Consul, will take all care of 
 you, and get you forwarded to the States. I disapprove 
 of your going to England at the present time. 
 
 In America you will, I know, be most respectful to all 
 ecclesiastical persons. Ask leave to collect ; if absolutely 
 refused, go in the name of God to another place. Then 
 even when refused make no remark, but the most gentle 
 reasoning. Ask to go from door to door ; even then, if 
 absolutely refused, do not collect in that place. Write to 
 me often ; I need not tell you how anxious I shall be for 
 your success. Oh, if we had means to establish new mis- 
 sions, I could get religious of both sexes to go to the Cape. 
 But we have no houses for them, nor are we able to pro- 
 cure them, as we are immersed in debt. 
 
 Place your confidence in the great Lord of the Vine- 
 yard ; rely on our good Mother, the great patron of our 
 vicariate ; say your Rosary every day ; make your medita- 
 tion daily ; keep yourself in the state of grace, and God 
 will be with you. 
 
 When you go to America you will find it convenient to 
 have one fixed place of communication, so that in addres- 
 sing letters to that place they will forward them to your 
 address. 
 
 I hope your father is quite well ; remember me to him, 
 
 and 
 
 Believe me to remain, yours ever devotedly, 
 
 f T. G-RIMLEY. 
 
 Rev. JAMES O'HAIRE, 
 Cape Town.
 
 430 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 I have said that the above letters are in my diary marked 
 with a mourning border. The reason of this I shall now 
 give in very few words, leaving the remainder to the great 
 day when the hidden things shall come to light, and the 
 secrets of hearts shall be made manifest. 
 
 1st. It is certain that the debts of the vicariate pressed 
 heavily upon the heart of Dr. Grimley. 
 
 2nd. That the bishop depended upon my exertions and 
 success in America. 
 
 3rdly. It was arranged that I should leave for America 
 in February ; but circumstances 
 
 " Quos ego 
 Sed prsestet componere fluctus' 
 
 arose which baffled all these plans. My very boxes were 
 packed, and a collection of 60 made to pay my passage. 
 This was handed over to me ; but difficulties arose, unfore- 
 seen obstacles presented themselves, objections to my 
 departure came, so to speak, tumbling one over another. 
 Thus from day to day my embarkation was postponed till 
 it became too late. I then offered the money collected 
 for the purpose of my voyage back to the people ; but they 
 would not receive it ; they were too glad that I remained, 
 and hence they deputed Messrs. D. Begley, J. Doyle, and 
 J. Kershaw to present the collection as a personal offering 
 to me. 
 
 I am inclined to believe that had this plan for collecting 
 money been carried out, not only would the debts have 
 been paid, but an immense surplus handed over to the 
 mission, and thus the load lifted off the bishop's heart, 
 and perhaps his life prolonged. I write these lines, there- 
 fore, in deepest sorrow, because I might have braved the
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 431 
 
 storm, dashed through the difficulties, and so have 
 rendered to Catholicity in South Africa incalculable 
 service. 
 
 After his lordship's return to the Cape from the 
 Vatican Council, arrangements were again made for this 
 American tour, but alas ! too late to be fulfilled, for 
 within six short weeks the bishop's soul had passed into 
 eternity ! ! !
 
 CHAPTER XXYI. 
 
 u There are signs and sounds of sorrowing upon the earth beneath, 
 And the skies have put their mourning on beforehand for my death; 
 At my door the wind is sighing, like a widow, in my ears, 
 And the clouds, like orphans, gather round my window, shedding 
 tears. 
 
 The thunder chants a solemn dirge, already for me, love, 
 And the lightning lights the candles for my requiem above ; 
 And, hark ! the bells are moaning in the belfry even now, 
 And are answered by the organ in the chancel down below ! 
 
 I hear a sound of music now, tho' very faint and far, 
 It seems to me as if it came from yonder distant star ; 
 Your prayers, my love, are floating up to heaven on the air, 
 And are mingling with the music of the angels singing there. 
 O God ! what strange bewilderment of soul and sense is this ! 
 Oh, give me strength yet once again my crucifix to kiss ! 
 My Lord ! upon thy crown of thorns a crown of light I see ! 
 Have mercy! Jesus! Mary ! help ! St. Joseph pray for me ! 
 
 BARROW. 
 
 ON the 19th of August, 1869, Bishop Grimley left the 
 Cape for the Vatican Council in the fulness of health and 
 strength, and on the 12th of December, 1870, returned to 
 his mission with a ruined constitution, and health com- 
 pletely shattered. It appears that while in Dublin, he one 
 evening drove on a jaunting car to Blanchardstown, without 
 an overcoat, in a drizzling rain, and at his friend's house re- 
 mained some hours in his damp clothes ; thus was brought 
 on that illness which deprived the Western Vicariate of 
 the Cape of Good Hope of its bishop and best friend ! 
 Each day after that unfortunate circumstance his health
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 433 
 
 failed, so that when he landed in Cape Town he appeared 
 a complete wreck. He brought boxes filled with vestments, 
 sacred vessels, and every conceivable article that conld be 
 useful to the mission ; but was himself evidently bereft of 
 that physical power and mental .energy which was of more 
 value to his vicariate than any gift. The following notices 
 of his lordship's arrival appeared in the public papers. 
 
 The Standard and Mail, Thursday, December 15, 1870. 
 
 " THE MARQUIS OF BUTE AND BISHOP G-RIMLEY. The 
 London Universe (Eoman Catholic journal) of the 29th 
 October, has the following : ' THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 
 AFRICA. MUNIFICENCE OF THE MARQUIS OF BUTE. The 
 Most Eev. Dr. (rrimley, Lord Bishop of Cape Town, who 
 is at present in Ireland, will return to his far-distant dio- 
 cese with a valuable testimony of the munificence of the 
 Marquis of Bute. Lord Bute having been informed that 
 the Bishop was anxious to secure for the cathedral church 
 of his diocese a bell worthy of the sacred edifice which 
 has been dedicated to the service of the Catholic religion 
 in South Africa, with a munificence worthy of that great 
 Catholic spirit which he exhibited on so many occasions, 
 undertook to defray the entire expense. Not long since 
 the order for the bell was given to the Messrs. Sheridan, 
 of Church-street, Dublin, whose establishment has long 
 been celebrated for the casting of bells of large size and 
 superior tone. The work has been carried out in the most 
 successful manner, and it must be highly gratifying to 
 Lord Bute and to the Lord Bishop of Cape Town to find 
 that the great bell is one of the finest castings that has 
 ever been produced by this establishment. The. recent 
 casting weighs about 22 cwt., but including the fittings 
 30 cwt. On one side there is in relief the figure of the 
 
 2n '
 
 434 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Blessed Virgin, and on the other the Irish harp, wolf-dog, 
 and round tower encircled in a wreath of shamrocks 
 with the words " Erin-go-bragh" underneath.' [The bell 
 has just been landed ex ' Roman,' by which steamer his 
 Lordship, Dr. Grimley, was a passenger. ED. Standard 
 and Mail.]" 
 
 The Cape Chronicle, December 16, 1870. 
 " NEWS OF THE WEEK. Among old Cape friends who 
 have returned per 'Roman,' we must notice the Right Rev. 
 Dr. Grimley, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Cape Town, 
 whose resumption of duty in the city will send gladness 
 into many a poor Irish labourer's home. Respecting the 
 Bishop's return, it is remarked by the A r'gus, that 'his 
 lordship's arrival has been expected for the past month, 
 and its postponement was much regretted by the members 
 of his community.' It would appear that the delay has 
 been caused by necessary arrangements having to be made 
 for bringing out some ladies and gentlemen to assist in 
 charitable and educational works in the vicariate. We 
 heartily congratulate the Roman Catholic community on 
 the return of their Bishop, who has done so much for 
 them. We understand that, as a mark of their appreciation 
 of his lordship's services, and of respect for his person, it is 
 proposed by them to entertain him at a public dinner." 
 
 From the time of his arrival until New Year's Day he 
 sank rapidly, and although he accepted addresses, visited 
 the schools, and each day tried to shake off his malady, 
 he never in the least rallied. After mass, on the morning 
 of the 1st of January, he swooned in the sacristy ; I assisted 
 him to the house, which he never again left alive. During 
 his illness, his patience was so truly admirable as to
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 435 
 
 induce a belief that he suffered little or no pain, and when 
 told that his case was becoming serious, that the symptoms 
 were alarming, and that there was danger, he meekly 
 replied, " (rod's holy will be done." He had ever enter- 
 tained a deep spirit of devotion towards St. Francis de 
 Sales, and hence he ardently desired to live till the saint's 
 festival. On the night of the 28th of January, at half-past 
 eleven o'clock, I entered his bedroom, and found him sit- 
 ting on the side of the bed, eating his supper with an 
 apparently ravenous appetite a symptom I had never 
 before observed. I said, " My lord, your medical adviser 
 has desired me to communicate to you intelligence most 
 painful to me, that is, that in less than twenty-four hours 
 you shall have entered eternity." He replied, with the 
 utmost composure: "Well, James, (rod's will be done. 
 Will you, my child, remember me in all your future 
 masses, and recollect old times, since our first acquaint- 
 ance ?" At these words I sank on the floor, and wept 
 like a child, while the Bishop fell back exhausted on his 
 pillow. It was a terrible moment for us both. I shall 
 not attempt to describe my feelings, when, clasping the 
 Bishop's left hand, as his right rested on my head, I said : 
 " My lord, farewell; you are dying: we part in this world; 
 please, bless me ;" and he replied : " Benedictio Dei omni- 
 potentis, Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti descendat super 
 te et maneat in eternum." I remembered no more ; I was 
 unmanned ; these were the last words we interchanged. I 
 lost all control over my feelings ; and, passing to my room, 
 lay in tears at the foot of a crucifix. 
 
 At five o'clock on the morning of the 29th, the Bishop's 
 soul passed calmly into the hands of Grod. I knelt at the 
 bedside, steeped in sorrow and engaged in prayer. The 
 news of the death spread rapidly through the town, and
 
 436 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. v 
 
 crowds surrounded the episcopal residence, craving to be 
 allowed to touch the hand of the deceased saintly prelate. 
 This pious wish I allowed to be gratified as soon as 
 arrangements could be made. From the chamber of 
 death I passed to the cathedral to celebrate the first 
 mass for my dearly-beloved, departed friend, at that 
 altar which he himself had raised to the memory of 
 his saintly predecessor. The celebration occupied an 
 hour, for I could scarcely read the missal. I felt at 
 times as though my heart would burst asunder, while 
 my feelings of profound sorrow were intensified by the 
 sobs of the whole congregation. At eleven o'clock the 
 mass was offered by the Eev. Father Thierse, of Mauritius, 
 and at the gospel I ascended the pulpit with the view of 
 notifying the arrangements of the requiem and funeral, 
 but found it impossible to utter one word. I tried to 
 articulate, but my mouth and tongue became rigid ; the 
 people wept, and I stood motionless before them with a 
 vacant stare. Not a tear flowed from my eyes ; my grief 
 was at its climax ; and nature was, as it were, dried up 
 from feverish sorrow. At length I turned away, hastened 
 from the pulpit to the altar steps, and falling flat on the 
 predella, cried out, " God! the bishop is dead !" I was 
 then carried to my room, where I lay for hours in a state 
 of unconsciousness. I shall attempt no further description 
 at present, but will content myself by giving from my 
 diary extracts from a few of the leading journals on this 
 sad event. 
 
 Advertiser and Mail, Cape Toim, Cape of Good Hope, 
 Monday, January 30, 1871. 
 
 " DIED. At the episcopal residence, Bouquet-street, on 
 Sunday morning, the 29th January, 1871, the Eight
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 437 
 
 Eev. Dr. G-rimley, Eoman Catholic Bishop of Cape Town, 
 in the 49th year of his age, and tenth of his episcopate. 
 Requiescat in pace. 
 
 "The solemn obsequies and interment will take place in 
 St. Mary's Cathedral, on Tuesday morning, at 9 a.m. 
 
 " The public will hear with deep regret of the death of 
 the Eight Eev. Thomas Grrimley, Eoman Catholic Bishop 
 of Cape Town, which sad event took place shortly after 
 six o'clock yesterday morning. The deceased prelate had 
 been in very ill-health since his return from the Vatican 
 Council, but it was thought during last week that all 
 danger was past. A change for the worst took place on 
 Friday, and his lordship gradually sank till his spirit fled. 
 The Bishop was only 49 years of age. The corpse was 
 conveyed at seven o'clock last evening from the episcopal 
 residence to St. Mary's Cathedral. This morning masses 
 for the repose of his soul will be said at seven and eight 
 o'clock, and to-morrow (Tuesday) morning, at nine o'clock 
 the Office for the Dead will be recited, to be followed 
 by High Mass, immediately after which the Bishop's 
 remains will be consigned to their resting-place in the 
 Cathedral." 
 
 From the Cape Chronicle. 
 
 "DEATH OF THE EIGHT EEV. DR. GTRIMLEY. It is with 
 a feeling of profound regret that we have to announce the 
 death of the Eight Eev. Dr. Grrimley, Eoman Catholic 
 Bishop, which sad event took place on Sunday morning 
 at 6 o'clock. The respected Bishop was born at Dublin 
 on the 21st December, 1821 ; he reached thus an age of a 
 little more than 49 years. He was consecrated a Bishop 
 on the 25th January, 1861, and arrived in this colony 
 shortly afterwards. From Friday his disease had assumed
 
 438 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 an alarming form, and notwithstanding all that medical 
 skill could do, proved fatal, and it was known only to a 
 few who were around his sick bed on Saturday that his 
 recovery was hopeless. 
 
 " To his priests and a few friends who conversed with 
 him since his return from Borne, it is well known that the 
 severity of living, and the constant study and attendance 
 for a period of eight months at the Vatican Council, en- 
 gendered the fatal disease to which he has just suc- 
 cumbed. 
 
 "It is unnecessary to mention in this short memoir what 
 the deceased bishop has done for the Catholics in Cape 
 Town and district. New missions have been established, 
 churches built, schools opened and endowed, works of 
 charity effected, and good will shown to all men. This 
 kind-hearted and good man will be much lamented by his 
 Church and flock, and especially by the poor ; while his 
 loss will be felt as of a father, friend, and pastor." 
 
 The Standard and Hail, Tuesday, January 31, 1871. 
 
 " THE LATE BISHOP GRIMLEY. Another good man has 
 passed from our midst. Beyond his medical attendants, 
 and the resident clergymen of St. Mary's, few were pre- 
 pared to hear, on Sunday morning last, that Bishop 
 Grrimley's malady had terminated fatally. From the 
 previous Friday his disease had assumed an alarming 
 form, and notwithstanding all that the best medical skill 
 and attendance could effect, it was known to the few 
 around the sick-bed of the prelate on Saturday that his 
 recovery was hopeless. And thus, at the early age of 49, 
 shortly before six a. m. on Sunday, the 29th January, the 
 good Bishop, calmly, and peacefully, and without pain, 
 passed away to his eternal rest.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 439 
 
 "Time does not admit of giving more than a brief memoir 
 of the departed Bishop ; but the charity, zeal, and piety of 
 Dr. Grrimley were so well known, not only to the Catholics 
 of his diocese, but even to many who differed from him in 
 religion, that the subjoined particulars of his life will be 
 read with general interest throughout the colony. 
 
 "Thomas Grrimley was born on the 21st December, 1821, 
 at Skerries, in the county of Dublin. From the very 
 dawn of reason he showed a predilection for the ecclesias- 
 tical state, and even in his early education his pious parents 
 fostered and encouraged this holy disposition till they saw 
 it ripen into vocation. It is said of the deceased prelate 
 indeed he has himself recorded the fact that when 
 learning to write upon his elate his favourite sentence 
 used to be ' May I be a priest.' After the best rudimen- 
 tary education that his native village afforded, he was sent, 
 in the year 1835, to the Diocesan Seminary of Belfast to 
 be instructed in classics, and having there completed the 
 term proposed (three years), he was transferred in 1838 
 to St. Yincent's College, Castleknock, near Dublin. 
 Among his contemporaries in St. Vincent's were Dr. 
 Moran, late Bishop of Graham's Town, and Dr. Kilduff, 
 the present Bishop of Ardagh. Entering the Royal Col- 
 lege of Maynooth in 1840 as a student in logic, he con- 
 tinued his studies to the end of his theological course, and 
 on the 6th of June, 1846, he was ordained priest by the 
 late Most Eev. Dr. Murray, the predecessor of the present 
 Cardinal Cullen in the Archbishopric of Dublin. A few 
 days after his ordination he was appointed to the curacy 
 of Balbriggan. And here the labours of a life, literally 
 spent among the poor, was commenced in earnest. He 
 saw the decay and decimation of the Irish people during 
 those terrible years of famine '46, '47, and '48 and so
 
 440 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFEICA. 
 
 arduous were his ministrations that in the second year of 
 his mission he was himself stricken down with the ' spot- 
 ted fever,' and for some time hovered about the portals of 
 death. Happily, however, he was restored to health, and 
 continued to labour on in his poor curaey until, in May, 
 1851, he was removed to the parish of St. Paul's, in Dub- 
 lin. Here we find him at once working in a large parish, 
 chaplain of the Smithfield Government prison, spiritual 
 director to the Catholic soldiers of the Dublin garrison, 
 and secretary to the Deaf and Dumb Institution. Among 
 the many testimonials presented to him, the good Bishop 
 was wont to prize in an especial manner the gift of the 
 poor Catholic soldiers consisting of a gold watch and 
 chain, a rich suit of vestments, and a magnificent chalice. 
 Indeed, so remarkable must have been his labours and 
 piety, that we are not astonished when we find him ap- 
 pointed, while comparatively a young man, to a canonry 
 in the chapter of the archdiocese, which dignity was con- 
 ferred upon him in 1856. Nor did his labours among the 
 poor cease or diminish here ; for we find him, in addition 
 to his ordinary duties, advocating evening schools, tempe- 
 rance societies, young men's guilds, and a number of other 
 useful and religious institutions, until his nomination to 
 the Episcopate as coadjutor bishop to his learned and 
 lamented chief, Bishop Griffiths. ' I shall never forget,' 
 the deceased prelate used to relate, ' the evening of the 
 2nd May, 1860. I was in the chapter chapel of the 
 metropolitan church, Marlborough-street, Dublin, pre- 
 paring to celebrate the first vespers of the Feast of the 
 Holy Cross, when the Yery Rev. Dr, O'Connell called me 
 aside, and asked me if I would consent to go out a bishop 
 to Cape Town ; that if I would consent, I would be imme- 
 diately appointed. Amazed at the proposition, I at once
 
 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 441 
 
 answered, " I will not say I consent, but I say Fiat volun- 
 tas Dei." ' He used in after years to say, when the troubles 
 and cares of his episcopate weighed heavily on him : ' It 
 matters little where we are in this world. Perhaps I 
 should now regret that I had not offered a stern opposi- 
 tion, but I still say Fiat vohmtas Dei.'' And this submis- 
 sion to the Divine will was also his refuge in his last 
 sickness. The writer, who spoke with him on different 
 occasions during his illness, whenever expressing a hope 
 that his lordship would soon be restored from pain and 
 suffering to health, was answered : ' I am sure I don't 
 know, my child ; but (rod's will be done !' And so, on 
 the night preceding his death, when mortification began 
 i and his pains ceased, and he thought himself better, it was 
 gently told him that hope of recovery was past, he simply 
 said, * Grod's holy will be done.' Shortly after he spoke 
 of the goodness of God in having given him the grace of 
 living and dying in the Catholic Faith. 
 
 "To his priests and a few friends, who had the happiness 
 of conversing with him since his return from Rome, it is 
 well known that the severity of living, and the constant 
 study and attendance for a period of eight months at the 
 Vatican Council, engendered the fatal disease to which he 
 has just succumbed, and which ranks him among the 
 glorious number of bishops who have already sacrificed 
 their lives to their duty and religion in attending the 
 great Council at Eome. 
 
 " It is unnecessary to mention in this hastily-sketched 
 memoir even a tithe of what the deceased Bishop has done 
 for the Catholics of Cape Town and district. Si momi- 
 mentum quceris, circumspice. New missions have been 
 established, churches built, schools opened and endowed, 
 works of charity effected, and good will shown to all men.
 
 442 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 but it is for another generation to realize to its full extent 
 the labours and sacrifices of the kind-hearted and good 
 man who has left his afflicted Church and flock to 
 lament his loss with sorrow but resignation. By the 
 poor he will be specially missed as a father, friend, 
 and pastor, for the motto of his sacerdotal and epis- 
 copal life seems truly to have been 'Pauperes Evan- 
 gelizantur.' " 
 
 The Cape Argus, Tuesday, January 31, 1871. 
 
 " It is with deep regret we have to record to-day the 
 death of the Right Rev. Dr. Grimley, the Roman Catholic 
 Bishop of this city. Though ill for some time, his death* 
 was unexpected, and took almost every one by surprise. 
 Struck down in the prime of his manhood, and in the 
 midst of his work, his place will not easily be filled. Though 
 not brilliant in ability, the deceased prelate was energetic, 
 patient, and persevering. Having once set an object be- 
 fore him, he persistently worked till he had carried it out ; 
 and this was the secret of his success. When he arrived 
 in Cape Town there was not a decent school belonging to 
 his community. He has left behind him the convent 
 schools for girls of all classes and the establishments in 
 St. John's-street for boys. He established the orphan- 
 age in Roeland-street, and laid the foundation of 
 several churches in the country. His mind was filled 
 with projects for the good of his community when he 
 returned from Rome, but he was not destined to carry 
 them out. We heartily sympathize with his flock in their 
 great loss, which they feel acutely. In another column 
 will be found a notice of the Bishop, giving the chief 
 events of his life."
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 443 
 
 "!N MEMORIAM THE LATE EIGHT REV. BISHOP GRIM- 
 LEY. Within the last few months death has been reaping 
 a harvest from amongst us of men of more or less distin- 
 guished mark, the loss of whom among their own respec- 
 tive circles is felt to be irreparable, while it is very really 
 mourned over by the community at large. The latest of 
 these is the Right Rev. Dr. Grrimley, the Roman Catholic 
 Bishop of Cape Town. It is barely a month since we met 
 him in the streets, pleasant and kind, and we might almost 
 say courtly of expression, as usual. It was soon after his 
 return to the colony from Rome. He seemed thinner, 
 and complained of the injurious effect of the home climate 
 on his health. But no one could have anticipated any 
 tl^ng alarming. A week after that he was laid up, and 
 serious fears were entertained, which were happily dis- 
 pelled some ten days later, when every one, whether of 
 his own flock or not, was delighted to hear of the good 
 Bishop's restoration to health. On Wednesday last, how- 
 ever, he suffered a relapse, and on Sunday morning, at ten 
 minutes past six, he peacefully expired, at the comparatively 
 early age of forty-nine. Into that space of life he crammed 
 a very large amount of energetic and devoted work, which 
 was rendered all the more successful from the quiet, un- 
 pretentious way he had of setting about it. He was born 
 at Skerries, in the county of Dublin, on the 21st Decem- 
 ber, 1821, and received his first education at St. Vincent's 
 College, Castleknock, after which he passed to Maynooth, 
 where he studied for the priesthood, and held the office of 
 prefect until he was ordained priest on the 6th June, 
 1846. 
 
 " His first mission as priest was at Balbriggan, county 
 Dublin, where he made himself especially beloved by the 
 people. Attention haying been drawn to his services, he
 
 444 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 was thence removed to St. Paul's, Dublin, and the impres- 
 sion he created was so favourable that he was shortly after- 
 wards made a canon of the metropolitan cathedral by 
 Cardinal Cullen. Being known as a sound, though not 
 brilliant, theologian, he was selected as one of the preachers 
 to the Catholic University, in which capacity he assisted 
 in forming the minds of some of the more distinguished 
 Irish Catholics of the younger generation. In consequence 
 of his activity and zeal, he was selected as secretary to the 
 Deaf and Dumb Institution, Dublin, which, we are in- 
 formed, owes very greatly to him its present prosperous 
 condition. He was connected with every Catholic charity 
 in Dublin ; but took a more active part in the management 
 of the Malachian Orphanage and in the Society of the 
 Queen of Charity for the relief of the poor. He founded 
 in Dublin St. Paul's Ecclesiastical Academy, which has 
 already sent forth upwards of two hundred priests for the 
 Home and Foreign Missions. It was here that Father 
 O'Haire, Dr. Colgan, Dr. Rooney, and the late Dr. Dunne 
 commenced their studies under Dr. Grrimley's supervision. 
 The service thus rendered to his Church by the founding 
 of this Academy brought him the special approval of Car- 
 dinal Cullen, who recommended him to be sent to the 
 Cape as coadjutor to the late Right Rev. Dr. Griffiths. 
 He was consecrated bishop on the 25th January, 1861, 
 and arrived here some months afterwards. 
 
 " During his ten years' tenure of the episcopate in this 
 colony, his labours, in season and out of season, were 
 zealous and incessant. He established St. Bridgid's 
 Orphanage, St. Mary's Convent and Schools, and the 
 Marist Brothers' Schools in St. John's-street. He founded 
 churches at Mossel Bay, the Knysna, and Malmesbury, 
 and partly founded ones at Springbok and Victoria "West.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 445 
 
 During the Vatican Council he was a member of one of 
 the Congregations ; and he has now studying in Borne 
 for this mission seven or eight young men, who are pre- 
 paring for the priesthood. Just when disease overtook 
 him, and death laid him low, he had made further arrange- 
 ments for bringing out Sisters of Mercy ; for the founding 
 of schools in various parts of the colony ; and likewise 
 even for the establishment of a model farm in Namaqua- 
 land, to be conducted by monks. It was only the other 
 day that the Rev. Mr. Thierse, a missionary of a religious 
 order, arrived for the purpose of selecting the most suitable 
 sites for new missions. 
 
 " Bishop Grrimley now rests from his labours, but his 
 works do follow him. At first sight it might seem diffi- 
 cult to account for the marvellous success of all his eiforts. 
 He was not a man of extraordinarily high talent or of any 
 shining attainments, either as a theologian or a scholar. 
 Some of the lectures he delivered in St. Mary's Cathedral to 
 mixed audiences of Catholics and Protestants, on questions 
 affecting the relations of Theology and Science, were gene- 
 rously liberal, and showed a fair acquaintance with his 
 subject. He was a man of single-minded purity of life 
 and devotion to the cause he had in hand the advance- 
 ment of his Church in this land and the welfare of the 
 people, whether poor or rich, associated with it. His 
 naturally strong constitution enabled him to be in journeys 
 oft, from one part of his diocese to the other now tossing 
 for weeks in a little schooner between Hondeklip and 
 Table Bay ; now toiling and trudging along the weary 
 wastes of the interior. His orderly method of working 
 and his power of organization were very remarkable indeed, 
 so that the institutions he founded seemed to grow as by 
 an inherent vitality and vigour with which they were
 
 446 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 endowed by their founder. And though last, by no means 
 least, as one of the elements accounting for his success, 
 there was his unfailing courtesy of manner and kindliness 
 of feeling, even to those who, like ourselves, chanced to 
 differ most widely from many of his opinions. In this 
 way it was that Protestants on many an occasion con- 
 tributed as freely as did the Catholics themselves for the 
 advancement of Catholic purposes. And thus it is that 
 to-day, when the remains of the good man are to be con- 
 signed to their last resting-place within the walls of the 
 cathedral of which, until Sunday morning, he was the 
 right rev. Bishop, his unexpected, and, as to human vision 
 it would seem, his premature demise, will be very really 
 lamented by Catholics and Protestants alike." 
 
 The Zingari, Friday, February 3, 1871. 
 
 " IN MEMORIAM THE LATE BIGHT RKV. THOMAS G-RIM- 
 LEY, D. D., R. C. BISHOP OF ANTIGONA, &c. A great 
 light has just disappeared from the Christian Church in 
 this land. It has been extinguished with a suddenness 
 that has struck like a heavy boom upon the hearts of his 
 people. The unlooked-for and premature death of the 
 Eight Rev. Thomas Grimley, Bishop in partibus of Anti- 
 gona (better known as Roman Catholic Bishop of Cape 
 Town), at six ^o'clock on Sunday morning, the 29th 
 January, in the 49th year of his age, cast a gloom over 
 the entire community, and called forth one universal ex- 
 pression of surprise and regret at the event, which is little 
 short of a catastrophe to the communion of which he was 
 the invaluable centre. Simple in his habits and his ways 
 of life, humble in his estimate of himself, deeply impressed 
 with the individual responsibility of his sacred office and 
 the innumerable calls upon his time, his attention, his
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 447 
 
 judgment, his physical energies, he moved about among 
 the orphans, the poor, the sick, and the illiterate, as their 
 guide, their physician, their personal Mend, their father. 
 To the educated and better class of his people he was the 
 same ever about and doing good. Living for others, he 
 ceased to notice the claims his strength had upon his con- 
 sideration for his flock. Eschewing polemics, politics, 
 party strifes, he threw his whole soul and energies into 
 his duties, was, although always the Bishop, at all times 
 too, in thought and in word, the humble, earnest parish 
 priest, till he became in the estimation and the affection 
 of those who knew him well, truly the father of his flock. 
 In duty's cause he laboured hard, unselfishly, undyingly ; 
 and as long as there is one of the present generation of 
 Catholics to mention the name of Bishop Grimley, it will 
 be remembered and uttered with filial devotion, and as 
 that of a man of God. ' He wrought his people lasting 
 good.' * Though dead he yet speaketh.' ' ' He is not 
 lost, but gone before.' 
 
 " ' He was what God would have him be ; 
 
 He did what God would have him do ; 
 He lived a life of sanctity 
 
 Then fell as noblest warrior true.' " 
 
 OBSEQUIES OF THE LATE BISHOP GRIMLEY. 
 
 The following account is extracted from the Standard 
 and Mail of February 2, 1871 : 
 
 " From an early hour on Tuesday morning last, people 
 were seen wending their way to St. Mary's Cathedral, to 
 witness the last solemn rites and impressive service of the 
 Roman Catholic Church on the interment of a bishop. 
 Nor was the attendance confined to members of that
 
 448 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Church ; and it is a proof of the respect and esteem in 
 which the late Dr. Grrimley was held by all classes of the 
 community, that of the numbers who assembled to pay a 
 last tribute of respect and homage to the deceased pre- 
 late, one half, at least, were members of other religious 
 communions. Almost every one wore some description of 
 mourning attire; the wealthier in deep or half-mourn- 
 ing, and the poor in at least such sorrowing garb as 
 sympathy could suggest, or means command. And here 
 we may observe, that, although the cathedral was densely 
 thronged, the order and quiet preserved throughout the 
 long, sad service was not only most remarkable, but in 
 itself a striking feature of the solemnity of the cere- 
 monial. On entering the church we were struck with 
 the change which it presented to its ordinary appearance. 
 Every ornament which the late Bishop's zeal and piety 
 had furnished to adorn and beautify St. Mary's, was now 
 either removed altogether, or covered with funeral cloth 
 and drapery. Festoons of crape hung from pillar and 
 gas-branch; the statues were thickly veiled; the pulpit 
 was shrouded in black cloth ; the episcopal throne, now 
 darkened and vacant, and of itself speaking mournfully of 
 the absence of him who but a few days before had sat 
 and prayed there ; even the altar bereft of its flowers 
 and candelabrawas in sombre keeping with the garb of 
 woe and sorrow everywhere visible. In the chancel stood 
 the coffin, surmounted with the usual black velvet pall, 
 on which were laid the mitre and crozier of the deceased, 
 and surrounded by lighted tapers. On each of the side 
 altars, chairs had been kindly provided for such as had 
 private entree through the vestries, and for a few near 
 friends of the late Bishop. In this part of the cathedral 
 were seated Mr. Barkly, son and Private Secretary of his
 
 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 449 
 
 Excellency the Governor, Mr. Justice and Mrs. Fitzpatrick, 
 the American Consul, Mr. Advocate Cole and Mrs. Cole, 
 Mr. Jerome Babe, Dr. Chiappini, sen., and others. In 
 the nave, too, and other parts of the church, we noticed 
 many of our leading citizens all testifying by their 
 presence to the worth and virtues of the departed. 
 Shortly after 9 a. m. the procession moved from the 
 vestry to the High Altar, the clergy preceded by their 
 acolytes and assistants taking their seats on either side 
 of the bier. The Rev. Mr. Meagher, of Rondebosclr 
 was the celebrant ; the other priests being the Revds 
 O'Reilly, O'Haire, Colgan, Rooney, and Thierce the 
 latter gentleman a French clergyman from Mauritius. 
 The ceremonial began with the recital of the Matins and 
 Lauds in the office for the dead ; at the end of each 
 nocturn in the Matins, the celebrant, vested in stole and 
 cope, used the 'asperges' and incense round the cata- 
 falque. At the termination of Lauds, the celebrant and 
 his assistants, deacon and sub-deacon, retired to the 
 vestry to robe for the solemn High Mass, coram cadavere, 
 which followed. During this part of the ceremonial, the 
 choir, under the direction of the Marist Brothers, sang 
 the Gregorian music of the Kyric, Dies Irce, and other 
 appropriate mortuary compositions. The style of chant 
 was singularly plaintive and solemn throughout, and was 
 rendered by male voices only. At the .offertory, however, 
 a beautiful dirge, or recitative, was sung, as a solo, by 
 Miss E. Henderson. We were unable to learn the name 
 of either the piece or the composer ; but it was sweetly 
 mournful, and though difficult judging from the organ 
 accompaniment it was, nevertheless, exquisitely ren- 
 dered. After the consecration, the ' O Jesu' was sung by 
 Mrs. O'Connor with great pathos and expression. In 
 
 2i
 
 450 TWELVE YEARS TN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 short, the entire of the music was executed with fidelity 
 to the thema itself, as well as to the sad ceremonial, of 
 which it was an important adjunct. 
 
 " At the conclusion of the High Mass, the Eev. Father 
 O'Haire delivered the following 
 
 " FUNERAL ORATION. 
 
 " 'But be thou vigilant; labour in all things to do the work of an evan- 
 gelist; fulfil thy ministry. Be sober. For I am even now ready to 
 be sacrificed, and the time of my dissolution is at hand. I have 
 fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 
 As to the rest, there is laid up for me the crown of justice which the 
 Lord, the just Judge, will render to me in that day : and not only to 
 me, but to them also who love his coming.' 2 Tim. iv. 5-9. 
 
 "REVEREND FATHERS AND DEARLY-BELOVED IN CHRIST, 
 Never before did I tremble in the pulpit ; but to-day I 
 have ascended this chair of Truth with faltering steps. I 
 am filled with diffidence in your presence. Everything 
 around inspires me with awe; and as I cast a glance 
 at that coffin which contains the mortal remains of a 
 Bishop of the Church of God, and at that grave which 
 yawns for the consecrated body of the illustrious dead, 
 my very heart sinks within me in sorrow. The altar, 
 from which recently brilliant lights dazzled the eyes of a 
 joyous and fervent congregation, to-day speaks the lan- 
 guage of poignant grief. The priests of the sanctuary, 
 recently clothed in splendid vestments, to signify the 
 grandeur of the solemnities, are to-day attired in mourn- 
 ing. The episcopal throne, lately occupied by our chief 
 Spiritual Father, is to-day under awful and mysterious 
 covering. The organ, which a few weeks since pealed the 
 notes of a joyous Te Deum, to-day unites in the general 
 grief by its doleful sounds. The temple is altogether
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 451 
 
 "filled with gloom ; all conspire in expressing that death 
 has entered our ranks, and alas ! has executed its awful 
 decree against the very shepherd of the flock. 
 
 " I do not pretend to deliver a discourse worthy the 
 name of a funeral oration. The suddenness of the 
 terrible event which calls us together, added to the bitter 
 feelings with which my soul is overflowing, have alike 
 precluded the preparation which such an occasion would 
 demand ; I shall, therefore, attempt rather to glance at 
 some of the leading features in the life of the departed 
 Bishop- I knew the Bishop intimately for many years, 
 even before I thought that he would become a Bishop or 
 I a priest. 
 
 " His lordship was born on the 21st December, 1821, in 
 n little town called Skerries, near Dublin, of parents dis- 
 tinguished for genuine piety. It is recorded in the lives 
 of the saints and other eminent men, that simple incidents 
 of childhood have frequently foreshadowed after traits of 
 character. This was exemplified in our Bishop, for on the 
 morning of his birth a remarkable incident occurred. A 
 religious old man passing the house one hour after the 
 birth, said, as it were prophetically, 'Skerries has had 
 "born in it to-day a bishop.' In whatever light the obser- 
 vation may be viewed by you, it certainly was treasured 
 up in the hearts of the parents, and verified in the son. 
 Inhabitants of Skerries still living bear testimony to his 
 early piety. In fact, in his boyhood, his light so shone 
 before men, that many who watched him said, ' That boy 
 will be a priest.' 
 
 "His education was chiefly acquired at the Seminary of 
 the Fathers of St. Vincent de Paul, Castleknock, where 
 his close application to study and uniform observance of 
 rule won for him the respect of professors and pupils. He
 
 452 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 was subsequently removed to the College of St. Patrick,. 
 Haynooth, where he was also remarkable as a steady and 
 edifying student. 
 
 " He was elevated to the dignity of the sacred priesthood 
 on the 6th of June, 1846, and appointed to the curacy of 
 Balbriggan, a village situated within a few miles of Sker- 
 ries. In this, his first mission, his zeal for the salvation 
 of souls was unflagging, and his charity to the poor praise- 
 worthy. Thus he was entwined in the affections of a 
 grateful and discerning people, many of whom speak of 
 him to this day with feelings of loving remembrance. 
 "When removed by his Bishop from Balbriggan to Skerries, 
 he was obliged to tear himself away from a congregation 
 that clung to him with the tenacity of loving children 
 about to lose a good father. St. Paul's, Dublin, was the 
 next theatre of his incessant labour. As a preacher, as a 
 confessor, as a firm supporter and advocate of charity, he 
 became known to thousands. In what I advance, I speak 
 not from hearsay, but from personal knowledge. Cardi- 
 nal, then Archbishop Cullen, soon took notice of Father 
 Grimley, and appointed him a Canon of the Cathedral of 
 Dublin, which fact speaks highly, not only for his virtues, 
 but for his talents. In addition, he was constituted one 
 of the staff of preachers of the Catholic University, a dis- 
 tinction which none enjoyed but clergymen of established 
 worth. 
 
 "The valuable Institution for Deaf Mutes soon acquired 
 him as a leading member. He advanced the grand cause 
 of that transcendent charity so as to elicit the most eulo- 
 gistic encomiums from both clergymen and laymen of dis- 
 tinction. He was affiliated, so to say, with every charitable 
 association in the city. To cite instances which came 
 under my own notice, and that of some of my reverend
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 453 
 
 brothers now present, of his untiring exertions to amelio- 
 rate the sad condition of the destitute, the abandoned, and 
 the poor, would fill no moderate-sized volume. The work 
 which recommended him to special attention, however, 
 was the founding of a new school called St. Paul's Eccle- 
 siastical Academy, which was the instrument of sending 
 forth no less, probably, than two hundred Missionary 
 Priests, who are now in Ireland, England, America, 
 Australia, and elsewhere, preaching the Grospel and ad- 
 ministering the Sacraments, and who owe, under Heaven, 
 their elevation to the sacred ministry to that departed 
 Bishop. The next great epoch in his life was his conse- 
 cration as bishop, which took place on the 25th January, 
 1861, in Dublin. The consecrating prelate was Cardinal 
 Cullen, whose deep appreciation of Dr. Grimley's character 
 was long evident. The day of leaving Dublin for the Cape 
 I cannot easily forget. Crowds of loving people literally 
 blocked the street in which he resided, and choked the 
 adjoining thoroughfares. He came to an open window 
 and blessed the kneeling multitudes ; but so great did the 
 popular enthusiasm become, that I myself assisted him to 
 escape by a back door. 
 
 "He came to you, brethren, in the same year. I am not 
 required to address you on his career in your midst ; your 
 presence, your looks to-day, your constant testimonies to 
 him in life, your universal expression of deep, deep sor- 
 row at his death, are proofs that you regarded him as 
 your good Bishop. You venerated him he esteemed you ; 
 you loved him he loved you. 
 
 "The Orphanage of St. Bridgid, which has screened, and 
 continues to protect so many dear little children whose 
 parents are dead, owes itself to his zeal. But, above 
 all, his towering object was education. Therefore, he
 
 454 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 introduced to you two religious orders ; the one of Nuns, 
 the other of Marist Brothers, to educate your children.. 
 He founded schools which are an honour to South Africa; 
 and, therefore, in his death, not only religion, but educa- 
 tion, loses an apostle. We have thus to lament his 
 demise, not merely because we are Catholics, but also be- 
 cause we are citizens ; and hence, too, if we be not super- 
 ficial and I feel we are not ; if we be sincere and I 
 know we are our feelings will warm and ripen into 
 action. "We will unite, both Catholics and Protestants, 
 in erecting a fitting testimony as a practical proof of our 
 appreciation of one who has, so far as he could, exerted 
 himself in elevating the people in the social, moral, and 
 intellectual scale. "We will, in this manner, show our 
 sympathies with the apostles and promoters of true civi- 
 lization. 
 
 "I must not omit to mention a touching incident towards 
 the end of his lordship's career. He was called, as you 
 know, to Rome, the centre of Catholic unity. In obedience 
 to the summons of the Holy Father, the visible head on 
 earth of the Christian religion, he went. His mother had 
 prayed for years that before her death she might see her 
 son again ; and the Bishop had long asked Grod to grant 
 him a similar favour, if compatible with the Divine will. 
 His arrival in Ireland and her last illness were simul- 
 taneous. They saw each other, and conversed. Her end 
 was drawing nigh. He, the son, gave to her, the mother, 
 the Holy Communion for the last time. It was the Nunc 
 Dimiltis. She rested her head upon his arm, and yielded 
 her soul into the hands of Grod. 
 
 " During his lordship's visit to Eome and other parts of 
 Europe, he worked everywhere for his dear mission, and 
 he brought to us many gifts ; but alas ! alas ! a shattered
 
 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 455 
 
 constitution too. Six weeks ago he returned to us, and 
 to-day we consign him to the earth. It is difficult for us 
 to realise the truth of the awful announcement Our 
 Bishop is dead. What! in the midst of life, death! 
 Lately a strong man to-day, dead ! cruel Death, 
 where is thy victory? We expected from him many 
 years yet, to increase, and consolidate, and expand the 
 great work begun by him. But, Death, thou hast slain 
 our beloved one. heartless grave, you are about to take 
 unto yourself the body of our venerated Bishop. 
 
 "How true, then, brethren, that neither wealth, nor 
 position, nor learning, nor talent, nor even sanctity, will 
 keep off death. Conquerors, who have caused the nations 
 to tremble, have succumbed to death, as Alexander of old. 
 Tyrants who have smitten others, have themselves been 
 ruled by death, as Nero. Men of rank, as all the kings, 
 and queens, and emperors, whom death, no fawner, has 
 crushed in the dust: men of talent and learning, as 
 philosophers for death panders to none ; men of holiness, 
 as the patriarchs, and prophets, and apostles, and saints, 
 have fallen under the sentence ' It is decreed to all men 
 once to die.' 
 
 " But, after all, what is death but the separation of the 
 soul from the body ? It is the translation of the immortal 
 spirit of man from time to eternity. It is that tremendous 
 crisis in which man's works are weighed by God ; in which 
 the creature gives a final account to the Creator, in which 
 the redeemed meets the Redeemer ; in which the soul is 
 tried and examined with scrutiny in the light of Heaven 
 itself. Through all this our Bishop has ere now passed. 
 Those feet that so often travelled, those hands so often 
 raised in this temple to bless and to absolve, are now 
 motionless. That tongue so often used in defence of virtue
 
 456 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 and truth, is now still for ever. That voice so often raised 
 within these hallowed walls, is silent, never to be heard 
 again on earth. But, nay Jesus, why do I speak thus ? 
 Do I complain ? No, my God. The Bishop was yours, 
 as we also are. Yours is the supreme right, yours the 
 absolute dominion. I bow down before you, God of 
 life and death. You have taken away our Bishop. O 
 dearest Lord, thy will be done. Give him, as a reward 
 for his labour, the possession of thy glory. Do not be 
 mindful of his faults of human nature ; but rather of thy 
 own mercy. May his place be with thy saints ; may his 
 abode be in thy heavenly mansions ; may he enjoy that 
 sweet repose, that eternal felicity, that unspeakable glory, 
 which flows from the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to 
 whom be honour, and glory, and praise, and benediction, 
 for ever and ever. Amen." 
 
 The closing scene of the solemn ritual was concluded 
 by the recital of prayer over the bier, and the final depo- 
 sition of the coffin in its last resting-place in the nave, 
 there to remain until the last trumpet shall summon earth 
 to give up its dead. 
 
 Requiescat in pace. Amen. 
 
 ORATIO. 
 Pro defuncto Episcopo Eeverendissimo Thorna Grimley. 
 
 Orcmus. 
 
 Deus qui inter Apostolicos sacerdotes, famulum tuum 
 Thomam Pontifical! fecisti dignitate vigere : prsesta quae- 
 sumus ; ut corum quoque perpetuo aggregentur consortio. 
 
 Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum 
 qui tecum vivat et regnat in saecula sseculorum. Amen.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 4-57 
 
 [English Translation. ^ 
 
 PRAYER. 
 
 For the Eight Eev. Thomas Grrimley, Bishop, deceased. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 O Grod, who among the apostolic priests didst honour 
 thy servant, Thomas, with the episcopal dignity, grant, 
 we beseech Thee, that we may also be united to their ever- 
 lasting society. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, 
 who livest and reignest world without end. Amen
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 HISTORY OF CATHOLIC MISSIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 I DEEM it fit now to introduce to rny readers a review of 
 Catholic missions in South Africa, the materials of which 
 are compiled rather than composed by me. The docu- 
 ments adduced are of the highest authority, and will, I 
 trust, be accepted as an accurate, though brief sketch of 
 the history of Catholicity in the land of my adoption; and 
 furthermore, I hope that the materials here brought 
 together at considerable expense and trouble, may form 
 the basis of a future history of Catholicity in South Africa, 
 to be written by one whose beauty of diction, elegance of 
 style, and accuracy of arrangement, will enable him to 
 impart vigour, freshness, and interest, to what I am obliged 
 to put forth in a manner that possesses claim only to truth 
 and simplicity. 
 
 In Wilmott's " History of the Cape of Good Hope," 
 page 69, we read: "On the 19th of May, 1660, a large 
 French ship, named ' Le Marischal,' bound to the Bay of 
 St. Augustin, in Madagascar, was driven from her anchor- 
 age in Table Bay, and wrecked at the mouth of the Salt 
 River. The passengers consisted of a governor, a bishop, 
 and their attendants, all of whom were subjected to the 
 ignominy of being made prisoners. While the vessel lay 
 a wreck, and the Roman Catholic Bishop was still on 
 board, Van Riebeck caused a proclamation to be read 
 declaring that no Divine worship except that of the Dutch 
 Reformed Church was to be permitted.''
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 459 
 
 In August, 3837, the Morning Register, an English 
 Catholic journal, contained the following interesting 
 letter: 
 
 "A LETTER ON THE STATE OF RELIGION IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 (To the Editor of the Morning Register.) 
 
 " SIR, My anxiety for the success of the mission to the 
 Cape of Good Hope induces me to trouble you with the 
 following lines, and to solicit their insertion in your widely 
 extended and most respectable paper. 
 
 " On my return from the Isle of Bourbon, where I had 
 been officiating as Catholic pastor for ten years, we touched 
 at the Cape, the captain of the vessel requiring a supply 
 of water and provisions for our voyage to France. After 
 the usual salute from us and a visit from the consul, we 
 were allowed to go on shore. 
 
 " The Catholics of Cape Town having heard that there 
 was an Irish priest among the passengers, came to welcome 
 me with open arms ; I was conducted by them to their 
 chapel, and although it was Sunday, yet the advanced 
 hour of the day did not allow me to gratify them by cele- 
 brating Mass. They fondly anticipated that I had been 
 sent to settle amongst them, and heard with deep dis- 
 appointment, that I was proceeding on important business 
 to France, and could not, moreover, without the express 
 order of the See of Eome, and the sanction of my ecclesi- 
 astical superior, remain with them. I was, however, so- 
 afflicted by their desolate condition, that I pledged myself 
 to them to undertake a journey to Home, in order to lay 
 their case before the Holy Father, who, doubtless, 
 moved by such an appeal, would send zealous pastors 
 amongst them to dispense the mysteries of their holy 
 religion. For that purpose, they committed to my care-
 
 460 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 their supplicatory petition, of which, the following is an 
 extract : 
 
 " ' We, the undersigned Catholics of the Cape of Good 
 Hope, prostrate at the feet of your Holiness, pray your 
 benediction. We appeal to your paternal charity. We 
 are your children ; for you, Holy Father, are the common 
 parent of all the faithful. We have long suffered the 
 awful privation of all the consolations of our holy religion. 
 Left without spiritual nourishment, we are in great peril 
 of sinking into torpor, and perhaps infidelity, in this dis- 
 tant and strange country. We are truly the little ones 
 asking for the bread of life, and finding none to break it 
 to us. The reverend ecclesiastic who will present this, 
 our humble prayer, has providentially visited this colony, 
 and would willingly succour us by his holy ministry, if 
 more imperative duties did not call him to France. Hear, 
 Holy Father, his supplication for our spiritual aid, and 
 suffer us, your children, to lay at your feet the homage of 
 our grateful and inalienable spiritual fidelity.' 
 
 " I cannot, sir, find words to express the grief I felt on 
 witnessing the suffering faith of those forlorn Catholics of 
 the Cape of Good Hope. They are the image of the ter- 
 rific desolation of a helpless flock without a faithful pastor; 
 deprived of the cherishing aids of religion during life ; 
 bereft of the hopeful graces of its sacraments at the trying 
 hour of death ; and the graves of their departed friends 
 not even blessed by the solemn rite of the Catholic Church. 
 What Catholic will not sympathise with these fellow- 
 creatures, allied to us, if not by the ties of kindred, cer- 
 tainly by the endearing bonds of country ; for they are 
 generally emigrants, or the descendants of emigrants, from 
 Ireland. 
 
 "I learn with great satisfaction, that the paternal
 
 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 461 
 
 solicitude of his Holiness has just now provided for that 
 interesting mission, in the appointment of a prelate every 
 way calculated to fulfil its duties, in the person of the 
 Eight Eev. Dr. Griffith, Bishop of Paloeopolis and Vicar 
 Apostolic of the Cape of Good Hope. But permit me to 
 inform, through you, sir, all that are interested in this 
 great work, that the mission of the Cape of Good Hope 
 will require at least six missionaries to second the apos- 
 tolic labours of their prelate. Their duties will be most 
 trying and laborious. The immense space of six hundred 
 miles separates Cape Town from Graham's Town : there is 
 a numerous Catholic population in each of these towns. 
 There are Catholics everywhere dispersed on the coasts 
 and through the intervening territory. The garrison 
 consists of three regiments, in which there are many Irish 
 Catholics. To visit those widely separated congregations, 
 to instruct the youth of an increasing population, and to 
 recal to Catholicity the strayed sheep, or to enlighten the 
 benighted wanderer in those pagan regions these are the 
 glorious but trying duties, which those zealous missioners 
 will have to discharge in this long-forgotten vineyard of 
 the Lord. 
 
 " The charitable and zealous inhabitants of Dublin and 
 of Ireland at large will, I am certain, contribute to this 
 mighty enterprise, and aid it by their donations and sup- 
 port. The grateful Catholics of the distant shores of 
 Africa will repay their pious benefactors by their devoted 
 attachment to that holy religion, which binds us here, and 
 will bless us all hereafter, in the bonds of mutual love. 
 " I remain, sir, very respectfully, 
 
 " Your humble and obedient servant, 
 
 " JOHN BRADY, Apostolic Missioner. 
 
 "Dublin, 24th August, 1837."
 
 462 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 In 1841 the " Annals of the Association for the Propa- 
 gation of the Faith," gave the following rather gloomy 
 picture of South Africa : 
 
 " We are now approaching a land of malediction ; after 
 the lapse of four thousand years, the curse of the patriarch 
 seems still to weigh upon it, and the inheritance of Cham 
 has never ceased to be a land of slavery and infidelity. 
 And yet the fountain opened on Calvary, to cover the 
 world with its purifying waters, was destined also to wash 
 out the stains of infamy from Africa. And may we not 
 hope that better days are not far distant, when we hear a 
 voice from the Vatican solemnly raised against the slave 
 trade, and behold bishops, sent from Rome, planting their 
 apostolic tents in the three extremities of the continent 
 Algiers, Alexandria, and the Cape of Good Hope ? These 
 acts, which add a new lustre to the memorable pontificate 
 of Gregory XVI., will re-open the annals of the African 
 Church, interrupted during the space of fourteen centuries. 
 Let us hope that they will be worthily continued, and 
 that those multitudes of human beings who were made by 
 mercenary navigators the object of a vile traffic, will be 
 one day added to the fold of the Good Shepherd. 
 
 " Vicariate of the Cape of Good Hope. The English, when 
 taking possession of this colony, which had previously be- 
 longed to Holland, proclaimed religious toleration for all 
 creeds. The false prophet has fourteen mosques in which 
 his name is invoked, and Protestantism prides itself on 
 the number and beauty of its temples ; whilst the two 
 thousand French and Irish Catholics of Cape Town and 
 the vast country around, are destitute of the resources 
 necessary for the most humble maintenance of their wor- 
 ship and clergy. Four priests share with the bishop 
 named a short time since, the privations of the apostleship,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 463 
 
 and the hardships inseparable from an infant establish- 
 ment. One church and two chapels, one of which is only 
 hired, and a school, are the establishments which the 
 rigour of the times has permitted the bishop to erect." 
 
 The following sketch, written in 1841, is from the pen 
 of South Africa's first bishop the late most Eev. Dr. 
 Griffith. 
 
 " I do not know that any missionary entered the colony 
 before 1802 or 1803, the time when it became the property 
 of the Batavian Eepublic ; under the anterior governments, 
 whether Dutch or English, the Catholic religion was not 
 tolerated. There were in it, I have been told, three Dutch 
 priests, when Great Britain recovered the dominion of the 
 country in 1806; but I have not been able to discover 
 either tradition or monument that could attest the exis- 
 tence of any church, or the traces of any ministry exercised 
 by these men of God, during the two or three years that 
 they sojourned amongst my neophytes. Banished by the 
 new possessors of the Cape, they returned to their own 
 country about the time that followed the English occupa- 
 tion. From that period until 1820, that is to say, during 
 the space of fourteen years, there were neither apostles nor 
 churches for our brethren, who must have become very 
 numerous on account of a regiment composed of French- 
 men, Belgians, and Germans, the greater part of whom 
 settled in the colony, after having been discharged, and 
 finally, on account of the contingent of Catholic soldiers 
 in the ranks of the British army stationed in the country. 
 In 1819 and 1820, several Irish families, transplanted 
 here at the expense of the government, and scattered, for 
 the most part, at seven or eight hundred miles from the 
 town, remained for a long time deprived of all spiritual 
 succour, for want of a pastor to visit them; nearly eighteen
 
 464 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 years elapsed without seeing a single priest. However, 
 in 1820, a religious of the order of St. Benedict, the Eev. 
 Father Eishton, came to reside at the chief town of the 
 colony : he was sent by his lordship, the Vicar- Apostolic of 
 the Mauritius, and of the Cape of Grood Hope. (These two 
 vicariates formed at that time but one). In a few months 
 after the vicar-apostolic landed himself. The spiritual 
 destitution in which he saw the Catholics moved his zeal, 
 and he left the Eev. Father Scully, an Irishman, to dis- 
 charge the duties of missionary. The first recollection I 
 find of the functions exercised by this ecclesiastic is a cer- 
 tificate of baptism, dated the 13th of April, 1820, together 
 with a certificate of a marriage contracted in 1823. These 
 two papers, and an old register, to which is attached a list 
 of those deceased in 1826, form the entire collection of 
 documents left by my predecessors, upon the state of their 
 flock, and the success of their ministry, their deliberations, 
 their revenues, their hopes, and their fears. The remainder 
 would have been buried in the most profound obscurity if 
 two pamphlets, published against the clergy, did not make 
 us acquainted with some transactions that passed between 
 the years 1820 and 1823. I shall give a short analysis of 
 them. We learn upon the faith of these memoirs, that 
 the Eev. Father Scully obtained from the municipality of 
 the Cape in 1821, a site for the erection of a Catholic 
 temple ; that he commenced that year to collect subscrip- 
 tions ; and that in the month of March, 1824, all the 
 masonry of it was finished. However, it appears that the 
 voluntary gifts were unequal to the expense, and that a 
 loan of 750, secured by a mortgage of the ground and 
 chapel, had been unfortunately contracted. To meet his 
 engagements, Father Scully was under the necessity of 
 obtaining security amongst his neophytes, and thus was
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 465 
 
 laid, without foreseeing it, the foundation of all the 
 quarrels and all the lawsuits that have subsequently 
 afflicted the congregation. You will approve, I am sure, 
 that I leave in their oblivion these sad dissensions, which 
 are now extinguished, and of which time is daily effacino- 
 the traces. On the llth July, 1824, the Rev. Fr. Scully 
 quitted the colony ; he must have left it without regret, 
 as he experienced in it nothing but affliction. His suc- 
 cessor was a Dutch priest, named Theodore Waggener, a 
 man of talent, zeal, and energy, who undertook to visit 
 all the Catholics established at Port Elizabeth, Utinage, 
 and Graham's Town, whilst the Eev. Thomas Eishton 
 administered the sacraments at the Cape of Good Hope. 
 Shortly after, the dissensions of which I have spoken were 
 revived with new violence; the post soon became un- 
 tenable for the two ecclesiastics, one of whom, the Dutch 
 priest, departed in the height of the tumult for his own 
 country ; the other, the Eev. Mr. Eishton, returned to 
 England in 1835, with his health so impaired that he 
 died shortly after in a convent of his Order, a victim to 
 lay interference in spiritual affairs. After their departure 
 the congregation was without clergy until January, 1836, 
 when a Spanish Dominican, going from Europe to Man- 
 tilla, and obliged to stop at the Cape of Good Hope on 
 account of his health, was entreated to exercise here the 
 pastoral ministry. For this purpose he received powers 
 from the vicar-apostolic of the Mauritius, and during his 
 sojourn of about a year, did all the good that could be 
 expected from a priest unacquainted with the languages 
 used in the country, and who addresses himself to minds 
 led astray by discord. The congregation was thus making 
 rapid strides towards its ruin. Fortunately for it, the 
 Holy See was made acquainted with the sad state of 
 
 2K
 
 466 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 things by the Rev. Mr. Brady, a missionary from the Isle 
 of Bourbon, who having touched at the Cape on his return 
 to Europe, became the bearer to his Holiness of the wants 
 and prayers of the colony. On his representations, it 
 pleased the Sovereign Pontiff to detach our mission from 
 that of the Mauritius, then unable to supply it with a single 
 priest, and to erect it into a vicariate. Apostolic Bulls 
 were, in consequence, addressed to the Archbishop of 
 Dublin, in July, 1837, and shortly after arrived those 
 which imposed on your unfortunate servant the formidable 
 burden of the episcopacy. Being consecrated on the 24th 
 of August, I set out in three days after to preach in the 
 principal towns of Ireland, searching for fellow-labourers, 
 and in quest of funds to supply the expenses of the pro- 
 jected establishment. Some generous hearts responded to- 
 my appeal. A worthy coadjutor was given to me in the 
 person of the Rev. Daniel Bourke ; my younger brother, 
 also wished to associate himself to my labours. With, 
 these, and a Dominican clergyman, the Eev. George 
 Corcoran, I hastened to embark without any other means 
 than a great confidence in God, and some succours granted 
 by the Congregation of the Propaganda and by the British 
 Government. Such were the apostles destined to restore 
 the mission of the Cape of Good Hope. We landed on 
 the African shore the 14th of April, 1838. We were re- 
 ceived with coldness. It is true that a small number of 
 colonists, assuming the title of guardians of the Church, 
 came to pay their respects to us on board and to conduct 
 us ashore ; but, with few exceptions, they seemed all to be 
 dispirited, which I attributed to the existence of opposing 
 parties, and which I mention only for the purpose of 
 showing how much these rivalries paralyze in the most 
 honourable men the feelings of religion. To tell you in
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 467 
 
 what state I found the presbytery and the church would 
 "be drawing too afflicting a picture. Imagine a heap of 
 rubbish ; that is all that remained of the chapel ; for the 
 timber and materials which were of any value had been 
 sold. This brand of discord being extinguished, my 
 first efforts were directed to obtain the sacred vessels, 
 and all the humble treasures of the mission, from the hands 
 in which they were deposited. All that was not absolutely 
 indispensable for Divine service was sold, and with the 
 price, which amounted to 800, 1 commenced the building 
 of a new church. It is now in the way of being finished; 
 may your pious liberality enable me to complete it ! I 
 conclude this letter, of which the interest is far from cor- 
 responding with the length, by a rapid glance at what has 
 been accomplished since our arrival in the colony. It will 
 appear, no doubt, of small importance; but when one 
 recollects that out of 2,500 faithful, the entire number of 
 the Catholic population, there are nearly a thousand who 
 have no resident clergyman ; if one takes into account 
 their religious apathy, the natural consequence of the scar- 
 city of missionaries, it will be allowed that the results 
 even exceed our hopes. From the 14th April, 1838, to 
 the 7th January, 1841, there have been 290 baptisms, of 
 which thirty were of adults, fifty marriages, and 126 con- 
 firmations ; the number of communicants in 1838 was 
 150 ; in 1839, 160 ; in 1840, 200 ; twenty infidels were 
 converted to our holy faith in the space of two and a half 
 years; we have received thirty-eight abjurations of heresy, 
 and given religious burial to ninety-three Christians.* 
 In the course of my pastoral visitation in 1838, I was able 
 
 * On examining the Baptismal Register of Cape Town, I found that 
 from 1820 to 1869, 354 converts from infidelity and heresy weie re- 
 ceived into the Church. Of course this gives no notion of the number 
 admitted within the true pale throughout the colony J. OIL
 
 468 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 to establish a permanent mission only at Graham's Town; 
 since then I have founded a second at Port Elizabeth ; 
 and this year I have been so happy as to be able to bestow 
 a similar benefit on George Town. The latter place is 
 300 miles distant from my residence ; it requires at least 
 six or seven days to travel there on horseback. The whole 
 space occupied by the entire colony embraces an extent of 
 about 150,000 square miles, a vast field, which our prayers, 
 rather than our toils, will contribute to render one day 
 fertile. I have as yet received no answer to the request I 
 have made of the Archbishop of Dublin for some Sisters 
 of Charity. However, I can announce to you, even at 
 the present moment, that, owing to the generous assistance 
 of your holy Association, I have been able to support the 
 school for poor girls, notwithstanding the departure of 
 their first and pious teachers. Shall I speak to you of the 
 debts that still oppress me ? They are enormous : and 
 although their reduction is taking place yearly, I should 
 despair of ever extinguishing them, if your well-known 
 charity did not reanimate my confidence. May that day 
 come when I shall be free from this dreadful burden ! then 
 only shall I be able to die in peace. There remains one 
 more wish for me to express ; may it be heard by some 
 fervent ecclesiastics. The congregation of Beaufort, com- 
 posed of 400 Catholics, asks me, with cries that rend the 
 heart, for a missionary to take care of their souls in peril ; 
 on the other hand, the Gaffers of the Black River seem to 
 promise to the ministry a precious conquest. A priest for 
 each of these missions would, then, be absolutely necessary. 
 Generous Ireland will send us, I hope, the two that I 
 trant. As for their travelling expenses your society, our 
 "visible providence, will vouchsafe to provide them. 
 
 "fP. GRIFFITH, V. A."
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 469 
 
 The same distinguished apostle of South Africa wrote 
 in 1842 of the missions as follows : " Thanks to Divine 
 Providence, and to the efficacious protection granted to 
 this mission by the Association for the Propagation of the 
 Faith, our ministry adds daily to its success. Barely are 
 the events that occur upon this remote shore of a character 
 to excite the curiosity of men ; nevertheless, I have the 
 satisfaction of announcing that at this extremity of the 
 world, the reign of the kingdom of God is growing 
 stronger, and that I have the pleasing confidence that 
 our church will one day become one of the most imposing 
 columns of the majestic temple that the modern apostles 
 are raising to the Lord. I have visited very recently the 
 three missions, which, with that where I resided, are the 
 only ones that it has been given to us this time to estab- 
 lish. The human eye discerns in them, it is true, nothing 
 capable of exciting admiration ; nevertheless, my heart 
 found in each of them wherewith to be rejoiced and be 
 consoled. George's Town, being the nearest station to 
 the Cape, was the first to receive the visit of its pastor. I 
 left my residence on the llth of April; I landed, after 
 thirteen days' sailing in Mossel Bay, a small port, so called 
 on account of the prodigious quantity of mussels and 
 other shell fish that cover the coast ; the shore presents 
 only a poor, arid, and desolate aspect. From this town 
 to George's Town the distance is about forty miles. I 
 made this journey on horseback across a country abound- 
 ing in difficulties, and precipices ; over a way interrupted 
 here and there by five or six rivulets, called 'branch 
 rivers.' They are so many shallows, in which the tide 
 ebbs, and more than once my horse has crossed them with 
 water up to the saddle. George's Town presents to the 
 traveller, at a certain distance, a very picturesque view. 
 Situated in a vast plain, at the foot of a high mountain,
 
 470 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 the city is surrounded, as by a graceful girdle, with the 
 freshness of vegetation, an advantage which it owes, less 
 to the fertility of the soil than to the industrious cultiva- 
 tion of its inhabitants. But, according as one approaches 
 it, the charm vanishes ; the barrenness of the desert re- 
 appears there as in the rest of the colony. The town, the 
 queen of this oasis, is only a heap of miserable little 
 thatched houses, painted white, and having in front an 
 humble garden. It was in one of those colonies I met 
 the missionary. A tolerably spacious room, decently 
 arranged, formed the Christian temple. When I recol- 
 lected that not long since there was in this locality neither- 
 priest nor chapel ; that four years ago we could scarcely 
 have met with a single Catholic, and that eighteen months 
 before there was not even the idea of attempting anything 
 on this exclusive domain of the Calvinists and savages, I 
 experienced a religious satisfaction in saluting the rising 
 church of George's Town ; I felt that we had not been cast 
 altogether in vain into these boundless solitudes ; and I 
 blessed Providence for having supplied to your Association 
 the means of extending the reign of faith, beyond the 
 regions of civilization, and of the brambles that formerly 
 covered the face of this desert. But how lively was my 
 joy when I discovered in the fervent congregation several 
 neophytes, recently delivered from the bonds of infidelity, 
 and full of that pure faith which can only come from 
 above. I myself had the happiness, during my sojourn 
 in the town, to baptize a young woman and her child, to 
 whom I administered, in the afternoon of the same day, 
 the sacrament of confirmation, as well as to two converted 
 Protestants, and to four adults, who were already regene- 
 rated in the waters of baptism. Our chapel would have 
 been too small for the crowd of colonists desirous of wit-
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 471 
 
 nessing what had never been seen in this isolated region 
 a bishop administering a sacrament of which the greater 
 part knew not the name. We had then to select a place 
 which would allow all to be present. The public school- 
 room of the town was for that day converted into an ora- 
 tory ; it was within its walls that took place a strange 
 meeting of men, astonished to find themselves at the foot 
 of the same altar. The assemblage was composed of 
 Catholics and Anglicans, of Lutherans and Calvinists, of 
 Independents and infidels, of Irish, English, German, 
 Dutch, French, and Italians, of Gaffers and Hottentots, 
 of whites, negroes, and mulattoes ; the leading people of 
 Greorge's Town also attended ; in a word, the room was 
 full, with the exception of the part reserved as a sanctuary 
 for the Bishop and his assisting priest. In seeing before 
 me this variety of people, I recalled the words of a hymn 
 of Pentecost, of which we could make a just application : 
 * Notique cunctis gentibus, graccis Latinis, barbaris.' I 
 could also well say, 'Simulque demirantibus,' but I 
 oould not dare to add, * Linguis loquuntur omnibus.' In 
 this respect our insufficiency is truly deplorable. A good 
 number of the audience understood, no doubt, the two 
 discourses that I spoke in English ; but the coloured popu- 
 lation, that requires instruction, understands only the 
 Dutch, and of that language I am ignorant. Neverthe- 
 less, the appearance of our ceremonies, the vespers solemnly 
 sung by the Catholics of the congregation, the recollections 
 of the confirmed neophytes, all left in the minds of the 
 negroes an impression as favourable as it was deep. It was 
 not slow to bring forth fruit ; several of them embraced the 
 faith after my departure ; and as for our pious Christians, 
 they preserve the remembrance of this interesting day as 
 a sweet consolation and a precious encouragement to their
 
 472 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 fervour. I should consider myself culpable of a serious 
 omission if I did not pay my humble tribute of admiration 
 to the zeal, piety, and labour of my excellent pro-vicar, 
 the Hev. Aidan Devereux, who had brought to maturity 
 the harvest I have just reaped, and if I did not also render 
 testimony to the indefatigable efforts of the catechists and 
 interpreters who have aided him to propagate the gospel. 
 
 " f P. GRIFFITH, V. A." 
 
 Upon the division of the Cape of Good Hope into Eastern 
 and Western Yicariates, the Rev. Dr. Devereux was con- 
 secrated first Yicar- Apostolic of the former, while the most 
 Eev. Dr. Griffith retained the latter. In 1850 the newly- 
 appointed Y. A. wrote thus of the Catholic missions and 
 their prospects : 
 
 " I have frequently asked myself how it has happened 
 that France, so lavish of missioners, when it is contem- 
 plated to send them to Thibet, Corea, and even as far as the 
 Marquesas, has had no apostolic vocation for the millions of 
 natives who people this extremity of the continent of Africa? 
 Perhaps it has arisen from these provinces being hitherto, 
 as it were, a sealed book to Catholic Europe. At first the 
 Dutch East India Company had forbidden throughout 
 the whole colony the exercise of our religion, and enforced 
 their interdict by severe penalties. Then succeeded the 
 English domination, which after manifesting its almost 
 intolerant spirit, affords at the present day but a reluctant 
 countenance to our ministry; and whilst these places were 
 thus closed against us, the different Protestant societies 
 sent forth emissaries. They set out in crowds from Prussia, 
 from France, and from Moravia, and founded a number of 
 establishments. This was, indeed, the country to suit the 
 ministers of the Reformed Church ; a healthy climate,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 473 
 
 in offensive inhabitants, no risk of martyrdom, besides the 
 great facilities afforded for carrying on a good trade, and 
 the great advantages the country offered by being placed 
 sufficiently far from the mother country to enable them 
 to distribute with impunity, and without fear of contradic- 
 tion, fabulous reports whereby they could impose on the 
 credulity of the English. The Cape of Grood Hope was 
 always reckoned the seat of Protestantism, and the good 
 Gaffers, that were said to have been converted by millions, 
 caused abundant tears, together with supplies of gold, to 
 flow from English proselytisers. 
 
 ''Behold, nevertheless, how the Church has, in her turn, 
 penetrated into this oasis of Southern Africa. It is not 
 alone on the borders, but even in the interior of the country, 
 that we find the vantage ground of our victory. The dis- 
 covery of the great interior lake has commenced a new era 
 for those who dwell upon the shores, or on the banks of 
 its tributary rivers, or in that tract of country comprised 
 between this inland sea and the Orange River. 
 
 " Even now these various people extend their suppliant 
 hands to the visible head of the Church, beseeching him 
 to send them ministers of God to preach the doctrines of 
 peace, and proclaim the glad tidings of the gospel."
 
 CHAPTER XXYIII. 
 
 EXTRACT of a letter addressed by the late Eight Eev. Dr. 
 Grimley to the Very Eev. Dr. Conroy, of All Hallows 
 College (present Bishop of Ardagh) : 
 
 "Si. MART'S CATHEDRAL, CAPE Town, 
 
 January 20th, 1862. 
 
 "My DEAR DR. CONROY, It is to me a source of great 
 consolation to offer a small tribute of gratitude to All Hal- 
 lows, by communicating to one of her directors a sketch of 
 the state of religion in this far-distant vicariate. Strange 
 it is that this rising colony is so little known in Ireland, 
 while thousands of Irishmen are found here propagating 
 the faith, while they are raising themselves in the social 
 scale. 
 
 "I know it will gratify you to learn that there are many 
 Irishmen in this city, who came here some years since as 
 artizans, and now rank among our respectable citizens. 
 Their industry, blessed by their faith, has brought down 
 on them even temporal blessings. 
 
 " When I look around me, and see what Ireland has done 
 for South Africa, I cannot refrain from exclaiming : ' Poor 
 Ireland ! Grod has destined you for the conversion of the 
 world.' If you were to remove from this colony the Irish 
 Catholic element, our holy faith would be, I might say, 
 utterly unknown. 
 
 " I have passed over hundreds of miles, and was sorry to 
 have observed large districts of country through which 
 the ploughshare never pierced. Need I state to you that
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 475 
 
 Cape Colony contains a population of 270,000, with an 
 area of 170,000 square miles ? The population is formed 
 of many distinct races : the Dutch, English, Irish, Scotch, 
 German, and Malays. Few Gaffers are to be seen in this 
 part of South Africa. I may remark that the climate is 
 mild, dry, and healthy ; epidemics of any description are 
 almost unknown here. The transition from the humid 
 clime of Ireland to the bracing clime of South Africa, 
 seems to agree remarkably well with the Irish consti- 
 tution. 
 
 " Now a few words on the history of the Cape. 
 
 "As you are well aware, it was in the year 1486 that the 
 Portuguese reached this coast. They cannot, however, be 
 called our first pioneers of civilization, as they neither 
 colonized nor took formal possession of the country. We 
 find that in the year 1620 Britain declared this soil to 
 belong to her crown. 
 
 " In thirty years after, the Dutch began regularly to 
 colonize it. In 1795 the English, regretting that they 
 allowed the Dutch to seize the country, reclaimed it, but 
 restored it at the peace of Amiens in 1801. 
 
 "Again, England, in the year 1806, demanded possession 
 of the Cape, and declared it a portion of the dominion of 
 her sovereign. The possession of this important colony 
 was regularly guaranteed to the British Crown by the 
 Congress of Vienna, in the year 1815. This colony has a> 
 governor, appointed by England, has its own laws and its 
 own legislature. The soil in some places is barren, but 
 generally is capable of a high degree of cultivation ; it 
 produces wine, flax, fruits, and vegetables of all descrip- 
 tions. 
 
 " Having now very briefly written on the history and 
 material condition of the colony, let me present to you the
 
 476 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 religious, the only view that can really interest you or me. 
 Up to the year 1802 the Catholic religion was not tole- 
 rated in this colony. The persecuting spirit of heresy was 
 so relentless that a law was passed forbidding any Spanish 
 vessel anchoring in Table Bay, lest she might bear to this 
 shore any professor of Catholicity. 
 
 " In the year 1806, when Sir David Baird came into 
 office in this colony, he found three priests of Dutch lineage 
 among the inhabitants; these three priests, without trial 
 or charge, were put on board a vessel bound for the 
 Mauritius ; they never after returned. 
 
 "When this portion of the vineyard was left uncultivated, 
 the little flock had no pastor to guide it to refreshing 
 waters. It remained in this sad state of spiritual destitu- 
 tion until the year 1820, a period of fourteen years. The 
 lamentable consequences of this separation from the sacra- 
 ments soon became apparent. Apostacies and indifferent- 
 ism were fast extinguishing the light of faith. Fortunately, 
 before the lamp was entirely extinguished, a religious of 
 the order of St. Benedict arrived in Cape Town, in the 
 year 1820, to rekindle the sacred torch. 
 
 "After a few months an Irish ecclesiastic, the Rev. Father 
 Scully, was appointed to reside here. This zealous clergy- 
 man remained here until July, 1824, toiling amid a 
 thousand difficulties. His successor was a Dutch priest, 
 a most zealous man, who, wishing to visit the scattered 
 flock, left Cape Town to the care of the Rev. Mr. Rishton, 
 while he visited remote localities. Shortly after, laymen 
 assuming duties over which they had no control, created 
 dissensions, which drove not only the Dutch but the English, 
 priest from the colony. 
 
 "After their departure there was no priest in the colony 
 until in 1836, when a Spanish Dominican landed at Cape
 
 TWELVE YEAES IX SOUTH AFRICA. 477 
 
 Town, and for some time administered the sacraments. 
 Representations having been made to tho Holy See about 
 the wretched condition of religion in the colony, it appointed 
 the venerated Dr. Griffith a s the first Yicar- Apostolic of 
 the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 "His lordship landed on the African shore on the 14th 
 of April, 1838. There was no priest here then to congra- 
 tulate him on his arrival. On inquiry, he was told there 
 were seventy Catholics in this city. 
 
 " With the zeal of an apostle, this holy Irish bishop 
 laboured ' in season and out of season.' He has lived to 
 see his glorious work crowned with success. 
 
 "He has handed over to my charge a very fine church in 
 Cape Town, with a congregation well instructed in the 
 doctrine of our holy faith. He has lived to see his 
 vicariate, which on the day of his arrival had not a priest 
 to announce the truths of faith, now divided into three 
 vicariates, and religion, although slowly, yet steadily ad- 
 vancing. 
 
 "On my arrival in this vicariate, on the 18th of last July, 
 I found*in Cape Town only one priest, with a Catholic popu- 
 lation of three thousand souls. In Rondebosh, a district 
 about seven miles from this city, there is a priest, having a 
 congregation of two hundred souls. In Simon's Town, about 
 twenty-one miles from Cape Town, there is a priest, with 
 a Catholic population of one hundred and twenty. In 
 George, about three hundred miles from this city, there is 
 a priest, with one hundred and fifty Catholics. At Oudt- 
 shoorn, three hundred and forty miles distant from Cape 
 Town, there is a priest, with one hundred and twenty 
 Catholics. In the Island of St. Helena, about two thousand 
 miles from Cape Town, there is a priest, with a very un- 
 certain Catholic population, as it consists of British soldiers. 
 
 " I am about erecting three churches in distant districts,
 
 478 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 for, alas ! there are Catholics thinly spread over this vast 
 country, who are so far from church that for years they 
 have not assisted at the most holy Mass. Many of them 
 are in great danger of losing their faith, or what is al- 
 most as had, of becoming indifferent to all religious senti- 
 ments. 
 
 "During my late visitation, I had many opportunities of 
 making myself acquainted with the circumstances of this 
 country. As you are aware, the soil is almost exclusively 
 in the hands of Dutch Boers. These people, as we say, 
 take the world easy ; and as their fathers lived without 
 over-exerting themselves, they think they have a right to 
 walk in their footsteps : hence it is that thousands of acres 
 are left uncultivated. 
 
 " These people have no idea of the doctrines of the Catho- 
 lic Church. As they speak, I may say, exclusively the 
 Dutch language, it will be necessary for all my students 
 to learn that language. I may remark that all classes 
 throughout this vicariate understand and almost all speak 
 it. You comprehend, then, my position in this colony. 
 My vicariate is as extensive as England, Ireland, and 
 Scotland together, at the same time that I have only six 
 priests to attend to the spiritual wants of a people so- 
 scattered. * Oh ! here the harvest is great but the 
 labourers are few/ Here I would wish to multiply my- 
 self, in order to attend to a thousand wants ; but I must 
 have patience. 
 
 " Kespectfully requesting that you will remember me to 
 my revered friends, Monsignor "Woodlock, Dr. Bennett, 
 and the other superiors of All Hallows, 
 
 " I remain, my dear Dr. Conroy, 
 " Yours most truly, 
 
 " f T. G-RDILEY, Bishop. 
 
 "Eey. Da. CoimoY."
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 479 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter of the late 
 Most Eev. Dr. Grimley, dated Borne, Dec. 3rd, 1869 : 
 
 " In the year 1806, when the Cape of Good Hope was 
 taken from the Dutch by the English under General 
 Baird, there were only two Catholic Missioners in all 
 South Africa ; and what is more, a few months after the 
 English occupation, they received, without any previous 
 intimation, an order to quit the colony. They were obliged 
 to go to the Mauritius, and leave their flock without a 
 pastor. 
 
 "From 1806 to 1838 the Catholics of Cape Town had, 
 however, the advantage of receiving at intervals the visit 
 of a priest, who administered the sacraments to them.* 
 In 1837 the Holy See erected South Africa into a Vicariate- 
 Apostolic, and appointed the Right Eev. Dr. Griffith as 
 its first bishop. 
 
 " How it must have saddened the heart of the prelate 
 on arriving in his mission, in the month of April, 1838, 
 to find that there was not a single priest or a single church 
 throughout its whole extent ! It required all the grace of 
 his sacred office to prevent him shrinking back from the 
 sight of obstacles, humanly speaking, insurmountable. 
 On Easter morning, that being the first Sunday after his 
 arrival, he could find no decent place to say mass in. 
 Embarrassed as he was, he had recourse to the commander 
 of the garrison, and asked permission to assemble his little 
 flock and give them the bread of life in one of the barrack 
 rooms. The request was kindly granted, and Dr. Griffith 
 had the happiness of celebrating mass, for the first time, 
 in the midst of his flock. 
 
 * In the " Annals," vol. vi. (1843), p. 276, interesting details are to 
 be found of the religious situation of the Cape Mission, which at that 
 time belonged to the Yicariate- Apostolic of the Mauritius.
 
 480 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 "Shortly after, the zealous prelate left Cape Town, and 
 getting on a cart drawn by bullocks, set out to make his 
 first pastoral visitation. Notwithstanding all his exertions, 
 he could only find 550 Catholics in all South Africa. 
 Full of ardour and patience, he built churches and visited 
 his people in the most remote districts. 
 
 " However, after some years, he found the undertaking 
 beyond his strength, and besought the Holy See to divide 
 the vicariate into three parts the western district, the 
 eastern district, and Natal. His prayer was heard to the 
 great advantage of religion.* At last, worn out with the 
 burden and heat of the day, and exhausted by long years 
 of hard work, Dr. Griffith asked for a coadjutor. The 
 Holy See was pleased to appoint me, unworthy as I am, 
 to continue the great work begun by my venerable prede- 
 cessor. Exactly eleven months after my arrival in Africa, 
 I was called, on the 18th June, 1862, to attend at the 
 death-bed of the holy bishop. 
 
 " I am anxious to explain, on the present occasion, the 
 particular difficulties which stand in the way of the con- 
 version of South Africa. 
 
 " Protestantism, under its various forms, had already 
 taken possession of the country when our holy faith was 
 brought to it. The Dutch, who were masters of the colony, 
 had built chapels and schools, and supported, at great ex- 
 pense, a body of Calvinist ministers. The Moravian 
 Brothers had traversed the country, and established them- 
 selves in the most advantageous situations. German 
 Lutheran ministers repaired thither in their turn ; they 
 obtained vast territorial concessions on which they settled, 
 
 * The Vicariate- Apostolic of thfc Eastern District (Graham's Town) 
 was erected in 1847, and that of Natal in 1850.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 481 
 
 and then, by distributing small lots of ground, succeeded 
 in extending their influence over a great number of the 
 natives. Having become mistress of the country, England, 
 though she did not officially establish her Reformed Church, 
 showed it particular favour, and gave it all the advantages 
 a government could bestow. The Anglican Bishop of 
 Cape Town has at least forty ministers under his jurisdic- 
 tion. Schools are to be found in all parts of his diocese, 
 and his scripture-readers are actively at work in every 
 direction, endeavouring to bring the inhabitants under his 
 pretended spiritual authority. From England, moreover, 
 he obtains large sums of money to enable him to propa- 
 gate heresy. Now, what are the results of these Protes- 
 tant missions ? From a purely intellectual point of view 
 I have no difficulty in acknowledging that the natives 
 have derived some profit from them, but I absolutely deny 
 that their moral condition has been in the smallest degree 
 ameliorated. The most respectable men in the colony 
 could, if necessary, bear testimony to the truth of this 
 assertion. With your permission I will relate an anecdote 
 illustrative of the ease in point. 
 
 " During my last pastoral visit, a Protestant minister 
 came to see me. In the course of conversation, I asked 
 him was he doing much good among the natives. He 
 had the honesty to tell me he did none. And he even 
 went further. ' I was talking lately/ he said, ' with an 
 old Protestant missioner belonging to a neighbouring 
 post, and regretting the little fruit I had reaped from my 
 labours. Now, here was the reply of the old missioner : 
 " You have only been seven years among the natives ; I 
 have been forty years living with them, and I do not be- 
 lieve that I have succeeded in doing them the least good."* 
 
 " But why should we be surprised at the sterility of 
 
 2L
 
 482 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFKICA. 
 
 Protestantism? it is in enmity with the true Church, and, 
 consequently, cannot have the blessing of Grod upon its 
 work. 
 
 "You see we have not only to contend with pagan- 
 ism, but also to struggle against heresy of every 
 shade, with its usual auxiliaries, ignorance, prejudice, 
 and hatred of the Church of Jesus Christ. Thank Grod, 
 these prejudices are disappearing generally. I say gene- 
 rally, for still instances occur in which they are displayed 
 in the most violent manner, as the following example will 
 fihow. 
 
 " Two years ago, one of my priests, in travelling through 
 his district, knocked one night at the door of a boer,* and 
 asked for hospitality. As he introduced himself by his 
 ecclesiastical title, he was immediately received and shown 
 to a room. However, while he was taking some refresh- 
 ment, the boer's wife asked him what clergyman he was. 
 
 * A Roman Catholic,' the missioner replied. Hearing this, 
 the woman got into a rage, and ordered the priest to leave 
 the house at once. ' But,' remonstrated the priest, ' if you 
 force me to leave at this hour, I shall be obliged to sleep 
 in the open air.' The woman was not to be moved. An 
 appeal to the husband was all in vain ; he was not master 
 in his own house. As he went out, the priest asked the 
 boer to let him, at any rate, shelter in some outhouse. 
 
 * We have nothing of the kind,' he replied, 'but a wretched 
 old stable.' ' All the better !' exclaimed the missioner. 
 ' I shall sleep in the crib, as my dear Master did before 
 me.' 
 
 " When you recollect that my vicariate, exclusive of the 
 Island of St. Helena, is six times larger than the whole 
 
 * A Dutch colonist.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 483 
 
 of Ireland, and that the total population numbers 242,300 
 souls, scattered over that immense territory, you will easily 
 conclude that it is not easy to effect much with only eight 
 missioners. But where are we to seek them ? How are 
 we to procure for them the common necessaries of life ? 
 Schools and workshops would be the two most powerful 
 means of bringing together the children of our half-civi- 
 lized tribes, and leading them to the knowledge of the 
 truth. But for that we would require a whole staff of 
 missioners and nuns. I know very well, and the experi- 
 ence of every day proves it to be the fact, that neither 
 missioners nor nuns would fail us if it were only possible 
 to incur the expense of bringing them over, and of sup- 
 porting them when here. When I read of the enormous 
 sums collected every year in England for the propagation 
 of heresy, I am inclined to blush at seeing the Catholic 
 world so much in the background. Alas ! how many 
 millions of souls are now buried in the darkness of infi- 
 delity ! Do we ever think of the efforts the Protestant 
 sects make to spread their opinions ? Can it be that zeal 
 for the truth will not urge us to outstrip them? I venture 
 to say that it is a thousand times easier to convert the 
 infidel savage than the civilized heretic. 
 
 " God grant that my words may reach the ears of Catho- 
 lics who enjoy the superabundance which wealth produces? 
 May they recollect that they are but stewards of the gifts 
 of God, and must render one day an account of their ad- 
 ministration. If the Catholic world would place in our 
 hands the means that are wanting in innumerable missions, 
 where infidelity and heresy reign supreme, we should soon 
 see the true faith proclaimed, morality respected, virtue 
 held in honour, the love of God enkindled in human hearts, 
 and the name of Jesus glorified. If each parish would
 
 484 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 contribute every year a trifle to the great Association for 
 the Propagation of the Faith, what grand results should 
 we not, with the grace of God, have reason to record ? 
 South Africa alone, now in such an abandoned condition, 
 would see the cross planted in every direction, and there 
 would be but one faith and one shepherd. 
 
 " But, to return to the actual condition of my 
 vicariate. In the first place, I must express to you my 
 deep gratitude for the grants you have hitherto so chari- 
 tably given me. Were it not for that assistance, I can 
 assure you the Catholic faith would be almost unknown in 
 my district. "When I landed at Cape Town in 1861, there 
 was only one priest in that important place ; there are 
 now three. We had only one schoolhouse and a single 
 teacher for the boys ; now we have five Little Brothers of 
 Mary, and well organized schools. Instead of one girls' 
 school, we have five; and eight Dominican nuns have 
 taken the place of the one mistress we used to have. The 
 number of children now in daily attendance in the classes 
 may be estimated at 400, while, previous to my arrival, 
 there were hardly eighty. 
 
 " These results, so glorious to religion, I attribute, after 
 (rod, to the Association for the Propagation of the Faith. 
 
 " Outside Cape Town I built a church at Malmesbury; 
 but I have found it impossible to keep a priest there. I 
 also built a chapel and presbytery at Mossel Bay, though 
 I cannot have a resident priest. The fact is, the establish- 
 ments of Cape Town have almost entirely absorbed the 
 resources you have kindly placed at my disposal. I do 
 not regret this, for I have always been convinced, and am 
 now more than ever, that the great Catholic centre of South 
 Africa must be Cape Town, the principal place in it. 
 
 " The number of towns in which Protestantism is
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 485 
 
 established, and in which the Catholic religion is almost 
 unknown, amounts to nearly thirty. I am heartbroken 
 when I think of the vast network which heresy has spread 
 over the whole South of Africa. However, I must tell you 
 for your consolation, that, at present, the Protestants are 
 very well disposed towards us. Some years ago we were 
 allowed no share in the grants voted for the schools of the 
 colony, without distinction of sects. There is no such ex- 
 clusion at present. Formerly, too, the old colonial legis- 
 lature banished the Jesuits, declared that no Catholic priest 
 could inherit property, and enacted a hundred other 
 measures of the same kind, worthy of the days of persecu- 
 tion. Last year all these odious and unjust laws were 
 repealed, and now, thank God, though poor, we are free. 
 
 " As a proof of the progress of our holy religion in South 
 Africa, I will quote for you the words of one of the most 
 esteemed of the Cape colonists. The Inspector- General of 
 Education, in a work published this year at Cape Town, 
 expresses himself in the following terms : 
 
 " ' I do not wish to offend any one, but I must confess 
 that the Roman Catholic Church might serve as a model 
 to all the other Churches of the colony. The two bishops 
 have a certain determined object before them, and they act 
 in concert ; their flocks have confidence in them, and are 
 devoted to them ; moreover, they have built churches and 
 schools, which are a credit to the principal towns. Not 
 having to dread any vexatious dissension within, courageous 
 in facing all difficulties from without, that Church has 
 overcome all obstacles on its way, and has at present in its 
 schools at Port Elizabeth, Graham's Town, and Cape Town, 
 more children than are to be found in the schools of any 
 other communion, if we except the schools of our own 
 Church, at Cape Town. The secret of this power is to be
 
 486 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFE1CA. 
 
 found in the liberty of discussion, which is the rule of the 
 bishops, and in the respect which the people pay to their 
 pastors. In stating these facts, I am not actuated either 
 by a false pity or by a feeling of envy.' 
 
 " I have thus laid before you, gentlemen, an account of 
 the state of my vicariate. I have only eight priests to 
 propagate the faith in my numerous territory. And, re- 
 member, that I ought to extend my solicitude to the island 
 of St. Helena, where our good missioners have charge of 
 190 Catholics. Now, this part of my vicariate is situated 
 1,800 miles from Cape Town, my usual residence. Be- 
 sides, I have to support an orphanage and schools, and 
 provide for my priests. Travelling in a country like 
 Southern Africa is very expensive, and my flock are gene- 
 rally too poor to give me any assistance. 
 
 " t THOMAS (TRIM LEY."
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC MISSION OF NATAL, SOUTH 
 AFRICA. 
 
 THE mission of Natal owes its origin to several Irish 
 families who emigrated to that part of the coast. Mon- 
 signor Devereux, Bishop of the Cape (eastern province), 
 sent a mission there towards the end of the year 1850. 
 Some months afterwards the Sovereign Pontiff erected the 
 province of Natal into a vicariate- apostolic, and confided 
 the care of that mission to the Society of Oblates of Mary 
 Immaculate. Monsignor Allard, member of that Society, 
 set out from Marseilles, the 13th of November, 1851, and 
 arrived in the following month of March at Petermaritz- 
 burg, where he took up his residence. The jurisdiction of 
 the vicariate is not confined to the colonial territory : it 
 includes all the east coast, from Key River to the Bay of 
 Delagoa, where the Portuguese possessions begin, and 
 stretches with ill-defined limits on the west, by the banks 
 of the Orange Eiver, beyond the mountains of Drackem- 
 berg, the boundaries of English colony. Three very dis- 
 tinct classes of people occupy this vast field, open to the 
 zeal of the missioner: 1st, the Europeans; 2nd, the Caffirs 
 of the colony ; 3rd, the independent Caffirs. To explain 
 the religious position of the vicariate, we must examine 
 separately each of these groups. 
 
 I. 
 
 The Europeans of the English colony of Natal inhabit 
 chiefly Petermaritzburg and Durban. It is in the first of
 
 488 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 these two cities the governor and the chief part of the 
 colonists, who have come from Europe, reside. The cares 
 of the missionary attached to this post are divided between 
 the cure of souls of the Catholics, five or six hundred in 
 number, and the direction of the schools confided to a cate- 
 chist brother and to a secular mistress. 
 
 The greater part of these Catholics are retired Irish 
 soldiers ; the rest English and Scotch converts from Pro- 
 testantism. The conversions, without being very nume- 
 rous, are latterly of frequent occurrence. The schools 
 have existed for ten years, and have begun to give import- 
 ant results ; the sacraments are more frequented ; pious 
 confraternities have been formed. In a letter from the 
 Rev. Father Barret (25th July, 1865), we find some 
 details of these confraternities. " I have succeeded," says 
 he, " in establishing a confraternity in honour of the Most 
 Holy Sacrament, and now, Jesus Christ, hidden under 
 the eucharistic veil, is worthily worshipped, a thing un- 
 known formerly. On Holy Thursday there was not a 
 single one of my flock who did not come to pass at least a 
 quarter of an hour before the Holy Sacrament. The 
 number of persons who attend mass on week days increases 
 sensibly every year. I have also established an association 
 of women for the care and decoration of the church. They 
 each pay a small subscription, which, at the close of the 
 year, produces four hundred francs." 
 
 The church itself has been repaired and embellished, 
 the Catholics of the town subscribing to defray the expense. 
 Petermaritzburg is the residence of the Anglican Bishop 
 of Natal. The resident titular is Dr. Colenso, whose fame 
 is spread throughout Europe for some years past. Embar- 
 rassed by the obstinate attachment which he had remarked 
 among the Caffirs to polygamy, Doctor Colenso resolved
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 489 
 
 to adopt their opinions, since he could not persuade them 
 to embrace his own. Since polygamy would not yield to 
 Protestantism, he was contented that Protestantism should 
 yield to polygamy he proclaimed its legitimacy. He 
 lias denied the inspiration and the accuracy of the Bible, 
 .by the aid of which, notwithstanding, he pretended to 
 convert the pagans. Condemned and deprived of his 
 functions by Dr. Gray, the Anglican Bishop of the Cape, 
 Doctor Colenso has maintained his position, after having 
 gained his suit before the highest judicial court of Great 
 Britain, which decided that it was lawful for the Anglican 
 clergy to deny the inspiration of the Sacred Scriptures. 
 In the midst of these dissensions, the divine unity of 
 Catholicity shines with redoubled lustre, and no doubt the 
 Church is destined to gather into its fold the victims of 
 the division, of which Protestant principle is the necessary 
 source. 
 
 The town of Durban, about two miles and a half from 
 the Bay of Natal, is the second Catholic station of the 
 colony. A double apostolate belongs to the missioner; he 
 is occupied not only with Europeans, but also with men 
 of colour, called coolies, who have emigrated from Hindos- 
 tan to labour for the colonists. These coolies, dissemi- 
 nated through the farms and the plantations, are visited 
 from time to time by the missioner. The dissenting popu- 
 lation at Durban are far from being hostile to the Catho- 
 lics. In 1863 the Protestants gave a concert to furnish 
 means to the Rev. Father Sabon to build a suitable resi- 
 dence. Moreover, they abstained, in a public auction, 
 to raise the price of a spot of land belonging to the town, 
 because it was wanted for the church. They have even 
 subscribed to the enlargement of that building. The little 
 church built in 1852 has become too small. Setting to
 
 490 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 work with energy it was enlarged in three months, and it 
 was solemnly reopened and blessed the 29th of October, 
 1865. Thus enlarged, the church of St. Joseph has 
 accommodation for 250 persons ; from this it will be seen 
 that the Catholics in Durban are not numerous ; they are 
 still without a school. 
 
 Beyond the Drackemberg mountains, between the 
 Orange Eiver on the south, and the river Limpopo on 
 the north, the Dutch colonists have formed two republics, 
 Free State and Transvaal. We meet here also colonists 
 of French descent ; they are the posterity of Calvinists, 
 who emigrated to Africa on the revocation of the edict of 
 Nantes (1685). "I must say to their credit," Monsignor 
 Allard remarks (letter of the 10th June, 1865), "they 
 have always been kind to us, when in our travels we have 
 sought their hospitality." Some hundreds of Catholics 
 are scattered through the country in Free State, or col- 
 lected in small numbers in the towns of Bloemfontein, 
 Harry-Smith, Fame-Smith, Smithfield. The centre of 
 the mission is Bloemfontein, the capital of the republic. It 
 is ten or twelve days' journey from Petermaritzburg, and 
 has a missioner. 
 
 About 300 miles north of Durban, outside the colony 
 and the vicariate of Natal, is the Portuguese station of 
 Lorenzo-Marquez, or Delagoa Bay. It contains 1200 
 inhabitants ; three-fourths of them are Caffir idolaters ; 
 the remainder consist of Hindoos, Mahometans, and 
 about 120 Catholics (100 Europeans, for the most part 
 military convicts, and twenty metis, or baptized Caffirs). 
 Since 1834 no priest had been at Lorenzo. The Sove- 
 reign Pontiff, touched by the neglected state of these poor 
 Catholics, entrusted this land to the vicar-apostolic of 
 Natal. The Rev. Father Bompart, accompanied by some
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA.' 491 
 
 Caffirs, who carried his church plate and his baggage, left 
 Durban the 18th May, 1864, to go to Lorenzo. Not 
 being able to procure a boat, he was obliged to go by land, 
 a long, difficult, and dangerous journey ; it must be gone 
 on foot, mules or horses not being able to get to Delagoa 
 on this side. The intrepid missioner arrived at the end 
 of his travels on the 20th of the following June. Lorenzo- 
 Marquez is the tomb of Europeans. Rev. Father Bompart 
 was seized with fever, which never left him. God thus 
 tried the patience and courage of his apostle, condemned 
 to complete inaction, for orders had come from Lisbon that 
 no French priest should be allowed to discharge the duties 
 of missioner. After ten months of delay, he had to aban- 
 don his post, and to return to Durban, there to recover 
 slowly from the disease contracted at Lorenzo-Marquez. 
 
 II. 
 
 As soon as the European colony was provided with due 
 religious service, the vicar-apostolic began to extend the 
 preaching of the gospel amongst the natives. " Throughout 
 the country, and even in towns, the natives are always the 
 most numerous of the population. For many years they 
 have lived among the Europeans, acting as servants; 
 nevertheless, they remain unchanged in their manners 
 and customs." 
 
 Two attempts at missions have been made amongst the 
 Caffirs of the colony, and both have failed through the 
 same obstacles. 
 
 The first was in 1855. Monsignor Allard gave it in 
 charge to two missioners who had come from France, the 
 Rev. Fathers Barret and Grerard. He sent them to a 
 place 75 miles from Petermaritzburg, amongst a popula- 
 tion whom heresy had left untouched. The chief gave
 
 492 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 them a good reception, and the mission opened on the 
 2nd of September, 1855, under the name of Saint Michael. 
 Eight months afterwards, the Caffirs who frequented it 
 were driven off by a hostile tribe. The work, for a time 
 interrupted, was resumed at the end of January, 1858. 
 On a portion of the colony under the control of the English 
 governor, the missioners built a chapel, which was blessed 
 by the vicar-apostolic on the 17th July, 1859. "This 
 chapel of St. Michael," we read in a letter of the 21st of 
 the following August, " is built on an eminence, in the 
 centre of a plot of ground given by the government ; it is 
 surrounded by a portico, which gives shelter to the Caffirs 
 from the heat of the sun and from rain, and adds to the 
 solidity of the construction. That part of the portico at 
 the back of the sanctuary has been converted into cells, in. 
 which the bishop and a missioner reside." But the Caffirs 
 did not respond to the devotedness which was bestowed 
 on them. Delighted to have the missioners amongst them, 
 to be under their protection, they still continued to rebel 
 against grace. To religious indifference they added a con- 
 temptuous raillery of holy things, and made the same ob- 
 jections as our European freethinkers to the truths of 
 faith. After many years' waiting, the hope of founding a 
 religious establishment had to be given up. The vicar- 
 apostolic had to be satisfied with leaving a father and a 
 catechist brother at St. Michael, to wait for more favour- 
 able times. In the meantime, it is useful as a place of 
 study. The missioners go there to acquire the Zoulou 
 language, spoken at Natal, and all along the coast from 
 Graham's Town to Delagoa; this language is, besides, the 
 key of that of the Basutos, and of the idioms of many other 
 tribes which inhabit the country west of Drakenberg. 
 In the month of July, 1860, Monsignor Allard made a
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 493 
 
 second attempt, being accompanied lay Father Gerard and 
 the two catechist brothers, on one of the most distant parts 
 of the colony. After five days' travelling, the missioners 
 halted, recited the " Stabat Mater," and began the build- 
 ing of a chapel under the name of " Our Lady of the Seven 
 Dolours." The mission opened on the 14th October. But 
 here as at St. Michael the Caffirs displayed the same in- 
 sensibility to the gifts of (rod. Their persistence in these 
 bad dispositions obliged the missioners to give up, the 
 following year, that new station. 
 
 In a letter of the 26th October, 1861, Monsignor Allard 
 thus sums up the obstacles which hinder the conversion of 
 the Caffirs : " The Caffir distrusts every stranger, and has 
 no desire to know any doctrines which do not belong to 
 his nation. Beared up from childhood to use deceitful 
 phrases, he never lays himself open to be comprehended, 
 and his heart lies as hidden as his thoughts. The ties of 
 subordination which unite the members of a tribe are very 
 strict. The chief is all-powerful ; it is he who inspects all 
 the villages ; to him belongs the sole right of treating with 
 other tribetj ; it is he alone who can do justice. It is im- 
 possible, therefore, for the missioner to undertake anything 
 without the knowledge and good-will of the chiefs. The 
 Caffirs generally enjoy prosperity ; and in all their feasts 
 they mix up superstitious practices. They are limited in 
 their desires; satisfied with what they have and what they 
 are, they wish for nothing better. Their every-day re- 
 lations with Europeans, and especially with Protestant 
 ministers, is the last obstacle to their conversion. The 
 ministers have given them some notions of Christianity, 
 but without requiring that they should renounce polygamy 
 and their bad habits ; and, as the ministers ask them to 
 join in their meetings, the Caffirs see in Christianity
 
 494 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 nothing but a form, and think, that to satisfy the mis- 
 sioner, it is only necessary to attend chapel. Therefore, 
 when they find us disagreeing on all these points with 
 the ministers of heresy, they are not scared, and make no 
 difficulty in receiving us, although all the time they are 
 determined not to follow the law of Jesus Christ. 
 
 "After the two trials we have made, I do not believe," 
 continues Monsignor Allard, " that it will be prudent to 
 send other missioners forth in the colony of Natal. The 
 Caffirs are the same everywhere. "What appears expedient 
 to me is, to undertake the work beyond the confines of 
 the colony, especially to the north of the vicariate, to 
 observe the dispositions of the natives." 
 
 III. 
 
 In the month of January, 1862, the vicar-apostolic fol- 
 lowed out his design. After having visited, with Father 
 Gerard, the Irish Catholics in Free State, he went among 
 the Basutos. This nation inhabits the country to the east 
 of the Dutch republic. The name of its chief is Mosnesh. 
 He has gained a fearful name amongst the inhabitants of 
 the Free State ; they call him the Lion of the Mountain 
 The visitation of many Catholic families who dwelt amongst 
 the infidels, gave a natural opportunity to Monsignor Allard 
 to study the character and to ascertain the sentiments of 
 the Basutos on religious matters. He obtained an audience 
 from Molapo, son of King Mosnesh, and governor of a 
 province in the dominions of his father. The ceremony of 
 the reception was conducted with great solemnity. 
 
 " Molapo," writes Monsignor Allard, " received us in 
 the open air, in a vast enclosed space, where he held 
 council with the elders and the captains of the province. 
 They brought us seats in the European style, and we were
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 495 
 
 placed before the governor, who sat on a large skin of a 
 wild beast, surrounded by a guard of sixty men. On his 
 questioning us, we told him our names and our titles in 
 the Church, and, as we knew a Protestant minister resided 
 at the Court, we did not allow the prince to remain in 
 ignorance that we taught a doctrine quite distinct from 
 the Protestant. 
 
 "Some days after, the prince returned our visit, and 
 asked permission to assist at the Divine Office on the 
 morrow. He came there, in fact, attended by three of his 
 councillors. After mass, he said to us, * I wish to know 
 which of the two religions is the true one ; for we are an 
 ignorant people, and perhaps the Wesleyan missionaries 
 preach a false doctrine to us, and so lead us to hell.' In 
 reply, we laid before him the Catholic dogmas, which we 
 followed up with a rapid summary of the history of Pro- 
 testantism, insisting on the point, that a branch, broken 
 off at the end of fifteen centuries from Christianity, could 
 not be the true Church of Christ. Molapo gave permis- 
 sion to the missioners to preach the gospel to the Basutos, 
 whilst waiting for the definite authorization of the king, 
 his father; and, when taking leave of them, he said, 'Pray 
 to (rod for us, that He may show us the way which leads 
 to heaven.'" 
 
 Mosnesh dwelt on the mountain called Thaba-Bosigo, 
 two days' journey from where they were. It is a citadel 
 fortified by nature. The missioners went in search of 
 him. 
 
 " The king, informed of our arrival by one of the Catho- 
 lics in his service, received us very cordially," says Mon- 
 signor Allard. "He ordered coffee, then asked us a 
 multitude of questions, made Father Gerard read some 
 portions of the gospel, and asked us why we had not taken.
 
 496 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 up our abode with the Protestant minister of the district. 
 This brought out an explanation of the difference between 
 the Catholic religion and Protestantism. The king burst 
 out laughing when we told him the Protestant religion 
 was too young to be that which Jesus Christ had founded 
 eighteen hundred years ago. This first interview was 
 very hopeful. We commenced a novena in honour of the 
 Blessed Virgin for the success of our endeavours. The 
 novena finished, we presented ourselves before Mosnesh on 
 Saturday, the 8th February, and we prayed for permission to 
 open missions in his kingdom. He willingly consented, all 
 the time telling us that this was sure to make the Protestant 
 minister hostile to him. He pointed out to us the first 
 post we should occupy. ' I wish,' he added, ' that you 
 may be near me, that I may hear and know your doctrine. 
 At a later period you may choose other stations where you 
 please.' 
 
 " On the next day he sent two of his sons to conduct us 
 to the place he had chosen. It is a beautiful valley, watered 
 by a river ; it is five miles in extent, and there are twenty 
 villages in it. The sons of Mosnesh showed us a spring of 
 water, near which we could fix our residence, and told the 
 inhabitants of the country with what intention we came 
 to live amongst them. 
 
 " On our return, we went to thank the king and to take 
 leave of him, with the promise to return shortly." 
 
 The missioners did return very soon. Monsignor Allard, 
 Father Grerard, and Brother Bernard, setting out from 
 Petermaritzburg on the 19th August, 1862, arrived at 
 their destination after fifty-four days of journeying on 
 foot. The good will of the king did not deceive them. 
 The 1st November, 1863, he assisted with the chiefs of 
 the tribe at the solemn opening of the mission.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 497 
 
 " The Basutos," wrote Father Grerard (7th December, 
 1863), "were long desirous for the coming of the day on 
 which they would be witnesses of the worship which the 
 Baromans, or Catholics, paid to God. The king, in par- 
 ticular, had said to us often we should invite him to the 
 opening of our exercises, that he would come himself, and 
 would speak to his people in our favour. The presence of 
 the king was a great consolation to us. We were rejoiced 
 to see the most renowned of the chiefs of that part of 
 Africa thus favourable to the missioners. Moshesh arrived 
 at nine o'clock in the morning, although the mountain 
 where he resides is two hours and a half distance 
 from the mission. He was accompanied by his sons 
 and a number of horsemen, dressed in European style. 
 All went on well during the ceremony. After the 
 sermon, the king wished to make his speech. At his 
 request, Monsignor willingly granted the authorization. 
 He was allowed into the sanctuary, so as to command 
 his audience. He spoke to them for a long time. 
 Amongst other things, he said he had brought a trea- 
 sure that day, that by inquiry they would come to 
 know the true religion, if it was ours or that of the 
 Protestants. Addressing afterwards the principal chiefs 
 by name, he told them to watch that the church should 
 be always full, and to take care that no evil should 
 befall the mission, for he would be there to punish the 
 malefactors. He invited all, men and women, to give 
 their services to us when we might have need, and he re- 
 called what I had said in commenting on these words of 
 our Lord, 'He that believeth and is baptized, will be 
 saved.'" 
 
 Such was, a few years ago, the beginning of the mission 
 of the Immaculate Conception amongst the Basutos. 
 
 2M
 
 498 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Our readers will be happy to learn that this mission 
 is now the most important in the whole vicariate of 
 Natal. 
 
 The Right Rev. Dr. Ricards, third Bishop of the Eastern 
 Vicariate, in a lecture on the Basuto mission, published 
 at Graham's Town, speaking of the mission of Basutoland, 
 says : " The Catholic Church has begun the great work of 
 evangelizing the natives of South Africa. A real begin- 
 ning has been made; it is no longer an experiment a 
 long and weary time of watching for the well-known signs 
 which, to the eye of the missionary priest, herald the dawn 
 of Divine grace. Thank God, these blessed marks of 
 heaven's approval are clearly manifest, and the work has 
 commenced in real earnest. Already the holy bishop who 
 conducts this mission, and the priests who labour under 
 his guidance, have said to each other, in transports of joy, 
 ' See it is the will of God,' and have devoted their whole 
 lives to the furtherance of the work which they feel con- 
 vinced is blessed from above." 
 
 '.-'#-#"- 'y# ;*'*, 
 
 " A stranger to our faith would probably smile at what 
 has been effected, were he to visit the lowly village of 'Matsi 
 wa ma Jesu,' it seems so insignificant in the eyes of one 
 accustomed to the signs of material progress. He would 
 see, in the heart of one of the most lovely and fertile val- 
 leys of Lessuto, beneath the lofty crags which close in its 
 western aspect, an humble church, built of sods and roofed 
 with reeds, capable of accommodating about two hundred 
 people, a long line of cottages, built of the same material, 
 with here ind there a brick building, the mere beginning 
 of what in a few years, may become a large establish- 
 ment ; two enclosed gardens, and, at some distance, care- 
 fully fenced round, the decent habitation of the nuns. All
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 499 
 
 this has been the work of the bishop, and his priests, and 
 two lay brothers. They are the brickmakers, carpenters, 
 and labourers of the village. The timber necessary for 
 the work has to be sought for here and there among the 
 mountains. There are few trees, or rather bushes, to be 
 seen in Basutoland. Occasionally, in the journeys of the 
 priests, a bush is found of larger size than ordinary it 
 may be seven or eight miles from the station what matter, 
 it is a treasure! The axe is plied; the branches lopped 
 off; and with reims it is dragged along over hill and dale, 
 tumbled over precipices, and so, after, perhaps, a week's 
 united labour of the missionaries, brought to its destination. 
 I saw the nuns working with spade and mattock under 
 the glaring sun, cultivating their garden ; I noticed the 
 hands of the bishop and his priests black and rough with 
 
 the mechanic's toil. 
 
 *#### 
 
 " When I was in Europe, in 1858, I was endeavouring, 
 by the direction of our own bishop, to secure the establish- 
 ment of a Cistercian community in Kaffirland. In the 
 course of a long conversation with the abbot of Mount 
 Melleray, in Ireland, I was pointing out so him the difficul- 
 ties which he would have to contend with, in case the chapter 
 of the Order allowed him to make the foundation, and I 
 said that I feared, even after thirty or forty years, probably 
 when all the first monks would have passed away, there 
 might not be one convert. He said, 'Yes, it is quite pos- 
 sible; Grod only can give the increase; that rests with 
 Him. Our only concern is to have the means of observing 
 our rule, and serving those about us to the best of our 
 ability. But if the example of the religious me will only 
 have made a good impression on the native mind, 
 if the natives are only brought so far as to eee
 
 500 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 that there is something real in the faith we preach, 
 if they are only convinced that we are disinterested 
 in our efforts to communicate to them the blessed truths 
 of the Gospel, that will be a great work. The beginning 
 will have been made, and our brethren who come after us 
 will see the fruits."
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 EXTRACT of a letter of the first bishop of Natal, Most Eev. 
 Dr. Allard, dated 30th December, 1870 : 
 
 " The vicariate-apostolic of Natal, confided to the Con- 
 gregation of Oblates of Mary Immaculate, lies between 
 the mouth of the Zambezi, in 18 of south latitude, and 
 Cape Colony, 32. If from these two points on the coast, 
 two lines parallel to the equator, in a western direction, 
 be drawn indefinitely, you will have an idea of the terri- 
 torial extent of our mission. It is the Orange River, which 
 forms, for the most part, the line of demarcation between 
 the vicariate of Natal and the two vicariates of the Cape. 
 
 " There are three European settlements in our territory; 
 the colony of Natal, which belongs to England, and, to 
 the west of that colony, the two Dutch republics, known 
 by the names of Orange Free State and Transvaal Re- 
 public. Beyond these settlements extends a vast country, 
 to the north, west, and south, inhabited by Caffirs. The 
 number of Europeans in the vicariate may amount to forty 
 thousand, that of the Caffirs to three or four millions. 
 
 "I. MISSIONS OF THE Two DUTCH REPUBLICS. The 
 general configuration of the two States is that of a qua- 
 drilateral, which, from the Orange River, extends to the 
 north 900 miles, being about 150 miles broad, following 
 almost in length the 27th meridian of longitude east from 
 Paris. 
 
 " The Free State and Transvaal at present have from 
 six to eight hundred Catholics, mostly Irish. Previous to 
 our arrival at Natal (1852), Monseigneur Devereux,
 
 502 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Yicar- Apostolic of Graham's Town, had sent one of his 
 missioners to serve the district, the Rev. Father Hoender- 
 wanger, of the Order of St. Norbert. To this missioner 
 we owe the chapel of Smithfield, and some little property 
 in the town of Bloemfontein. But he was unable, being 
 infirm this long time, to bestow sufficient attention on the 
 Catholics, and a year ago he was recalled to Belgium by 
 his superiors. 
 
 " At present, the mission is served by two priests, and 
 presents quite a different aspect. A numerous population 
 is flowing towards it, seeking for diamonds which were 
 discovered on the banks of the Yaal River. A vast field 
 is open, therefore, for zealous men, and it is easy to see 
 that the harvest will be abundant. You can form an 
 opinion of it from the following extracts of letters addressed 
 to the vicar-apostolic by the Eev. Father Lebihan : 
 
 " ' 24:th of August, 1869. In the environs of Cronstadt, 
 a village of the Free State, the family of Mr. Collins resides ; 
 his wife is a Dutch woman, who has been converted. All 
 of them, parents and children, are good Catholics ; but, for 
 these twelve years, they have never received the visit of a 
 priest. When I arrived, Mr. Collins clasped my hands 
 and wept. All the inhabitants of the farm assisted at my 
 mass, and I gave them religious instruction twice every 
 day. I prepared them to receive Holy Communion on 
 the following Sunday; one of his children, a girl sixteen 
 years of age, received for the first time. I found that she 
 knew her catechism from beginning (to end; she had never 
 seen a priest. Her father wished that she should go to 
 spend some time with the nuns, that she might see with 
 her own eyes how religion is practised among Catholics. 
 
 " ' 12th of November. After leaving the farm of Mr. 
 Collins, where God had so completely blessed my ministry,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 503 
 
 I went to Transvaal. Potchefstroom is one of its principal 
 towns. It is nearly as populous as Petermaritzburg, and 
 surpasses it in beauty and extent. The streets, symmetri- 
 cally laid out, are six miles long; to every house a garden 
 is attached, where at their will the inhabitants can turn 
 on a current of water, for streams run everywhere through 
 the town. 
 
 " ' "When I arrived, I was guided to Mr. Elliot's house. 
 Some hours after, I had received visits from a good number 
 of Catholics. In the morning, they being assembled, I 
 begged of them to rent for me a room large enough to 
 serve the purpose of a chapel. In the evening they had 
 secured a place ; the altar was decorated, and I com- 
 menced the exercises of the mission. They lasted for 
 twenty-four days. The Rosary was said every day. 
 Every decade was accompanied by a verse in honour of 
 the Blessed Virgin. Soon this canticle was in every one's 
 mouth ; they sang it in the houses and in the streets ; the 
 Protestants themselves were likewise carried away by this 
 enthusiasm. Every one asked me for rosaries, crosses, 
 medals. My stock was soon exhausted. Mothers and 
 daughters wore the rosaries round their necks, although 
 we were in a country peopled by Protestants, and Calvin- 
 istio Protestants. This was a public profession of their 
 faith. 
 
 " ' The anxiety to be present, morning and evening, at 
 the instructions left nothing to be wished for. No Catho- 
 lic was absent ; and in the congregation there were a cer- 
 tain number of Protestants. There was a wonderful 
 emulation amongst the children to learn the catechism. 
 All the Catholics, two excepted, approached the sacrament 
 of penance ; on the last Sunday there was general com- 
 munion. Eight children were admitted to first communion.
 
 504 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 ten were baptized, and I received into the Catholic Church 
 two matrons, converts from Protestantism. The number 
 of the faithful in the town of Potchefstroom is about four 
 hundred. 
 
 " * I had also to perform a marriage ceremony. But a 
 law of the Republic proscribed any religion except the 
 Dutch Reformed ; the Catholic priest was incapacitated to 
 receive the consent of the two contracting parties, and 
 procure the civil validity of the marriage. I went before 
 the magistrate and showed him that the law was annulled, 
 since the Anglicans were allowed to preach their doctrines. 
 My reasons were sustained by an influential Protestant, 
 and the law was declared to be abrogated as far as Catho- 
 lics were concerned. Three other Protestant women, mar- 
 ried to Catholics, asked to be instructed that they might 
 embrace our holy religion. I was told of a father of a 
 family who solicited the same favour for himself. 
 
 " ' A priest residing here could do a great deal of good. 
 The Irish Catholics earnestly desire it. They say they 
 can build and sustain a church, a presbytery, and a school- 
 house. To strengthen the good done during the mission, 
 I wished the Catholics to rent a house where they could 
 assemble on Sunday and pray together. My advice having 
 been adopted, I chose one of the faithful to preside over 
 their reunions, recite the prayers, give lectures, announce 
 the feasts and the days of fast and abstinence. The chil- 
 dren were not forgotten ; a female was appointed to teach 
 them their catechism. We have a schoolmaster at Potchef- 
 stroom. 
 
 " * The day for my departure came. The Catholics 
 came in crowds to my apartment ; they ranged themselves 
 in a circle round me, and one of them, holding a purse in 
 one hand and an address in the other, came forward to
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 505 
 
 pay me a compliment. He strove to read, but his eyes 
 were filled with tears ; I strove in vain to utter some words 
 of thanks, but found myself also crying. I ascended my 
 vehicle, and I constantly met Protestants who all saluted 
 me. 
 
 " ' Before leaving Transvaal, I wished to visit a Caffir 
 tribe in the neighbourhood of Potchefstroom. It is a 
 branch of the Barolongs. They appear to be animated 
 with the same spirit as the Basutos to whom we preach 
 the Gospel. I did not know that there were so many 
 savage nations in the Transvaal. What a number of souls, 
 Monseigneur, there are who have not heard the voice of 
 your missioners ! There are millions so situated. A day 
 will come, I hope, when the Oblates of Mary Immaculate 
 will cause the trumpet of evangelical truth to resound to 
 the extremities of your vicariate. 
 
 " ' I came back to the Free State, and went to Mr. 
 Hasset's, an Irish Catholic, whose wife is still a Protestant. 
 He has eleven children ; the two eldest are married, and 
 live with their father. A room was placed at my disposal, 
 and I set to work as at Potchefstroom. Grace fell not in 
 vain on the family. All its members came to the tribunal 
 of penance; the mother made her abjuration, and I was 
 able to baptize her. The general communion was to take 
 place on the third Sunday after the opening of the exer- 
 cises. I sent word of this to our Catholics at Potchef- 
 stroom. On Saturday, the eve of the solemnity, a noise 
 was heard in the distance ; this was caused by the cries of 
 the drivers of the vehicles which brought us nearly every 
 Catholic of that town, glad to meet their priest again. 
 The greatest enthusiasm pervaded the pious caravan. 
 
 " ' In the morning, at mass, their best music was sung. 
 The fervour of the congregation was admirable. The most
 
 506 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 moving sight was to behold the father and mother, fol- 
 lowed by their sons and daughters, approaching the holy 
 table with exemplary devotion. All, so to say, in that 
 family, made their first communion. 
 
 " ' In the afternoon, I baptized two children of a Catho- 
 lic in the vicinity. In the meanwhile, many Protestants 
 arrived on horseback. Disappointed at not being at the 
 ceremony in the morning, they asked me to do something 
 for them ; they wished to hear the word of Grod from me. 
 I hesitated an instant, for I had nothing prepared for this 
 new audience. Never mind, the little ones have asked 
 for bread ; it must be given to them.* Catholics and 
 Protestants, all were collected to listen.' I took for the 
 subject of my discourse the qualities of a Christian, and I 
 showed that the only true Christian is the Catholic. In 
 the evening I had to preach again. 
 
 " ' After mass the next morning I had to go away. I 
 summoned all the children to the foot of the altar, and 
 made them promise aloud to obey their parents and to 
 learn the catechism ; then I blessed them. After the chil- 
 dren the parents came forward ; they also knelt down and 
 received the benediction. The head of a Protestant family, 
 who was present, insisted on kissing my cross. 
 
 " * I was at Mr. Hasset's house when I received your 
 grace's letter, in which you ordered me to come back to 
 Natal. Finding it impossible to travel by my own vehicle, 
 I flung myself into the carriage of a Dutchman who was 
 going in that direction. In this journey I had another 
 instance of the way in which Grod protects his missioners. 
 As I was sleeping one day in the carriage, at the time 
 when the heat was most intense, a large serpent came in 
 
 * Jeremiah (Lamentations), iv, 4.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUl'H AFRICA. 507 
 
 and lay beside me, almost under me. A Hottentot, who 
 was passing, gave me the alarm. I rose hastily, but did 
 not touch the serpent : that was providential ; as he had 
 not been irritated, he did not bite me. Thank God with 
 me, Monseigneur, for my deliverance from an imminent 
 death. 
 
 "'II. MISSION OF THE BASUTOS CAFFIRS. Our mis- 
 sion to the Basutos continues to prosper. A certain 
 number of pagans, touched by grace, we can count on, 
 who seek to enter the fold of Jesus Christ ; whilst others, 
 by their fidelity in getting instructed in the truth of the 
 faith and in practising the law of (rod, obtain the grace 
 of baptism and persevere in it. I shall content myself 
 with noting the most remarkable facts. 
 
 " ' First, the conversion of one of the first captains of 
 King Moshesh ; his name was Schlopo. Old and infirm, 
 he asked to see the missioner. It was an astonishing 
 thing that this man, who had always lived as a pagan, 
 who had never experience of a spiritual kind, took a sin- 
 gular pleasure in receiving the instructions given to him 
 on the Trinity and the other mysteries. You could not 
 speak to him too long. ' A little more,' he would say to 
 those who instructed him. And what they said, he 
 endeavoured to retain. We could not give him all the 
 attention we wished, because his residence was nine miles 
 from the mission, in the midst of Protestants and pagans. 
 Nevertheless, his desire to embrace the religion of Jesus 
 Christ never faltered. To the Protestant minister who 
 thought to dissuade him, he replied with firmness that the 
 Catholic missioner was his father, and that he desired no 
 other. 
 
 " ' After two months' instruction, the day for his bap- 
 tism arrived. A visit which the vicar-apostolic, accompanied
 
 508 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 by all his neophytes, proposed to make to the king, coin- 
 cided with that event. All our neophytes and catechumens 
 were at the place of assembly. The boys and girls of the 
 two industrial schools were there also. They formed in 
 procession at the foot of the mountain on which Moshesh 
 has his residence. The banners were displayed, and every 
 Catholic carried a flag in his hand. They ascended the 
 mountain singing the hymns and reciting the Rosary. 
 
 " * When the procession arrived at the summit, it halted 
 a moment, then marched on to the royal residence. Mos- 
 hesh, dressed superbly and accompanied by his officers, 
 came to meet us. We wished to make the baptism as 
 solemn a rite as was possible. As the palace could not con- 
 tain the crowd, the ceremony was performed in the open air. 
 
 " ' Schlopo received the name of Mary Joseph in bap- 
 tism. When the holy water rolled down on his face, he 
 desired to harangue the people in presence of the king. 
 Addressing himself to his old companions in arms, he said 
 to them, in his figurative language, that he had seized on 
 rich spoil taken from the enemy, and he invited them to 
 come and share it. He spoke of the inappreciable graces 
 which baptism had procured for him, and urged them also 
 to become Christians. 
 
 "'Nothing was wanting in the ceremony. Moshesh 
 terminated it by giving a feast to the Catholics ; he dis- 
 tributed meat in abundance ; this is always a great regale 
 for the Basutos. 
 
 " ' Our neophyte did not survive his baptism long. The 
 king desired to have the body of his friend near his resi- 
 dence. With that view he gave a plot of ground for a 
 Catholic cemetery. He assisted in great pomp at the 
 funeral service, and went with the bier to the place of 
 burial.
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 509 
 
 " * The conversion of Schlopo has not been the sole con- 
 quest of grace on the mountain where the Protestant 
 minister came so often to preach. In spite of the mis- 
 sioners of error, many persons have declared themselves 
 Catholics. A drop of heavenly dew seems to have fallen 
 on the mountain to render it fruitful. Let us hope that 
 other excellent souls will increase the number of the 
 faithful. 
 
 " 'We must here tell of the anxiety which our neophytes 
 have shown for the subscription opened in behalf of 
 Pius IX. It shows that they are attached to the Church, 
 and that they love its supreme pastor. There is nothing 
 obligatory in the subscription ; but, the moment it was 
 proposed, every one received it with joy as an act of filial 
 piety I would even say with enthusiasm. Numbers of 
 women gave the bracelets which they wore as ornaments 
 previous to their conversion. Those circlets, which to us 
 appear ridiculous, have their value here ; to complete the 
 toilet of his wife a husband will lay out more than 3 on 
 one of them. These bracelets have been the chief things ; 
 they are only of iron and copper, but the iron and copper 
 have been given with free will. Some of our Christians 
 have brought in up to fifteen shillings in money. The 
 boys in the industrial school have also distinguished them- 
 selves by their generosity. The girls, under the direction 
 of the sisters, made an offering of all the money they had 
 received for their needlework, about thirty shillings. To 
 compensate for the poverty of the offering, they promised 
 to be good girls, and pray ardently for the Holy Father, 
 and the elder ones determined to offer up a Holy Com- 
 munion for his intention. 
 
 " 'The great event for the Basutos, in the year 1870, 
 was the death of King Moshesh. He had obtained the
 
 510 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 crown, not by right of being the eldest, but by his valour 
 and skill in managing affairs. Moshesh, indeed, was 
 superior in his views to all the native chiefs of South 
 Africa, and he possessed a great influence over them. 
 Even the English looked on his policy with admiration. 
 He was a good man, a true friend to his people. 
 
 " 'As far as we are concerned, we must say to his praise 
 that it was to him, after Grod, that we owed the establish- 
 ment of our missions in his state. To attain this for us, 
 he was compelled to fight alone against all ; we could never 
 dare to hope for such protection from any of the other chiefs 
 who govern the provinces of the kingdom. On every occasion 
 he fought for the cause of the Catholic religion, and he 
 knew well how to defend it from the attacks of Protestants. 
 He never hid his preference for us ; he called us his mis- 
 sioners. ' Do not meddle with my missioners,' he said to 
 some persons who were giving us trouble. He encouraged 
 his children to go to our schools, and such of the Basutos 
 as were in a doubtful mind as to religion, he encouraged to 
 embrace Catholicity, because, he said, it was the true religion. 
 
 " ' He took a singular pleasure in assisting at our solem- 
 nities, and came to them with a numerous attendance. 
 On our side, we visited him often to testify our gratitude. 
 But we would have been wanting in the most essential of 
 our duties, if we were content with the discharge of these 
 purely official ; we had always in our mind the salvation 
 of his soul. Continually we prayed for him, and caused 
 public prayers to be offered for his conversion, and we 
 never failed seizing on any opportunity to represent to 
 him the necessity for thinking of his salvation. Far from 
 being offended, he always replied that he was thinking of 
 it ; we have reason to believe that he had, indeed, a feeble 
 desire to become a Catholic.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 511 
 
 " ' With such dispositions, how was it that Moshesh 
 remained a pagan ? The reason is, alas ! to be seen, if 
 we attend to the fact that the king wished to ally Christi- 
 anity with paganism. He admired the Catholic religion 
 and he loved it, and at the same time he authorised, by 
 his example, the superstitious practices in use amongst 
 the Basutos, though he knew well they were forbidden in 
 the Grospel. He did not love the Protestants, who were 
 settled in his government for forty years ; and, neverthe- 
 less, he allowed their ministers to come every Sunday to 
 perform their religious services for the officers of his court. 
 Every one about him was a Protestant, or a pagan. The 
 defect in Moshesh's character was a disposition to please 
 everybody. Such tendencies left little hope of his con- 
 version. We did not fail to redouble our zeal when his 
 malady increased, as the following letter from the Eev. 
 Father Gerard, dated the 20th of April, 1870, attests: 
 
 " ' When he felt his strength sensibly diminished, Mos- 
 hesh asked as a favour not to give him up, but to come, 
 on the contrary, to see him oftener. We did not need 
 this invitation to stimulate us to fulfil this charitable duty. 
 Although the mission was seven and a half miles from his 
 residence, we went to Moshesh twice a week. We went 
 at all seasons, by night and by day. Sometimes we found 
 it difficult to get into the sick man's chamber ; we had to 
 battle beside his bedside, that is to say, we had to contend 
 with the Protestants who wished to shut us out. As to 
 Moshesh, he always received us well, and he blamed those 
 who sought to prevent us coming to him. 
 
 " ' One day, when I spoke to him forcibly of his salva- 
 tion, he listened to me with great attention, and appeared 
 to be touched. But this inspiration of grace was choked 
 by the intrigues of the Protestants, who never ceased
 
 512 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 from tormenting, night and day, the dying king. Mos- 
 hesh was not strong enough in mind to send them away. 
 Finally, I could only obtain from him some illusory 
 promises. The sectaries, who were resolved on having 
 him on their side, pressed him to come to a decision ; he 
 declared he would have nothing to do with them. The 
 drama should have a wind up ; but, too often, as we live 
 we die. It happened so, alas! to Moshesh: he died a 
 pagan ! You will be afflicted at this, Monseigneur ! the 
 man you loved so well, for whom you have prayed so 
 ardently. . . . On the llth of March his soul appeared 
 before the Sovereign Judge. I heard of his death when 
 going to see the unfortunate man once more. In all my 
 life I never felt more profoundly afflicted.' { 
 
 " Before he died, the king himself chose his successor. 
 This was a very young boy, his great grandson. The 
 eldest son of Moshesh was appointed regent. Besides, the 
 government of the Basutos has been much modified since 
 Moshesh gave up his states to the English, and that is 
 still a matter of great importance to the people. Indeed, 
 it is neceessary to know that the king, two years before 
 his death, not being able to resist the Dutch armies, thought 
 he could do nothing better, to save his nation from total 
 ruin, than to cede it to the English. 
 
 " This cession was accepted, and, since that time, England 
 has a magistrate and a corps of police amongst the Basutos, 
 to keep order and prevent any aggression on the Basutos 
 by their neighbours. For the mission, the event seemed 
 providential. The territory in which we are settled is depen- 
 dent solely on the English government, with which we are 
 on the most friendly terms, and which, besides, favours all 
 establishments whose object is to civilize the natives by 
 converting them to Christianity. It is thus that our mission,
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 513 
 
 placed from the commencement under the patronage of the 
 Blessed Virgin, has always felt the effects of her protection, 
 in the midst of serious occurrences which have revolution- 
 ized the country. 
 
 " At Matsi-wa-ma-Jesu (Village of the Mother of Jesus), 
 the capital of the mission, we have built a house for an 
 industrial school for boys ; at the same time we added a 
 wing to the convent of the Sisters, where the orphan girls 
 are suitably lodged. 
 
 " Four miles off there are numerous villages in which 
 we have from twenty to thirty neophytes or catechumens. 
 Moshesh, indeed, gave us a plot of ground to establish a 
 centre of the mission here. We have built a chapel which 
 we have consecrated to Grod, under the patronage of the 
 archangel St. Michael. The blessing of the new sanctuary 
 took place in the month of July, 1868, with great solemnity 
 and a large concourse of people attending. The command- 
 ant, Mr. Browker, who governs all the country of Basutos 
 in the name of her Britannic Majesty, honoured us with 
 his presence. He came, accompanied by Mr. Sermon, his 
 aide-de-camp, and by fifteen Irish Catholics, who were 
 under his command. King Moshesh was there also, sur- 
 rounded by his court. Since the chapel has been inaugu- 
 rated, a missioner celebrates mass and instructs the people 
 every Sunday, and once a week besides. The pagans come 
 also on these occasions. Every day there is public prayer. 
 The nuns reside there to teach the children of the villages. 
 With so many means to spread the graces of salvation, and 
 under the protection of the chief of the celestial host, we 
 may hope that the clouds of paganism will be dispersed, 
 and that we shall have one day the joy of adding a great 
 number of neophytes to the fold of Christ. 
 
 " I shall finish the summary of our missions at Natal by 
 
 2N
 
 514 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 giving the following extract from a letter of one of our 
 missioners, whom we quoted before, and whose sole occu- 
 pation is the conversion of the natives. 
 
 " ' In order to celebrate worthily Easter Sunday this 
 year I thought of giving a general retreat. We had to 
 baptize four adults and to prepare twenty-one neophytes, 
 amongst whom were six men, for their first communion. 
 All the others had also to fulfil their Easter duty. The 
 retreat began on Tuesday in Holy Week, and was con- 
 tinued with all desirable fervour. The night between 
 Holy Thursday and Grood Friday the church remained 
 the whole time filled by our dear neophytes, the greater 
 part of them moved to tears. They felt that Jesus was 
 present ! Easter Sunday the women came in procession 
 from the church, singing hymns. The men, starting from 
 the college, joined them, also singing hymns. The exube- 
 rance of joy burst forth in their manly voices, and shone 
 on their beaming faces. The procession, when coming 
 back from the church, was swelled by a crowd of pagans/ 
 
 " f M. J. P. ALLARD."
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 IN MEMORIAM OF THE MOST REV. DR. GRIFFITH, FIRST VICAR- 
 APOSTOLIC AND BISHOP OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 "Have they made thee ruler? be not lifted up ; be among them as one 
 of them. Have care of them, and so sit down ; and when thou hast 
 acquitted thyself of all thy charge, take thy place, that thou mayest 
 rejoice for them, and receive a crown as an ornament of grace." 
 
 ECCLESIASTICUS, XXli. 1. 
 
 THE names of popes and historians, philosophers and war- 
 riors, who have rendered material service to the world, are 
 inscribed on parchment, stone, and steel. The characters 
 of men of great worldly wisdom are presented as models 
 for our imitation ; public gardens, galleries, and museums 
 contain the statues and portraits of distinguished indi- 
 viduals, as a mark of the deep appreciation and respect 
 which the children of this world entertain for the illus- 
 trious dead. 
 
 Now if Alexander is lauded for martial exploits, Demos- 
 thenes and Cicero admired for fervid eloquence, Homer 
 and Virgil praised for their heroic poetry, Aristotle and 
 Pythagoras for astronomical researches ; and if the literary 
 qualifications and natural virtues or merits of a long suc- 
 cession of eminent pagans are found worthy the attention 
 of Christian scholars, then the practice of the Catholic 
 Church in reference to the saints ought to meet with the 
 approbation of intelligent men. 
 
 Every logical mind will readily admit that as heaven 
 is above earth, and as Grod is superior to man, so those 
 who have distinguished themselves in the cause of heaven 
 
 2o
 
 516 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 and of God are more deserving of our admiration than 
 those whose pursuits have been merely human. The saints 
 have been eminent for their holiness ; they have studied 
 the science of the heaven of heavens, of the kingdom of 
 God. Their lives have glorified God and edified men ; 
 they have laboured to elevate man to a sense of his real 
 dignity to a knowledge of his ultimate and supernatural 
 end. They had for their whole aim to educate man in 
 the school of Christ, and by this education to bring him 
 to the possession of a never-ending felicity ; hence they 
 are worthy objects of gratitude and veneration. 
 
 The Catholic Church, in proposing for our edification 
 the lives of her canonized children, carries into effect the 
 advice contained in the forty-fourth chapter of Eccle- 
 siasticus : " Let us now praise men of renown, and our 
 fathers in their generation ; . . . these men of mercy, whose 
 godly deeds have not failed : good things continue with 
 their seed. Their posterity are a holy inheritance, and 
 their seed hath stood in the covenants : and their children 
 for their sakes remain for ever : their seed and their glory 
 shall not be forsaken. Let the people show forth their 
 wisdom, and the Church declare their praise." A writer 
 of no mean character, whose words are now before me, thus 
 expresses himself on this head : " One of the great duties 
 of God's Church, to which she has ever been most faithful, 
 is the celebration of the festivals of her saints. From end 
 to end of the year the Church's saints are the theme of 
 her daily thanksgiving and praise. They are her heroes, 
 and therefore she honours them just as the world cele- 
 brates its own heroes, records their great deeds, and builds 
 up monuments to perpetuate their names and their glory." 
 The saints were the living and most faithful represen- 
 tatives of Christ, our Lord ; of his virtues, his love, his
 
 TWELVE TEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 517 
 
 actions, his power, so that He lived in them, and wrought 
 through them the redemption of men. 
 
 It is good, and in accordance with the spirit and prac- 
 tice of the Catholic Church, to present the virtues, not 
 only of her canonized saints, but also of many of her sanc- 
 tified children, who though not canonized, have most 
 decidedly fought the good fight, and received a crown 
 which a just Judge has mercifully promised to bestow 
 upon those who have really loved and served Him during 
 their mortal career. And, therefore, the reasoning ad- 
 vanced in favour of writing the lives of the saints may 
 not improperly be urged in presenting those of all good 
 and faithful servants of the Lord of Hosts. 
 
 An inspired writer has taught that honour should be 
 paid to whom honour is due, and therefore since I have 
 attempted to sketch the history of Catholic missions in 
 South Africa, digit urn ctjiistum esf, it is right and just that 
 I should assert my conviction that the success of the 
 Catholic missions of South Africa may be attributed, under 
 the blessing of God, to the gentlemanly bearing, scholar- 
 ship, profound piety, sacerdotal life, missionary zeal, 
 prudence, and perseverance, coupled with the almost super- 
 human exertions of the Most Rev. Dr. Griffith, first vicar- 
 apostolic of South Africa-, and in truth its very apostle. 
 
 It is, therefore, quite unnecessary that I should apologise 
 for having introduced into these recollections of " Twelve 
 Years in South Africa," a sketch of the lives of the two 
 first bishops of the Western Yicariate. I have stated in 
 the introduction (See Part I.) that if I had not known 
 Bishop Griffith and Bishop Grimley, I should have been 
 in South Africa like " a stranger in Jerusalem." 
 
 Whilst my knowledge, however, of the late Bishop 
 Grimley was long and exceedingly intimate, that of Dr.
 
 518 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Griffith was, I regret to say, of a very different character. 
 When Bishop Griffith was sent by the Holy See to South 
 Africa in 1838, I was but four years old, and when I 
 arrived at the Cape in 1863 he had been already two 
 years dead ; hence, as is evident, I had not the honour, 
 nor the advantage of his lordship's personal acquaintance. 
 I read, however, in every Catholic monument of the eastern 
 and western vicariates, as well as in that of Natal, the life 
 of the illustrious and saintly Bishop Griffith. There is a 
 book in South Africa in which the life of this great man 
 may be found written with a pencil far superior to that of 
 steel. The pages of that book are made up of the many 
 missions which he established, of the churches which he 
 erected, of the good and zealous priests he educated and 
 ordained, of the scattered congregations that he brought 
 under his immediate control, of the many souls who, by 
 his persuasive eloquence, solid learning, and sterling piety 
 were brought within the pale of the Church of God. In 
 fine, whatever there is of CatKblicity in South Africa may 
 be said to be based upon the extraordinary qualifications, 
 magnificent exertions, and transcendent piety of the Most 
 Rev. Patrick Griffith. 
 
 Having said so much it only remains for me now to add 
 a few details of the life of South Africa's apostle. 
 
 Patrick Griffith was born in Limerick, in 1798, a period 
 of remarkable trouble and stormy strife in Ireland. 
 Catholic education in Ireland was, in these days of penal 
 laws, all but impossible. The nation's wounds had 
 scarcely been healed from the cruel effects of a bloody per- 
 secution, but that Papists (as Catholics were mockingly 
 called) should be permitted to worship God publicly and 
 according to their heart's desire was forbidden ; Catholic 
 education was prohibited, and hence Catholic parents
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 519 
 
 were forced to send their children abroad to seek that 
 knowledge which, in justice, they were entitled to re 
 ceive at home. Thus it was that Patrick Griffith, a lad 
 (it is said) of remarkable piety and talent, was sent to the 
 College of the Corpo Sancto, at Lisbon, and afterwards to 
 Borne to prosecute his studies. In going to Home in 
 1817 he was selected to accompany the Rector of Corpo 
 Sancto, who was afterwards Bishop of Killala. 
 
 His ordination to the sacred priesthood took place in 
 the Irish College, Rome, in 1821. His first mission in 
 Ireland appears to have been the Dominican Convent at 
 Kilkenny, known as the Black Abbey ; he was afterwards 
 translated to Denmark-street Dominican Priory, where 
 he acted as superior until called to discharge the duties of 
 the secular mission by the late illustrious and amiable 
 Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Rev. Daniel Murray, 
 with whom Father Griffith was a great favourite. He 
 officiated first in the old chapel of Townsend-street, and 
 afterwards in Westland-row. 
 
 His remarkable piety, profound learning, polished man- 
 ners, burning zeal for religion, and brilliant powers of 
 pulpit oratory, marked him out at once for the episcopal 
 dignity ; and hence we find that, in 1837, when the Cape of 
 Good Hope had been erected into a vicariate by the late 
 Gregory XVI. of immortal memory, Father Griffith was, 
 on the recommendation of Archbishop Murray, appointed 
 by the Holy See to wear the mitre. 
 
 From an Irish newspaper of that time I take the 
 following graceful and deserved compliments to the 
 prelate : 
 
 " True, the graceful fervour, the intrepidity, and intel- 
 ligence of the small, yet dignified Dominican, now the 
 venerable Dr. Griffith, Bishop of the Cape of Good Hope,
 
 520 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 were heard of far and wide, and the public eclat of his 
 preaching was only equalled by his private worth. An 
 ' exchequer of words' was his, and he converted them into 
 the coinage of speech which neither fashion nor frivolity 
 debased by their dross. Memory still lingers upon his 
 name as one of the greenest spots of the Irish Catholic 
 Church. On the occasion of his consecration by the late 
 Most Eev. Archbishop Murray, in the Church of St. 
 Andrew, Westland-row, Dublin, on the 24th of August, 
 1837, the preacher, Very Eev. P. Macnamara, turning to 
 the consecrating prelate, said, * I congratulate your Grace 
 this day, in the name of the whole Church, on this last 
 great proof of your zeal to advance the interests of religion 
 by promoting the glory of God and the salvation of his 
 creatures ; the prelate whom you have this day introduced 
 into the high places of the sanctuary, is one trained 
 up under your own eye, imbued largely with your own 
 spirit, who has been long an honour and an ornament to 
 the venerable body of your clergy a clergy foremost in 
 virtue and in talent, as they are first in rank amongst the 
 priesthood of Ireland. It must be a subject of gratulation 
 to them to behold the accession to the hierarchy of a priest 
 so amiable and so gifted, one whose blameless life, whose 
 long and active labours, whose singular eloquence, ever 
 devoted to the service of the poor and destitute of the earth, 
 embraced within the circle of its advocacy the whole range 
 of human misery one whom so rare a combination of 
 excellences long since pointed out to your Grace's dis- 
 crimination as eminently fitted to undertake the high, the 
 holy, and arduous duties to which he has been this day 
 consecrated.' ' : 
 
 I beg to direct the reader's attention to the letters of 
 his lordship already given in the sketch of the history of
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 521 
 
 missions in South Africa for an account of his labours on 
 the South African mission. 
 
 The late Eight Rev. Dr. Grrimley, his successor, in a 
 letter dated Rome, Dec. 30th, 1869, thus writes : " In 
 1837 the Holy See constituted South Africa a vicariate- 
 apostolic, and appointed Monsignore Griffith as its first 
 resident bishop. In April, 1838, his lordship landed at 
 Cape Town, and, lamentable to relate, in the entire country 
 there was then neither priest nor church. The good 
 Bishop required the plenitude of sacerdotal grace to meet 
 obstacles that presented themselves to him. On the morn- 
 ing of Easter day, the first Sunday in the land of his 
 adoption, he had no place in which to offer the most Holy 
 Sacrifice. He happily applied to the commanding officer 
 of the garrison for a room in the barracks where he could 
 assemble his little flock and break to them the Bread of 
 Life. The request was kindly granted. In a short time 
 after his arrival the zealous Bishop left Cape Town in a 
 waggon, drawn by oxen, to visit his scattered flock. As 
 far as he could find out, there were in the entire of South 
 Africa 550 Catholics. With the firmness of a Basil and 
 the meekness of a De Sales, the holy Bishop toiled, erected 
 churches, and visited his poor people in the most remote 
 districts. After many years, however, finding the labour 
 beyond his strength, he applied to the Holy See to have 
 his vicariate divided into three parts, viz., the Western 
 District, the Eastern District, and Natal. His request, to 
 the great advantage of religion, was granted. At length 
 oppressed with the heat of the day, worn out with many 
 years' toil in the Lord's vineyard, the good Bishop applied 
 for a coadjutor. It pleased the Supreme Pontiff to select 
 my unworthy self to carry on the great work commenced 
 by my venerable predecessor. Just eleven months after
 
 522 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 landing on the shores of South Africa, I witnessed on the 
 18th of June, 1862, the edifying death of a great prelate, 
 ' who in his days pleased God and was found just,' " 
 Eccl. xiv. 
 
 I will venture upon offering to my readers a little sketch 
 of one of the Bishop's early journeys through his vicariate. 
 It was written by a person who accompanied his lord- 
 ship on the occasion referred to. The manuscript was 
 recently placed in my hands by a kind friend, who has 
 also placed under my control voluminous documents, which 
 I hope to be able to make use of at some future period as 
 the biographer of the late Most Eev. Patrick Griffith. 
 
 " It sometimes happens that incidents occur in the lives 
 of every-day people which, though they seem at the time 
 to be nothing remarkable, yet after smouldering (as one 
 may say) for years, during which many things take place 
 to blunt and dim their remembrance, at length recur to 
 the memory, seeming to have gained rather than lost im- 
 portance by their long rest in oblivion. So it has been 
 with the circumstance I am about to relate. It seemed 
 nothing particularly remarkable at the time ; and yet I 
 believe there are very few who can say, like me, that they 
 have assisted at the Holy Sacrifice of our altars with no 
 church around them, save that great house of God, the 
 universe. 
 
 " It happened thus and any one who reads this little 
 sketch will, I am sure, be reminded of the days of Christi- 
 anity, when St. Patrick in Ireland, and St. Augustine in 
 England, celebrated the sacred mysteries with no dome to 
 shelter them save heaven's canopy. It was at the Cape of 
 Good Hope, many years ago, that the first Catholic bishop of 
 that colony, the Eight Eev. Dr. Griffith, who was an Irish- 
 man, and who must have been personally known to many
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 523 
 
 persons still living in Ireland, was on one of his yearly 
 visitations to a mission he had established ahout three 
 years before at George Town, the capital of the district of 
 George, lying about midway between the eastern and 
 western provinces of the colony. 
 
 " This mission had not been set on foot without meeting 
 with its full share of the difficulties which generally beset 
 all such good works at their commencement ; and any one 
 who has ever taken part in the establishment of a mission 
 in a place like George, where, in the first place, the 
 strongest prejudice existed against the faith proposed, 
 where the example of the few who professed it was, in 
 consequence of their having been so long deprived of the 
 means of practising it, anything but edifying to those 
 who might wish to adopt it, and where, at his very outset, 
 the missioner was encountered on every side by selfish- 
 ness, carelessness, hypocrisy, and the most determined 
 immorality ; any one who has had to fight such foes as 
 these will be able to imagine the sadness and distress of 
 mind, the sinking of the heart, which beset our good priest 
 during his zealous efforts to establish this mission. But 
 it was established : a neat little chapel was built ; a house, 
 surrounded by a beautiful garden, was bought for the 
 priest, and (at a convenient distance from the town) a 
 large piece of ground was granted by the proper authori- 
 ties as a burial-ground for the Catholic community. All 
 this had been done in about three years ; and the Bishop 
 of Cape Town, coming to George on one of his yearly 
 visitations, announced his intention of remaining with us 
 a month, out of which time he meant to devote one week 
 to an excursion in the waggon, for the purpose of seeing 
 the country, of the beauty of which, and of its wonderful 
 forest, he had heard so much.
 
 524 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 "It was arranged that my brother (who had been so long 
 resident in the country, and had travelled over all parts 
 of it), and my sister and myself should accompany him. 
 The priest belonging to the mission was unable to do so, 
 his services been required at home. My brother, however, 
 was a fair guide ; and when he proposed a trip to the 
 Knysna, the road to which would take him through some 
 of the wildest and most beautiful forest and mountain 
 scenery, the Bishop acquiesced, placing himself entirely 
 in our hands. 
 
 " We accordingly fitted out a waggon for the purpose, 
 laying in plentiful stores of everything good in the com- 
 missariat department, and dividing the waggon, so that 
 one end of it would serve as a sleeping apartment for my 
 sister and myself, and the other was comfortably arranged 
 for the accommodation of the Bishop. My brother pre- 
 ferred sleeping outside. He was well acquainted with the 
 family who owned the Knysna, a few words about whom 
 may prove interesting to many readers. The Knysna is 
 one of the most beautiful spots in the whole Cape Colony, 
 and is named after the river Knysna, which runs through 
 the property, and is navigable for a few miles before it 
 empties itself into the sea. The natural scenery is so 
 extremely beautiful that it scarcely requires any aid from 
 art. The residence of the proprietor is situated near the 
 river, and not far from the sea, and is surrounded by fields, 
 and gardens, and extensive pastures. Bananas, grapes, 
 peaches, apricots, nectarines, oranges, &e., are as common 
 at this favoured spot as gooseberries and apples with us. 
 The immense primeval forest, which commences a few 
 miles beyond the town of Greorge, is to be seen in all its 
 solitary grandeur at no great distance from the homestead, 
 and covers many square acres of the property itself, adding
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 525 
 
 very much, of course, to its value; for the trees are gigantic 
 in size, and the wood valuable and useful for many purposes. 
 This lovely place, extending over the country for about 
 the area of a medium-sized county in England, was granted 
 some time in the latter half of the last century by King 
 George III. to his natural son, Mr. George Eex. This 
 gentleman left a very large family to inherit it, most of 
 whom were living there at the time of which I am speak- 
 ing. He had married twice, and both his wives were not 
 only natives of the colony, but women of colour. Among 
 his numerous sons and daughters some were very dark in 
 complexion, and in feature strongly resembled the abori- 
 gines, while others were quite fair, and some one of the 
 daughters in particular very beautiful. She married one 
 of the officers belonging to an English regiment stationed 
 at the Cape, and they were living at the Knysna at the 
 time of which I am speaking. I remember once, when 
 quite a little girl, seeing old Mr. Eex, then, as far as I 
 can judge, somewhere between sixty-five and seventy years 
 of age, and he strikes on my recollection now as one of 
 the handsomest old gentlemen I ever saw. He was tall, 
 rather stout, with a clear, fair complexion, and his hair, of 
 which he had plenty, as white as unsullied snow. He was 
 said to bear a strong resemblance to his legitimate brother, 
 George IY., in appearance. No one could fail to see in a 
 moment the striking likeness between the profile of 
 George IY. on the half sovereigns struck during his reign 
 and this old gentleman's eldest son. Of course it will be 
 seen that these people, putting for a moment their ille- 
 gitimacy aside, are first cousins to her Majesty Queen 
 Yictoria. I think that since we were there they have sold 
 a portion of this immense and beautiful estate ; for I know 
 that at the period of our visit an old Indian officer was
 
 526 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 staying with them, having gone there with the express . 
 purpose of making an arrangement for purchasing a part 
 of it for a young son of his own, a strange-looking young 
 man, almost wholly uneducated, and the son, I was told, 
 of an Indian mother. To return to my more immediate 
 subject. The bishop had selected the Wednesday pre- 
 ceding Whitsun Eve for our excursion ; and as, of course, 
 Ascension day would fall on the Thursday, he took with 
 him a portable altar, containing vestments and everything 
 necessary for the celebration of mass, intending, should 
 the weather permit, not to let the day pass without the 
 performance of that great solemnity. Our party consisted 
 of the Bishop, my brother, my sister, myself, and the 
 waggon-driver and leader. 
 
 "We were all in the highest spirits, and quite prepared, 
 like John Grilpin's celebrated family, to dash through 
 thick and thin. The Bishop seemed to enjoy it as much 
 as anybody, accommodating himself to circumstances, and 
 making himself as comfortably at home as if he had been 
 used to waggon-travelling all his life. We passed safely 
 down and up the tremendous and dangerous pass of the 
 Kyman's Grat, or Alligator's Hole, and'went on our way 
 rejoicing. The scenery we passed through was variable in 
 the extreme ; sometimes quite park-like in its soft, quiet 
 beauty, and at others wild, barren, and uninteresting. 
 The Bishop was constantly on the look-out for wild 
 beasts ; but we saw none, and never even heard anything 
 to denote their existence, save now and then in the earlier 
 hours of the night the far-away plaintive cry of the 
 jackal. 
 
 " We reached the Knysna on the Wednesday evening, 
 just at dusk, and our whole party were most hospitably 
 received and entertained by Mr. D , to whom I before
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 527 
 
 alluded as having married the most beautiful daughter of 
 old Mr. Eex. We found a large party assembled there, 
 including the old Indian officer of whom I spoke before. 
 We passed a most delightful evening, and by rising very 
 early on the following morning managed to secure an 
 hour or two for the inspection of this beautiful place. It 
 seemed to me a sort of paradise, and I was truly sorry to 
 be unable to remain there for a day or two ; but the Bishop 
 had announced a confirmation to take place on Whit Sun- 
 day, and a day's delay would have prevented his being 
 back in time. So we left as soon as possible, only taking 
 a cup of coffee before we started, of which the Bishop, 
 greatly to the surprise of our hostess, declined to partake, 
 having determined not to resign his intention of saying 
 mass. 
 
 " The weather was lovely when we started from Belve- 
 dere (most aptly named), and we made as much haste as 
 we could at first in order to be soon at a sufficient distance 
 to choose a quiet spot where the Bishop could say mass 
 without any dread of interruption. This we found when 
 we had travelled about four miles, and our driver drew 
 up the waggon in a lovely opening in the forest, where we 
 were surrounded by every wild beauty that nature could 
 supply. 
 
 " My brother had been obliged to remain at Belvedere, 
 and, consequently, as our servants were Protestants, his 
 lordship's whole congregation consisted of my sister and 
 myself. We had halted at a short distance from the banks 
 of a pretty river, and we sent the two men there to amuse 
 themselves till we recalled them. My sister and I spread 
 clean rush-mats on the dewy grass, and placing the waggon- 
 chests on one another a sufficient height, the Bishop laid 
 the little portable altar on the top of the pile, and
 
 528 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 proceeded to make all the necessary arrangements. Then we 
 found that the driver had the box of lucifers in his pocket, 
 and as we could not light the candles without them, my 
 sister started off to fetch them. I mention this trifling 
 circumstance because, while hastening on her errand, she 
 suddenly felt something twine itself round her ankle, and 
 looking down saw that it was a snake. The servant was 
 fortunately near hand, and calling him he freed her from 
 her dangerous assailant before any harm was done ; she 
 had the presence of mind to say nothing about her adven- 
 ture at the time. 
 
 " All was now arranged ; we took our places, and the 
 Bishop proceeded to sprinkle us and the spot all round 
 with holy water. I was to give the responses, and tinkle 
 the little bell ; while my sister was to see that one, at least, 
 of the candles remained alight. The Bishop served him- 
 self, and the solemn rite began. I think it would be 
 difficult for anyone to imagine the feelings of awe and 
 reverence which our very unusual position produced in 
 our hearts as it proceeded. The grandest solitude of 
 nature was around us ; and not a sound was to be heard 
 save the distant murmur of the river, the gentle wind 
 sighing through the countless trees of the solemn forest, 
 and the songs of innumerable birds mingling with the low 
 tones of the Bishop's voice. 
 
 " ' Yiri Gralilaei' ' Ye men of Gralilee, why stand you 
 looking up to heaven ?' The words were, indeed, strangely 
 appropriate to the unusual circumstances in which they 
 were uttered. It needed but to look around almost to 
 fancy that we saw that solemn leave-taking, and heard the 
 words of promise from the angel's lips. The clouds above 
 our heads seemed filled with that stupendous presence, as 
 though they had but recently ' received Him out of their
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 529 
 
 sight.' A soft breeze arose, and sighing through the 
 tranches of the trees extinguished one of the candles. 
 The Bishop signed to my sister to advance and protect the 
 other. She did so ; but it was just after the elevation ; 
 and, awe-struck, she stood with her bent head, motionless, 
 shading the light with her hand. For many reasons it 
 was an occasion never to be forgotten ; and though many 
 years have passed since the three a6tors in that scene 
 together adored their God beneath that southern sky, I 
 may safely say that none of us, in after days, ever heard 
 the words of that "Introit" repeated, without feeling 
 carried back in spirit to that shady dell in that solemn 
 forest where, for the first and last time, the Holy Sacrifice 
 was offered up. 
 
 "All was nearly over, and kneeling, we two young 
 sisters together received the Bishop's blessing. 
 
 " Quickly and silently we rearranged and put away all 
 the holy vessels, vestments, &c., and recalling our servants, 
 proceeded to prepare and partake of the breakfast we all 
 so much required. The subdued and devotional feelings 
 which naturally filled our hearts, wore away in proportion 
 as our attention was necessarily drawn to the preparations 
 for our journey towards home ; but I am quite sure that 
 neither myself nor my sister ever forgot the sensations of 
 awe-struck adoration with which we assisted at our first 
 and only mass in the wilderness. The good Bishop has 
 gone to meet the Grod he loved to serve ; and all good 
 Catholics will join me in saying ' May he rest in 
 peace.' 
 
 "My brother rejoined us at about two o'clock that after- 
 noon, just as we had drawn our waggon into another sweet, 
 shady nook, where, sheltered from the sun by the forest's 
 canopy, we were leisurely enjoying our mid-day meal, at
 
 530 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 which occupation he was very well pleased to find and 
 join us. 
 
 " My little sketch has become more lengthy than I in- 
 tended, and I must hasten to conclude. Our homeward 
 way was marked by no new incident ; we were very merry 
 and happy, and often awoke the forest echoes with the 
 sound of Moore's sweet melodies. At our bivouacs we 
 found plenty of amusement in wandering among the 
 gigantic trees, examining the numberless beautiful flowers 
 and climbing plants with which they were profusely deco- 
 rated. The wild vine was hanging out its long and grace- 
 ful trailing wreaths from bough to bough ; and though it 
 was not the season for it to produce its large, beautiful 
 purple grapes, it was not on that account less ornamental. 
 The grapes are as large as an ordinarily-sized blue plum, 
 and hang in clusters of not more than from three to five 
 or six. If, however, the traveller on a hot and sultry day 
 should hope to find them a refreshment he will be sadly 
 disappointed, as they are only eatable when preserved in 
 brandy. 
 
 " It was noon when we once more crossed the Kyman's 
 Gat ; and the tide being full in it was unpleasantly deep, 
 though not dangerously so ; and we reached home that 
 evening very much the better for our week's enjoyment 
 and holiday." 
 
 "The life of the prelate was at length brought to its close. 
 After having achieved great things in a short time, his 
 Master called him to the possession of that eternal reward 
 to which he had aspired, and for which he had undergone 
 so many labours, knowing, however, as he did, that if 
 the labour terrifies the reward invites, and, furthermore, 
 that no security can be too great where eternity is at 
 stake.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 531 
 
 On the 20th June, 1862, the following advertisement in 
 the Cape Argus announced the demise of South Africa's first 
 bishop : 
 
 " Departed this life, on Wednesday, 18th instant, the 
 Eight Reverend Dr. Griffith, Eoman Catholic Bishop, 
 aged 63 years. The body will be removed this evening, 
 at 4 o'clock, from his lordship's late residence to the 
 Cathedral. To-morrow (Friday) there will be a Solemn 
 Requiem Mass and Office, commencing at 11 o'clock, a. m., 
 and at the conclusion of the Service the remains will be 
 lowered to their last resting-place, in the nave of the 
 Cathedral. Requiescat in pace." 
 
 The following is the Funeral Oration on the Most Rev. 
 Dr. Griffiths, first Bishop of Cape Town, by the Right 
 Rev. Dr. Grimley: 
 
 ORATION. 
 
 "But be thou vigilant; labour in all things to do the work of an evan- 
 gelist ; fulfil thy ministry. Be sober. For I am even now ready to 
 be sacrificed, and the time of my dissolution is at hand. I have 
 fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 
 As to the rest, there is laid up for me the crown of justice which the 
 Lord, the just Judge, will render to me in that day: and not only to 
 me, but to them also who love his coming." 2 Tim. iv. 5-9. 
 
 I need not ask, my brethren, the meaning of the solemn 
 silence that reigns around me of the sable garb that hangs 
 from that altar and this pulpit of the grief depicted in every 
 countenance of the tears which flow from so many eyes : 
 no, I need not ask, for that coffin gives the sad response ! 
 The shepherd who led his flock to rich pastures has been 
 stricken ; the father who watched with unceasing solicitude 
 over the best interests of his spiritual children has been 
 snatched from their embraces ! No wonder they mourn to- 
 day ; for no more will they hear his warning voice that voice 
 which so fearlessly proclaimed the truths of faith, which so 
 eloquently pleaded for the orphan, the needy, and the house- 
 less ; no wonder they have gathered here to-day to shed their 
 
 2r
 
 532 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 warm tears, as the last tribute of affection, over the remaind- 
 er their departed prelate ! 
 
 The Church is after losing a great bishop, and society a 
 bright ornament; both, to-day, show that they appreciate the 
 intellectual endowments and exalted virtues of the illustrious 
 dead. Perhaps, my brethren, my appearance to-day in this 
 pulpit may be considered by some as an intrusion on your 
 deep-felt silent sorrow which speaks more forcibly than any 
 expressions of mine. But you will bear with me while I shall 
 give vent to my own feelings of regret by paying a tribute of 
 respect to departed worth. 
 
 The remains of no ordinary man, no ordinary bishop, lie 
 in that coffin ! Abstracting from the elevated dignity to 
 which his exalted virtues raised him, all who enjoyed the- 
 intimate acquaintance of Dr. Griffith respected him for his 
 refined taste, extensive literary acquirements, and the most 
 affable manners. Few men could be found who knew better 
 the great secret of blending the suaviter in modo, with the 
 fortiter in re. He was always indulgent to those under 
 him, but only as far as duty permitted. No prelate was ever 
 more firm in defending the rights, the doctrines, the liberties 
 of the Church. The distinguishing characteristics of two 
 great bishops harmoniously blended in all the acts of Dr. 
 Griffith's administration. The meekness of that model of 
 Christian politeness, St. Francis, de Sales, and the firmness 
 of that champion of ecclesiastical discipline, the illustrious 
 Basil ! His example is a shining light to guide our footsteps. 
 He was born on the i5th of October, in the year 1798, in the 
 city of Limerick. As soon as he attained the use of reason, 
 his pious parents instilled into his young mind those prin- 
 ciples of morality which stamped the character of the future 
 man. He received the best education which the circum- 
 stances of the times admitted. Very soon were noticed in 
 him that solidity of judgment, that tenacious memory, that 
 persevering assiduity, that high order of talent which even in 
 boyhood cast a light before him, and marked out for him a 
 bright career. Although the world offered to him her diffe- 
 rent professions, and assured him that his path to fame would 
 be strewed with flowers, yet there was one profession after 
 which his heart, from his earliest infancy, yearned, and that 
 was the priesthood. The vanities and amusements of the 
 world had few charms for him : with the royal prophet he 
 exclaimed, " How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of 
 Hosts! My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the 
 Lord. My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living 
 God ; thy altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 533 
 
 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord, they shall 
 praise thee for ever and ever ; for better is one day in thy 
 courts above thousands. I have chosen to be an abject in 
 the house of my God rather than to dwell in the tabernacles 
 of sinners." (Psalm Ixxxiii.) Two desires filled his heart and 
 inspired every act with life and motion the glory of God 
 and the salvation of souls. The determination which he 
 formed in youth and persevered in, to close his heart to every 
 other desire, constituted him the saintly bishop, and verified 
 in him the words of the first Psalm : "Blessed is the man 
 who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood 
 in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence." 
 Having determined to enter the ecclesiastical state, he re- 
 solved to make the most generous sacrifice, to leave all for 
 God to give himself entirely to God. The words of our 
 Redeemer "And every one that hath left house, or brethren, 
 or sisters, or father or mother, or wife or children, or lands, 
 for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall 
 possess life everlasting" (Matt, xix, 29) influenced his pious 
 heart, and induced him to solicit permission to become an 
 humble religious in the order of the illustrious St. Dominick. 
 He was readily admitted, and sent to prosecute his studies in 
 the Dominican College at Lisbon. After being there a short 
 time he repaired to Rome, where, having spent years in prayer 
 and study, he was ordained. He returned to his native country, 
 and was appointed to discharge the duties of the ministry in 
 the church of his Order in Dublin. Subsequently we find 
 him attached to the parish of St. Andrew, Westland-row. 
 Dr. Griffith was not long in Dublin until his shining talents 
 rendered him a conspicuous man. His eloquent tongue was 
 constantly employed in the holy cause of charity. His name 
 and his fame are familiar in the Irish metropolis to this pre- 
 sent day. There was one duty connected with his ministry 
 in Dublin to which I must allude the care of the sick. The 
 Scripture tells us that the good shepherd giveth his life for 
 his sheep, but the hireling, and he that is not the shepherd, 
 whose own the sheep are not, flieth away when the wolf 
 appeareth. The deceased prelate proved himself to be a 
 good shepherd in the hour of danger. When the cholera raged 
 in Dublin in 1832 when people, in terror, fled from their 
 nearest and dearest the Catholic priest was never found 
 wanting ; no matter how infectious the disease might be, it 
 never deterred him from ministering the consolations of re- 
 ligion to the dying Christian. Among the priests of Dublin 
 who shed such a lustre on the Catholic name, during that 
 awful visitation, Dr. Griffith occupied a conspicuous position.
 
 534 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 About the year 1836, the Holy See, anxious to appoint a 
 bishop to Madagascar, applied to the Archbishop of Dublin 
 to name a clergyman for that perilous mission. His Grace 
 at once sent to Rome the name of Dr. Griffith. When our 
 late beloved prelate heard the wish of the Holy See, there 
 was not one word of remonstrance. He heard in the voice 
 of the Holy Father the voice of Him whose vicar he was. 
 Circumstances, however, occurred which induced the Holy 
 See to defer making any appointment to Madagascar. In a 
 short time after, the wants of the scattered Catholics of the 
 Cape Colony reached the ears of the reigning Pontiff. His 
 Holiness immediately wrote to Archbishop Murray, to know 
 if Dr. Griffith would wish to extend the limits of God's Church 
 in South Africa. The good priest careless about himself, 
 and only wishing to do good consented, and was immedi- 
 ately afterwards consecrated bishop in St. Andrew's, Westland- 
 row, Dublin. He at once travelled through Ireland, soliciting 
 alms of the faithful for his destitute mission. I will never 
 forget the impression made upon my own mind while I lis- 
 tened to one of those appeals. The description of the dying 
 Catholic calling out for a priest, and no priest to be had, will 
 never be obliterated from my memory. His Lordship arrived 
 in Cape Town on the i4th of April, 1838. He found, as he 
 himself stated, the church and presbytery a heap of ruins. 
 It would be superfluous for me to enter into any details of his 
 apostolic labours in this country. To each one I would say, 
 "* monumentum quaras circumspice" Behold this noble edi- 
 fice, the fruits of his labour. But his exertions were not con- 
 fined to Cape Town alone; he travelled throughout the colony, 
 seeking after the lost sheep ; and when we recollect what 
 travelling had been twenty-four years ago, we will form some 
 idea of the labour and fatigue endured by our holy bishop. 
 I shall not speak of the missions he founded at Graham's 
 Town, Port Elizabeth, George, St. Helena, Simon's Town, 
 and Rondebosch each of which will be a lasting monument 
 of Dr. Griffith's zeal. At last, finding himself unable to dis- 
 charge the episcopal duties, and fearing lest your eternal 
 interests might suffer, he applied to Rome for a successor 
 and oh ! while you pray, dearly beloved, for the soul of your 
 departed prelate, pray also for his unworthy successor, that 
 he may be endowed with those virtues which are so neces- 
 sary in one elevated to an awful position. And now, 
 dearly beloved, it only remains for me to take a last fare- 
 well of the remains of that great prelate whose uninter- 
 rupted friendship I have enjoyed whose wisdom has been 
 a lamp to my feet. Alas ! taken away too soon from us
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 535 
 
 but God's holy will must be accomplished our loss is his 
 gain. In the enjoyment of his God he will pray for us all. 
 Oh ! " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for they 
 shall rest from their labours, and their works shall follow 
 them." Let us, however, not forget what the Scripture says 
 in another place, " Nothing denied can enter heaven." Lest 
 any stain remains to be removed, pray for him. Ye priests 
 of the living God, remember him at the altar ; and you, whom 
 he baptized from the stain of original guilt, and you, whom 
 he confirmed in the faith of Christ ; you, whom he absolved 
 in the tribunal of penance, oh ! pray that this day his soul 
 may be in peace, and his lot among the saints. Amen.
 
 CHAPTER, XXXII. 
 
 HAVING sketched the history of the Catholic missions of 
 South Africa, and glanced at the life of South Africa's 
 apostle, it is natural that I should now offer a few remarks 
 on the present position, and what appears to me to be the 
 future prospects of the Catholic religion in those vast 
 regions, some of which are partly Christian, others com- 
 pletely pagan. 
 
 There are, at present, three vicariates and one prefecture- 
 apostolic in South Africa : first, the Western Yicariate, 
 presided over by the Most Rev. John Leonard, successor 
 to the Most Rev. Thomas Grimley, who succeeded the 
 first vicar-apostolic, the Most Rev. Patrick Griffith ; 
 secondly, the Eastern Yicariate, presided over by the 
 Most Rev. James Rickard, immediate successor to the 
 Most Rev. Patrick Moran (translated to the see of 
 Dunedin), successor to the first bishop of the Eastern 
 Province, the Right Rev. Aidan Devereux ; thirdly, the 
 vicariate of Natal, which includes the vast territory of 
 Basutoland, governed by the Most Rev. Dr. Jolivett, 
 O. M. I., immediate successor to the Most Rev. Dr. Allard 
 (first bishop of the district, and now residing in Rome) ; 
 fourthly, what is called the Central Yicariate, in charge 
 of the "Society of African Missions," and presided over by 
 the Yery Rev. Father Devernoille. To this mission I 
 shall have occasion to make further allusion before closing 
 these recollections of South Africa.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 537 
 
 There are, therefore, as may be seen at present, three 
 -vicars and one prefect-apostolic presiding over the almost 
 boundless mission fields of what is geographically known 
 as South Africa. 
 
 As to churches, there are, so far as I know at present, 
 in the Western Yicariate six, while two others are in course 
 of erection ; in the Eastern Vicariate eight, and in the 
 vicariate of Natal six; in the Central Vicariate seven. 
 These figures do not include convent chapels. In the 
 four vicariates there are about fifty priests, including 
 seculars, Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Jesuits, and Fathers 
 of the " Society of African Missions." Of convents there are 
 seven, four of which are Dominican, two Oblates of Mary 
 Immaculate, and one Sisters of Mercy. In Cape Town 
 there is a magnificent educational establishment, con- 
 ducted by eight Marist Brothers ; while in Graham's 
 Town there is a college for first-class education, presided 
 over by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus. There are 
 about thirty Catholic schools, some conducted by priests, 
 others by nuns, others again by lay persons. In addition, 
 there are Catholic societies, sodalities, and confraternities. 
 The Catholics of all South Africa number about 10,000 
 souls. 
 
 The reader must not, however, imagine that Catholicity 
 .is properly represented in South Africa, for however great 
 the progress that has been hitherto made, there are yet vast 
 districts and immense populations awaiting the arrival of 
 those who are destined to announce to them the words of 
 eternal life. 
 
 Some idea of the vastness of this mission field, and 
 of the work that is yet to be done, may be formed 
 from the following statistics, furnished by A. AVilmot, 
 Esq., F.B.GLS.:
 
 538 
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Natal Vicariate 
 
 The Cape Colo 
 
 Kaflraria proper, under no Vicariate, unless 
 it be that of Natal, and in which there is 
 neither a Catholic priest nor chapel 
 Natal 
 Basutoland 
 
 Diamond Fields 
 Orange Free State 
 Transvaal Republic 
 Countries between the Limpopo and the^\ 
 Zambesi in which there is now neither a } 
 Catholic priest nor chapel, but in which | 
 there were Jesuit missions in the seven- 
 teenth century, from the unhealthy Por- > 
 tuguese coast settlements. This country 
 is fertile, rich in gold, teeming with popu- 
 lation, is now fairly healthy. There are 
 Protestant missions here. 
 
 Countries to he reached by the inland healthy 
 route, via Eastern Vieariate, Cape Colony, f 
 Transvaal Republic, and high lands be- 
 Limpopo and the Zambesi. 
 
 Population. 
 
 White. Coloured. 
 
 ... 140,000 
 
 150,000 -A 
 
 ...130,000 
 
 300,000 
 
 
 ,\ 
 
 
 Including an area 
 
 500 
 
 500,000 
 
 of about one 
 million square 
 
 20,000 
 
 300,000 
 
 > miles, and ex- 
 
 ; 1,000 
 
 80,000 
 
 tending from 
 
 ie 
 
 
 latitude 34 S. to 
 
 10,000 
 
 40,000 
 
 to 22<> S. 
 
 20,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 1. 40,000 
 
 500,000 J 
 
 
 100 1,000,000 
 
 Transvaal Republic, and high lands 
 tween the Limpopo and the Zambesi. 
 
 J 
 
 Extending from 
 22-> to 18 south 
 latitude. 
 
 Extending from 
 18o S. to Lake 
 Nyassa, where 
 there is already a 
 Protestant mis- 
 sion, in 12, and 
 thence upwards 
 to Lake Victoria 
 Nyanza, under 
 the equatorial 
 line. Many mil- 
 lions of inhabit- 
 ants. No approx- 
 imate number 
 can be stated. 
 
 No wonder, then, that the same Mr. Wilmot, in articles 
 contributed to The Month, of April and May, 1876, says: 
 
 "A consideration of all the circumstances undoubtedly 
 proves that one of the great mission fields of the world now 
 lies open. Millions of souls, living in fertile regions extend- 
 ing from the Cape Colony to the sources of the Nile, call 
 aloud to the Catholic Church for missionaries. Now is the 
 time to send them." 
 
 " Millions of souls, who have never heard the Gospel 
 preached, can now be safely reached through healthy settled 
 countries without danger and without difficulty. The door is 
 absolutely open, and the previously insuperable difficulties 
 have been removed." 
 
 "And here I deem it desirable to answer a possible objec- 
 * This includes the central prefecture.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 539 
 
 tion with reference to any great missionary movement in 
 South-eastern Africa being premature. Unfortunately, the 
 very opposite is the case. Protestant missions are already 
 established in the country of Lo Bengolo at the northern 
 gold-fields, not far from the Zambesi, in a fertile, excellent 
 country, amidst a large population ; and a settlement has 
 recently been commenced at Lake Nyassa, in a more northerly 
 direction. A thorough study of the entire subject will con- 
 vince every impartial mind that the time has indubitably 
 come when, with the best possible prospects of success, a 
 movement can be made of a character and nature commen- 
 surate to the importance of the field." 
 
 As to the future of Catholicity in South Africa, there- 
 is, no doubt, a bright prospect. Ten years ago, whoever 
 would venture into the region called the Diamond Fields, 
 where a city now stands, would meet with an ovation on 
 his return. Farther on, the gold fields were, ten years 
 since, a sealed book a locality that none other than an 
 adventurer would approach ; now they form a village full 
 of life, with shops, stores, houses, and places of public 
 worship. The door is now open to all South Africa ; the 
 vast country, stretching as far as the Zambesi river, is in- 
 habited by pagans, who may be approached without danger. 
 The opening of missions will be, no doubt, arduous, but 
 must be also successful. 
 
 Should the religious orders receive the necessary aid 
 in this grand undertaking, the civilization and conversion 
 of South Africa will undoubtedly become an achievement, 
 and present pagan regions will hereafter be pointed to 
 with pride as centres of industry, happiness, and religion. 
 
 The Eight Eev. Dr. Grimley, in a letter, dated Borne, 
 Dec. 30, 1869, says : 
 
 " On this subject I wish to make a few remarks. The 
 school and the workshop are two powerful agents in 
 gathering together the children of our half-civilized tribes
 
 '540 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 -and leading them to the knowledge of better things. 
 JEvery day's experience convinces me that priests and nuns 
 will not be wanting if the necessary expenses of sending 
 ihem to the missions and of affording them the requisite 
 food and clothing be provided. When I read of the annual 
 sums subscribed in England for the propagation of heresy, 
 I blush at the tepidity of the Catholic world which does 
 not exert itself more. There are yet millions buried in 
 infidelity. Who is not aware of the exertions of the 
 various Protestant sects in spreading their opinions? 
 Should not our zeal anticipate their labours ? Believe me 
 it is a thousand times more easy to convert the uncivilized 
 infidel than the civilized heretic. Would to God that my 
 words could reach the ears of those Catholics who have a 
 superfluity of means ! Let them remember that we are 
 but the administrators of God's gifts, that a day will 
 come when they must render an account of their steward- 
 ship. Do they imagine that God will hold them guiltless 
 if they squander the means which would contribute to the 
 instruction of innumerable souls ? If the Catholic world 
 would exert itself, as it could easily do, to supply the 
 wants of the foreign missions, in how many places, where 
 infidelity or heresy now reigns, would we not see the true 
 faith proclaimed, morality taught, virtue honoured, souls 
 loving God, and the name of Christ glorified. My own 
 South Africa, now almost abandoned, would soon see the 
 cross erected, morality inculcated and practised, and the One 
 Faith, under the one Shepherd, universally acknowledged." 
 Cape journals recently to hand state that the Bight 
 Rev. Dr. Eickards, Bishop of Graham's Town, projects 
 "the introduction of the admirable order of La Trappists 
 to Kaffirland. I take the following extracts from the 
 Diamond News, Kimberley, Tuesday, March 21, 1876:
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 541 
 
 " Nothing that was said during the banquet made a 
 deeper impression upon the minds of those present than 
 the announcement of his lordship, that now he considered 
 his work of St. Aidan's completed, and the institution in 
 good hands, he intended to turn his attention to the edu- 
 cation of the native races. Those who heard the remarks 
 of Dr. Eickards upon this subject, and to whom the habits 
 and dispositions of the natives of South Africa are known, 
 could not but feel delighted to hear his lordship say that 
 he was about to begin his system of native education, not 
 only by teaching the ' niggers' (if they would call them 
 so) Church catechisms, and that Jack Kaffir is as good as 
 his white master, but by sanctifying labour. Bishop 
 Eickards believes that the first step to be taken to educate 
 the natives, should be to sanctify labour in their eyes ; to 
 teach them, by the force of example, the value of work to 
 those who perform it ; to show them the blessings which 
 accrue to those who industriously cultivate the soil and 
 produce wealth for themselves and the country in which 
 they live. Bishop Eickards sees that the first thing to 
 cure the natives of is their idle and dishonest habits, and 
 lie says that is what he is first going to attempt to do; and 
 when he has done that, and not before, he will give them 
 school learning, and teach them the blessed truths of the 
 gospel. His lordship's plan for commencing this work is 
 to establish a monastery in the midst of Kaffirland, just as 
 has been done in Algeria with so much success. The 
 monks (Trappists) will go on working the soil with their 
 own hands and raising wealth, not for themselves, but to 
 show the natives by the force of example what can be 
 done by hard, steady, persevering toil. Then hospitals 
 will be erected, where those who need it in times of sick- 
 ness may be cared for and tended. In this way his
 
 542 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 lordship hopes that the native will be brought into a 
 better state of existence, be made to feel a new and better 
 kind of life, and be of more value in the world than he is 
 at present." 
 
 In concluding these remarks on the future of South 
 African Catholic missions, I may observe that even those 
 writers who are most hostile to the Catholic religion 
 admit that the Catholic Church has within her all 
 the resources that tend to civilize, and that much of the 
 civilization of Europe is due to her religious orders. There 
 are few scholars, if any, who would not endorse the follow- 
 ing statements found in the Very .Rev. Dr. Newman's 
 "Historical Sketches," p. 398: 
 
 " The monks were not dreamy sentimentalists, to fall in 
 love with melancholy winds and purling rills, and water- 
 falls and nodding groves ; but their poetry was the poetry 
 of hard work and hard fare, unselfish hearts and charitable 
 hands. They could plough and reap, they could hedge 
 and ditch, they could drain, they could lop, they could 
 carpenter, they could thatch, they could make hurdles for 
 their huts ; they could make a road, they could divert or 
 secure the streamlet's bed, they could bridge a torrent. 
 Mr. Warner mentions one of their luxuries clear, whole- 
 some water ; it was an allowable one, especially as they 
 obtained it by their own patient labour. If their grounds 
 are picturesque, if their views are rich, they made them 
 so, and had, we presume, a right to enjoy the work of their 
 own hands. They found a swamp, a moor, a thicket, a 
 rock, and they made an Eden in the wilderness."
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 IN the twenty-sixth chapter we beheld the widowed mission 
 of the Western district of the Cape of Good Hope weeping 
 at the tomb of the Most Rev. Dr. Grrimley. The faithful 
 Catholics came day by day to place their souvenirs of 
 affection on the marble slab which covered the vault of 
 their late Bishop, father, and friend. I, too, could have 
 remained bent in sorrow over the grave that had gathered 
 into its cold, dark precincts the mortal remains of him 
 whom I loved. But I believed that to help in carrying 
 out the Bishop's favourite works would be more conformable 
 to his will, and more advantageous to the faithful. 
 Amongst others, three were known to me as especially 
 dear to the heart of the late Bishop first, his devotion to 
 St. Patrick, and consequent anxiety to celebrate the saint's 
 festival with becoming pomp ; second, his great attachment 
 to the military body ; and, third, his deep interest in the 
 temperance movement ; hence, I determined to try to fol- 
 low in his well-marked footsteps. 
 
 Wherever the Irish people are their faith shines out 
 with a peculiar brilliancy of expression on each recurring 
 feast of the great St. Patrick. Well may Ireland glory 
 in her great apostle ! Well may that apostle smile upon, 
 his faithful children, and plead their cause before God. 
 The Lord, of whom St. Patrick was so faithful an apostle, 
 prayed that the faith of Peter might not fail ; and if there 
 is one feature more marked than another in the children, 
 of St. Patrick, it is their loyalty through every calamity 
 to that Peter that Rock separation from which is heresy.
 
 544 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 We smile when we read or hear the babblings of sectarians,, 
 who, desiring some antiquity for their opinions or views,. 
 and dissatisfied with the newness of their origin, claim, 
 half in jest, half in earnest, perhaps, St. Patrick as their 
 apostle. But the poor Irishman, who has lost all but 
 what St. Patrick bequeathed to him, rich in his faith,, 
 heeds not this trifling with historical truth, and never 
 dreams that the common sense of people will disconnect 
 him with St. Patrick, or either one or the other from the 
 See of Peter. Not only in Ireland itself, but in England, 
 Scotland, and America, yea, even in Africa, the Irish 
 Catholic heart gives vent to its feelings on the 17th of 
 March. 
 
 The Irish element is sufficiently strong at the Cape to 
 admit of a demonstration. At Port Elizabeth, in the 
 Eastern Province, the Irish people are a power that can- 
 not be despised and is really respected ; and hence the 
 celebration is enthusiastically grand. On the 17th of 
 March, 1871 and 1872, the Catholics of Cape Town were 
 enabled to give unusual expression to their feelings. In 
 1871 it was my privilege to deliver two lectures, which 
 have been lately republished in Europe under the title of 
 " Ireland's Apostle" and " Ireland's Faith." The Stan- 
 dard and Mail of the 19th of March, 187], noticed the 
 celebration referred to thus : 
 
 " Celebration of the Festival of St. Patrick at St. Mary's 
 Cathedral, March 17th, 1871. 
 
 " Faithful to the traditions of creed and country, the 
 Irish Catholics of Cape Town attended St. Mary's Cathedral 
 in crowds on the festival of their great patron saint and 
 national apostle, St. Patrick. It had been announced 
 on the previous Sunday that, in addition to the solemn.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA; 545* 
 
 ceremonies of vespers and benediction of the Most Holy 
 Sacrament, on the evening of St. Patrick's Day, the pane- 
 gyric of the saint would be preached by the Eev. Father 
 O'Haire. To say that the church was crowded on the 
 night of the festival would convey but an inadequate idea 
 of the numbers present. A large proportion of those who 
 thronged the church was Protestant, while many of the 
 vast assemblage could scarcely find standing-room. The 
 choir was materially aided by the Catholic portion of the 
 band of the 86th regiment, which played, with its well- 
 known ability, several select pieces of sacred music. The 
 sanctuary and altar were beautifully decorated. The 
 reredos, adorned with scarlet drapery and rich hangings, 
 gave an exquisite background to the chaste white of the 
 gothic marble altar in front, lit up, as the latter was, both 
 by the surrounding gas-jets as well as by a miniature 
 galaxy of wax-lights, burning in rich candelabra on the 
 altar itself, among vases of bright and beautiful flowers. 
 All the costly ornaments of the sanctuary, which the zeal 
 and piety of the venerated and lamented Bishop Grimley 
 brought from Europe for the service of religion in South 
 Africa, were displayed on this occasion. The officiating 
 clergy were the Eev. Dr. M'Mahon, assisted by Fathers 
 O'Reilly and O'Haire. Along the altar rails on each side 
 were the pupils of St. Joseph's Academy, who sung at 
 intervals during the ceremonies. Among the several 
 pieces rendered by them was a hymn, specially in honour 
 of St. Patrick, which -was given between the first and second 
 parts of the sermon. The coup d'ceil during benediction 
 was magnificent. The corona of lights surmounting the 
 reredos at this time also illuminated the gorgeously 
 vested celebrant, the suite of surpliced assistants, the soft, 
 solemn peal of the organ, the devotional tones of the choir
 
 546 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 swelling from above at the * Salutaris,' and ' Tantum 
 Ergo,' the smoke of incense rolling upwards in semi-trans- 
 parent clouds, and rendering the dazzling lights of the 
 sanctuary dimmer and softer, as each ascending little 
 volume of perfumed cloud broke and dispersed among and 
 around them ; all this seemed really to lift the sensitive 
 heart of the beholder from earth heavenwards. And truly, 
 at such a solemn moment, with the Blessed Sacrament 
 exposed on the altar for his adoration and worship, the 
 fervent Catholic might justly feel swelling within him the 
 sentiment conveyed in these beautiful words of the inspired 
 writer : ' Dilexi decorem domus tuse, Domine, et locum 
 habitations gloriae tuse.' 'I have loved, Lord, the 
 "beauty of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwell- 
 
 Turning now to the military body, to which I adminis- 
 tered as chaplain, I will avail myself of the opportunity 
 here afforded me of expressing the warmest affection of 
 my heart to the 9th, 10th, 99th and 86th regiments, from 
 which I received many substantial marks of esteem. On 
 the departure of the 99th regiment for Europe, the Cape 
 Argus of July 27th, 1869, described the farewell service 
 in St. Mary's thus : 
 
 " The Rev. Father O'Haire preached his farewell ser- 
 mon to the Catholic soldiers of the 99th regiment on 
 Sunday morning, in the course of which he alluded to the 
 attention and respect which he had ever received from 
 Colonel Dunne and the officers of the 99th, also to the 
 generosity with which the soldiers had contributed to 
 charitable purposes. The congregation, made up of the 
 99th and 86th regiments principally, was sensibly affected 
 even to tears at the close of the address of the rev. gentle- 
 man. Between one and two hundred non-commissioned
 
 TWELVE TEAKS IN SOUTH AFEICA. 547 
 
 officers and privates of the 99th received Holy Communion 
 in the Eoman Catholic Cathedral during the past week ; 
 many were also confirmed. A deputation, consisting of 
 non-commissioned officers and privates, waited upon the 
 Eev. Mr. O'Haire at the Bishop's house, at three o'clock 
 on Sunday afternoon, and presented him with a handsome 
 and valuable gold chain and locket, as a mark of the 
 esteem and gratitude of the Catholic soldiers of the 99th 
 regiment." 
 
 After the departure of the 99th regiment, the 86th came 
 under my care. Their generous hearts knew that I needed 
 sympathy and consolation in the trying bereavement I 
 had undergone consequent on the death of Dr. Grimley ; 
 and hence, on the 8th of April, 1871, their affection found 
 vent in the following address, chronicled thus in the Cape 
 Argus, Thursday, April 20th, 1871 : 
 
 " At noon, on Tuesday, a deputation, composed of non- 
 commissioned officers of the 86th (Eoyal County Down) 
 regiment waited on the Eev. Father O'Haire, and presented 
 him with a purse of sovereigns, accompanied by the fol- 
 ing address : 
 
 " ' EEV. AND DEAR SIR, The non-commissioned officers 
 and men of the Eoyal County Down regiment, who have 
 received the greatest kindness from your hands, venture 
 on this, your natal day, to offer you the accompanying 
 purse, containing a birthday present, in token of their 
 affection for a kind pastor, who has ever taken a lively 
 interest in their spiritual and temporal welfare. 
 
 " 'Your courteousness and urbanity towards both officers 
 and men, your endeavours to promote innocent amuse- 
 ment, and the immense good your influence has caused in 
 the temperance movement amongst the regiment, speak 
 
 2Q
 
 548 TWELVE YEARS IX SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 but too plainly in the 86th of the power and control an 
 educated gentlemen can obtain over the masses, with 
 whom he has mixed on the most equal terms of Christian 
 fellowship, of whatever creed or denomination. Ever 
 praying that your future endeavours may be crowned with 
 signal success, as they have been since our connection 
 with you, On behalf of the subscribers, 
 
 " ' Your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 " ' JAMES M'CUDDEN, 
 
 " ' Colour-sergeant, 86th Royal Regiment. 
 " ' Cape Town, 18th of April, 1871.' " 
 
 " The Rev. Father O'Haire gave the following reply : 
 
 " ' DEARLY-BELOVED SOLDIERS, The address you have 
 so kindly presented to me shall be treasured up as an 
 additional memento of my connection with the military 
 body, whilst the affectionate sentiments it expresses shall 
 serve to increase my respect and gratitude towards that 
 particular corps which has so generously added to words a 
 substantial proof of attachment. 
 
 " ' In treating with you, dearest soldiers, it is not neces- 
 sary to allude to the warm anxiety which I feel in all that 
 concerns you. From the first moment in which I minis- 
 tered to your spiritual wants until now, my heart has 
 never ceased to beat with fervent emotion for your highest 
 and holiest interests. On the other hand, your co-opera- 
 tion, your remarkable steadiness of character, your uni- 
 formly excellent conduct, have daily expanded my feelings 
 of admiration, and made me happy in discharging my duty 
 towards you. 
 
 " ' The allusion you make to the temperance movement 
 urges me to remark that whatever sin, degradation, or 
 shame, comes to a soldier especially, is the result of using
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 549 
 
 intoxicating drink too freely ; and, therefore, I feel con- 
 vinced, that to suppress drunkenness is to destroy the seed 
 of almost every evil in a military man, or perhaps, I should 
 say, is to remove the general occasion of iniquity. In 
 justice to your body, I am proud to bear testimony that 
 your generous co-operation with my public efforts in this 
 matter, has stamped your practical sanction of the cause 
 of temperance. 
 
 " ' The assistance that you rendered, in response to the 
 many appeals which I made for the poor, during 1869 
 and 1870, has merited my deepest thanks, and induces me 
 here to record my gratitude ; moreover, the encourage- 
 ment given to such charitable undertakings by your re- 
 spected colonel and officers demands no less my respectful 
 acknowledgment. 
 
 " ' No succession of events, no train of circumstances, 
 shall ever be able to blot from my mind the name and the 
 virtues of the 86th (Royal County Down) regiment. 
 
 " ' Reassuring you of my thanks for your kind gift, and 
 for the generous sentiment which your address embodies, 
 
 " * I am, &c. 
 
 "'JAMES O'ELuRE. 
 
 " ' 18th April, 1871.'" 
 
 With reference to the temperance movement and enter- 
 tainments in the Catholic Hall, it will be sufficient to note 
 that these were conducted for two years after the Bishop's 
 death in such a manner as to merit the astonishment of 
 all classes. There was scarcely an eminent musician or 
 singer who did not lend gratuitous aid, and as to the 
 public, their presence at the meetings and entertainments 
 in overwhelming crowds, showed their ample appreciation. 
 The proceeds were applied to charitable purposes.
 
 550 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 In reference to the state of the cathedral and episcopal resi- 
 dence in 1872, I may note from my diary that no general 
 repairs had been effected since 1862; hence, when the 
 Bishop was leaving for the Vatican Council in ] 869, the 
 establishment stood greatly in need of repair. Upon the 
 Bishop's arrival, at the end of 1870, the buildings were 
 naturally assuming a more shattered aspect ; so much so, 
 indeed, that the dilapidated state of the residence caused 
 his lordship feelings of trouble and pain. 
 
 In the middle of 1872 the term dilapidated would not 
 be too strong an expression to apply to the bishop's house, 
 if doors fallen from their hinges, windows having bid fare- 
 well to their frames, floors crackling under the feet, and 
 filthy walls justify the word dilapidated. It is simply true 
 to say, that both Catholics and Protestants were alike in- 
 dignant at the wretched appearance of the Catholic estab- 
 lishment in Cape Town, but kindly attributed this state 
 of things to the striking down of the shepherd of the 
 flock. 
 
 I may be permitted to observe, en passant, that I never 
 had charge of the financial concerns of the Catholic Church 
 in Cape Town ; I had merely to do with spiritual affairs : 
 however, I thought it prudent, just, and right, to come to 
 the rescue of the almost falling house, and with this view 
 proposed to the vicar-general, Yery Rev. Bernard M'Mahon, 
 that I would prepare the house for the due reception of 
 the incoming bishop, and effect, at least, the necessary 
 cleaning and repairing of the cathedral, not throwing the 
 onus of payment on the mission, but promising rather to 
 collect the funds necessary to liquidate all expenses. 
 This having been fully arranged between us, I set to 
 work, and accomplished what was required to be done, at 
 an expenditure of 1,112, to meet which I received from
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 551 
 
 the Catholics of Cape Town 412, leaving a balance due 
 of 700. I had resolved, under the direction of the vicar- 
 general, upon going to the Diamond Fields to collect this 
 deficit. I had partly engaged my seat in the Diamond 
 Fields waggon, but it was in the month of November, a very 
 warm part of the year. My health was at the time ex- 
 tremely low, and hence my medical adviser, Dr. Chiappini, 
 senior, advised " that if I attempted to enter the Diamond 
 Fields before the month of March, my bones would bleach 
 under the scorching sun in less than fourteen days." I 
 was, therefore, conscientiously bound to defer my visit till 
 March, 1873 ; but in January, '73, the only clergyman 
 who had been working with me on the mission of Cape 
 Town left for Europe ; hence, I was obliged to defer my 
 visit to the Diamond Fields, and therefore this debt of 
 700 remained due. However, I was afterwards relieved 
 of the pain which the consideration of this debt caused me, 
 when I saw from the published report of the Bight Rev. 
 Dr. Leonard that his lordship had received from the 
 Association for the Propagation of the Faith 2,493 
 7s. lid, which, added to subsequent donations, brought 
 up a total of 3,062 Is. 9d., with which the Bishop was 
 enabled to obliterate all debts, dues, and demands. 
 
 In concluding this chapter I will present my readers 
 with an example, illustrative of the efficacy of prayer, and 
 of the sweet comfort and consoling grace granted by our 
 dear Lord to fervent and persevering supplication. The 
 following is the case. 
 
 I usually duplicated on Sunday, celebrating the 7 and 
 11 o'clock masses. On one certain Sunday after the 
 7 o'clock mass, I experienced an uncontrollable desire, for 
 which I could not account satisfactorily to myself or to 
 anybody else, to visit a little country district, lying about
 
 552 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 twenty miles outside the town. I mentioned the matter 
 to the servant, and directed that the cart should he ready 
 after the 11 o'clock mass. At 9 o'clock, however, a furious 
 south-east wind sprang up, which hy 12 o'clock assumed 
 the strength of a terrific hurricane. It was, in fact, the 
 greatest storm I ever witnessed in Cape Town ; conse- 
 quently, several friends tried to dissuade me from ven- 
 turing on a road exposed to the utmost violence of the 
 wind. I tried to be persuaded to stay, hut I could not ; 
 at one moment I felt that the journey was unnecessary and 
 rash, and at another that go I must. In the end I went, 
 and as was my custom, I carried with me the stole, ritual, 
 and holy oils. During a part of the journey, the storm 
 was so powerful that I was obliged to use the greatest 
 caution in order to avoid the overturning of the cart. 
 After three hours' struggling through blinding wind and 
 dust, I arrived at Koeberg, and was only ten minutes' 
 distance from the house I was proceeding to, when I 
 espied two Catholic men proceeding rapidly along the 
 road, in the direction of Cape Town. They had not per- 
 ceived me, hence I called out, "Where are you going to?" 
 Approaching the cart, and recognising me, they exclaimed: 
 " O God ! is this the priest ? Why we were going into 
 town for you. Mrs. Carey is dying. She took suddenly 
 ill this morning, and has ever since been crying out, ' Send 
 for the priest, I am dying ; my God, keep me alive till 
 the priest comes.'" On hearing this, I was as astonished 
 as I was thankful, and at once hurried to her cottage. 
 When I entered she exclaimed before the assembled people, 
 " I knew that God would hear my prayer." I then heard 
 her confession, gave her the holy sacrament of Extreme 
 Unction, and imparted the indulgence in articulo mortis; and 
 just as I pronounced the last words, she expired. To this
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 553 
 
 I will only add, that five years previously she had abjured 
 the errors of Protestantism, and was received into the 
 Catholic Church by the late Eight Rev. Dr. Grimley. 
 
 In addition to this consoling instance of (rod's Providence 
 and charity, there were, within the years 1871 and 1872, 
 many edifying death-bed scenes, especially in the hospitals, 
 amongst which I may note the reconciliation to the Church 
 of two apostates, the reception of four dying Protestants, 
 and one German infidel. One special instance, and I close 
 this chapter; it is that of a dying soldier of the 86th 
 regiment, in the military hospital. The case, which was a 
 singular one, I recall with feelings of gratitude and joy. 
 
 I happened to be, at the time of this occurrence, laid up 
 with rheumatic fever ; so ill and powerless as scarcely to be 
 able to stir without aid. On the day when the fever was at 
 its height, and my brother priest happened to be out on duty, 
 a military hospital orderly came, announcing that a dying 
 soldier was calling for the priest ; he said, " The case is 
 most urgent ; the man is not expected to survive many 
 hours. I have known him since boyhood ; we have been 
 companions for years ; he was a most religious young man, 
 but I am sorry to say that he slipped off the rail, and has 
 not been to his religious duties for a long time ; he is now 
 crying out to God, with great earnestness, for a priest to 
 whom he may unfold his conscience, and receive absolution 
 before he comes into the presence of the Eternal Judge." 
 The servant of the house tremblingly brought this message 
 to my room, at the same time adding, " Father, do not 
 attempt to leave ; I will send a messenger to find out the 
 other priest ; if you go out in your present fever, it will 
 kill you ; and now that the Catholics here have so few 
 priests, it is better that the soldier should die than that one 
 of our pastors should be lost." I could not help admiring
 
 554 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 this well-meant, though somewhat innocent, harangue of 
 the servant; however, I merely replied, " The dying soldier 
 must be attended to ; order at once a close cah." I then 
 scrambled from the bed, was assisted to dress, and drove 
 off to the military hospital ; heard the confession of the poor, 
 dying soldier, administered to him the Holy Communion 
 and Extreme Unction, and within half an hour afterwards 
 he had met, face to face, the Judge of the living and the 
 dead.
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE arrival in August, 1873, in the Western Vicariate of 
 a band of Catholic priests from Lyons, under the charge of 
 the Rev. John Devernoille, brightened the hopes of the 
 Catholic community, and constituted a grand epoch in the 
 history of the Catholic Church in South Africa. 
 
 A word of explanation in reference to these missionaries 
 is necessary. I have already observed, that the vicariate 
 under the charge of the late Bishop was too extensive to 
 be manageable ; hence his lordship had been long suppli- 
 cating Rome to divide the vicariate, so that the interests 
 of religion might be better attended to. While -at Rome, 
 for the Yatican Council, his lordship worked hard and 
 successfully in this matter. The Order of the Holy Spirit 
 and Immaculate Heart of Mary was the first named, and 
 hence, on the 22nd January, 1871, the Yery Rev. Father 
 Thierse, Superior of the House of that congregation at 
 Mauritius, arrived at the Cape to make the necessary 
 arrangements. On the 23rd, acting under the Bishop's 
 instructions, I accompanied Father Thierse to Malmesbury, 
 Riebeck Castelle, Lillyfontein, and Wellington. We re- 
 turned to town on Friday, the 27th, and on the following 
 Sunday the Bishop died. In consequence, arrangements 
 were suspended until the appointment of a new bishop. 
 At length, in August, 1873, the Fathers of the " Society 
 of African Missions" arrived, and are now in possession 
 of that very portion of the Western Yicariate, with the 
 Island of St. Helena, which had been mapped out by the 
 late Dr. Grimley. Well may we exclaim with St. Paul,
 
 556 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 in his epistle to the Romans, chapter xi. : " How incom- 
 prehensible are his judgments and how unsearchable his 
 ways ! For who hath known the mind of the Lord ?" 
 Just as Moses was destined to lead the children of Israel 
 within sight of the promised land, yet died without having 
 entered it, so, many saints and eminent servants of God 
 have been allowed to draw out plans for extending and 
 improving particular portions of the kingdom of God on 
 earth, and have been suffered to labour for the accomplish- 
 ment of their desires ; to plough, to harrow, to sow the 
 seed, to water it with their tears, yet not to reap the fruit 
 of their exertions. Thus it was with dear Bishop Grimley. 
 Consumed with holy zeal for the interests of his vicariate, 
 yet seeing the impossibility of rendering it the service it 
 required, with the small staff at his command, he petitioned 
 again and again that additional labourers might be sent 
 into the vineyard ; but just as his lordship's plans were 
 ripe and about to bring forth fruit, as in fact the mission- 
 aries he sought for were standing, so to speak, on the 
 threshold of the door, and about to enter, death, not as a 
 sword of justice, but as the smile of almighty love, called 
 the Bishop to his eternal rest. 
 
 The following letter of a correspondent at Lyons, on 
 the subject of the departure of the missionaries, will be 
 found interesting : 
 
 " Lyons, May Otb, 1873. 
 
 " There is a large gathering to-day of the Catholics of 
 Lycns in the small church of the ' Missions Africaines,' and 
 a great part of the assemblage is bathed in tears. The 
 occasion is the departure of eight young French mission- 
 aries for an English colony. Gambia and Sierra Leone 
 have already been long supplied with priests and lay 
 brothers of the ' Congregation du Saint Esprit et du Sacre
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 557 
 
 Cceur de Marie ;' the ' Oblats de Marie' are established at 
 Natal, and this ' Congregation des Missions Africaines' 
 has six priests at Lagos or on their way thither. Mon- 
 signor Leonard, vicar-apostolic of Cape Town, has now 
 enlisted these eight youthful heroes for the new vicariate 
 approved of and about to be created by Pius IX., in the 
 north-western and central portions of his district. It will 
 comprise the districts of Greorge and Beaufort, Little 
 Namaqualand and Great Bushman's Land, which form 
 the northern part of the immense Clanwilliam district and 
 all the territory beyond, as far north as the 20th degree of 
 south latitude. 
 
 " It is the moment of our solemn ' Farewells' before the 
 altar of Our Lord, and of the ' Chant du Depart,' beauti- 
 fully described in Lady Herbert's translation of the ' Life 
 of Father Yenard.' Father Eameire, S. J., remembered 
 by so many English Catholics with grateful affection, has 
 preached with an eloquence the effect of which, I hope, 
 may be seen in the collection plates. As I am writing, 
 nearly a hundred priests have kissed the feet of, and ex- 
 changed embraces with, the parting apostles, and, at this 
 instant, pious officers and soldiers of the French army are 
 pressing forward, next in turn, to offer the same touching 
 proof of veneration and love. I see brave Colonel Lion, 
 an honoured Algerian Yeteran, and President of the 
 Catholic Working Men's Clubs (Cercles) of Lyons, who 
 exclaims, as he clasps each of the Fathers to his heart : ' I 
 am an African soldier, too ; we are all soldiers, are we 
 not? You fight for Grod, and I for my country.' 
 Another officer says : ' My battles are against external 
 enemies, yours against the foes man has within.' Of 
 the holy enthusiasm of the scene, I cannot attempt to 
 give a description ; but I question whether anything like
 
 558 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 the sunshiny weeping around me could be witnessed out 
 of France. 
 
 " Two of the oldest of the missionaries now standing at 
 the High Altar the Eev. John Devernoille, of the diocese 
 of Lyons, and the Eev. Alexander Yves Gruillet, from 
 Nantes, aged respectively 29 and 27 years will leave for 
 England this evening, to embark from Southampton in 
 the steamer of the 15th instant. They will stop at St. 
 Helena, which belongs to Bishop Leonard's vicariate, long 
 enough to attend to the immediate spiritual wants of 
 Catholic soldiers and residents there, and then proceed to 
 the Cape. The remaining six will continue in Europe a 
 few weeks longer, and accompany the Bishop himself when 
 he sails from London in the month of June. Three Marist 
 brothers and several sisters are to leave with him, I learn, 
 in the same vessel." 
 
 Since the arrival of the above-named fathers, several 
 others of the same society have followed, and their missions 
 are now in good working order. 
 
 I subjoin a letter from Father Graudeul, which may serve 
 to give a notion of travelling and missionary life in Nama- 
 qualaud. 
 
 Letter of the Rev. Mr. Gaudeul to the Eev. Mr. Planque, 
 Superior of the Society of African Missions atLyons. 
 
 " SPRINGBOK-FONTEIN, 
 
 23rd August, 1873. 
 
 "VERY DEAR AND VENERATED SUPERIOR, . . . On 
 Thursday, the 7th of August, at four o'clock in the even- 
 ing, the Rev. Mr. Pasquereau and I embarked on board 
 a small steamer, the ' Namaqua,' at Cape Town, for Port 
 Nolloth. The sea was calm, and we had a good passage. 
 We had the honour of travelling in company with his
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 559 
 
 excellency the governor of the colony, who was going to 
 Namaqualand to visit the country, and especially the mines. 
 He much desired to renew the assurances he had given 
 us, on the occasion of our visit to Cape Town. He was, 
 he said, disposed to do for us all that was in his power. 
 
 "On Saturday, at ten o'clock in the morning, the steamer 
 crossed the bar, entered the little bay of Port Nolloth, and 
 cast anchor a few hundred yards from the shore. A state 
 barge came for the governor. "We witnessed his reception, 
 and could hear the hurrahs with which his excellency was 
 received on his landing. All the ships in the road had their 
 flags displayed, and saluted with two guns. The village 
 was in festival guise ; from the ship, we saw the standards 
 flying, and the discharges of cannon were constant. 
 
 " It would appear that when the negroes are rejoicing 
 publicly, they think of nothing else. Those who had 
 come to bring off the servants of the governor and his 
 baggage, had promised to come back immediately to bring 
 us ashore ; at four o'clock in the evening we were still ex- 
 pecting them. A boat came at last, and we were able to 
 get on land. 
 
 "As we knew no one, we went to the hotel, and began 
 to ask about the Catholics who could be found there. It 
 was in 1869 that Monseigneur Grimley had been there for 
 the last time. They told us that there were no Catholics 
 at Port Nolloth ; we discovored two, and on Sunday we 
 were able to collect together ten Catholics. We were com- 
 pelled to remain for two days at Port Nolloth, every vehicle 
 having been given to the governor. We had no reason 
 to regret this delay ; it was such a long time since the 
 Catholics there had seen a priest. They came to mass on 
 Sunday, and we baptized a little girl about a year old. 
 Monday was devoted to transporting the baggage and taking
 
 560 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 the necessary steps for the journey. When we were start- 
 ing, on Tuesday morning, we heard that there was a whole 
 family of Catholics at Port-Nolloth whom we had not seen. 
 Probably there are more Catholics at Port Nolloth of whom 
 we did not hear ; in all perhaps twenty. But there are 
 only two families; the others are labourers, clerks, or people 
 who are merely passing through. 
 
 " I do not think, reverend superior, that the details of 
 our journey from Port Nolloth to Springbok will interest 
 you greatly. However, as it is not quite so easy to travel 
 in this country as in France, I shall give you the details, 
 for the use of our Brothers who may one day come here to 
 rejoin us. 
 
 " We scarcely expected when arriving in Africa, in the 
 country of the Namaquois, to travel by railway ; it was, 
 therefore, an agreeable surprise for us to learn that there 
 was one constructed by the Cape Copper Mining Company, 
 to whom the Mines at O'Kiep belong. On Saturday we 
 sought for the agent of the company, Mr. Hall, to ask 
 him for a free pass, which he gave us, for ourselves, but 
 not for our baggage. The baggage had to pay a penny 
 a pound. We registered them as merchandize, which cost 
 us something less. Mr. Hall had warned us that we had 
 better write to Springbok to have a carriage sent to Ane- 
 nous which might carry us and our luggage. But a car- 
 riage, in this country, is an expensive affair. From Anenous 
 to Springbok, it would cost us from six to eight pounds ; 
 and we would still be uncertain of getting one ; and, in 
 any case, as the post is slow, we would have to wait for 
 two days more at Port Nolloth. We therefore decided to 
 go first to Anenous, taking chance for what might happen 
 afterwards. 
 
 "On Tuesday, then, at seven o'clock in the morning, we
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 561 
 
 were at the station. The train was formed of the locomotive, 
 seven waggons of merchandize, and a single carriage for 
 travellers. We expected to be put on top of a truck of 
 merchandize to make our journey. It is the place for 
 ordinary travellers ; but, as we were in company with one 
 of the officers of the mines, they were so obliging as to 
 add a travelling carriage to the train. The carriages are, 
 besides, very small, with only four seats; and all our 
 train would have been easily swallowed up in two French 
 trucks. 
 
 " It was piercing cold, and, in our open waggon, there 
 was scarcely any shelter from the east wind, which blew 
 strongly. The engine-driver came down from his loco- 
 motive and followed the train occasionally; we resolved to 
 take a walk also. I asked the engine-driver would it be 
 long before the train got on its ordinary speed. He looked 
 at me and smiled ; he replied that we were actually going 
 at full speed, averaging five miles an hour. "We had, there- 
 fore, full time to study the country. Unhappily, it is not 
 much varied. 
 
 "When the train leaves the village of Port Nolloth, 
 which is built on the sandy shore, it passes through an 
 immense desert plain, studded here and there with bushes. 
 From time to time, you meet hills of sand, then rocks, and 
 soon you journey on between two ranges of barren moun- 
 tains. A station appears here and there, that is to say, 
 four or five Hottentot huts. It is impossible to conceive 
 anything more miserable than the interlaced branches, 
 covered with stripes of canvas, of which these huts are 
 formed. The residence of the station-master is hardly 
 anything better. These stations are placed beside wells 
 which they have discovered in the arid plains, and the 
 locomotive is supplied with water at them. At five miles
 
 562 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 from Port Nolloth, the station-master was an Irishman, 
 whose daughter I had baptized the preceding Sunday. 
 He waited on us and gave us a cup of strong coffee, which 
 was very grateful at the time. We thanked him heartily. 
 The only fault the honest fellow has is that he believes he 
 can send his children, without any risk, to the Protestant 
 school ; happily the mother is not of the same opinion, 
 and, to secure her more on our side, we left her a prayer- 
 book, which appeared to give her great delight. 
 
 " After twelve or fifteen miles, the country began to be 
 less arid, and at last, about three o'clock in the evening, 
 we perceived something which will not appear very remark- 
 able to you, but which we, in such a country, looked on as 
 prodigious. It was a phenomenon of vegetation, a tree at 
 least six feet high. On our whole previous route we had 
 not seen any. 
 
 "At one o'clock the locomotive stopped, and was replaced 
 by mules ; but we went on as fast as before, and at five 
 o'clock we arrived at Anenous. 
 
 " Here the prospects of our journey began to darken. 
 The railway extended fifteen miles further to Cloek-Fon- 
 tein, but our ticket only brought us to Anenous, and the 
 officers refused to carry us further. It ended by their 
 consenting to carry our luggage to Cloek-Fontein ; as for 
 ourselves, we were left on the road, or, more correctly, on 
 the sand ; this at five o'clock in the evening, when we had 
 eaten nothing since morning, and knew not where to find 
 shelter, was hardly a pleasant position. We asked for a 
 carriage or at least mules to complete our journey, but that 
 was useless. 
 
 " We ended by finding out a sort of shop, where they 
 gave us a supper in the fashion of the country, that is to 
 say, a large quarter of mutton, without any bread. We
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 563 
 
 were pleasant enough at night, the stars shining on us. 
 There was a piece of cloth for a ceiling, but, through the 
 ceiling, we could pursue astronomic studies. My travel- 
 ling companion had to hunt a dog from his bed ; I had to 
 pursue the same course with a cat. But we were so tired, 
 we slept some hours. 
 
 "The next morning we went to the station; our luggage 
 had gone on during the night. We got breakfast ; a Hot- 
 tentot guide was found who took charge of the little bag- 
 gage left, and we set out. 
 
 " We went along the road which the waggons of the 
 mining company travelled, at the time the tramway stopped 
 at Anenous. It first passed over a vast plain for two miles 
 and a half, and then we came to the foot of a mountain, 
 which we were three quarters of an hour ascending. When 
 we arrived at the top, we saw suddenly rise before us fields 
 of corn and meadows of magnificent verdure. This sight 
 charmed us, after our fifty miles' journey over arid and 
 sandy plains. For two hours we traversed this plateau, 
 or rather over four or five little plateaux, which came in 
 succession, rising one above the other. Two hours' further 
 walking brought us to Cloek-Fontein. 
 
 " We asked the first person we met, when entering the 
 village, where was the best hotel in the place. But as to 
 a hotel, there was not one, neither good nor bad, at Cloek- 
 Fontein. As they took us for Protestant ministers, they 
 sent us to the minister who resides at Cloek-Fontein, 
 assuring us that he would be charmed to see us. He him- 
 self came to invite us to his house. We thanked him, but 
 declined, and went towards the place where the mules and 
 waggons were stationed. The convoy for O'Kiep was 
 starting, and the guides consented to give us a seat in one 
 of the waggons. 
 
 2R
 
 564 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 " We were uneasy about the fate of our baggage, which 
 had not as yet arrived at Cloek-Fontein, though due there 
 in the morning ; but the clerks of the company assured us 
 they would send it on to O'Kiep as soon as possible. At 
 three o'clock in the afternoon we got on what my brother 
 priest styles the diligences of Springbok. They are strong- 
 built waggons without springs, drawn by eight mules ; two 
 Hottentot drivers, one who holds the reins, and the other 
 armed with a whip of illimitable length, sit in front. In 
 the interior are sacks of grain, of flour, &c., on which we 
 installed ourselves as well as we could. As long as the 
 waggon remained stationary we were well enough, but it 
 was very different when the convoy started. It was com- 
 posed of ten waggons like our own. All set off in a 
 gallop ; the effect might be fine at a distance, but as for 
 us, we were smothered in clouds of dust. Our waggon 
 was the best of the lot ; it was covered with a tarpaulin ; 
 and, as it was the best vehicle, we had the delightful privi- 
 lege to be placed in the rear, and to have the advantage 
 of all the dust which the others raised. This was not the 
 greatest inconvenience of this sort of travelling. 
 
 " The roads of this country are nearly as nature made 
 them. We would get over them pretty well if our drivers 
 took care to avoid the ruts ; but this is what they least 
 care for. They are never so happy as when they come to 
 a descent ; here they can drive their mules at full speed. 
 Then, drivers, sacks, travellers, are tossed about in the 
 waggon ; our clothes were undistinguishable under a cloud 
 of dust. My companion was astonished at the waggon 
 not being broken to pieces. From time to time, all 
 the convoy was stopped, and the conductor looked over 
 the whole train to see that no accident had happened. 
 Then we started afresh.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 565 
 
 "Our first stage lasted three hours, and towards half- 
 past six o'clock we arrived at the place where we were to 
 stop for the night. The mules were unyoked, and went 
 on their own account ; then our Hottentots lighted fires, 
 and cooked their rice for supper. The aspect of our little 
 camp was very picturesque, with the waggons ranged in 
 order, and the fires scattered here and there. The Hotten- 
 tots lov.e music ; every time we stopped, we remarked that 
 some of them set to blow in some sort of instrument, and 
 the others began to make a noise in their own fashion. 
 We walked through the encampment, looking at the groups 
 to see where we would have the best chance to get our 
 supper. This was not easy. The Hottentots do not 
 understand a word of English. We at last found out the 
 conductor of the train, who gave us two large bowls of 
 coffee and shared with us some travelling provisions. 
 This was a real kindness, for here the cold, when the sun 
 sets, is as piercing as in the morning, when it is rising. 
 We then went to shelter ourselves under the tarpaulin of 
 our waggon. As for the Hottentots, they continued their 
 dances and their noises till ten o'clock, and then they went to 
 sleep in the open air. We could then sleep a little ourselves. 
 
 " At three o'clock in the morning, we set out again by 
 the light of the moon, and at six o'clock we saw O'Kiep 
 before us. At this moment a handsome light carriage 
 came in sight, sent to meet us. The evening before it 
 had been told that we were about to arrive, and Mr. Hitbs, 
 a Protestant (whose daughter is married to a Catholic, and 
 who has herself become a Catholic), set out to seek us. We 
 were warmly received by that family. Our travels were 
 near their close. After dinner we set out for Springbok, 
 which is little more than five miles from O'Kiep, and we 
 arrived there at three o'clock.
 
 566 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 "II. Before giving an account of the country, it 
 would perhaps have been necessary to reside within its 
 bounds a longer time, in ordor to give more accurate and 
 complete details. I can, however, tell you now what we 
 know of it, although not having ourselves seen as yet 
 much of it. 
 
 " We found Springbok very different from what we had 
 conceived from the reports of Monseigneur Grimley. It 
 is, indeed, much altered also from what it was in 1869, 
 when Monseigneur came there for the first time. There 
 were a number of Catholic families, and four or five of 
 these were rich and influential. Since then the copper 
 mine has been completely given up ; all the families have 
 left with the exception of one, and in that there is not a 
 single child. These people keep the only hotel in the 
 place ; we went there. There is another family, the head 
 of which is a Catholic ; but he is rarely here ; he traffics 
 amongst the savage tribes to the north of the Orange River. 
 He is about to quit Springbok finally with his children, 
 who were baptized by Monseigneur Grimley. Add to this 
 list a child twelve years old, who is here at service with 
 two young Protestants, and you have the whole Catholic 
 population of Springbok. 
 
 "The remainder, about 250 persons, 100 of whom are 
 of the European race, is composed solely of shopkeepers 
 who sell some dry goods, and chiefly spirits. There are 
 also butchers, bakers, &c., whose business it is to supply 
 food to the miners of O'Kiep. Springbok is still the seat 
 of government of Namaqualand ; but the village is decay- 
 ing ; many of the houses in its neighbourhood are in ruins ; 
 no one will take the trouble to repair them. It is still a 
 Centre of commerce, and it is here that a large number of 
 Boers, who inhabit Little and Great Bushmanland, come
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 567 
 
 to procure their provisions, and where some of them come 
 down in the season with a portion of their flocks. Only 
 one of these Boers is a Catholic, with his wife and nine 
 children. At present he lives eight miles from Springbok, 
 but in a month he will fold up his tent and return to 
 Bushmanland, to the neighbourhood of Pella. Two of 
 his daughters were educated by the nuns of Cape Town. 
 When we came here, we learned that the elder was to be 
 married in a few days ; the bans had already been published 
 at the Protestant church. We went to see them, and per 
 suaded them to be married in the Catholic church. I wrote 
 to the minister of O'Kiep for the certificate of the publica- 
 tion of the bans, and to set us right with the civil law. 
 We solemnized the marriage the day before yesterday. 
 We have also rebaptized, conditionally, two of the young 
 children whom, for want of better, they had got baptized 
 by the Protestant minister. 
 
 " There is at Springbok a little school taught by a sort 
 of catechist, assistant of the minister at O'Kiep, but there 
 are very few children in the village. The Protestants have 
 a church, to which the same minister comes every Sunday 
 to perform service ; also a reformed Dutch church, now 
 deserted. 
 
 " Springbok has the following advantages : a less float- 
 ing population than the other villages of Namaqualand, 
 and a central position; from five to seven miles from 
 O'Kiep, twelve to fifteen miles from Concordia, and about 
 thirty miles from Spectakel. 
 
 "The Hottentots are less numerous about Springbok 
 (only seven or eight huts), and they are brutalized by 
 spirits. 
 
 " O'Kiep is by far the most important mine of the 
 country. Although the village seems scarcely larger than
 
 568 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFEICA. 
 
 Springbok, there are fifteen hundred inhabitants in it, in- 
 cluding, it is true, the Hottentots, whose huts are placed 
 round the village, and also a large number of labourers 
 crowded into two large booths. The inhabitants are badly 
 off for house-room, and it would be impossible for us to 
 stay there at present. 
 
 "All the land and houses belong to the Mining Company. 
 At O'Kiep there is a Protestant minister, with a school and 
 a temple. To establish ourselves there it would be first 
 necessary to obtain a concession, and then to build a house, 
 which would be extremely costly. To-morrow I shall say 
 Mass in the house of a Catholic, employed at O'Kiep, Mr. 
 Barry, and I will endeavour to come to the knowledge of 
 the Catholics who are there. They are very few in number; 
 the greater part of the miners come from Cornwall and 
 Germany, and Mr. Barry, who is in a good position to 
 become acquainted with them, has only discovered fifteen 
 Catholics, and these are no great credit to their religion. 
 
 " The inconvenience of an establishment at O'Kiep is 
 the danger that the mine might be abandoned, although 
 that is scarcely probable before some years have passed. 
 The miners of this country are very rich and numerous ; 
 but, when the working of a mine becomes too costly, they 
 abandon it to go to another. This is what has happened 
 to the Springbok mine. 
 
 " Concordia, fifteen miles to the north of Springbok, is a 
 mine rich in ore, but worked by a company distinct from 
 that of O'Kiep, and much less rich. There are four hundred 
 persons there, amongst whom are some Catholics. 
 
 " Spectakel, another mine, eighteen miles from Spring- 
 bok, has only a few hundred inhabitants. We have up to 
 this time no information about it. 
 
 " The country is very healthy, but exceedingly dry even
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 569 
 
 at this time, which is the best season of the year. There 
 is just enough of pasture to feed some meagre flocks, who, 
 after two or three months, will return to Bushmanland ; 
 otherwise there is not the smallest culture. With the ex- 
 ception of meat, we have to get everything from Cape 
 Town, consequently we have to pay an exorbitant price 
 for all we consume. At our hotel, which is certainly not 
 a first-class one, we pay each of us six pounds a month for 
 board. There is not a single Catholic family in a condition 
 to receive us. As to set up a home for ourselves, that would 
 require time. There is not, at present, an unoccupied house 
 which would suit us ; and as we cannot find here necessaries 
 without paying double cost for them, I wrote to the Rev. 
 M. Devernoille, begging of him to send them to us from 
 Cape Town. We shall endeavour to find a house and leave 
 the hotel ; but I fear with respect to economy we shall not 
 gain much. 
 
 " A word about travelling. We shall have from time 
 to time to go to O'Kiep, to Spectakel, to Concordia. There 
 are also four or five Catholics at Houdeklip Bay. But the 
 distance to these places are so great, we cannot traverse 
 them on foot. Besides, that way of travelling is difficult 
 in this country, and appears to be altogether impossible in 
 the summer ; moreover, the hiring of horses, especially at 
 present, is very expensive. Horses are cheap in Bushman- 
 land, but forage has to be brought from Cape Town. Know- 
 ing the state of our finances, you will, Rev. Superior, without 
 doubt, understand why we confine ourselves to doing what 
 we can at Springbok and O'Kiep. We, nevertheless, 
 hope to meet sometimes opportunities of going to the other 
 mines. At present we are sufficiently occupied in studying 
 Dutch, the only language spoken outside the villages, and 
 without the knowledge of which it is impossible to travel.
 
 570 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 "As to the resources we can find, they must be very few, 
 on account of the poverty and the small number of Catholics. 
 
 " The least expensive place to establish ourselves will be 
 Springbok, because, with a diminishing population, we can 
 perhaps find a convenient house to buy or to lease at a 
 much lower price than anywhere else. 
 
 " There remains no other place to speak of but Pella, 
 situated fifty leagues north-east of Springbok, and at no 
 great distanee from Orange River. There is a fair pros- 
 pect for the mission in that quarter, judging from the in- 
 formation we have been able to obtain, and which appears 
 to be sufficiently reliable. Our informants are the Catho- 
 lic Boer, spoken of above, and the agents of the English 
 police, who were formerly stationed at Pella. Their station 
 is much farther on at present, but they always pass through 
 Pella on their way to Springbok. 
 
 " The soil is good in the neighbourhood of Pella, and 
 there is a supply of water. Corn grows there, and trees, 
 especially fig-trees, succeed well. 
 
 " Some years ago there was a Protestant mission at Pella, 
 about which a considerable number of natives congregated. 
 The mission is at present abandoned ; the native population 
 has dispersed, and only the walls of the houses remain 
 standing. The following circumstances led to this result. 
 
 " In the first place, it appears that the missioners in that 
 quarter, as in nearly all their establishments on the banks 
 of the Orange and north of that river, made their mission 
 a commercial speculation. Having attracted the natives 
 to their neighbourhood, they derived all the profit they 
 could from them. Two years of scarcity ensued, during 
 which the natives suffered greatly. A great number of 
 Hottentots who had been constantly employed by the Boers> 
 were dismissed from their service, and took to pillage-
 
 TWELVE YEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 571 
 
 Things went from bad to worse, and the robbers soon began 
 to carry on their depredations openly. The son of one of 
 the missioners was killed by them on his way from Spring- 
 bok to Pella. The Boers abandoned the country and re- 
 turned to Springbok. The missioners did likewise, and 
 their establishment was pillaged and destroyed. At this 
 moment numerous bands of Hottentots have made their 
 appearance within a few miles of Springbok. 
 
 " Something like security is felt at present. The tribes 
 that caused the disturbance have been driven farther back, 
 and have to some extent destroyed one another. We hear 
 that it would not be difficult to get the natives to return 
 if a mission were established, offering them a means of 
 livelihood, which they are not capable of securing when left 
 to themselves. The mission would find great resources in 
 the fertility of the soil. The missioners, being only three 
 days' journey from Springbok, could go there from time to 
 time. In any case, if there ought to be another station, 
 one at Pella would be of great assistance. Another advan- 
 tage would be the facility thus afforded of crossing the 
 Orange, a considerable trade being carried on in the vicinity 
 of Pella with the tribes north of that river. 
 
 " Doubtless, you have heard, Rev. Superior, of Mon- 
 seigneur Grrimley's project for establishing in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Pella a mission constituted somewhat on the 
 plan of the Reductions of Paraguay. Protestants have 
 made a similar attempt in some parts of the country, and 
 have succeeded in a temporal sense. The governor pro- 
 mised a grant of land 5,000 morgens in extent (300 morgens 
 being equal to a square of about 1,850 yards). The land 
 referred to appeared to be well-chosen. At Cape Town 
 the Rev. M. Devernoille spoke to the governor about this 
 old plan, and the latter seemed to make no opposition.
 
 572 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 " When the Catholic Boer, who is now in the environs 
 of Springbok, returns to Pella, we may go with him to 
 see the country. He knew very well the place where 
 Monseigneur Grimley wished to establish the mission. 
 The journey, if undertaken at our own expense, would 
 cost us at least twenty pounds ; so that we wait for some 
 opportunity of accomplishing it at a cheaper rate. 
 
 " As for the cost of the first establishment of such a 
 mission, it would be very difficult to give anything like an 
 accurate estimate. Besides, we could for some time live in 
 wooden houses, on account of the dryness and salubrity of 
 the climate. We have nothing to fear from cold ; all the 
 Boers live under canvas. 
 
 "I have a great deal more to say, but my letter is already 
 too long. I must, however, add, that if the mission has not 
 made a very brilliant beginning, the missioners are at any 
 rate in excellent health. The voyage did not in the least 
 fatigue us, and we are already accustomed to our new home. 
 
 " We are very happy here and very fond of our mission. 
 We should be still happier if we were able to do more 
 good. This we hope to arrive at when we know a little of 
 the Dutch language and have received our instructions. 
 
 " Believe me, dear Rev. Superior, your affectionate and 
 respectful humble servant, 
 
 " Ch. GAUDEUL."
 
 CHAPTER XXXIY. 
 
 IN September, 1873, the mail steamer " Syria" brought 
 to the Cape the long-expected successor to the late Bishop 
 Grimley, in the person of the Eight Eev. John Leonard, 
 who had been nominated in, and consecrated in Decem- 
 ber, 1872. 
 
 Previous to his lordship's arrival, I united with the 
 societies of St. Mary and St. Vincent de Paul in par- 
 ticular, and with the Catholic community generally, in 
 organizing plans which would enable us to receive the 
 new Bishop with every mark of honour. Accordingly, 
 the great bell, presented to the late Bishop by the Marquis 
 of Bute, sent out its joyful tones. The Bishop was con- 
 ducted by me to the Dominican Convent chapel, where 
 the " Te Deum" was sung. 
 
 The following Sunday I had arranged for the various 
 Catholic bodies to present their addresses. I here give the 
 account of the proceedings as they appeared in the Standard 
 and Mail of the following Tuesday as noted in my diary. 
 
 " On Sunday morning the Bishop officiated at 7 o'clock 
 mass, the first service in the Cathedral. At 1 1 o'clock he 
 attended the third service, which was that known as High 
 Mass. The celebrant was the Eev. Mr. O'Haire, the 
 deacon and sub-deacon being the Eev. Dr. Colgan and 
 the Eev. Mr. O'Connell. 
 
 " The preacher was the Eev. Father O'Haire, whose re- 
 marks were as follows : 
 
 " ' You have not chosen me : but I have chosen you ; and 
 have appointed you, that you should go and should bring forth 
 fruit, and that your fruit should remain.' My Lord, Rev.
 
 574 TWELVE TEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Fathers, and dearly-beloved brethren in Jesus Christ, I have 
 ascended this pulpit to-day with feelings of profound grati- 
 tude and boundless joy, in which 1 believe I am united by the 
 entire Catholic body in this Vicariate. We have long and 
 anxiously awaited the arrival of a bishop, and to-day we thank 
 God, and we thank Rome, that our longings are satisfied. In 
 saying this I am but the feeble exponent of the idea of the 
 community committed to your lordship's care. And now, my 
 lord, that God has selected you and Rome has sent you, we 
 hail your arrival, and from our very souls we ask God to bless 
 you and Mary to protect you, that you may fulfil with zeal and 
 prudence the onerous duties of the episcopate. I am fully 
 aware that I am not preaching a consecration sermon, nor yet 
 a sermon at all. In having to ascend the pulpit on this occa- 
 sion I am taken by surprise, and have undertaken merely to 
 speak a few simple words suggested by the very occasion. 
 Brethren, the present is the third bishop in this Vicariate. 
 Some of you have seen all three the Right Rev, Dr. Griffith, 
 the Right Rev. Dr. Grimley, and now the Right Rev. Dr. 
 Leonard. The first, the Right Rev. Dr. Griffith, might be 
 deemed and named the Apostle of South Africa. God chose 
 him and Rome sent him to labour in this colony. When he 
 came, there was no regularly established mission. His work 
 was arduous, his difficulties were great ; but his courage was 
 equal, and his zeal was apostolic. He that selected him 
 blessed him, and hence his fruits remain. The name of the 
 Right Rev. Dr. Griffith is held in this colony in reve- 
 rent remembrance, and his virtues are displayed in his 
 magnificent deeds. His ashes repose in this very Cathedral, 
 erected by himself. There is all that is mortal of our 
 first bishop. He lived well and he died well. He faith- 
 fully discharged his duty as a priest and as a bishop. 
 When his work was accomplished our Lord Jesus called 
 him into eternity. Then came our second bishop, the 
 Right Rev. Dr. Grimley, whose life was spent like that of his 
 Divine Master in doing good, and who ended his episcopal 
 career a victim of love, a devoted child of the Catholic Church, 
 an ardent lover of the centre of Catholic unity, a worthy priest, 
 and an indefatigable bishop. I had the honour and happiness 
 of intimate association with the late bishop long before his 
 consecration, and yel I shall not attempt to speak of his vir- 
 tues, for from his ordination as a priest till his death as a 
 bishop, his whole life spoke for him. His acts proved that 
 God had chosen him, and had appointed him that he should 
 go and should bring forth fruit, and that his fruit should re- 
 main. He succeeded the Right Rev. Dr. Griffith with honour,
 
 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 575 
 
 and his mortal remains have been deposited in that grave 
 near those of his saintly predecessor, amid the tears and heart- 
 felt lamentations of his spiritual children. In attempting 
 thus to express extemporaneously my feelings, perhaps I 
 have painted the picture too gloomily, giving shade where 
 brilliancy might be looked for ; however, I have uttered 
 sentiments fortified by known truth. We have long and 
 anxiously awaited the arrival of the successor to Bishop 
 Grimley ; and to- day, thanks to heaven, we salute the 
 Right Rev. Dr. Leonard as successor to Bishops Griffith and 
 Grimley bishops whose lives and whose names can be neither 
 dishonourable to their memories nor discreditable to us. I 
 trust that I am neither too melancholy nor too bold in address- 
 ing myself thus, as it were, to the living and the dead ; yet, 
 after all, there are solemn manifestations before us which 
 give warning, encouragement, gratitude, and joy. There are 
 the graves of the illustrious prelates who were chosen and 
 appointed over us ; who announced in this cathedral and 
 throughout this vicariate the word of eternal truth, who cele- 
 brated the Divine mysteries in your ,very presence, who 
 administered the sacraments to yourselves, and yet their con- 
 secrated bodies, now reduced to dust, are beneath these cold 
 stones ; but their fruits remain, and their souls, we trust, are 
 enjoying the fruition of the God whom they so faithfully served. 
 Let us, dearly beloved, beg God to sustain and support by 
 abundant graces our present Bishop. May he act with that 
 firmness and amiability which distinguishes a man of God. 
 May our Lord Jesus Christ maintain within him holy zeal, 
 which will prompt him to cast the seeds of Catholic faith and 
 piety around him. May he never flinch in the presence of 
 difficulties, but willingly and cheerfully carry a cross if it 
 should be offered him by God. In conclusion, my lord, and 
 in the name of your people, your spiritual children, your dis- 
 ciples, we pray that your life may be so regulated that the 
 character of the Divine model may be given you He went 
 about doing good. May your light so shine before men that 
 they, seeing your good works, may glorify the God who chose 
 you and appointed you to go forth, and bring forth fruit unto 
 life eternal. May you be able to use, when your life is closing, 
 the words of Jesus Christ, " Of those whom thou hast given 
 me I have not lost one." May you and the flock committed 
 to your care attain life everlasting.' 
 
 "At the conclusion of the mass the Marist Brothers 
 chaunted the ' Te Deum.'
 
 576 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 "When the people left the Cathedral the members of St. 
 Mary's Catholic Mutual Benefit Society assembled in the 
 Catholic Hall, from whence, headed by their banner and 
 wearing their insignia, they marched to the episcopal 
 residence in Hope-street, for the purpose of presenting an 
 address to the Bishop. The number that assembled was 
 about one hundred. Before their arrival the members of 
 St. Vincent de Paul's Society were introduced to Dr. 
 Leonard by Father O'Haire, and their Secretary, Mr. Thos. 
 O'Reilly, read the following address : 
 
 " ' MAY IT PLEASE YOUR LORDSHIP, We, the Conference 
 of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, attached to your Cathedral 
 Church of St. Mary, Cape Town, welcome, with deep feelings 
 of joy, gratitude, and respect your lordship's arrival in this 
 Colony. 
 
 " ' We rejoice that this poor and long-suffering vicariate 
 has been once more blessed with a bishop in your lordship's 
 person. 
 
 " ' We are filled with gratitude towards the great and glorious 
 successor of St. Peter, Pius IX., for sending us a successor to 
 our late bishop, your lordship's saintly predecessor, Dr. Grimley, 
 that good shepherd who truly gave up his life for his flock. 
 
 " ' We beg to tender to your lordship our very humble but 
 devoted assistance in every undertaking where that assistance 
 will be required. 
 
 " 'We shall ever humbly and earnestly pray for the accom- 
 plishment of those holy designs and objects which the cares 
 and duties of your exalted office of bishop will necessitate. 
 
 " ' Permit us, in conclusion, to repeat our expression of 
 heartfelt welcome to your lordship, for whose holy, happy, 
 and prosperous government of God's Church in this vicariate 
 we shall continually pray. And wishing that you may be long 
 spared to watch over and guard the flock committed to your 
 care, we, your lordship's loving and dutiful children, repeat in 
 the venerable language of your consecration admultosannos. 
 "'D. Begley, President; John Doyle, Vice-President; T. J. 
 
 O'Reilly, Secretary; G. G, O'Reilly, J. M'Auliffe, W. Power, 
 
 T. Armstrong, T. Mulvihal, Members.' 
 
 "The Bishop made a suitable reply, and urged the 
 members to persevere in their work of charity.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 577 
 
 "The St. Mary's Benefit Society had by this time 
 arrived and formed in lines in the garden. The members 
 of the Committee of Management having been introduced 
 by Father O'Haire, the Bishop went into the garden, 
 where the address was read by its President, Mr. R. J . 
 Glynn. The address was in these terms : 
 
 " ' Cape Town, September, 1873. 
 
 " ' MY LORD, It is with feelings of great joy and deep 
 gratitude to Almighty God that we, the members of the St. 
 Mary's Catholic Mutual Benefit Society, welcome your lord- 
 ship amongst us. 
 
 " ' It pleased the Almighty to afflict us with a severe trial 
 in the early death of our late esteemed and respected bishop, 
 Dr. Grimley, who watched over us with the kindness and 
 care of a loving father. The grief we then experienced has 
 since been transformed into joy at the arrival of your lordship 
 amongst us. 
 
 " ' Though personally unknown, the appointment of your 
 lordship was hailed by us with the greatest pleasure when we 
 heard that your lordship was a most esteemed and valued 
 friend of our late bishop. 
 
 " ' And we therefore feel doubly grateful to our Holy Father 
 Pius IX. for selecting one so much cherished by your prede- 
 cessor to fill the exalted position vacated by his death. 
 
 " ' In conclusion, we beg to tender your lordship our 
 hearty co-operation in all your undertakings, and may it 
 please the Almighty to vouchsafe to your lordship a happy 
 and prosperous government of our Holy Faith in this 
 Vicariate. 
 " ' Signed on behalf of the members, R. J. Glynn, President; 
 
 J. Cavanagh, Vice-President ; G. G. O'Reilly, Treasurer ; 
 
 W. T. O'Callaghan, Secretary.' 
 
 " The Bishop, in reply, thanked the Society for its good 
 wishes, and said, he was glad to find so many present 
 there that day. He had, he said, dreaded coming out to 
 this country to take the place occupied with so much 
 honour to themselves and such advantages to the Church 
 by his predecessors, Dr. Griffith and Dr. Grimley. He
 
 578 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 was not afraid of whatever work he might have to under- 
 take ; but knowing his own shortcomings he felt that he 
 could not adequately fill the place occupied by the distin- 
 guished bishops who had gone before him." 
 
 On the following evening (Monday) the Catholic body 
 assembled in the great Catholic Hall, St. John-street, to 
 offer their united expression of esteem to the Bishop. The 
 following is an extract of the published report : 
 
 " Mr. Crosby, clerk of the peace, was voted into the 
 chair, and Mr. J. C. O'Riley, secretary to the meeting. 
 
 "After a few preliminary remarks from the chairman, 
 the secretary read the following address : 
 
 " ' MOST REVEREND AND DEAR LORD, The arrival of your 
 lordship in our midst is an occasion of extreme gratification 
 to the faithful of the colony in general and of this Vicariate 
 in particular. 
 
 "'We, the Catholics of Cape Town, therefore hasten with 
 sentiments of profound respect to extend to your lordship 
 the most cordial welcome that grateful hearts can offer. The 
 sacred authority with which your lordship is invested would 
 ensure such a welcome in any quarter of the world, but we 
 feel that in coming hither your lordship has special claims 
 upon our gratitude. In responding to the call of duty you 
 have volunteered to leave your native land for ever, a land 
 peculiarly dear to the Catholic heart. You have not hesitated 
 to sever the fondest ties of home in order to fulfil the Divine 
 command, and preach and teach in a country which presents 
 to the Catholic missionary but few amenities and no 
 attraction apart from the high and glorious object of his 
 mission. The fame, too, of your lordship's virtues and talent 
 has preceded you, and we heartily thank God who has been 
 pleased to send us, through our Sovereign Pontiff Pius IX., so 
 worthy a successor to our late lamented Bishop, the Right 
 Rev. Dr. Grimley. 
 
 " 'The hand of death seems ever most severe with the truly 
 good and great, whom it carries away whilst their beneficent 
 and cherished designs are Still unachieved. Thus it has been 
 with your revered predecessor, and hence we are exceed- 
 ingly rejoiced that he is succeeded by a prelate eminently 
 qualified to prosecute the noble works he inaugurated and 
 sustained with unceasing constancy and unbounded love
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 579 
 
 For this result we have anxiously hoped during the interval 
 that has elapsed since the death of your beloved predecessor. 
 
 " ' Our anxiety has, however, arisen from no sense of neglect 
 of our spiritual wants, which have been most zealously and effi- 
 ciently supplied by the Very Rev. Monsignor M'Mahon and 
 Rev. Father O'Haire, upon whom, during the greater part of the 
 time, the onerous and multifarious duties of this district exclu- 
 sively devolved. Their arduous task has been accomplished 
 with a degree of zeal, endurance, and self-sacrifice which 
 has elicited the admiration of all, and merits the most grate- 
 ful acknowledgments of those who have directly benefited 
 by their labours. 
 
 " ' The arrival, too, in this Vicariate of the Missionary 
 Fathers is also an event which affords us the highest satisfac- 
 tion, and one which cannot fail to be abundantly productive 
 of the happiest results. On every hand there is an increasing 
 desire for candid investigation into the truths of our holy re- 
 ligion, and we are sanguine that under the powerful influence 
 and direct guidance of your lordship, very many will be in- 
 duced to follow the advice of the prophet, to see which is the 
 right and true path, and resolutely walk therein. Videte 
 quaenam sit via recta et vera et ambulate in ea. 
 
 " ' We hail the arrival of your lordship as the commencement 
 of a bright and eventful era in the Catholic history of South 
 Africa. We assure your lordship that we will faithfully co- 
 operate in your efforts to promote the will of the Redeemer, 
 and that nothing shall be wanting on our part that may con- 
 tribute to your personal happiness, and prove how very sen- 
 sible we are of the sacrifice you have made for the greater 
 glory of God and the welfare of his people in this land. 
 
 " ' With sentiments of profound reverence, we beseech your 
 lordship's benediction, and beg to subscribe ourselves, &c. 
 
 " ' JAMES CROSBY. 
 
 " 'On behalf of the Catholics of your lordship's vicariate.' 
 
 " The Bishop, in his reply, thanked the congregation 
 for this expression of their good will. He eulogised his 
 predecessors in the See, and offered his heartfelt thanks to 
 Dr. M'Mahon and Father O'Haire for the zealous and 
 successful manner in which they had conducted the work 
 of the mission." 
 
 On the following Tuesday evening a public dinner 
 
 was given, in the same grand hall, by St. Mary's Catholic 
 
 2s
 
 580 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 Benefit Society to the bishop and his clergy. Nearly 
 120 sat down to dinner. 
 
 On the 30th of the same month, I was sent to my former 
 mission, Malmesbury, in the hope that my health might 
 be restored, because during the three previous years I had 
 been reduced almost to a skeleton form, so that my medi- 
 cal advisers were obliged to use their utmost endeavours 
 to sustain my failing strength, and continually urged that 
 as soon as possible I should proceed to Europe. In 
 Malmesbury I remained from the 1st of October, 1873, to 
 the 1st of April, 1874, with serious injury to my health. 
 The season from October to April is extremely hot. The 
 mission had been, to a great extent, neglected for six 
 years, owing to the want of a priest, and now I had to 
 endure the mortification of finding the little congregation 
 I had left in October, 1865, dispersed. I had left Cape 
 Town for Malmesbury so unexpectedly and suddenly, that 
 the congregation had had no opportunity of knowing the 
 circumstance till after my departure. But to their credit be 
 it told, that on the 22nd November a deputation, consist- 
 ing of Messrs. John Doyle, Gerald O'Eeilly, John Hart, 
 Denis Byrne, William Power, Michael Hogan, John 
 Kelly, and Patrick Byrne, travelled from Cape Town to 
 Malmesbury, a distance of about fifty miles, to present to 
 me a purse of money as a proof of the recollection of my 
 friends. I call this circumstance to mind with the greater 
 gratitude, when I remember that the deputation consisted 
 of working men, who had thus travelled 100 miles (to and 
 from Malmesbury) at great personal expense, and sacrificed 
 three days of their time in the journey. In April, 1874, 
 I was recalled to Cape Town, and from that period to my 
 departure on the loth June, 1875. I find no item in my 
 diary that can be interesting to my readers, except a
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 581 
 
 meeting called in the Catholic Hall, with the view of erect- 
 ing a memorial church to the Eight Rev. Bishop Grrimley. 
 
 The following is the merest outline, taken from one of 
 the daily newspapers, on the suhjeet : 
 
 " The Eight Eev. Dr. Leonard said : I have reason to 
 believe that every memher of the flock committed to the 
 charge of the late good Bishop will be only too anxious to 
 pay a mark of respect to his lordship's memory, particu- 
 larly when they know that, in doing so, they will be assist- 
 ing to carry out one of his own cherished plans, viz., the 
 building of an additional church in Cape Town ; and al- 
 most, if not on the very site, on which he himself intended 
 to have erected one, if God had spared him for a few years 
 more over his flock. It is unnecessary, too, for me to say 
 anything of his many virtues, of his zeal for the salvation 
 of souls, of his labours in the pulpit, in the confessional, 
 and in the visitations of the Yicariate. The Marist 
 Brothers' Academy, and the Parochial Schools, as well as 
 the schools conducted by the good Sisters of St. Dominic, 
 testify to his anxiety for the education of your children ; 
 and the magnificent high altar, and the various improve- 
 ments effected in St. Mary's during his episcopate, give 
 ample testimony of his zeal for the beauty of Grod's house. 
 Considering the many claims of your late Bishop to your 
 respect and veneration, I felt great pleasure in complying 
 with the request made to me, of summoning you together, 
 to take measures for the erection of a suitable monument 
 to his lordship's memory. I am of opinion that no more 
 fitting monument could be erected to his memory than a 
 church, where the God he so much loved, and so faith- 
 fully served during life, will be offered up in sacrifice, and 
 will take up his residence under the sacramental veils, dis- 
 pensing for many years to come his favours to his people.
 
 582 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 This is the form of monument which the Catholics of Eng- 
 land have determined to erect to the memory of the late 
 Cardinal Wiseman ; and I feel confident that the Catholics 
 of this Yicariate will at once approve of this mode of 
 honouring their late zealous and devoted pastor, the Most 
 Eev. Dr. Grrimley. 
 
 " As to the object of the meeting, the Rev. Father 
 O'Haire, in the course of his speech, said : The raising 
 of a monument to the memory of the late deeply 
 venerated Bishop will, I am confident, meet the warm 
 approval and support of Catholics and Protestants. 
 The long residence, the unflagging zeal, the unwearied 
 exertions, the martyrdom of labour, and the remark- 
 able success for which the late Eight Eev. Dr. Grimley 
 was known to the whole community at the Cape, con- 
 stitute a sufficient reason why such a monument should 
 have been raised long since ; however, it was deemed ex- 
 pedient to await the arrival of the late Bishop's succes- 
 sor. And now, my Lord, I congratulate you on having 
 set before yourself the accomplishment of a work in 
 which every Catholic man, woman, and child in the Yica- 
 riate will lend a helping hand the erection of a memorial 
 church to the memory of our late Bishop, who was your 
 intimate friend, and the benefactor of the Catholics of this 
 Yicariate. These few remarks will v be sufficient from me. 
 My sentiments and yours are one. "We all feel that the 
 Cathedral should be repaired, and we all long to see a 
 fitting testimonial to our late Bishop. He died in our 
 service, the victim of anxiety and labour undergone, 
 not for himself, but for Grod and for us. He provided 
 education for the boys and girls of his congregation, he 
 established schools which have elicited the admiration of 
 the community, he laboured to raise the people in the
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 583 
 
 scale of intelligence, and, indeed, he succeeded. He knew 
 you all ; he was your Bishop, your priest, your spiritual 
 father, your earnest friend; he was amiable to all, no 
 matter how poor or wretched ; he even consulted for your 
 pleasure in rising this magnificent hall for your service 
 and amusement; he was loved by you in life, and his 
 memory is dear to you in death ; therefore, I feel that I 
 am not over sanguine in expecting that all will unite in 
 raising a suitable monument to perpetuate the memory 
 of a really good Bishop, and to exhibit the devoted feeling 
 of a really true congregation." 
 
 The following is an extract from the Cape Standard and 
 Mail in reference to this meeting and its praiseworthy 
 object: "The meeting which took place the other evening 
 in the Catholic Hall, was in every way highly creditable 
 to all concerned in it. The object was to consider the 
 proposal to erect a memorial chapel in honour of the late 
 Bishop Grrimley, and it was not only decided to do so, but 
 subscriptions to the amount of 800* were at once obtained. 
 Now, it must not be forgotten, that the Roman Catholics 
 in this Colony are not, as a rule, wealthy. Indeed, it may 
 be said, that they have less worldly riches in proportion to 
 their numbers than the members of any other Christian 
 body. So large a sum as that subscribed in one evening 
 is, therefore, a proof of earnestness and zeal in the cause 
 of religion which cannot be otherwise than gratifying to 
 every one who takes an interest in the moral well-being 
 of his fellow-citizens. We say deliberately that it evinces 
 earnestness in the cause of religion, because although the 
 manifestation is in honour of a particular individual, it 
 will not be denied that the enthusiastic love and respect 
 
 * There are at present nearly 5,000 subscribed for this object.
 
 584 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 in which the memory of Bishop Grirnley is held by the 
 adherents to his faith is due to the pre-eminently reli- 
 gious character of the man. It was as a Bishop of his 
 Church a pastor, and an overseer of pastors that he 
 secured the affections of those who knew him. His labours, 
 so far as we are acquainted with them, were exclusively 
 within his own domain of ecclesiastic ; but this circum- 
 stance not only enhances the value of the tribute which is 
 proposed to be paid to his memory, but also justifies us in 
 regarding that tribute as a proof of zeal for religion on the 
 part of those who pay it." 
 
 From this time forward my health daily becoming 
 worse, I was obliged to beg a dispensation from duty in 
 the beginning of 1875, and felt more and more the need 
 of a sea voyage. 
 
 Before leaving for Europe, on the loth June, 1875, I 
 received 100 from the congregation in Cape Town as a 
 gift, together with an Address, which I am induced to 
 give in these Be collections, as it may be my last public 
 souvenir of the Cape : 
 
 ADDRESS PRESENTED TO FATHER C/HAIRE OX HIS DEPAR- 
 TURE FROM THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 
 
 " REV. AND DEAR SIR, "We, the undersigned Catholics 
 of Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, having heard that you 
 are about to leave the Cape Colony, hereby beg to express 
 our deep regret you should depart from a land in which 
 you have done so much to promote the honour of God, the 
 salvation of souls, and the spread of our holy religion. 
 
 " We cannot allow you to quit this country, where your 
 name for generations will be remembered in the Catholic 
 community with admiration and love, without expressing 
 our deep sense of the gratitude we feel towards you for
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 585 
 
 your services to each and every one of us, not only as a 
 priest of our holy mother Church, but as a personal friend. 
 
 " On this occasion we may be permitted to say, that in 
 the pulpit your eloquence stirred our hearts, in the con- 
 fessional your counsels gave peace to our minds, and your 
 presence in tribulation or sickness brought consolation to 
 those of us who were so afflicted. 
 
 "When assaults were made on our holy faith, your 
 words, spoken or written, gave strength to the weak, and 
 fortified the strong, besides conveying to those previously 
 ignorant of the doctrines of mother Church a true version 
 of them. 
 
 " As a theologian, priest, and citizen, we were proud of 
 you, and as a pastor you were, indeed, a good shepherd, 
 sparing nothing for the flock committed to your care. 
 Like your Divine Master, the poor and the weak in the 
 eyes of the world ever found in you a warm friend and 
 courageous advocate. Your time, your services, and your 
 purse, were ever at the service of even the meanest in the 
 congregation, as the widow and orphan can testify. 
 
 " In view of these things, it is our duty, now we are 
 about to part, to convey to you an expression, however 
 imperfect, of our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation ; and, 
 as an Irish priest, we know you will feel this faint tribute 
 to your services amongst us more precious than silver and 
 gold. 
 
 " In bidding you farewell, reverend and dear Father, 
 we implore Almighty Grod to have you in his keeping, we 
 beg the Blessed Mother of God to intercede with her 
 divine Son on your behalf, and we pray the patron Saint 
 of this Vicariate to watch over you for the sake of the work 
 you have done in this portion of the Lord's vineyard. 
 
 " In conclusion, your spiritual children, prostrate at
 
 586 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 your feet, beg of you to bless them, and, as a further 
 favour ask that, from time to time, when you offer the 
 Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, you will remember those 
 at the Cape of Grood Hope, who, though separated from 
 you by the ocean, will, as long as life lasts, never cease to 
 think of him who, by the grace of Grod. was to them the 
 channel of so many gifts. 
 
 "JAMES CAVANAGH. 
 
 " Cape Town. June, 15th, 1875." 
 
 [Here follow the names of the Subscribers.] 
 
 REPLY OF THE REV. FATHER O ? HAIRE. 
 
 " DEARLY BELOVED CATHOLIC BRETHREN, With a heart 
 expanding through affection, and teeming with gratitude, 
 I salute you, and endeavour to pour out in sentiments 
 enfeebled by emotion, my expressions of unflinching 
 attachment and ardent love. 
 
 " During the twelve years I have resided with you I feel 
 grateful to recollect that our ideas and our sympathies 
 were mutual. I received in that period tokens of esteem 
 that cannot fail to impress me with a sense of my deep 
 obligations to you. I was overpowered with generous 
 proofs of your regard, and hence I felt myself bound, not 
 only as a matter of sacerdotal and pastoral duty, but 
 through gratitude, to put my heart and soul into any work 
 for your benefit. The deepest sorrow I have is, that I 
 failed in doing all I wished to do. I now deeply regret 
 ever having squandered even a moment of time when work- 
 ing for so devoted a congregation. 
 
 " The kindness of the Catholics in Cape Town, and 
 several other places in the Colony, induced them to present 
 various Addresses to me ; but the one to which I am now
 
 TWELVE TEAKS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 587 
 
 replying possesses for me a peculiar interest, as a memento 
 of the dearest friends I have on earth. If it be God's will 
 for us to meet again, my soul shall rejoice exceedingly ; 
 but whether we do or not, the Catholics of Cape Town shall, 
 as long as life lasts, be remembered by me at the altar, 
 and in my private prayers. 
 
 " Grateful for your kindness, and assuring you of my 
 ardent affection, I remain, dear Catholic brethren, 
 " Your most obedient and devoted servant, 
 
 "JAMES O'HAIRE."
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 THE following three letters, addressed to friends in Cape 
 Town during and at the close of my home voyage, present 
 an accurate account of the voyage from the Cape to England, 
 and may be, therefore, considered an appropriate conclusion 
 to these " Recollections of South Africa." 
 
 ISLAND OF ST. HELENA, 
 
 .22nd June, 1875, 
 
 DEAR MR. KAVANAGH, Thanks for ever to Him whom 
 the " winds and waves obey," we have been borne safely 
 to this island, which I may as well observe, en passant, 
 serves as a striking testimony of the practical import of 
 the old adage, " Sic transit gloria huj us imindi" "Thus 
 the glory of this world passes away." 
 
 About 1600 miles now separate me from those I love 
 so well, and an ocean of immense expanse rolls between 
 us ; but need I say that neither distance nor sea will ever 
 be able to sever or cool the deeply-rooted affection which 
 has bound me for twelve years to the people of the Cape 
 of Good Hope, and which still burns in my heart undi- 
 minished, and I trust will never be extinguished even 
 with the last flicker of the lamp of life, but will rather be 
 purified, ennobled, increased, and intensified in the king- 
 dom of eternal love. 
 
 In writing to you on this occasion I may, without injury 
 to truth, use the words which the late Right Rev. Dr. 
 Grrimley addressed to me in a letter dated, " On board the 
 Dane, July 15th, 1861 My dear James, my heart becomes
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 589 
 
 full, and the tears burst into my eyes, as I take up my pen 
 to write to you, and through you to my dear children 
 who, being now seven thousand miles separated from me, 
 seem to be seven thousand times dearer to me than 
 ever." 
 
 Again, I may with equal sincerity employ the language 
 which I used in replying to an address presented to me at 
 the episcopal residence, Cape Town, in April, 1865, by a 
 deputation representing the Catholics of the town. The 
 printed copy of the address and reply are now before me. 
 I said, " Dearly-beloved Catholics of Cape Town, For a 
 long time before I set foot upon South African soil, I burned 
 with a desire which no human effort could destroy of 
 labouring amongst you. While yet a student at the great 
 missionary college of All Hallows, Dublin, I thought of 
 you, I prayed for you, I longed to see you; and now that 
 I witness your zeal, your piety, your spirit of co-opera- 
 tion, my soul is satiated and lifted up in gratitude." The 
 idea embodied in that sentence is as fully mine to-day as 
 it was then ; my regard for the people is unaltered, and I 
 hope unalterable. What I said in 1865 has suffered no 
 change up to 1875 ; so far from it, indeed, that without 
 the least shadow of deceit or flattery towards you, or moral 
 violence to my own feelings, I at once assure you that if 
 it be at all compatible with (rod's holy will, I desire that 
 my ashes may be allowed to mingle with the ashes of the 
 Catholics of South Africa, till the day of judgment resusci- 
 tates to a new and perfect life the bodies of the dead. 
 Therefore, you see, you can present my greetings to the 
 Catholics of the Cape, and tell them that Father O'Haire's 
 heart pulsates strongly and ardently with love for those 
 whom, for twelve years, he delighted to call his ' dearest 
 children.' "
 
 590 TWELVE YEARS IN 80UTH AFRICA. 
 
 During my missionary career at the Cape I have, as you 
 well know, travelled a great deal in the discharge of the 
 duties of my sacred ministry, and have mingled with all 
 classes, grades, and creeds, sometimes in joy, sometimes 
 in sorrow, sometimes in plenty, sometimes in want; but I 
 must say, and I say it candidly and sincerely, that day by 
 day my admiration for the people increased, while their 
 constant sympathy and kindness placed me under still 
 deeper obligations. Of course I love best the Catholics of 
 South Africa, and especially the Irish ; but the Protestants 
 of every denomination have also won by their uniform 
 charity, and by an almost total absence of religious rancour, 
 my unqualified esteem ; therefore I may declare, without 
 hesitation, that, while a well-ordered love, and a feeling of 
 true nationality, founded upon religious principles, have 
 bound me to my own, the golden chain of divine charity, 
 which should unite Christian to Christian and man to 
 man, has formed a union between myself and the PEOPLE 
 of the Cape of Good Hope, which is daily fortified and 
 strengthened. On the day of my departure, the 15th 
 instant, whilst tears of burning love, mingled with 
 those of deep grief, fell from my eyes, my heart swelled 
 with gratitude towards the great crowd of devoted friends 
 who came to the ship to solicit my parting blessing. In 
 return, I now lift my hands to the Grod of all mercy and 
 sweetness, and pray from my inmost soul that the graces 
 springing up by the eternal throne may flow in copious 
 streams, and fill the hearts of those with whom I have 
 mingled at the Cape ; and, finally, that we may all meet 
 hereafter in exquisite joy, in unutterable delight, and in 
 unalterable happiness, in that blessed kingdom which knows 
 no change. 
 
 I will now pass on to tell you something of our voyage
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 591 
 
 and our health. To enter into minute and picturesque 
 details, however, on such a subject, or to attempt to furnish 
 a complete diary is not necessary, as I am writing not a 
 sensational article but a friendly letter. After all, mono- 
 tony and tediousness are so much the necessary appendages 
 of a sea voyage as to prevent and baffle interesting descrip- 
 tion, except under such peculiar circumstances as do not 
 enter into our present case. 
 
 Suffice it, then, to observe that we had scarcely left 
 Table Bay, and made our last reverent salute to Table 
 Mountain, and offered a parting act of homage to South 
 Africa, than the angry billows rose, and dashed upon our 
 unoffending ship with a fury as though the sea-god, Nep- 
 tune, had resented being disturbed. The morning of 
 Wednesday brought a squall, which lasted about four 
 hours, and was so violent as to send all things flying about 
 in a most unceremonious manner. Whether the passen- 
 gers were angry at this confusion, or grieved to behold 
 their boxes tossed into disorder, or sick, from the uncom- 
 fortable and unexpected motion, I shall not undertake to 
 say ; but this is certain, that, at breakfast on Wednesday 
 morning, very few made their appearance. Before this 
 violent and ungracious squall, exhausted, retired into the 
 deep, it raised as its locum tenens a very heavy swell, which 
 did not follow, but deliberately and most maliciously went 
 before the ship nearly all the way to St. Helena ; add to 
 this a head wind for several days which appeared to con- 
 spire with the swell in bidding defiance to the ship's pro- 
 gress. But like the Tipperary regiment, u Fagh-a ballagh," 
 the gallant Nyanza seemed to say, " Clear the way," as 
 she dashed through the sea, showing a resolute front to 
 the winds and waves. 
 
 As to the ship " Nyanza," she is a very fine vessel, most
 
 592 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 comfortable, and exceedingly clean. I had previously 
 heard much of her ; but there is an old proverb in the 
 "ould counthry," "If you want to know me, alannah, 
 come and live with me." In this manner I have tried 
 the " Nyanza," and therefore I bear testimony to her ex- 
 cellence. The captain, Mr. Warleigh, a PROTESTANT, and 
 his brother officers are exceedingly kind and gentlemanly. 
 This opinion is expressed by all, and to it I subscribe with 
 a feeling of pleasure. 
 
 Regarding the passengers, they are chiefly from the 
 Eastern Province. Speaking of them as a quid totum, I 
 can only say that, although they are made up of all nation- 
 alities, religious creeds, and political parties, yet on this 
 ship we live in such a manner as to remind me of the 
 " Happy Family," composed of the cat and mouse, terrier 
 and rat, wolf and lamb, all playing together in one cage. 
 You would imagine us all of one nation and religion so 
 united do we live. 
 
 As to the Eastern Province people you will not consider 
 I am making any invidious comparison if I say that, from 
 what I have observed for twelve years whenever opportunity 
 offered, and from what I now see, I believe that they have 
 a spirit of enterprise and independence combined with 
 liberality and frankness which can scarcely fail to strike 
 an observer. As to my health, and that of my father, we 
 are well. I was sick for two days ; my father not at all. 
 
 I believe I have nothing now to add to this letter, but to 
 solicit the prayers of the whole Catholic body at the Cape 
 for my future success. 
 
 Allow me to subscribe myself the most devoted and 
 affectionate servant of my dear old friends at the Cape, 
 
 JAMES O'HAIRE. 
 Mr. JAMES CAVANAGU, 
 
 Graye-street, Cape Town.
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 593 
 
 MADEIRA ISLAND, 
 
 Jttty 4ik, 1875. 
 
 DEAR MR. FORDE, Not all the waters in the rough, 
 rude sea" can extinguish the love which, springing from 
 my very soul, holds in its embrace all the Catholics of the 
 Cape of Grood Hope. Suffer me, therefore, once more to 
 unbosom myself, and in heartfelt greetings salute my 
 dearest friends. 
 
 Conscious as I am of the bond, of unsullied friendship 
 that has ever united us, and which no amount of tension 
 has hitherto been able to snap asunder, I feel relief in thus 
 giving vent to these faint expressions of my genuine 
 esteem and undying regard. 
 
 "With this preface, I proceed to tell you something of 
 the events connected with our voyage since I last wrote. 
 
 I dated my last letter from St. Helena on the 22nd 
 June. Well, on that morning at 7 o'clock, a. m., nearly 
 all the passengers went ashore, moved chiefly by a 
 desire to visit the tomb of the once illustrious warrior, 
 Napoleon L, before whose proud and defiant march the 
 civilized world once shuddered, but whose vanity, un- 
 bounded ambition, and sacrilegious conduct merited for 
 him a terrible fall, and an " ocean prison" St. Helena 
 as a prelude to the grave. 
 
 I presume that you have been to St. Helena, and hence 
 I need not enter into any lengthened account concerning 
 the island. "WTien I came out to the Cape, in 18 03, our 
 ship, "The Briton," then commanded by Captain Boxer, 
 called at St. Helena, but did not remain long enough to 
 afford opportunity to the passengers for seeing anything 
 beyond the main street. At that time the idea of a huge 
 rock and barrenness were so closely associated in my mind
 
 594 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 with the Island of St. Helena, that I looked upon them 
 as unum et idem. On referring now to my diary of that 
 voyage, I find the note of my visit to the Island thus 
 recorded as the result of information which I had received 
 from intelligent residents : " I may hegin hy observing 
 that the Island was discovered by Admiral Joas, a Portu- 
 guese, on St. Helen's day, 1502 ; from this circumstance 
 it takes its name. The greatest extent E. N. E. and 
 W. S. "W. is about ten miles by six in breadth. The capi- 
 tal, James Town, is situated in latitude 15 65' S., longi- 
 tude 5 45' 20" "W. The surface contains nearly 30,000 
 acres of pasturage and garden grounds. The highest 
 mountain stands 2692 feet above the level of the sea. 
 The population is about 7,000, chiefly coloured people. 
 The number of Roman Catholics is not quite 400, includ- 
 ing the military body, which is the staff of Catholicity on 
 the Island. Protestantism is predominant ; there is even 
 a bishop for St. Helena. The sects are numerous ; there 
 are many churches. The Catholic church is small, and 
 has more the appearance of an ordinary cottage than of a 
 place of worship. The coloured people have a degraded 
 and heartbroken appearance ; they seem like the remnant 
 of a ruined race deploring the destruction of their fathers. 
 The poor live principally on rice and fish. The country 
 seats are handsome, and the moneyed people comfortable, 
 but the poor appear very poor." 
 
 To return to my narrative. As I have already said, I 
 went ashore at 7 o'clock, a. m., on the 22nd of June. I 
 was in the company of Mr. Goldman and family, of Bur- 
 gersdorp, who hired a carnage, and bore all the expenses 
 of the trip to the tomb and back. 
 
 I was waited upon by the American consul and one of 
 the French priests (there are two on the island, but one
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 595 
 
 ill.) The morning was exceedingly fine, and the 
 appearance of the Island quite gay and pleasing. After 
 having seen the market-place, the hotel, post-office, gover- 
 nor's house, consulate, and principal stores, as well as the 
 house in which Napoleon was first confined ; afterwards 
 Jacob's Ladder, of about seven hundred steps, leadino- from 
 the base of the mountain in St. James'-street to the sum- 
 mit of the great hill, where there is a military fort, we 
 then ascended the mountain leading to Napoleon's tomb 
 It is quite circuitous and very steep, but the prospect is 
 picturesque, every winding exhibiting a variation in slopes 
 and valleys "with verdure clad." It filled me with a 
 homelike (Cape) feeling to see the Hottentot fig and 
 prickly pear in luxuriant abundance. As one advances, 
 the number of trees increases until they gradually develop 
 into a forest. We saw but one waterfall, of about one 
 hundred feet, on our path, which though slender was 
 pretty. The road was heavy with deep mud, so that the 
 three horses were scarcely able to drag the carriage. There 
 are villas and cottages thinly scattered, forming an agreeable 
 aspect at every turn. At length we came to the once rest- 
 ing-place of the mortal remains of the late great conqueror. 
 The grave is somewhat in a valley rendered strikingly som- 
 bre by the surrounding trees, which seem to weep over the 
 scene. Although we knew that the ashes of the deceased 
 Napoleon really repose in a chapel in Paris, yet we could 
 not forbear uncovering our heads at that grave which once 
 contained all that was mortal of Napoleon, who in life 
 caused powerful armies to reel in his presence, but to whom 
 Heaven demonstrated in the end the fleeting vanity of 
 earthly power. Having plucked a few leaves and branches 
 from the grave, as souvenirs, and departed, we arrived at 
 our ship barely within the prescribed time, then sailed 
 
 2T
 
 596 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 away at 1 1 o'clock, a. m., not failing to note the remark- 
 able contrast between the interior of the Island and its 
 imposing appearance from the sea. Viewed from the 
 ocean, it seems in some parts like a vast perpendicular 
 wall of rock, measuring from 600 to 1200 feet from the 
 surface of the sea to the summit. 
 
 "We passed Cape Verde at mid-day on the 29th June, 
 having a full view of even the lighthouse. I need scarcely 
 inform you that under the general name of Cape Verde, 
 ten, or if you will, fourteen islands are embodied, five of 
 which are remarkable, viz., St. lago, St. Antonio Bona- 
 vista, and the Island of St. Nicholas. The fifth, called 
 Hogo, is the one I should have most desired to see on 
 account of its active volcano. The population of these 
 islands, said to be 86,000, is comprised chiefly of Portu- 
 guese and negroes. I should observe that Cape Vincent 
 is the most useful to the navigator ; its harbour, Porto 
 Grande, at the north-west side, is the port of call for 
 steamers from South America and the West Coast of Africa, 
 as well as for men-of-war. The Portuguese are in posses- 
 sion of these islands ; but about one mile from them there is 
 a pretty island called Groree, which belongs to France, and 
 is a place of considerable trade, enabling the French to 
 carry on commerce with the opposite coast. The Verde 
 group produces a great abundance of salt, also plenty of 
 fruit, wild birds, turtle, &c., &c. Between the Cape Verde 
 Isles and the (rulf of Guinea there is a portion of the sea 
 known to mariners as the Sea of Thunder, though not 
 marked so on the map. It is so called because at certain 
 periods of the year ships are frequently becalmed beneath 
 a sky surcharged with electric clouds, whence issues alter- 
 nately a perfect deluge of rain and fire ; however we ex- 
 perienced no thunderstorm in this locality, though we had
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 597 
 
 very heavy rains. I now come to give you a brief outline 
 of what I can gather in reference to the Canary Islands, 
 which we approached on the 2nd July, at about 2 o'clock, 
 p.m. 
 
 First, then, as to the name. It has appeared to many 
 that they derive their nomen from canary, a bird ; but for 
 such a conjecture there is simply no foundation. The his- 
 torical fact is this : When discovered, an enormous number 
 of huge dogs were seen ; now the latin word for dogs is 
 canes, plural of canis, and this circumstance is said to have 
 suggested the name. I believe it would not be incorrect 
 to assert that these islands, instead of having their name 
 from the canary bird, give the name to it ; that is to say, 
 the canary bird takes its name from the islands themselves. 
 At least I have found this asserted by authors who may 
 be deemed trustworthy. This delightful singing bird, 
 which is a great pet in Europe, is found here almost sine 
 nut/iero. It is stated that the scenery of the islands is 
 perfectly enchanting. I am sorry that I could not have 
 strolled over these Cape Verde and Canary Islands, for, 
 abstracting from the advantage to health, the amount of 
 information acquired by a visit would no doubt be valuable. 
 
 The following additional details of Canary Islands may 
 prove interesting. They are eleven in number, four being 
 small, comprised within the parallels of 27 37' and 
 29 24' N., and the meridian of 18 10' and 13 25' W., 
 Teneriffe being the most important, occupying the centre 
 of the seven principal islands. The group is separated 
 from the African continent by a clear channel, nearly 
 sixty miles wide between the south-east point of Fuert- 
 ventura Island and Cape Juby. 
 
 These islands are said to have been discovered by the 
 crew of a French ship, driven there early in the fourteenth
 
 598 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 century, but it was not until near the close of the fifteenth 
 century that the conquest of the whole group was effected 
 "by Spain. The land of the Canaries is generally high, 
 being composed commonly of volcanic mountains, so lofty 
 that during a great portion of the year the majority are 
 covered with snow. The channels between the principal 
 islands are clear, there being no hidden dangers, except 
 in the south part of the channel between Teneriffe and 
 Canary, where two sunken rocks are said to exist. 
 
 As to the population, I have been unable to find out its 
 present state, but in 1857 the census showed 230,000, 
 chiefly of Spanish origin. The African Pilot, published 
 by the order of the Lords of the Admiralty, in 18 7o, gives 
 this statement ; but I find that authorities of about equal 
 weight state the population to be only 202,000. The chief 
 town of Teneriffe is Santa Crux, or Holy Cross ; its popu- 
 lation is said to be about 12,000. Here the governor 
 resides. Lord Nelson lost his arm by a shot from a cannon 
 ball in a naval engagement off these islands. 
 
 The climate is in general healthy, the temperature being 
 governed by^the elevation of the islands, and the prevalence 
 of north-east and west winds. The thermometer averages 
 from 66 in winter to 77 in summer, the daily range 
 seldom exceeding 5. 
 
 Teneriffe Island may be considered the centre of the 
 group, and is the largest, the most important, and the 
 most remarkable. The island is triangular in shape, 
 Anarja, its north-east point, forming the apex, the north and 
 south sides being about forty-five miles long, and the west 
 side twenty-three miles. From Anaga point the north-east 
 point of Gran Canaria island bears S. E. f S., 45 miles, 
 while the nearest part off the western side of it is distant 
 from Teneriffe 34 miles. In the centre of the island is
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 599 
 
 the famous accessible peak, 12,180 feet above the sea, the 
 most remarkable feature of the archipelago, and probably 
 the most striking natural monument in the world. These 
 islands are famous for wine, silks, sugar-canes, and delicious 
 fruits. The established religion, like Cape Verde and 
 Madeira, is the Catholic. There are, I believe, two 
 bishoprics in the Canaries, one eastern and one western. 
 
 I will, dear Mr. Forde, now conclude this letter, which 
 perhaps has already exceeded legitimate limits. 
 
 Kindest regards to your wife and children, and to all 
 the Catholics of the Cape. My next letter, Deo volente, 
 will give a description of Madeira, and a summary of our 
 voyage from thence to England. Hoping that these details 
 may prove interesting, I beg to subscribe myself, 
 Your most devoted friend, 
 
 FATHER O'HAIRE. 
 
 MB. FORDE, Pleine-street, 
 Cape Town. 
 
 EMMA PLACE, STONEHOUSE, ENGLAND, 
 
 July IQtk, 1875. 
 
 DEAR Mu. DOYLE,* Ireland's liberator, Daniel O'Con- 
 nell, had, during his grand career of working out the 
 emancipation of his country, many unflinching compatriots, 
 but there was one he singled out and publicly gave a 
 name to, which is now inscribed on his tomb in Giasnevin 
 cemetery, and this was " Honest Tom Steel." In address- 
 ing you, dear Mr. Doyle, from England, my mind reverts 
 with enthusiastic emotion to this day twelve years, when 
 you were introduced to me with this title of " an honest 
 man" by the late Eight Eev. Dr. Grimley, whose words 
 were, " James, here is & man upon whom you can rely : 
 
 * Requiescat in pace.
 
 600 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 honest John Doyle" From that day to this we have 
 been intimate friends, and you have been, to some extent, 
 a partner in my joys and sorrows. These twelve years of 
 my life as a Catholic missionary at the Cape of Good Hope, 
 have now passed into eternity, and my works, good and 
 bad, my labours and shortcomings, have been registered 
 in a book from which neither human nor angelic power 
 can blot them out. To tell you that these twelve years 
 were made up of trials and victories, that I have been in 
 turn honoured and afflicted, that I have won crowns of 
 triumph, and have drunk the chalice of gall and bitter- 
 ness to the very dregs, would be superfluous. But when 
 I sit down to write to you, many memories rush upon me 
 of those occasions when the duties of my sacred ministry 
 brought me into contact with the people of the Cape the 
 marriage ceremonies, the christenings, the death-beds, the 
 funerals, bring before my mind those many souls with 
 whose vital interests I have been so long bound up. I 
 saw my bishop, three fellow-priests, two nuns, two Marist 
 brothers, and a large number of Catholics pass into eternity 
 during those twelve years that I spent at the Cape, and I 
 was spared while passing through thrilling dangers, which 
 have often caused me to exclaim, in thanksgiving to God, 
 " Misericordia Dei est quod non consumpti sumus." To 
 tell you that my heart's affections have riveted themselves 
 on the people of South Africa, and that our mutual sym- 
 pathies have been dove-tailed, is not necessary, for you 
 have always known my feelings. A span of seven thousand 
 miles now rolls between us ; but my heart is always filled 
 with emotion at the recollection of those scenes of the 
 years gone by, and at the same time recoils with grief at 
 the remembrance of the sorrow I had to endure at the 
 death of one whom 1 loved so tenderly as my late dear
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 601 
 
 bishop, Dr. Grrimley. I had previously gone through 
 many trials ; but on the morning of the 29th of January, 
 1871, when kneeling by the bedside of my beloved bishop 
 I saw him breathe his last, my soul's capacity for suffering 
 seemed filled to overflowing, and as the spirit of that good 
 bishop fled, I stood in desolation, gazing at the life- 
 less body of my dearest friend on earth ; and as this load 
 of woe sank into my heart, I felt as though it would burst 
 asunder. From that time forward I needed sympathy, 
 and I often found it. In the year 1873 when I was left, 
 practically speaking, alone to sustain the weight of the 
 mission of Cape Town, until the bishop's successor should 
 arrive, though weighed down by mental worry and physi- 
 cal exertions, I had many consolations. I was encouraged 
 under my load of care by witnessing the ardent attach- 
 ment of the Catholics, and their fervent and affectionate 
 endeavours to assist and co-operate with me in my labours ; 
 therefore it is not to be wondered at that the remembrance 
 of the Catholic community at the Cape men, women, and 
 children, rich and poor alike is enshrined in my heart, 
 .and that my mind should but revert to the Cape in order 
 to feel the strongest affection and interest stirred up within 
 me towards all. 
 
 On the evening of my departure, 15th June, 1875, as 
 that immense assemblage of my friends passed in proces- 
 sion through the ship, bending their knees to receive 
 my blessing, my heart beat too fast for utterance; in 
 silence I stood upon the deck, gazing with mingled senti- 
 ments of regret and love, as leaving Table Bay the affec- 
 tionate cries of the faithful people rang through the air. 
 Sometimes, dear John, I am tempted to regret not having 
 tried to please everybody ; but I suppose it is impossible 
 to achieve such a work on earth. Of course I am not
 
 602 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 ignorant that I did not give satisfaction to all, yet who 
 lias ever done so ? 
 
 " You may get through the world, but 'twill be very slow, 
 If you listen to all that is said as you go, 
 You'll be worried and fretted, and kept in a stew, 
 For meddlesome tongues must have something to do. 
 If quiet and modest, you'll have it presumed 
 That your humble position is only assumed, 
 You're a wolf in sheep's clothing, or else you're a fool, 
 But don't get excited keep perfectly cool. 
 And then if you show the least boldness of heart, 
 Or a slight inclination to take your own part, 
 They will call you an upstart, conceited and vain, 
 But keep straight ahead, don't stop to explain.'' 
 
 You have, no doubt, seen mj letters to Mr. Kavanagh 
 and Mr. Forde, and as they and others, I suppose, will 
 see this, I need only continue the narrative of my voyage. 
 
 The notoriety which Madeira has acquired, even as a 
 sanatarium, has rendered it famous; my remarks will, 
 therefore, be brief. 
 
 While still at a good distance from Madeira, we were 
 enchanted by the scene which presented itself amid the 
 nocturnal darkness. Waves, as it werey. of living light, 
 glittered in the distance. As we neared the picture, the 
 lurid flicker and variegated brilliancy of oil lamps became 
 perceptible. Sky-rockets, shooting up into the air, and 
 descending in showers of bright sparks, told us of an illu- 
 mination. Such an exhibition serves as an emblem of the 
 transient glories of this world, which win the admiration, 
 and elicit the plaudits of the gaping crowds, but lack that 
 substance and reality which the soul desires to grasp. 
 
 We anchored at 1.30 on Sunday morning, 3rd July, the 
 Sunday within the Octave of the feast of SS. Peter and
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 603 
 
 Paul. At 6 o'clock, a. m., we went ashore; I heard mass 
 in the cathedral. I will now tell you something of Madeira. 
 
 The name is derived from a Portuguese word signifying 
 wood, the island being woody. It may be considered as a 
 triple island, Desertas and Porto Santo, two smaller islands, 
 being in close proximity to Madeira proper. 
 
 It is situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, 340 miles 
 from the coast of Morocco, between the parallels of 
 SO 3 25' 15" and 33 07' 50" north latitude, and the meri^ 
 dians of 16 13- 30'' and 17 16' 38" west longitude 
 
 The principal town is Funchal, with a population of 
 20,000 ; the population of the entire island being about 
 120,000. The island was discovered by the Portuguese 
 in 1419, though not settled till 1421. During the wars 
 of Napoleon, England held it by permission, but in 1814 
 the war having ended, the Portuguese again took posses- 
 sion. Madeira is considered an integral part of Portugal, 
 therefore there is no parliament ; the governor acts in the 
 name of the king of Portugal. The climate is scarcely 
 surpassed on earth for excellence. 
 
 Fruits and flowers of almost every kind are to be found 
 in delicious abundance. It is, in fact, a little land of luxury. 
 The religion is, of course, Catholic ; however there are two 
 Anglican Protestant churches, one High and one Low, for 
 the accommodation of Protestant invalids and visitors. A 
 Protestant gentleman on the island told me the following 
 anecdote, illustrating Protestant unity in that very limited 
 Protestant atmosphere. 
 
 The predecessor of the present Anglican Bishop of Bom- 
 bay resided for some time on the island for the benefit of 
 his health. In order to give no offence he went to the 
 high church in the morning and to the low church in the 
 evening ; -but this elastic course gave occasion to the
 
 C01 TWELVE YEAES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 clerg} T man of the one to write to him, saying, " If you 
 come to my church, come in toto, otherwise keep to the 
 other." This was an amusing piece of Protestant arro- 
 gance, a fair sample, indeed, of the true spirit of Protes- 
 tant liberty ! 
 
 There are several Catholic churches. The first is the 
 cathedral of St. Peter, large enough to accommodate about 
 3,000 persons, and in shape cruciform. I cannot say I 
 admired it ; it has nine altars decorated in a manner which 
 I should call tawdry. The chapel of the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment, separated by a screen and curtain, is in better taste 
 than the rest. The walls of the church are literally covered 
 with faded oil paintings and elaborate carvings, so crowded 
 as to leave no space upon which the eye may rest. The 
 canon's stalls are surmounted by clumsy, ugly figures of 
 saints carved in wood, wretched specimens of art, only fit 
 for garden walks, and far from embellishing the sanctuary 
 of the Deity. The congregation at the 7 o'clock mass, 
 numbering about six hundred, appeared most attentive 
 and devout. 
 
 I visited the Church of Mount Carmel, from which a 
 procession of the Blessed Sacrament was to proceed through 
 the town in the evening. The walls were draped in scarlet 
 merino, trimmed with deep yellow fringe, and surmounted 
 by festoons of the same rich material, fringed with gold 
 lace and tassels. A number of chandeliers, candelabra, 
 and massive vases, filled with flowers, added considerably 
 to the general effect. The streets through which the pro- 
 cession was to pass were decorated with banners, flags, 
 lamps, and every species of ornament that Catholic piety 
 could suggest. 
 
 The cemeteries are perfect flower gardens, with tombs 
 of marble elaborately carved, and having, as a rule, a
 
 TWELVE YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA. 605 
 
 photograph of the deceased framed and hermetically sealed 
 over the inscription. 
 
 Public buildings are in no mean taste. The convent is 
 in a lovely spot on the mountain side. The hospitals 
 appear to be as well managed as they are well situated ; 
 one for cases of consumption has been erected, and is sup- 
 ported by the Queen of the Brazils, whose daughter died 
 on the island from consumption. After seeing all we could 
 in the allotted time we returned to the ship, which sailed 
 at mid- day. The run from Madeira to Plymouth was 
 most favourable, and at 6 o'clock, p. m., on' the 9th July, 
 I set foot on England's soil after an absence of twelve 
 years. 
 
 I now close. I am in England, and hope soon to see my 
 native land. Pray for me that I may recover that health 
 which has been shattered by over-exertion in doing mis- 
 sionary work in South Africa. 
 
 May God bless all the Catholics of the Cape of Good 
 Hope. May the choicest benedictions of the Deity descend 
 upon them. May their pastors and priests, nuns and 
 brothers, prove themselves worthy of their high vocation. 
 May the people, one and all, faithfully correspond with 
 those whom the Holy Ghost hath appointed to rule in the 
 Church of God, and may we all meet again, if not here, 
 at least hereafter in the vision and fruition of the glory of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, is the fervent wish of, 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 JAMES O'HAIKE.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 His EMINENCE CARDINAL CUIXEN. 59, Eccles-street. 
 
 AMHERST, Righk Rev. Francis Kerril, Lord Bishop of Northampton. 
 
 West View, Northampton, England. 
 Adams, Patrick. Thomas-street, Dublin. 
 Andrews, James. 5, Mary-street, Dublin. 
 Aldritt, Edward. Brazen Head Hotel, Dublin. 
 Ashman, Trumpet-major. 4th Dragoon Guards. 
 Anderson, Mr. 133, Cork-street. 
 
 Barry, Rev. Silvester. All Hallows College, Dublin. 
 
 Burke, Rev. Silvester. 28 Nelson-street, Dublin. 
 
 Barry, Kev. N., C. C. Arklow. 
 
 Brennan, Rev. James. "Woodstock Cottage, Athy. 
 
 Behan, Kev. John. Francis-street. 
 
 Barrett, Mrs. Superioress, Sisters of Charity, Mountjoy-st., Dublin.. 
 
 Burke, Sir Bernard, LL. D., C. B. Castle-yard, Dublin. 
 
 Brannock, Mr. John. Jones's-road, Dublin. 
 
 Bergan, Miss Mary. 9, Lower Sherrard-street, Dublin. 
 
 Bond, G. M. 7, Grantbam-street, Dublin. 
 
 Brady, Miss Mary. 14, Marlborough-street, Dublin. 
 
 Byrne, Miss Eliza. 55, Moore-street, Dublin. 
 
 Brady, Mr. Thomas. 32, Henry-street, Dublin. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. John. Acting-inspector, Summer-hill, Dublin. 
 
 Baily, Mr. Christopher. Summer-hill, Dublin. 
 
 Brien, Mr. James, Inspector in charge of the Carriage Department. 
 
 1, Palace-street, Dublin. 
 
 Byrne, Mrs. 33, Middle Gardiner-street, Dublin. 
 Bruton, Mr. Russell-street Brewery, Dublin. 
 Brien, Mr. 83, Clarence-street, Dublin. 
 
 Butler, Mrs. 2, Cannon's-place, Upper Gardiner-street, Dublin. 
 Brennan, Mr. Patrick. 5, Exchequer-street, Dublin. 
 Breen, Mr. Thomas. Manor-street barracks, Dublin. 
 Brien, Mr. Andrew. Green -street barracks, Dublin. 
 Burton, Miss Emily. 10, Holies-street, Dublin. 
 Behan, Mr. James. Watling-street, Dublin. 
 Burke, Mr. William. Watling-street brewery, Dublin. 
 Brennan, Mr. Nicholas. Kevin-street barracks, Dublin. 
 Burke, Mr. John. Kevin-street barracks, Dublin. 
 Bates, Miss Margaret. 89, Manor-street, Dublin.
 
 2 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Brown, Mr. William. 8, Belview, ,, 
 
 Butler, Mrs. Terenure, Co. Dublin. 
 
 Brennan, Mr. John. 1 26, Thomas-street, 
 
 Brady, Miss. 153, Capel-street, , 
 
 Barry, Mr. James. 22, Dolphin's barn, 
 
 ISlack, Peter. 134, Upper Dorset-street. 
 
 Brien, Michael. 20, Wellington -quay. 
 
 Brennan, Patrick. 31, East Arran-street. 
 
 Brown, Mr. William. Cork-street, Dublin. 
 
 Bermingham, Mr. Patrick. Anne-street, ,, 
 
 Byrne, Mr. William Golden-lane, ,, 
 
 Brady, Mr. Christopher. Liffey-street, 
 
 Burke, Mr. David. 1, Scott's-square, Queenstown. 
 
 Baxter, Mr. Mistley, near Birmingham, England. 
 
 Barry, Mr. Michael, Acting- inspector. 49, Patrick-st., Kingstown. 
 
 Beatty, Mr. Patrick, Sergeant. 18, Albert road. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. Connor. Acting-sergeant, Kingstown. 
 
 Brennan, Mr. William. Kingstown. 
 
 Balfe, Mr. John. 54, Summer-hill, Dublin. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. John. ,, 
 
 Bayly, Mr. Christopher. ,, 
 
 Byrne, Mr. James. 4. Wall's-lane, 
 
 Bolger, Mrs. 17, Newmarket, 
 
 Brady, Dominick. 9, Ellis's-street, 
 
 Barry, John. Richmond Lunatic Asylum, Dublin. 
 
 Byrne. Miss Bridget. 38, Great Clarence-street. Dublin. 
 
 Butler. William. Mary's-lane, Dublin. 
 
 Bowe. Thomas. Mountjoy-street, , , 
 
 Barrett, Mrs. ,, 
 
 Brophy, Thomas. 35, Richmond-place, Dublin. 
 
 Brennan, Patrick. 125, Capel-street, ,, 
 
 Burke, Mrs. Richmond Lunatic Asylum, ,, 
 
 Boyle, Gregory. 13, 14, Phoenix-street, 
 
 Beahan, Mrs. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Butler, Mrs. Terenure. 
 
 Bonas, Mr. Constitution-hill. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. Peter. (}, Mayor- street. 
 
 Bonny, Mr. John. 15, Bond-street. 
 
 Butterly, Mr. James. Baldoyle, Co. Dublin. 
 
 Brennan, Mrs. Holly-ville, Cabra- 
 
 Conroy, Most Rev. George, Lord Bishop of Ardagh. Newtownforbes, 
 
 Co. Longford. 
 
 Conway, Right Rev. Hugh, Lord Bishop of Killalla. Ballina. 
 Cornthwaite, Right Rev. Kobert, Lord Bishop of'Beverley. Springfield 
 
 House, Leeds. 
 
 Callan, Very Rev, John, S. J. Gardiner-street, Dublin. 
 Carbery, Rev. Philip, C. C Fail-view. 
 Coffev, Hev. Francis. St. Paul's, Arran-quay, 
 Cox, 'Michael F., L. R. C., S. J., B. A. Catholic University. 
 Coatsworth, Miss Anne. 169, Gt. Brunswick-street, Dublin.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 3 
 
 , James. 1 1 , Denzille-street, Dublin. 
 Cavanagh, Miss. 52, Lr. Stafford-street, Dublin. 
 <Coffey, Miss Rose. 3, Fontenoy-street, Dublin. 
 Carey, Mr. Edward. 25, East Arran-street, Dublin. 
 Comerford, Miss Catherine M. 75, North King-street, Dublin. 
 Campbell, John. 6, Crampton-quay, 
 
 Cummins, Mr. James. 9, North King-street, 
 
 Cooney, Miss Catherine. 65, Prussia-street, 
 
 Carey, Sergt. Edward. Police Barracks, Lower Castle Yard, Dublin. 
 Connor, Mr. John P. Summer-hill Police Barracks, 
 Crystal, Mr. 143, Upper Dorset-street, 
 Cusack, Mr. Bolton-street, 
 Costello, Mr. Richmond-cottages, 
 Clarke, Mr. Thomas. Green-street Station, 
 Connolly, J. J. 8, Stafford-street. 
 Colgan, .John. 15, Clarendon-street. 
 Cunningham, Mr. Denis. Green-street Station, Dublin. 
 Clarke, Mr. Richard. 
 
 Carr, Mr. John, Acting-inspector. Kill-o'-the-Grange. 
 Carr, Mr. Richard, Acting-sergeant. 
 
 Corrigan, Sergeant. Terenure Station, Dublin. 
 Connor, Mr. James. 
 
 Carroll, Mr. James. ,. 
 
 Cassidy. Mr. Bernard. 22, Earl-street, 
 Cullen, Mr. Acting-sergeant, Rathmines Police Station, Dublin. 
 Canavan, Mr. Charles. ,, 
 
 Casey, Mr. John. 18, Prussia-street, 
 
 Casey, Mr. Martin. 21, 
 
 Carroll, Mr. John. 4, Usher's Island, 
 
 Curran, Mr. James. 22, Meath-street, 
 
 Cassidy, Mr. John. 4, Geraldine-cottages, 
 
 Connor, Mr. Thomas. 4, Stanhope-street, 
 
 Cain, Mr. Denis. Blackrock. 
 Culreavy, Mr. Peter. ,, 
 
 Cassidy, Mr. Patrick. 2, Mary-villa, South Earl-street, Dublin. 
 Clay, Mr. John. Anne-villa, 
 
 Conroy, Mr. Charles J. 8, Mary's-road, Cork. 
 Colman, M. Queenstown, 
 
 Clarke, D. 3, Patrick's-quay, 
 
 Callanan, Edmund. Royal Victoria Hotel, Kilkenny. 
 Costello, Mr. Thomas. 1, Cowley-villa, Laytonstone, London. 
 Coffey, Mr. James. Kingstown. 
 Connell, Mr. Michael. Imperial Hotel. 
 Corcoran, Miss. Keogh's Hotel. 
 Cranney, Mrs. 38, Clanbrassil-street, Dublin, 
 Cromin. 19, Meath-street, 
 
 Compton, Mr. Patrick. 29, Lr. Bridge-street, Dublin. 
 Cassell, James. 45, Mary's-lane, > 
 
 Caffrey, Mrs. Jane. 11, 
 
 Connor, Patrick. 11, Upper Abbey-street, 
 
 Connor, Philip. 11,
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Carthy, Jeremiah. 14, Hendrick-street. 
 
 Cullen, William. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Conlon, John. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Cardiff, Mrs. Maryanne. 
 
 Casey, Thomas. 30, Summer-hill. 
 
 Cunningham, Miss C. Richmond Lunatic Asylum 
 
 Cavanagh, Patrick. King's Inn-street. 
 
 Crosbie, Anthony. Simpson's-court. 
 
 Coyle, Mrs. Maryanne. 125, Dorset-street. 
 
 Clarke, Mr. James. Downpatrick. 
 
 Campion, Sergeant. Military Hospital, Dublin. 
 
 Cooke, Sergeant-major, 4th Dragoon Guards. Dundalk. 
 
 Colgan, Mrs. Aughrim-street. 
 
 Cotton, Mr. J. 29, Clarendon-street. f 
 
 Cullen, John. 51, Marlborough-stree't. 
 
 Delany, Most Rev. Dr. Lord Bishop of Cork. 
 
 Donnelly, Most Rev. Dr., Lord Bishop of Clogher. Monaghan. 
 
 Dunne, Very Rev. Laurence, Archdeacon, P. P. Castledermot. 
 
 Doran, Rev. Arthur, P. P. Skerries. 
 
 Doyle, Rev. Dr. Halston -street, Dublin. 
 
 Doyle, Rev. Michael, C. C. Skerries. 
 
 Duffy, Rev. Bernard. SS. Michael and John, Lower Exchange-street. 
 
 Daniel, Rev. James. Meath-street, 
 
 Delany, Mrs., Superioress, Presentation Convent. Georges'-hill, Dublin, 
 
 Dagg, Mr. John. 2, Cannon's-place, Dublin. 
 
 Doherty, Mr. John. 8, Wood-quay, 
 
 Doyle, Mr. John, T. C. 2 & 3, Wexford-street, Dublin. 
 
 Davey, Sergeant Abraham. Police barracks, Lower Castle Yard. 
 
 Denis, Mr. Summer-place. 
 
 Darcy, Mr. Robert. Manor- street barracks. 
 
 Doyle, Sergeant Patrick. Green-street Station. 
 
 Delany, Mr. Fenton. 
 
 Dolan, Mr. James. 
 
 Daly, Mr. Patrick. 
 
 Dempsey, Mr. John. 
 
 Donohoe, Mr. Kichard. 
 
 Dunne, Mr. Christopher. 
 
 Doyle, Mr. Thomas. 
 
 Devlin, Mr. Patrick. 
 
 Doherty, John. Acting-inspectoi 
 
 College-street. 
 
 Donohoe, Mr. Thomas. Kill-o'-the-Grange. 
 
 Dunne, Mr. Joseph. Fitzgerald-cottages, South Brown-street. 
 
 Devin, Mr. Edward. Kevin-street barracks. 
 
 Dowd, Mr. John. 4, Garden-lane, Dublin. 
 
 Dowling, Acting-inspector. Rathmines, Dublin. 
 
 Dornan, Peter. 136, Francis-street, ,, 
 
 Daly, John. Acting-inspector, Blackrock. 
 
 Daly, Thomas. 
 
 Downey, Christopher, ,, 
 
 Doyle, Mr. 1 homas. Police barracks, Lower Castle Yard.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Dunne, Christopher. 13, Fitzgerald-cottages. 
 Downey, Patrick A. 90, Glanmire-road, Cork. 
 Doran, C. G. Queenstown, 
 Dalton, Francis. Morrison's Island, 
 Derham, Patrick. Quay-street, Skerries. ' 
 Doyle, James. Skibbereen. 
 Doyle, Timothy. ,, 
 
 Dowling, Mr. Michael. Sergeant, Kingstown. 
 Dowling, Mr. William. 
 
 Duff, Mr. 60, Clanbrassil-street, Dublin. 
 Daly, Mr. Patrick. 24, Thomas-street. 
 Dooley, Henry. 102, Grangegorman, Dublin. 
 Driscoll, Daniel. 11, O'Connell-street, 
 Dunne, Miss Maryanne. 14, Mary's-lane, 
 Dowling, William. 36, ,, 
 
 Dunne, James. 151, Church-street, 
 Denis, Mathew. 15, Arran-street, 
 Dooley, W r illiam. 11, Upper Abbey-st., 
 
 i~\ T i * 
 
 Dyer, John. 
 
 Doyle, Mr. Jervisstreet, 
 
 Donovan, Cornelius. 13, Portland-place, 
 
 Devoy, P. W. 104, Upper Dorset-street. 
 
 Doyle, Michael. 37, Richmond-place. Dublin. 
 
 Delany, James. Richmond Lunatic Arylum, Dublin. 
 
 Doyle, Thomas. ,. 
 
 Doran, Mrs. ,, 
 
 Dignam, Miss. 
 
 Dempsey, Mr. Manor-street. 
 
 Duffy, Miss. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Derwin, Mr. James. 127, Great Britain-street. 
 
 Dunne, Mr. Sylvester. 39, Arran-quay. 
 
 Duffy, Mrs. Berkeley-road. 
 
 Donnelly, Miss. Old Cabra-road. 
 
 Donnelly, Miss E. 
 
 Donovan, Mr. P. 2, St. David's- terrace, Cabra-road. 
 
 Dolan, Mr. Philip. 2, Fontenoy-street. 
 
 Doyle, Mr. Cork-street. 
 
 Dagg, Mr. Thomas. 2, Cannon 's-place. 
 
 Doian, Mr. Philip. Fontenoy-street. 
 
 J)ornin ; Mrs. Anne. Kilbarrack, Co. Dublin. 
 
 Dowling, Mr. Charles. 38, Clanbrassil-street. 
 
 Errington, Most Rev. George, Archbishop of Trebizond. Prior Paik r 
 
 Bath, England. 
 
 Edwards, Mrs. Jane. The Quay, Skerries. 
 Entwistle, Inspector. Kevin-street. 
 Egan, Joseph. 37, Wexford-street. 
 English, Mrs. 15, Manor-street. 
 Eccles, John. 35, Mary's-lane, Dublin. 
 Early, Peter. Gas Works.
 
 6 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Fitzpatrick, Most Rev. Dr. Lord Abbott, Mount Mellery. 
 
 Fortune, Very Rev. W. President, All Hallows' Missionary College. 
 
 Fagan, Rev. Robert. Roundwood, Newtownmountkennedy. 
 
 Fricker, Rev. M. A. St. Michael's, Kingstown. 
 
 Fahey, Rev. Joseph. Killconnel, Ballinasloe. 
 
 Fottrell, Mr. Wm. Kenilworth-square. 
 
 Fay. John M. 37, Longwood-avenue. 
 
 Farrell, Mr. James. 61, North King-street. 
 
 Flood, Mr. Thomas. Roper's-rest. 
 
 Flood, Mr. George. 22, Christchurch-place. 
 
 Foley, Mr. James. 2, Greenvilla avenue. 
 
 Farrell, Mr. Michael. Terenure Station. 
 
 Fitzpatrick, Mr. W. J. 75, Pembroke-road, Dublin. 
 
 Flood, James. 42, Upper Dorset-street, 
 
 Fagan, Peter. 26, North Earl-street. 
 
 Farrelly, James. 164, Capel-street. 
 
 Flood, Peter, Inspector. Summer-hill. 
 
 Legan, Inspector Michael. Police barracks, Lower Castle Yard. 
 
 Foley, Mr. John. 
 
 Farrell, Mr. James. Grangegorman-lane. 
 
 Forde, Mr. Patrick. Manor-street barracks. 
 
 Hemming, Mr. Patrick. 12, Hanbury-lane. 
 
 Fortune, Mr. William. Kevin-street barracks. 
 
 Frazer, Mr. George. 67, New-street. 
 
 Fortune, Mr. John. 6, 
 
 Flood, Mr. Peter. 54, Summer-hill. 
 
 Fagan, Miss. 10, Wood-quay. 
 Fitzharris, Mr. James. 16, Tigh-street. 
 
 Fagan, Patrick. 13, Mary's-lane, Dublin. 
 
 Fetherson, Mr. Mountjoy-street, . 
 
 Fegan, Michael. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Fegan, Matthew. ,, 
 
 Fitzpatrick, Mr. Exchange-court. 
 
 Fields, Miss. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Flynn, Francis. 93, Evergreen-street, Cork. 
 
 Fetherston, Mr. Thomas. 17, Mountjoy-street. 
 
 Flanagan, Captain. Skerries. 
 
 Fay, Mr. Stephen. Jervis-street. 
 
 Feeley, Matthew. 50, Bridgefoot-street. 
 
 Fogarty, James J. 53, Aungier-street. 
 
 Gillooly, Most Rev. Laurence, Lord Bishop of Elphin. Sligo. 
 
 Gilligan, Rev. M. J., O. C. C. 5G, Aungier-street, Dublin. 
 
 <iowan, Rev. W. 18, Clanbrassil-street. 
 
 Gray, Mr. John. Great Southern and Western Railway, Cork. 
 
 Gallagher, Mr. Phibsborough-road, Dublin. 
 
 Gaffuey, Miss Mary. 6, Halston-street. 
 
 Gill, Miss Mary. 42, Henry-street. 
 
 Gaynor, Mr. Dame-street. 
 
 Gibney, Miss. 64, Eccles-street. 
 
 Oaffney, Mr. Philip. Upper Rathmines.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 7 
 
 Gavigan, Mr. Daniel. 2, Constitution-hill. 
 Gorman, Mr. Cornelius. Green-street Station. 
 Geraghty, Sergeant Thomas. College-street. 
 Gallagher, Hugh, Acting-sergeant. Kill-o'-the-Grange. 
 Guest, Miss Harriett. 20, Kildare-street. 
 Groves, M. J. 4, Usher's Island. 
 Gaffney, John. James's-street. 
 
 Glanan, Thomas P. 12, Usher's Island. 
 
 Gibney, Mr. Thomas. Rathmines Police Station. 
 
 Gibney, Mr. James. 10, Geraldine-square. 
 
 Gough, Thomas. 7, Ross-lane, Bride-street. 
 
 Gough, John. Anne-street. 
 
 Grumley, Mr. John. Imperial Hotel. 
 
 Gartland, Miss. 10, Wood-quay. 
 
 Gaffney, Mr. Laurence. 37, Watling-street. 
 
 Geraty, Mr. Michael. 33, West Arran-street. 
 
 Gaffney, Patrick. 3, Upper Abbey-street, Dublin. 
 
 Galbaroy, Mr. Mountjoy-street, 
 
 Gannon, Michael. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Gretton, Mr. Upper Park, Deddham, England. 
 
 Grattan, Miss. Rathgar. 
 
 Galbally, Mr. Berkeley-road. 
 
 Gibney, Mr. John. Haymarket, Dublin. 
 
 Gowan, Mr. Red Island, Skerries. 
 
 Gavin, Patrick. 9, George's-hill. 
 
 Hamill, Rev. James, Administrator. St. Patrick's, Belfast. 
 Hanrahan, Very Rev. James R. Merchant's-quay. 
 Hill, Rev. John. SS. Michael and John, Lower Exchange-st., Dublin. 
 Harden, Thomas, Fellow and Vice-President of the King and Queen's 
 
 College of Physicians, &c., &c. 30, Harcourt-street." 
 Harrington, Mr. Superintendent, Kevin-street. 
 Haw, Mr., Superintendent. Maror-street. 
 Hickey, John. 44, Townsend-street, Dublin. 
 Hart, Catherine. 30, Charles-street, ,, 
 Hall, Mrs. Esther. 1, Arran-quay, , ., 
 Heery, Patrick. 16, Mary's-abbey. 
 Healy, Mr. Robert. Green-street. 
 Halpin, Mr. Thomas. Kill-o'-the-Grange. 
 Halton, Mr. William. Kevin-street barracks. 
 Hannon, Mr. L. 95, James's-street. 
 Hughes, John. 4, Garden-lane. 
 Hopkins, Martin. 4, James's-street. 
 Hart, George. 94, Capel-street. 
 Heeney, John. 26, Phoenix-street. 
 Hanlon, James. 127, Thomas-street. 
 Hussey, Edward P. 21, Belvidere-place. 
 Hiigerty, Thomas. 127 
 Hart, William. 13, 
 
 Higgins, William. 6, New-street. 
 Honish, James. 2, George's-hill.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. / 
 
 Harrison, Sergeant James. Blackrock. 
 
 Heffernan, Sergeant. College-street Police Station, Dublin. 
 
 Higgins, Christopher. 75, Cork-street. 
 
 Mendrick, William. 9, High-street. 
 
 I Fogan, Mr. Stephen. 26, Queen-street. 
 
 Mutchinson, Mr. Joseph. 22, 
 
 Henderson, Catherine. 8, Mary's-lane, Dublin. 
 
 Henderson, Edward. 
 
 Honish, Edward. 9, Bolton-street, 
 
 Hughes. James. 39, Stonybatter, 
 
 Higgs, Thomas. Dominick-street, 
 
 Hoey, Miss. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 How, Thomas. Anne-street. 
 
 Higgins, John. 
 
 Haggerty, Thomas. 
 
 Hendrick, Mr. William. 0. High-street. 
 
 Higgins, Mr. Christopher. 73, Cook-street. 
 
 Halligan, Mrs. Monck's-place. 
 
 Hyland, Miss. Constitution-hill. 
 
 Higgins, Mr. James. 13, Mayor-street. 
 
 Hart, Mrs. 5, Cabra-terrace. 
 
 Irwin, Rev. William, P. P. St. Audeon's, High-street. 
 Inally, Mr. 2, Cannon's-place. 
 
 Jones, Rev. Thomas. Saggart. 
 
 Jones, Kev. Patrick. 21, High-street. 
 
 Judge, Mr. O. Rossmore, Woodford. 
 
 Jones, M. Thomas. Green-street Station, Dublin. 
 
 Jones, Mr. James. ,, 
 
 Johnson, Mr. Michael. Kevin-street. 
 
 Jordan, Thomas. 5, Robert-street. 
 
 *fackman, James. 15, Upper Dominick-street. 
 
 Jeflers, Andrew. 152, Church-street, Dublin. 
 
 Jones, Teresa. 1, George's-hill. 
 
 Kavanagh, Rev. Patrick, C. C. Blanchardstown. 
 
 Kilgariff, Malachi J., F.R.C.S.T., &c., &c. 47, Harrington-street. 
 
 Kerwan, William P., L. K. C. S. I. Roscrea. 
 
 Jvirwan, Mr. 35, Leland-place, Dublin. 
 
 Keary, P. J. 17^, Wellington-quay, Dublin. 
 
 Kernan, P. M. 56, Capel-street, Dublin 
 
 Kennedy, Mr. J. 17, Bride-street, Dublin. 
 
 Kavanagh, Thomas. 8, Upper Dorset-street, Dublin. 
 
 Keenan, M. 13 Little Britain-street, Dublin. 
 
 Kearney, Philip, 14, Little Green-street, Dublin. 
 
 Kavanagh, Mr. James. 8, Upper Stephen-street, Dublin. 
 
 Kane, Miss Catherine. 1, Mary's-lane, Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Mr. .John. Brighton-avenue, Rathgar. 
 
 Kollv, Mr. James. Metropolitan Police Office, Dublin Castle. 
 
 Kellj", Yr. John. Police Barracks, Lower Castle Yard, Dublin.
 
 / 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. g 
 
 Kavanagh, Mr. Cole's-lane, Dublin. 
 
 Kenny, Mr. Stafford-street, Dublin. 
 
 Kiegan, Mr. Edward. Manor-street barracks, Dublin 
 
 Keane, Mr. Patrick. Manor-street barracks, Dublin 
 
 Kelly, Mr. James. Green-street station, Dublin 
 
 Kmsella, Mr. Denis. Kill-o-the- Grange, Co. Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Mr. James. do. do. 
 
 Kennedy, Mr. Francis. 2, Pembroke quay, Dublin 
 
 Kelly, Mr. Joseph. 81, Great Britain -street, Dublin 
 
 Kelly, Mr. Richard. 1, Usher's quay, Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Francis. Thomas-street, Dublin. 
 
 Keogh, R. P. 48A, Kathmines-road, Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Mrs. 15, North Anne-street. 
 
 Keane, Stephen. 22, Dorset-street, Dublin. 
 
 Kavanagh, Mr. Dolphinsbarn-lane, Dublin. 
 
 Kilbride, Patrick. Blackrock, Co. Dublin. 
 
 Keogh, Michael. 40, South Earl street, Dublin. 
 
 Keegan, Mr. Laurence. 61, Great Britain-street, Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Mr. Great Britain-street, Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Mr. Laurence. Kingstown. 
 
 Kavanagh, Mr. Denis. ,, 
 
 Kelly, Patrick. 19, Phoenix-street, Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Thomas. 
 
 Kinsella, Laurence. 6, Love-lane, Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Mr. John. 7 Lower Bridge-street, Dublin. 
 
 Keogh, Andrew. Bow-stret-.t, Dublin. 
 
 Kavanagh, William. Richmond Lunatic Asylum, Dublin. 
 
 Keenan, James. 15, Grangegorman, Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Martin. 
 
 Kelly, Patrick. 64, Manor-street, Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Thomas. .5, Monck place, Phibsborough. 
 
 Kane, James. 
 
 Keogh, Henry. Richmond Lunatic Asylum, Dublin. 
 
 Kinsella, Andrew. 
 
 Kavanagh, Peter. 
 
 Kelly, Miss. North King- street, Dublin. 
 
 Kavanagh, Denis. 6 Montgomery- street, Dublin. 
 
 Kinsella, Miss. Richmond Lunatic Asylum, Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Mr. Thomas. 27, Arran-quay. 
 
 Kennedy, Mr., T. C Clonliffe. 
 
 Leahy, Most Rev. Pius J., Lord Bishop of Dromore. Newry. 
 Leterrier, Very Rev. J., Superior Marist Fathers, Catholic University 
 
 School. 89, Leeson-street, Dublin. 
 Lynch, Very Rev. Canon Gregory, P.P. St. Bridgid's, Blanchards- 
 
 town, Co. Dublin. 
 
 Lynch, Mr. Anthony. 22, Rutland-square, Dublin 
 Leonard, N. 6, Marlborough-street, 
 
 Leavy, John. 2, Mountain-view, Kilmainham, ,, 
 Lawler, Joseph M. Duggan terrace, Rathmines-road, Dublin. 
 Lawlor, Mr. William. Manor-street barracks,
 
 10 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Lynara, Mr. Joseph. Green-street Station, Dublin. 
 
 Ledwidge, Mr. Joseph. Roe's distillery, Thomas-street, Dublin. 
 
 Laracy, Sergeant. Terenure station, Dublin. 
 
 Leavey, Mrs. 2, Manor-street, 
 
 Lawlor, Mrs. 61, Dominick-street Upper, Dublin. 
 
 Leavey, James. Ellis's-street, 
 
 Long, Patrick. 55, Thomas-street, 
 
 Lyons, William. 33, Upper Wellington-street, Dublin. 
 
 Larkin, John. 32, Bridgefoot-street, 
 
 Lane, Mr. Daniel. 126, Thomas-street, 
 
 Leahy, William. Capel-street, Dublin. 
 
 Legg, Thomas. 23, Pembroke-quay, Dublin. 
 
 Lynch, William. Queen's Old Castle, Cork. 
 
 Lyons, Mr. Patrick. 16, New-row, West, Dublin. 
 
 juoftus, James. Coolock, Co. Dublin. 
 
 Londergan, Patrick. 94, Dorset-street, Dublin. 
 
 Lynch, Mr. Bernard. 16, Sarsfield-street, Dublin. 
 
 Lawler, Patrick. 30, Bolton -street. 
 
 Little, Robert. 54, Moore-street. 
 
 Lynam, Michael. 2, Granby-place. 
 
 Lynch, Mrs. 5, Upper Ormond-quay. 
 
 Lynam, Mary. 67, Pill-lane. 
 
 Lynch, Richard. 6, Wellesby-place, Dublin. 
 
 Lackey, John. Fountain-place, Dublin. 
 
 Lynn, Mr. Bow-street, 
 
 Lyons, Denis. Anne-street, ,, 
 
 Leonard, Mr. P. J. 10, Cook-street. 
 
 Lawler, Mrs. 36, Bolton -street. 
 
 Lennan, Mr. John. 58, Upper Clanbrassil-street. 
 
 Lawlor, Mr. William. 28, Marrowbone -lane. 
 
 Leavey, Mr. 31, Braithwaite-street. 
 
 Lawlor, Mrs. 19, Berkeley-road. 
 
 McCarthy, Most Rev. James. Lord Bishop of Cloyne. 
 M'Devitt, Most Rev. James. Lord Bishop of Rnphoe. 
 M'Cormack, Most Rev. Francis. Lord Bishop of Achonry. 
 Moriarty, Most Rev. David, Lord Bishop of Kerry. Killarney. 
 M< Donald, Right Rev. John, D. D., V. A., Lord Bishop of the 
 
 Northern District. Scotland, 
 M'Alister, Rev. P., P.P., Ballycastle, Co. Antrim. 
 M'Manus, Rev. Myles, P. P. *St. Catherine's, Meath-street. 
 Mathews, Very Rev. J. Stanley. S.J., Rector, St. Xavier's College. 
 
 9, Denmark-street, Dublin. 
 Mullaly, Rev. Michael, P.P., St. Nicholas' Without. Francis-street, . 
 
 'Dublin. 
 
 M'Cann, Rev. Patrick, C. C. Down. 
 M'Evoy, Rev. T., C. C. ,, 
 
 Murphy, Rev. Thomas. Francis-street. 
 Mallin, Mr. John. 5, Ward's-hill. Dublin. 
 Maher, Mrs. Superioress. Cabra Convent. 
 M'Entee, Rev. M., C.C. Delgany, Co. Wicklow. 
 
 
 2
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. H 
 
 r ' R o LC> ' Le S an er, Carrigallen, Co. Leitrim. 
 Mallon, Mr. John, Superintendent. Lower Castle Yard 
 Murphy, John. 104, Marlborough-street, Dublin. 
 Melville, Michael. 19, Lower Dorset-street, 
 Manning, Edward, 47, Warran's-place, Cork. 
 Mulholland, Cornelius. 66, Great Brunswick-street, Dublin. 
 M'Manus, Bernard. 5, Little Mary street, 
 Murphy, C. Aston's-quay, Dublin. 
 M'Manus, John. Little Green Egg-market, 
 Maher, Patrick. 164, Capel-street, 
 Morans, Margaret. 43, Fishamble-street, 
 Mooney, James. 24, Aungier-street, 
 
 Mitchell, William. 3, Exchange cou,rt, ,, 
 
 Morrissy, Mr. John. Police barracks, Lower Castle Yard. 
 M'Nally, Mr. Michael, . 
 
 Milay, Mr. John, )} 
 
 M'Cabe, Miss. 1, Echlin-street, Dublin. 
 Murphy, Mr. Patrick. 45, Bow-lane, Dublin 
 Mulligan, John. 26, Tighe-street, ,, 
 
 M'Cormack, Peter. Watling-street, 
 
 M'Gdinness, Michael. 28 New market, 
 Murphy, Edward. 12, Capel-street, 
 
 Molony, Mr. W. J. Monasterevan, Co. Kildare. 
 Maguire, Henry. Blackrock. 
 M'Ardle, Mr. Arthur. 1, Pirn-street, Dublin. 
 Moore, Mr. Laurence. 1, Usher's Island, 
 M'Kern an, James. 6, Love-lane, 
 
 M'Elroy, Philip. Anne-street, 
 
 McCarthy, Patrick, ., 
 
 M'Keown, Mr. John. Police barracks, Lower Castle Yard. 
 Mulligan, Sergeant Michael, 
 
 Moklan, Patrick G., Acting-sergeant, Chief Superintendent's Office, 
 
 Lower Castle Yard. 
 
 M'Bride, Mr. Michael. Police barracks, Lower Castle Yard. 
 Mooney, Mr. John. 
 
 Mithem, Bridget. 2, Mountjoy-street. 
 Madigan, Mr. 113, Great Britain-street, Dublin. 
 Mathews, Mr. 99, ,, . 
 
 Murphy, Miss. 3, Great Denmark-street, 
 Mally, Mr. 2, Oannon's-place. 
 
 Maguire, Mr. James'-street, 
 
 M'Donogh, Mrs. Blackhall-street, 
 
 Maxwell, Mr. James. Manor-street barracks. 
 Malone, Richard. Fountain-place. 
 Murtagh, Mr. Patrick. Manor-street barracks. 
 Myles, Mr. Patrick, Green-street Station. 
 M' Guinness, Patrick, Acting-sergeant. Kill-o'-the-Grange. 
 M'Namara, Mr. John, 
 
 Molloy, Mr. Thomas. Kevin-street barracks. 
 Manhor, Mr. William. 23, Beresford-street. 
 Murphy, Mr. Patrick. 35, North Brunswick-street, Dublin. 
 
 o a
 
 12 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 M'Cabe, Miss Margaret. 63, Manor-street, Dublin. 
 
 Malone, Patrick. Grange Lodge, Kingstown. 
 
 M'Inroy, Mr. Old Dunleary. 
 
 Murphy, Mr John. Imperial Hotel, Dublin. 
 
 MMahon, Mr. James. 
 
 Mangan, Mrs. 2, Clanbrassil-place, 
 
 M'Govern, Mr. 84, Meath-street, 
 
 M'Kinney, Mr Peter. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Martin, Mr. Thomas. 21, Mecklinburgh-street, 
 
 Murphy, Richard Mr. 7 and 8, Mary's-abbey, Dublin. 
 
 Murphy, Mrs. Mary 8, Mary's-lane, 
 
 Murray. Mr. 6, Usher Island. 
 
 Murphy, John. Richmond Lunatic Asylum, ,, 
 
 M'Quirk, Mrs. 15, Berkeley-street. 
 
 Moore, Miss. Richmond Lunatic Asylum, 
 
 Melia, Miss. Richmond Lunatic Asylum, ,, 
 
 M'Guinness, Martin. Bow-street, 
 
 M'Grath, Garrett. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Manning, Dr. East Bergholt. Suffolk. 
 
 M'Kinney, Mr. Peter. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Murphy, Mr. James. 10, Usher's Island. 
 
 M'Gettigan, Mr. 3, Exchange-court. 
 
 Martin, Mr. Thomas. 21, Mecklinburgh-street. 
 
 Mooney, Mr. Marrowbone-lane. 
 
 Murphy, Miss Mary. 6, Thomas-court. 
 
 M'Carthy, Mr. Michael. 23, Marylebone-lane. 
 
 Murphy, Mrs. 61 , Lower Dominick-street. 
 
 Morriss, Miss, 65, Manor-street. 
 
 Molloy, Mr. John. Mountain-view Cottages, Grand Canal. 
 
 May, Miss Maryanne. Skerries. 
 
 Murphy, Mr. Denis. 194, Great Britain-street. 
 
 Montgomery, Mrs. Ellen. 19, King's Inns-street. 
 
 M'Cann, Mr. Richard. 2, Little Britain-street. 
 
 Monks, Mr. Patrick. Little Britain-street. 
 
 Maxwell, Mrs. 2, Royal-terrace, North Circular-road. 
 
 Murray, Mr. 22, Palmerston-place. 
 
 Murphy, Mr. Stephen. 19, High-street. 
 
 Norton, Mr. William. 11, Linenhall-street, Dublin 
 
 Nolan Mr. Richard. 12, Francis-street, ,, 
 
 Nolan, Mr. Maurice. 34, Mountjoy-street, 
 
 Nolan, Mr. William. 4, Phibsborough, 
 
 Nolan, Mr .John. 
 
 Newman, Mr. John, Police barracks, Lower Castle Yard. 
 
 Nulty, Mr. Michael. 
 
 Nevin,Miss. 85, Camden-street, Dublin. 
 
 Nolan, Thomas. North Anne-street, Dublin. 
 
 Nolan, Mr. Henrietta-lane, 
 
 Newman, Richard. 12, Little Strand-street, Dublin. 
 
 Nicholson, Miss. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Newton, Mr. B. 8, Thomas-street.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 13 
 
 O'Hea, Most Rev. Michael, Lord Bishop of Ross, Skibbereen. 
 
 O'Reilly, Rev. Edmund, S. J., D.D., Superior, Miltown Park. 
 
 O'Grady, Very Rev. Anthony, St. Peter's, Phibsborough. 
 
 O'Carroll, Rev. F., P.P., Rush. 
 
 O'Kane, Very Rev. Patrick, P. P. Down. 
 
 O'Donnell, Rev. Thomas. St. Laurence O'Toole's, Dublin. 
 
 O Keeffe, Rev. Daniel. St. Paul's, Arran-quay. 
 
 O'Neill, Rev. James. Kingstown. 
 
 O'Hea, Rev. Michael, C.C. Rush, Co. Dublin. 
 
 O'Connor, Rev. Edward, C.C. Rathmore, Naas. 
 
 O'Hanlon, Rev. John. SS. Michael and John, Lower Exchange-st., 
 
 Dublin. 
 
 O'Neill, Miss Jane. 4, Upper Terrace, Rathmines. 
 O'Leary, Miss Dora Josephine. 51, Arran-street, East, Dublin. 
 O' Grady, Mr. Drumcondra Hill, Dublin. 
 O'Connor, Mr. J. Wellington-quay, 
 
 O'Haire, Mr. William. School of Medicine, Cecilia-street, Dublin. 
 O'Connor, Mr. Christopher. 7, Smithfield, Dublin. 
 O'Flynn, Joseph, Ranelagh-road. 
 O'Keeffe, Patrick. 43, Francis-street, Dublin. 
 O'Keeffe, John. 44, Cook-street, 
 
 O'Malley, Mr. Abbey-street, x 
 
 O'Riordan, William. Morrison's Island, Cork. 
 O'Reilly, Laurence. Kingstown. 
 O'Reilly, James. 11, Upper Abbey-street, Dublin. 
 O'Toole, Mrs. 18, Spitalfields, Dublin. 
 Osburne, Mr. N. 99, Bride-street, 
 
 O 'Connor, Mr. James. 39, Tighe-street, 
 O'Connor, Mr. Michael. 
 
 O'Hara, Henry. Gloucester-place, 
 
 O'Gorman, Mr. Thomas. 15, Bond-street. 
 O'Neill, Miss Kate. Portmarnock, Co. Dublin. 
 O'Neill, Mrs. 18, King's Inns-street. 
 O'Sullivan, Serjeant-major, 4th Dragoon Guards. Dundalk. 
 
 Petcherine, Rev. Father, Lower Dominick-street. 
 
 Poett, Major. Ashfield-terrace, Terenure. 
 
 Phelan, Miss. North King-street, Dublin. 
 
 Plunkctt, Thomas, 11, New-row, 
 
 Potts, Mr .Patrick, Kingstown. 
 
 Peakin, Mr. Patrick. Wainsford, Kimmage Upper. 
 
 Power, Francis. 13,Mountbrown, Dublin. 
 
 Power Joseph. Lower Summer-hill, 
 
 Prandy, Inspector. 3, Exchange- court. 
 
 Peakin, Mrs, Wainsford, Kimmage, Upper. 
 
 Pierce, Mr. William. Red Cow Lime Works, Co. Dublin. 
 
 Quaid, Rev. E. G., C. C. St. Agatha's, 13, North Richmond-street. 
 
 Quinn, Mr. Mabbot-street, 
 
 Quinn, Mr. John. Thomas-street. 
 
 Quinn, Acting-sergeant. Rathmines Police Station. 
 
 Quinn, Edward. 15, Francis-street.
 
 14 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Quinn, Mr. James. 22, Dolphin's-barn, Dublin. 
 
 Quinn, Mr. Joseph. 105, James's-street. 
 
 Quinn, Mr. Patrick. 12, Geraldine Cottages, Love-lane. 
 
 Quinn, Thomas. Kingstown. 
 
 Quinn, Charles. 29, Manor-street. 
 
 Quinn, Mr. Grangegorman, Dublin. 
 
 Quinn, Michael. Ann-street, 
 
 Russell, Very Eev. Bartholemoe, O. P., Dundalk. 
 
 Rogers, Rev. P. Bury St. Edward's, Northamptonshire, England. 
 
 Ryan, Rev. Francis, C. C. Nelson-street, Dublin. 
 
 Redmond, Joseph, M. L., R. C.S.I. Belmont Lodge, Donnybrook. 
 
 Redmond, Mr. Denis. 
 
 Redmond, J. 137, Great Britain-street, Dublin. 
 
 Revell, K. 9, Lower Abbey-street, 
 
 Russell, Joseph. 8, Leeson-lane, 
 
 Roche, A. Joseph. 53, Moore-street, 
 
 Ross, James. King's Inns-street, 
 
 Roche, Miss Bridget. 77, Mary s-lane, 
 
 Ryan, Mr. Edward. Metropolitan Police Office, Dublin Castle. 
 
 Reddy, Sergeant William. Metropolitan Police Office, Dublin Castle. 
 
 Reynolds, Mr. Thomas. Green-street Station. 
 
 Ralphe, Mr. Thomas. 20, New-row West. 
 
 Roche, Mr. Thomas. Kevin-street Barracks. 
 
 Reilly, Mr. 136, James's-street. 
 
 Reilly, Owen, Esq. Dalkey. 
 
 Reilly, Terence, Inspector. 17, Carysfort-a venue, Blackrock. 
 
 Reddy, Sergeant Patrick. Police Barracks, Lower Castle Yard. 
 
 Reilly, Mr. John. ,, ,, 
 
 Rpchfort, Mr. Michael. ,, ,, 
 
 Riggs, Mr. Hanbury-lane. 
 
 Rossitor, Martin. 35, Golden-lane. 
 
 Reilly, John. Anne-street. 
 
 Rice, Mr. Michael. Carberry House, BlacKrock. 
 
 Rice, Mrs. Teresa. St. David' s-terrace, North Circular-road. 
 
 Reilly, Mr. Thomas, Inspector. 69, Upper George-street, Kingstown. 
 
 Rice, Mr. Patrick. Mecklenburgh-street. 
 
 Ryan, William. 16, Upper Abbey-street, Dublin. 
 
 Reilly, Henry. 22, Phillipsburgh-avenue, ,, 
 
 Reilly, Edward. 13, Gloucester-place, 
 
 Reilly, Francis. Dorset-street, 
 
 Reilly, Christopher. 38, Mary's-lane, 
 
 Reynolds, Mrs. Geraldine-street, 
 
 Rorke, James. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Rogers, Philip. 
 
 Rooney, Mr. Marrowbone-lane. 
 
 Ryan, Mr. Philip. 81, Dame-street. 
 
 Rathbourne, Miss. 3, Cumberland- place, North Circular-road. 
 
 Sullivan, Rev. Michael, P.P. Donabate. 
 
 Staples, Rev. R. J., C. C. Valleymount, Blessington. 
 
 Sheridan, Rev. B. Halston-street.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 15 
 
 Scally, Rev. M. D., C.C. Westland-row, Dublin. 
 
 Stafford, John. 40, Denzille-street. 
 
 Stafford, Elizabeth. 50, Arran-street. 
 
 Smyth, James. 3, Exchange-court. 
 
 Sullivan, Mr. Gloster-place. 
 
 Scally, Mr. Summer-hill. 
 
 Strahan, Mr. Wellington-street. 
 
 Seery, Miss. Loretto Convent, North Great George's-street. 
 
 Sheridan, Sergeant, Patrick. Manor-street Barracks. 
 
 Shea, Mr. Patrick. Yarnhall-street. 
 
 Stapleton, Mr. James. Kevin-street Barracks. 
 
 Sheridan. Henry. 7, Watling-street. 
 
 Slevin, Michael. 7, Echlin- street. 
 
 Smith, James. 11, Amor-street. 
 
 Scully, James, Sergeant. Police Barracks, Lower Castle Yard. 
 
 Sheridan, Thomas. Blackrock. 
 
 Short, Mr. Eugene. Kingstown 
 
 Scully, Mr. William. 
 
 Shanley, Mr. Thomas. 
 
 Smith, Mr. Thomas. 9, Burgh-quay, Dublin. 
 
 Sweeney, Michael. South Frederick-street. 
 
 Steiner, John Joseph. 15, South King-street. 
 
 Sherry, Mr. Wm. 22, Prussia-street, Dublin. 
 
 Smyth, John. Ann-street, 
 
 Sunderland, John. 
 
 Smallhorn, John. 7, Phibsborough-terrace, 
 
 Spencer, William. 11, Grangegorman, 
 
 Simpson, Michael. 49, Lower Rutland-street. 
 
 Smith, Mr. 
 
 Sherlock, Matthew. Kilbrack, Co. Dublin. 
 
 Spain, Miss. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Sherry, Mrs. 
 
 Sexton, Mrs. Goatstown, Dundrum. 
 
 Sheridan, Mr. Joseph. 29, Upper Dorset-street. 
 
 Stewart, Mr. 37, Usher's-quay. 
 
 Sweeney, Mr. James. 81, Dame-street. 
 
 Sarsfield, Mr. Patrick. 13, Coles-lane. 
 
 Stanton, Miss. 10, Anna-villa, Phibsborough. 
 
 Sullivan, Mr. P. 18, Upper Ormond-quay. 
 
 The Lady Abbess. Benedictine Abbey, East Bergholt, Suffolk, England. 
 
 Tier, Mr. Edward, jun. 32, Ranelagh-road. 
 
 Thorns, Mr. H. Assistant Adjutant-General's Office, Royal Barracks. 
 
 Thompson, Mr. 80, Prussia-street. 
 
 Toole, John. Salem -terrace. 
 
 Toner, Miss Teresa. 1, George's-hill. 
 
 Toole, John. 27, Marrowbone -lane. 
 
 Theobald, Mr. 3, Market-street. 
 
 Taylor, Acting-sergeant, William Kill o' the Grange. 
 
 Tyrell, Mrs. Merchant's-quay Dublin. 
 
 Thompson, Mr. Michael. High-street 
 
 Toole, Sergeant John. Kingstown Police Station.
 
 16 LIST OP SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Timmins, Mr. Daniel. Police Barracks, Lower Castle Yard. 
 
 Toole, Patrick, Sergeant. Summer-hill. 
 
 Towers, Alexander. Tolka Lodge, Dalkey. 
 
 Ternan, Mr. John. Skerries. 
 
 Twomey, R. 3, Patrick' s-quay, Cork. 
 
 Toole, Mr. Patrick. 54, Summer-hill, Dublin. 
 
 Tracy, Mrs. 30, Liffey-street, Lower. 
 
 Toole, Laurence. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 
 Tymons, Mr. Gloster-place. 
 
 Von Oppen, Madame. Cooke's Private Hotel, 11, Lower Dominick- 
 street, Dublin, and London. 
 
 "Woodlock, Right Rev. Monsig., D.D., Rector, Catholic University. 
 
 Stepben's-green. 
 
 Walsh, Very Rev. Nicholas, Prov., S.J. Milltown Park. 
 Walsh, Rev. Nich., P.P., SS. Michael and John's, Lr. Exchange-street. 
 Whelan, Rev. Joseph, C. C. St. Nicholas, Francis-street. 
 Walsh, Mr. Michael. 30, Upper Basin-lane. 
 White, Mr. John. 29, Upper Dorset-street. 
 "Willis, Mr. Thomas. Fleet-street. 
 White, Francis. 7, Halston-street. 
 Walsh, Mr. flamilton's-lane, Summer-hill. 
 Walsh, Ambrose. 27, Earl-street, South. 
 Walsh, Thomas. 4, Great Britain -street. 
 Walsh, Richard. 87, Manor-street. 
 
 Walsh, Mr. Andrew. Police Barracks, Lower Castle Yard. 
 Walsh, Mr. William. Kingstown. 
 Walsh, Miss. 10, Lombard-street, West. 
 Walsh, Mr. John. 7, Austin's-court. 
 Whelan-, William. Ann-street. 
 White, Patrick. Richmond Lunatic Asylum. 
 Woods, John. 
 
 Woods, Miss, 
 
 Williams, J. W. Shandon Lodge, Dungarvan, 
 Young, Mr. 54, Moore-street. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Subscribers are respectfully requested to notify any omission or 
 inaccuracy that may have occurred in the above list, to the Rev. 
 James O'Haire. 
 
 The names and residences of future subscribers will appear at the 
 end of future parts. 
 
 The Letter which is appended to this volume does not constitute 
 any portion of the " Recollections," but is given in the hope that its 
 perusal may prove beneficial to the Society of African Missions. 
 
 Some of those who have generously presented themselves as subjects 
 for the African Society, will be sent on to Lyons after the 5th Nov. ; 
 but the Rev. J. O'Haire will, at the desire of the Very Rev. Superior, 
 remain somewhat longer in Ireland, with the view of serving the 
 African Missions. 
 
 All communications may be addressed as usual.
 
 AFRICAN MISSIONS. 
 
 22, PALMERSTON-PLACE (off Upper Dominick-street\ 
 Dublin, October 17 th, 1876. 
 
 In placing before the Catholics of Ireland, but more 
 especially aspirants to the Ecclesiastical and Religious 
 State, the following letter of the Very Rev. Dr. Planque, 
 Superior of the Society of African Missions, a few words 
 of explanation from me may serve to elucidate the natuie 
 and extent of the appeal made. 
 
 ist As to the object of the Society : this will be found 
 clearly set forth inlhe letter itself, viz., the Evangelization of 
 the most destitute, the most abandoned people on earth 
 the African tribes. 
 
 2nd What the Society requires is not field. It is wide ; 
 and alas ! uncultivated. There are in Africa millions of 
 natives perfectly heathen, yet docile, open to instruction, 
 spread over vast regions where there is not a single Catholic 
 priest. 
 
 3rd The Society appeals to the Irish to aid the French in 
 this spiritual crusade, the subjugation to the sweet yoke of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ of the Hottentot, Bushman, Negro, 
 and other African tribes. 
 
 4th The Very Rev. Superior authorizes me to ad opt ist. 
 Priests who may be free to enter upon Foreign Missions. 2nd. 
 Students; those in theology or philosophy of course preferred, 
 while others will be accepted, provided their English educa- 
 tion be good. 3rd. Young men of exemplary character as 
 lay brothers. 4th. Young ladies as nuns, and others as lay 
 sisters. The education of the former must be good; a know- 
 ledge of music, drawing, painting, and languages, though not 
 indispensable, will be more than grateful, as some of the 
 Society's missions, situated in what is called the Central Vi- 
 carite of South Africa, require first-class schools for Euro- 
 peans, &c., &c. As to the conditions : Those approved of 
 will be required to defray the expense of the voyage to 
 Lyons, where all will be trained before being sent to Africa. 
 Arrived at the seminary and convent at Lyons, all expenses
 
 18 AFRICAN MISSIONS. 
 
 are defrayed by the Society ; that is to say, a pension or for- 
 tune is not rigorously demanded, though persons having 
 means would of course be expected to aid the Society in its 
 noble aim, In the event of anyone returning from Lyons 
 from any cause, the Society does not hold itself responsible 
 for the expense of the voyage. 
 
 As some proper and highly eligible subjects may present 
 themselves, and indeed some already have, who are too 
 poor to undertake even the little expense required, Catholics 
 favourably disposed to the glorious work of Foreign Missions 
 are requested to assist in bearing such expenses. All manner 
 of communications may be addressed to me before the 5th 
 November, on which day I hope to leave for Lyons, in 
 company with those who may present themselves, and be 
 adopted. 
 
 For information respecting the climate and health of South 
 Africa, the various tribes, their manners and customs, as well 
 as the history of Catholicity in South Africa, the nature and 
 extent of missionary work, &c., &c., attention is respect- 
 fully directed to " Recollections of Twelve Years in South 
 Africa," just published at is. per vol. The first volume is 
 now current, the second is in the press. 
 
 JAMES O'HAIRE. 
 
 The following is the letter : 
 
 " SEMINAIRE DES MISSIONS AFRICANES, 
 11 Ley on, ^$th September, 1876. 
 
 "Mv DEAR FATHER O'HAIRE, Knowing the deep interest 
 you take in our dear African Missions, in which you have so 
 long and so worthily laboured, I take advantage of your pre- 
 sence in the Isle of Saints, to lay before you, and through 
 you before your zealous co-patriots, a brief sketch of the ob- 
 jects and wants of our Society, so that you may be able to 
 explain to any who may address themselves to you the mis- 
 sionary work that is to be done in the most benighted land on 
 earth. 
 
 " The object of our Society, founded by the Right Rev. 
 Dr. Marion de Bressillac, who so early gave up his life in the 
 holy cause he had adopted, is to furnish Missionaries to those 
 parts of Africa which are the most neglected, and to which 
 other Missionary Societies have not found their way. At 
 present we have our Missionaries at Dahomey, where thou- 
 sands of human lives are sacrificed to the gross superstitions 
 of Fetichism. Here we are brought face to face with super- 
 stition in its vilest forms, here we strive to make known a God
 
 AFRICAN MISSIONS. 19 
 
 of mercy, a God of purity, where the worst passions are re- 
 garded almost as virtues, and where virtue is looked upon as 
 weakness and folly. Need I say that in such a land it is not 
 the word alone of the Missionary that is needed : the example, 
 the contrast of his life with theirs ; the daily example of 
 abnegation, of sobriety, of labour, and of humility, such are 
 the means most needed to bring this people to God, and 
 such are the dispositions absolutely necessary in subjects 
 for our Society. 
 
 " Of our missions at the Cape of Good Hope, I need 
 say nothing to you who knows so well all that is needed to 
 do the work of God worthily, in order to uphold the honour 
 and the prestige of our holy religion, and win for her that 
 pre-eminence which is her due, and which shall assuredly be 
 accorded her if her ministers are endowed with the spirit 
 she inculcates. 
 
 "Now, my dear Father O'Haire, I promised to give you 
 a slight sketch of our constitution as a Missionary body. We 
 are on the same footing as the Missions Etrangeres at Paris. 
 Those who would join us must resolve to give up every 
 earthly tie, and in imitation of our Divine Master devote 
 themselves entirely to the work of our heavenly Father. We 
 make no vow properly so-called, but we take an oath of obe- 
 dience to the Holy Congregation of the Propaganda, by which 
 oath we bind ourselves to go wherever we are sent, and to 
 stay there as long as we are directed by our Superiors. As 
 we make no vow of poverty, those who possess any private 
 means retain the full and uncontrolled disposition and use 
 of them. 
 
 " Nevertheless, wherever two or more members of our 
 bbdy live together they lead the life of a community, and 
 everything received directly or indirectly for the use of the 
 Mission, for services as priests, goes into the common fund. 
 
 " You will have seen by the above that for our Society it 
 is necessary to have a pure vocation for the Missionary life, a 
 spirit of self-denial the most complete, and devotedness to 
 the cause of God. In a word, to follow to the letter the 
 words of our Divine Saviour : Si quis vult veniri post me 
 abneget semetipsum tollat erucem suam et sequatur. me. 
 Although making no vows we are a real Society, the old, the 
 sick, the wornout, are cared for as only religion can teach 
 them to be cared for. No one should, however, think of 
 joining us if he be moved by any other spirit than that of 
 pure love of God and the desire to make Him known to those 
 who still sit in the valley of the shadow of death, heedless of 
 earthly comfort or reward, and looking only to the recom- 
 
 o b
 
 20 AFRICAN MISSIONS. 
 
 pense which awaits the faithful servant in the heavenly 
 country. 
 
 " Knowing, my dear Father O'Hairc the ardent Missionary 
 spirit of the sons of the " Green Isle," I have spoken plainly 
 to you of the dispositions required in those who would join 
 our Society. Glad indeed, would I be to see among its 
 members the sons of St. Patrick, knowing as I do, as every 
 faithful Catholic must do, the fervour of their faith, and that 
 Missionary spirit which in long past ages brought them 
 across the seas to leave glorious names all over Europe, and 
 to make known in the then pagan lands that holy faith which 
 we are now striving to spread abroad in those countries 
 where Satan yet reigns. 
 
 "But it is not alone to the sons of Erin that we look for 
 aid. In connection with our Society there is a congregation 
 of nuns, ' Sisters of the Propagation of the Faith ' who aid us 
 powerfully in our difficult task. The rules for the nuns are 
 the same as our own, but that they take the three usual vows 
 of religion. They go wherever they are sent, they teach the 
 females, young and old, they win them to God by precept and 
 example. We have now two convents on the coast of Africa. 
 Tne good they do is wonderful, and the health enjoyed by 
 the good Sisters can compare with that of any religious 
 house at home. May I not hope that the countrywomen of 
 a Nano Nagle, of a Mother McAuliffe, and of so many other 
 holy women, will now come to the aid of the poor benighted 
 daughters of Africa, and make known and reverenced among 
 them that holy virtue for which a St. Dymphna of old gave 
 up even her life ; a virtue which is the brightest gem in 
 the crown of your lovely isle. 
 
 "And, now, my dear Father O'Haire, I have but a word to 
 say. You know that we also receive brothers who do not 
 aspire to the priesthood, but whose aid is invaluable in our 
 Missions. Should you meet with any endowed with the proper 
 spirit for either class, but who have not the means to come 
 to join us, I authorize you fully to appeal to the charity of 
 3'our good, pious countrymen in order to obtain the means 
 necessary to place those new labourers in the vineyard of the 
 Master; the very great poverty of our poor Society prevent- 
 ing our doing for them what other richer societies are able 
 to do. 
 
 " Recommending our wants to your pious prayers and 
 good offices, believe me, my dear Father O'Haire, 
 
 " Very sincerely yours in Jesus and Mary, 
 
 "A. PLANQUE."
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS, 
 
 (FOB FIRST LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS, SEE PART H.) 
 
 Corrected List of Subscribers from Part II. 
 
 Mrs. Etclungham. Middle Gardiner-street. 
 
 Mr. Scully. Summer-hill. 
 
 Mr. A. O'Grady. Drumcondra-hill. 
 
 Miss Murphy. Great Denmark-street. 
 
 Mr. Kenny. Jervis-street. 
 
 Mr. Tracey. 2, Cannon's-place. 
 
 Mr. Joseph Young. 53, Moore-street. 
 
 Miss Grattan. 8, Rostrevor-terrace, Rathgar. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Butler. May-lane. 
 
 Mr. Peter Henderson. 
 
 Mrs. Catherine Henderson. May-lane. 
 
 Miss Mary Dunne. 
 
 Mr. Patrick Fegan. 
 
 Mr. Bernard Tier, jun. Ranelagh-road. 
 
 The following Subscribers hare been enrolled since the publicatim 
 of the Second Part. 
 
 Butler, Most Rev. George. Lord Bishop of Limerick. 
 
 Byrne, Rev. Laurence, Administrator. Portadown, Co. Armagh. 
 
 Barry, Mr. F. W. Oudtshoorn, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Barence, Mr. Philip. 
 
 Burns, Mr. Edward. Ashgrove, Portadown, Co. Armagh. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. Charles. Market-st., 
 
 Barry, Miss. Malmesbury, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Beal, Mr. F. 5, Livingstone Arcade, Anlaby-road, Hull, England. 
 
 Byrne, Sergeant James, R. I. C. Portadown. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. James. Kevin-street Police Barracks, Dublin. 
 
 Barr, Mr. Grahamstown, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Brennan, Mr. Richard. Clonliffe-avenue, Dublin. 
 
 a
 
 2 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Brannock, Mr. Patrick. Phillibsburg-avenue. 
 
 Brien, Mr. John. 44, James's-street. 
 
 Brannigan, Mr. Michael. Elm-ville. 
 
 Burke, Mr. S. Watling-street. 
 
 Boylan, Mr. Patrick. 10, Pirn-street, Grand Canal. 
 
 Croke, His Grace Most Rev. Thomas, Archbishop of Cashel and Emly 
 
 The Palace, Thurles. 
 
 Clifford, The Hon. and Most Rev. Bishop of Clifton. Bristol, England. 
 Criskard, Rev. James. P. P. Loughinisland, Seaforde, Co. Down. 
 Coyle, Rev. Daniel, C. C. Wicklow. 
 Carroll, Sir William. 4, Upper Fitzwilliam-street. 
 Carroll, John, Esq., City Marshal. 2, Pearson-terrace, Sandymount- 
 
 avenue. 
 
 Clinch, Mr. John. 38, Clarence-street. 
 Cooke, Sergeant-major. 4th Dragoon Guards, Dundalk. 
 Carew, Mr. John. Oudtshoorn, Cape of Good Hope. 
 Changuion, Dr. Malmesbury, 
 
 Corr, Mr. Thomas. 
 
 Cassidy, Mr. James. Market-street, Portadown. 
 Clinton, Mr. James. Downpatrick, Co. Down. 
 Clarke, Sergeant James. Kevin-street. 
 Cranny, John Joseph, A. B., M. D., T. C. D. 82, Harcourt-street 
 
 Dublin. 
 
 Cullen, Mr. William. Donnybrook Police Station. 
 Clare, Mr. Timothy. 
 
 Carey, Mr. Matthew. Exchange-court, Dublin. 
 Conroy, Mr. Joseph. Donnybrook, Dublin. 
 Carroll, Mr. William. 7, Mary's-abbey, Dublin. 
 Coffey, Mr. Thomas. New-row, West. 
 
 Dorrian, Most Rev. Patrick. Lord Bishop of Down and Connor. 
 
 Dempsey, Rev. Andrew, P. P. Ballinakill, Queen's County. 
 
 Dowdall, Mr. Francis-street. 
 
 Dowling, Mr. Joseph. 29, Wentworth-place. 
 
 Doyle, Mr. Michael. Wicklow. 
 
 Doyle, Mr. George. 
 
 Daly, Mr. William. Castle-street, Portadown, Co. Armagh. 
 
 Duignam, Mr. James. 104, Bride-street, Dublin. 
 
 Diugnam, Mr. M. Church-street. 
 
 Denvir, Mr. Robert. Downpatrick, Co. Down. 
 
 Devany, Patrick. Acting-inspector, Kevin-street Police Barracks. 
 
 Dunne, Mr. John. ,, 
 
 Dunphy, Mr. Edward. 
 
 Doyle. Mr. Andrew. 
 
 Duff, Mr. Richard. 7, High-street. 
 
 Dunne, Mr. Joseph. Manor-street Police Station. 
 
 Donegan, Mr. John. 32, Dame-street, Dublin. 
 
 Doyle, Mr. William. Fairview. 
 
 Donovan, Mr. Timothy. North Richmond. 
 
 Dempsey, Mr. Thomas. Drumcondra, Dublin.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 3 
 
 Doyle, Mr. Nicholas-street, Dublin. 
 
 Egan, Rev. Wiliiam, P. P. Dingle, Kerry. 
 Eivers, Mr. C. V. Oudtshoorn, Cape of Good Hope. 
 Emmett, Mr. M. Main-street, Arklow, Co. Wicklow. 
 Early, Mr. William. Coombe. 
 
 Fanning, Rev. N. Grahamstown, Cape o/ Good Hope. 
 
 Forde, Mr. Plein-street, Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Foulkes, Mr. Malmesbury, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Fay, Mr. Timothy, Sergeant. Kevin-street, Dublin. 
 
 Finnerty, Mr. Patrick. Summer-place, Dublin. 
 
 Fagan, Mr., R. I C. Arklow, Co. Wicklow. 
 
 Fegan, Mr. Charles. 25, Blackhall-street. 
 
 Frazer, Mr. Henry. Clanbrassil-street. 
 
 Fottrell, Mr. Edward. Drayton, Cambridge-road, Rathmines. 
 
 Fitzharris, Mr. William. 1, Baldwin's-court. 
 
 Flanagan, Charles, Esq. Wicklow. 
 
 Gray, Rev. Daniel, Administrator, Longford. 
 
 Gowing, Rev. George, D. D. Stradbally, Queen's County. 
 
 Gully, Miss Annie. Oudtshoorn, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Grew, Messrs. Portadown, Co. Armagh. 
 
 Grew, Mr. Thomas. 
 
 Grew, Mrs. 
 
 Geraghty, Mrs. Superioress, Carmelite Convent, Warrenmount, Dublin. 
 
 Gilmore, Mr. John. Downpatrick, Co. Down. 
 
 Griffin, Mr. 18, Clanbrassil-street, Dublin. 
 
 Gavin, Mr. Owen. Police Barracks, Kevin-street, Dublin. 
 
 Glennon, Mr. William. Donnybrook Police Station. 
 
 Gallagher, Mr. Dan. 60, Watling-street. 
 
 Gallagher, Mr. Peter. 3, Mercer-street. 
 
 Harold, Rev. George, P. P. Wicklow. 
 
 Hoare, Rev. Joseph. Superior of St. Mel, Longford. 
 
 Hayes, Mr. James. Oudtshoorn, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Henry, Mrs. William-street, Portadown, Co. Armagh. 
 
 Hagerty, Mr. John. Malmesbury, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Hodges, Mr. J. 
 
 Hodgson, Mr. Thomas. Rowland Hall, Howden, East Yorkshire, 
 
 England. 
 
 Halpin, Acting-inspector. Rathmines. 
 Halton, Mr. William. Kevin-street Police Barracks, Dublin. 
 Halpin, Mr. Patrick. 
 
 Hewson, Mr. Patrick. Dorset-row, Dublin. 
 Harrison, Mr. William. 37, Upper Clanbrassil-street. 
 Hanley, Mr. Thomas. 14, Parliament-street. 
 Hayden, Mr. Thomas. 46, Amien-street. 
 Halpin, Mr. Michael. 6, William-place. 
 
 Ironmonger, Mr. J. Bantry, Co, Cork.
 
 4 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Johnston, Mr. Henry. Downpatrick, Co. Down. 
 
 Jackson, Mr. John H. Kevin-street Police Barracks, Dublin. 
 
 Julian, Miss. Ballyuskill, Ballinahfll, Queen's County. 
 
 Joyce, Mr. Edward. 23, Long's-place. 
 
 Joyce, Mr. Augustine. 5, Hall's Cottages. 
 
 Kelly, Most Rev. Francis. Lord Bishop of Derry. 
 
 Kelly, Rev. E., P. P. Lisburn, Down. 
 
 Kavanagh, Rev. P. Blessington, Co. Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Mr. William. 16, Victoria-terrace, Portadown, Co, Armagh. 
 
 Kennedy, Mr. David. Malmesbury, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Kennedy, Mr. John. 
 
 Kelly, Mr. James. Carleton-street, Portadown. 
 
 Keown, Mr. W. Ardmeen, Downpatrick, Co. Down. 
 
 Kelly, Acting-inspector James. Donnybrook Police Station. 
 
 Kennelly, Mr. D. H. Graham's Town, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Kendrick, Mr. Samuel. Jones's-road, Dublin. 
 
 Kearney, Mr. Patrick. North Richmond. 
 
 Kenna. Mr. James. Goose Green, Drumcondra. 
 
 Kennedy, Mr. Henry O'Brien. Cullenswood- avenue. 
 
 Keough, Mr. Richard. 59, Queen-street. 
 
 Lenehan, Mr. James. Diamond Fields, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Lenehan, Miss Ann. ,, 
 
 Lenehan, Miss Ellen. 
 
 Lyons, Mr. Thomas. 3, Exchange-court. 
 
 Lee, Mr. Patrick J. Lower Castle Yard. 
 
 Lowe, Mr. Christopher. Kevin-street Police Barracks. 
 
 Lenehan, Mr. John. 
 
 Langtree, Mr. Barnaby. 
 
 Lynch, Mr. 125, Francis-street. 
 
 M'Gettigan, His Grace the Most Rev. Primate of all Ireland. Arch- 
 bishop of Armagh. 
 
 Murray, Rev. P., P. P. Newtownforbes. 
 M'Convey, Rev. Patrick, P. P. Newtownards, Co. Down, 
 Meehan, Rev. J., C. C. Longford. 
 Matthews, Rev. E., C. C. St. Andrew's, Westland-row. 
 M'Goey, Rev. Thomas. Ballymahon. 
 Mooney, Rev. Joseph. Sandymount. 
 M'Namara, Rev. Abraham, C. C. Lurgan. 
 M'Cartan, Rev. J. Pontaferry, Co. Down. 
 Murphy, Rev. Michael, C. C. Wicklow. 
 Murphy, Mr. Robert. Dorset-row, Dublin. 
 Maher. Mr. Michael. Fairview, 
 
 M'Cormick, Mr. North Richmond, 
 M'Kernan, Mr. 56, Capel-street, 
 Murphy, Mr. Thomas. 113, James's-street. 
 M'Kenna, Mr. James. Anchor- street. 
 Magee, Mr. Patrick. 19, James's-street. 
 Molphy, Mr. Thomas. 24, William-street.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Monks, Mrs. Margaret-place, Bath-avenue. 
 
 M'Auliffe, Mr. Jeremiah. Diamond Fields, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Marlay, Miss. High-street, Portadown, Co. Armagh. 
 
 Murray, Mr. John. West-street, Portadown, Co. Armagh. 
 
 Maas, Mr. George. Malmesbury, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Mortson, Mr. J. N. 31, Browne-street, Hull, England. 
 
 M'Cann, Mr. George. Market-street, Portadown. 
 
 Monahan, Mr. Laurence. Castle-street, ,, 
 
 M'Kenna, Mr. Thomas, K,. I. C. ,, 
 
 Murtagh, Mr. F. Little Mary-street, Dublin. 
 
 Moran, Mr. John. Downpatrick, Co. Down. 
 
 Murphy, Mr. John. Tara, Pontaferry, Co. Down. 
 
 M'Namara, Miss. Clarendon-street, Dublin. 
 
 M'Evoy, Sergeant Patrick. Kevin-street, Dublin. 
 
 Mahoney, John, Acting-sergeant. ,, 
 
 Murtagh, Mr. Thomas. Glasnevin, 
 
 M'Carton, Mr. Philip. Downpatrick. 
 
 Maglennon, Mr. James. Loughmoney, Raholph, Downpatrick, County 
 
 Down. 
 M'Ardle, Mr. Patrick. Donnybrook Police Station, Dublin. 
 
 Neary, Rev. Patrick, C. C. Attanagh, Queen's County. 
 Norman, Miss Mary. Oudtshoorn, Cape of Good Hope. 
 Nooney, Mr. John. Kevin-street Police Barracks, Dublin. 
 Nolan, Mr. Thomas. Quoile, Downpatriek. 
 
 O'Reilly, Rev. Thomas, Administrator. Ballymahon. 
 
 O'Donnell, Rev. John, C.C. Portadown, Co. Armagh. 
 
 O'Malley, Rev. John. Westland-row, Dublin. 
 
 O'Connor, Mr. 45, Camden-street, 
 
 O'Neil, Mr. James. Donnybrook Police Statibn. 
 
 O'Flynn, Mr., R. I. C. Arklow, Co. Wicklow. 
 
 O'Shea, Mr. John. 124, Francis-street. 
 
 O'Sullivan, Sergeant-major. 4th Dragoon Guards, Dundalk. 
 
 O'Hanlon, Mr. Fred. Portadown, Co. Armagh. 
 
 O'Hagan, Mr. P. Sec. G. A. S. 
 
 O'Reilly, Mr. James. Portmarnock, Co. Dublin. 
 
 Purcell, Mr. William. Oudtshoorn, Cape of Good Hope. 
 Power, Mr. James. Kevin-street Police Barracks, Dublin. 
 Purcell, Mr. Peter. 4, Salisbury-place. 
 Parish Library, Ballyuskill, Queen's County. 
 Pilkington, Miss Louise. Belmullett, Co. Mayo. 
 
 Reddy, Rev. P., C. C. Ballymahon, Longford. 
 Roche, Rev. James. 14, Halston-street, Dublin. 
 Ryan, Mr. P. Malmesbury, Cape of Good Hope. 
 Rooney, Mr. James. Edenderry. 
 Redmond, Mr. W. John. High-street, Portadown. 
 Ryan, Miss. Chukpoint, Waterford. 
 Russell, Mr. Henry. Ballystrew, Downpatrick, Co. Down. 
 
 b
 
 LIST OP SUBSCRI15KUS. 
 
 Russell, Mr. George. Cloghor, Downpatrick, Co. Down. 
 Keilly, Mr. Charles. Kevin-street Police Barracks, Dublin. 
 Russell, Mr. William, solicitor. Downpatrick. 
 Reynolds, Mr. William. 18, Francis-street. 
 
 Skelly, Rev. J., C. C. Newtownforbes. 
 
 Scott, Mr. D. Oudtshoorn, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Stockdale, Mr. Henry. 
 
 Saunderson, Mr. Thomas. Edenderry, Ireland. 
 
 Switzer, Mr. Malmesbury, Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 Seton, Mrs. ,, 
 
 Scott, Mr. T. 16, Arlington-street, Anlaby-road, Hull; England. 
 
 Sweeny, Mr. Edward. Woodhouse--treet, Portadou-n. 
 
 Sexton, Mr. James. Kelly's-row, Dor set- street. 
 
 Sullivan, Mr. Daniel. Acting- sergeant, Kevin-street, Dublin. 
 
 Stephens, Mrs. Mary. Grafton-street, Dublin. 
 
 Stafford, Sergeant Andrew. Donnybrook Police Station. 
 
 Sharket, Mr. P., R. I. C. Arklow, Co. Wicklow. 
 
 Simons, Mr. Thomas. 3, Exchange-court. 
 
 Skelley, Mr. Daniel. 46, J ames's-street. 
 
 Smyth, Mr. Thomas. Wicklow. 
 
 Trainor, Mr. D. 41, Brook-street, Hull, England. 
 Tute, Mr. James. Kevin-street Police Barracks, Dublin. 
 Toole, Mr. Patrick. Donnybrook L'olice Station. 
 Toal, Mr. James. 
 
 Tyrrell, Mr. James. 
 
 Troy, Mrs Wicklow. 
 
 Vallely, Mr. Edward. Cladybeg, Market-hill, Co. Armagh. 
 Vallely, Mr. Francis. English-street, Armagh. 
 
 Walsh, Most Rev. Dr., Lord Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. Bra- 
 
 ganza House, Carlow. 
 Wheeler, Rev. A., O. P. Waterford. 
 Walsh, Rev. James. Balbriggan. 
 White, Miss Teresa. Ludlow-street. Navan. 
 Walsh, Mr. John. Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope. 
 Walsh, Mrs. The Cottage, Portadown, Co. Armagh. 
 Wrigglesworth, Mrs. J. 3, Vane-street, Spring Bank, Hull, England. 
 Wilson, Mr. Patrick. 3, Exchange-court, Dublin. 
 Walsh, Mr. Joseph. 6, Love-lane, ,, 
 
 N. . Future Subscribers' names will be advertized in due 
 course.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCBIBERS. 
 
 {For first and second Lists of Subscribers, see end of Parts II. and III.) 
 
 The following Subscribers' 1 names ha-:e been enrolled since the publication 
 of Part III. . 
 
 Adams, Mr. John. West Parade, Spring hank, Hull, England. 
 Archer, Mr. Andrew. The Square, Skerries, Dublin. 
 Allen, Mr. Laurence. Kevin-street Barracks. 
 Aldritt, Mr. Edward. Brazen Head Hotel, Dublin. 
 Arnold, Mrs. Gormanstown. 
 
 Bowden, Rev. H. The Oratory, "West Brorapton, London. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. Jeremiah. 31, Stafford-street, Dublin. 
 
 Barker, Mrs. R. 12, Spencer-street, Hull, England. 
 
 Brady, D. F., Esq., M.D., F.R.C.S.I.. J.P. Lachoza, Rathgar-roal- 
 
 Branagan, Mr. Patrick. The Cross, Skerries, Dublin. 
 
 Bury, William, Esq. Mountjoy-square, North. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. Hugh. Wicklow. 
 
 Burke, Mr. High-street, Dublin. 
 
 Boland, P., Esq. 135, Capel-street, Dublin. 
 
 Berry & Son, Esq. Arran-quay, 
 
 Burke, Mr. Joseph. 38, Clanbrassil-st., 
 
 Burns, Mr. D. 11, Melior-street, Tooley-street, London, S.E. 
 
 Brien, Mr. Michael. 20, Wellington-quay, Dublin. 
 
 Birnie, Mr. 8, Payne-street, Deptford. 
 
 Beattie, Mr. Robert. Superintendent, Canal Mount, Blaquiere. 
 
 Brown, Mr. Andrew. Donnybrook Police-station. 
 
 Brennen, Mr. Q. Hollyville, Cabra. 
 
 Bratt, Mr. John. 34, Creek-road, Deptford, London. 
 
 Browne, Mr. Laurence. 15, Queen-street, Deptford, London. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. Thomas. Guinness' Brewery, Dublin. 
 
 Butcher, Mr. Henry. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. Thomas. 
 
 Bishop, Mr. Station Master, Wicklow. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. James. James'-gate, Dublin. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. Pat. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. Isaac. Balbriggan. 
 
 Bruton, Mr. William. Stoneybatter. 
 
 Boylan, Mr. William. At Guinness', James'-gate. 
 
 Byrne, Mr. Patrick. ,< 
 
 Burke, Mr., Junr. Christchurch-place, Dublin. 
 
 Crescitelli, Rev. Dominick, S.P.M. St. Peter's, Hatton-wall, Lo:i.Ioru 
 Cruise, F. R., Esq., M.D. Merrion-square, Dublin. 
 Collingwood, J. A., Esq. 5, Fountain-place, Hull, England. 
 Cajutar, Captain Joseph, R.N. 4, Trafalgar-square, 1 im t 
 
 London. 
 
 Cox, Mr. James. Portadown. 
 Cullen, Mr. Robert. 
 Carraher, Mr. James 
 
 Colbourne, Mr. William. 3, Creek-road, Deptford, London. 
 Cronin, Mr. Daniel. 19, Queen-street,
 
 14 
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Creagh, Mr. William. 5, Copperas-lane, Deptford, London. 
 
 Creagh, Mr. Jobn. 153, Church-street, ,, 
 
 Campbell, Mrs. Ellen. 1, Fairview, Ballybougli. 
 
 Casey, Mr. M. 30, Temperance-street, South-street, Hull, En gland_ 
 
 Cahill, Mr. E. W. 18, Bond-street, Hull, England. 
 
 Conifie, Mr. John. 18, Portland-street, Hull, England. 
 
 Coyle, Mr. Nicholas. Chapel-street, Skerries. 
 
 Connor, Mr. Laurence. Summer-street Brewery, Dublin. 
 
 Carroll, Mr. William. ,, 
 
 Carroll, Mr. Patrick. ,, 
 
 Connor, Mr. James. 18, Chamber-street. 
 
 Caughey, Mr. James. Royal Hotel, Armagh. 
 
 Canning, Mr. James. Inland Revenue Office. 
 
 Coonerty, Mr. Thomas. 5, Tonbridge-street, Euston-road, London. 
 
 Corby, Mr. Whitecross-street, St. Luke's, London, England. 
 
 Cooper, Margaret. 18, Pill-lane, Dublin. 
 
 Chick, Samuel. 9, Hyde-street, Deptford. 
 
 Creagh, Mr. James. 5, Copperas-lane, Deptford. 
 
 Gumming, Miss A. Market-hill, Co. Armagh. 
 
 Chandler, Mr. Hackney-road, London. 
 
 Cahill, Mr. John. Guinness' Brewery, Dublin. 
 
 Clarke, Mr. Pat. ,, 
 
 Clarke, Mr. James. ,, ,, 
 
 Connor, Mr. 315, High Holborn, London, England. 
 
 Corr, Miss M. 23, Prussia-street, Dublin. 
 
 Casey, Miss. 49, Latimer- terrace. Goldsmith-street, Dublin. 
 
 Campbell, Mr. Thomas. St. Peter's Cottage, Hatton Wall, Hatton 
 
 Garden, London. 
 
 Carlisle, Mr. Thomas. 90, Upper Ground-st., Blackfriars, London. 
 Collins, Mr. John. 4, Bennett-street, Stamper of Blackfriars, London. 
 Can-oil, Mr. J. 8, Little Bath-street, Clerkenwell, London, England. 
 Curran, Mr. Edward. Guinness' Brewery, Dublin. 
 Curran, Mr. John. 
 Cahill, Mr. John. 
 Connor, Mr. John. 
 Cavanagh, Mr. Denis 
 Cahill, Mr. John, Junr. 
 
 Chapman, Mr William, Gu uness' Bre verjyDublin. 
 Collins, Mr. James. 
 Collins, Mr. Thomn?. 
 Connor, Mr. Michael 
 Clarke, Mr. Andrew. 
 Cleary, Mr. Robert. 
 Cumiskey, Mrs. Balbriggan. 
 Cleary, Miss. Patrick-street, Dublin. 
 Casey, Mr. Thomas. At Guinness', James'-gate, Dublin. 
 Clarke, Mr. Robert. ,> 
 
 Carey, Miss. Thomas-street, Dublin. 
 
 Dettaerne, Mgr. Representant, St. Sosse-ten-hoode, 14, Rue de la 
 
 Commune, near Brussels, Belgium. 
 
 Dennehy, Cornelius, Esq., J.P. 41, Mountjoy-scpare, Dublin. 
 Dune, Mr. Christopher. 13, Mary-lane, 
 
 Prury, Mr. A. 8, Prince's Dock Walls, Hull, England. 
 Derham, Mr. Nicholas. Hoar Rock, Skerries, Co. Dublin.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 15 
 
 Dillon, Mr. William. 2, Price's-lane, Bond-street. 
 
 Duignam, Mr. John. 50, Irishtown-road. 
 
 Dunn, Mr. P. 174, Conrs-de-Brasses, Lyons, France. 
 
 Dunne, Mr. John. 10, Great Percy-street, Clerkenwell. 
 
 Doyle, Mr. John. 53, Jervis-street, London, England. 
 
 Dafficey, Mr. Patrick. 468, New Cross-road, Deptford. 
 
 Dowling, Miss. 8, Essex-bridge, Dublin. 
 
 Doyle, Mr. J. 80, Clanbrassil-street, 
 
 Daly, Mr. William. 27, Kevin-street, Dublin. 
 
 Doherty, Mr. James, Guinness' Brewery, Dublin. 
 
 Doyle, Mr. James. " 
 
 Downes, Mr. Thomas. ,, 
 
 Dwyer, Mr. llichard. ,, ,, ,, 
 
 Dunne, Mr. Patrick. Main-street, Arklow. 
 
 Doyle, Mr. Thomas. James'-gate, Dublin. 
 
 Dolan, Mr. 31, New-street, Rutherglen, Glasgow, Scotland. 
 
 Dowdall, Mr. Patrick. At Guinness', James-gate, Dublin. 
 
 Dwyer, Mr. Michael. ,, 
 
 Dwyer, Mr. Peter. ,, 
 
 Eyre, Most Rev. Charles. Apostolic Delegate for Scotland, and 
 Administrator Apostolic, Western District. 6, Bowmount Gardens, 
 Glasgow, Scotland. 
 
 Ellis, John. Barnagara, Skerries. 
 
 Fanning, Rev. James. St. Joseph's Glasgow, Scotland. 
 Fannan, Rev. M. P. Our Lady of the Sea, Deptford, London, 
 lallon, Mrs. Superioress, Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, Newtown- 
 
 forbes, Longford. 
 
 Farrell, The Hon. Mrs. Thornbank. Leamington, Warwickshire. 
 Finley, Miss Mary. 53, Moore-street, Dublin. 
 Fay, Mr. P. M. 119, 120, 121, 122, Thomas-street, Dublin. 
 Fitzgerald, Mr. P. Nun-square, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork. 
 Fay, Mr. Thomas-street, Dublin. 
 
 Feeney, Mr. David. 4, Finnes'-court, Holborn, London. 
 Fogarty, James P. 53, Aungier-street, Dublin. 
 Fealy, Mathew. 50, Bridgefoot-street 
 Fitzgerald, Mr. Patrick. 8, Dock-street, Deptford, London. 
 Fitzpatrick, Miss. 8, Essex-bridge, Dublin. 
 Flanagan, Mrs. Margaret. Sheppard's Bush, London. 
 Ford, Mr. Daniel. 3, Brunswick-square, Deptford, London. 
 Farrell, Mr. Richard. Guinness' Brewery, Dublin. 
 Foley, Mr. John 
 
 Fanning, Mr. John. ,, 
 
 Foley, Mr. Patrick. ,, 
 
 Fleming, Mr. Nicholas. ,, 
 
 Foley, Mr. William. 8, Manor-street 
 
 Fegan, Mrs. Skerries, Co. Dublin. 
 Farrelly, Mr. William. James'-gate, Dublin. 
 Foley, Mrs. North Cumberland-street, Dublin. 
 
 Grehan, Mr. John. 17, Harcourt-street, Dublin. 
 Goulden Mr. 1, Primrose-place, South-street. Hull, England. 
 Gunn, Mr. Christopher, M.D., Q.U.I. 1, South Frederick- st., Dublin 
 Sough, Mrs Strand-street, Skerries.
 
 16 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Griinley, Mr. William. Hoar Rock, Skerries. 
 Grimes, Mr. Francis. The Square, 
 
 Grimes, Mr. John. Cross-street, 
 
 Grimley, Mr. Thomas. Barrack-lane, ,, 
 Gowan, Miss Bridget. Dublin-street, ,, 
 Gibney, Mr. Thomas. Summer-street Brewery. 
 Gudgeon, Mr. Robert. Winchester, England. 
 Gore, Miss. Hill Cottage, Royal Canal, Phibsboro . 
 Gibney, Mrs. 90, Manor-street, Dublin. 
 Goggin, Mr. 74, Graf ton-street, ,, 
 Gilligan, Mr. Walter. Manager's Office. Broadstone. 
 Galvan, Wm. H. Kingsland Park Avenne, South Circular-road. 
 Gowan, Mr. Matt. Skerries, Co. Dublin. 
 Grimes,Mr. Christopher. Skerries, Co. Dublin. 
 Grimley, Mr. Thomas. Barrack Land, Skerries. Co. Dublin. 
 Gibney, Mr. Thomas. Skerries, Co. Dublin. 
 Geary, Mr. James. Guinness' Brewery, Dublin. 
 
 Gilmoure, Mr. Luke. 101, King's-street, Tradeston, Glasgow, Scot- 
 land. 
 
 Halligan, Mr. John. Strand-street, Skerries. 
 
 Halligan, Mr. Patrick ,, 
 
 Hayden, Mr. Michael, E. 125, James' -street, Dublin. 
 
 Holberry, Mrs. Anne. Celbridge. 
 
 H anbury, Mr, "Wicklow. 
 
 Hind, Mr. W. H. 175, Harrington Buildings, London, E.G., England. 
 
 Harte, Mr. Hugh. 52, Acton-street, Clerkenwell. 
 
 Harragan, Mrs. Margaret. Sheppard's Bush, London. 
 
 Honish, Mr. James. 2, George's-hill, Dublin. 
 
 Hickey, Mr. John. 2, Lower- Pembroke-street, Dublin. 
 
 Hart, Mr. P. 4, Little Britain-street. 
 
 Healy, Mr. Richard. Skerries, Co. Dublin. 
 
 Hughes, Mr. John. 45, Mary's-lane, Dublin. 
 
 Hughes, Mrs. Abbey-street, Armagh. 
 
 Howard, Mr. Bernard. 2, Spitalfields, Dublin. 
 
 Hogan, Mr. John. 9, Victoria-road, Deptford, London. 
 
 Hartford, Mr. Matthew. Guinness' Brewery, Dublin. 
 
 Henderson, Mr. Anthony. 
 
 Hanscough, Mr. James. 
 
 Hanscough, Mr. Henry 
 
 Higgons, Mr. Pat. 
 
 Heffernan, Mr. Thomas. 
 
 Hartingau, Mr, Philip. 
 
 Howley, Mrs. Superioress, St. Joseph's Convent, Longford. 
 
 Hempenstall, Mr. Daniel. Main-street, Arklow. 
 
 Haughton, Mr. John. Guinness' Brewery. 
 
 Humphrey, Mr. Thomas. ., 
 
 Hamlet, Mr. Thomas. Balbriggan. 
 
 Hunter, Mr John. At Guinness's, James' -gate, Dublin. 
 
 Haughton, Mr. Hugh. 
 
 Higgons, Mr. Martin 
 
 Higgons, Mr. John. ,, 
 
 Irvine, Mr. William. Lavagh, Rathdrum, Co. "Wicklow.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 17 
 
 Jones, Rev. Michael, P.P. Dunsany, Co. Meath. 
 Jennings, Mr. James. Manager's Office, Broadstone, Dublin 
 Jordan, Mr. John. James'-gate, Dublin. 
 
 Keogh, Very Rev. Canon, P.P. Balbriggan. 
 
 Kerner, Rev. Dr. Ipswich, Northampton, England. 
 
 Kirwan, Mrs. Superioress, St. Vincent's Reformatory, Golden-bridse 
 
 Kennedy, J. Esq., T.C. 1, Clonliffe-terrace. 
 
 Kavanagh, Mr. Denis. The Mount, Wicklow. 
 
 Kavanagh, Mr. Patrick. Summer-street Brewery, Dublin. 
 
 Keough, Mr. Andrew, Wicklow. 
 
 Kelly, Mr. Owen. Dalkey. 
 
 Kavanagh, Mrs. Peter. Wicklow. 
 
 Kavanagh, Mrs. Charles. 
 
 Kane, Mr. 20, Essex-quay, Dublin. 
 
 Kilkelly, Mr. Michael. Athlone. 
 
 Kelly, Miss Mary. 82, Prussia-street, Dublin. 
 
 Kavanagh, Mr. Peter. Main-street, Arklow. 
 
 Kavanagh, Mr. Patrick. Kings-inns-street, Dublin. 
 
 Keane, Mr. Owen. Guinness' Brewery, 
 
 Kemp, Mr. Henry. 
 
 Kelly, Mr. Pat. 
 
 Kickham, Mr. John. 
 
 Keough, Mr. Bolton-street. 
 
 Keane, Mr. 2, Upper Sackville-street. 
 
 Kinsella, Mr. Michael. James'-street, Dublin. 
 
 Kitts, Mrs. Step hen- street, Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Mr. Francis. At Guinness's, James'-gate, Dublin. 
 
 Kelly, Mr. Joseph. Tighe-street, 
 
 Kelly, Mr. John. At Guinness's, James'-gate, 
 
 Kane, Mr. Patrick. 
 
 Lynch, Most Rev. Dr. Coadj., Lord Bishop of Kildare. 
 Lockhart, Rev. W. Order of Charity, St. Ethelreda's, Ely-place, 
 
 Holborn, London, E.G., England. 
 Leibnitz, Mr. Brook-street, Hull, England. 
 Landy, Mr. Joseph. Cross-street, Skerries. 
 Lawless, Mr. Francis. 52, James'-street, Dublin. 
 
 Lynch, 154, North King-street 
 
 Lindsey, Mr. Bernard. Tassagh, Armagh. 
 Lloyd, Mr. P., R.I.C. Arklow, Co. Wicklow. 
 
 Lee, C. R., Esq., Solicitor. 15, Lincoln-lane Fields, London, England 
 Leeney, Mr. David. 4, Tinnes-court, Holborn, ,, 
 
 Lynatn, Mary. 67, Pill-lane, Dublin. 
 Lallaman, Teresa. 30, Capel-street, Dublin. 
 Langan, Mr. Joseph, F. Towrisend-street, Dublin. 
 Lindsay, Mr. 25, Dawson-street, 
 
 Larrenny, Mr. John. Guinness' Brewery, 
 Lawless, Mr. John. 
 
 Lawless, Mr. Pat. 
 
 Lynch, Mr. 125, Francis-street, Dublin. 
 Lawler, Mr. Edward. James'-gate, Dublin. 
 Lynch, Mr. James. 
 
 Lowry, Miss. Kingsbridge Terminus, Dublin 
 
 2U
 
 18 
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Murphy, Eev. N., C.C. Ballyragget, Co. Kilkenny. 
 
 M'Evoy, Francis, Esq. , M.D, Chairman Town Commissioners, Bal- 
 
 briggan. 
 
 M'Cabe, Richard, Esq. Balbriggan. 
 M'Cready, Esq., P. L. G. 63, Mount) oy-square, Dublin. 
 M'Glone, Mrs. Superioress, Convent of St. Clare, Keady, Armagh. 
 Martin, Mr. John. 65, Stephen's-green, South. 
 Moses, Mr. W. H. 31, Garden-street, Hull, England. 
 Mahony, Mrs. 3, Vane-street, Hull, England. 
 Morriss, Mr. William. Strand-street, Skerries. 
 Monks, Mr. John. 
 
 M'Court, Mrs. 
 
 Meighan, Mr. Eugene, R.I.C. 
 
 Murphy, Mr. James. The Mill, 
 
 Maguire, Mr. Richard. Milverfcon 
 M'Glue, Mrs. Rowans, Lusk. 
 Mulvihill, Mr. J., R.I.C. Arklow, Co. Wicklow. 
 Moore, Mr. High-street, Dublin. 
 M'Evoy, William. 13, Lower Bridge-street, Dublin. 
 Molloy, Mr. A. 172, Central-street, London, W.C., England. 
 M'Kittrick, Mrs. F. R. 39, Phillipsborough-avenue, Fairview, Dublin. 
 Murphy, Mr. Thomas. 36, Mountjoy-street, , 
 
 M'Bride, Mr. John. 5, Lower Liftey-street, 
 
 Monaghan. Mr. John. 150, Church-street, ,, 
 
 Murphy, Mr. John. Lucan 
 
 Murrow, Mr. Railway Hotel, Upper Dominick-street, Dublin. 
 Murphy, Mr. John. 26, Clarendon-street, , , 
 
 M'Cabe, Edward. 9, Manor-street, , 
 
 M'Entire, Richard. 1, George's-hill, 
 
 M'Nally, Mrs. 2, George's-hill, 
 
 M'Gill, Mr. James J. 66, Aughrim-street, 
 
 Mulligan, Mrs. 41, Castle-street, 
 
 Morris, Mr. F. J. Lower Castle Yard. 
 
 Mangan, Mrs. 2, Clanbrassil-place, South Circular-road, Dublin, 
 M'Kenna, Mr. Michael. Usher-street, 
 
 Maxwell, Mrs. 2, Royal-terrace, ,? 
 
 M'Dermott, Mr. Charles. Carleton-street, Portadown. 
 Murray, Serjeant James, R.I.C. 
 
 M'Shoone, Mr. John, ,, 
 
 M'Donnell, Mr. Thomas. 30, Marquis-street, Belfast. 
 M'Cann, Miss. Portadown. 
 
 Matthews, Mr. Philip. 3, Exchange-court, Dublin. 
 Mines, Mr. Thomas. James'-gate, Dublin. 
 M'Gallevy, Mr. David. Guinness' Brewery, Dublin. 
 Monaghan, Mr. Andrew, ,, 
 
 M'Veigh, Mr. Thomas. Guinness' Brewery, Dublin. 
 Maze, Mr. Theodore, 
 Mahon, Mr. John, 
 M'Kenna, Mr. Michael. 
 M'Williams, Mr. William, 
 Mills. Mr. Joseph, 
 Mills, Mr. James, 
 M'Veigh. Mr. Thomas, 
 M'Cabe, Mr. Patrick. Barnagara, Skerries. 
 Morgan, Mrs. Chonmert-road, Peckham, London.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 19 
 
 Montgomery, Miss. Hope-street, Fortadown, Armagh. 
 
 M'Cann, Miss. Selshire, 
 
 M'Coo, Mr. Michael. Woodhonse, " 
 
 Norfolk, His Grace, the Duke of. St. James'-square, London. 
 Nenci Rev. Dr., Society of Pious Missions, St. Peter's Retreat, Hatton 
 
 Wall, London, E. 0. 
 
 Nolan, Mr. Patrick. At Guinness's, Dublin. 
 Noonan, Mr. Denis. 
 
 O'Clery, Chevalier, M.P. for Wexford. 4. Garden-court, Temple 
 
 London. 
 
 O'Connor, Mrs. Superioress. St. Joseph's, Mountjoy-street. 
 O'Donnell, J. W., Esq. 7, Belvidere-place, Dublin. 
 )'Neill, Terence, Esq. Balbriggan. 
 O'Neill, James, Esq. Balbriggan. 
 O'Sullivan, Mr. L. M. St. Patrick's College, Armagh. 
 O'Brien, Mr. Peter. Wicklow. 
 O'Haire, Mr. Matthew. 15, Blackhall-place, Dublin. 
 O'Neil, Mr. Michael. 66, Aughrim-street 
 O'Shea, Mr. 55, Moore-street, 
 O'Neil, Mr. Arthur. Coombe, 
 O'Shaughnessy, Mrs. Bridge-street, Arklow. 
 O'Keefle, Mr. Jeremiah, 
 
 O'Farrell, Miss M.. A. Clerkenwell, London, England. 
 O'Leary, Michael. 153, Church-street, Deptford. 
 O'Connell, Mr. Luke. Kilkara, Bailyboro', Cavan, 
 O'Shea, Mr. J. 125, Francis -street, Dublin. 
 Oakley, Mr. James. At Guinness', James'-gate, Dublin. 
 
 Pollen, N. Esq. 1, Carlton Gardens, London, England. 
 Power, Mr. W. H. Garden-street, Hull, England. 
 Philips, Mr. John, Skerries, County Dublin. 
 Peacock, Mrs. 9, Holborn, London. 
 Phelan, Mr. Laurence, R.I.C. Main-street, Arklow, 
 Phillips, Mr. Thomas. Guinness' Brewery, Dublin. 
 Parkley, Mr. William, 
 
 Pargelar, Mrs. 1 15, Asylum-road, Peckham. 
 
 Quinn, Miss. Ellis's-quay, Dublin. 
 Quinn, Mr. Edward. At Guinness', James'-gate, Dublin. 
 Quinn, Mr. Patrick. Balbriggan-street, Skerries, County Dublin. 
 Quirk, Mrs. Enniskillen Hotel, Dorset-street, Dublin. 
 
 Ripon, The Kt. Hon. the Marquis of. Carlton Gardens, London. 
 
 Kpbertson, Dr. F., Surgeon. 14, Colville-road, Bayswater, London. 
 
 Riely, Mr. John. 19, Queen-street, Deptford. 
 
 Russell, Mr. Christopher. 118, Upper Abbey-street, Dublin. 
 
 Rooney, Mr. E. 4, Providence-place, Grays' Inn-road, London. 
 
 Reardon, Mr. W. E. 113, Denmark-road, Camberwell, London. 
 
 Reilly, Mr. James. James'-gate, Dublin. 
 
 Royal County Down (86th Regt.) Curragh Camp, Kildare. 300 copies. 
 
 Sullivan, Mr. E. 17, Grey-street, Hull, England. 
 Sheahen, Mr. J. J., jun. 43, Whitefriar-gate, Hull, England.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 
 
 Seaver, Miss Margaret. Balbriggan-street, Skerries, County Dublin. 
 
 Smyth, Mr. James. 28, North King-street, Dublin. 
 
 Smyth, Mr. Wicklow. 
 
 Shea, Mr. William. Grangegorrnan, ,, 
 
 Slattery. Mr. W. Hospital, Co. Limerick. 
 
 Sharkey, Miss Mary. 49, North Brunswick-street, Dublin. 
 
 Seward, Mr. Charles. 7, Baker-street, Lloyd's-square, London. 
 
 Smyth, Mrs. 31, Castle- street, Holborn, London. 
 
 Stringer, Mr. Joseph. 4, Lloyd's-row, Clerkenwell, London, England. 
 
 Smyth, Mrs. 31 Castle-street, Holborn, London, England. 
 
 Shannon, Mr. Wm. 209, Great Britain-street, Dublin. 
 
 Shannon, Mr. Crampton-court, ,, 
 
 Strong, Mary. 24, Coleraine-street, 
 
 Sullivan, Cornelius. 45, Prince's-street, Deptford. 
 
 Sullivan, Mr. Daniel. 19, Queen-street, ,. 
 
 Seerey, Mr. David. 4, Tinnes-court, Holborn, London, England. 
 
 Sarsfield, Mr. James. Guinness' Brewery, Dublin. 
 
 Smyth, Mr. James, 
 
 Smyth, Mr. Samuel. 
 
 Shea, Mr. William, 
 
 Smith, Mr. Thomas, 
 
 Simpson, Mr. Michael, 
 
 Short, Mr. William, 
 
 Stewart, Mr. Robert, 
 
 Sweetman, Mr. George. Balbriggan. 
 
 Terregiani, Rev. Father. Seven Dolours, Peckham, London. 
 Trainor, Mr. James. 44, Spencer-street, Hull, England, 
 Taylor, Mr. W. 17, Derby-street, ,, 
 
 Tyndall, Mr. Felix. Strand-street, Skerries. 
 Tyrrell, Mrs. Stoneybatter, Dublin. 
 
 Thompson, Patrick, Esq, 34, Mountjoy-square, West, Dublin. 
 Tearney, Mr. J. Main-street, Arklow, Co. Wicklow. 
 Thunder, Mr. Patrick. At Guinness', James'-gate, Dublin. 
 Thyenn, Mrs. 40, Holborn, London, England.- 
 Walsh, Mr. James. 33, Wexford-street, Dublin. 
 Watson, Mr. Edward. . Summer-street Brewery, Dublin. 
 Waddock, Mr. 19, D'Olier-street, 
 
 Wyles, Mr. John. 15, Beresford-street, 
 
 White, Mr. Patrick. James'-gate, ,, 
 
 Willet, Mrs. Moore-street, Dublin. 
 Wyler, Mr. William, At Guinness', James'-gate, Dublin. 
 Young, Mr. David. 14, W.ellington-street, Kingstown. 
 Yeo, Mr. Vincent. St. Peter's, Hatton Wall, "-* 
 
 latton Garden, Lon- 
 
 don, England. 
 
 Additional Subscribers 
 
 The O'Conor Don, M P. for Roscommon. House of Commons,London. 
 Kev. Mr. Horgan. St. Augustin's, Manchester. 
 Very Rev. Father Leman. French College, Blackrock. 
 Superioress Dominican Convent, Sion Hill. 
 Mrs. MacDonald. 532, New City-road, Glasgow. . 
 Mr. James Horgan. 524, New City-road, 
 Rev. P. O'Connor, C.C. Clontarf. 
 Rev. J. Barrens, P.P. Castleconnor. Ballina. 
 Mr. Ernest Daw. Masonbrook, Loughrea.
 
 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS 
 
 Whose names were too late fop insertion in the Original List. 
 
 His Majesty, the King of Belgium. 
 
 His Lordship, Most Rev. Dr. Conaty, Lord Bishop of Cavan. 
 
 McCarthy Downing, M.P., House of Commons, London. 
 
 Very Rev. Canon Quinn. Dungannon. 
 
 Rev. P. Corr. 
 
 Rev. H. M'Neese. 
 
 Mr. Griffin. 8, Fontenoy-street, Dublin. 
 
 Mr. Mullaly. Duke-street. 
 
 Mrs. O'Hare. Capel-street. 
 
 Mr. M'Cluskey. South William-street. 
 
 Mr. Thos. Sheridan. Church-street. 
 
 Mrs. Sinnott. North Great George's-street. 
 
 Mrs. M'Inearkney. Usher's-quay. 
 
 Mrs. Hoare. Rush. 
 
 Miss E. Tollenus. Rush. 
 
 Miss Flynn. 
 
 Mrs. Walsh. 
 
 Miss B. Walsh. 
 
 Mr. John Leonard. 
 
 Mrs. Dunne. Bridgefoot- street. 
 
 Mrs. Lube. Newtownmountkennedy. 
 
 Mr. De Laix. ,, 
 
 Miss M. Reilly. ,, 
 
 Mr. M. Osbourne. Arklovv. 
 
 Mr. Thos. Boylan. Navan. 
 
 Mrs. Tighe. Haymarket. 
 
 Rev. Edward Finn, C.C. Killeeshil, Aughnacloy, Co. Tyrone. 
 
 Mrs. Sheridan. Ushers' Island 
 
 Miss Quinn. Ellis' s-quay. 
 
 Mr. Hinchey. 55, Capel-street. 
 
 Mr. K. Toole. Lombard-street. 
 
 Mrs. Murphy. Townsend-street. 
 
 Michael Finn. 30, Townsend-strect. 
 
 Edward Finn. 
 
 John Turner. 
 
 John Killeen. u 
 
 James Curran. 
 
 Peter M'Manus.
 
 LIST OF SUB8CKIBKR8 
 
 Mrs. Rafter. James's-streel. 
 
 Mr. Kennedy. Manor-street. 
 
 Mr. Farrell. King-street. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Boylan. Cavan. 
 
 Mr. Craven II ay market. 
 
 Mrs. Murphy Townsend-street. 
 
 Rev. It. Power. Waterford. 
 
 Rev. P Sheehan. 
 
 Rev. M. Keating. 
 
 Rev. P. POWOT. 
 
 Rev. P. Burke. 
 
 Very Rev. P. Cleary, D.D. Waterford. 
 
 Brother Flanagan, Director, Christian Brothers, Waterford. 
 
 Superioress, Ursuline Convent, Waterford. 
 
 Mr. Kehoe. Adelphi Hotel, 
 
 Mr. Cox. Beresford-street, ,, 
 
 Rev. F. Cullen. Glasgow. 
 
 Rev. James Manning, C.C. Castledermot. 
 
 Rev. James Germaine, C.C. Moone, Castledermot. 
 
 Miss Frances Archbold. Davidstown House, Castledermot. 
 
 Frederick M. Carroll, Esq., J.P. Moone Abbey, Castlederaao 
 
 Michael Walsh, Esq. Newtown House, Castledrmot. 
 
 Joseph Nolan, Esq. Carrigeen House, Baltinglass. 
 
 Edward Kough, Esq., P.L.G. Bal'.inglass. 
 
 Mr. Owen M'Donald. Woodlands, Castledermot. 
 
 Mr. Michael Lawler. Irongrange, Baltinglass. 
 
 Mr. James Kavanagh, P.L.G. Knocknacree, Castledermot. 
 
 Mr. Edward Heydon, P.L.G. Tankardstown, Castledermot. 
 
 Mr. Michael Dempsey, P.L.G. Marshalstown, Castledermot. 
 
 Mr. Michael Devoy. Grangenolvin, Birdtown, Athy. 
 
 Mr. Edward Kelly. Baltinglass. 
 
 Mr. Christopher Nolan. Corballis, Castledermot. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Murphy. Coltstown, Castledermot. 
 
 Mrs. Henry Kavanagh. Ballyragan, Baltinglass. 
 
 Mr. John Heydon. Maplestown, Rathvilly, Co. Wicklow. 
 
 Mr. William Tierney. Tankardstown, Baltinglass. 
 
 Rev. Thomas Power. Waterford. 
 
 Rev. J. Higginbotham. England. 
 
 Mrs. Conyer. Ballinderry.
 
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